No more video poker at Gianni's bar: instead, a flood of books has arrived.

A few years ago, a Roman barista decided to give up the easy money of the vending machines and choose a more uplifting pastime. The neighborhood has appreciated it, and today customers come to him not only for coffee but also to read a few pages in a relaxing atmosphere.

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BOOKCROSSING

BAR BOOKSHOP

From the abyss of slot machines, with all the troubles they bring, to the pure, risk-free pleasure of good reading . From a social disease that, in Lazio alone, for example, burns and wastes seven billion citizens' money (often even poor people's), to a new form of sharing . Gianni Carbonaro is a Roman barista and has made an important choice: he has chosen "bookcrossing" over the "easy" profits of video poker at his bar at 234 Via Conca d'Oro. Thus, his establishment has become a true meeting place where people can not only enjoy a coffee but also browse a book or play , for example, "battleship."

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COUNTERACTING VIDEOPOKER

In place of the slot machines, in fact, for some time now there has been a well-stocked bookshop, partly because, as he explained in a recent interview, Gianni was simply fed up with the video poker machines that brought a veritable army of desperate people to his bar . The final straw, however, were two robberies that finally convinced him and pushed him to make a sharp U-turn, indulging in a lifelong passion: books.

BAR BOOKSTORE2

BOOKCROSSING

And the bookstore filled up thanks to customers and neighborhood residents who gradually brought in old books they'd kept at home, read or unread, and offered them to the community . Thus, in a short time, the café transformed from a meeting place for "game enthusiasts" to one for "reading enthusiasts." All this amid the aroma of coffee , chatting with friends, and the strains of great Italian classics providing the background music between pages. Pages that customers can continue reading at home because, "if they like the book," Gianni declared, "I'm ready to give it away. Because for me, it's a satisfaction."

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