Anyone in Moscow right now will be able to enjoy free books on planes and trains as the Russian city launched the initiative of having virtual bookshelves on both transportations. Called "A Book for a Trip," it was started on December at different terminals around Moscow to offer travelers an insight as well as good reads from Russian literature when they're traveling.
To download a book, travelers just have to choose an image at the station and scan the QR code. Afterward, they will be redirected to their virtual library website where people can choose and download what they would like to read.
About 150 books are up for grabs which include Russian authors like Peter Aleshkovsky, 2016 Russian Booker prize winner and to world acclaimed novels by Stieg Larsson or Stephen King. Other books include those of Tolstoy, Chekhov, Gogol, Pushkin, and Dostoyevsky.
The project piloted in 2015 at major airports but was formally launched by the end of 2016. Meanwhile, train stations where the available ebooks are in Belorussky, Kazansky, and Paveletsky. Project initiators, Russian Book Union and Russian Railways, Ltd., mentioned that about 4,000 books were downloaded at Sheremetyevo since two years ago.
Comedic stickers were even seen on the floors where the image reads: to download a book, stand or kneel on the bookshelf. People get to 'stand or kneel' to capture the picture and QR code.
Meanwhile, for people who wanted a physical book to read, they can aboard the Leo Tolstoy express train going from Moscow to Helsinki to get a chance to borrow from its public library. The project, Travel with a Book,' is a joint agreement between Russian Railways and the Embassy of Finland in Moscow where travelers can get to read Russian and Finnish authors.
The initiative will start from February to early April. Both projects have wanted to engage real books with travelers who want to occupy their imaginations.
