Bruno Blog

Carla Gracia is an author that I love;she writes wonderfully well, and when she was asked to write the biography of Mercè Pàniker, she didn’t hesitate at all because she has always admired his woman’s  life and work… Mercè Pàniker deserved a biography written by a masterful pen, with a thorough research and a sweet forcefulness to  make you fall in love with it, and who better than Carla Gracia to do so?

Pàniker was a woman ahead of her time, an innovator who was made invisible by her own family. The daughter of an Indian father and a Catalan mother, she grew up in Barcelona in the twenties and spent her teenage years in a boarding school in the Nazi Germany, which she left at the outbreak of World War II.

She studied chemistry at the University of Barcelona and later, a master’s degree at the University of Leeds, where she was enrolled with only four women among more than twenty men. She was often the only woman in a world of men but she was always brave; she faced everyone in her way, without excuses and without asking for permission. When she returned to Barcelona, she took over the family business —Paniker S.A., a gluing company — and promoted a very strong network within the chemical industry. Her husband died suddenly and she had to raise her four children alone. With the arrival of democracy, she became involved in the defense of women’s freedom and equality.

I do not read biographies often, but this one is worthy, because, when we talk about women who have been a reference, the same ones always come to our minds. Mercè Pàniker should be known as a brave woman, activist and with an emblematic family, with two philosopher brothers and always linked to culture. Thank you, Carla for this magnificent book and for being a loudspeaker of an extraordinary woman as Mercè Pàniker was.

Many books have been written about happiness and how to achieve it. The day Francesc Miralles and Álex Rovira spoke about happiness in a book which turned to be a bestseller, we “opened” a small window to ask ourselves whether happiness is inherent to human beings, if it is something to be built day by day, or if it is shaped by different factors s in  our lifes.

Álex Rovira said: “Happiness is about having small moments of joy”; I think this is totally true;  these tiny experiences are the ones that make us feel good and  all of them together can  lead us directly to happiness. If happiness was meant to be explained in mathematical terms —which is not the case— we could say that: Joy + Laughter = Happiness. For this reason, when Imma sent me her project Reír y vivir, published by Ediciones Cúpula, I thought: “that is exactly what we are missing: WE HAVE TO LAUGH MORE, since this is a tool we have in our lives so we can feel good”.

Have you ever thought about how many times you laugh a week? Have you counted how many times you smile? It’s a very good personal analysis because laughter awakens your inner joy. As Oscar Wilde said: “Life is too important to be taken seriously”. Imma Rabasco says that laughter is a gift that reconnects us with our essence and, therefore, laughter is life. This book is dedicated to all those who, for different reasons, have had to hide their natural joy and currently cannot find the key to recover it. The good news is that this joy is still there and deserves to arise to the surface to fill up the world with love. The beaming author of this book (who doesn’t take herself seriously) teaches us that a sense of humor, laughter and smiles are the three pillars of joy that we should all include in our lives to achieve what we all want: happiness.

How is it done? This book hides the formula, not mathematical, to reach that destination. Life flies by; and the sooner you know how to achieve happiness, the better.

I’m sure that almost all the people who read this blog have children, nieces, nephews or kids around and most certainly, one of the Disney movies that you have seen at some point is Mulan. Of all the ones Disney has produced, perhaps this was the one I was least in the mood to see, but I must confess that I liked it.

For those who haven’t seen it, Mulan is about a brave girl who, to help her family, pretends to be a man to go fight in the war. What I didn’t know at that time is that there was a Spanish Mulan from Leon.

In La doncella guerrera, Teresa Sagrera, one of the most outstanding writers in historical narrative right now, places us in the year 1475, in Arintero. Barely a month had passed since Henry IV died but, on a Sunday in January, men were called to war. The throne was disputed between his only daughter and the future Catholic Monarchs, Isabel and Fernando. The lands of Castilla then became the battlefield that would forever change the destiny of the kingdom. When the Count of Arintero received the news, his health no longer allowed him to fight. However, one of his daughters, the young Juana, decided to represent her family in the battle. She embarked on an epic adventure, full of intrigue and passion, in which she fought for the crown and avoided being discovered, as well as dodging (or not) love.

In this novel, based on an old Leonese ballad, Teresa Sagrera will captivate the reader with a war story that pretends to be a hymn of peace. This is the story of a warrior who had to hide under her armor to save her kingdom, honor her family and become a legend.

The Spanish Mulan will make readers of historical novels fall in love with her because the novel has all the ingredients for fans of the genre to give it a very high rating.

Héctor Garcia is an author I rarely see. He lives in Japan and, with Francesc Miralles has published several bestsellers; the most popular is Ikigai, which has been translated into 67 languages. Under the name of Kirai, he wrote Un geek en Japón, another well-known title. He is an atypical author, quiet, hard-working and one of those who is a pleasure to work with. He respects the workflow and knows very well the role of each one member that works in the  publishing world. Despite being a rational and calm person, he also takes on challenges, such as writing a science fiction novel titled La era de la eternidad, a novel that mixes thriller and romance. It is set in Japan. Although I’m not very fond of the science fiction genre but I really enjoyed this book. It has it all: culture, love, mystery and has the ability of making the reader think thanks to a thrilling story that tries to explain where our society is heading to. A novel that will appeal to those who love the genre, but also to those who do not. Totally recommended.

Nathan’s life, a lonely watch designer, takes a mysterious turn after finding an old photo with Mia. She was his platonic love when he was a teenager, but their love never went beyond the limits of his imagination. Mia moved to Japan with her family just before starting her university studies, separating them forever. Twenty years later, life leads Nathan to take a plane to Kyoto, where an adventure he could never have imagined awaits him.

La era de la eternidad is a technological thriller set in Japan and also a romance novel that brilliantly reflects on what it means to be human in an increasingly virtual society.

Those of you who already know Héctor and his nonfiction side, do not miss this novel, which is a perfect ten. And those of you who have yet to discover him, start wherever you want; one of Héctor’s charms is that whatever he does, he does it well. Happy reading!

Last week we celebrated the first “Sant Jordi” as normal as possible after the pandemic. People were not wearing masks and we could see the long-awaited smiles on a day when everyone flooded the streets to walk and enjoy this tribute to books, writers, booksellers and, of course, readers.

The truth is that we had everything: sun, wind and even hail. There were mixed feelings: sadness for a weather that we did not deserve and joy that came from seeing people who stayed on the street (despite the rain) to support culture and all those who make possible this special day.

Because of that, this week I want to recommend the book published by Ana Alcolea with Anaya, El maravilloso mundo de los libros.

Since humans began to tell stories, countless literary works have been written. This book by Ana Alcolea collects many of those stories that have survived thanks to orality, that were created by great authors, that have become legendary sagas, that were unfairly banned or that have been transformed into unforgettable films. It also opens the doors to the fascinating world built around the book: from the first alphabets to the process of creating a book or the description of the most famous libraries and bookstores in the world. A picture book for the whole family, which should be a must for everyone to know the importance of storytelling and how the history of the book began.

Ana Alcolea writes in a masterful and entertaining way to reach all audiences, and this book, with a beautiful edition, will be a reference in every home. The importance of reading is growing and once again it has been shown that books endure wars, dictatorships, pandemics… and not only persist, but also succeed in being the best traveling companion in extreme cases. So, let’s give space to books and let’s learn about everything we cannot miss in this wonderful world of books.