At Packabook we love books and we love travel....
If we are traveling somewhere, we like to be armed
with novels set in the place we are going, so that when we are there we can have a much deeper
relationship with the place itself. Reading fiction brings that place and its history alive in a
way that no guide book can.
And of course, if you have no travel plans on the agenda, reading a
book set in a wonderful place can certainly help you feel as if you have just visited the place
itself. Try reading a book set on an exotic Greek island and see what we mean!
Packabook categorizes fiction into the countries in which the books
are set, and then explores how well each novel relates to its location. It's an opportunity to take
a virtual holiday, and live for a time in another place.
But there is much more to the Packabook
philosophy than just imagining yourself on a beach in Greece or sitting at a pavement cafe in
Paris.
You will notice we also include books from
places you might not consider your average holiday location, like Afghanistan.
We believe that reading people's stories
encourages the understanding of difference in culture, religion and experience. It is impossible to
read a novel like Khaled Hosseini's 'A Thousand Splendid
Suns' and not see
Afghanistan with new eyes. While we are not naive enough to believe that books alone can bring
world peace, we do think that by making it easier for people to read novels from countries other
than their own, it helps us all to take one more step towards it.
And we have a big dream. Packabook is in its
very early stages, but as we grow, we will doing what we can to support literacy programmes around
the world, in the belief that the magic of fiction should be available to everyone. For the moment,
we encourage you to consider supporting Room to
Read, an organisation that
builds libraries and works to educate girls in the developing world. You can see more about
their work here.
We are also looking forward to a time when we
can develop writing programmes in countries from where we hear few or no stories, and perhaps
publishing those stories on this site.
That is all some way in the future, but
for now, we encourage you to embark on your own literary journey. Allow us to be your tour guide
and let’s explore the rich history and culture of this magnificent planet
together.
Now go and choose a book,
and sign up to receive our latest reviews and updates in your inbox...Happy
Reading!
Packabook
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