Technology and online life have changed how people read: screens give fast access to information but they also interrupt attention and compete with many other stimuli. Some readers prefer slower, deeper reading and look for spaces to share books and ideas.
Leamos was created by marketing specialist Benjamedn Edwards. He says reading creates a different kind of time, a mental time where imagination adds smells, colours and intention to a story and helps the mind widen knowledge. For him that mental time replaces chronological time.
Edwards argues a human reading group offers conversation, contribution, surprise, challenge and emotional commitment — qualities AI cannot fully replace. He notes that AI can summarise or help short-term curiosity, but it cannot produce the same shared emotional and creative space as people in a group.
Club Leamos began in September 2024 after a LinkedIn invitation. The club holds weekly online sessions, usually in the Peru time zone, with participants from different countries. In each session three or four people present a book, give a short summary and answer three questions. The club also runs meetings in bookshops and cafés, visits literary sites, and has a podcast called La biblioteca imaginaria. Edwards hopes Leamos will grow in Latin America and asks interested people to contact him via LinkedIn.
Difficult words
- interrupt — stop someone's attention for a short time
- stimulus — something that causes a reaction or attentionstimuli
- imagination — ability to form pictures and ideas in mind
- chronological — arranged in the order events happened
- summarise — give the main points in a short form
- curiosity — desire to learn or know something new
- commitment — strong promise or duty to do something
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- Do you prefer reading on screens or in print? Why?
- Would you join an online reading group with people from different countries? Why or why not?
- How could a local reading club help create the "mental time" Edwards describes?
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