October is perhaps the jolly season of the year to grab some apples to satisfy one’s appetite. Chewing them up and savoring every bit of their sweet and sour flavors help one imagine what kind of life they are going through. There is another way of trying an apple; let the letters - a, p, p l, e - drop into your tranquil soul as you would gently let go of an apple into a calm pond. Gentle ripples would be created, making a stir in your stillness. Such ripples are subtle and almost comforting as the letters soak in very softly.

Fall, meditation, and exploration are the themes of the upcoming 13th A Night for Reading, which is to be held in November – please watch out for posters and banners on campus as November approaches. The KAIST Herald met with the KAIST Bookclub Committee, the organizers of the event, to find out more about the program. Professor Chung Kon Shi, President of the KAIST Bookclub Committee, shared some thoughts regarding the event and the act of reading itself on behalf of the committee members. The interview is formatted differently as the committee members value the message of the article rather than the outward structure of an interview, which puts an emphasis on the interviewees.

A Night for Reading started out as an idea suggested by the KAIST Bookclub Committee members and has been ongoing since 2007. In the evening of A Night for Reading, one of the authors of recently published books is invited to give a talk on particular themes once or twice every semester. It serves as an opportunity for students to join and meet authors of interest; the invitation of authors takes into account students’ preferences. The committee has been trying different approaches to make the event more enjoyable for students: giving out books to students who post book reviews on a regular basis and organizing a student panel to lead discussions during the event. They are even looking forward to holding a small theater setting or a book concert, which may include a public reading by a poet.

 

For those students who enjoy writing book reviews, there is a website on which you can post book reviews and also collect book mileage. In fact,A Night for Readingwas originally, and still is, a reward for such students. Book mileage is given to encourage students to participate in organizing their thoughts and sharing their feelings by writing book reviews. Members of the KAIST Bookclub Committee update a recommended list of 100 books on the following website (http://bookclub.kaist.ac.kr/) to guide students through a wide spectrum of books ranging from humanities to quantum physics. The book mileage program is open to all KAIST undergraduate students. Though the service is not available in English yet, your book reviews may be posted in English, and you will be given credit for your effort upon graduation. Students receive Platinum, Gold, and Silver Certificates for 100 +, 80 +, and 50 + book reviews, respectively. Writing book reviews is not only a neat way of keeping track of your roaring thoughts, but it also allows you look into what other students may be interested in.

 

Meeting authors, having discussions with fellow students, and reading uniquely flavored book reviews are the kinds of meetings in which an expenditure of energy is barely noticed; it does not take much time till you find yourself brimming with vibrant energy. There is a bit of excitement, thrill, and consolation that create a sense of communal happiness resonating and thumping like a pulse – steady and strong at times, sweet and calming at another. As such, meeting a whole new world through books contributes to your physical state of being just as much as it does to your mental stimulus; reading is meeting something beyond expectations - you might even end up meeting an unknown self within yourself.

The message A Night for Reading wants to deliver is simple: think of reading as a doorway to inspiration; grab a book without the pressure to digest it like a three-dimensional apple. Rather, create ripples with the very act of reading itself. Allow a book to console your most vulnerable and anxious soul. Let the letters in.