Reading Cafes

I always found it annoying that people in Jordan are not into reading. I remember when I first came back from the US in 1996, the taxi driver I was with thought I was in college because I had books with me, as if only people in college read books. Things have not changed much since then. The only change is that there is more the one place where one could read in public without looking odd.

The list is rather short:

•Books@Cafe. Only reader friendly during the day, not in the evening or at night.
•The Mega Store at Mekka mall. Though the music is a bit loud.
•The French library at Paris Circle in Waybdeh. Toilets sometimes are closed because of them having no water for the toilets.
•Starbucks

I think there is one more place, but I can not remember it at this point.

Needless to say, all of these places are overpriced if you want to read everyday and drink a lot of coffee. Starbucks stands head and shoulder above the rest in terms of having outrageous prices. I think the people who opened it are not very aware of the fact that we are in Jordan. Or maybe they are very aware since there is no shortage of customers.