“Discovering Beauty by Reading through the City”. Life in the city is colourful, people meet like-minded friends by reading books, and acquire knowledge carefully from books, thereby comprehending the various states of life and searching for beauty. As said by Lu You, “It is only when it comes time to apply knowledge that you regret not acquiring enough of it”. We never know when we need to use the knowledge in the books, but what is certain is that in the hustle and bustle of the city, reading itself is an oasis that is waiting for us to meditate and savor the insights between the lines, make a beautiful vision in times of joy, and keep our heads high despite adversity.

In this issue, we interviewed two reading leaders and four institutions participating in reading spots of the “4•23 Reading in the City” event in 2022 to share their feelings and experiences of participation in the event. The two reading leaders recommended relevant books and talked about the power they felt by reading. The four institutions allow participants to experience the fun of reading in different ways, including outdoor picnics and reading together, telling picture book stories in sign language, the complementarity between speech and reading, and the charm of community reading. It is believed that readers can also explore their own reading methods from the words of the reading leaders and institutions.

The Library Handbook introduces the lecture “Learning by Reading – Talk on Reading Literacy in Public Libraries and University Libraries”, which was given by Loi Chi Pang, Director of the Public Library Management of the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC), and Wu Jianzhong, University Librarian of University of Macau (UM). From the perspective of library management and services, the similarities and differences between public libraries and university libraries were explored. The Library Portrait introduces the healthy lifestyle workshop on “The Various Benefits of Strengthening Pelvic Floor Muscles”, which combines exercise and reading. In addition to guiding participants on how to exercise, the workshop also recommended relevant bibliographies to participants so that they can deepen their understanding and continue to learn after class. António Leong, the interviewee of the Author’s Say in this issue, introduces the creative motivation of his work Daily impermanence to readers, which indicates ways of using photography methods to restore understanding on this familiar town, retain the shutter moment and tell the story of century-old world heritages.

There are thousands of ways to read, and you just have to start turning the pages. We hope that readers can savor the warmth of the small town from the content of this issue, open the books and the door of knowledge, and spend a quiet and leisurely time together.