Kuala Lampur, March 11 -- Reading in a park here in Malaysia was a more practical choice than relocating to India.

When we started Kuala Lumpur Reads in May 2023, it was driven by nothing more than idealism - taking inspiration from Bangalore's Cubbon Reads and the sprouts of Reads chapters across Indian cities and among the Indian diaspora internationally. While our initial goal was to simply read in the park, we quickly realised that Kuala Lumpur Reads, and indeed the Reads movement as a whole, was about more than just reading and recreation. We were encouraging social cohesion and advocating for the active use of green public spaces as a no-cost third place.

'Third place' is having a moment.

As a concept, it was coined in 1989 by Ra...