Abdul Hameed Shoman Library’s ‘Reading Marathon’ brings together avid readers

AMMAN — Over 200 readers covered more than 25,000 pages in just hours during a “Reading Marathon” organised by Abdul Hameed Shoman Library on Thursday.

The event took place in the library’s two branches at Jabal Amman and Jabal Al Ashrafieh from 10am until 5pm, according to organisers.

The marathon was first launched in December of last year at Abdul Hameed Shoman Library’s Jabal Amman branch with only 60 participants and the target was set to reach 10,000 pages, Nizar Al Hmoud, the organiser of the event, told The Jordan Times.

The marathon gathers readers in one place to accomplish reading a certain number of pages.

“Last year, the target was 10,000 pages and we exceeded that target, reaching 11,404 pages,” Hmoud said.

This year the participants also exceeded their goal of 20,000 pages, managing to reach 25,986 pages, he added.

The purpose of the event is to promote reading and gather a large community of readers, allowing them to get to know each other and meet the librarians, the organiser said.

“We also wanted to try and break the stereotypical image of the library as a rigid place of silence and quiet, filled with books. The marathon included a book discussion and lots of cultural games,” Hmoud added.

He said that the event took the shape of a running marathon with a beginning and end line for participants, thus introducing them to the different parts of the library. 

“Unlike a running marathon where they compete against each other we compete together to reach our page target,” Hmoud said.

All readers are welcome and can read any type of book they choose, provided that it’s read inside the library, he said.

Rawan Abu Lehie, a participant who read 150 pages, told The Jordan Times: “I enjoyed the marathon very much. It allowed me to challenge myself by reading more books and introduced me to new people who share my hobby.” 

Rama Al Braim, another reader, said that her experience was “more than great”.

“I participated last year in Jabal Amman and this time at Al Ashrafieh. I was always introduced to new books I haven’t heard of before. By the end of this marathon, I had finished two books, amounting to a total of 270 pages,” Braim told The Jordan Times. 

The “Reading Marathon” will be an annual event held in all branches of Abdul Hameed Shoman Library, Hmoud said.