High mountain peaks" on world publishing maps
Talk show "Reading for Westerners, Understanding Vietnamese People" gives "micro" assessments of the position of the Vietnamese market.
Contrary to prejudices about a young reading culture, Ms. Hoang Thanh Van - Director of Andrew Numberg Associates Hanoi affirmed that Vietnamese readers are causing great surprise to international copyright partners at publishing centers such as London (UK) or New York (USA).
Speaker Thanh Van also said that as deep reading capacity increases, the publishing industry is forced to rebuild the process, and at the same time Vietnam gradually becomes a "priority destination" for academic books instead of just consuming popular books.
At the talk show, translator Thao Minh - the person behind the success of many Non-fiction books - said that the barrier of Western language and thinking is an effective "examination", when overcoming the initial stage, reading and perception ability will increase rapidly.
He said that it was not until the 10th book that he truly "catched up" with the author's thinking without having to translate it backwards.
Writer Duc Anh added, "If I don't see foreign languages as a benefit, but as a enjoyment, I see many good points. With the same English, with this writer I can feel their breath, their temperament, but with other writers it is not. That reading experience rarely occurs when reading Vietnamese, or has also happened, but we do not strongly remember those impressions".
Faced with concerns about costs, translator Thao Minh also suggested that young readers should choose reputable book sources or start from classic works. According to him, reading foreign languages is a way to receive systematic knowledge, helping to build skills to adapt to AI.
Reading Western" to see "We" more clearly: Identity and Comparison
The most lively discussion revolved around the name of the talk show itself: Why is it "understanding Us"? The talk show cleverly suggested cultural clashes like a mirror. When we approach the high personal value system of the West, or the strict logical analysis of their society, Vietnamese readers inadvertently have a frame of reference to look back at themselves.
Speaker Hoang Thanh Van shared that, through the Western perspective, Vietnamese people more clearly recognize values such as resilience and community spirit that were once seen as obvious. Reading is therefore not only about receiving but also about comparing, helping to understand "the self", overcoming the psychology of foreign preference and consolidating cultural identity.
Writer Duc Anh further emphasized that reading Western books does not make us "learn" from our roots, but on the contrary, it provides a tool of language and thinking for us to retell the story of Vietnamese people more sharply and convincingly to international friends. That is the meaning of "Reading Western books" to "understand Us" and then to "The world understand Us".
The presence of international visitors at Inbook opens up the expectation of "cultural export", becoming a bridge to bring Vietnamese works to the world, first of all through the Expats community. However, the challenge still lies in "conceptualizing" and conveying Vietnamese cultural values to the outside.
