President Ramaphosa launches virtual book club - Because in South Africa, a mere 5000 book sales count as a best seller

Bookworms can now sign up and join the President’s Reading Circle – a virtual book club – to enjoy recommended page turners. President Cyril Ramaphosa’s reading circle, an offshoot of the National Reading Coalition (NRC), offers book lovers a chance to get lost in the world of books and share their views on the books with the President through the chat service on the site. The NRC was established by the National Education Collaboration Trust (NECT) and the Department of Basic Education (DBE) as a comprehensive national response to the reading challenges facing South Africa.

In 2016, South Africa was ranked last out of 50 countries in the Progress in International Reading Literacy (PIRLS) study which tested reading comprehension of Grade 4 learners. The study found that 78% of South African pupils at this level could not read for meaning.

I applaud any effort to get people to read more. One of the most import skills to practice is reading, which is in its itself a means of gaining so many more skills. Reading fires the imagination is way more powerful than watching a movie or YouTube video.

That said we could also have considered GoodReads which I know many people already belong to and forms part of an international community, but I realise the Reading Circle would have a more local relevant flavour for South Africans and have more meaning too. Just noticed when I registered that only 8 Provinces are listed and Western Cape is excluded. I know WC has a higher literacy rate but we are still part of South Africa when I last checked