Books as the 'smart box'

A Spanish opinion essay published April 19 argued that books still occupy a higher cultural rung than television, even when most new titles are forgettable. (huffingtonpost.es) In the piece, psychologist José Errasti wrote ahead of World Book Day on April 23 that the holiday celebrates the “idea of the book,” not every individual title on sale. He contrasted canonical works by Stendhal and Tocqueville with travel guides, celebrity memoirs and current-affairs paperbacks stacked in chain bookstores. (huffingtonpost.es) Errasti’s sharpest line came in his comparison with television: he said TV became the “caja tonta,” or “idiot box,” because most programs are disposable, while books remain a “caja lista,” or “smart box,” even if “99%” of them do not deserve much esteem. He framed that distinction as part of a cultural hierarchy that still treats reading as a marker of seriousness. (huffingtonpost.es) The timing is specific. UNESCO marks World Book and Copyright Day every year on April 23, describing it as a celebration of books as a bridge across generations and cultures, and Rabat is its World Book Capital for 2026. (unesco.org) The essay landed in a country where reading remains widespread but uneven. Spain’s 2025 reading barometer said 69.8% of people 14 and older identified as book readers, 66.2% read books in their free time, and the average reader finished 11.3 books in the year. (federacioneditores.org) The same survey showed the other side of that picture: 95.1% of people 14 and older read some kind of material at least once a quarter, a much broader category than books alone. That gap helps explain why arguments over books often double as arguments over status, taste and what counts as culture. (federacioneditores.org) Errasti also wrote after a 2025 social-media flareup over influencer María Pombo’s comments defending people who do not read books. El País reported in September 2025 that Pombo’s remarks triggered a wave of criticism and reopened a familiar fight over whether reading carries moral prestige in Spain. (elpais.com) The essay does not argue that the current publishing market is full of masterpieces. It says the debt humanity owes books as an old vehicle for thought and knowledge remains enormous, even when the modern book trade produces plenty of titles meant to be consumed and forgotten. (huffingtonpost.es) That leaves the argument exactly where Errasti wanted it before April 23: not over whether every book is good, but over why the book still carries more symbolic weight than the screen. (huffingtonpost.es)