Seef Mall, a leading shopping and leisure destination in Bahrain, is running a book festival featuring a collection of books donated for redistribution.

The non-profit event organised under the Ministry of Culture, and facilitated by Ta’a Al Shabab’s ‘We All Read’ group, will end tomorrow (August 8).

Visitors to the mall can spend time reading books and pick up any two books of their choice in exchange for one of their own books, which they have to donate to the cause, a statement said.

This novel concept traces its origin to the traditional Zari A’ateej, the local exchanger who gave customers a brand new item in exchange for second hand items, it added.

The books on display, donated for distribution around the country, particularly through malls, cover a wide range of subjects such as culture, poetry, humanities, social sciences and other special themes, including children’s books.

An added attraction for visitors is the group discussion on literature and current affairs conducted by renowned authors.

“Each discussion session has attracted around 250 participants, which goes to show that reading and literature are still an integral part of people’s lives in this age of television, internet and instant entertainment,” said Ahmed Al Ansari, PR officer, Seef Mall.

“That’s the primary aim of the festival - to instil the reading habit in people and encourage them to enjoy reading by offering them easy access to books.”

“Reading develops vocabulary, widens one’s knowledge base, improves academic achievement and boosts self confidence. So it’s important for the youth to inculcate this habit which will stand them in good stead when they seek to enter the job market in future,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service