Story Vending Machine: When Reading Becomes the Best Pastime (Video)

In France, the publishing house Short Édition had the brilliant idea of ​​installing postal-style columns inside train stations and airports, from which stories or poems emerge. This way, travelers, instead of playing with their smartphones, can indulge in an activity that's too often overlooked.

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POETRY VENDING MACHINE FRANCE

Are you waiting for a train or a plane and don't know how to pass the time? For a few years now, in France, stations and airports have been installing a “cultural” pastime. Here and there, in fact, some have sprung up Colonnine, similar to those used by the post office to distribute numbers, but from which, however, come out short stories or poemsThe idea came from a French online publishing house Short edition and slowly it took hold throughout the country.

STORY VENDING MACHINE

Available to everyone and free of charge, these story vending machines e poetry They are born with the intention of deceiving the wait in a more useful and productive way than a game on the smartphoneTo meet everyone's needs, the developers of these charging stations have thought of three different formats: 1, 3, or 5 minutes of reading, depending on how much time the traveler wants to spend. The works available include works by Shakespeare, Virginia Woolf, and Dumas, as well as contemporary and slightly less famous writers.

ALSO READ: “Reading a book is a revolutionary gesture” (Carlo Feltrinelli)

POETRY VENDING MACHINE FRANCE

The idea, the developers explained in an interview, "came to us while standing in front of a vending machine full of chocolate bars and drinks. We thought we could do the same thing with quality popular literature that would help fill those small, unproductive moments."

IMPORTANCE OF READING

With this noble intent, columns were built in over 150 locations, and not only in stations and airports but also inside hospitals and restaurants. A useful initiative against the reader mortality that is affecting many countries, including ours, where fewer and fewer people are passionate about books.

The cover photo is taken from the publisher's website Short edition.

ALL THE REASONS WHY READING IS IMPORTANT

Read, read, read: even to navigate the web better and safer

Reading makes you happy, and saving small bookstores is a duty that is worthwhile for all of us.

Reading groups can also be held in the living room. Maximum 15-20 people. For the pleasure of reading together.

Reading is good for the brain. A powerful massage for the neurons.

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