Bruno Blog

This week the United States elections have been held, and I am sorry to say that, to me, it is disappointing that Donald Trump has been the winner. I do not understand that after a president like Barack Obama, who, like everyone, might have done some things wrong but who, generally, I believe has been a good president, now has Trump as replacement. I don’t live in the United States and maybe there are some things that I cannot assess, but from the outside, the candidate Hillary Clinton seemed more like someone who could follow Barack Obama’s steps, which have been firm and respectable. I am sure there will be a strong reason that people from abroad cannot see and I hope that none will have to regret this result. I wouldn’t like to think either that Hillary Clinton has been penalized for being a woman, as some have said. In the wake of this elections, the book that comes to my mind to recommend is the Premio Valencia Alfons el Magnànim de Narrativa 2016 winner José Vicente Pascual, who won the prize with a very special book, ISLA DE LOBOS (Island of Wolves), in which a woman governs an island and nothing happens. It is a novel hard to classify, but with the help of Victor del Árbol’s quote, an author whom I am passionate about and to whom I must thank for having given us this sentence, I believe that we all can get an idea of what José Vicente Pascual can offer to us with this awarded novel:

«With the imagination of García Márquez and the prose of Carpentier, José Vicente Pascual demonstrates that there are still shores to discover within literature». Víctor del Árbol, Premio Nadal 2016

ISLA DE LOBOS (Island of Wolves) is compound of various characters: a geographer, a santero, a counter of waves and a woman who governs with an iron hand the destinations of the island. Apart from the mulatto Esmeralda and her daughter Albabella, who speaks with sea wolves and lives in a cave. Moreover, there is a volcano that guards the plans of those who dwell the mirage of time, the tiny bits of remaining lands and ripraps in the middle of the ocean, no more than a mustard seed that has fallen over the enormous tablecloth that is the sea. In this cloistered universe, over which there is an inescapable curse, the arrival of a naked man without a name, found lying on the sand of the beach and brought there by the swell, will become a thread that will be invoked by making him perform an almost impossible task. While he tries to accomplish the given ask, major forces than the ones of a mortal being, work silently in order to change the destiny of the Island of the Wolves. An edge that doesn’t appear on the maps and that is almost not even in the world.

In weeks like this, I would like to get lost somewhere that is not represented on a map, out of this world that I often don’t like how evolves. But I think that if we all did a tiny effort to try improving the small things, we would take great steps to acquire a happier world, less violent, where people wouldn’t be tense and where none would be a thread, even when it could seem so. I would like to congratulate José Vicente Pascual for this prize and I encourage you all to read this magical and adventurous novel that Ediciones Versátil has recently published. And, with the good work they always do with press, I am certain that many of you have already seen it on the newspapers, or heard of on the radio. A novel that is not easy to explain but it is easy to read.

Even if we don’t like it, we all depend on time. I am always lacking time. 48 hours days should exist in order to be able to do all I need to do, and everything I would like to do. I sense the passing of time with the years, one more year and it seems as if hours were even faster, or I am slower, I never know what to think. I also try to take the most out of the moments I like, the ones I would like to never end: family gatherings, weekends with my kin, the hours practicing sport, a coffee with my friends, and sunsets at the seaside.  Years go by and, without even realizing, we are past forty and thinking that it is better to have a birthday than not to have it.

However, after reading the book EL LADRÓN DE MINUTOS (The Minute’s Thief) by David Lozano, I thought it wouldn’t be at all bad that my birthday disappeared from the calendar and I could stop the time and my age, and not have to worry about this feeling that life escapes from my hands. But I am certain it would have its consequences, as it happens to Edu, the main character of the story, who is ten years old and really doesn’t like having his birthday stolen. So, he tries to take it back. In order to do that, he goes to the Shop of Forbidden Things, where he will get the Suctioning Machine of Time, capable of stealing minutes in order to regain and collect them until reaching a complete day. It seems easy and, without thinking in its consequences, he starts the hunt for good moments… of others. This way, step by step, he becomes a true addict to these minutes that conform others’ happiness, and stops living the present. He will abandon his best friend, his classmates, he will stop playing football, he will forget about his studies… and fall into an unhappy and selfish life of which he will not awake until the very last moment, when he finds himself forced to decide what to give true value in life.

A masterful incursion by Lozano into the world of the little ones in the house, with a fun story that gives value to values and, yet only because of that, is already worth not missing.

Last week I wrote about pre-Frankfurt, and this week is already the ‘post’. Truth is that I don’t know at which stage one has more work, whether before or after; but after, one has the satisfaction that it has already happened, that the nerves have been parked and the experience positive, which is the best part. Before leaving, there is always the laziness and the believing that with the email it can all be done. Because, since we are constantly in communication, one gets to think that fairs are of no use. But now, already back in the office, and after the event, one realizes that fairs are useful, and that, in addition, one cultivates the most important thing among people, which is face-to-face communication, and not communication through a screen, whether it is a big or a small one. Eye contact, the power of shaking hands, a hug, and the simple fact that people can see the sparkle in my eyes when I tell them about our books, are the irreplaceable weapons in our job; and, I believe, they are the necessary weapons to coexist with people in general.

To communicate effectively is indispensable to understand each other and, even if it doesn’t seem so, communication is an art that needs to be learnt and to have a positive attitude towards it; because to communicate is to establish relationships with people, and that, in our society, is everyday harder to accomplish. For this very reason, Alfred Picó’s book, 100 IDEES PER SER UN GRAN COMUNICADOR (100 ideas to be a great communicator) has been extremely useful to me. Because it explains from how to write an email effectively, because the use of WhatsApp, that from my point of view, all of us use more than we should, and I am the first one to abuse its use, can generate misunderstandings; how to write a Facebook or Twitter post, two of the social media channels that have changed the way we tell what happens to us. We write and expose everything to everyone, and, by doing so, we are often not aware of how it can affect us. Alfred has done a rigorous, innovative and contemporary job. Because, without communication, we are none, we are invisible and vulnerable. But we have to communicate with efficiency and skill, and even if that seems easy, it is not. Said so, this book, published by Cossetània Edicions, is a tool that can help you more than you think.

A book for the daily life and for all kinds of readers; because communication is one of the engines that move us, that make us be in contact. In the end, relationships are life, so better if one of the essential tools we have doesn’t fail, being it in any format; even if I will always take personal communication without a doubt.

The weekend before departing to Frankfurt is always crazy, hours are missing all around, and I tend to go to the agency when there is none. When I open the door, with everything dark, and in silence, I stop at the same door and listen to nothingness. I almost cannot believe that I have built this small factory of dreams, with the help of a great team. Because one is none on its own, if not with the support of important people and, in this particular case, I am so lucky that the important ones are my family, those who never fail. My mother has been, from the very beginning, pioneer with me in this project, which we saw start and we are now seeing grow; and my brother, always by my side, with his unconditional support during the good and the bad times. And, at last, my father, who doesn’t even need a presentation because he already has the publishing world in his pocket; and my sister, the last one to get in the ship, but the one who has helped me give our work the right direction; because, sometimes, it is easy to get lost, or to be in the danger of sinking. Without them, this wouldn’t have been possible, and that is the reason why I am so thankful of having managed to get this far together.

In the solitude of the agency, I get a feeling of pride and vertigo at the same time. During fifteen years, we have seen everything; and, truly, the publishing world is as beautiful as it is complicated. Nothing is easy, and having to be always mediating, I would say, is fantastic because it always keeps you in tension, there is no single boring minute. But it is at the same time exhausting, and you need to be able to have your space to focus and not lose hope. For this job, it is essential to like books, to love them, to feel a magic relationship with them, and to work for vocation. Therefore, it is attitude what matters the most. The rest can be learnt as long as there is willingness, and willingness comes from personal attitude. When you see an important title you feel butterflies vibrating in your stomach, which means you have the attitude of getting excited and wanting to sell that book above all. Luckily, every day, I am still capable of feeling this magical tickling that keeps my hope active and, if I don’t feel it one day, I worry, because that is the key to be able to defend your clients with energy and strength, and always, always, with a big smile; which, as you may know, is the brand of the house.

For this reason, you can find attached a link to our catalogue, full of stories that will make all readers fall in love and awake different emotions that I am certain will bring you something good. Because reading is life, and gives to each of us what we need at each time. Happy fair! To those of you who are going, it will be a pleasure to see you in tables 5i and 6i, and to those who are not coming, we will tell you all the news when we are back, without leaving anything behind.

There are moments in life when you feel strong, confident, and brave. As a consequence, you feel attractive, beautiful, and young. However, and I am talking now in first person, one needs to know how to make such moments last; because someone only needs to say something slightly unlucky, or if something doesn’t go the way you expected it, and I am not even saying wrong, just not as good as expected, the tables turn to the negative. And suddenly, that positive feeling becomes exactly the contrary, which tends to be long and tiring. Why the euphoric moment only concentrates always in small drops of happiness, short instants, intense, but timely, and, when the mirror shows its negative side however, these are long lasting feelings we don’t know how to overcome? We should believe more in ourselves, have more faith, and not listen that much to those who surround us and influence us to change what we feel or think, or more even, we are so silly sometimes that we allow them to have power. We allow them to break that tiny moment in which we are happy, in which we feel complete. To whom has this not happened? To me, many times, and I am still trying to fight against it. I am trying to listen to myself, and not to others, to trust what I believe and do without the need of examining myself daily. To know how to do my best to combine both my professional career and my family without forgetting about myself and the moments that are only for me. But it is not easy, you have to be ready. However, there are some techniques that can help you accomplish it; and reading this book written by Gemma Lienas is a way to take the first step.

In UN TESORO ESCONDIDO, published by Comanegra both in Spanish and Catalan, for the main character, Eva, everything tumbles and starts falling apart because of something that one of her neighbors says about her job. She loses her self-confidence and she seems unable recover from it. From that moment, everything goes wrong for her, she can only think in negative terms, she sees herself as incompetent, clumsy, ugly and incapable of doing anything. And even less capable of doing the conference she has programed for the weekend. As the week goes on, her lack of self-confidence grows and Eva enters a state of sadness and disdain for herself. But her friend Luz comes to help her and enlightens Eva’s way towards the recovery of her confidence and her abilities. Along a number of days, Luz talked to her about the deforming mirrors and how some people attack our image to position themselves above us. Luz shows Eva how to break her silence, since she is not the only person in such situation. She also shows her how to modify her interior monologue to stop devaluating herself constantly, to convince her that she is capable of many things, to relax, to establish positive connections that will help her day after day to build her own identity independently from others. She will also have to help other women not to fall in the same problem. First with the help of Luz, and then all by herself, Eva will be able to reestablish relations with her son, couple, mother, and above all, with herself. In the final scene we see how she is able to successfully give that conference she was so scared about at the start of the week.

This book is a small gem, short, but in which one will learn about the importance of self-confidence and the confidence of women. It offers very helpful tools to work with these two themes, that are, to many women, the Achilles’ heel of life. A simple text, direct and at the same time smart and with history, that profoundly connects with the reader. For those of us who live between work, family, and our personal care, but that also, many times feel like losing confidence only because of a minimum but toxic gesture of someone around us, or even for a personal thought that makes us feel unstable and insecure. To me, a compulsory reading that has helped me strengthen what I believe. A must read.