Ukrainian Library Reading praises the comfort of books

Some say that books are a portal to another world …

But at the Ukrainian community center Reading, they are not only an escape from life in another country but also a window at home – three years after the Russian invasion.

His library, filled with books in Ukrainian, opened in June and is sponsored by a Swiss charity, Reading Studios, which opened similar facilities across Europe and two in the United Kingdom – the other is in Cardiff.

Iryna Bakaliar is the volunteer director of the Reading library.

“No one plans to be moved. You are not expecting these things in your life,” she said.

“When this happens, you are so shocked and try to flee security. You take a bag and you don’t really have a space for books. You forget how much comfort books really provide – until You don’t have.

“We had a Kharkiv reader … When she took one of the books and opened it, she saw that he was printed in Kharkiv in 2024. She said it felt at home.

“It was very emotional … We stopped and we did not know what to say. Tears fell and we were a hug.”

Maria Kondratiuk lives in Reading but used books to bring her back to her favorite city in Lviv in western Ukraine.

“I think this library is an incredible place. It means a lot for me. When I grew up one of my favorite places in my hometown was our local library,” she said.

Yuri Vynnychuk, a famous Ukrainian writer, wrote on Lviv and Maria used his novel, Tango of Death, to remind him of the house.

“Read that when I was in Edinburgh – especially when I had the country’s pain – it really made me feel that I was at home. It helped me travel without traveling,” -It added.

Oksana and her daughter Diana, who is three years old, use the books to remind them of the house.

“When I read (Diana) likes to listen to my voice and she asks questions about fairy tales and stories. I think that is very important for her because of the unity between us,” said Oksana.

“It gives me the impression of being at home and we did not have a war. We have a lot of friends nearby; we can visit and we can live as we do.”