The Ministry of Culture took part in the celebration of UNESCO’s World Book Day yesterday by inviting people to travel around the nation with books from its recommended list.
The annual Read Taiwan event is part of the ministry’s efforts to promote reading in the nation, as Taiwanese only purchase an average of 2.5 books per year, compared with about 10 books in Japan and South Korea, Minister of Culture Shih Che (史哲) said at a news conference on Friday.
“Original creation and publishing are the sources of the culture,” he said, vowing to dedicate more resources to support the publishing industry and authors.
Photo: CNA
Echoing this year’s theme of “go on a trip with a book,” book review platform Openbook, one of the co-organizers, released a reading list of 105 books in 12 categories — including local landscapes, food, nature, animals, architecture and railroads — to serve as guides for trips around Taiwan.
“You don’t need a tour guide. Just bring a book you like and you can set off at any time,” Openbook chairwoman Mo Chao-ping (莫昭平) said.
Unlike previous editions of the event, which organized book trips with limited participants, everyone can join in this year, she said.
StoryStudio chief executive officer Tu Feng-en (涂豐恩) planned an additional eight routes, which focus on three topics often featured in Taiwanese literary works — diverse ethnic groups and cultures, relations between the local and global, and the interaction between humans and the environment.
Recommended readings for these routes have been published on the event’s Web site, while the detailed itineraries are to be released next month.
The ministry said its 17 affiliated institutions would also draw up more than 50 special routes inspired by the features of the institutions.
Book shops and publishing houses can also submit proposals for book trips to the ministry by May 23, with the chance to win a grant of up to NT$800,000 per proposal, it said.
The ministry has also launched a subsidy scheme to encourage brick-and-mortar bookstores to organize book fairs that incorporate diverse art forms such as music, film and crafts.
Online applications are open until June 16, and each selected proposal would receive a subsidy of up to NT$3 million (US$97,969) it said.
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