Literanista

6 Books About Food Every Latina Should Read

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 10:00:00 +0000

This year's theme for World Water Day, celebrated annually on March 22nd, was water and food security. Over 90 percent of the water consumed globally by humans is used for agriculture. Scientists note that by 2030 almost half of the world’s population will be living under severe water stress.

via Donna Palmer

"According to the Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change, there are nearly one billion undernourished on our planet, and millions who suffer from chronic disease due to excess food consumption.The demand for food continues to grow as populations continue to grow, and food prices grow with them." Source: Clean Technica (http://s.tt/18ryn)

Latinos have an increased risk for heart disease, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, hypertension, obesity and other diet-related illnesses. The complex politics of food, animal welfare, the global economy, our culture and health are critical to understand and lead us forward in the decisions we take. As such, I've put together this list of books to get you thinking about the food you eat and the future of food.

5 Food Books Every Latina Should Read

Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition, and Health, Revised and Expanded Edition (California Studies in Food and Culture) by Marion Nestle
An accessible and balanced account, Food Politics laid the groundwork for today's food revolution and changed the way we respond to food industry marketing practices. Now, a new introduction and concluding chapter bring us up to date on the key events in that movement. This pathbreaking, prize-winning book helps us understand more clearly than ever before what we eat and why.

Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer
Eating Animals explores the many fictions we use to justify our eating habits-from folklore to pop culture to family traditions and national myth-and how such tales can lull us into a brutal forgetting.

The American Way of Eating: Undercover at Walmart, Applebee's, Farm Fields and the Dinner Table by Tracie McMillan
McMillan embarked on a groundbreaking undercover journey to see what it takes to eat well in America. The surprising answers that McMillan found on her journey have profound implications for our food and agriculture, and also for how we see ourselves as a nation resulted in this book.

An Economist Gets Lunch: New Rules for Everyday Foodies by Tyler Cowen

Tyler Cowen discusses everything from slow food to fast food, from agriculture to gourmet culture, from modernist cuisine to how to pick the best street vendor. He shows why airplane food is bad but airport food is good; why restaurants full of happy, attractive people serve mediocre meals; and why American food has improved as Americans drink more wine. And most important of all, he shows how to get good, cheap eats just about anywhere.

Sugar: A Bittersweet History by Elizabeth Abbott
Richly detailed, impeccably researched and thoroughly compelling, "Sugar" is a comprehensive social history of a substance that has revolutionised the way we eat, and poignant testimony to the suffering endured in the name of satisfying the world's sweet tooth.

Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky
The only rock we eat, salt has shaped civilization from the very beginning, and its story is a glittering, often surprising part of the history of humankind. A substance so valuable it served as currency, salt has influenced the establishment of trade routes and cities, provoked and financed wars, secured empires, and inspired revolutions.

Feel free to add your thoughts or more books in the comments below.

New Book: A Wedding in Haiti by Julia Alvarez

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 10:00:00 +0000

Definitely on to put on your radar this month: A Wedding in Haiti by Julia Alvarez

Julia Alvarez has been called “a one-woman cultural collision” by the Los Angeles Times Book Review, and that has never been truer than in this story about three of her most personal relationships—with her parents, with her husband, and with a young Haitian boy known as Piti.

A teenager when Julia and her husband, Bill, first met him in 2001, Piti crossed the border into the Dominican Republic to find work. Julia, impressed by his courage, charmed by his smile, has over the years come to think of him as a son, even promising to be at his wedding someday. When Piti calls in 2009, Julia’s promise is tested.

To Alvarez, much admired for her ability to lead readers deep inside her native Dominican culture, “Haiti is like a sister I’ve never gotten to know.” And so we follow her across the border into what was once the richest of all the French colonies and now teeters on the edge of the abyss—first for the celebration of a wedding and a year later to find Piti’s loved ones in the devastation of the earthquake.

As in all of Alvarez’s books, a strong message is packed inside an intimate, beguiling story, this time about the nature of poverty and of wealth, of human love and of human frailty, of history and of the way we live now.

In Their Footsteps

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 10:00:00 +0000

Mixed Media Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 20:43:00 +0000

Vincenzo Rizzo

via Etsy.

Different Shades of Kin

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 10:00:00 +0000

We are Family...

These twin sisters, each inherited all-white genes and all-black genes respectively from their mixed-race parents.

How fascinating is that?

Via TheDailyWhat

Lit Links & Scoops

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 10:00:00 +0000

Puerto Rican Supermodel Joan Smalls

- 100 years from now there is an 80% chance there will only be 3 languages spoken in the world: English, Spanish & Mandarin.

- The Social Networks of Emily Dickinson, Paul Gauguin & Charlotte Bronte

- First World Problems: A Perfect Nanny's Worth

- Searching for a great new writer? How Cowbird Transforms Storytelling on the Web

- Khoya opens your eyes to an interactive storytelling experience

- A list of books to help children explore diversity

- Learn how to make your own Roti Canai

- Jared Diamond on Race Without Color.

- Voto Latino is offering a free 35-track Soundtrack to a Movement on iTunes.

- Thoughts on the enduring popularity of Tanning

- What are you doing for Obscura Day 2012?

Wall Writers: Documentary on Graffiti in its Innocence

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 10:00:00 +0000

WALL WRITERS Promo Video from R. Rock Enterprises on Vimeo.
From director Roger Gastman—a producer of the Academy Award-nominated documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop—comes Wall Writers, a documentary on graffiti in its innocence.

Through unprecedented access to TAKI 183, CORNBREAD, and a host of other legendary writers, Wall Writers tells the story of a time when underprivileged city kids refused to keep lurking in the shadows, when the streets were so wild that fame and infamy became indistinct, when art became a democracy and self-promotion became an art.

And the narration is done by John Waters!

Wife 22 by Melanie Gideon - A Book Review

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 10:00:00 +0000

After taking in the promotional copy for Wife 22 By Melanie Gideon, I thought to myself why not, indulge in a ~~wacky women's book~~ chic-lit novel, I haven't read a good one in quite a while ~~(since 2002)~~.

*I hate this cover, it makes it look like a Christian Fiction book.

"For fans of Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones’s Diary and Allison Pearson’s I Don’t Know How She Does It comes an irresistible novel of a woman losing herself . . . and finding herself again"

What I found surprised me. This book resonated with me and was such an easy, delightful read, I can understand why movie rights have already sold and it's being published in 30 countries so far.

The protagonist of Wife 22 isn't perfect. In fact, Alice Buckle is going through a mid-life crisis, her relationship to her husband of 20 years seems non-existent, she thinks her son is gay, her daughter is bulimic, and her life is mostly mundane. She once dreamed of being a successful playwright, and swept her former employer off his feet. Now, she is the same age her mother was when she passed away, and her children are almost ready to fly the coop. And, her husband? Well, the barely speak. And then, she decides to participate in an online study, where she anonymously becomes "Wife 22."

In the course of taking this survey, we learn all about her dreams, thoughts, regrets and history. And while I won't tell you the whole story here, it's not really the plot that sucks you in. I kind of figured out the ending before it happened but... It's how funny, fresh, and "every woman" Alice is, it's endearing and enrapturing. It's a story about how easy to get lost but offers a glimmer of hope.

One of the most pleasant things that stood out to me in the novel is the use of Social Media, the Web, email and texting throughout the story. The abbreviated, clipped linguistic structure that we typically use for Facebook statuses and emails is peppered throughout the book and the even Alice's bored, random Google searches will make you laugh (because you recognize yourself in her shoes). It makes Alice seem not only very contemporary and genuine but you get her. This isn't a contrived story featuring social media as cool prop. This is a story about a modern woman doing ordinary things and how banal that sometimes may be.

I think there are lessons to be reaped about love and life in Wife 22 and it's definitely worth packing into that beach bag this summer for a fun and easy read.

The Dichotomy of Savages: A Movie Preview & Critique

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 10:00:00 +0000

Last week, I heard about the upcoming Oliver Stone movie, Savages, adapted from the novel by Don Winslow, about a lethal Mexican drug cartel, starring Taylor Kitsch, Blake Lively, Aaron Johnson, John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Benecio Del Toro, Salma Hayek, Emile Hirsch and Demian Bichir.

And, I thought yes, this sounds BADASS! I respect Salma Hayek and Benicio Del Toro as veteran Latino actors. I marveled at action movies Machete and Grindhouse. Then... I learned Salma would be portraying the head of the Mexican drug cartel and Benicio Del Toro is playing her macho enforcer, who kidnap Blake Lively.

Now that is sort of kickass, an empowered female lead as the head of ruthless outlaws but how many merciless drug cartels do you know of that are run by women, especially in Mexico? I know, I know, it's fiction, you're saying. But this is where the dichotomy of my internal struggle plays outs in a variety of perspectives explained below begin.

I'm glad Hollywood is putting the ~~any~~ spotlight on serious issues like violence, drug smuggling and corruption and bloodthirsty gangs south of the border. I'm glad Latino actors are able to have long standing careers in the media and are included in ensemble summer blockbuster films. I'm glad authors are still cashing in on movie deals and we're seen original films on the big screen. And... It's nice that Salma isn't playing a maid or a nanny.

However, .... (and this is of course, speculative, since I have not seen the movie, and can only base my thoughts on what I've read so far) we see the same cliched tropes of the villainous, foreign Other - the merciless, brutal, and of course, hyper-sexualized - monsters with no humanity here fused with the old tired tropicalist tropes of the spitfire latina and the primitive macho exotic. Never mind, that Benicio Del Toro, who is Puerto Rican and Hayek, of dual Arab and Mexican descent, are both being portrayed, no, objectified unabated as "Savages."

I write this not to point the obvious or air a tired argument but to open a discourse - to note that I too sometimes get sucked into these popular pan-ethnic constructions that highlight the terror of violence, corruption, and drugs and simultaneously exploit the narrative from a very racialized and gendered angle. That I, as a latina, as a feminist, take issue with this film's concepts and framework but I will probably in all honesty, see it when it comes out this summer.

And, I know, I am probably not alone, as the country analyzes and deconstructs who gets to wear a hoodie and what exactly denotes a vicious, unwarranted crime perpetrated on a child, we should all be introspective about our own bias but we should also keep a careful eye on what the media is producing, glamorizing and hawking as prescribed identities and their context within popular culture and society.

DIY Guava Pastries: Pastelitos de Guayaba

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 10:00:00 +0000

I have fond memories of my grandfather's love of Guayaba (Guava paste) and sometimes whenever I treat myself to sweets from the Puerto Rican bakery on East 116th Street, one of my favorite things to get is a Pastelito de Guayaba.

Recently, I remembered this treat from the past and came across this nifty do-it-yourself cheat version of the recipe. Please note it's high in sugar content and not a healthy treat by any means but sweet pastries rarely are...

That being said, I would go ahead and use more guava paste than used in the video because in the real thing the guava layer literally flows out of the pastry when done. It looks like they went a little sparse there.

Ingredients needed:
Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry Sheets
Guava Paste(Pasta de Guayaba)
Confectioners Sugar

Enjoy!

Literary Blog Hop: Author Self Insertion

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 10:30:00 +0000

I'm participating in a Literary Blog Hop hosted by The Blue Bookcase, who every month poses a question for discussion to blogs that primarily feature book reviews of literary fiction, classic literature, and general literary discussions.

This month's topic:

How do you feel about fictional characters who are obviously closely based on the author? Is this an example of authorial superego? Or just a natural extension of the "write what you know" advice?

This topic has oft been pondered by readers and I think is a common misconception of fans who aren't artists themselves. You can read about self-insertion (intentional or not) here and author surrogacy here.

As I reader, I can tell you it's so easy to correlate the author and their characters that it's almost a reflexive response, just like we some times are unable to separate great actors from their roles. It's not impossible to get past this perspective by the more one develops critical thinking and analytic skills.

A great author or artist's job is to create something so universal and genuine that it resonates with everyone irregardless of time, place and space. This only leads one to believe it must have happened or be in some way true otherwise this person could not have created something so real. Yet as a poet/writer, I can tell you that I have written things from many angles and other's experiences, true ones or fanciful ones created on a whim.

At the same time, everything I write, conceive or create will always reflect my bias, my experiences, my culture and time. As hard as anyone might try to be objective, an artist's lens is solely theirs.

Click here to display the links for this blog hop.

Safe House: Denzel & Ruben Blades

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 15:40:00 +0000

Announcement:

From Universal Studios Home Entertainment: Safe House

Academy Award®-Winner Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds

Star in the Year’s Most Explosive Action Blockbuster

SAFE HOUSE

Available on Blu-ray™ Combo Pack with UltraViolet™ and Digital Copy

as well as DVD & On Demand

on June 5, 2012

"Tobin Frost (Oscar® winner Denzel Washington), one of the CIA’s most dangerous traitors, resurfaces in South Africa after eluding capture for almost a decade. During his interrogation, the safe house is attacked by brutal mercenaries forcing rookie agent, Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds) to take the infamous Frost on the run. As the masterful manipulator toys with his reluctant protégé, shaking the young operative’s morality and idealism, the unlikely allies must fight to stay alive long enough to uncover who wants them both dead. Packed with intense action and thrilling suspense, Safe House takes you on a deadly ride through a covert world where no one and no place is ever safe."

www.nooneissafe.com

MAMITAS: Movie Debut

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 12:53:00 +0000

I wished I would've had the chance to see Mamitas last year at the New York Latino International Film Festival where it was nominated as Best Narrative Feature Film.

Since then the small indie film has gone on to win accolades at the Independent Spirit Awards, the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival, the 2011 Urbanworld Film Festival, and the 2011 Napa Valley Film Festival.

This is the first movie from Nicholas Ozeki, a latino USC film student, who wrote and directed the film. The cast includes: Pedro Armendáriz Jr., EJ Bonilla, Veronica Diaz-Carranza, Jennifer Esposito, among others.

The story follows an East LA High School boy and his struggles in life. Set in Echo Park and against Los Angeles' downtown skyline, this beguiling coming-of-age romance introduces two phenomenal young actors in EJ Bonilla and Veronica Diaz-Carranza. At school, Jordin (Bonilla) is a cocky but charming guy; One day Jordin meets Felipa (Diaz-Carranza), a bookish, no-nonsense New York girl who sees past the swaggering facade. The two immediately embark on an unlikely friendship that inspires Jordin to find out who he really is.

A movie about Latino identity, featuring a bookish, street smart Latina New Yorker, what? I am so in!

The film opens: April 27 in select theaters in LA. More information available at Mamitasthemovie.com

Dos Equis Feast of the Brave 2012 Bypasses NYC

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 11:00:00 +0000

I'm a big fan of the "stay thirsty, my friends - most interesting man in the world" ads from Dos Equis but as a foodie, my Nuyorican ego was a bit miffed by this miss.

The Dos Equis' Feast of the Brave set six taco trucks on the loose, serving a smorgasbord of strange in Austin, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, LA and Miami. According to them, their "tortilla toppers include grilled shark, spiced crickets and hog stomach, among many others. Each taco comes with its own bravery score, and each city will battle it out to see who has the boldest eaters."

And although at "the 2010 Census, there were 319,263 Mexican Americans living in New York City and some estimates suggest that Mexicans will surpass both Puerto Ricans and Dominicans in 2023 to become the city’s largest national Latino sub-group," we all know Tacos have a fandom beyond ethnicity and region.

In addition to that, my home ~~[yes, the center of the universe]~~ is also known as the gourmet capital and ethnic-eats paradise to foodies everywhere. Since, 9/11, we are also the home of the brave. So why the diss? Even the most interesting man in the world in the world is a fan.

Cannes Selects Puerto Rican Film For Shorts Competition

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 18:09:00 +0000

Mi Santa Mirada by Alvaro Aponte-Centeno made the shorts lineup cut for this year's upcoming Cannes Film Festival earlier this month.

The short film tells the story of "Samy, a quiet and solitary man who lives from the drug business. The most important things in his life are his younger brother, who he is responsible for, and his horse. Tired of being a drug trafficking subordinate, he decides to betray his boss Papo. This short film reveals daily life at the marginalized spaces in Puerto Rico."

Congrats to Aponte-Centeno and team! Verdict: Boo, hiss at the ~~tired~~ focus on drug dealing but Yay on giving a voice and a platform to Puerto Rico's marginalized issues.

To learn more about the current issues plaguing La Isla del Encanto, check out Fear and Loathing in the Island that Doesn't Exist.

Open Call: 1st Biennial U.S. Latina/o Literary Theory & Criticism Conference

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Tue, 01 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Haciendo Caminos: Mapping the Futures of U.S. Latina/o Literatures

John Jay College of Criminal Justice
City University of New York
March 7-9, 2013

Abstracts Due: November 12, 2012

This conference aims to draw a critical mass of U.S. Latina/o literary critics and theorists, both foundational thinkers and emerging voices, for the first time in the history of the field. In response to a literature extant in the United States for roughly 150 years, U.S. Latina/o literary scholarship has grown with exponential force over the last two decades.

Thinking through an array of subjects from borders to exile, poetics to politics, bilingualism, race, and sexuality, U.S. Latina/o literary scholarship offers new dimensions to the study of “American” literature. As the inaugural conference, this gathering marks a historic intervention calling attention to the robust contributions of U.S. Latina/o writers.

For too long, academic conferences have relegated Latina/o literary scholars to isolated panels, in large part fueled by the erroneous perception that U.S. Latina/o literature lacks the depth and breadth of other established literatures. Yet this flies in the face not only of a rich body of literature, but scholarly community laboring to shape the field and find greater institutional inclusion.

Thus, this three-day conference offers an exclusive space for intellectual exploration and exchange on a literature that sits within literary studies like the proverbial elephant in the room, just too substantial to ignore. Consolidating the field, inciting generative conversations, creating innovative modes of reading and understanding, are some of the scholarly objectives of this conference.

Located in New York City, home to one of the largest and most diverse Latina/o populations in the country and birthplace to some of the important literary movements in Latina/o literature, this conference boldly calls for a fundamental reawakening of the field. One that provides the space for critics of multiple U.S. Latina/o literatures to congregate and become (re)acquainted in order to expand our scholarship and build critical networks of support.

In an era when Ethnic Studies is being attacked, we must brazenly champion, across our departments and institutions, a brilliant literature and scholarship that shine a path to a more complex and just humanity.

In addition to two days of panels by scholars from around the country, this conference will include the following special events:

Thursday, March 7th: Opening address by Ramon Saldivar, Stanford University

Friday, March 8th: Roundtable discussion with Mary Pat Brady, Cornell University, José Esteban Muñoz, New York University, Frances Negrón-Muntaner, Columbia University

Saturday, March 9th: Junot Díaz in conversation with Silvio Torres-Saillant, Syracuse University

Proposals for panels or individual papers are welcomed. Undergraduate and graduate student submissions are encouraged.

Papers might include, but are not limited to the following:

Illegal Borders and Imaginative Boundaries

Citizenship, Strangers, Politics of Exile

Affective States

Latina/o Phenomenologies

Diaspora, Displacement, and Relocation

Spic-ing English: Aesthetics and Bilingualism

Afro-Latinidad and Reimagining Race

Class and the Violence of Everyday Life

Gender and Literature

Queer Futures

Dis-Abilities

Coloniality and Modernity

Transnationalism and Hemispheric Studies

Literature and Nation in the Age of Global Capital

Human Rights and Activism

Latina Feminism

New and Old Genres: Poetry, Drama, and the Graphic Novel

Latinidades

Abstracts Due 11/12/12

Conference Registration $65

Please send abstracts of 250 words and queries to Professors Richard Perez and Belinda Linn Rincon at latlitconfnyc@gmail.com

Oh Henry

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Wed, 02 May 2012 11:00:00 +0000

One word: Heartthrob

Book Cover Geek: The Mansion of Happiness by Jill Lepore

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Thu, 03 May 2012 10:00:00 +0000

Doesn't this book cover remind you of the opening sequence of Game of Thrones?

This:

That:

Set the DVR! 6-Hour LATINO AMERICANS Comes to PBS

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Fri, 04 May 2012 11:00:00 +0000

The PBS SERIES "LATIN AMERICANS" will tell the EXPERIENCE OF LATINOS IN THE UNITED STATES DURING THE LAST 200 YEARS, coming FALL OF 2013.

LATINO AMERICANS narrate the arrival of millions of people from 1980 to the twenty-first century, the greatest migration of people in the recent history of the United States. The reasons for their arrival were many: from riots and civil wars, the impact of U.S. policies during the Cold War, and the consequences of globalization and free trade in North America (NAFTA). Many immigrants came to America seeking a better life for their families, pursuing the American dream.

The series will also examine the consequences of strengthening the borders, anti-bilingualism and the efforts by declaring illegal immigration a felony. But during the debate on immigration, the powerful voice of Latinos in the second, third and fourth generation rose to reach positions of power and influence, changing the American political and economic framework, and meeting at a new phenomenon: the concept of " Latin-American. "

Aromatic Reads: New Trend? Plus New Book Review: Coming to My Senses

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Tue, 08 May 2012 13:00:00 +0000

I was recently given an opportunity to read the upcoming memoir, Coming to My Senses: A Story of Perfume, Pleasure, and an Unlikely Bride, from perfume blogger Alyssa Harad. It instantly hit home with me as some of you might recall my own experience with the discovery of my Great Grandmother's own signature scent, My Sin last year. It kind of took me aback somewhat. Was this sort of thing a common experience? There was a sort of meta narrative as well, where Harad herself begin to explore her own identity, womanhood, self, friends and family through this lens of their scents (dislikes, passions and signature) as I, the reader reveled in my own.

* Such an unappealing 1970s-ish cover design
for a lush, decadent read. Boo!

Harad's an exquisite writer and her sensational descriptions of memories, experiences and aromatic bouquets, traces, whiffs are intoxicating even to the scent-deprived reader of the other side of the iPad. Although initially turned off by the '"girly'" title, the book description pulled me in for a wonderful surprise.

Harad's is not your typical beauty or fashion blogger. She's an academic (PhD in Eng. Lit), a tomboy, a feminist - who discovers her deep, reticent passion for perfumes during her mid-thirties during her engagement to her Mexican-American fiancee through online research and blogs. Her path of discovery leads her to embrace who she is, what she loves, and what makes her happy.

I am glad I had a chance to read it early, especially in the spring, near Mother's Day. There is so much history and connection with mother-daughter here that it achingly made me recall the scents that provoke lucid memories of my own mother and her scents: Chanel No. 5, Mint Tic Tacs,...

Eat, Love, Pray --- Smell... Trend?

The book also brought to mind The Book of Lost Fragrances: A Novel of Suspense by M. J. Rose, which also centers around perfumes but which I have not read along with some other recent books from the last year.

Along with the blog-to-book and Kitchen-recipe memoirs, I wonder if this is the beginning of a new category for the book industry.

Verdict: Geek fan girls and chic fashionistas alike will enjoy this true story of self-discovery and coming to terms with your own femininity.

Querida Mami

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Fri, 11 May 2012 09:29:00 +0000

"Home is where your mother lives"

- Comedian Paul Rodriguez

Bonsái & Proust in Bed

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Tue, 22 May 2012 12:30:00 +0000

Summer Love!

Bonsai is a 2011 Chilean drama film directed by Cristián Jiménez, based on a book by the same name by Alejandro Zambra that has just been released in the United States.

ABOUT

Cristián Jiménez’s charming debut celebrates love, literature and botany in his portrayal of a struggling writer, who, in order to keep up a lie that he has told his current lover, finds himself writing a book about his very first experience with love. Nostalgic and moving, Jiménez captures the essence of first love, and the loss of innocence that occurs when it disappears.

See the reviews here & here.

Lit Links & Things:

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Wed, 23 May 2012 12:30:00 +0000

Português: Memorial Árabe, na Praça Gibran Khalil Gibran, em Curitiba, Paraná, Brasil. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Carolina De Robertis on How She Avoided Second Novel Syndrome

List: Brave Books for Girls: Not Princesses

Minorities: White Folks Star in 90% of 2011’s Young Adult Book Covers

NYC Indian Techie offer his advice on

HOW TO FIX POPCHIPS' RACIST AD CAMPAIGN

Finally saw Hesher - loved it! Joseph Gordon Levitt can do no wrong in my book.

An Anatomy of a Wrongful Execution. Los Tocayos Carlos, a book-length monograph and comprehensive website published by the Columbia Human Rights Law Review

E.L. James, author of Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy, made Time's 100 Most Influential People in the World list.

Laura Lacámara, an illustrator and children book author, has written an engaging, reflective essay on her experiences with major publishing houses.

Latina Pay attention: Marie Claire @Work features Salma Hayek on the cover: Did you know she has a make-up line (she's the granddaughter of a Paris-trained cosmetologist) and is producing a film version of The Prophet by Khalil Gibran.

10 Black Novels Every Literate Person Should Read

Epic List: 105 Books to Read By Latinos

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Thu, 24 May 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Infuriated by a lack of Book Lists featuring Latinos or Hispanics, I've taken the liberty of making my own via the latest Arc90 lab experiment, powered by Readability, Readlists.

The best thing about this list? You can export it and send to it to your Kindle, iPhone/iPad, or email and download it as an e-book.

You can also access the full list here.

New Book: The Sadness of the Samurai: A Novel

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Fri, 25 May 2012 12:30:00 +0000

Out this week: The Sadness of the Samurai: A Novel by Victor del Arbol

A betrayal and a murder in pro-Nazi Spain spark a struggle for power that grips a family for generations in this sweeping historical thriller

Fierce, edgy, brisk, and enthralling, this brilliant novel by Victor del Árbol pushes the boundaries of the traditional historical novel and in doing so creates a work of incredible power that resonates long after the last page has been turned.

When Isabel, a Spanish aristocrat living in the pro-Nazi Spain of 1941, becomes involved in a plot to kill her Fascist husband, she finds herself betrayed by her mysterious lover. The effects of her betrayal play out in a violent struggle for power in both family and government over three generations, intertwining her story with that of a young lawyer named Maria forty years later.

During the attempted Fascist coup of 1981, Maria is accused of plotting the prison escape of a man she successfully prosecuted for murder. As Maria's and Isabel's narratives unfold they encircle each other, creating a page-turning literary thriller firmly rooted in history.