Literary recommendations for gifting this Christmas
'The New Barcelona Post' proposes a selection of titles for all tastes, with new releases and some re-encounters, among which good books that many will want to see wrapped predominate
If Christmas is good for anything, it's for taking a break (for those who can). Between the cold weather and the many family feasts, the little strength left is better spent on the sofa or in bed with a good book. If only to end the year fulfilling the resolution of "reading more" or to show on GoodReads that this 2024 has not been in vain.
With a publishing sector that relies on this Christmas campaign to close another record year, here is a selection of recommended titles that can be a good gift, for oneself or for others. The saga of the moment, Michael McDowell's Blackwater, is not missing, nor is the latest Nobel Prize in Literature, the fascinatingly cryptic Han Kang, but there are also proposals for Barça or Jane Austen fans.
Impossible to Say Goodbye, Han Kang (Random House)
More Han Kang withImpossible to say goodbye, one of the latest titles translated into Castilian and Catalan, along withHuman Acts. The Nobel Prize in Literature winner who celebrated by having a tea poses inImpossible to say goodbyea plot in which the narrator has to face an almost impossible mission, with the aim of saving a friend's bird admitted to the hospital. Another suffocating story by the South Korean writer through a protagonist who isolates herself from her family, like so many other of her characters, a forced solitude that increasingly takes a different form in her novels. Price: 21.90 euros.
The more people die, the more I want to live, Maruja Torres (Temas de Hoy)
The Barcelona writer, born in the old Chinatown neighborhood, returns to the fray with a memoir in which she reviews a life marked by journalism, with the characteristic self-confidence, now that she says she has more dates since she appeared in Lo de Évole. Jokes with meaning to explain what aging is all about (with permission). All this, without losing the lucidity that characterizes her to tell the necessary truths about today's current events, with more wars, tension, and fear. Fortunately, Maruja Torres is still there. To bring order and shed some light. Price: 20 euros.
Blackwater. The Flood, Michael McDowell (Blackie Books)
The story, and misfortunes, of Perdido, a small town in southern Alabama, have become the great success of the year. More than 700,000 readers have joined this saga, recovered by Blackie Books, fully immersing themselves in the plot starring the Caskeys, wealthy landowners whose path crosses with the mysterious Elinor Dammert, who appeared out of nowhere after a flood that took everything. Six short volumes, all with beautiful covers, to enjoy this Christmas, if you haven't already. You start with The flood. A new opportunity for Michael McDowell, a forgotten writer, also a screenwriter in films likeBeetlejuice and Nightmare Before Christmas of Tim Burton. Price: 9.90 euros.
Although the latest film directed by Isaki Lacuesta from Girona,Second Prize, has fallen out of the Oscar race, in which efforts will have to be concentrated toThe room next doorof Pedro Almodóvar, there is still much to celebrate with the film about the origins of Los Planetas. Even more so when the Goya awards ceremony will be held in Granada. Meanwhile, and for those who have not yet seen it, you can learn a little more withThe Ground Floor. Filming Diary, the account of how the filming was done by the writer and poet Alejandro Simón Partal, who lived with the team and narrates everything from within. Price: 21.90 euros.
Las casas del Barça, Frederic Porta and Manuel Tomás (Lunwerg)
While waiting for the works at Camp Nou to finish and space to be left for the Lluís Companys Stadium to once again have a completely musical calendar, the Lunwerg publishing house has dedicated itself to collecting the graphic history of the 125 years of FC Barcelona, selected by journalist Frederic Porta and historian Manuel Tomás in a trilingual edition (Spanish, Catalan and English).The Houses of Barça reviews the stadiums where the team has sweated, from the rented fields where it began to play, through the first stable headquarters on Indústria Street, known as the Spittoon, and the Les Corts stadium, until reaching Camp Nou. A story that covers all episodes from 1899 to the present day. Price: 39.95 euros.
The homes of Barça, in a trilingual edition.
Jane Austen. Visual Encyclopedia, Gwen Giret and Claire Saim (Lunwerg)
If there is any author who is perfect for Christmas, it's Jane Austen. For the typical couch and blanket plan, nothing beats one of her novels, with the subsequent option of watching them on the big screen, with an infinity of adaptations to choose from (BBC ones are always a safe bet). To go against the current, it is recommendedPersuasion before great classics likePride andprejudice,EmmaandSense and Sensibility. As there has recently been talk ofThe Watsons or Sandintonand one must prepare now for the 250th anniversary of her birth this 2025, Lunwerg has published an extensive visual encyclopedia that reviews the life of a writer who never imagined all the success, and readers, she would accumulate years later, surviving any trend. Postscript: there are recommendations on how to dress in period attire. Price: 39.50 euros.
The Story of Art, E. H. Gombrich (Phaidon)
Cultivating oneself is never a bad idea. For those who want to update their knowledge of Art History, without disparaging that Vicens Vives book that many keep as a treasure, Phaidon presents a classic text to understand art, written by Sir Ernst Gombrich in 1950. Translated into more than 30 languages and facing its sixteenth edition, this bestseller serves as a thoughtful introduction to this discipline, reviewing everything from the first cave paintings to 20th-century art, with an included preface by the granddaughter of the British historian. Once the reading is completed, which can be taken as a New Year's resolution, then, when one arrives at the Parthenon, everything makes much more sense. Price: 59.95 euros.
A classic to delve into the world of Art History.
Japanese Canteen, Clémence Leleu and Anna Shoji (Cinco Tintas)
More than a hundred recipes and reports to get to know in depth a captivating country like Japan.Japanese Canteen, published by the independent Barcelona-based publisher Cinco Tintas, invites you to try some of its most well-known dishes such as thegyozas, being able to elaborate them with ingredients found here. Divided into five geographical zones (Tokyo, Kansai, Kyushu, Hokkaido, and Okinawa), its pages offer a deep exploration of their flavors, bringing their markets and bars a little closer, where any choice is good, in addition to taking the opportunity to tell the fascinating and complex history and traditions of Japan. Price: 39.95 euros.
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