A whole new chapter

Book club inspires members as it becomes a story of dreams coming true, report Yang Feiyue in Beijing and Sun Ruisheng in Xinzhou, Shanxi.

Tuesdays are special for some people in the county-level city of Yuanping, Xinzhou, North China's Shanxi province. They are literally turning a new page on life. Once they get off work, they grab a pen, bring a notebook and head for the Yuanping Library. There the Time Reading Club will meet and discuss books that its members have recently read.

Such book readings and discussions have been hosted by the club's founder Fu Xiaoping for six years.

Since its establishment in December 2014, the club has held various reading-based events each Tuesday evening, and launched 200 lectures delivered by established artists and academics, to promote reading and the development of a reading society.

The club has been called "a university without walls" by its members, because it welcomes people from all walks of life, including farmers, workers, teachers, doctors and entrepreneurs.

It was the brainchild of Fu, who set up the organization out of her own love for books. The 45-year-old was born into a literary family in Yuanping, and has loved reading since childhood.

Her initial reason for launching the club was simple－to make amends for not going to a top university. It also allowed her to read books and share ideas.

"I dreamed of going to a top university in my high school years, but I failed to enroll in a good one, because of my low score in the college entrance exams," Fu confides with frankness.

After graduation, she obtained a job at a local social insurance service center, got married and had a child. Life went on, but Fu couldn't forget her dream.

Setting up a reading club seemed to be a perfect solution.