What do you think of this Nuits de la lecture initiative, of which this is the 9th edition?
Anything that can promote reading is good to have. Through these Reading Nights, there can be this playful side which leads children to realize that the book is not necessarily a dusty object lying around in the depths of a library.
What do you think are the benefits of reading, both for young people and seniors?
For young people, it’s about reaching out to the imagination, extracting themselves from their daily lives through stories whatever they may be, difficult or joyful. It is also an opportunity to discover other worlds, to open your mind and sometimes to rest from your life.
For seniors, it is also a way to exercise your mind to read and continue to be aware of what is written, reflected, thought… Still concerning seniors, there is this wonderful tool, for those with vision problems, it’s the audiobook. This allows you not to feel excluded from everything that is happening on a literary level.
We all need to be told stories to make us think of something else.
Book sales are declining and reading is losing momentum among young people who spend ten times more time on screens than reading books? Does this worry you?
There are, of course, young people, but also adults who also spend more and more time in front of their screens. Between a book that seems dusty and a game on the internet or social networks, their choice is quickly made and I find it distressing. I am firmly convinced that it is better to fall asleep reading ten pages than to spend an hour on Instagram, TikTok or whatever.
What should be done to encourage people to read more?
It’s about putting books in the hands of children as early as possible. And if, as they grow up, they are still not interested in reading but have other passions, you should try to find them books related to their passions. We can also just show them what a book is and the stories it tells and read it out loud. We have to tell stories. Social media, tablets and computers don’t tell stories. We all need to be told stories to make us think of something else. To tell a story is to return to the very center of literature.
-You can experience something extraordinary.
What advice would you give to someone who doesn’t read at all?
Tell him: “This is an experience and you will see that you can experience something extraordinary. » Afterwards, it’s always the question of knowing which book to turn to. I always find it complicated to recommend a book to someone because my sensitivity is not necessarily that of the other.
To a 20-year-old who has not read a book in his life, what book would you advise him to read to give him a taste for reading?
It all depends on who this young person is, what they like, what their tastes are, their passions… it depends so much on each person.
It took me a very long time to love reading myself. Come on, let me start: for a book to recommend and as a Falkland Islander, I am going to suggest “These gentlemen of Saint-Malo” by Bernard Simiot. It’s a very vague answer but it’s one of the books of my life.
* Release of his next novel “Les renaissances” (Lafon), February 20, 2025.
