Since the advent of Internet era, China has witnessed a reading crisis. Many people rarely read books, let alone those that demand time and effort. A common way to promote reading is that of book club, in and through which interest in reading can be fostered, reading habits can be developed, competence in reading can be increased, and an ethos of reading can be established among the public. This case is derived from Lugouqiao Town of Fengtai District in Beijing City. In November 2016, the town collaborated with School of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development of Renmin University of China in establishing a teaching and research base. Out of this collaboration came a book club by the name of “ShuxiangLugou, zoujinjingdian” – meaning “Approaching classics and enjoying the scent of books”. This club has become a branding innovation project of Lugouqiao Township government.

Under the theme of “Liaojienongcun, kannongcunfazhanyubianqian” – meaning “Understanding villages: their development and transformation”, the book club committee has carefully selected 12 books for its members to read in a year, thus encouraging them to finish one book each month. Sessions of the book club have been accompanied by various activities such as experience sharing, expert lectures, fieldtrips, movie watching, and video watching. For example, experts were invited to guide members to read certain challenging books (e.g., “Jiangcunjingji” and “Xiangtuzhongguo”). A stage show about the life of Qianxueseng was performed to help members to better understand his biography. A village party branch secretary who fought in the Sino-Vietnamese War and some retired party members were invited to share their experiences of being empowered by their belief in communism. These experience sharing sessions, in turn, have enabled members to better understand “The Communist Manifesto” by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. These various kinds of activities have not only made book club sessions more enjoyable, but also deepened members’ understanding of their reading materials.

This case offers three lessons about how to use book clubs to develop grassroots cadres’ humanistic quality effectively. First, the goals of a book club should be clarified. As for the one in this case, there are two goals: 1) to broaden young cadres’ horizon, and 2) to create opportunities for senior cadres to know junior cadres. Second, target group should be selected. In this case, members of the book club were chosen mainly from junior cadres (aged 25 – 40) in Lugouqiao Township Government. This group, then, proved to be more motivated to participate in the book club. In this sense the book club has particularly benefited the township government’s existing talent pool. Third, forms of book club sessions should be diversified. As shown in this case, such diversification can motivate members to engage in book clubs more actively. When more and more cadres read books, a culture of reading is more likely to be created.