Three months ago, Chinese book fans picked up on a project initiated originally by
Harry Potter star Emma Watson; leaving books on the subway in order to encourage reading. The books contained a note, telling readers that they could record online where they picked up the book, if they read it, and whether they'd passed it on to others. But although 10,000 books were seeded in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, only 4,008 of them were read - and only 239 of them were read three times or more.
The movement was part of a wider literacy push, including measures like establishing 'reading groups' on WeChat. But overall, the project seemed to flop. Some books were thrown away by cleaning staff, and netizens argued that even if they did see books on the subway, people might think they belonged to someone rather than picking them up. Participants said that they were inspired at first, but even with the online support, this enthusiasm for literature didn't last.
The Shanghai Morning Post commented that reading is different from other forms of entertainment, and the desire to read from the heart matters more than motivation from others. Interviewees and residents suggested reading could be done in bits and pieces of available time, and they stressed the habit of reading should be developed from the beginning of childhood.
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