Calling all Bibliophiles! The Book Stop Project is smelling good of second hand books. Do you want to exchange your favorite book to someone else’s? Second thoughts on that? Well here are nine reasons why you should do it with The Book Stop Project.
1.) Book Stop as an adaptive library – the founder of the Book Stop, WTA Architecture + Design Studio believes in the future of libraries. And when they think about the library’s future, they think about library as a space and place. Here, the approach to the dying library system is to its architecture responding to social and interactive learning. With this, Books Stop is a traveling library stopping at a time in places highly populated with people from all walks of life. This also comes with their belief that everyone regardless of social status should have access to books.
2.) Book Stop believes in the magic of Secondhand Books – Maybe the magic lies on the previous life of the book. We feel so connected to the previous owner/s who are strangers to us. The highlighted lines, notes on the margin, dedications on the back page, bookmarks left, are all stories themselves. Let alone the smell of it, like smelling wisdom as old as the world. No incense could par.

3.) Bookstop believes in the benefit of holding a true book – in this digital age, it is surprising that researches show millenials prefer physical books over ebooks. Of course you cant close a gadget and hug it if you get so affected of what you read. Maybe we just over romanticize everything about the physical book? Not really because there are scientific advantages of physical books over e books, like better memory retention, comprehension, focus and promotes better sleep.

4.) Book Serendipity – Unlike a bookstore where everything is arranged, organized, predictable. If you find a good book at Book Stop, it feels like serendipity. More romantic than finding books online. Like all the world has conspired for you to encounter that book. (What if you were 5 minutes late and somebody find it first?) Especially if it’s a whole book series you just found in different corners. Including the prequel.

5.) Book Stop believes in honesty system – This is a library minus the librarian. You can borrow a good book and return it when you’re done without anyone listing it. Projects like this promotes humanity at its best, let’s support.
6.) Books can only be exchanged with books – In Book Stop, books dont come with price tags. For a grand time, books are being seen thru. It isnt considered along with its price. So no to your money, you could only give books that could be valuable to others.
This is a very nice idea that some people coming to Book Stop has more intention in sharing their valuable books rather than getting some for themselves. Cute people.
7.) Gives your books a new home, a new lover – We all have that one book that influenced us so much. Changed whatever in us anyhow and it felt good. And when you think of giving someone a gift you would think about that book. Because for you, it is the best anyone could receive. Let that anyone be a Book Stop-er, perhaps.
8.) Book Stop believes in Social Interaction – how about reading a book to a street child? We may not be the goody goody person, but how it feels right to read a story to someone who can’t. Tell the kid that learning through books could be the greatest social equalizer. That he should never lose interest in learning because theres more to life than the streets, (even if you suck at life sometimes). Just tell them, anyway.
Or how about meeting someone who read almost the same books as you did? Like whoa, this couldnt be.
“Oh, so you’re a fan of Paulo Coelho?”
“You too? Which one have you read?”
“Eleven Minutes, Veronika Decides to Die, The Zahir, bla bla bla”
“Oh yeah, The Alchemist took me so long to finish but I did.”
“The Winner Stands Alone is the best.”
“Oh I haven’t read that one yet.”
“You must!!”
And to us, this is a very deep kind of conversation.
9.) Cool activities – Because sometimes book is the thing you most wanted to date next to your self. So maybe you want to enjoy The Book Stop activity, Blind Date with a Book. More interesting are the activities that are promoting Philippine Literature. There are Open Mic Poetry Nights, Romance Writing Dialogue with Filipino authors, Puppetry and Storytelling, Kwentuhang Komiks and Heritage Walk and Talk Series. Hands down to all of these activities, The Book Stop Project!
How about books surrounded by an art gallery? Check out El Museo del Prado to learn about the century old paintings surrounding The Book Stop Project.

You can check all of their activities on their facebook page, The Book Stop Project.
Catch them near Quezon Memorial Shrine until end of May and Intramuros Manila until July 22!
*The Book Stop Project is done in partnership with Instituto Cervantes and CNC Construction and Development Corporation.*
Photos shot by: Barone, Dyanne | IG @dyannelcid
Samonte, Adrian | IG @asamonte
Sison, Chiqui Mercene
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Bethel is a believer of everything nice and sweet. She travels with the idea the world must have its sweets. All the sweets she finds are noted in her travel blog, www.travelberries.com.
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20 thoughts on “Calling all Bibliophiles | 9 Reasons Why We Should Support The Book Stop Project”
Real covers, real pages will not be replaced. I cannot think of not going to the library. The library is my second home. My favourites are the travelling book vans and buses in the poorer countries, where people cannot get to the library. They provide an essential service, and I think it cannot be replaced.
Hello Elina! I am happy to have have just met a fellow fan of travelling libraries who have the noble purpose of making books available to the less privileged. More power to people behind them, esp to The Book Stop Project
Oh I love this. My first job was a bookstore. The smell of books make my heart sing. Let m know how I can do more!
Hi Melissa! Thank you for wanting to help 🙂 You can go to their Facebook page The Book Stop Project PH and they are very responsive and nice 🙂
What a cool way to encourage people to read! Reading was something that I learned early and loved as a kid and still do now, and this is such a great way to encourage literacy in the next generation.
Very true Emily! The Book Stop is developing the desire to learn in this generation since the interest in learning nowadays in children is going steadily downhill
what a fantastic idea! I’m a big supported or my local library despite it losing funding and some closing, a project like this would be a great alternative.
Hannah @ The Northern Writes | http://www.thenorthernwrites.co.uk
Hi Hannah! It’s nice to know that the many doesn’t lose hope to the future of libraries. We share the same lovely idea
I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS. I love it so much I had to put it in all caps. It is so excellent. I think that one of these should be in every city! I wonder how hot the poor books would get here in Las Vegas though…poor things.
Hi Carrie! We can start by sharing this idea so that ever city comes up with a pop up library, wouldn’t it be nice? Thanks for the love dear!
Books make me so happy. I can’t wait to have my own bookshelf at home. I do agree that books should be accessible to everyone. It would change the world’s point of view and a lot of people would be educated.
Nice thoughts, Princess Mia! I hope many projects would come out like this one of The Book Stop Project. And I hope you would have your own bookshelf coming very soon 🙂
This sounds so cool! You’ve convinced me!
Haha thank you Jenna! ??
This is a great idea. I wish that ever place had something like this so that the younger generation still know what its like to hold a book in their hands. And your post was very well written. Thank You for sharing
Thank you Aubree glad you likes it:)
I absolutely love the idea! Community growth!
Thanks for the love Parisa!
I love this! As a minimalist and a traveler I can’t keep books anymore, so I especially appreciate any and all resources for exchanging whatever I just finished for something new to read. What a wonderful thing!