In the City of Stories many people wish they had more time to settle down with a good book.

And yet the precious free time hard working city folk get is often interrupted by email notifications, calls and texts.

Which is why one Norwich bookshop has made it its mission to entice people away from their tech.

For five years the Book Hive has run a weekly event Page Against the Machine, offering people a secluded hour on its shop floor to ditch the tech and read in peace.

And this year the London Street-based business has seen its idea make it all the way across the Atlantic.

Joe Hedinger, who works at The Book Hive alongside owner Henry Layte have now seen it adopted at De Stiil Books in Montreal.

Norwich Evening News: Book Hive, Page against the machine events on Wednesdays. Joe Hedinger Book seller. Pictures : Brittany WoodmanBook Hive, Page against the machine events on Wednesdays. Joe Hedinger Book seller. Pictures : Brittany Woodman (Image: Brittany Woodman/ Archant)

Joe said: "It launched after Henry and I found some research from the Reading Agency which said lots of people want to read as it helps them deal with stress and anxiety of life.

"But a big problem is those same people don't have time to read because of their busy and hectic lifestyle.

"It's like people are stuck in this infinite loop they can't get out of."

Norwich Evening News: Book Hive, Page against the machine events on Wednesdays. Joe Hedinger Book seller. Pictures : Brittany WoodmanBook Hive, Page against the machine events on Wednesdays. Joe Hedinger Book seller. Pictures : Brittany Woodman (Image: Brittany Woodman/ Archant)

So the pair came up with a plan to help people find a zone where they could truly switch off.

He said: "Like any time people start a new practice, you need a neutral space when getting into it.

"It's why we have yoga classes or gyms - you have a place you go to form a consistent habit.

"So when someone says you can just read at home, that is true but life gets in the way.

Norwich Evening News: Book Hive, customer Kate Webber enjoying a book. Pictures : Brittany WoodmanBook Hive, customer Kate Webber enjoying a book. Pictures : Brittany Woodman (Image: Brittany Woodman/ Archant)

"When you get home there's Netflix, Amazon to watch or your phone to scroll on - all of which distracts you from the routine you're trying to implement.

"We thought having a neutral area in both time and space where people finish work, walk here and have an hour designated solely to reading.

"Reading can be about self-improvement with the act of reading being as much a part of what you're reading. Knowing it calms you down, keeps you focused and less stressed."

The Book Hive's reading sessions take place every Wednesday from 5.30pm until 6.30pm.

Which countries can't put books down and which consider reading a novel idea?

Across the world India comes in at number one when it comes to getting stuck into a good book.

People in India read around 10 hours 42 minutes a day, on average, according to research from author Mal Warwick on Books.

This can be across a form of methods and includes work hours.

It appears that non-literary fiction is rising in popularity, with it being thought to be because of the rise in TV, mobile phones and the internet.

By comparison people in Korea only read for an average of three hours six minutes a day.

The United Kingdom, as a whole, sit rather low on the reading scale, clocking in just over five hours of reading per day.

Our neighbours across the pond, the United State of America, get stuck into some reading for five hours 42 minutes per day.