Italian Reading Groups

In Italy the word is "Gruppi di Lettura" (GdL).
An Italian public library recently organized a meeting about reading groups and libraries.
This is the nice poster they used:

It titles: "Here a strange reader comes". Even if the topic focuses on reading groups related to libraries there is much to consider about reading groups themselves. 

An interview to Luca Ferreri (who wrote a book on the topic:  Il lettore a(r)mato), tells a lot about the topic.

Here is a short summary.

The history of 'istitutional' reading groups is quite recent and it is impossible to define reading groups since each one is unique. Nevertheless they all aim to defend reading as a social activity: indipendent and livey. 

There are two kinds of reading groups(RGs): the Anglo-Saxon and the Latin-American. The Anglo Saxon RG are light and funny, closer to editors and mass media. The LatinAmerican model deals with the need of cultural  emancipation, is closer to the school system and stands on familiar and community basis. 

The Italian RGs seem to be a mix of the two models: it relies a lot on libraries, and it aims to be light even if the target are mostly seasoned readers. 

The RGs have a social value: they gather and value people who share the love for culture, people that usually are isolated from each other and tend to hide from the rest of the community. 

Luca Ferrari thinks that the RGs in Italy are a growing trend, but that they need unity and network to grow properly.

Indeed there is a blog about Italian RGs, a work in progress aiming to gather all the existing Italian RGs, to help new ones and to be a platform for experience exchange.

In Verona there is at least one reading group: Il Circolo dei Lettori di Verona, founded by LiberAmente.

It was hosted by Società Letteraria and now is hosted by Joy Bookstore, it aims to connect and to cooperate with libraries, bookstores, editors, theatres and more. 

Design thinking: everywhere and nowhere reflections on the big re-think

In this enlightening article Kevin McCullagh makes interesting points on design thinking.

A quote:

Verganti (Roberto Verganti, cit.) pressed his point home with a tough truth. 'Designers have become less visionary. They have spent the last 10 years getting close to consumers and trying to become businessmen, and have lost their visions.'

Book renting

A new phenomenon is book renting.

In Turin Libreria Takuma rents books.

Apparently the elderly living in the surroundings love the service, and parents use it for textbooks.

reference

Prestalibro is a service supporting the network managing the rental of new and secind hand book provided by New Hemingway Srl. I fear to write more about it because they seem very jelous of the contents of their website.

Source of inspiration

This beautiful piece of writing by Maria Paola Colombo sketches some pictures of contemporary Italy.  
There is a picture for contemporary indie booksellers but it is bitter and sad so I am not going to traslate it. What I would really like to share is the end of the piece:

In this time rich of uncertainties, a world is dissolving. It happened before, from the Roman Empire to the cold war between US and Russia. The point is: what will be the shape of the new world?
Its shape will be the one that we will be able to imagine, the one in which we will be able to believe in, before it comes true."