The Book Nerd Lifestyle: A Look Ahead
As founders of the book discussion community Booknerds, Dehradun, India based Rohan Raj and his wife Neha continue to bring global awareness to the power of reading.
Last year I had the good pleasure of highlighting their work in an article entitled “Building a Paradise for Book Nerds, a piece that has the distinction of being one of our 10 most popular feature stories of all time. I followed this with a year end review called Calling All Booknerds: A 2022 Rewind.
Rohan is back with an update, offering a look ahead in 2023 and beyond
What are some new developments with respect to Booknerds in 2023?
Rohan: At the outset, I would like to thank you for featuring me again on your fantabulous platform.You are doing yeomen service by spreading the good word about books! In answer to your question, we have had an amazing kickoff to 2023!!! Here are some of the highlights:
Best Reading Club 2023 Award
Booknerds won the Best Reading Club 2023 award for our consistent work in developing a thriving community of book lovers by the Indian Reading Olympiad at the Hyderabad Literature Festival, India. We are now encouraged to work even harder to spread the light of books!
We were able to achieve this through the dedication and commitment of the Booknerds community, particularly the core team which works hard day in and day out to create amazing book content.
Featured As the Top Marketing Agency In India
It was heartwarming to witness the consistent hustle shown by my co-founder and wife Neha Raj📚 and the Booknerds team to market books through innovative methods. This resulted in them being appreciated and showcased in the article " Top Book Marketing Companies in India " by The Himalayan Writing Retreat
This article mentioned some great literary organizations like Bound ( which is certainly much more than a book marketer ) and the one and only Siyahi by Mita Kapur ( The OG Literary Agency )
Please share a little about the in-person version of your new podcast that you recently introduced as well as the curated book lists. How are these being received? Who have you featured?
Rohan: Earlier this year, the Booknerds team recorded the inaugural edition of the in-person version of the Booknerds Podcast at the boutique bookstore, Kunzum in the heart of Delhi.
You can listen to the conversations of our season one guests with the stellar lineup which included Ajay Jain, author, photographer, traveler, and founder of Kunzum, a chain of boutique bookstores set up in Delhi,India in mid-2022; the Habit Coach Ashdin Doctor and his recently launched debut book 'Change Your Habits, Change Your Life.” He has truly been a brilliant mentor for people seeking to become the best version of themselves; Editor and Book Influencer Shreya Punj; best selling author Stuti Changle; author, columnist and podcaster Vasudha Rai; Publisher at Om Books International Ajay Mago, astrologer and author of '91 Predictions' (he predicted the downfall of Adani) Greenstone Lobo, and author, speaker and youth influencer Yash Tiwari.
The podcasts are thought-provoking, carefully curated, and well-rounded. They have highlighted podcast guests' personal experiences, industry details, what to do as a new author, and a lot more.They have been lauded by readers and even non-readers because of the eclectic topics covered.
Curated Book Lists
Rohan: Since the pandemic, I have been receiving constant requests for book recommendations for kids and young adults, those starting up businesses, and books about mental health. Because the list was endless, I requested that my team of readers create curated book lists for the above genres and beyond. Needless to say, these lists have been an instant hit with people asking for more books to be added to the existing lists as well as new lists for the future.
In what ways do you believe that Booknerds can spark new opportunities for community, connection, and belongingness among book readers worldwide? What additional features do you hope to roll out to facilitate this?
Rohan: We at Booknerds believe in inclusivity which can happen only when all languages and regions come together as a community. A step in this direction has already been taken by us by featuring International authors like Tricial Elam Walker (author of Dream Street); Gayle Jessup White ( 'Reclamation: Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson, and a Descendant's Search for Her Family's Lasting Legacy'. ); and Andy Griffiths ( The Treehouse Series ) on our platform.
We plan on taking our in-person podcast to various regions around the globe in the future to showcase authors from different genres for the experimental readers in our community. We are also working on a lit-tech platform in stealth to solve many problems that plague the publishing space as we speak!
What recent books have you personally read that have served as a vehicle for your own personal and professional growth?
Rohan: A book called Building a Second Brain by Tiago Forte Building a Second Brain immediately comes to mind. It outlines a system for organizing and using digital tools and resources to boost productivity and creativity.
Describe your long term vision for Booknerds? How do you hope your community will benefit?
Rohan: The long-term vision for Booknerds has always been to create a safe and thriving space for readers and authors where the readers are involved with highlighting books along with supporting authors throughout.
What sort of reaction has Booknerds received from your growing community post-pandemic? How do you see books impacting the future of India as well as other nations across the world?
Rohan: The reaction after the pandemic has been staggering!!!
People have realized the value of reading in terms of helping one level up in terms of empathy, productivity, business, family, parenting and so much more. The increased footfall in our offline events has literally grown 5 X after the pandemic. Books are going to be the connection between various cultures going forward and help us learn even quicker.
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