Unique book-sharing initiative launched

 Read A Book   is an online book-sharing community whose members share books from their personal collections with fellow members for free.

Even if you have just two books or no book at all, you can still be a part of this community. It was started 2 years ago by two bibliophiles, and now the community has more than 400 members from different walks of life in the city.

As a member of the community, you can order a book of your choice and it will be delivered to your doorsteps within 7 days. You can even donate books to this community.

The idea behind the initiative is to share books that are simply gathering dust on the shelf, as well as to get hold of books from others' collection.

How does it Function?

There is a Facebook page called 'Read A Book', where you need to hit the 'book now' button, which opens a google form. The reader has to fill up the form with address,  contact information and the particular book he or she would like to read.

The book will be delivered by courier or be hand-delivered within 7 days. The reader can keep a book for a month. Once you are done with reading, someone will be sent to collect the book from you. No charges applied.

The community has the members who have more than 1,000 books and it also has members with just 2 or 3 books. So, the book you want to read will be there with someone in the community.  

Right now the community mainly has the sections such as fiction, novels etc. The community keeps the track of all the new publications and bestsellers, including books like An Unsuitable Boy, Shantaram, Catcher in the rye, Stephen King's horror fiction, The Fountainhead, The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, Train to Pakistan, etc.

"Few asked for books in the Kannada language, but right now we have only English collection, we may go for Kannada books  if more people  will ask for it,'' says Kanica Jindal, the founder of the community.

One of the partners, Monish Koppa says, "there is a section of people who prefer paperbacks to Kindle books in today's digital era. The feelings and the pleasure of reading physical books is something unique which Kindle books cannot give. It's healthy and gives more relaxation and imagination. It also develops an interpersonal relationship through sharing and discussion."

The community has a monthly forum where its members come together and discuss their favourite books and other related subjects. It again proves nothing can beat old paperbacks. "Want to read your favourite book now? Request a book at "Read A Book."