What if a night out meant books instead of screens or parties? Last weekend, around 100 readers gathered at a Bandra bookstore from 8 pm to 12.30 am to browse shelves, play book-themed games, meet fellow readers and spend time reading together.Anurag Kothari, co-founder of a book club that has multi-city branches, says, “The idea of spending the night at a bookstore was unique, and the response was tremendous. This has now become a flagship event, and we are taking it to other cities and more venues in Mumbai, as our city has a huge community of book lovers who want more.”
A COMMUNITY BUILT AROUND READINGFor Ekta Bhandari, co founder of the book club ReadAKitab this was a natural extension of what her free book lovers’ community has been trying to create for the past five years. “We are a book reading group of over 33,000 readers,” she says. “Our community is about nudging people to read more, read better and read diversely. And this event did just that.” The idea was not simply to put readers in a bookstore at night, but to turn reading into a shared experience. “The carefully curated activities ensured that the evening moved between quiet concentration and lively interaction,” said Ekta. Phorum Pandya, a media professional from Juhu and a voracious reader, said, “A book lover’s delight is to find like-minded people to discuss a book they have recently read and to get cool recommendations. My takeaway was meeting people who could hold a book conversation. I love how our city is opening up to social events that go beyond drinking and eating. Go with the idea to have fun.”For Prakhar Sachdeo, a sports content creator from Navi Mumbai who enjoys nonfiction, memoirs, self-help, biographies and sports books, the novelty lay in being around strangers who shared his love for books.“To stay at a bookstore at ungodly hours with few strangers participating in some activities around books and reading was the most fascinating aspect of the event,” he says. But it was the 30-to-35-minute silent reading session that he loved most. “We could read a book of our choice. Meeting new people was fun!”There were challenges, too. Prakhar admits that keeping his energy levels up was one of them. And then there was Book Charades. “Of-course the acting part in our favourite game book-charades was a challenge,” he laughs.FROM BOOK HEISTS TO CHARADESThe activities became an important part of the night. One involved finding books on the shelves that matched specific descriptions — such as a book whose author’s name began with a particular letter or one with a place in its title.For Arnab, a senior software engineer from Airoli, reading has been a lifelong habit, nurtured by growing up in a Bengali family where reading and asking questions were encouraged. He said the event was both entertaining and enriching. “It was thoroughly enjoyable and enriching at the same time! Book Charades, was way too hilarious with everyone trying to act out the book titles,” he says, adding that the event offered readers a chance “to take a pause in between the daily mundanes.”WHEN READING BECOMES AN EXPERIENCEKalpak Chavan, from Borivali West, Vice President at multinational banking institution, enjoys literary fiction, biographies, memoirs and books about ideas, people and society. He says he deliberately avoids restricting himself to one genre. The prospect of spending an entire night in a bookstore immediately caught his imagination. “Bookstores have always felt like spaces where time slows down,” he says. Experiencing one after closing hours, without the usual rush and distractions, felt like “a completely different way of engaging with books.” “There was something almost magical about being surrounded by shelves of books late at night,” he adds. The activities, he says, created energy and camaraderie among the participants. The biggest challenge? Staying awake. “Reading is usually something I associate with winding down at night, so consciously keeping myself awake and engaged through the night was definitely a challenge. But that was also part of the fun.”For Tony D’Souza, from Goregaon West, a Product Manager at an MNC, the concept itself was the draw. “The concept of being in a bookstore during a night was novel!” he says, listing the group activities, ‘the book heist’, games, silent reading and meeting fellow readers among his favourite parts. His current reading interests include fantasy, literary fiction and manga.A NIGHT READERS DIDN’T WANT TO ENDFor Kinny Shah, a mindful art and creative well-being practitioner from Andheri West, the event was “nothing short of a dream”. “I loved to share space and have conversations across different genres, with the community of book lovers from around the city.”Perhaps the most telling measure of the event’s success was the reluctance to leave. “The energy at the event was simply magical: to read in silence with the community, surrounded by books! I didn’t want to leave, didn’t want the night to end.” And perhaps that was the real charm of Night at the Bookstore — it made reading feel less like an individual habit squeezed into a busy day and more like an experience worth staying up for.
