Bruno Blog

It’s almost summer, we are about to start our vacations, and one of the things many parents want is for their children to read. My first piece of advice would be for the children to see that behavoir at home; therefore, every Family member should go on vacations with a book in their suitcase, and dedicate time to read. For me it is one of the best moments of the day. Reading is one of the best pleasures, and it hooks. Besides, if you have a story that captivates you, it is one of the best addictions in life.

However, we have to give children something to have fun with, and Sacha Azcona is a specialist in this. With his new title, LA INCREÍBLE AVENTURA DE JACK Y EL ZOO ABANDONADO, he manages to bring a smile to anyone’s face, because the reader falls in love with that lion that had no teeth and that, instead of being scary, made them laugh. They meet a very bad boy, but bad, bad, bad, bad. With a mute giraffe, in love with a blind bat, and with a man who painted green horses. What more do you want? Well, there’s more, as we meet a man who traveled the world and fought a shark the size of a truck. And a wonderful boy named Jack, and a little Chihuahua dog named Frufrú. With this cast of characters, children enter this magical world and do not want these adventures to end and are able to read the story over and over again, until they find no more adventures of these wonderful characters. So this recommendation is for the little ones in the family, who have had fun with crazy movies like Jumanji, and can do just as well or better with books like this one.

Usually, I write each week’s blog making it match the release of the novel, but this time I wanted to do it after because it is a special novel for many reasons: First of all, because this novel is based on a previous work of Coia: El mercader, which I am very fond of it and has been one of her best-selling novels to this day; the second reason is that Coia returns to work with the editor who has helped her grow, Ernest Folch; and the third and final reason is that this novel is a powerful story about brave women, Coia Valls’ trademark, which I know will not leave anyone indifferent. This novel will please all readers of this author, and will put Coia’s novels at the top again, as they deserve.

Here is a little taste of the plot: In the middle of the 14th century, Barcelona is still suffering the aftermath of the great plague. During this period of uncertainty, shortly before the implementation of Roman law, a group of women struggle to take charge of the recovery of the city.

Alèxia -a merchant’s daughter-, Romia -a slave-, Genebre -a nun from Sant Pere de les Puel-les-, Caterina -a painter’s apprentice-, Llorença -a glassmaker’s widow-, Marta -a weaver’s daughter- and Sança -a hat-maker-, they all will unite to propose another Barcelona, where hope is possible, to light a new fire that will illuminate the city again. Many, anchored in a world that is coming to an end, will want to extinguish it.

Meanwhile, Alèxia’s brother, Narcís, a disciple of the painter Ferrer Bassa, will try to give meaning to his artistic concerns. He and Caterina will found Casa dels Obradors, a project aimed at giving value to new initiatives based on the abilities of each one of them. Everyone will have a place and will be able to be apprentice and master at the same time.

Fire illuminates, but it also burns and leaves ashes. The ashes contain the memory of what has been and, if they fall in a good shelter, they can be the seed of a new future.

EL LEGADO DE LAS CENIZAS is a deep and inspiring novel, a trademark of the house, which without losing the essence of the author, shows her masterful and careful evolution. Don’t miss out.

This week my recommendation is a book that you can “drink” in one night. Like one of the most fashionable series of this summer: CITAS BARCELONA, which can be seen on TV3 in Catalan and Spanish on the Prime Video platform, this book invites you to a date in each chapter, where Meritxell Falgueras teaches us that good wine, like all its nuances, is like life itself and its chiaroscuros.

The Catalonia of the gastronomic avant-garde in 2010 is the scenario that the international sommelier Meritxell Falgueras recovers to undertake this exciting journey through the senses in first person, accompanied by a cast of unique characters, lovers of good food and the most secret passions. With a casual, glamorous and lively style —and a rich variety of wine references—, Meritxell Falgueras is determined to eat the world and to accompany it with the best wines. Cátame is a quick book with which you can cry and laugh at the same time, as well as learn about the variety of wines to accompany each date in your life.

When I discovered Mara Jiménez on social networks, I loved her spontaneity and how she told her life without any concealment on social networks. Many of the things she explained felt like she was talking about me, because I always suffered from weight problems, which were a torment in my adolescence. Mara, with her story, reminded me how bad I had it and how good it would have been to have a book like hers to give me a hand when I needed it most. It would have been my lifeline. The book is alive and I am aware that it is helping many people, which was Mara’s goal, but we all want to ask Mara one more question: “How do I do it, where do I start?”. In her second book, MORE ME THAN EVER, she tries to answer us by explaining everything she knows, what she has used and is using to walk the path to herself, how she has learned to love herself. A map, a road map to guide you to your inner self and to always find your light in spite of any darkness. Liking yourself is not easy, and not only fat people suffer from this, but we have always been the target of many. And the thing is not to be fat or skinny, but to accept and love yourself as you are.

Mara gets naked in her books and tries to normalize fatness, which should already be normalized, according to my point of view, and that is not the same as encouraging it. I think this is very clear, even though some people want to manipulate it. She tries, always from love, to give tools to people who want to listen to her and who, in addition, are already fans of a person like her. As I said, it would have been great for me to have Mara in my life, and I am happy to have her in the agency, because she is a brave, altruistic person and a necessary loudspeaker so that people who live in the shadows, suffering, can see a little light. Thank you, Mara, for your sincerity, honesty and sympathy, and for sharing your experience in such a clear and beautiful way in these two books.

In a society that keeps us constantly distracted through social networks, where we are always moving from one place to another, just surfing the web, people suffer more because they do not know themselves. In this society of haste, where pain is avoided, more pain is generated. In Europe, one in three adults has developed anxiety or depression during the pandemic, and among young people, one in two.

That is why books like TU CEREBRO EMOCIONAL are so necessary.

The word “emotion” comes from the Latin emovere, which means to move outward, to shake, to transport, to make the soul vibrate. Emotion drives us and makes us take action. Today we know that the heart has more than 40,000 neurons and a two-meter magnetic field that comes into contact with the magnetic field of another person’s heart. If they vibrate together, you can feel it, and if something goes wrong, it lets you know. So the heart and emotions are intelligent. You could say they are our first brain, despite what Descartes says.

Emotions are like compasses in our lives. They always help us to go in the right direction, if we are willing to listen to them. With this book you will learn to go where your emotions take you; you will start a journey in which your emotions will be your guiding lights, the compasses to achieve physical and mental well-being. Life alternates between easy and difficult times, but when you have a compass to guide you, the journey can be easier, lighter and more satisfying.

One of my favorite movies is Inside Out, and in an interview on Instagram that I saw this weekend, Marin Rojas Estapé recommends it to have a better understanding of our emotions, which is what psychologist Monia Presta also aims to do with her book TU CEREBRO EMOCIONAL.

Monia explains that emotions are neither negative nor positive. They are simply there. In this book, she introduces you to the way they work and shows you that they are your allies. If you accept them, they will guide you to make the right decisions.

With her Strategic Integrative Therapy (the TIE method, by its acronym in Spanish) the author provides you with psychological tools and practical psychophysical exercises to understand your emotions and feel them naturally. As she makes changes in her life, she shows you how her patients evolve and achieve psychophysical well-being. Discover how your emotional brain works at a neuroscientific level, and how to manage your emotions to transform your life and become a happy, free and empowered person.