Bruno Blog

Summer has already started but, for most of us, we still have to wait a month and a little bit more in order to really enjoy holidays. We can’t wait for them to start and to bring us some free time and the chance to rest, above all so that we can forget schedules and a bit of our work. Dreaming doesn’t cost any money and perhaps novels are also a way to escape, that helps us to enjoy our resting days even more. Who wouldn’t like to be the main character of one of our readings? I’m sure that many of you would be able to choose a protagonist of one of your favourite novels, am I right?

This time, I would recommend OPERACIÓ JUDES, Jordi Solé’s novel, who has other two books published in the market. In that particular novel, the main character, Pol Vidal, turns out not to be the ideal inspector neither the one we would like to be, but living another of his adventures might be a perfect plan for those who like to solve mysteries. This is the ideal novel for these holidays, it is a detective story that takes us back to the year 1938, to the moment Pol Vidal receives an assignment from a faithful friend of Lluís Companys, president of the Catalan autonomous government (called la Generalitat de Catalunya) because a senior official has been murdered and they need the inspector’s help in order to investigate the case. They would never have imagined that this detective, who considers himself mediocre, would discover the most important secret of the Spanish civil war.

I don’t know if any of you is already a Pol Vidal’s follower but that novel has all the ingredients to captivate all lovers of good crime novels. And I’m sure that these mysteries won’t disappoint you. Of course, may be you would rather follow James Bond than Pol Vidal, if you’re given the choice, but OPERACIÓ JUDES would overcome many spies movies, trust me! So don’t even doubt it and pick that book for a good summer, and if it’s not enough for you, don’t forget there are two other adventures: BARCELONA FAR WEST and CIUTAT D’ESPIES.

This week we celebrate San Juan. On June the 23rd, it’s the eve party night and we welcome the summer with firecrackers and rockets. This is the shortest night of the year but also one of the most intense, which many describe as magical. For me, it’s a party I especially like because it is celebrated among friends and family but also because it announces the beginning of the summer season, with more light, livelier people, eager to enjoy the well-deserved vacations and to try to put aside the harshness of the rest of the year in order to enjoy a little bit more of everything. We loosen up and let more fluidity get in our lives, with less strict schedules and more improvised lunches and dinners, terraces and moments spent with friends, even on weekdays. So, San Juan eve has for everyone its meaning but it is a celebration day for everyone, and joy is the main course in every home. That’s why Care Santos has dedicated a book to that special party, published by editorial Base. I highly recommend the reading of that book for young ones, and especially during these dates where books take a second place, I am aware of that, but luckily it is not the case for stories. Stories should always be part of our lives and part of the daily lives of the children, so that the habit of reading becomes a pleasure instead of an obligation.

Care Santos also just got a novel published, for older kids between 8 and 10 years-old, and for those who like the culinary subject, which is very fashionable these days with television programs that are audience leaders, such as MasterChef. Care has created the character LAURA CHEF, a girl who has signed up for a cooking course during the summer and this book will be her notebook of master classes with professor Lechuga (Lettuce, in English), a worldwide known chef. This is the perfect book to make our kids’ holidays start with a smile, to make them feel like reading and perhaps like cooking too, a perfect activity that can be shared with the family, without getting burned. There will be more books about Laura, because I’m sure that the little readers will devour the first one in no time at all. This is not a reading only for girls, because we have noticed that the cooking theme is appreciated by all genders, although girls will more likely feel identified with the character that Care has embroidered.

As for now there is only one in the market, but you can mix LAURA CHEF’s reading with the four previously published books from the YES WE DANCE series. It is the story of a group of girls whose passion is dancing and that will also get to travel to New York and some more countries too, on tour with their idols and fulfilling their dream. Nevertheless, they will soon realize that the lives of celebrities are not as great as it seems and that fame has a price. KITCHEN AND DANCE, here are two of the currently fashionable things, so that the kids can have ensured a good reading, and also the children that don’t discard to have a look to these little girls’ adventures, because you always learn.

Finally, we have the ideal books for the teens: EBLUS trilogy, by Care Santos, which I already mentioned previously on this blog, and also Santi Baró’s book entitled L’EFECTE CALDERS, winner of the 2016 Joaquim Ruyra prize. The novel does not pretend to be a tiresome book about the Catalan writer Pere Calders, because it makes a portrait of him and his literature which is really great. Xavier, the main character, has some problems making friends, he is a great comics reader and the only thing he wants is to avoid his parents, so that they let him spend a quiet august month in Llançà, one of the most beautiful fishing villages on the Catalan coast, where the unexpected friendship with the eccentric writer Pere Calders, who also spend his summers there, will change the path of his life.

These are the five readings we recommend for these holidays, for different age groups. The parents who are disoriented, like us, but still believe that reading is a pleasure and a habit that the young ones have to see at home, won’t let down their children if we recommend them some of these mentioned adventures. A good book is a great traveling partner; you already know that, don’t forget it and let’s enjoy it.

Let’s confess a secret because despite I don’t like doing so, I cannot keep silent when the book I’m telling you about today, VIATGE AL CENTRE DEL MUSICAL, is so special to me for many reasons. The first one, and this is the secret, is that I would have loved being a musical actress. I’ve always enjoyed theater and I’m fascinated by musicals, so I’ve followed Dagoll Dagom’s career since I was a child. It’s an honor for me being the literary agent of Bozzo, though he might not know it, because he touches the two worlds I love most, books and musicals. I must say that I have never tried to work in the theater panorama, less in the musicals, because I sing terribly, and this is my frustrated dream. We all have some not accomplished dreams, this is mine. The second reason why it is so special is that since I first saw MAR I CEL, a musical I have seen as many times as it has been performed, I have always thought about how difficult it is to work as an actor and transmit feelings -and, on the top of that, singing! I realized it was a job, as the writer’s, that not everyone can do well but many dare to try. The third reason is that I’ve always enjoyed this musical with my family, something that we culturally share, like books, and I’m proud that we’ve been able to keep this tradition from parents to children. The first time my brother, my sister and I saw MAR I CEL was a Christmas Eve, and every Christmas Eve ever since we go to the theater together, with no exception. And these last two years even my son, who is almost twelve, has joined us because he can now appreciate something so beautiful, and yet so difficult as a good play.

In this book Joan Lluís tells how his company opted for musicals with a wonderful arrangement of the MIKADO opera, then with MAR I CEL, which was a categorical success and then followed with the challenging FLOR DE NIT, written by Vázquez Montalbán, a tribute to Paral.lel Av in Barcelona. This is a book written with humor that will not disappoint any Dagoll Dagom or Bozzo fan since Joan Lluís not only knows everything about theater but also knows how to write in a friendly way to get the interest of the reader, exactly the same way he gets the attention of the audience in the theater. So, all those who have lived all these plays will love reading this chronicle, which is also is the portrait of a time. And for the curious ones, this is a book full of fun sparks that everyone will love, an amazing gift book for lovers of a profession. We are a lucky country that can enjoy extraordinary actors and actresses

Face to face communication among teenagers is very rare, today, though with WhatsApp, Instagram or using any other social network they can conversate for hours. I understand that times have changed and that it is much easier to discuss certain things through a screen than face to face, but this way they are missing very important values ​​such as eye contact, being brave to deal things directly with the person in front and put the strength in a dialogue. We cannot lose the personal relationship, which makes the essence of relationships, indeed, nor say some particular things through the network. A voice, a look, a smile cannot be replaced by an emoticon. It’s not the same. And this works with business relationships, as well, an e-mail solves uneasy or boring conversations that before were only possible face to face, but with personal relations you can achieve more goals than with a cold e-mail. Most people do not leave their comfort zone and follow the easiest way, when life is not always about easy things, and we are definitely educating generations that avoid difficulties, turn a deaf ear to advices and keep walking. We should find a balanced point because as in most things in life, this is something educational, so we need attitude. With adolescents I personally still feel that I can do something and that not everything is lost, but with adults who are already in the business system it’s almost impossible. A real shame they not know what is the value of true communications.

However, social networks have also many positive things: you can get back in touch with childhood friends, which made me very excited a few weeks ago, you can also keep contact with people who are far away and feel them closer, or you can even fall in love. Moreover, it’s a way to care for the written word, as letters did before. WhatsApps or Tweets are shorter, but many people post on Facebook and blogs, and give life to the written word, not a bad thing to recover. Everything has its pros and cons and finding the right measure is the most difficult thing. But we can, and under my point of view, we must find it.

Francesc Miralles and Javier Ruescas wrote PULSACIONES, published by SM (Spanish) / Cruïlla (Catalan), a YA book with eight editions in the market. The point here is that the whole book is built with WhatsApp messages sent through a program called Heartbits where you live the stories of the different characters. As in LATIDOS, the authors repeat the successful formula with the story of Carol and Remo, who meet at the airport and immediately feel the connection -but one is going to Japan while the other to Los Angeles. What happens between two strangers who click but have to be in different parts of world? Every time they receive a message in Heartbits, their hearts beat differently. Is it love? Can they get to know each other in the distance from what they upload in Heartbits or post in Blogbits? The teen-reader will feel more than identified with this experience that as a mother I have read in one sitting, taken by a story that basically tells of a way to communicate with words that if it’s not the only way we have, I find it wonderful, as well. Writing is a way to express emotions and with their master skills, Miralles and Ruescas make of this book something with a special meaning. The only negative point of the book is that it only takes you a few hours to finish as it is an addictive and fast read, therefore, perfect for teenagers in Summer. For those who have not yet read PULSACIONES go to the bookshop and buy them both since, with no doubt, you’ll be left wanting for more.

14th Century, medieval times and Barcelona, are three words that bring me good memories. One of the first successes of the Agency had these three main ingredients, and now that the Agency is turning 15 years old, I look back and CATHEDRAL OF THE SEA is still the book that has set a before and after for me. Now they say that there will be a second part and the truth is that it’s sad for me to know and not be able to be involved, but that’s what the life of the agent is like. The loyalty of the authors depends on a lot of things, and even if the intention is always to have a long relationship, it’s not always the case.

However every time there’s a new book, the thrill is great, and that’s what happened to me with LA FILLA DE LILITH by Glòria Sabaté, who talks about medieval Barcelona and all its many curiosities. With characters that are truly well outlined, and with various mysteries to discover, Glòria invites us to read a historic novel with a mysterious murder and the fears and superstitions the people had at the time and that even touched some of their lives. An addictive novel, and very well written, which is an excellent premiere by an author that has promise. And I hope that our relationship is long and successful, since I started with the three magic words, and magic, like she says in her novel, lives among us and exists in different shapes. It’s a good start, with no doubt, in every way.