THE LATINA BOOK CLUB

      Happy New Year!   Every Wednesday The Latina Book Club features an excerpt from an exciting new book. This week we are highlighting  A MONSTER CALLS by Patrick Ness, which has been turned into a movie directed by the Spanish director J.A. Bayona.   We'd like to thank publisher Candlewick Press for copies of the book for our readers. The movie opens on Three Kings Day, January 6, nationwide.  Happy Reading. Happy Viewing. EXCERPT A MONSTER CALLS By Patrick Ness Candlewick Press The monster showed up just after midnight.  As they do. Conor was awake when it came.  He’d had a nightmare. Well, not a nightmare. The nightmare. The one he’d been having a lot lately. The one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming. The one with the hands slipping from his grasp, no matter how hard he tried to hold on. The one that always ended with –  “Go away,” Conor whispered into the darkness ...

       As we count down to Halloween and Day of the Dead this week,   The Latina Book Club   will bring you some “dark and intriguing” books to stay up late with.    Happy Reading.  And always, Read Latino!    Dark Horse Books THE ART OF THE BOOK OF LIFE by Jorge R. Guitiérrez is full of vivid colors, incredible images -- life like and eerie simultaneously -- and wonderful storytelling.  The art celebrates the traditions of Mexico, but more importantly it conveys the eternal battle of good against evil and the universal promise of true love. Once you finish this book, don’t hesitate to get the Fox movie—The Book of Life—starring Zoe Saldana and Diego Luna.  And there is also a book by Stacia Deutsch. Book Summary:   This volume is an inspirational behind-the-scenes look at the making of the animated feature film The Book of Life, from visionary producer Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Lab...

   Congratulations to Aurora Anaya Cerda on fulfilling her dream of a physical bookstore in El Barrio. Aurora's mom, Maria, helps her cut the ribbon. La Casa Azul Bookstore opened it's doors on June 1, 2012 -- for a three-day celebration! -- to a crowd full of family, friends and fans.  The bookstore is located at 143 East 103rd Street in Harlem.  Hours are Tuesday thru Saturdays, 12-8pm, and Sundays, 12-6pm. The location is wonderful and right near the #6 train.  The book selection is plentiful, and there's even a kids' section.  There's also a huge garden and a private meeting space.  Anyone interested in doing events at La Casa Azul Bookstore should email Aurora at  lacasaazulbookstore@gmail.com .   REMINDER:   The  ONLINE La Casa Azul Bookstore is still opened as well.  Do stop by and enjoy!    

FROM THIS WICKED PATCH OF DUST by Sergio Troncoso The University of Arizona Press (2011)       Sergio Troncoso has written a wonderful, heart-warming, universal tale of a family. This story can be about any American family and their struggle to work, pay bills, raise children, save them from the streets, get them through college, and live long enough to see their grandchildren. What’s fascinating about FROM THIS WICKED PATCH OF DUST is that we have not one hero, but a whole family’s worth – Pilar, the mother, who wants to get away from her past and start anew in America; Cuahtémoc, the father, who will do anything for his wife and children even embrace a new country; Julieta, the only daughter, an activist-turned-rebel; Pancho, the caretaker and handyman; Marco, the soldier and teacher; and Ismael, the baby and writer. Often Pilar looks at her children and thinks: “this family seemed like leaves in the wind, from the same tree, yet floating to their...