(VOVworld)- A book festival entitled “Hanoi- a City for Peace” was held at the Thang Long Imperial Citadel Relic Site last week. Held in Hanoi for the first time, the festival attracted a large number of visitors and inspired passion for reading among young Hanoians.

The Hanoi Book Festival was held from September 26 to October 2. It drew the participation of 45 book publishers who showcased more than 10,000 books of different categories in more than 100 booths. More than 10,000 readers visited the festival, most of them students. The book festival with various interesting activities including autographing and meeting the authors awakened passion for reading among the youth of Hanoi. Dao Thanh Tung is a student of Hanoi Water Resources University: “I love reading and often read in my free time. I try to spend 30 minutes reading each day. I love books about life experiences, awakening people’s potential and love. Our predecessors accumulated their life and career experiences in the books and I want to learn from them. So, this book festival is very useful for us. I hope more such festivals will be held”.

Le Thanh Huong, a student at Hanoi Foreign Trade University says that it’s untrue to say that young people don’t read books. Huong says reading books is her habit: “My greatest hobby is reading. I love books about economics, business, lifestyle and psychology. I don’t like reading books online because my eyes get tired so I prefer reading printed books. I have a lot of books”.

Books are an endless source of knowledge. Each book opens a new world of experience to readers. For book lovers, reading is a lifetime hobby. Phuong Nhi is a lawyer in Hanoi: “For me, reading is never enough. It’s like an instinctive need so it’s never limited in any field. Due to my work, I have to read more books but reading helps increase my knowledge. In my free time, I like reading Japanese books. As a child, I loved Russian and French books. I’m sure that the habit of reading remains popular”.

For many people, a book is a teacher that never gets old. A person who reads a lot of books is someone who has had many teachers. Readers now have a wide range of choices of books due to the large number of publications. According to Dao Thanh Tung, selecting a book to read should be based on your own needs: “First, we need to consider the content of the book to see whether it’s interesting and attractive to readers or not and then the publishers. I prefer the Young Age Publishing House. When I was a schoolboy, I didn’t reach much. But now, I have become more passionate about reading”.

The Hanoi Book Festival inspired not only students but also schoolchildren. Nguyen Dang Khoa is a 6^th grader: “I love reading books about aviation because I love this area. I often read during my free time, especially on Saturday and Sunday. From books, I learn about the speeds of planes when they land and take off and their maximum speed. For example, the F35 can reach a maximum speed of 1930 km per hour and can land vertically and fly horizontally or straight”.

The Hanoi Book Festival succeeded in inspiring a passion for readings in the young people of Hanoi, who now hope that other similar events will be held in the future.