THE LATINA BOOK CLUB

Remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible but in the end, they always fall – think of it, ALWAYS. --Mahatma Gandhi Me, La Chicana, with a birth certificate that had the box for race checked white. I had lived by a rule that labels were just that, labels. I had convinced myself I was more than a label and I didn’t have to fit into one mold, or tout one line of thought. Even so, I admired those who believed so much that their power, be it brown or black with fists held high, could make a change. But I could never muster the passion to convert convictions into action. Partly, becomes some of my people had been screwing over their own for years. I wanted to live a different story. --Alejandra Marisol Nieto makes a sparkling debut with PIG BEHIND THE BEAR . It’s a fast-paced mystery about a cub reporter who gets in over her head quickly and stays afloat throug...

   THE FARTHEST HOME IS IN AN EMPIRE OF FIRE: A Tejano Elegy By John Phillip Santos Penguin Book Memoir “My Spanish ancestors were not homebodies. They were outliers from the start of our story en las Americas, nomads setting out from whatever their Spanish past was, willing to leave all they knew behind once and for all in search of a new way of life in an unimagined place. Perhaps they were confident that the past would remain where it had always been, if only abandoned, lost, swallowed up, like the enchanted continents of myth like Mu or Atlantis that live on in memory long after any map survives detailing their coastlines and whereabouts. Because of that long estrangement across generations and hundreds of years, there were no living memories of Spain in the Lopez-Vela families.” --- John Phillip Santos This book is a “wildly inventive” combination of family memories, personal odysseys and magical realism. John Phillip Santos chronicles his journey to disc...

The Latina Book Club is Celebrating Men this month, and we are honored to welcome author Torrey Maldonado as a Guest Blogger.  Torrey will be talking about Fathers and how their absence affects everyone.  Happy Reading, and as always, Read Latino. "Your father’s dead. He's gone." That's what my mother told me over the phone. I didn’t know how to feel. My father was absent for so much of our lives. Wasn't he already “gone” to us? Yet, here I was experiencing his real death. The kid in me suddenly wanted him back to give us what he never had: his full and fully positive presence. True to the song, my “poppa was a rolling stone.” He regularly disappeared for years and, during his absence, I didn’t know him. When he returned, my mom let him stay with us and I didn’t know him. He often disappeared into the streets, came home, and disappeared into his bedroom. From my first day of daycare to my first gray hair, he spent more time outside with guy-friends and ...

The Latina Book Club continues its month long Celebration of Men. Juan Gómez-Jurado claims to be an American who was born in Spain. His idol is Steven Spielberg, and his favorite authors include Stephen King, John Grisham and Dan Follet, so is it any wonder that his books are thrillers. Critics consider Gomez-Jurado an “impossibly young master of [the] thriller.” His first novel, GOD’S SPY, to date has sold in 42 countries and more than 1.5 million copies. His second novel, THE MOSES EXPEDITION – also an international bestseller – won second place in both the Best Popular Fiction and Best Novel Adventure categories of the 2010 International Latino Book Awards. His third novel, THE TRAITOR’S EMBLEM, set in Germany during WWI, will be released in July by Atria Books. Before turning to fiction, Juan was an award-winning journalist with several Spanish media. He lives in his native Spain with his wife and two kids. Visit him at http://www.juangomezjurado.com/ . We met Juan a...

   Se fue para no volver, Se fue sin decirme adios. Muy lejos de mi se fue Matando mi ensueno de amor. We are building tomorrow’s society With today’s sweat, a notebook and a gun. If I move forward, follow me, If I stop, push me. If I back off, kill me. "The system is crap, and Castro is still a bearded cabron . What I like is the smells, the people, The Cubanness.” Teresa Dovalpage has written an emotional, fast-paced and entertaining novel. Reminiscent of WHEN I WAS PUERTO RICAN and HOW THE GARCIA GIRLS LOST THEIR ACCENT, Ms. Dovalpage’s HABANERA also chronicles the life of a young Latina, but this one lives in Habana, Cuba. Longina’s story is at times funny and sad, carefree and heart breaking.   It is a must read for every Latina library. Below is a short summary of HABANERA and below that is a Q&A with the author.  Do let us know if you've read the book and/or what other books you've read in the same format.   Thanks ...

            I wanted to write about a character with a Mexican-American mother and an Anglo father, because that was my experience and it made me feel special on the one hand, but also like I couldn’t belong fully to either group.-- Toni Q: Why short stories? You are an editor, why not a novel? A: Well, the short answer is, because I didn’t have a novel! At least, not one I could publish. What I had was a collection of stories I’d written and rewritten over the years. It’s true that many publishers and agents encourage writers to write novels, as opposed to stories or (gasp!) poetry. Collections are hard to sell and I’ve never acquired or edited one at my job. But I'm really glad that I'm starting out with a story collection. It gives me a chance to get my feet wet, so to speak. I’ve acquired many first-time authors, but this is the first time I’m the author myself, so it’s still new in some ways. I look forward to coming out with my...

Luis Alberto Urrea has won numerous awards for his poetry, fiction and essays. He was a 2005 Pulitzer Prize finalist for non-fiction and is a member of the Latino Literature Hall of Fame. His novels include, THE HUMMINGBIRD’S DAUGHTER and INTO THE BEAUTIFUL NORTH. THE DEVIL’S HIGHWAY, which was named a Best Book of the Year by many publications, has been optioned for a film by acclaimed Mexican director Luis Mandoki and is to star Antonio Banderas. Luis was born in Tijuana, Mexico, to a Mexican father and an America mother. He graduated from the University of California at San Diego and did his graduate studies at the University of Colorado-Boulder. He has taught writing and fiction workshops at Harvard, and is now teaching at the University of Illinois-Chicago. To learn more about this writer, visit him at http://www.luisurrea.com/ . This sequel to THE HUMMINGBIRD'S DAUGHTER will be out in December 2011.

The Latina Book Club will feature "Author Cameos" every Wednesday -- brief bios of new authors to explore. Join us and, as always, Read Latino. SANDRA CISNEROS Poet, writer, teacher, counselor Sandra writes poetry, fiction and children’s books. Her best known novels are THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET and CARAMELO. Her collection of short stories, WOMAN HOLLERING CREEK AND OTHER STORIES won several awards including, the PEN Center West Award for Best Fiction and the Quality Paperback Book Club New Voices Award. Sandra is a teacher, counselor, lecturer and writer-in-residence at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio. She was awarded the MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, which led her to organize the Latino MacArthur Fellows, Los MacArturos. Sandra is also president and founder of the Macondo Foundation and the Alfredo Cisneros Del Moral Foundation. Sandra was raised in Chicago and now lives in San Antonio. To learn more about this award-winning author, visit her at h...

The Comadres, Compadres & Friends Book Club are reading two books for March! Mark your calendar for March 18 at the Borders Bookstore on Columbus Circle at 6:30pm. The books are THE LATINA GUIDE TO HEALTH: CONSEJOS AND CARING ANSWERS by Dr. Jane Delgado, with the foreword by Antonia Novello, former US Surgeon General. This is an extensive guide filled with lots of useful medical information and better yet, lots of contact information. And, PARENTS WHO CHEAT by Ana Nogales. The rest of the title describes the book perfectly.  The book is about "How Children and Adults Are Affected When Their Parents Are Unfaithful."  This is a very emotional topic. 

The Comadres, Compadres & Friends Book Club Meeting was today, and we had quite a lively discussion about Carolina De Robertis' THE INVISIBLE MOUNTAIN.  Everyone loved the book.  It's poetic rhythm; it's imagery; the characters; well, everything. Of course, every one of us had different views of the book.  For instance, I thought the whole book was the letter Salome wrote to Victoria to tell her of her paternity and her family history.  What do you think?  Here are the questions the New York City Book Club discussed.  Feel free to use these questions to launch your own discussion, and note that there are no right or wrong answers. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: What does the title of the book mean?  what invisible mountain? where?  And do all the characters "see" the same mountain? The story begins with a miracle.  What other miracles can you find in the book? Is there a hidden meaning in the names of the women:...

The Latin Baby Book Club's February selection is  ARROZ CON LECHE: Popular Songs and Rhymes from Latin America by Lulu Delacre. Delacre’s book is one of the first of its kind to have found its way into publication. It was published in 1989 by Scholastic, the largest publisher and distributor of Spanish-language books in the U. S.  Not many Latinos grow up without learning the popular children’s song, Arroz con Leche. But when Delacre went in search of a book that taught about it and other Latino folksongs for her own children, she was disappointed. Seeing the need, she began selectin the most popular songs from Latin for a book. She partnered with Elena Paz, who wrote the English lyrics, and Ana-María Rosado, who created the musical arrangements.  The end result is a valuable collection of traditional nursery rhymes and finger plays told throughout the Latin America. She credits the countries of Puerto Rico, Mexico and Argentina for the songs’ origins.

ATTENTION:   El Barrio's Book Club meeting for February has been cancelled.  Their next meeting will be on Tuesday March 9, 2010. MARCH'S BOOK CLUB MEETING March 9, 2010 at El Museo del Barrio / El Cafe 1230 Fifth Avenue (at 104th Street) 6:30pm - 8:30pm Book of the Month:    WE WERE HERE by Matt de la Pena Book Summary:  The story of one boy and his journey to find himself.  When it happened, Miguel was sent to Juvi. The judge gave him a year in a group home - said he had to write a journal so some counselor could try to figure out how he thinks. The judge had no idea that he actually did Miguel a favor. Ever since it happened, his mom can't even look him in the face. Any home besides his would be a better place to live. But Miguel didn't bet on meeting Dondell or Mong or any of what happened after they broke out. He only thought about Mexico and and getting to the border where he could start over. Forget his mom. Forget his brother....

Book By Pat Mora Illustrated by Magaly Morales A Latin Baby Book Club Recommendation A wonderfully imaginative story based on the popular song, The Twelve Days of Christmas, A Piñata in a Pine Tree follows a sweet little girl who receives fantastic gifts from her secret amiga. From dos pastelitos to seis trompos girando to ocho pajaritos serenando, this book does a great job of putting a Latin twist on the traditional Anglo carol. And the surprise ending will tie the story together nicely. The book is written with both English and Spanish text interwoven together. Geared for more advanced speakers, the terminology is complex not simple, but readers have been given a glossary for reference in the back. Morales’ illustrations are bold, beautiful and full of movement. The gifts are introduced in vibrant colors and depicted in a way that they practically jump off each page to embrace the reader. It is impossible not to finish reading this book without wanting to start over aga...

Website:  dclibrary.org This group was founded in January 2008 to discuss literature by Latin American authors.  The Group meets once a month in the DC area.  Meetings are setup online via meetup.com. To date, they have 137 members. Their book for November is  THE KILLING FIELDS: HARVEST OF WOMEN by El Paso Times journalist Diana Washington Valdez.