Book display «Tổ quốc Việt Nam - Rạng rỡ và tự hào»

   Eight bookcases stand in the Hồ Chí Minh Cultural Space of Thủ Đức Book Street, and the case in the middle holds editions of the Declaration of Independence. Entry costs nothing, the books can be opened and read on the spot, and the display runs until 5 September.

   Thủ Đức Book Street put the space together for the 81st anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day. The eight cases split evenly into two clearly separated themes, four cases each.

   The two themes on show:

• — «Tổ quốc Việt Nam - Rạng rỡ và tự hào» (Vietnam, Radiant and Proud): books on national history, on President Hồ Chí Minh, on the struggle for independence and on the building of the country
• — «Cùng trẻ lớn lên» (Growing Up Together): four cases of children's books timed for the new school year, chosen to widen a young reader's world and build the reading habit early

   The split makes this an easy family stop: adults follow the history shelves while children have their own, at their own height, right next to them. School groups have already been through, and those visits tend to end with a cluster of heads bent over the glass case.

   Thủ Đức Book Street sits on Hồ Thị Tư street in Tăng Nhơn Phú ward, roughly half an hour by car from the District 1 centre. It opened later than the older book street on Nguyễn Văn Bình and serves the eastern side of the city.

   If you want one slow, quiet stop in a crowded holiday schedule, these eight cases are shaded, calm and free.