In our first Reader of the Month sit, we meet a lady from France named Solène, 34. She moved to the UK in 2016 and works for a consumer healthcare company as a scientist and very much enjoys meeting new people and discussing different topics. A natural born reader of the Human Library you could say. Soléne has read books both in digital and analog versions. Here is an insight to her reader journey with the Human Library.

How did you first come to learn of the Human Library?

My employer gave us the opportunity to participate in the Human Library online. It turned out it was a great opportunity for me to discover this wonderful initiative.

What has your reader journey been like? 

It’s been really interesting, in the beginning I was mostly choosing topics quite far from my own personal experience and only slowly approaching topics that are closer to my heart.

First the digital bookshelf, then you have visited us in-person. Why did you pursue in-person also? 

Doing sessions online from the comfort of my home was great, however I was missing an important dimension, the human aspect when discussing in real life. So attending the Human Library Book Cafe in London brought the experience to another level for me.

How many books have you read now?

One of our librarians getting ready for the Human LIbrary Book Cafe in London.

I have read more than 10 books addressing eclectic topics like disability, sexuality, mental health, religion & belief, neurodiversity and many more.

What are some of the most important key takeaways for you? 

Time flies very quickly. This initiative is a good opportunity to ask all the questions you always wanted to get an answer, in a safe environment. It’s also a great chance to open our minds and challenge our way of thinking.

Why read so many books? 

I have started to read one book, then two and so on. I always wanted to know more about people and their experiences. And the more books you read the wiser you can get.

What would you say to people who are not sure if they should borrow a book from the Human Library? 

Just do it, you won’t regret it. It will bring you so much insight in your life.

Any great tips for other readers? Any comments for the books you have read so far?

To be comfortable before your first reading, get a few questions ready for your book and just be yourself. Remember the Human Library is a safe environment to discuss and learn more about ourselves and others. 

I wish this initiative will grow worldwide and become accessible to all people.

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Our Human Library Book of the Month is a series of portraits of our books created with the purpose of offering our readers a chance to understand the diversity and variety within our bookshelf around the world.  It also provides unique insights into the motivations and values of being a book and volunteering for our organization.

The two girls simply burst into tears, when Mauro Scopelliti started talking about his life at The Human Library event. The girls said they felt very fortunate compared to him.  

“Then I said: ‘I am lucky, too’.”

Mauro can’t help laughing when telling this story. Its made a huge impact on him, because he can make people feel his life through his story. And because he feels very fortunate.

“People wonder how I can be so easy-going, but I was brought up to see the world this way,” Mauro says.

Child of a disabled parent

Growing up with a mother with a disability and adversity in life, 32-year-old Mauro has been raised to be a strong person with a positive mind, standing up for who he is. When he first came out as gay, his upbringing was a big help.

“My attitude towards diversity comes from my mother. She grew up with Polio and doesn’t walk very well. When my mother and father met, his parents did not approve of their relationship, because of her disability. I was taught from an early age that being different from others can help you and be used in a positive way,” he says.

Mauro was also born with health issues and had to be operated in the spine, when he was 15 years old. At first his mother was very upset about this, but later she accepted it and realized that this was not the end. 

“All problems are usually small problems, when you look at it. It is just an experience of human life,” Mauro says.

Readers bring reflection

Book of the Month Mauro from Florence.

One time a reader had asked him, why he did not mention his father more during the conversation.

“That made me think a lot about my father, and how he also influences me. That question somehow taught me an important lesson, and I have started mentioning my father more often,” Mauro says.

He feels that The Human Library works in two ways: Both the readers and the books get to know each other and themselves better and the meeting provides room for all parties to reflect.

Mauro first came across The Human Library in Florence four years ago, when the concept was introduced at an NGO, he was volunteering for.

“I have fallen in love with The Human Library, because the key to ending discrimination is exactly this: Meeting and talking to each other,” Mauro says.

Gay and a catholic scout

He has been published 9-10 times with the title “Gay Power”. One of the many experiences he shares with his readers is about his time with his boyfriend as scout leaders in a catholic association. Sometimes people don’t understand how that can be possible: Being gay and in charge of scouts in a traditional catholic setting.

“It is not the same everywhere. But the attitude towards gays has changed a lot in recent years – even within the catholic church it has changed radically in the last years,” Mauro says.

But already in his youth the church accepted his volunteering as a scout leader.

Working with The Human Library also changes him, he feels.

“We help each other change our lives and understanding each other better,” he says.

That is his main message:

“Diversity is good, and it can make your life better. And of course, we are all interconnected. We all have a lot of things in common, and The Human Library help us to see that very clearly.”

For an opportunity to read Mauro in more detail or many of the other great editions we publish, follow the Human Library Toscana here.

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“Being homeless doesn’t necessarily mean that you don’t have a house. Sometimes you feel homeless, because you can’t find people who accept you or how you feel. In The Human Library you can always be sure that you are accepted and you have a place,” he says.

He is 29 years old, born in Damascus in Syria, and has been part of the Human Library in Wroclaw, Poland since May 2018. His topic is Syrian Refugee and he has been published more than 10 times.

Readers think I am muslim

Do you eat pork? Do you drink alcohol? Do you like Polish food? Are Polish people racist? Why are you not in Germany or Sweden? Are you happy here? Do you feel safe? 

These are among the most common questions that Ehssan Ruzallah Chameiy is asked, when he is out on loans out as a book in The Human Library.

 “When it comes to my readers, negative stereotypes are not that common, but most of them assume that I am Muslim, when we start our talk. When I tell them that I am a Christian Syrian, they are shocked. They even ask, if there are Christians in Syria?,” Ehssan Ruzallah Chameiy says.

The readers sometimes assume that Syrian ladies cover their hair, and they have asked him if his mother or sister covers their hair.

Book by accident

Ehssan Chameiy a refugee from Syria is our book of the month.

Ehssan became a book ‘by accident’. A friend of his is a Human Library Book, and he talked to the depot manager in Wroclaw and informed her about Ehssan. And that is how he came to be published.

“However, the real motivation is that the project is interesting. No matter where you are, or how you think, you can find your own spot in Human Library. It is a place, where colour, skin or belief no longer matters, it is a home for everyone,” he says.

For him personally, it is also a way to show that not all immigrants are bad or are here for bad purposes.

“The Human Library is a powerful way to illustrate that we can always find common ground and the interests we share, no matter where we come from,” he says.

“I love being a book, and it is like a home for me. I miss it when there are no events for a little while. I enjoy talking to people, listening to their questions, which can be funny and at times also sad. I love their reactions, and I love that sometimes we get so involved and caught up in the reading, that we lose our sense of time.

You are welcome here

A while ago, Ehssan had two Polish readers, a husband and wife, and at the end of the session, when the time was up, they both looked at him, smiled and said: “You are welcome in Poland, we want you here.”

“You know, moments like this, give me strength to continue to contribute to the Human Library,” Ehssan says.

In his perspective, The Human Library is a place to learn, to exchange cultures and to meet different people. He came from kind of a conservative society, and there are many topics which are considered sensitive there, like being gay or lesbian. Based on that he formed his opinion about them.

“But when I met and talked to them, I realized that there is no wrong in being this way. In fact, I have a lot of good friends in our local book depot in Wroclaw, and we have become e a small family. You feel the environment is so light, and each and every person is his/her self,” he says.

In fact, The Human Library is a place for everyone, it is a home for every person, an embassy for mankind. 

For the opportunity to borrow Ehssan follow the work of the Human Library Wroclaw here:

https://www.facebook.com/ZywaBiblioteka/

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