While the term might sound wonderfully Dickensian, we’re actually talking about 116 mini-libraries that are going to be popping up all over Bangkok in the next two years. The first five were officially opened by our Governor at the end of last month in the Laksi district of town. It’s all part of a B248 million investment in libraries in our city over three years and is part of a bigger push to turn Bangkok into a reading city. Why you ask? Well, because the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority has decided to enter this city of manga-fanatics and Crackberry addicts into a competition to be crowned UNESCO World Book Capital 2013. The reading competition will pit us against the likes of London and Kuala Lumpur, which seems like stiff competition considering we apparently read for just 39 minutes a day at present. It’s alright though, the BMA has thought it through and they have a big ad campaign planned—as long we read it, that is.