Reading Rave
SPREAD, an underground club located in Tokyo’s Shimokitazawa neighborhood, hosted ‘JUCY BOOK RAVE,’ a daytime event that temporarily transformed its dancefloor into a dimly lit reading lounge on September 26th.
Running from 10am to 2pm, the event covered the club floor in carpeting so attendees could sit, recline against the walls or stretch out with a book while ambient music played around them. After 1pm, organizers gradually raised the volume, giving guests the choice to continue reading or hit the dancefloor in the more traditional sense.
Hours of communal reading, book exchanges, and optional dancing. I’m not entirely sold on the dancing, but the idea of spending a few hours reading in a shared space, with music playing softly in the background and surrounded by like-minded strangers, is surprisingly appealing to me. There’s something comforting about being alone together, each lost in our own little world, but sharing the same space.
Although I doubt this would ever be successful in the United States given that most Americans do not read for pleasure.