Would love to open a public library, says Ananthi Iyappan, former radio jockey

Ananthi Iyappan and V. Sriram in conversation at the event on Tuesday. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

“It was great to be wrong about people because I realised my show had grown to a point where the audiences could disagree and still respect me and the content,” said Ananthi Iyappan, former radio jockey and host of the YouTube channel The Book Show on Tuesday here. She was in conversation with V. Sriram, historian, at an event ‘A YouTube Channel for Books’, organised by Madras Musings and the Madras Book Club.

“Initially, when I started reading it was not for the art of reading but soon I realised that I was respected by people as they saw me with a book. I started with mythological fiction and slowly moved into other genres,” she said.

Discussing the book culture and Chennai, she recalled that her experience organising a book reading retreat in Chidambaram last year. “We had people from across Tamil Nadu participating in the event, and it was just so easy to connect with them. We spent our entire night talking about fictional characters,” she said.

Talking about the number of books she owns, Ms. Ananthi said she would definitely love it if in the future she could establish a public library using her collection, where people could gather and read and discuss books.