On reading at J Avenue
Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008
‘Don’t get me wrong, I’m proud to be Thai,’ she says to me, carefully scooping a spoonful of strawberry sorbet from the glass in front of me. ‘But Thai people just don’t like to read books.’
I watch her play with the spoon in her mouth for a moment and take a look around. A group of university students giggle as they listen to a Thai pop song on a mobile phone. A man in his late-twenties shifts his weight in his chair as he turns the pages of a small black and white comic book. Maybe she has a point.
‘What about the bookshops like Asia Books and Kinokuniya in Emporium?’ I ask, trying to sound engaging.
‘C’mon, it’s mostly foreigners who go to those places,’ she replies. ‘It completely goes against Thai people’s nature to sit down for hours on their own and read a book.’
‘What about you?” I continue. “You enjoy reading.”
“Yes, but I’m different.’
‘Hmm.. Maybe you’re right,’ I say, leaning forward to tuck a loose hair behind her ear. ‘But you still stole all my sorbet.’
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