Cairo caught up in “Reading for All”

Sipping coffee and flipping through a paperback, Al-Ahram columnist Dina Ezzat considers the new book markets in Cairo in light of the government’s new “Reading for All” campaign.

The city is well dotted with signs promoting the campaign. State-run TV and radio stations are urging the old and young to get into the habit of reading. The government is producing millions of copies of a wide range of titles at fairly decent prices, and the bookstore shelves are full. The resources are all in place. Now, can the Egyptian public be persuaded to return to reading? Read Ezzat’s essay in Al-Ahram Weekly online.