Leave Your Mark

We’re fans of the uncommon. It helps us stay curious about the people and places around us and the search for what’s next. So when we stumbled upon this novel idea, we thought it was blog-worthy and would inspire the pursuit of passion projects in us all.

Shaheryar Malik is leaving stacks of books from his personal library at popular destinations all over New York City. Named The Reading Project, it started last spring as a result of self-reflection and an affection for connection. While on a walk near the Brooklyn Bridge, Malik felt the impulse to take a selfie, but right before he snapped the photo he realized, “I’ve been on that bridge so many times and every time people take the same picture and do the same thing. I wanted to try something different.”

So, instead of sharing another photo of someone on The Brooklyn Bridge, he decided to share something physical. Malik went to his home library, selected a variety of titles and left a stack on New York’s iconic bridge.

When he leaves a tack of books, he doesn’t stick around to see if anyone takes or reads any of them, nor does he revisit his stacks. Instead he leaves a bookmark with his email address inside each book with the hope that he’ll hear from whoever decided to pick up that book up.

So far Malik has received about 70 emails from over 30 countries around the globe.

Read the full post here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/shaheryar-malikleaves-leaves-stacks-books-new-york-city-social-network_us_56f95ef6e4b014d3fe239668

Photo: Daniel Yim