By Sam Milligan
There is perhaps nothing more aggravating than hearing the train announcement for your station just as you are reaching the climax of a book. That is one reason why Penguin Books has partnered with Canary Wharf to reinstate literary vending machines known as “Short Story Stations.”
These stations, originally introduced in Canary Wharf in 2019, allow visitors and commuters to print off a short piece of literature for zero cost. The vending machines, manufactured by the French company Short Édition, already feature in commuter hotspots in France, Hong Kong and the US. The books cover both fiction and non-fiction titles, including poetry, new releases and shortened extracts of older works. One can find anything ranging from classics by Virginia Woolf to condensed crime thrillers by authors such as Anthony Horowitz. Visitors have the option of a one, three or five-minute read, all with the click of a button. It is the perfect way to encourage busy commuters to step away from their mindless scrolling without overstepping the boundaries of their attention span.
The pioneering campaign comes as a result of statistics indicating how the UK population are prone to not finishing their books. 36% of respondents indicated they failed to finish at least one book in the last year, representing a national lull in reading. At a national level, that equates to over 53 million books remaining unfinished. The prospect of this campaign seeks to drastically reduce these numbers, offering visitors an easily accessible book that fits into the chaos of everyday life. With the simplicity of walking up to a station and pressing a button for a randomised book, visitors are spared the painstaking deliberation of choosing and finding a book. For those casual readers in need of a sprinkling of literature to brighten up their day, Short Story Stations represent the perfect opportunity.
The re-launch of the initiative arrives at the perfect time to celebrate South Asian Heritage month, from the end of July and throughout August. Current available books include Salman Rushdie’s Knife, as well as the bestseller Empireworld by Sathnam Sanghera. The Empireworld author detailed how exciting the prospect of the project is “when you’re obsessed, like [Sanghera is], with new writing, history and the London transport network.” That would seem to cover a large majority of commuters and visitors in and around London. The opportunity to expand your mind, your culture and your reading has never been easier to grab.
The current available stations can be found at Crossrail Place Roof Garden or Jubilee Place. Printed on eco-friendly paper, there is no environmental impact of printing these thousands of books, making for a pleasurable, guilt-free experience. If you are in need of some literary stimulation whilst on your way to work, why not swap out the ghostly glow of a phone screen for a short story from a vending machine?
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