Bruno Blog

It’s Sant Jordi again, it seems like yesterday when we celebrated Book Day 2015, and another one is already knocking on the door. What a special day! It is to lots of people, readers and those who don’t read so much, because it’s a beautiful day, filled with roses and books, where we celebrate the day of love, in high caps, the love for books, also in high caps, and even more so for those of us who work in the publishing world, which captivates and hooks us, but makes us suffer at the same time. The book process has a lot of phases, I won’t go on to explain each one of them today, but in each phase you experience different feelings that you always live intensely, at least I do. The moment an author gives you a new novel, it’s exciting, you have very high expectations, and you want to swallow it. The moment you share that reading with the author, with a cup of coffee, has it’s pros and cons, but a lot of excitement, wanting this to work, and the moment the publisher falls in love with the project, it’s just magic. I can only think about how I will tell that author who will see one of his dreams come true, one of the most beautiful parts of my job.

Another special moment is when you see the cover for the first time, when you give a face and a dress to all that amount of words that made you laugh, suffer, cry, depending on the case, and the final climax, which is the publishing of the book, and what comes later, finding the reader who will also fall in love with the project, which many people have worked hard on, with the effort, will and thrill of a dream.

So a nervous feeling in the stomach for another Sant Jordi where I’m glad to recommend our raging novelties, and ask for a favor: celebrate this day at its most, buy that book that you most feel like reading, no matter which one, because what’s important is to read. But don’t let reading be just a one-day thing, enjoy it all throughout the year because a good book is the best company in this long trip that is life, I have no doubt at all. Happy Sant Jordi to all my colleagues in the sector and to the readers who know that literature feeds.

SUGGESTIONS FOR SANT JORDI FOR…

…the history lovers

• Etheria de Coia Valls
• La montaña maldita de Begoña Garcia Carteron
• La filla de Lilith de Glòria Sabate
• Les veus del Liceu de Xulio Ricardo Trigo

…the dreamers and the ones who are eager about every day

• Sueños a medida de Núria Pradas
• El invierno que tomamos cartas en el asunto de Ángeles Doñate
• Diamante azul de Care Santos
• Un perro de Alejandro Palomas

…the great mystery solvers

• Maldita verdad de Empar Fernández
• Para morir siempre hay tiempo de Carmen Conde
• La vidente de la luna llena de Isabel del Río
• La Bíblia andorrana de Albert Villaró

…the big adventure livers

• La filla del capità Groc de Víctor Amela
• El informe Ahnenerbe de Santi Baró
• El nazi de Siurana de Toni Orensanz
• El cuarto reino de Francesc Miralles

…the realists

• Pont de cendra de Raül Romeva
• La primera estrella de la noche de Nadia Ghulam and Javier Diéguez
• Ni felices ni para siempre de Clay Newman
• La vacuna contra el miedo de Montse Domènech

…the ones who want to achieve their little-huge challenges

• Ikigai de Francesc Miralles and Héctor Garcia (Kirai)
• ¿Y si realmente pudieras? de Pilar Jericó
• No soy de este mundo de Gaspar Hernández
• Shakespeare para enamorados de Allan Percy

…the one who want to get to know the international ‘best-sellers’

• Illuminae Expediente_01 de Amie Kaufman y Hay Cristoff
• Cartas de amor a los muertos de Ava Dellaira
• Bajo la misma estrella de John Green
• Magnus Chase y los dioses de Asgard de Rick Riordan

…the young readers

• Sapere Aude (Trilogia Eblus III) de Care Santos
• L’efecte Calders de Santi Baró
• La filla de l’argenter de Núria Pradas
• La venjança dels panteres negres de Gemma Lienas
• La Reina de cristal de Ana Alonso y Javier Pelegrín
• Por una sonrisa un beso de Moon River

…the little ones at home

• El club de los caníbales se zampa a Don Quijote de Gabriel García de Oro
• El ladrón de las croquetas de Pedro Riera
• Yes we dance 4 El precio de la fama de Esther Sanz
• William de Care Santos

This past month, a case on the Marist Brothers of Sants has been unveiled, against teachers that abused their students at some point. I think it’s so incredible that cases like this still exist, that when I read the new book by Malenka Ramos, QUIMERA. LAS EDADES BÁRBARAS, I couldn’t help but link it to this news, because maybe in our minds, or at least in mine, I always thought of cases like this one as something from the past. Like in Anton’s case, the main character in QUIMERA, who in the 40s, when punishments, isolation cells and even abusing children was normal in boarding schools and orphanages, like the one in San Torbe, where he lives, and where he promised himself to go back when he was a grown man, and tear down the brick walls that had caused him so much pain, and build QUIMERA: a home for all, no matter the condition, sexuality or inclinations. Forty years later Antón writes a letter to each one of the colleagues he lived with, to try to bring them back to QUIMERA so they wouldn’t forget the good times they spent there, because those also existed, and to keep the promise they made when they were kids.

Drama with some erotic hints that shows us how LOVE is above all, and repression isn’t always able to soothe our most free and revolutionary side. You have to be brave, that’s true, but we have to know how to face every moment in life and try to see the positive part in each one of them, as hidden as it may seem. These young men and women have terrible memories of their time in the orphanage, but at the same time, experiences that go deeper than love or friendship. This union makes them strong, because friendship is so valuable that, when properly managed, it can be a great power to destroy even those bad memories that seem to be tattooed on their hearts. Will Antón be able to bring them all together? Will we find out what it is that happened in San Torbe and changed their life forever?

A great novel, a prequel of the trilogy VENGANZA, which Malenka published quite successfully. The readers that are already Quimeric will understand a lot of things that were left unsolved in VENGANZA, and the ones that are not, will want to read the trilogy after reading this one, which is classified as erotic, but has such a strong plot, that it’s the perfect cocktail for strong emotions and brave readers.

These days there is an advertisement on TV that when I hear it, I love it. It is for the 75th anniversary of El Corte Ingles. A great nostalgic music that makes me think of when I was little, my grandmother who used to sew and made us great costumes, and wool sweaters, which itched me everywhere, but now I remember it fondly. I have never liked big stores, I have always defended the small neighborhood shop in front of the big monsters, but I like the ad and I confess that several times to go shopping in department stores has bailed me. However, small shops which survive, who defend their business every day, are the ones that I admire. And some of them started from nothing and now are big stores, big-name and centenarians.

This is the case of Santa Eulalia store in Barcelona, ​​which Núria Pradas has fictionalized the fantastic story of a family that despite the difficulties, has managed to reinvent itself and endure. The novel SUEÑOS A MEDIDA (Suma de Letras), and in Catalan, SOMNIS A MIDA (Columna) is a fascinating story of a family business that faces the challenges of haute couture, in a society that is heading towards a war. A shop where everything is possible. An entrepreneurial dream, two women marked by the same love, the friendship and the first fashion shows in the city. Glamour, love, elegance and a dream. Thus we witness the birth of the first collection of Santa Eulalia, his first fashion parade, its international projection and its transfer to Paseo de Gracia. With Laia, the daughter of one of the seamstresses of the fashion house, we will visit Barcelona in the 20s and the 30s and we meet characters who take us to decisive moments in the history of the city and the world fashion.

Barcelona’s great novel of this Sant Jordi for any generation.

We all have dreams we would like to see come true, and we all have dream we think are impossible, but there they are, they’re dreams and since dreaming is free, why not think that dream could someday come true? Like Coia Valls tells and shows us in her last book; “Nothing is written in the stars”. I’m of the kind of people who think that if you have a dream you must fight for it, even if it’s hard. It can go right or wrong but you will surely learn along the way, because fighting for what one thinks and wants is never easy, but what’s for sure is that it’s enriching. Therefore, let’s let our imagination fly and let’s not rule out anybody’s hopes or dreams. A lot of dreams are about doing something special, different, a trip or an adventure.  There are very few who go and do it, but those who do, are strengthened.

In the case of the main character who gives life to the new book by Coia Valls, who publishes again this year, a novel with a fascinating female character, already a fingerprint of the house. ETHERIA, a wellborn woman from Gallaecia and  member of Emperor Teodisio’s family, in the period of the IV century, where pagans and christians are confronted, he decides to start a trip towards Holy Land after a dream and she writes a diary to transmit her experience to her disciples. Nevertheless her dream is not how she’d imagined or hoped, dreams are unpredictable, and that might be their magic. She encounters Irene Avelada, a patrician who seems to be fighting for a noble cause but really seeks revenge, and will force the pilgrim to make unseen decisions and to face her own contradictions. A tribute to tolerance, to friendship and to the capability of turning a trip into a life experience.

I’m sure many of you have read about fascinating experiences and trips, but you can’t miss the chance to get to know this pilgrim, from the IV century, when we can’t forget life was very different and women played a very important role in society. Nevertheless, Coia always finds that hero that makes us feel strong when we finish the novel, who takes one more step in her literary career, and who makes us even more of her admirers, since she’s one of my day to day heroes.

The Agencia Literaria Sandra Bruna team wishes you happy holidays. We hope that these days of Easter festivities go very well, that you rest a lot and that you dive into new and exciting stories. There’s no better way to travel and open your mind than with a book.

Because living without reading would be like living without living!

Happy stories!

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