Earlier this year, artist Malik was about to post a selfie (自拍照) from the Brooklyn Bridge when he had the second thought. He wanted to share something different with his friends and the world.
Malik thought that the social media had become impersonal and he wanted to connect with people in a more meaningful way. Therefore, the Reading Project was born. He began leaving piles of his books in famous New York City locations with a card containing simple instructions put inside each one: take a book, read it and share your thoughts with the artist by email.
The piles of books themselves can be seen as works of art, and so is the process of sharing. Unlike many of the things we share today, he likes to keep the project off social media. To keep the project pure, he doesn't even turn around as he walks away once he has left a pile of books. When he has left them behind, he prefers email to be the only way that he learns what happens to them. The project has now taken him — and his books — all over the world, including London.
"I hope people pick them up and I also hope they read them and let me know their feelings on them. And even if they don't let me know, I just hope they will read the books," Malik said.
He has received thousands of messages from people in more than 30 countries all over the world. For Malik, books are meaningless and lifeless if they gather dust on a shelf and are never read again. He intends to carry on with the project for some time, with a plan to visit Brazil and then decides whether he will continue it or not.
Most of all, Malik loves the connection the books give him with strangers across the world, which is something that other posts could never achieve.
