The nicaraguan reading culture

Most nicaraguans that come in to my shop seem to have an opinion about the nicaraguan reading culture; they often comment "nicaraguans don´t read" or "we don´t have a culture of reading". And I always disagree with them. 

The leonese poet Nuñez visiting
in the early days of the bookshop

Or, I partially disagree with them. I agree that reading should be more promoted from a young age - but this goes for the whole world. And I agree that literature should be more available and economical, because this is part of the reason, I think, why many nicaraguans don´t have the habit of reading. In León, for example, Búho Books is the first and only bookshop with the selection of books we have. Sure you can get books in León, but not a great variety of books, and certainly not in english. People have gotten used to get books from Managua, where it is more expensive, or from family living abroad. But I feel that to claim that nicaraguans don´t read at all is underestimating the nicaraguan people. 

It is my impression that nicaraguans are very good at reading their local literature and about their own history - I have yet to encounter a nicaraguan that haven´t read Rubén Darío. And a recent study shows that I am right, or partially right - that nicaraguans do read. Although many answered in the survey that they only read the bible. The bible is probably the book most people ask for in my bookshop, but we don´t have it. Not that I have anything against the bible, but if you want the bible there are countless of places to get it in León - I want to offer something different to people.

It is especially weird that there hasn´t been more bookstores established in León - the university city, and traditionally the intellectual city, where many poets and writers come from or have lived for many years. The most famous of them, of course, Rubén Darío, who lived just one and a half block from where we now have our bookshop. 

To this day León continues to be the intellectual centre of Nicaragua (any disagreement from Granada and Managua will be ignored). And I think many nicaraguans do read and I know this because some of them stop by my bookshop (even though they are the same ones complaining that nicaraguans don´t read). I have to say that it is harder to get the word out to nicaraguans about the bookshop, as they may not pick up a tourist map where we advertise, or they don´t go to the typical tourist places where we leave flyers. But I hope that in the long run the presence of our bookshop will make it easier for nicaraguans to get the books they want - and I promise to do my best to always have the best possible selection available in spanish and english!