13. How we're working to enhance the way people read
Discover more from Letters to the Readers of 42
13. How we're working to enhance the way people read
And an intro to the Readers of 42 :)
Welcome to another edition of Letters to the Reader, and thank you for subscribing :)
Today, we’re diving deeper into the case for reading more, and telling you more about what we do to get people to read more, read better.
If you like the content we create here, consider sharing it with someone you know who might be interested.
Why reading is important now, more than ever
Editorials across the world argue that reading is on a decline.
On the contrary, readers and readership are growing more now than ever. So we dug a little deeper, and found some promising trends. For instance, a recent survey of readers from 56 countries found that 64% plan to read more books in 2023.
That’s not even counting the various other reading formats we have today - e-books, audiobooks, articles, newsletters and more.
Here in India, reading has seen a resurgence, with new reading groups and book clubs mushrooming all over the country. From the Bring Your Own Book Club that’s been around since 2012 and the Silent Book Club India run by Rachna Kalra, to the now pan-India Cubbon Reads, the bookstore brand Kunzum, and many more, there’s a culture of reading that has been quietly but steadily growing.
While all of this sounds promising, we also noticed that there seems to be a gap in terms of the quality of what people read.
Every year, millions of books, articles and other forms of content get published.
Of these, however, only a very small percentage gets talked about.
These are usually the bestsellers of the moment or articles mainly written in the past 24 hours.
While there are excellent books and other forms of content that get released every year, there are also many hidden gems that may not have had the marketing budget to be in the spotlight.
Plus, with the average person spending close to six and a half hours online every day, we’re facing what’s called digital fatigue or digital overwhelm.
How does one wade through all of the above while staying sane and afloat?
A zine that nudges you to read every single day
Now, we’ve established that people spend the most time on their smartphones.
The problem isn’t this - it’s what people choose to spend time on. Social media has pretty much taken over our lives, and we don’t even realise how many HOURS go by scrolling.
So we thought: why not enable the use of your smartphone as a tool of discovery?
The ‘42 Good Reads of the Internet’ zine was born in 2021 as an answer to this. Available as a printable PDF, it’s a labour of love consisting of 42 reads by 42 different authors across time, handpicked over months and months.
All you have to do to access these gems is to scan the QR code and read!
Take your pick from Aldous Huxley to Vir Sanghvi in an eclectic mix of authors with thought-provoking takes on different topics, from travel and food to history and self-help.
You can start with an article every day, or just flip through and pick one at random.
Here’s a newspaper article about the zine and what we do.
Just scan to read: A simple QR code lets you access each article. Since you’re on your phone most of the time, here’s a way to use it to enrich your life and teach you something new!
Nudges towards more reading: This zine is a nudge to discover long-form articles and essays by these authors, which might make you pick up a book by them later. If you already read books, here’s a chance to discover something new and interesting.
Extra goodies: Each article also has different forms of media to supplement it. A podcast, a video or extra links to get lost in and get an all-round experience of the author’s style and personality.
Track your reading: Each article has a ‘Reader’s Corner’ with a prompt for you to fill in, to round up your reading experience. Think of it as mini-journaling!
The zine is a jumping-off point for you to experience reading based on what drives your curiosity, instead of being driven by algorithms and bestseller lists.
Check out our Instagram July feed in this Readathon Guide showcasing the first 14 pages of Volume 2.
Who we are
We are Nandini and Nitin and we’re based out of New Delhi, India. We’re two curious lifelong readers who quit the corporate grind to run Project Bibliotherapy full-time, an early-stage startup with one mission: to nudge people to read more and read better.
What we do
foster a culture of reading by baking it into people’s lifestyles
enable people to discover new approaches to reading
re-imagine reading as an experience that brings people together
How we do it
We do the above in the following ways for our members, called The Readers of 42.
Curate great reads carefully handpicked from the far corners of the internet and recommend books from the vast scope of our reading, across time.
Create reads designed to pique your curiosity, aligned with different, universally loved topics.
Host one-of-a-kind experiences in association with bookstores and brands that align with our mission
More about what we do in this post :)
A bit about the two of us
Nitin Goel, Founder and Reader-in-Chief, has been a reader for as far back as he can remember. His journey on the ‘good grades - engineering - MBA - job’ path was interrupted in August 2017 when he embarked upon a sabbatical after 7 years in sales for Britannia and the Times Group. Since then, he’s travelled a bit, whooshed past several deadlines for the first draft of his debut novel, and launched Project Bibliotherapy from the Biblio-cave on day one of Lockdown 2020.
Nandini Swaminathan, co-founder and Storyteller-in-Chief also started reading at a young age along with writing poetry and stories. She also ran an award-winning blog called Sartorial Secrets (re-launching soon on our Substack). After over a decade working in marketing and social media for brands like Chumbak, Livspace and the Good Glamm Group, she joined the Project full-time in 2022.
Who are The Readers of 42?
Our member base now stands at 130 and counting - and isn’t restricted by location. We have members from all over India and a few other countries and hope to unite curious, aspiring readers in our mission. They are people from all walks of life, who want to build on their reading habits and experience reading from a new lens.
What Readers of 42 have access to
For a fee of $25 or ₹2000 a year (special launch offer), this is what our members get:
Quarterly zines with 42 new authors each time
Reading challenges and book recommendations
Priority access to our community-reading experiences like our Guided Reading Meditations, online and in partnership with bookstores at members-only prices
Access to the Biblio Bundle - our upcoming newsletter bundle on Substack. Topics include travel, nostalgia, style pop culture and more.
We are also in talks with bookstores to tie up with them for exclusive incentives for Readers of 42.
We invite you to join 130 other Readers on their journey to build and enhance their reading habits :)
Other ways to support us
As of now, we are fully funded by Reader subscriptions. If our mission speaks to you in any way, we would love your support in making it a success and getting more and more people to experience the joy of reading.
These are some of the other ways you can support us:
Refer a friend - for every 42 referrals, get a free extension on your membership!
Gift a subscription - a more thoughtful idea than the usual chocolate and wine. Perfect for any age. DM us.
Spread the word among people you know who would love what we do. We’re on Instagram, Threads, Facebook and Twitter too.
Want to boost your organization’s reading culture? Bulk subscribe to Readers of 42. We can host a guided reading meditation for your teams.
Got a book club or an interest group? We'd love to do something fun together to spread the joy of reading. Drop us a line at project[dot]bibliotherapy[at]gmail[dot]com.
Thank you for reading. We are looking forward to reading more and reading better with you :)
- Nandini and Nitin