With Penguin Random House, Madrid installs hard-to-miss invitations to sit down and read

Providing a larger-than-life reminder of the pleasure of reading — as well as a spot to do so — Madrid's city council recently installed book-shaped benches across eight of its districts. The concept is the result of a partnership between the city, Penguin Random House, Carat and JCDecaux. All 26 benches, or bancolibros, portray titles published by Penguin, and each features a QR code directing viewers to more information about the book and its author.

This is the second edition of Siéntate a leer (Sit Down to Read), with six more book benches installed this year than in 2023. Titles for residents to perch on included Esnob by Elísabet Benavent, 'En agosto nos vemos' by Gabriel García Márquez and 'Mafalda' by Quino. Besides encouraging people to read, the campaign was also meant to promote local bookstores and libraries, near which most of the benches were strategically located. Presumably because they're not just street furniture but also advertising units for a specific publisher, the bancolibros were only up for a month, until 22 June 2024.

📖 Rather than telling people about books and reading, Siéntate a leer takes a more engaging and interactive approach, creating a physical and visual invitation to immerse oneself in literature. One to bring to your own city's streets?