Muhammad Abdel Samie (Sharjah)
The Arab Cultural Club in Sharjah organized a cultural evening entitled “Reading and Open Space Clubs,” in which critic Dr. Jamal Maqaba spoke and was moderated by media personality Reem Obaidat, in the presence of Dr. Omar Abdel Aziz, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Cultural Club.
At the beginning of his talk about reading clubs and open space, Dr. said: Jamal Maqaba, the reading club in its traditional sense is a group of people united by a love of reading, and they usually meet in a café or in a designated hall to discuss a book that all or some of them have read, and they present the ideas in it and discuss them critically. Over the days, these clubs have remained a broad topic. It is one of the doors of knowledge and culture and an important source of awareness and development of society, and provides individuals with knowledge and an insightful critical mentality in various fields of knowledge.
He added that in our time, these clubs have changed in concept and form, developed, expanded in scope, and multiplied by the thousands in the number of people participating in them, due to the expansion of the communication space, which is no longer just a corner in a traditional café or a small private hall, but has become an open space as wide as the space of “Facebook, X, YouTube, and webcam channels.” », and the number of followers of social media stars. Clubs have entered this world and have a broader influence and countless participants. The form of the clubs themselves has also changed. Although the form of the group still exists, whether in its traditional form in a specific place or in a modern form where they meet via social media, there are new forms that have become Its mainstay is individuals who read consciously and critically and present a summary of their readings through their own channels on social media. These people have hundreds of thousands of followers who wait for the conclusions and opinions they provide about books, and trust their opinions about the books they buy based on their opinions.
An interview added: Readers must realize that they are special, develop their technical tools and knowledge, search for ways that enable them to practice their cultural hobbies on the Internet, present their knowledge to others, and share it with them, and not make things dependent on waiting for a group to form. A good initiative undertaken by an individual and broadcasted across the Internet is bound to find followers. The more the initiative continues and the more it gives, the more the number of its followers increases and thus its benefit spreads. We can take, for example, the young Saudi man Sami Al-Batati, owner of the “Sami Al-Battati Channel” on YouTube, which was launched in 2013, and the number of its subscribers reached more than 400 thousand subscribers, and he provides from It includes content directed to reading lovers, in addition to reviews of many books and novels, as well as the “Kawkab al-Kutub” channel, “Khair Jalees,” “Akhdar,” and “Saif Habashi.”
Dr. advised. Meeting publishers to develop their methods of publishing and distributing books, in a way that meets the diverse needs of readers, if they want to promote their books and increase their sales, whether on paper or digitally. It is noted that social media has increased the popularity of books and the sales of their owners. Therefore, the owner of the publishing house today is required to submit his book in five copies: a paper copy, a digital copy parallel to it (PDF, EP), and an editable copy (Word or other) for the benefit of researchers, as well as an audio copy, and a “summary” copy. For the book,” and to make all of this available to readers, for free or for purchase.
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