Not reading, and “A simple book”

In this Prishtina Talks presentation, the writer and thinker Fatmir Baçi from Novi Pazar — a professor and a well-known author in Albanian letters, marked out by his philosophical, aesthetic and literary approach — takes up two closely tied subjects: the alarming phenomenon of not reading in Albanian society, and an analytical reading of his own work “Një libër i thjeshtë”.

Baçi begins with a diagnosis: why are Albanians — a people with rich literary and intellectual traditions — today among those who read least in the region and in Europe? He argues that reading is not merely something entertaining or educational; reading anchors a person's individuality, forming and securing an authentic identity as a being who thinks, feels and creates. When a society stops reading, it loses the capacity for independent thought and for criticism — and that is precisely what has happened in the Albanian space, where the problem has been half-known collectively for centuries.

In the central part, Baçi examines the part professors, parents and educational institutions play in cultivating the desire to read, or in destroying it — arguing that if we do not begin reading ourselves, we cannot teach anyone else to. He ties reading to the religious dimension: “read” is the first Qur'anic command, “Iqra”, and the heart of faith is reaching the pleasure of God through knowledge. He looks too at the generational conflicts that come of not reading — between children and parents, between pupils and teachers — and why they will not be resolved without a serious return to the book.

The lecture closes with a presentation of his book “Një libër i thjeshtë” — a work that carries within it “all books”, as he puts it — and with a practical call for each of us to begin with serious reading, as a way of reforming ourselves and our society.

Some of the points covered: 📌 A diagnosis of not reading in Albanian society 📌 Reading as the anchor of individuality and identity 📌 Rich literary traditions, and what has been lost of them 📌 The part professors and parents play in cultivating the desire to read 📌 “Iqra” as the first Qur'anic command, and the religious dimension of reading 📌 The generational conflicts that come of not reading 📌 An analysis of Baçi's book “Një libër i thjeshtë” 📌 A practical call to return to serious reading

📍 Prishtina Talks