Bruno Blog

It is the start of the new school year, the time where we are all trying to come back to “the new normality” but the truth is that most of us have fears. However, we cannot let those fears stop us, we cannot let the fear of what is being told in the streets defeat us. We know that we are living in the middle of a pandemic, and that is the reason why we have to be sensible, we have to try and do things in the right way, but at the same time, we have to learn to live together with this situation in the best way possible, trying to turn the tables. Today my sister has shown me a video that highlights how an alarming headline if deeply analysed can be completely different. That is why we want to encourage you by saying: keep calm and go on, as Alex Rovira and Fernando Trías de Bes would tell us, authors of the bestseller THE GOOD LUCK, with more than 4.000.000 copies sold. This two authors are surprising us this week with their new book, LAS SIETE LLAVES, where they give us the keys to achieve freedom, and that is the only way to truly accomplish happiness in our lives.

In this useful book the authors show us that having success does not mean that we are free, and the secret is not being free in itself but to stop being a slave. The authors prove us that we get to our essence by discard, and in rejecting all the things that we do not want in our lives, we will finally achieve happiness. The ability to say NO is the ability to say YES to your life. In order to obtain that state you will have to break the chains that limit you and these authors give us the seven keys that will help us fulfil our goal, which is to live according our principles and desires. Moreover, “the mystery of the seven keys” will accompany us throughout the book, a story that will take us in a journey of liberation in order to live according to our essence.

I would love to finish this blog with a quote that has charmed me: “The denial of what denies us is what affirms us”. This quote is a huge reflection and a difficult one to process at the same time, but it has so much sense and it gives us a true lesson about what is life. You can all find LAS SIETE LLAVES in the bookstores!

We start the season with a long-awaited and special recommendation. Albert Villaró returns, an author that many of you were waiting for. This new work, Made in Villaró, has once again an impeccable literary style and this time presents us with a commercial theme with a historical background. Those of you who fell in love with ELS AMBAIXADORS (Premi Pla 2014) will be caught up in the story of LA COMPANYIA NÒRDICA (Columna), his new novel.

I openly admit that, at the beginning, when Albert was talking to me about his new project, I couldn’t really understand what it was about. This is what happens when the writer has his work in his head, but only he has it clear. Nevertheless, once you have read it, you perfectly understand this incredible world that the author has developed. Besides, you get hooked in an addictive way until its end.

Here I leave you with a small summary of this novel, which is already among the best sellers and has only been in bookstores for a couple of weeks. 

An archivist finds W. Urlich’s diary in a lady’s garage. This manuscript is the story told in LA COMPANYIA NÒRDICA, modified and ordered by its editor, the archivist himself. We are in 1837, in the middle of the Carlist war in Spain. Urlich is a young Prussian who comes to the country to fight for the Carlist cause, escaping from a legitimate murder, committed in a duel. The young man decides to go and fight in Catalonia, far from the court, and crosses the border into Andorra with a smuggler. When he reaches the camp of the Carlist troops he is sent to “solve a delicate matter”, which requires someone with studies. The situation is as follows: a mail convoy has been intercepted and all the soldiers killed. The liberals accuse the Carlists, but they assure that they have not been killed. Urlich arrives on the scene and meets his fellow expeditionaries: Mina and Osinalde. They all come from different sides, but a sort of truce is signed in order to investigate the case.

The magic and the music will be the two important points in this story to discover the mystery. Villaró surprises us again with a masterfully written text and with a mixture of genres so well done that it is difficult to label and explain. However, once you start reading LA COMPANYIA NÒRDICA, you can’t stop.

This is going to be a different summer.  We hope that the books will not be lacking at our side and that they will help us to rest these weeks to face the next autumn. We close this July 31st and reopen on August 31st.  In the meantime, my mail will remain active. Although we all need a break to recover our strength, this year I can’t stop working, I can only slow down a little to be able to think about that uncertain future in which the books can’t be missing. I hope you have a summer full of smiles, friends, good conversations, ice cream and, above all, books.  On the website you will find our latest news, I hope you choose one of our titles to accompany you this summer of 2020, which will be marked by many aspects. 

I take advantage of today’s blog to remind you that we continue with our campaign LA LITERATURA ALIMENTA, because for hunger there are no holidays and there are many families who need our help to have a hot dish a day. With a small contribution we can do a lot for these families who struggle to survive daily. Click here and help us to help.

Today we had to celebrate the Sant Jordi that we could not do last April 23. However, the resurgence of this damned virus has prevented us from doing so. Despite everything, the publishers, the authors, and the other agents of the publishing sector continue to support reading and we will not let this silent virus rob us of the important things in life. I refuse to give up, but for the time being we must be careful and follow the recommendations. I will continue to support culture and sport, because without these two things, my life, and that of many, would not be life. For this reason, today I present to you my selection of those non-fiction books that have helped me during my confinement.

LA LIBERTAD INTERIOR (“Inner Freedom”), by Gaspar Hernàndez, has been an essential book for me at this time. If we do not learn, we will never be free. RABIETAS (“Tantrums”), by Míriam Tirado, is an important title to fight, with love, those tantrums of the youngest that are so difficult to assume. CUENTOS PARA NIÑAS Y NIÑOS FELICES (“Stories for Happy Children”), by Àlex Rovira and Francesc Miralles, is a wonderful book to read as a family and learn that happiness depends on oneself. NOS ROBARON LA JUVENTUD (“They Stole Our Youth”), by Víctor Amela, is a work that explains in its own voice what the “Quinta de Biberón” was. TE QUIERO, ¿Y AHORA QUÉ? (“I Love You, Now What?”), by Nika Vázquez, is a revealing book that will help us to enjoy our relationships more. TODO SALDRÁ BIEN (“Everything Will Be Fine”), by Francesc Miralles, presents us with different views on how to deal with this pandemic and what we should do to combat what it has caused. To finish UNA LUZ DENTRO DE TI (“A Light Inside You”), by Andrés Martín Asuero, is a book that tells us in a novelized way, the benefits of a spiritual retreat.

All the books have a double reading, what it is and what it brings us. For me, each one of the titles that I have mentioned have been points of support to be able to fight against specific moments of my life. Books help the soul, so today, more than ever, let’s choose one to bring something to our daily lives, because reading is life.

It’s already the middle of July. We haven’t had a spring this year and this summer is being very strange. As much as we want everything to go back to normal, we still have this silent virus among us, and we cannot let our guard down. This has caused many of us to cancel trips and choose to stay close to home and enjoy local tourism, which is never a bad option. And if we can also complement it with reading, so much better.

Spending a day on the beach reading Xulio R. Trigo’s novel, LA NOIA DE LA RESISTÈNCIA (“The Girl of the Resistance”), can be an ideal plan. Who doesn’t like to read a good love story set in a turbulent period?  You can also spend a quiet afternoon in the mountains lying in a hammock in the shade and get to know the life of the French poet Rimbaud by reading Miquel Esteve’s latest novel, EL MISTERI D’ARTHUR RIMBAUD (“The Mystery of Arthur Rimbaud”). For those who choose to stay in the city, I recommend any of Carla Gracia’s works, such as EL ABISMO (“The Abyss”), a thriller that leaves no one indifferent, or SET DIES DE GRÀCIA (“Seven Days of Gràcia”), a historical novel that explains the Revolution of the Quintas led by the brave women of the time.

Another option is to travel through the books.For that reason I recommend you SAKURA LOVE, by Francesc Miralles, a book that points directly to the heart that proposes us a trip to Japan from the hand of an expert, an ideal reading to share and to comment in family. To finish, I recommend two exciting novels with intrigue and mystery. The first is EL TIGRE Y LA DUQUESA (“The Tiger and the Duchess”), by Jordi Solé, a work that tells us about the Pink Panthers, one of the most dangerous criminal gangs in the world. The other is UNA BALA CON TU NOMBRE (“A Bullet With Your Name on it”), by Susana Rodríguez, a thriller that will keep you up all night.

Summers without sun, without sea and without meeting friends are not summers. Neither are they without books. A book is the great companion in those moments of relaxation that help us to disconnect. How magical reading is and how nice it is to be able to enjoy it. Don’t miss out on one of the great pleasures and choose that novel that will make you vibrate this summer. Happy July full of books.