On the occasion of World Book Day, That Book Store, Porvorim, is launching The Dying Lantern Picture Book Club
KALYANI JHA | NT BUZZ
That Book Store began as a pop-up stall at the Dasya Community Market in October 2021 and gradually grew to a full-fledged bookstore curating for all ages.
In late 2022, it started a book club. “Book clubs are a safe space, where one can be vulnerable with others, even if they come from different walks of life,” says founder Barkha Sharda. “There’s something deeply comforting about being huddled in a small, familiar group, reading and discussing books together.”
Over time however, she says, she felt the need to turn the general book club into a more focused, after-hours gathering – one that specifically invites adults to engage with picture books. And this led to The Dying Lantern Picture Book Club, which launches today with its first gathering at 9 p.m.
According to Barkha, the name has a certain romance to it. “The image of a lone lantern late at night evokes feelings of solitude, quiet reflection, and the intimacy of late-night reading. It suggests peace and stillness, and truths that shy away from harsh spotlights, only surfacing when they feel safe,” she says. On why she chose to focus on picture books, Barkha states that in these kinds of books the pictures contains so much with just a handful of words and sometimes none at all. “The illustrations can be breathtaking, lingering in your memory in a way text alone often doesn’t. Picture books invite everyone to read, regardless of their reading ability. In that sense, they truly belong to all ages. Their physical lightness is part of their charm, too. They’re easy to carry, easy to return to, and easy to read in multiples, without ever feeling weighed down by length or heft,” she explains.
She adds that when they were young, many adults may not have had access to picture books.
“I remember growing up middle-class in the 90s, we didn’t have access to picture books, especially the kind we curate at the store today. These are books that are endlessly relatable and perpetually relevant,” she says.
She also mentions that adults tend to feel judged when they’re offered picture books by someone they don’t know, or when they’re seen reading them in unfamiliar spaces. “These are the core reasons why we do what we do today. The beating heart of That Book Store is to remind everyone that nothing should stand in the way when a book speaks directly to a person’s soul,” she says.
