Pressure from a busy school or work schedule or the attraction of many forms of entertainment make reading seem to no longer be a top priority for many people. However, books always have their own role and are difficult to completely replace.
Never turn back, always seek
In addition to laptops and textbooks, Do Ngoc's backpack (a student at the University of Economics and Finance, Ho Chi Minh City) always has books. Taking advantage of breaks between classes or waiting for friends to meet in groups, Ngoc takes out books to read instead of surfing the internet to kill time. Truong Thanh Tuan (Nova College) also has this habit. He likes books related to the field of public relations to explore and research more knowledge besides what has been equipped at school.
For Linh Thao (ao dai), My Linh (white dress), Huyen Trinh (black shirt) and Thao Vy, books are like friends and teachers. Photo: QUOC THANG
Nguyen Thi Huyen Trinh - Tuan's classmate - often reads books when she... loses the most energy. Trinh learns a lot from books and loves works on the subject of life. "A good book is like a gentle stream of water flowing into my stormy soul whenever I am stuck. Books teach me that: Every time fear arises, recognize it and smile at it, the fear will lose some of its power. When it returns to our subconscious, it becomes a smaller seed than before" - Trinh said.
Tran Thi Linh Thao (from Ben Tre) not only reads but also discusses her favorite publications with friends. Thao revealed that she is an extrovert, easily making people happy. However, because she realizes that the line between subtle humor and... tactlessness and nonsense is sometimes close, Thao reads diligently to enrich her vocabulary and life experience, upgrading herself to a version with more depth in thinking, more subtle in behavior and speech. Thanks to reading a lot, recently, when writing a script for an event, Thao was able to use countless good words and create unique ideas.
Audiobook showroom Voiz FM at Vietnam Book and Reading Culture Day 2023 is enjoyed by many young people who come to experience it.
Vu Dinh Thao Vy (20 years old, from Lam Dong) calls books her best friends. She turns to books not only to learn new things but also to heal. Vy confided: "I respect the diversity of that friend, so I am not loyal to any genre, topic or author." She likes to read things that make her curious. It could be the story of "the boy forced to grow up Zezé" in "My Sweet Orange Tree", racism in "To Kill a Mockingbird" or going back to the past with "A Brief History of Humankind"...
The appeal of audiobooks and e-books
Thao Vy believes that young people are temporarily divided into three "camps": those supporting paper books, e-books, and those who are neutral. Vy said: "My heart chooses paper books, but my mind chooses e-books. I like the feeling of holding a paper book, but e-books give me convenience. In particular, foreign documents can be read on e-books at a cheap price." According to her, choosing paper books or e-books depends on each person and "meeting" books in any form reflects a love for reading.
Tran Thi My Linh (19 years old, living in District 10 - Ho Chi Minh City) likes the book "Paint Peace - Draw Happiness". She believes that the majority of young people are still interested in books, but paper books are no longer the number one choice when reading and listening to books on compact mobile devices, affordable service prices... bring many conveniences to young people who prefer technology.
The event "Bookmakers tell stories" organized by Ho Chi Minh City General Publishing House at FPT University received enthusiastic response from students.
Along with e-books, audiobooks have developed strongly. Voiz FM, Fonos, Soundio... applications are becoming more and more familiar. Mr. Le Hoang Thach, Founder of Voiz FM audiobooks, said: "Currently, nearly 70% of Voiz FM's customers are young, aged 18-35, with a more concentrated audience of 25-35 because they have time to interact regularly and are more willing to pay for content. Although they are young, they also have certain life experiences, so they pay great attention to product experiences. Therefore, in addition to expanding the rich and suitable content store, Voiz continues to improve the quality of recording and post-production, while programming the application to be smooth, less laggy or battery-draining, adding many features such as smart search, customizing audio resolution, arranging personal libraries...".
Notably, with just over 10 employees, all of whom are Vietnamese and trained in Vietnam, Voiz FM has created an application with over 2 million users, over 3,000 audiobook contents, reaching break-even point after only 3 years. This feat not only proves the "fertile" potential of the audiobook segment but also affirms the ability and aspiration of domestic bookmakers.
Ms. Dang Quynh My, communications specialist of Ho Chi Minh City General Publishing House, emphasized that the efforts of publishing units, book companies, etc. to reach readers are important. Not only doing business and distributing through the unit's bookstore system, partners and e-commerce platforms, but Ho Chi Minh City General Publishing House has continuously increased events at Ho Chi Minh City Book Street, bringing books suitable for the target audience to schools from junior high school to high school, university, expanding the coverage of books to many provinces and cities... The exchanges, interactions, and thematic discussions... have been enthusiastically responded to by young people.
Mr. Vo Kim Bao (Nguyen Du Secondary School - District 1, Ho Chi Minh City) said that it is necessary to combine many measures to improve reading culture. Adults must set an example. Parents and teachers reading books will create a good influence on their children. The number of young people participating in book fairs, book reading groups... is still very large. On the other hand, the reading of a part of young people is still uneven, mainly serving entertainment needs rather than studying. Society tends to be more realistic, sentimental literary books, books teaching ethics, dry lifestyles are gradually becoming unsuitable. Meanwhile, many people are more attracted to reading books that have practical effects in life, helping them improve their quality of life. If you are afraid of reading paper books, audiobooks and e-books are the optimal choice for young people.
Nguyen Thuan
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