“Reading is the art of exploring with the imagination,” says an old saying. Each book is a door to discovery: open worlds, expand knowledge and allow what we read to mix with what we visualize. More than a habit, reading is an opportunity to grow, understand and enjoy other realities, other adventures.
Every April 23, the world celebrates World Book and Copyright Day, A symbolic date for literature and human thought. Proclaimed in 1995 by UNESCO, commemoration seeks to pay tribute to the power of the written word and promote reading as a tool for cultural and personal transformation.
The date refers to the death of key figures such as the Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, first mestizo chronicler of America, and pays tribute to Miguel de Cervantes and William Shakespeare, although their deaths do not coincide exactly. Cervantes died on April 22, while Shakespeare died towards May 3; However, according to the Julian calendar in force in England, it was recorded on April 23, 1616.
Beyond these coincidences, the objective of this day is clear: inspire humanity to read. Because reading expands our worldview, strengthens critical thinking and stimulates imagination, while nourishing people’s psychological and social environments.
More than a window to the world, a transformation of the mind
For decades, society has repeated that reading is a window to the world, but more than that, it is an opportunity to transform and strengthen thought, becoming a knowledge compass and an impulse for the imagination that enriches the mind.
Ximena Fuentes Molina, clinical psychologist, highlights that reading improves memory, vocabulary, emotional self -regulation and gives the reader new tools to solve problems.
“It helps us see the world from other eyes and, above all, to get to know each other better,” says the expert. He also adds that, psychologically, reading is a great benefactor in the strengthening and exploration of emotions.
Sources highlights that another of the benefits of reading is that it facilitates internal dialogue, empathy and understanding of the environment, which is essential in human development, mainly in childhood and adolescence.
More than a human resource, reading explores the abilities of being and becomes a way of expanding the look beyond cultural or personal limits.
The psychologist emphasizes that, in the case of children, reading cultivates imagination and enhances the creative resolution of conflicts.
Children’s emotional guide
During the first years of school, children begin their approach to the world of reading. Books like Bochuchin, Nacho book, Victory either The Little Prince They awaken their reading interest and encourage imaginative exploration. However, its value goes beyond mechanical learning: this practice has a therapeutic effect.
The clinical psychologist Ximena Fuentes explains that books can be useful tools to accompany complex emotional processes, such as duel, the arrival of a new brother, a move or divorce of the parents.
“Instead of telling a child ‘Your parents are going to divorce’, you can use a story with a character who lives a similar situation. Thus, the child projects his experience, understands the process and finds a friendlier way to face it,” says the expert.
Fuentes emphasizes that reading is how to draw a map before a trip: lets know what ways to take and what to expect. However, it also represents the trip itself, in which unforeseen events arise, situations to be resolved or mysteries that help the child form in the different areas of his life and prepare him to face adult life.
“The literature provides that emotional security,” says the psychologist, “then, through the characters, people explore their emotions and strengthen their decision making, which gives them security in their relationships, at work or in life itself.”
“In every story there is a spark of humanity, a clue to understand us better,” says González. (Free Press Photo: Shuttersock)
Reading in Guatemala: a habit of promoting
In Guatemala, reading levels decrease year after year, a phenomenon attributed, among other factors, to the growing use of technology. The writer and professor Claudia Chinchilla points out that, in countries like this, the reading habit remains a challenge, and this commemoration should serve to enhance her practice.
“We do not celebrate the day of the book because we are already a reader country, but because we have the potential to be. This date must be a call to give life to the country from reading. There are so many books, so many voices, so many children waiting for someone to tell them: ‘Give a chance to the book,” Chinchilla said.
The writer highlights that reading is not only an intellectual act, but a human need to boost a silent revolution. It also emphasizes that this practice cultivates critical thinking, strengthens creativity and sows hope in contexts of inequality and exclusion, such as those faced by Guatemala.
Reading is an act of freedom and creation
“Because each open book is a new door,” says María González, a cultural manager, who emphasizes that, through books, humanity accesses knowledge and the possibility of expressing itself better.
“Every emotion or thought can translate into words. Books leave their mark, give permanence to which oral tradition has also transmitted, but that, when writing, becomes legacy,” González details.
The expert insists that reading implies understanding, interpreting and creating, which is essential for life. Therefore, it emphasizes that the State must ensure that all children and adolescents in Guatemala learn to read with understanding.
“Reading is not just decoding sounds. It is forming ideas, thinking critically and imagining other possible worlds.”
This simple act of reading provides freedom to both the reader and the writer, since, for González, writing is also an act of rebellion and liberation. There are authors who, when writing, find a space to leave their mark and open gap for other generations, actions that could not perform orally.