Spanish Books Books

I have always been interested in Latin America, particularly when its regarding it's metropolises. The sheer economic, social, and cultural contrasts these metropolises display is exciting and appealing to me, more so due to my interest in politics, sociology, and economics.

However, Buenos Aires: El Escenario Urbano is an excellent book depicting Buenos Aires in all its dimensions. It covers this amazing South American capital in all angles and points of views. It's well balanced giving the reader glimpses of what life is like for the denizens of Buenos Aires, while at the same time it does not neglects some of the urban social/economic problems the city faces. Despite this, the problems are presented in such a way that its not depressing at all! The author is truly impressive in his way of accomplishing such a well rounded book of a metropolis worth discovering.

The photos are incredible!

This book is a perfect introduction to anyone planning to visit Buenos Aires, anyone who lives in Buenos Aires, or anyone who simply likes to travel from the comfort of a couch and simply let the imagination do the work by reading about other places on earth!

I hope Sebastian Letemendia starts a series of "El Escenario Urbano" about other Latin American metropolises such as Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, Santo Domingo, Caracas, and others.

A rare view of Buenos Aires, from an insider's perspective. Having read a number of books on Buenos Aires, it seems that many authors only think of La Recoleta and Palermo as the only interesting places in Buenos Aires. Mr. Letemendia shows his readers the beaty and complexities of a great city. A great read.

We bought this book as a gift to an English-only speaker, but to our regret, we are returning it, because the English part of the book comes as an addendum at the end of the book. It would be great if it is published with Spanish and English side by side.

Once again, Mr. Letemendia produces a powerful book which immediately pulls the reader in. The photographs are outstanding! They represent not only the beauty of the city, but also a feeling for how people live in the city. In addition to being an exceptional photographer, Mr. Letemendia is also a talented writer. His portrayal of the city's history and development give the reader an understanding of and appreciation for the complexity of Buenos Aires. I have never been to Buenos Aires yet now I feel I know it. The book is a great enticement to visit Buenos Aires. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it!

If you like - or think you might like - Buenos Aires, then this is a book worth having. As opposed to the typical great picture approach that makes every place look like paradise, the author's photographs reflect the city as it really is, balancing the typical beautiful views with others that depict every day life and even less pleasant ones that also form part of every city.

At the same time, the author explains in very ammenable text, how and why Buenos Aires got to be what it is, thoroughly analyzing in each chapter a different component of the city's life.

This beautifully assembled combination of text and pictures conveys a very truthfull and wholesome idea of Buenos Aires.

Worth buying and keeping!

VIENE DE ADENTRO PARA AFUERA..
Afuera, toma la palabra, la opinion y las decisiones de la persona a la que hemoe regalado nuestra libertad...
Cuando esa persona muere o se aleja, nos convertimos en los seres mas indefensos que existen... incapaces de tomar hasta una pequeña decision...
La filosofia y la tecnica de esta obra es como una enorme pinza que rompe nuestras cadenas y nos hace libres..LIBRES POR FIN !!!
Eso no depende de la persona de la que dependemos: DEPENDE DE NOSOTROS MISMOS

DOLOROSA, INVALIDANTE,MEDIANTE LA CUAL TU MENTE ESTA ATADA A OTRA PERSONA O A OTRA COSA...
Este libro me permitio salir de mi CODEPENDECIA DEL ALCOHOL Y DE MI HERMANO MAYOR !
BENDITO SEA !

AQUI ESTA LA LLAVE DE LA LIBERTAD!

THOSE INSIDE CHAINS CALLED CO DEPENDENCY!
We learn not to use crutchs, to walk securely on our own feet without depending of Mom, Dad, Husband, friends or any adictive substante!

Really efficient

¿Has oido hablar de la CODEPENDENCIA ?
Esa es la bola de plomo que todos arrastramos..
Una cosa es AMAR Y OTRA ES DEPENDER !
Cuando dependemos, ESTAMOS ATADOS...¿No dependes de nada ? YO CREÍ QUE NO DEPENDÍA DE NADA NI DE NADIE! ¡ Y ESTABA EQUIVOCADO !
Dependía, para mi felicidad y tranquilidad, de encontrar a mi espoa con buena cara... o yo también hacia morros !
Este libro me liberó: YA NO SIENTO HORRIBLE CUANDO LLEGO A CASA Y MALENA ESTÁ DE MALAS... Ya no influye sobre mi..
Y hay codependencias más agudas: Pueden ser a una persona,a un objeto, a una actitud compulsiva o al hábti del alcohol o las drogas..
SI QUIERES SER LIBRE Y FELIZ, APOYARTE EN TI MISMO Y AMAR SANAMENTE, ESTE LIBRO ES INDISPENSABLE...

hey, I know that this book is awesome, but is old too, the reality of Brazil is not that anymore, some people tend to form opinions about things that they don't know, that they have never seem with their own eyes. But the best thing is that it still is a really interesting novel, and if you read you won't forget, it is just the best book I ever read.

I would recommend this book to anyone as an absolute must read. I read it in the original Portuguese at the suggestion of a friend and if you have the ability, I suggest you do the same. The translation simply doesn't portray the magnificence and beauty of Amado's original. After living in Brazil for sometime, this novel is, to me, the most incredible portrayal of these youth and the circumstances in which they live. The book may be 70 years old, but it is certainly as applicable today as anything else I've read.

It is absolutely magnificant. This is the first time for me writing a book review online and I thought that I'd never do it, but after I saw that there's is copy out there somewhere I had to say that 69$ is nothing for this book. It is the only book I take along when I travel or move abroad. It is the book that can change your life, or atleast bring that special something to it. Now that I'm reading this through I have this funny feeling that it's not me writing, but from time to time you come across extraordinary matters that make you act in a very peculiar way. This is one them. Don't miss it.

Amado's literary output falls rather neatly into two periods. His early work is imbued with a strong sense of social responsibility, a fact for which he had some difficulty under the Vargas regime, and I believe he may have even done a short stint in jail over. The second period, the post-"Gabriela" books, are a lot more laid back and anecdotal.

Sorry to say that in general the second period is the one that's more fun to read, and the books he wrote in the second half of his life are what established his international reputation. A lot of his earlier stuff is not that great, with one exception - this book.

The story is about the kids on the street in Fortaleza, back in the 1930's. To say that they're poor doesn't do justice to it - they live on the street. By necessity they're thieves, but you can't help liking them. They have aspirations of their own in life.

Explaining it in a few words like that may make the American reader think that he's dealing with some "Angels with Dirty Faces" sort of story. It's not. This is not a sentimental novel. It's a reflection of some of the hard realities of Brazilian life, like the urban poverty that never seems to disappear. But it also reflects some of the inherent optimism and the very un-American concern with each other that Brazilians manifest - features of their society that make Brazil such a wonderful place.

This has to be the best book Jorge Amado has ever written. It was the first book of his that I ever read, it touched me so deeply, that I have read almost all his books since. It really lets you know about the poverty in Brasil, and what some people would do for money. Every character and every story in the novel makes sense. It touches my heart to see what some kids go through, not only in Brasil but in the whole world. As a proud Brasilian myself, It made me think a lot about the poverty in my country. The love story is also so romantic and sad. It's simply just the best book that I have ever read.

bienísimos...a veces pasaditos de color, pero JAMÁS DE MAL GUSTO !
Si quieres comprar una tonelada de carcajadas, LEE ESTE LIBRO...NO LO LEERÁS UNA SOLA VEZ, SINO MUCHAS ! TE LO RECOMIENDO

Y eso que yo leo todo lo que encuentro de chistes!
Estos me encantaron, me hicieron reít..
¡TE LOS RECOMIENDO !

QUE TENEMOS UN BUEN SENTIDO DEL HUMOR..
Y para las que no lo tienen, tambíén: NO DEJARÁN DE CARCAJEARSE CON ESTOS CHISTESÍSIMOS !

NOME GUSTAN porque es como si el lenguaje estuviera encadenado por LA CENSURA..

ESTE ES ULTRA BUENO !

PERO EXCELENTES PARA NOSOTROS !
Te ríes y te ríes, que ya casi te descoses...

Marisa Montes's A Circle of Time is a magical tale that blends time travel, fate, and romance. Fourteen-year-old Allison Blair lives in the 1990s, but after a horrific bike accident that results in her being thrown down the side of a ledge (minus helmet), she ends up hovering between life and death in a coma. A mysterious young girl named Becky Lee Thompson begs her for help, telling Allison that she helped save her life, and expects the same in return.

Allison is sent back to 1906 California days before the massive earthquake, and must relive Becky's footsteps to discover how she can help change the course of history. She's terrified of Becky's abusive mother and entranced by Joshua, the sweet young boy who has a chaste crush on Becky. Most of all, Allison-as-Becky feels horribly confused, since Becky's not giving her any guidance. Allison does reveal some future inventions to Joshua, but the most annoying modern insertion that grated on my nerves was the section where Allison is preaching about feminism to 1906 Californian men and expecting them to change instantly; it felt false and out of place.

At times, she's pulled back to the present, where she can hear her mother but can't respond. As precious minutes tick by and Allison develops a dangerous brain bleed in the present, her time to save Becky in the past runs dangerously low. After a disastrous first attempt, she has the opportunity to start over (it feels a bit like Groundhog Day - 15th Anniversary Edition for a brief minute).

Montes brings the settings to vivid life, particularly the forest where healer Magda lives, and the elegant estate where the Cardona Pomales, immigrants from Spain, live. The descriptions of vineyards reminded me of the glorious setting of A Walk in the Clouds. The plot unwinds gradually, with plenty of twists and turns in store, including several mysteries that have an impact on the finale. The ending was sweet without being overdone, and was the perfect finish to this bewitching blend of romance.

I love this book! Its filled with happy and sad moments! Its about a girl that gets hit by a car and is in coma. Somehow their is a connection between this girl in the 1800 and her. She travel back and forth to her body and Becky's. Mean while she finds true love and respect for a guy that Becky has know since a baby. Becky need Allison to do something for her but Allison dose not know what it is. Will she ever find out or will she die trying? All you have to do is flip the book open, and dive into a book that well warm your heart.

A Circle of Time by Marisa Montes is an excellent book for young readers. I think that females might like it more than males. This is a story of time travel that shows the struggle of two young girls to survive during different time periods. Somehow, the two girls become connected as Melissa tries desperately to change history and save Becky's life in order to save her own future life. This book has a little bit of history, a little bit of romance and a lot of excitement. I like time travel stories and this one was an excellent blending of two worlds. This book is exciting right to the end. I highly recommend this book to young readers.

This book was very touching to me. At first it started out boring and a little confusing, but overall the book is great. If you are really sensitive, you will cry at the end.

This book is a magnificent piece of art. The plot was so intricately woven together and all problems resolved together in the end. Everyone should read this book, it's not very sci fi so don't miss out just because you don't like that type of stuff. Personally, I never like science fiction time travel, but I might be more willing to try other time travel books now that I have read this GREAT book.

I got this book for my daughter when she was 3 months old. She is now 10 months old, and it is still one of her favorites! The drawings of the animals are easy to identify. Her dad reads it to her in Spanish and I do the English version. It was so nice to find a bilingual book that had full sentences, not just random words out of context. We are going to buy the other bilingual Clifford books based on how much our daughter loves this one.

This is a board book about Clifford when he was little. It is such a nice little book for youngsters and I highly recommend it.

Both my 3 year old and my 16 month old love this book. It has an interesting array of animals, the cow, the owl, the chicken, the mouse . . . We read this book daily and both make each animals sound! It is fun and interactive reading.

I started reading this book to my son when he was about 8 weeks old. He's 8- months now and we read it nearly everyday. No matter how fussy or distracted he may be, he always stops, looks and smiles when I begin reading this book. He LOVES the animal sounds!

My son has loved this book since we bought it at around age one, to now almost 3. He liked making the noises that the animals say when he was young, now he tries to memorize the short rhymes and "read" the book himself. It is one of the best of this small red puppy series. Consider getting the plush puppy - I haven't seen him anywhere else and my son LOVES him (and he has held up well too!)

This is an excellent edition of the collected poems of Octavio Paz, with English translations facing the Spanish originals. I purchased this as a gift for my Spanish teacher and she was delighted! My favorites are his poems written when he served as a Mexican diplomat in India and Japan. His sensitive mind absorbed the nuances of place and religion, which are recreated for us in the poems. His efforts at haiku en espagnol are enlightening, pun intended.

I bought this book after reading an excerpt of one of Paz's poems at a camp. I didn't know what poem it was from, so I bought the book and scoured it until I found the poem. It was Brotherhood. The poetry is beautiful and moving. It is the type of poetry you can read and enjoy no matter if you understand what it is saying, the writing is that beautiful

Octavio Paz has since passed through this world leaving behind a beautiful web of words with the tapestry of things seen and unseen. Paz does an ambidextrous job of mixing in elements of surrealism with the bone of natural objects and that which is very real. His, and the translator Eliot Weinberger ... along with the help of other poet translators to include Bishop, Levertov, Tomlinson--all of their words come alive with beautiful language. The translation seems true to the intent.

What is essential about this book is that each poem comes with the bilingual translation in English and accompanied by the original works in Spanish. Two years of high school Spanish, as well as two years in college, has rendered me with a woefully inadequate ineptitude of all words and understanding of that language. But I don't think that the translation can ever capture the sound, the alliteration, the true tongue/la lingua and fluid language that Paz meant in his original Spanish. Even if I don't understand a lick of what's on the left side of the page in Spanish at least it can be read for it's beautiful sound. Listen to this, "Through the conduits of bone I night I water I forest that moves forward I tongue I body I sun-bone Through the conduits of night" and then on the even-numbered page, "Por el arcaduz de hueso yo noche yo agua yo bosque que avanza yo lengua yo cuerpo yo hueso de sol Por el arcaduz de noche."

What are you doing still sitting here reading my crappy writing when you could be reading Ocatavio Paz? Go get the book...you'll see.

Example 1: "Un cuerpo, un cuerpo solo, sólo un cuerpo,/un cuerpo como día derramado/y noche devorada". Example 2: "Lates entre la sombra/blanca y desnuda: río." Octavio Paz is one of the first voices of the xxth century mexican poetry. He is the most important blend between clasicism and the modern trends in poetical expresion. He lived in France and thus, he experienced surrealism and mingled with the likes of Breton, Éluard, et al. In México he estimulated the literary critic and reviews to new standars of excelence. Read O. Paz.

Paz' poetry is sublime, and elegant. The words and ideas simply slip off the page. Its like taking a bath in chocolate.

Paz consistently suprises the reader with new ideas, form, language. Paz creates an atmosphere that is soothing, and enchanting. I would highly recommend this work.

I have gleaned a ton of wisdom and learn a lot about myself every time I read Gyatso's words.

They were very nice work to with and the product was as described! A bit slow in delievery but overall I can't complain!

Universal Compassion: Inspiring Solutions For Difficult Times by the Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso is a patient and inspirational explanation of the acclaimed Buddhist poem "Training the Mind in Seven Points". Universal Compassion: Inspiring Solutions For Difficult Times is a heartwarming and "reader friendly" guide to learning, understanding, and embodying the way of altruism. The rigors of training one's mind and the eternal evolution toward enlightenment are reverentially discussed in this fascinating study which is especially recommended reading for anyone seeking to learn more about Buddhist philosophy and spiritual teachings.

This book is really powerful and inspiring. It is full of beautiful stories that enrich Geshe Kelsang Gyatso's pure explanation of the path to enlightenment.

Through this profound book, you will learn, as I have been blessed to learn that when you are giving compassion and understanding to others, it will transcend your ego's need to "win" or "control" or "take" because you cannot take and give at the same time.
You will learn that when you feel any pain from others, as you GIVE compassion and understanding to others, you are free from the need for it to come from others. This awareness and integration into your heart, mind and soul will free you from all suffering.

Once you "get it" there will be a complete change in how you view life, and the people who used to "trigger" your emotional and subconscious reactions. You will become mindful, and aware of your thoughts, judgments, and "self cherishing" desires. Once you become aware of them, you will be free from them, and thus you will become free from pain. You will become "awakened" and live in genuine joy, as you give compassion and understanding to others.

The teachings in this book will genuinely help transform any pain you have in your life. A MUST Read! Barbara Rose, author of `Individual Power' and `If God Was Like Man'

Everyone should read this book. Katie, I hope you get to read it, even if in Spanish. I'd love to hear from you. I am at rolando1202@yahoo.com.

Este libro me fue regalado por mi abuela cuando era muy joven. La inspiracion del maestro y sus historias han sido algo que me ha inspirado toda la vida. Lo recomiendo al joven que empieza en su camino y al viejo que recuerda su jornada. A pesar de ser algo del siglo pasado, la historia transcende el tiempo.

Corazon is a good book for children, but I guess very few of them read it now. It is about the most basic values of love for parents, other kids and people in general. The stories are moving and call to your heart, but this world is moving fastly out of that kind of reading and into the violent heart of today's life. It is the diary of a young kid in Italy at the end of last century, and every month the teacher reads them a story which talks about a specific value.

A pesar de que el cuento fue escrito en Italia hace más de un siglo, hoy en día nos interesa los mismos temas de la humanidad. Se trata de un niño que escribe su diario durante un año escolar; incluye su vida diaria y también los cuentos mensuales de uno de sus profesores. Los cuentos ofrecen mensajes acerca de la humanidad y uno no puedo leer este libro sin reflexionar sobre sus propias virtudes.

They should translate this book into English. Have been searching for an English translation to give to an American child. I read it as a kid in Spanish and remember it well. It was the basis of some really good Japanese Anime cartoon long ago as well. The cartoon was pretty good. Anyway, reading the book as an adult is also kind of cool to see what the Italian ideals an values were in the late 1800s, though not directly the point of the book, one gets a very nice picture of what life was like in old Turin. Makes an awesome present for a 10-12 year old.

La novela se dirige a una audiencia bicultural y, en especial, a lectores de raíces latinoamericanas viviendo en Estados Unidos. Conveniente sería si el lector de esta novela haya estado relacionado directamente con la cultura mexicana debido a algunos mexicanismos y palabras propias del país. La trama, eso sí, se puede extrapolar sin mayor esfuerzo a cualquier latinoamericana.

El personaje central de la novela es una mujer y los sentimientos que expresa son, creo yo, propios de una mujer. La lectura es amena y encantará a todo tipo de lector, aunque la audiencia femenina se identificará más con Mila, la protagonista de la novela.

El correo electrónico es la columna encargada de sostener y relacionar las subtramas de la obra. Esta joven tecnología es usada por Mila para comunicarse y permite a la autora manifestar una situación emocional describiendo la manera como el personaje central usa este medio.

Asombroso en esta novela son los detalles descritos y, especialmente, aquellos de la vida cotidiana. Es tal el prolijo en los pormenores que la ficción, de este tipo es la novela, se volatiliza dejando entrever una vida muy realista. Es difícil de no dejarse influír por los innumerables detalles presentados. Constante, eso sí, son los felinos domésticos con los cuales Mila tiene una relación casi de caracter erótico.

Leí la novela con mucho agrado varias veces. Una vez que se comienza la lectura no se deja de lado el libro hasta el final. El lector va a enriquecerse con una profunda experiencia de una vida bicultural. Es de desearle a la autora que encuentre la energía, no dudo que que tenga ideas y mas material idóneo, para dedicarse a la continuación de esta amena ficción.

Correo electrónico para amantes de Beatriz Salcedo-Strumpf es una novela cuya atmósfera atrapa la atención del lector sin posibilidades de salida. Narrada en primera persona y en un estilo fluido y ameno, Mila, la narradora-personaje, nos envuelve en su drama de mujer que, en sus diversos roles, se nos muestra sencilla, natural, fresca y sincera. El uso de la narradora en primera persona adquiere un relieve especial al alternarse con una forma discursiva poco cultivada en la narrativa actual hasta el momento: el correo electrónico. Este recurso narrativo en su función de diálogo, adquiere una especial significación que no se advierte en otras modalidades narrativas de tipo autobiográfico como la del diario o la de la epístola. El correo electrónico en esta novela permite que lo acontecido lo vivamos más directamente a través de los ojos y la experiencia de la narradora-personaje. Al sumergirnos de esta manera en su mundo, los acontecimientos nos conmueven en razón de las repercusiones sentidas en el mundo interior de la protagonista. La historia es la historia de la interioridad de Mila, encantada o herida por la ilusión o la traición.
Las constantes digresiones hacia su pasado van configurando la personalidad de la protagonista, marcada por el entorno de una historia familiar que se le ha erigido como un espejo que le reafirma sus inseguridades, pero en el que constantemente se ve para liberarse de sus casuales dimensiones alienantes, mediante una búsqueda del conocimiento y la afirmación de sí misma.
La confluencia de las culturas latina y norteamericana se conjugan en Mila con asomos críticos y feministas frente a la tradición masculina, sin que esta convergencia de culturas menoscabe sus raíces mexicanas. Hábilmente la narradora va tensionando el relato : su lucha contra la rutina en que se le ha convertido el matrimonio es paralela a la emergencia de parsonajes y sucesos que van a afectar muy de cerca su vida.
El lenguaje ameno y el tono conversacional de un "yo" confesional hacen que el interés, el encanto y la emoción del lector se sostengan hasta el final de la trama. Para ser la primera experiencia narrativa de largo alcance de la autora, sus méritos y logros narrativos ya dicen mucho.

I enjoyed the book very much, specially the characters, the way they bring you in to play with their personas. I liked the way Beatriz Salcedo-Strumpf connects the two worlds together. In any society where distinct ethnic subpopulations exist, the issue of ethnicity is a subject of debate and controversy; The way she lets you feel the struggles of a women assimilating her new world and embraces her bicultural world. Milagros let us undergo and recognize the enormous psychic costs she bears with a remarkable heroism.
Correo electrónico para Amantes plays with American Ethnicity; with the new technology of computers and Internet communication in our world today and makes you perceive the remarkable change women subject themselves to become a well round knowledge organism in our century.
Beatriz Salcedo-Strumpf is a solid mentor source for younger women, especially for Hispanic to fallow, witness and experience biculturalism in a new bilingual American today. Unlike Europeans immigrants who cut their ties with their homelands; Mexican Americans have had less incentive to abandon their native culture. We have strong need to fallow mentors that successfully brake away social differences like this remarkable piece of literary art to help us see the better world of today.

Played out against the background of today's instant communication via the internet, this is the story of a woman who comes face to face with emotional and cultural questions when a chance meeting with a lover from her past re-opens repressed feelings and exposes the scars of earlier wounds. Milagros, our heroine, is truly a "miracle" as her Spanish name implies, struggling to find her way in a world that is often alien and always gender-hostile. In an attempt to escape the machista environment of her native Mexico, she comes to the United States to study and eventually marries an American and settles down in Syracuse, New York. There, in the gloom of endless winters and bone-chilling cold, she is slowly divested of her complacent cocoon of wife, mother and professional woman as she recounts and analyzes her roles, aspirations, and experiences to her virtual lover. In the end she discovers that betrayal can come on many unexpected levels, but hope and renewal are as constant as the sun of her beloved Guadalajara. The novel is soon to be published in English under the title of "E-mail for Lovers."

Hay en la narración un perfecto equilibrio entre las "divagaciones" de Mila, los trozos de textos literarios intercalados, las letras de canciones, los diálogos y, por supuesto, los e-mails. Salcedo-Strumpf maneja con mucha destreza y acierto el tema de la traducción entre culturas: Mila es un personaje "puente" entre el mundo de México y la cultura americana, entre el inglés y el español, entre los comentarios machistas de Antonio y la mentalidad femenina, entre un pasado de injusticia y opresión familiar y un presente de mayor libertad y realización personal. Mila cumple la función no sólo de narradora y personaje central, sino de una especie de intérprete de su propia vida frente al lector. No sólo narra, sino que simultáneamente hace de "mediadora cultural" entre los eventos narrados y el lector, explicando, enumerando, analizando, comparando. Y esa función la cumple desde una posición de franqueza y simplicidad, con un lenguaje tan llano, tan auténtico, tan puro, que otorga a la narración una agilidad y una espontaneidad notables. La novela trata valientemente el tema del affaire de una mujer en su edad madura y el de la traición, así como las deficiencias afectivas asociadas al machismo. Los gatos de Mila representan todas las virtudes que Mila busca en los hombres: el deseo inextinguible (los permanentes ronroneos "eróticos"), la comprensión y aceptación incondicional, la entrega honesta. En suma, una novela exquisita que el lector devorará hasta la última página.