Bruno Blog

This is the last blog before the Easter holidays, and I love to recommend a book like this one, which invites you to reconnect with the magic we all have inside. The latest book by Sonia Rico, who has already published Te amarás sobre todas las cosas and El hábito hace al monje, with success in Spanish and translations in several countries.

LA BRUJA QUE PERDIÓ LA MAGIA is a non-fiction book, including a fable. Sol is an extraordinary witch whose magic has vanished along with her broom. In her quest to recover what makes her unique, she embarks on a magical and exciting journey, but what if the secret of her power lies in an unexpected place? Perhaps, like the protagonist of this story, you too have lost the vital tool that makes you shine, and feel disconnected from your own magic. Whether you are looking to rediscover your essence or find your lost voice in a world of challenges, this captivating tale invites you to explore the power that lies within you.

Sonia invites you to join Sol on her journey through the enchanted forest, a journey full of learning and self-discovery. Find together with her the way to the true source of power that resides in each one of us. Do you dare to discover your own magic? In this book you will have the necessary tools to do so.

We all have read books about toxic people, how to avoid them and how they can affect our relationships. However, little is said about good people, which is what Xavier Guix does in this psychology manual: El problema de ser demasiado bueno (The Problem of Being Too Kind).

Many people confuse being a good person with not being oneself, not generating any conflict, not disobeying or always fulfilling others’ expectations. For this reason, I believe that Xavier Guix’s new book is not only innovative, but also useful: given that the world is full of good people, but they learn to be so good and obedient, so perfect and ideal, that they suffer horrors when they do not achieve it. We still behave as innocent good children, even though we are already grown-ups. Their biggest worry is that they feel unable to stop being good, to disobey or to generate conflicts. They are overwhelmed by not meeting other people’s expectations and become anxious due to fear of being rejected. These people practice “bad kindness”, a series of behaviors based on obedience and well behavior caused by a deep fear of the disapproval of others.

In this book, Xavier Guix provides us with a priceless behavioural guide. He dissects “bad kindness”, its origin and consequences. He also highlights the importance of healing our wounds, and guides us to change with concrete guidelines to leave it behind in our daily lives.

I think this book is essential because most of us consider ourselves to be good people, but we don’t analyse whether this is actually harming for us. How we can manage it and detect it is essential for us to be able to face life in a better way.

This week we recommend a thriller. Malenka Ramos, who the press called “the Spanish Stephen King”, returns with a strong and special novel, as she mixes a lurid death, in Barcelona, with Japanese elements, in this fast-paced plot. I think El asesino de la mascara Noh is a perfect match, because everything that comes from the East continues being a trend, so getting into this thriller already has many of the ingredients to convince readers that they are going to enjoy this novel. Do you know what Noh masks are? Start reading and find out.

Here is the synopsis:

An unusual case has disoriented the police of Barcelona: in the tunnel of an abandoned metro station, a body appears in conditions difficult to explain and harder to believe. The corpse has had part of its face ripped off and a mask from the traditional Noh theatre in Japan has been placed in its place. When the police unit in charge of the case is trying to understand what has led a person to commit such a crime, a second body appears in similar conditions. Next to her, lies the documentation of the ex-girlfriend of inspector Andreu Martí, who will face the most difficult case of his career.

A novel of intrigue, bordering on “terror”, for brave readers who enjoy these novels that, from time to time, take your breath away. Do you dare?

I am especially excited to talk about this novel on the blog, the new one by Laia Perearnau, author of Francesca de Barcelona, winner of the Nèstor Luján award. Laia returns with an amazing historical novel. The story of a woman who risked her life to help others crossing the border through the mountains. After the Civil War, in Bescaran, a small village in Alt Urgell, the winning side dominates the town and Sol’s family is having a hard time because her father has had to flee and take refuge in France. One day, on a high mountain road, she encounters a dangerous smuggler and witnesses his rape and murder of a Jewish woman that was fleeing the war in Europe. After this, it is she who has to flee and hide among a group of smugglers in Andorra. There she will get to know the world of the smugglers and, while the Third Reich advances to the border and spreads terror along its path, she will discover that among the smugglers there are people willing to risk their lives to save people fleeing from the Nazis.

La Pasadora is a moving story where Laia Perearnau vindicates the neglected and forgotten role that women played in the resistance networks during World War II, while delving into the little-known figure of the passerines, who helped to evade pilots, soldiers, Jews and resistance fighters to Hitler’s regime.

Published by Columna in Catalan and Destino in Spanish, Laia Perearnau returns with a courageous novel based on real events.

Blogging about a work by Francesc Miralles is not a novelty for me because, fortunately, he is a writer that publishers demand and who is asked to write about different subjects, and although he is already a prestigious writer recognised all over the world, Francesc is capable of accepting commissions and loving that kind of works, however small they may be, if he considers that they can be inspiring books that will help others. He is a writer who is driven by creativity, and always does what he wants to do, but he is also driven by being able to write books that contribute something to the reader, as in this case, when he was asked to write for the youngest members of the household, something he does not usually do, and which is not an easy task. Nevertheless, the result has been excellent, as always. A beautiful album, entitled EL PAÍS DE LOS ESPEJOS, published by Esfera.

This apparently simple album makes us reflect on whether we know who we are, and shows us how difficult it is to find that out. The same person has different ways of being because we depend on the things that happen to us or the different moods we go through. But the best thing about this story is that it lets us know that it is up to us to change what we don’t like and, if we want something, we can fight to get it, because the power is in us and we must believe in it. The most fascinating world we can know is to know ourselves and to be able to be what we want to be and change what we want to change. That is why mirrors reflect what you are, and we must be able to look at ourselves and recognise ourselves. A wonderful message to pass on to the little ones at home and an interesting reflection for the grown-ups, as perhaps many of us still don’t know how to answer the question: Who are you?