Literanista

Books Set In Spanish Harlem

valruss@gmail.com (Literanista) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 11:34:00 +0000

A few from my memory, feel free to add any I missed:

Down These Mean Streets by Piri Thomas
Bodega Dreams: A Novel by Ernesto Quinonez &
Chango's Fire: A Novel by Ernesto Quinonez
When I Was Puerto Rican by Esmeralda Santiago
In Search of Respect: Selling Crack in El Barrio (Structural Analysis in the Social Sciences) by Philippe Bourgois
Barrio Dreams: Puerto Ricans, Latinos, and the Neoliberal City by Arlene Dávila
Flying over 96th Street: Memoir of an East Harlem White Boy by Thomas L. Webber
A Sicilian in East Harlem by Salvatore Mondello

CineLatino Launch

valruss@gmail.com (Literanista) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 11:47:00 +0000

Cinema fans will enjoy this new site:

www.cinelatino.com

On Living Forever

valruss@gmail.com (Literanista) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 17:11:00 +0000

"It is through art that we will prevail

and we will endure.

It lives on after us and

defines us as people."

- Rita Moreno

Imagine if all Public Libraries Looked Like This

valruss@gmail.com (Literanista) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 02:12:00 +0000

How cool is this?

Go Kansas City, MO!

Poor Children Lose I.Q. Points During Summer

valruss@gmail.com (Literanista) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 20:12:00 +0000

I recently read that "researchers say some children can lose IQ points over the summer and the best thing to do to prevent that is to read. Educators worry the most about poorer kids falling behind in reading over the summer" since children whose parents can afford it are usually enrolled in educational programs and camps more often than not.

I can see the point. I think encouraging reading and academics at home is crucial and not just at summertime but all year round.

For pre-school and school age kids, I think it's important that parents read and discuss books together. Read daily, together or separately, at bedtime or during the day. Select and buy or borrow books together. Ask your kids questions about their readings that will develop their critical thinking skills:

Who was the main character?
What happened? Was there a problem? How was it resolved?
Where did the story take place?
Who is the author? Is it a man or a woman?
When did they write the book?
What do you think the message of the book is?
Did you agree with the main character, plot, author,xyz, and why?
etc.,

Have them write a book report for you in exchange for a special treat.

Visit the author's website. Have your child write him/her a letter/email.

Enroll them in some of the great reading rewards programs available in your local bookstore or libraries or create your own.

Give them what they like: if they are into sports, get them books on sports, subscribe to sports magazines for kids...

Teach them a new word everyday. Play a game where you have to use that word at least once during that given day in a sentence.

Find free educational games online or software and allow your child time to "play" on the PC daily.

Teach them a new language online too. Have them teach it to a sibling. Buy them children's DVDs or Cd's in that language.

And of course, exercise those brain muscles fully - don't forget other fields: science, math, history...

Visit the zoo, art and natural science museums, or even go a nature walk at the beach or park, collect bugs and plants, take a magnifying glass and sandwich bags to collect specimens, solve puzzles and build with blocks or cardboard boxes. Try a science experiment. Make the world their classroom. When you go home, you can discuss, draw or list what you saw, look up more information online and grow together.

Last but not least make it fun

Weird Things Guys Say

valruss@gmail.com (Literanista) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 22:21:00 +0000

Weird things guys have told me would impress them:

A woman who reads The Economist
A woman who can play chess well
A woman who rock a Swiss Army watch

Reading The Economist is pretty impressive, I guess. It's not that these are weird, maybe random is more like it.

Like my mom always says, "Para gustos están los colores."

Stuff I'm Totally Sweating: Pomegranate

valruss@gmail.com (Literanista) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 18:05:00 +0000

There is something about pomegranates that fascinates me. They are sweet but tart and of course beautifully red. They are also very good for you.

"Pomegranate seed juice provides about 16 percent of an adult's daily vitamin C requirement per 100 ml serving, and is a good source of vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid), potassium and antioxidant polyphenols."

They are also steeped in symbolism. "Jewish tradition teaches that the pomegranate is a symbol for righteousness.In some artistic depictions, the pomegranate is found in the hand of Mary, mother of Jesus. Persephone, was tricked into eating pomegranate seeds by Hades, who kept her captive in the Underworld.

In ancient times they were offered to Demeter and to the other gods for fertile land, for the spirits of the dead and in honor of compassionate Dionysus. When one buys a new home, it is conventional for a house guest to bring as a first gift a pomegranate, which is placed under/near the ikonostasi (home altar) of the house, as a symbol of abundance, fertility and good luck."

They also taste great1 Some of my faves:

sheerblissicecream.com
Pomegranate ice cream with chocolate chips, need I say more?

www.pomwonderful.com
POM. Love it and love the adorable marketing campaign and packaging. What I don't love the price. However, I could drink POM mixed with Seltzer water all day long if need be.

www.pamaliqueur.com
PAMA Pomegranate Liqueur is a perfect mix of pomegranate, tequila and vodka (see the recipe below). While I don't drink much, I am a sucker for beautiful bottles.

Enrique's Journey - A Teenager's Quest from Honduras to the US

valruss@gmail.com (Literanista) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:38:00 +0000

Not Oprah's Book Club: Enrique's Journey via Feministing:

Every once in awhile, as a writer, you read a book that raises that bar in your own mind about what is possible in your profession. Enrique's Journey is such a book.

In it, Pulitzer Prize winner Sonia Nazario, follows the journey of a 17-year-old boy from Honduras as he tries to make his way to America to be reunited with his mother--who left when he was a small boy to pursue the American dream. As he rides on top of trains, tries to avoid gangsters and police, begs for food, sleeps in graveyards and abandon homes, struggles with drug addiction etc., I got the most lucid, gripping portrait into the journey of the child immigrant that I've ever been exposed to.

Visit sonianazario.blogspot.com

NAACP is in town: Celebrate 100 YEARS & Meet Lots of Authors

valruss@gmail.com (Literanista) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:00:00 +0000

Visit NAACP Author Pavilion

The NAACP Centennial Author Pavilion Celebration on July 13-15, 2009.100 YEARS, 100 AUTHORS begins today.

Don't miss the 3 Day Event at the New York Hilton Hotel
1335 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York, United States 10019
THIS EVENT IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

2009 Authors include: Diahann Carroll, Chris Gardner, Water Mosely, Terry McMillan, Dr. Dorothy Height, Bernice Mc Fadden and many many more. For the full roster click here.

Meet and Greets, Presentation Panels, book signings and live In the Café with Mocha Show tapings are the heart of the NAACP Author Pavilion experience, which is designed to bring readers together with their favorite writers and poets.

They also have a great listing of literacy links.

If you and want to live tweet, use #NAACP.

Say My Name: SpaHa, SoBro...

valruss@gmail.com (Literanista) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:48:00 +0000

This may already be old news but I just recently heard someone refer to Spanish Harlem as SpaHa. A couple years ago, I remember someone referring to the South Bronx as SoBro.

As a child of the late 70s and the 80s, I can remember when the streets of El Barrio or Spanish Harlem or East Harlem where littered with crack vials, drug dealers yelling "bajando" and drug addicts from corner to corner. The empty and trash littered lots that sometimes took up whole blocks, burned out abandoned buildings and homeless people.

Some changes, I guess you might call them gentrification, don't bother me. I don't mind the enormous, abandoned Washburn Wire Factory on East 116th Street being turned into a $150 million dollar shopping plaza to open in the fall that will house Target’s first Manhattan store above home Depot. It will bring jobs, stir the local economy and bring visitors to the community.

I am always shocked by the amount of new condos I see going up everywhere when I go back "home." But you know what? Those used to be empty lots or abandoned buildings. While I advocate for housing available to all, low income and middle income and above - I rather see those condos there than empty lots and homeless people sleeping in the streets. Then again, there is something vulgar about putting up condos in a community where on the average, the annual household income is around $21,175.

And while some community leaders decry the loss of the cultural community as a student of anthropology, I know that nothing exists in vacuum, that everything changes over time and is susceptible to outside influences and that in turn changes the progression of history. And sometimes, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

The same tension felt when the amount of Mexicans on 116th Street outgrew Puerto Ricans is not that different from the Italians' reactions to the Puerto Ricans back in the 1920s-1970s. Or from the tension or resentment about the population shift toward young middle-class whites in the last decade. El Barrio was once Italian Harlem, what it becomes next is any one's guess. It belongs to no one.

Yet, I take issues with highbrow terms like SoBro and SpaHa. My gut reaction is both a sneer and tired chortle.

What bothers me the most about the terms is the coat of varnish or whitewash they seem to try to imply on a place, which I consider rich historically and culturally. People might come and go but at least the name of the place should stay, no?

But then again... "What's in a name [really]? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2), William Shakespeare

Home is where your heart is.

It Takes a Village

valruss@gmail.com (Literanista) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 11:18:00 +0000

"I change myself, I change the world."

- Gloria Anzaldua

"Take care of your family first.

But then reach out to your neighbor,

your block,

your city,

your country.

Everybody wants change,

but they want it to come by way of somebody else…

If you wait for the government,

you’ll wait a long time."

- Edward James Olmos

Being Latino at an Ivy League

valruss@gmail.com (Literanista) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:19:00 +0000

The memoir, A Darker Shade of Crimson: Odyssey of a Harvard Chicano by Ruben Navarrette Jr., was brought to my attention via a tweet: @andersoncooper: Latino in the Ivy League http://bit.ly/9qIFJ. It sounds like an interesting and timely read:

From Kirkus Reviews

A young man's appraisal--Navarrette is only 25 now--of his turbulent years as a Mexican-American undergraduate at one of the nation's most prestigious universities. Navarrette starts with a declaration of independence, spurning the labels ``people of color'' (offensive) and ``Hispanic'' (too general), preferring ``minority'' and ``Latino.'' The man thinks for himself. That trait, along with a superb intellect (straight A's, valedictorian), gets him into Harvard--but you wouldn't know it from most of his teachers and classmates, who assume that affirmative action is his ticket.

Confronting that particular bigotry and others becomes Navarrette's job. He darts his barbs at two chief targets: the old Wasp elite that stifles the university with exclusive rules and expectations, and the new Mexican-American contingent, equally exclusive, that tries to shoehorn him into an ironclad rad-chic ideology. Friendship with Mexican-American essayist Richard Rodriguez; the arrest of a Harvard Latino chum on armed- robbery charges; and a provocative question posed to Cesar Chavez when the labor leader visits Harvard--all are milestones in Navarette's process of self-definition.

And that, in fact, is what this book is, for the gripping ethno-political issues ride atop a very conventional coming-of-age tale, replete with new buddies, homesickness, adolescent rebellion, loss of virginity, love affairs--familiar fare and ho-hum reading for those indifferent to Navarrette's emotional life. Powerful, though, for its two-fold message: that America must do more to educate Latinos (our fastest growing minority), and that freedom of thought belongs to everyone. -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Visit Rubennavarrette.com to learn more.

UPDATE: My friend from HS wrote to me to say this: "This book has a deep personal meaning for me. I was going through a rough time at college (Wellesley) and felt so isolated and out of place. Ruben Navarrete spoke to my experience and to that of many other Latin@s at ivy schools and he normalized my feelings and gave me language to express my feelings: that of straddling two different worlds. Wonderful book."

On Being Black & Asian

valruss@gmail.com (Literanista) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 21:29:00 +0000

If you didn't have the opportunity to meet Poet and author, Staceyann Chin at the NAACP's free Author Pavilion event where she was signing yesterday, I think you should take the time to read her work.

Before I met my boyfriend, who is also Jamaican and Chinese, I was unaware of how large this particular community is within the Caribbean (the population in Cuba is second to the Jamaican one) since many of the Chinese who came to the region as indentured slaves were not permitted to marry Caucasians. When I traveled to visit his family there it was really interesting to say the least. I've always found his ancestry extremely fascinating as well any narrative that relates to being of a mixed heritage or "race."

When I heard about The Other Side of Paradise: A Memoir by Staceyann Chin, I was thrilled because she delves into what it was like being both Black and Asian (Afro-Asian, Blasian) in Jamaica (in the real Jamaica - not the the tourist version) and then her experience as an immigrant to the US. She expands even further into that experience as she narrates what it is also like to be a gay woman in Jamaica - a place and culture known to be highly homophobic.

I am thrilled when I see books like this that tell the (often common yet marginalized) story and experience of those who often are left out of the mainstream realm. This sounds like required reading to me.

Visit www.staceyannchin.com or read an interview at www.theroot.com/blogs/books

Vicky Cristina Barcelona: Free Tonight, NYC Riverflicks

valruss@gmail.com (Literanista) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 21:40:00 +0000

Don't miss this chance to watch Vicky Cristina Barcelona, directed by Woody Allen. With Penelope Cruz,Rebecca Hall, Scarlett Johansson, and Javier Bardem, riverside, under the stars for free tonight with free popcorn thrown in too @ pier 54 @ 14th st.

www.hudsonriverpark.org

Want to Know More about the Book Industry & Book Retail?

valruss@gmail.com (Literanista) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 12:20:00 +0000

On FRIDAY, JULY 17, 2009 at the Hue-Man Bookstore & Cafe is having a Workshop: 5:30 and a Book Lovers’ Meet & Greet at 7:00 (complete with wine & cheese, gift bags, and important people from the world of media and publishing)

Meet author, highly accomplished entrepreneur, and nationally respected bookseller, MARVA ALLEN shares the inside scoop on the retail side of book publishing. At this event, you will learn: “must know” info for any author who wants their books sold in bookstores; the latest trends and changes in the retail side of book publishing; why some books make it to the shelves and others don’t; and much more!

Part 1: WORKSHOP [5:30p - 7:00p]

A specialized workshop designed for writers who can benefit from learning the tricks of the trade…from the retail side of the book publishing industry. Bring pen, paper and plenty of questions.

Part 2: Book Lovers’ Meet & Greet [7:00p - 8:00p]

A room full industry movers and shakers…at your fingertips. As an added treat, all participants receive gift bags, take home materials, and light fare (wine & cheese sponsored by Cabot Cheese and Naked Winery).

The Meet & Greet is an exclusive networking environment designed for writers who want to enter or expand within the world of publishing. Come mix and mingle with:

Author, entrepreneur MARVA ALLEN (CEO, Hue-Man Bookstore & Cafe);
Author, Exec. Director of The Center for Black Lit., DR. BRENDA M. GREENE.
Dr. Greene is also the Executive Director of The National Black Writers Conference;
MONIFA MAHT (Exec. Prod. & Host on WHCR 90. 5 FM);
JULIA SHAW (Shaw Literary Group), pr & marketing specialist to authors;
Published authors KHALIL ALMUSTAFA,
MO BEASLEY,
APRIL R. SILVER,
and JLOVE CALDERON

Friday, July 17, 2009
Hue-Man Bookstore & Cafe
2319 Frederick Douglass Blvd (off 125th St.)
New York, NY 10027
(A, B, C, D trains to 125th Street in Harlem)
212.665. 7400
info@huemanbookstore
www.huemanbooktore.com

REGISTRATION INFO:
All this for $125
(The Workshop with MARVA ALLEN and the “Meet & Greet”)
For all registration inquiries, contact Terrell Davis at tdavis1390@gmail.com or 347.707.5348.

For alerts and new info, join the email lists of JLove Calderon and/or AKILA WORKSONGS, Inc.

This book publishing seminar series created and produced by JLove Calderon. For info on previous or upcoming workshops, email jlove@jlovecalderon.com. To learn more about JLove, visit www.jlovecalderon.com. Media Relations & Lecture Management for JLOVE CALDERON handled by AKILA WORKSONGS: 718.756.8501 or pr@akilaworksongs.com

Also starting on Friday, July 17th:

Harlem Book Fair 2009: Re-Inventing 21st Century Culture

Join us as we come together in the celebration of literature & culture on July 17-19th, 2009. In honor of Barack, community, and ourselves, this year celebrates Black People Re-Inventing 21st Century Culture. Please visit www.qbr.com for more information and schedules. This year the Harlem Book Fair will also work in conjunction with its partners to launch the New Rochelle Festival of Books in May 2009 and The Westchester & Rockland Counties African American Book Fair (West/Rock) in June 2009.

Schedule of Events
Friday, July 17th, 7pm
The Wheatley Awards Honors Our Poets
Location: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
Program and Awards – $10.00 Awards Dinner Reception, Program & Awards – $20.00 (By reservation only)

Invited Awardees: Cornelius Eady Yusef KomunyakaaNikki Giovanni The Last Poets
Posthumous Award: John Hope Franklin, Author and Historian Flora Mwapa African Literature Award: TBA
Masters of Ceremony: Haki Madhubuti and Helena D. Lewis
Program: (Per) Verse Poets: Spoken Word On Center Stage (Performances by Invitation Only)Music by: Atiba Wilson & Songhai Djeli

Saturday, July 18th
Harlem Book Fair Outdoor Exhibits & Author Panel Discussions
Time: 11am-6pm
Locations: West 135 Street btw Malcolm X & Frederick Douglass Boulevards; Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture; Countee Cullen Library; & Thurgood Marshall Academy
ALL PROGRAMS ARE FREE. Check the QBR websites for updated, detailed program information.

Sunday, July 19th
Schomburg Panel Discussions
Time: 11am-4pm
Location: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
ALL PROGRAMS ARE FREE. Check the QBR websites for updated, detailed program information.

Call-in at 4:30pm: Live Interview w/Las Comadres Book Club Founder

valruss@gmail.com (Literanista) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 17:15:00 +0000

Today 7/16/2009 at 4:30 PM

Join or just listen live to an exciting discussion between GCP Editor Selina McLemore and Las Comadres Book Club Founder Nora Comstock about Latino literature, book clubs and much more.

Call in with your opinions!
If you want to call in live, be sure to dial (646) 378-0047.

Or listen and watch online at

www.Blogtalkradio.com

You can learn more about the book club here: www.lascomadres.org

Submissions for Latina/o Reader Blog Carnival Reminder

valruss@gmail.com (Literanista) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 23:44:00 +0000

See original blog post for details to participate: Call for submissions

I will collect all submissions until July 30th.

Spanish Bestselling Author Carlos Ruiz Zafon on Books

valruss@gmail.com (Literanista) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 18:04:00 +0000

This article is so informative, I am posting it here in its entirety:

Author Says Success Opens Doors for Other Spaniards in U.S. By Concha Carron

MADRID – Spanish bestselling author Carlos Ruiz Zafon said he is overjoyed at the success his latest novel, “El juego del angel” (The Angel’s Game), has enjoyed in the United States because it will open doors for other writers from his homeland.

In an e-mail interview with Efe from Los Angeles, the author best known for the international phenomenon “La sombra del viento” (The Shadow of the Wind) said it is “a great satisfaction” for him that “The Angel’s Game” topped the American Booksellers’ Association’s Indie Bestsellers List for Hardback Fiction late last month.

Ruiz Zafon said he is “overjoyed” that 5 million copies have been sold worldwide of his latest novel, which is a long awaited follow-up and prequel-of-sorts to the wildly successful 2001 novel “The Shadow of the Wind,” both of which are atmospheric thrillers set in Barcelona that also serve as odes to literature.

According to the author, a native of Barcelona who has lived in Los Angeles since 1993, the difference between the U.S. market and other markets has to do “above all with scale.”

The United States is “a huge territory with very contrasting areas,” he said, adding that although the American market is “the toughest and most competitive,” it has aspects in common with other big markets, such as those of Britain and Germany.

With respect to the praise he has received in the United States, where some critics have compared him with “The Da Vinci Code” author Dan Brown, Ruiz Zafon said a writer must take praise and criticism “with great respect and the proper perspective; an author must be his own judge and know if he’s doing what he set out to do.”

Following the success of his previous two novels, Ruiz Zafon said the reception for “The Angel’s Game” has exceeded all of his expectations, adding that “you can never take for granted that previous success will necessarily translate into future success.”

Ruiz Zafon said that even though there have been many offers to bring “The Shadow of the Wind” and “The Angel’s Game” to the big screen he remains firmly opposed to making any film adaptations of his novels.

“Not because I have anything against the cinema, but for many reasons that would take too long to explain,” said the author, who has not ruled out “returning to the fold” and writing screenplays, as he did at the start of his career.

He stressed that he “wouldn’t change anything” about his career because that is the road that has been “walked and traveled” but would correct “some of the mistakes” he has made over the years, just as he supposes everyone would do if they could go back in time.

Although he said he expects one day to finish his supposed quartet of novels – thus far consisting of “The Angel’s Game” and “The Shadow of the Wind” – centered on the “Cemetery of Forgotten Books,” he plans in the immediate future to “explore other paths,” saying he has different, unspecified “things on the table.”

Regarding the possibility of exploring new genres, Ruiz Zafon said “you’re always looking for new challenges that allow you to keep exploring the possibilities of the novel,” although in the end “you end up falling in love with a story and some characters and trying to do them justice.”

He also said he is not ruling out returning to his beginnings as an author of youth literature, saying that young people “are the most demanding, sharpest readers a writer can have” because “they haven’t yet acquired prejudices or pretenses and are as or more intelligent than adult readers and much more honest with themselves and with the work.”

via www.laprensasa.com

Mas Fuerte

valruss@gmail.com (Literanista) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 22:49:00 +0000

CuCu Diamantes

Donate $3 for Literacy & Receive a Macy's Discount

valruss@gmail.com (Literanista) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 01:50:00 +0000

Via www.bookabrighterfuture.com

Flan v. Tembleque

valruss@gmail.com (Literanista) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 16:27:00 +0000

I am reading Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell in preparation to see the Julie and Julia movie next month.

For those of you, who aren't familiar with the book, it's based on a blog created by Julie Powell.

The book is sumptuous; it's written superbly, intelligent and funny. While reading about Powell's fear of eggs (sorry, you will have to read the book) it reminded me of my dislike of Flan.

Flan, "Crème caramel, or caramel custard is a rich custard dessert with a layer of soft caramel on top, as opposed to crème brûlée, which is custard with a hard caramel top."

Some might consider this Latina blasphemy, but the runny texture makes my stomach flop.

I prefer coconut pudding or Tembleque as Puerto Ricans call the light coconut custard that shakes like Jell-O. Jiggle it, baby!

Here's an easy recipe: www.recipezaar.com/Tembleque

If you like to follow food blogs, here's a lovely one with awesome recipes and photos:
Laylita.com

New Book: Vigil by Cecilia Samartin

valruss@gmail.com (Literanista) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 22:30:00 +0000

I was recently contacted about Vigil: A Novel by Cecilia Samartin.

Ana, is the protagonist who from her husband's deathbed reminisces on her "story that takes her from war-torn El Salvador, to a convent in the United States, and finally to a wealthy California estate where she is employed as the nanny for a dysfunctional family caught up in the throes of a decadent life.

Despite Ana's own emotional wounds, she is able to bring love and healing to her affluent yet spiritually bereft employers -- gifts that no money could ever buy. "

The author, Cecilia Samartin, a Cuban American, won the "prestigious Mariposa Award for best first book (English) by a Latina or Latino for her stunning debut novel of 2007, Broken Paradise."

As someone, who worked her way through college as a nanny, I look forward to reading it and hope you will check it out.

For more information, visit www.ceciliasamartin.com

2009 National Book Festival: Save the Date

valruss@gmail.com (Literanista) — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 14:56:00 +0000

"Now in its ninth year, this popular event celebrating the joys of reading and lifelong literacy will be held on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009,on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., between 7th and 14th Streets from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (rain or shine). The event, for which the Honorary Chairs are President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, is free and open to the public. More than 120,000 people attended the festival last year."

Authors slated to make presentations at the 2009 National Book Festival include: Julia Alvarez, Junot Diaz, Colson Whitehead, Ana Menendez, Asar Nafisi, Walter Mosley, Carmen Agra Deedy and more!

More info. available at www.loc.gov/bookfest

10 Hottest Summer Reads from Latina.com

valruss@gmail.com (Literanista) — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 20:53:00 +0000

Latina Magazine posted a neat slideshow of their picks for The 10 Hottest Summer Reads in a cute slideshow, which includes:

The Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón,

Names I Call My Sister by Mary Castillo, Berta Platas, Lynda Sandoval, Sofia Quintero,

A Happy Marriage by Rafael Yglesias,

In Between Men by Mary Castillo

America Libre By Raul Ramos Y Sanchez,

The Strain: Book One of the Strain Trilogy by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan

Absent A Miracle by Christine Lehner

Let it Rain Coffee by Angie Cruz

Amigoland by Oscar Casares

The Husband Habit by Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez

Beauty Shop/Barbershop Book Nooks: Combating Aliteracy

valruss@gmail.com (Literanista) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 11:39:00 +0000

Children who don't have access to books or reading role models often become aliterate. Aliteracy is a state where someone is able to read but unmotivated or uninterested in doing so.

A couple of years ago, Dr. Sabrina A. Brinson, founded the Boys Booked on Barbershops/Girls Booked on Beautyshops project.

The project aims to encourage reading in local beauty shops or barbershops where families often frequent and usually sit around waiting for their turn. What I love about this project is that she suggests multicultural books, the donation of books to these local businesses and also how on point it is.

Most beauty shops I know of offer women's magazine and some even have signs posted about looking after your young ones on busy days. I think this project resolves a lot of issues in one shot.

Why not speak to your local shop manager and put forth idea and then ask for donations for children's books?

Learn more at Boys Booked on Barbershops/Girls Booked on Beautyshops project

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