As part of our birthday celebrations, we’re inviting book fairies around the world to share their book fairy stories – not only to show just how diverse our family is, but also to reinforce the fact that ANYONE can be a book fairy. Anyone. All you need is a pack of book fairy stickers and the heart to let go of some books for others to enjoy.
The story of Rubén in Cuba
This March 8 is the first anniversary of a worldwide family group I have the honour to be part of.
I started as a book fairy back in August and I quickly became the official here because I was the only person from Cuba at that time who contacted the Book Fairies.
I was watching YouTube videos of Emma Watson and I found a few where she was doing book fairy business, then I googled The Book Fairies and the journey began.
I’ve always loved reading and books and I know as a fact that reading is becoming unpopular and unimportant as years pass and I wanted to do something about it, to encourage people to read in some way. That’s why I became a book fairy.
Due to the characteristics of my country and the many politics around it, it has been hard and challenging but it hasn’t stopped being FUN. Our bookshops are usually full of books about politics or government issues or bibliographies about our revolutionary heroes since publishing houses do not have contracts with the country so finding books, good ones, to share with other is challenging – but luckily we have friends that are willing to help, to share with strangers their treasures. And we are growing everyday.
Thank you for letting our small island be part of the family.
Happy birthday!
~ Rubén, official book fairy of Cuba.
You can find Rubén on:
A massive Happy Birthday to every single book fairy! If you want to get started, head to this page to find your first goodies 🙂 (Warning: bookfairying has been known to be addictive). Read more book fairy stories here.
In Spanish:
Este 8 de marzo se cumple el primer aniversario de una organización global que he tenido el privilegio de ser parte.
Comencé en The Book Fairies en agosto del año pasado y rápidamente me convertí en oficial de Cuba, pues había sido el único de mi país que había contactado con la iniciativa en aquel momento.
Todo empezó liego de que viera vídeos de Emma Watson en YouTube haciendo de Book Fairy durante el Día Internacional de la Mujer, luego empecé a investigar un poco más, visité la página web, contacté con Cordelia y así comenzó el viaje.
Desde pequeño me ha encantado la lectura y sabía que el hábito de leer se estaba perdiendo, perdiendo la importancia que solía tener con el paso de los años así que quería hacer algo, contribuir de alguna forma a un cambio. Es por esto que decidí unirme a The Book Fairies.
Debido a las características de mi país, las políticas economías, ha sido difícil y desafiante ser Book Fairy pero nunca ha dejado de ser DIVERTIDO.
Nuestras librerías no suelen vender grandes best sellers e importantes casas editoriales como Penguin no tienen subsidiarias en la isla a causa del bloqueo económico del gobierno de los Estados Unidos. Así que encontrar libros para compartir con otros es a veces frustrante pero por suerte contamos con amigos que siempre están dispuestos a ayudar, dispuestos a compartir con extraños sus tesoros literarios. Crecemos día a día, libro por libro.
Gracias por dejar a nuestra pequeña isla ser parte de la familia.
¡Feliz cumpleaños a tod@s l@s book fairies alrededor del mundo!
~ Rubén Darío Herrera Rodriguez Book Fairy Oficial de Cuba.