Earlier this month, citizens of Skopje were greeted with a surprise in the city buses – some reading materials for their commute, even if they didn’t bring a book of their own.
Newly opened bookstore in the city center, Polica, collaborated with the Impacta agency to put book excerpts of different genres in city buses, with the aim of enabling commuters with different reading tastes to shorten their trips and develop reading habits. Among the works used in this action were excerpts from the Metamorphosis collection of short stories by Franz Kafka, autobiography I, Tycoon by Miroslav Mišković, book for children How to make a film by director Radivoj Andrić and Touching from a Distance by Deborah Curtis.
“Our goal is to encourage people to read more, especially in places where they have time. When commuting to work, school or shopping, people have 10, 20, 30 minutes that can be spent with good quality reading, instead of looking at their phones. Our publishing house has titles for every reader, and since the late November they are available at our newly opened bookstore in the city center,” said Jove Todorovski, manager of Polica bookstore.
With the campaign titled “Bottoms up reading”, Polica wants to show that you can read anywhere, and it’s cool. You can read on the go, on the bus … because reading is one of the most noble activities a human being can do, and it needs to be encouraged in others, and in ourselves.
At a time when bookshops in Macedonia, but also throughout the region, are struggling to survive, and the culture of reading is dying out, this creative campaign by Polica and their agency Impacta DDM, is certainly worthy of praise.
