THE LATINA BOOK CLUB

    Tell your super-ego to fuck off, man.  The way you examine every single action, past and present, is twisted. The sin of pride. You’re not that important. You have to forgive yourself once and for all.   --- IN THE MIDST OF WINTER ATRIA BOOKS Isabel Allende starts a new book every January.  IN THE MIDST OF WINTER must have been started during a snow storm because this book takes place during a hard winter in Brooklyn. IN THE MIDST OF WINTER is a heartwarming, captivating, suspenseful, adventurous, gratifying novel.  It’s about love and loss, about justice and redemption, about survival and rebirth, about friendship and family. Allende tackles issues like gang violence, political atrocities, domestic abuse, illegal immigration and human rights se with truthfulness and integrity. Her characters are so realistic they could be your next door neighbors. This novel is fast-paced and with enough plot twists –I did not see that dead...

We lose ourselves in books; We find ourselves there too. We don’t know who said it, but we truly believe in the saying above. We have lost ourselves in numerous books this year. Books are our happy place; our escape; sometimes our refuge. It’s always a pleasure to discover a “new” author and to reconnect with favorite ones. We were super excited as The Latina Book Club started putting together its 4th Annual List of Books of the Year for 2016. Readers will love these exciting, daring, gripping books by Latino authors and about Latinos in all genres, and some in two languages. We encourage everyone to support our authors by buying their books and telling all their friends and neighbors about the books. Remember that books make great gifts year round, and do consider giving books to your local library. For this new year, explore a new author, a new genre. All learning is good. And, who knows? Maybe you’ll find yourself in one of these books too.  Happy ...

      Book Expo America earlier this month was a fun and maddening adventure into the world of books.  It was great to meet authors, editors, illustrators and other industry professionals.  Not all booths were as diverse as they should have been, but all were sources of information, especially on upcoming books.  Below are 15 books that were getting good buzz at BEA.  Some you can read now, others you’ll have to mark your calendars for their upcoming release.   Happy Summer, Happy Reading! --Maria 15 BOOKS FOR THIS SUMMER & FALL ANCIENT EARTH JOURNAL: THE EARLY CRETACEOUS by Juan Carlos Alonso & Gregory S. Paul (science) – Walter Foster Jr. --Outstanding class room text books and great coffee art book! --Great descriptive narrative and detailed illustrations will entrance kids of all ages.  Plus, this book is “backed by the research of one of paleontology's most acclaimed theorists, giving the book ...

Atria Books Spanish Today is the Chinese New Year.   We welcome the Year of the Monkey. Now, whether you started your New Year in January or now in February, we are sure one of the things that has crossed your mind – maybe to add to your “New Year’s Resolutions” – is to get fit. Univision Nutritionist and Fitness Trainer Claudia Molina and her new book on juicing and exercise can help you get started.  JUGOSA Y FIT may be in Spanish, but fitness in any language is important.  The book is full of wonderful and nutritious recipes, as well as exercise routines for everyone.  (English translation is in the works.) Claudia encourages everyone to drink natural juices because they are easier for your body to absorb and are quick to energize you. Besides, if you want a killer body like hers, then you want to juice and exercise. I got a Nutra Bullet for my birthday in November and I am loving juicing.  I add a hint of ginger to all my juice comb...

Atria Books This book also available in Spanish. I would empty myself of everything but love. – Ichimei Isabel Allende’s THE JAPANESE LOVER is an engaging and romantic tale spanning 70 years and multiple generations. The main themes in this novel are family, friendship, loyalty, identity and above all, love.  Love makes the world go round and in this novel, love’s survival is at its heart. The forbidden love between Alma, a young Polish girl and her family’s Japanese gardener, Ichimei, lasts a lifetime in spite of their racial differences and the trials that separate them. Beautiful love letters and small token gifts keep them connected through his imprisonment in the Japanese concentration camps and afterward when they wed other people.  Readers will laugh and cry as these lovers fall in love, only to lose their love.  Romeo and Juliet?  Maybe, but these lovers decide to live and to love even if it’s in secret and only in their hearts...