Bruno Blog

One of the books that I have as reference, and it is not a classic, is WONDER. It is a book that I really enjoyed because of many things but the most important one is to learn to accept yourself, that being different does not have to be a bad thing. There are sentences that I have underlined and I had the same feeling with the young adult book of Coia Valls, published in Catalan by Animallibres and let’s hope that soon will see the light in Spanish, given that is an adventure book which aims to update the myth of the panther women and go in depth in matters like accepting oneself, and others, the courage that means to dare to listen and make decisions , the value of friendship and love as a source of freedom. Emma Ambrose lost her parents in a car accident. Shortly after, a police inspector knocks at her house and tells her that, in his opinion, the accident from her parents was a murder. A letter from Mali seems to be the confirmation of this suspicion. Emma decides to travel to Sahel with the hope of finding out the truth, and maybe be able to reveal the mystery of her odd nature, because Emma has a secret: Some nights she disappears and when she wakes up, she does not know what she did nor where she has been.

A novel for those teens who like adventure with traces of fantasy novel with archaic, mysterious, wild, and enigmatic horizons.

Emma must grow up overnight, face that her parents are no longer beside her and take the initiative. A difficult step for every teen to take but she takes it even though that does not mean that she does not long that innocence from when she was a kid, and her mother would tell her stories to end her fears. It is an enigmatic character, she is afraid of losing control, of the fight of that animal and brutal of her shifting nature that uneases her. She must be strong to keep control but without meaning to void the wish. Because what would life like without wishes?

A captivating novel from which we can pull from different strings to understand human nature. Coia Valls had already published children books. Here she goes into the young adult world exceeding expectations.

I know Nadia Ghulam since more than ten years ago and she is one of the best people I have met. She was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, where she spent her childhood and adolescence, which were pretty rough given that she made herself pass as her brother, who had died, in order to save her family, until 2006 when she left the country and started living like a refugee in Catalonia. She works as a social educator and is an activist for human rights and peace. She has never stop fighting for her country and her Afghan family. Nadia founded the Ponts per la Pau association (Bridges for the Peace Association) which helps children from Kabul to have an opportunity, the one Nadia did not have, by means of education, despite de situation of the country, the one who, unfortunately, has fallen behind and Nadia vindicates now more than ever that we must do something. Her book THE SECRET OF MY TURBAN, published by Columna and Planeta, which has been in the market for more than ten years and has been translated to eleven languages, is about her real story, the one we should all read to know how they used to live in Afghanistan and because after the latest news of the country, seas of people have wanted to leave and become refugees in any other part of the world where there pain and abuse do not exist. Many of us can not imagine this sensation but when Nadia talks about it make your hairs stand on end while stirs the fighting spirit she had and that she keeps alive now more than ever.

This week goes on sale Nadia’s first children’s book, illustrated by Mona Brunet, THE LAND OF THE WINGLESS BIRDS, published by La Galera in Catalan and Spanish, where Nadia has tried to write about the people that escape for having a home and a place to shelter. She dedicates this book to the refugees, her country, the most vulnerable children and to all the people that time after time must fight for their wings to grow, to fly and to find a nest. A book that was started in 2019 and that sees the light just in this moment so convulsive for her native country but so necessary for those of us who live in a world with commodities and can choose when and how do the things we want, gain necessary awareness since little. A book all parents should read to their children to get to know little Bibí and her family who live happyly in the land of wingless birds. One day hundreds of different birds appear in the sky, birds with wings, who see themselves superior to the others and have no respect for anything. Life will change for all those birds that until then have lived peacefully. The fire and horror start to destroy everything, the winged birds run away without helping others. How will the wingless birds avoid the fire? They must run away to survive. Bibí decides to run without looking back, builds a pair of wings with stems and leaves that help to lift her a little but the rain and the wind destroy them. Alone will get nowhere. Who will help little Bibí to get past her fears and set out on this long journey? There is always someone good, I need to believe that, who gives you a helping hand, in this case, wings to help you fly.

Nadia is a born fighter, and with this book we can not only learn about friendship, courage and to worry about others, we can also think about a country that yet again is in the wrong hands and needs our help to no go back.

Buying this book is a first big step because reading always makes us better.

Thursday, the first one after the well deserved holidays, and we want to welcome you to the beginning of this new course, which will come loaded with so many literary releases, which, as always, we will be sharing with you through this blog and our social networks: Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, Twitter and Youtube, I encourage you to join if you are not already, and also encourage all those who love books to follow us, this way you can be updated of the novelties of our authors, but also with the news and important things in the Publishing World.

Many of you have already visited our new offices in the center of the Barcelona neighborhood of Gracia (Milà i Fontanals, 14, 2º 3ª, 080012) where we are very comfortable and with a different concept of how to approach our work with all the changes that this year and a half has raised us.

We have 4 months left of this 2021 to enjoy good books, discover new voices, consolidate the already known ones and continue walking together in this publishing world that never stops surprising us.

This is the last entry of the season. We are leaving on holidays and are eager to. We need them. This course has been really challenging and disconnecting will allow us to start the 3rd term with a positive energy. But we cannot leave without books, as they are part of the necessary company which provides pleasure. When I close my eyes, all those pleasurable moments are beside a book: the morning at the beach, little moments on the hammock before taking a nap, a sunset at the terrace, looking at the sea. And I hope many of you will imagine those sweet breaks by a book and I will leave you with a compilation of all the novelties we have highlighted each week in case you have missed any. I encourage you to go buy them and fill your bags. Do not forget them, as they will help you enjoy your well-deserved rest. Have a great summer! We will return in September, with new books and, above all, with a smile, which was never gone, thanks to our great travel companions: THE BOOKS.

Here is the list with the titles that we have talked about throughout the year:

Barcelona demà o aquesta tarda

El gran baríton

Pasión imperfecta

Atrapats

Vladivostok

La Última Paloma

Abril descubre el mar y los helados de fresa

Ninguna de nosotras tendrá compasión

Un té para curar el alma

Tener suerte en la vida depende de ti

Removidas 

The 24th of July the Olympic Games will begin in Tokio. In 2020 they had to be cancelled due to Covid, and this year the challenge is to organize them. These will be the first Olympics after the pandemic as we still drag consequences of all kinds. Sportspeople, who have also been affected by not being able to train in the best conditions until recently, face a real challenge: fighting for their dream every day. I understand their eagerness but their nervousness and fears too. Whatever the case, it’s fantastic to have the Olympic games and sports back and, in a country like Japan, where everything seems more calm, orderly and Zen.

Our agency has had the great book of the Japanese concept, which has been a worldwide bestseller: IKIGAI. But here is a selection of all the titles that we have in our catalogue, where Japan is a trademark:

IKIGAI – The Japanese secrets for a long happy life.

EL MÉTODO IKIGAI – Find your real passion and accomplish your life’s purpose.

SHINRIN YOKU – The art and science of forest bathing.

WABI SABI – The wisdom of imperfection.

GANBATTE – The Japanese art of always moving forward.

UN GEEK EN JAPÓN – Today’s Japan seen through the lenses of a Spaniard who lives there.