News Foot Cover Author: rebellious youth
MATANZAS. Caridad Piheira Caballero reads voraciously. You cannot imagine a person who does not read, who lives outside of the stories collected in stories, novels or poems that touch.
For four years she was a model bookseller at the Provincial Center for Books and Literature in Matanzas. Its stronghold is the Aldabón publishing bookstore of the Hermanos Saiz Association (AHS) in Matanzas.
“I came into this profession by accident, I had personal health problems and I had to retire from finance as an average economics specialist,” he tells us.
“From a young age I loved to read. I went to the bookstore because I needed a bookseller. At first I did not master the activity, but I fell in love with all kinds of literature, I also read theater, essays, novels, poems …
“I have always learned something in every book. Sometimes I didn’t read all of them, just a few chapters, to be able to exchange opinions with potential clients. I love being a librarian. Every time someone comes who converts a lot, they thank me and I always tell them that this job is my life.
“I strive to ensure that all young people and any person are involved in the love and art of reading, this is my greatest satisfaction.
“In front of my bookstore, I have the José Luis Dubrok City Pre-University School, and this year I noticed more interest in books from students, as they have more coverage in their free time, as they have a modality in this course with some free shifts that give them the opportunity to get to my bookstore.
“When they arrive, I tell them: “It’s good that my children have arrived.” And so the enthusiasm, and more and more students come to buy all kinds of goods.
“Even the director of the Aldabon publishing house told me that I sold books that had stagnated for years. In fact, I encourage them and teach them to read, I guide them.
“During my four years in this position, I have been chosen as an exemplary bookseller, even many booksellers in Matanzas who have worked in the trade more than me note my results, because I never thought that I would interact so closely with the public. .
“I have always loved literature and instilled in my children a vocation for reading, but the boys in the preschool group are delighted with their bookstore, they call me aunt, and this fills me with joy. Lately I’ve been talking a lot with young people and that makes me happy.
“It is very important that the bookstore knows the topics of the books it sells that it has mastered, even if it is some piece of text, in order to be able to promote it, it is a way for people to feel satisfied and grateful. because sometimes they don’t buy from me and are equally grateful for my attention.”
-What genre do you prefer?
-I read everything: essays, novels, short stories, but I lean more towards poetry. I admire the work of the poet Alfredo Saldivar, to whom the book fair in Matanzas was dedicated, I really like his poetry, as well as his prose. Poetry is one of the genres that has attracted my attention the most.
-When do you read?
– I have the opportunity to read in the same bookstore in places where I do not have an audience. You will always see me with a book in my hands, and I also read at home. If I go for a walk or to the doctor, I always carry a book in my bag. While waiting, I do not waste time, I use and read something so as not to waste time.
– So you don’t buy books?
-Believe it or not, I also buy them if they interest me, keep some and give others away, because the goal is for someone to read them, not accumulate them for pleasure.
Do you keep a lot of books at home?
-My family are big readers. In my house there are five bookcases full of classics of literature, books on jurisprudence, medicine, technology and other electronic equipment of my son; my daughter, who is a musician, has a large collection of this industry, including encyclopedias.
Do you have something new that you would like to publish?
I am an avid reader, but I never write. I have been reading since I was a child, but my great passion was dancing.
Do you think there is still interest in reading?
-Many young people read digital texts. But lately I understand that they are looking for physical books. I have a very good anecdote about a seven-year-old boy who came to a bookstore to buy a book by José Marti, and since I have a new book of essays called extended pillarswho talks about Marty’s poetry, I explained to him what it was about and he asked his mother what was the book he wanted, he was delighted with his book. Every time a child comes, I talk to him about books that are appropriate for his age, just as I do with adults, so I guide them.
“My bookstore has outbuildings and we go to schools where I accompany writers, so we promote history books or other genres, we explain to them how they can be used, and every day I am more and more impressed, how mostly young people are interested in reading.
“This year’s International Book Fair was a great opportunity not to sell, but to promote the habit of reading,” this chatty woman, who can make the most distant person fall in love with buying a book, tells us.
Source: Juventud Rebelde