He was a suicidal muso at one time. She was an immigrant Muslim mum. And she – now a he – is a transgender teen. They are each a story.

And as stories they become books in a library of 7.4 billion books that is the global library of humanity, The Human Library.

The muso, the mum and the transgender teen are living autobiographies and well worth a read, well worth a personal encounter and chatting and learning.

And this tiny but powerful selection of books in the Human Library will be putting themselves on loan to readers here in Tauranga at the Escape Festival this weekend. The Human Library is a place where real people, fascinating people, are on loan to readers.

'Well I like to talk, interact, listen and share ideas,” says one volume from the Human Library, Dr Saima. 'And people can learn positivity from me.”

These aren't books you take home to thumb through on the pillow. For 20 minutes as many as four readers will have the opportunity to sit down and engage with the books from The Human Library and have a meaningful chat. This is where difficult questions are expected, appreciated and answered.

'How often do you get a chance to talk face-to-face with someone about their real life issues?” asks Chloe Wright, founder of the Wright Family Trust, which is promoting the concept.

And despite his tender years, Andy is a book bursting with real life issues.

'I believe my story is unique as I didn't come to the realisation I was transgender until well into my teens. And so I thought getting involved with the Human Library would be an excellent way of adding some visibility to the transgender community, but also help me gain confidence.”

If the goal of The Human Library is to challenge stereotypes and prejudices through dialogue, then Andy's story may be a good place to start. 'It's about asking those questions that get to the heart of who someone is without judging them on appearance,” says Chloe.

Perhaps it's also finding out about how the other half lives or to just bond over similarities. And the Human Library is designed to be a safe and positive space where ‘readers' can delve deeply into their ‘books' and have meaningful conversations with someone they may never have met.

'Kiwis aren't used to opening up to strangers in such a head-on way,” says Chloe. 'That's why I think this event is a real opportunity to break down those barriers for both our ‘books' and our ‘readers'.”

The event is modelled on a Danish concept called ‘Menneskebiblioteket', meaning 'living library' in English. The original event in 2000 was open eight hours a day for four straight days and featured 50 different books from the Human Library. Thousands of ‘readers' fronted for the event leaving the ‘books', librarians, organisers and readers stunned at the impact.

Doctor Saima is just one book available for readers to pick over tomorrow and Sunday. And it's a compelling yarn.

Born and educated in Karachi, Pakistan, she moved to New Zealand with her husband and two children in the hope of becoming a registered doctor here. That dream is one exam away. 'I believe we are all the same, no matter what religion” says Dr Saima.

Here are some questions that could be put to Dr Saima by a curious reader – how does she reconcile her faith of love, peace and respect with the terrorism committed in its name? What drives a family to uplift itself and move 13,000km and what cultural barriers has she encountered in New Zealand?

And finally some editor's notes from other recommended reading at The Human Library at Baycourt this weekend.

‘Adaptdefier' Mike. 'Before the accident I was 185cm and now my wife loses sight of me in a crowd.”

Musician Dylan. 'At 14 I was suicidal and made an attempt on my life. Then I learned the chords E and G on a guitar and my life was transformed.”

Writer Owen. 'I wrote a book about colonialism, religion, controversy, war and the murder of my brother and his partner. There are some saucy bits too.”

Artist Kristian. 'A diagnosis of severe depression in 2006 turned into an opportunity.”

And Andy. 'At 13 I became jealous of boys that were growing facial hair and muscles and I didn't understand why.” He can now explain why.

The Human Library, the faces behind the stories, is open at Baycourt's Addison Theatre from 10am-2pm tomorrow and Sunday, June 4-5.