Bruno Blog

TV series set trends, that is a given, and this year Netflix spoiled us with the TV adaptation of 13 reasons why, which made book sales exponentially rise up . Image always calls the youngest’s attention more easily since they have been born in the digital era, but they get, then, the book, so there is nothing to worry about. One of the TV series that keeps all teenagers in front of the TV each Monday night is ‘‘Merlí’’, broadcasted in Catalan in TV3, with the first season aired also in Spanish in La Sexta. The main idea behind the TV series is to convey philosophical values to teenagers through an irreverent teacher who teaches the toughest and hardest assignment, and, for many, the ‘’crappiest’’ one. However the ‘’mad’’ teacher knows how to explain each philosopher and their philosophy in an original and entertaining manner, and he even explains how what these wise men said can be understood and applied in nowadays world, and prove how those knowledges are not obsolete, but very much the opposite.

Hence why I think the book FILOSOFIA PER TREMPAR by J.R.Casafont can be an easy to read work for all of those who love the TV serie, which is reaching its ending, I think there are only two Mondays left, or maybe one, so the book can be a tool to understand even better why philosophy can help us making decisions every day, getting to know ourselves, and meeting people and establishing better relationships with them, the metaphysical secrets, the boundaries between good and bad in a world like our present world, how to be a spiritual in a material world and all we can come to know and all we can’t.

An interesting and free-and-easy book which, after the massive success of the TV series, should be one of the bestsellers at Christmas time, and forever, since a book with good tips is always a good idea in teenager’s lives and in their parents’, who should also read it. The author believes that philosophy is not difficult, but most of the times it is not well taught. Philosophers were not crazy wise men imprisoned in their own worlds, they were normal people, like you and I, who wanted to enjoy life, but who had problems, like all of us, and the only difference is that maybe they were not scared to say what they thought. Expressing one’s feelings is freedom, according to André Comte-Sponville ‘’The aim of philosophy will almost always be happiness, freedom or truth, or the conjunction of the three: wisdom’’.

We all want to be happy, free and wise, of that I’m sure, so a book like this one should be amongst our shelves, any practical tools to achieve what one desires is a treasure, and if it is in book format, it is even better. Happy reading!

Philosophy is a subject, say, of those controversial, because when you are a teenager and you have to study it, whether you worship it or you hate it, there is no middle ground. I liked it, I admit it, and I had a great teacher; because it also has a lot to do with who teaches you and how. However, I had several companions who did not understand what it was for and, believed and believe, it is not necessary for anything in life. But when you mature, you realize that everything is useful in life and that nothing is just because. In Catalan television, TV3, they are broadcasting a series that has become a phenomenon, entitled MERLÍ, which has opened the mind to adolescents and many parents and has shown them that philosophy is applied every day in different areas of life. A cheeky but at the same time empathetic professor, who has a different way of teaching, is the new idol of the young audience. But more importantly, in each chapter he talks about a philosopher or group of philosophers and their theories. (Now Netflix has bought the world rights, so the series will fly and be seen in Spanish too, although I think the first season was already issued by La Sexta).

I love that this triumphs and I am proud to say that we have already used this formula in a book, with an author named Allan Percy, who has sold millions of copies in the world. It is true that, here in Spain, it has not been a resounding success, but it has been so in Brazil and in Greece. Maybe it would be time for MERLI’s fans to know that Allan Percy could be his idol in book format because he has published titles like NIETZSCHE PARA ESTRESADOS, KAFKA PARA AGOBIADOS, and PLATÓN PARA SOÑADORES, which will soon see the light. The formula is the same as that of the series, exposing the theories of the most famous philosophers to live our life better. Television has power, but we have to help books to have it and, from here, I recommend that you keep an eye on this author, because with books you also learn to live, to enjoy, and to be happy.

I have also had the same thing with Ramon Gasch’s novel, LLIBRE DE VERITATS I SECRETS, about Ramon Llull, writer, philosopher, theologian, teacher and missionary. An emblematic figure in Catalonia, and this year marks the seventh anniversary of his death. With this novel by Ramon Gasch you can get to know better a character that, although we have all studied him, no one knows much about him. Why did he not leave a record of his childhood and youth? The author, with great mastery, takes us to the period of life of this great character from Mallorca, with a story full of ignored truths and lost secrets. It is not easy to write about a great character and, I think Ramon has managed to make an entertaining and very special novel to give light to someone who is already well-known but of whom we didn’t know enough; a difficult task that the author resolves gracefully. It is highly recommended for all types of audiences interested in knowing more about a great character, and about history.