A book lover's secret hideaway

IF YOU'RE A serious bibliophile, there's no place on this island that might make you happier right now than NTU CCA's Siah Armajani exhibition titled Spaces For The Public, Spaces For Democracy. Go on a weekday when there's scarcely anyone, sit on the chairs that have been waiting patiently for you, pick up one or more of the carefully curated books placed around the space, and get lost in the contemplative wonderland of poetry, philosophy, art and architecture.

Armajani, 80, is an Iranian-American architect and artist famous for his public works. Throughout his life, he's read voraciously and found much inspiration in various fields. Since 1980, he started creating what he calls "reading rooms" - essentially gazebos with seats and bookshelves - and invited the public to take their places in them for the sole purpose of reading.

The reading rooms are rather unusual in that they are not comfortable by contemporary standards. The seats are hard, a reminder that deep reading requires discipline and sacrifice. The gazebo's open sides allow anyone to see you in it, suggesting that you must apply concentration and not be distracted by the outside world.