We are in February, usually for Cuba this is synonymous with the time of the Havana International Book Fair, the cultural event that, along with the Festival of New Latin American Cinema, is the most massive, and a parenthesis opens to promote reading with all voices—the healthy exercise that from its simplicity is all goodness, the door to a universe of fantasy, learning, and much more.

On this occasion, due to the energy crisis to which we have been pushed, the event that has been celebrated since 1982 and leaves the capital to reach every corner of Cuba has been postponed. No matter the pause, its 34th edition will be celebrated later as what it is: the most important event of Cuban letters, where new texts and valuable reprints are usually presented at a generally affordable price, which ratifies the country's will to promote culture and the exercise of reading amidst a truly difficult scenario.

In the digital age, reading is much easier. Although it is true that nothing compares to the experience of holding the book in hand, reading on devices such as phones and tablets is advantageous, an alternative to consider, since on the Internet you find a giant library, free, within everyone's reach, while the physical book can be expensive because it is also a business for publishers. In that sense, one must also value how much the Cuban publishing movement does to make a variety of texts available to us.

However, however one reads, it is a wise, relevant decision, in a world where we almost never see anyone reading.

Reading is one of the most enriching activities, besides being entertaining—of course, depending on the text chosen and according to one's interests—it has a great impact on human life because, to begin with, its contribution to cognitive development is significant. It is not just about being able to decode words, but about interacting with ideas, being able to question, imagine, and construct meanings.

Reading is, without a doubt, an exercise in freedom, it is completely personal and at the same time it is the door to whatever universe one chooses. Reading is considered an investment for us to become integral human beings, and it is not comparable to any other acquired competency.

A person who reads regularly improves their linguistic skills because it expands their vocabulary; furthermore, according to science, reading stimulates the brain and strengthens neural connections; it improves concentration, analytical capacity, critical thinking, and self-knowledge; as well as expanding cultural and intellectual horizons.

Regular reading is an attitude with practical benefits: it improves spelling, coordination of ideas, and oral expression, provides tools for research and synthesis. That's not all; the habit of reading is also effective against stress because it offers the possibility of escape. Its result is not only individual, but also social and educational because, at the same time that it is fundamental for an informed and participatory society, it facilitates learning in all areas of knowledge and promotes inclusion because it develops communication skills and autonomy.

At CubaSí, we always recommend reading, sure that it is more than entertainment; it is capable of transporting us and taking us out of everyday life, at the same time it provides culture and becomes an essential instrument because reading comprehension is necessary for everything—to understand a message that comes to us, to follow the thread of a subtitled dialogue in a film, likewise in almost all fields of the working world.

We cannot end this text without a recommendation for reading, but there are too many books and, as it is a very personal practice that includes, above all, taste, it is complicated to make a brief and definitive list. Every publisher and reader has their preference; here we show one made by a leading publishing house in our language, Planeta, where they recommend, above all, great classics of all time, but not even that one is complete.

From my own experience, I propose the following that I could find on the web:

• The Gadfly
• The Pillars of the Earth
• One Hundred Years of Solitude
• Blindness
• The Cathedral of the Sea
• The Girl Who Played with Fire
  
  
  Translated by Sergio A. Paneque Díaz / CubaSí Translation Staff