Vietnam's book cafes perk up youth

Book-coffeeshops are cropping up in Vietnam’s major cities, attracting young people whose generation has increasingly turned its back on reading. “We’re fed up with entertainment places like clubs and bars,” says Thanh Huyen, a student at Ho Chi Minh City’s City College of Technology. “It is unreasonable to waste your time, money and health in these places. It’s more interesting sipping coffee or tea while sticking my head in a book. I’ve learned more this way.”

   These libraries of sorts are particularly useful for students, who are typically on a limited budget. “We can’t buy books for both studying and leisure with our limited monthly accommodation fees,” says Pham Van Duyen, a technology student at another university in Ho Chi Minh City.

   These new cafes aim to create a reading culture. “Book-coffeeshops are good places for young people to satisfy their habit of drinking coffee and also read books,” says Duyen.

   Most of them offer the literature of both Vietnam and foreign countries. Ho Chi Minh City has several elegantly designed cafes decorated with plants and bright colours, creating a comfortable and quiet place to read.

   Hub Book Coffee Shop on Cong Hoa Road in Tan Binh district has more than 1,000 books, including novels and books on science and religion. Readers can linger as long as they want. “I opened the Hub to create a community of bookworms and provide a useful resource for students,” says the owner.

   In Hanoi there’s Moc Mien at 19 Ho Tay Road, opened by Hoang Anh Tho in 2012. She wanted to share her passion for books with other bibliophiles. “I want to promote reading among young people, especially literature,” says Tho. “Nowadays people are 20 to 30 don’t have the habit of reading every day.”

   Shop visitors can peruse her 6,000 books while sipping coffee or a mocktail. Tho believes young Hanoians read less than people in the former Saigon. “Seriously I think young Hanoians are too lazy to read,” she says. “Most young people come here because it’s trendy.”

   A couple at Book Coffee in 32/30 Ta Quang Buu Street in Hanoi agrees. A second-year student at the Military Medical Academy, Tran Quang Ha says he and his friends often hit the Book Coffee for group studying before examinations.

   “The book-coffeeshop is great for people who have only short breaks to read books,” Ha says. “I just go to Book Coffee with my friends to prepare for exams because I have no time.”

   Le Ha Thanh, who opened Book Coffee in 2010, says that, while he originally aimed to promote reading among youths, the cafe is mainly used for studying. “It’s much better that students come for studying than for chatting or football playing,” he says. “Most young readers like comics or other fun books. I try to guide them to the more literary works.”