Spanish Books Books

Jean-Paul Sartre's 1938 classic LE NAUSEE was probably a great inspiration to De Azua while writing this. There are so many simularities. Though arguable, Sartre gave birth to philosphy-slash-style Existentialism that DIARY is written in and both authors use more generous amounts of colorfull historical references than a complete Brittanica edition.

Each author lets their "heros" set off on a major body of work that they both ultimately fail (sort of). The charactors friends are scaunt to none and the love interest is "distant" at best. It would seem that all signs point to major downer. But the message is finding purpose/strength/humor/direction/our-true-calling in our failures as much as our successes.

And suceeds De Azula does. He FUSES (and I like useing that adj. cuz it best discribes his style) with brilliant , mania-inducing firey humor . He also uses the historical refs to more to his advantage- the settling is pulsing with important and unimportant history (both necessary). Although the protagonist's life starts to drag in parts, the writing never does. This is where (i feel) DIARY triumphs over LE NAUSEE.

People differ. Maybe this book won't speak to you as it has for me. Give it a try. If it doesn't do it for u I can only say I am truely sorry... (cuz you're missing something I found really beautiful). thank you

This book promises a refreshing change from the often banal offerings of American literature. It delivers. It is a peculiar little book--and one of the best I've read in a while. It reveals itself quite slowly, but besides being a modest little book and full of hope, it is a well written and clever examination the quest for meaning in modern life. Stylistically, I would place it with Sartre's "Nausea", Dostoevsky's "Notes from Underground," and Hamsun's "Hunger". Philosophically, the story is more optimisitic and more modern. If you enjoyed those, give this book a try.

The narrator of this fine book attempts banality, but comes nowhere close to it. The writing is original and fresh. The dialogue is handled very well indeed, and it is a cosmopolitan voice (oh, yes!) that speaks to us from these pages. And a voice that finally manages to escape the confines of literature and present itself as pure and unfettered. The book is funny too, in parts. And did I mention the dialogue--it is really well written. Heck, I enjoyed this book a ton.

Es una hazaña lexicográfica, pues permite encontrar palabras que uno no sabe que existen. Se puede navegar en él casi como en el ciberespacio. Permite además crear neologismos perfectamente legítimos. Aporta gran cantidad de información gramatical con ejemplos tomados siempre de la lengua viva, así como formas de construcción y pautas de pronunciación para extranjeros. Incluye revisiones críticas de los criterios de la Real Academia. No es perfecto -sin embargo-, por sus omisiones, pero es más consistente, más rico y más confiable que el de la Real Academia. Si usted trabaja con palabras, "this is a must".

Si se pudiera hablar de un diccionario de diccionarios de la lengua espanola, ese es precisamente el de Maria Moliner, quien dedico su vida a la realizacion de una obra capital de referencia, no solo para los hispanoparlantes, sino tambien para todos aquellos que se acerquen a la lengua de Cervantes y Quevedo. Una adquisicion indispensable para toda biblioteca.

I knew it would be a good dictionary, but not this good. Given that no dictionary can purport to be complete, this one surely tries. It is amazing how comprehensive it is and yet so easy to understand. I was blown away with the very first entry:

"a
1 f. Primera letra del alfabeto. Se pronuncia con los labios muy abiertos, y los dientes separados aproximadamente 1 cm; la lengua, con el dorso elevado hacia la línea de separación entre el paladar duro y el velo del paladar, y rozando con la punta los dientes inferiores, mientras los bordes siguen los molares inferiores. En la escala de altura, la «a» ocupa el lugar medio, después de la «i» y la «e» y antes de la «o» y la «u». Su nombre es su propio sonido. Letra griega correspondiente, «alfa»."

It follows this with three other "a" entries, a total of 31 definitions with examples, a few colloquial expressions and a usage notes section.

This is my very first CD ROM dictionary, so I don't know if its features are standard or not. It has a very quick word search engine that works very much like the help feature in many programs. As you would expect it lists entries in alphabetical order, but curiously enough, by last letter as well. It has a deep grammar section, cross-referencing capabilities and also suggestions if a word search comes up empty. Though I've yet to incorporate it in my word processor, I've read it can be accessed this way.

Now about the price. I purchased the 2nd edition online and paid considerably less (...) by having it shipped directly from Spain. This is a wonderful dictionary. I highly recommend it.

Rubén Cobos' short but monumental "Dictionary of New Mexico and Southern Colorado Spanish" (1983) was a classic the day it was printed. If you have any interest in the Spanish-speaking cultures of northern New Mexico and southern Colorado, this book is a great way to learn something about the dialect without plunging into a difficult linguistic study.

Like Samuel Johnson's dictionary, Cobos's is a book you can sit down and read enjoyably. The entries are not just translations of Spanish words into English. Cobos traces their origin and (in most cases) illustrates their meaning by including them in sample sentences. For instance, "murre" (in standard Spanish, "muy"): "Esta muchita es murre gente" ('This child is very friendly'). Additionally, many words are also explained by the use of proverbs and folk-poems.

Cobos also explains the cultural signficance of about a third of the words in the dictionary. For example, "pitarrilla": "Pitarrilla, f. [Obviously, the dictionary has great value not only (nor even primarily) for the linguist, but for the anthropologist and historian, as well. It is completely free of technical linguistic terminology and accessible to anyone with a basic knowledge of standard Spanish. (I might emphasize that the book is a guide to local usage only and does not include standard Spanish words.) Although the pronunciation of the New Mexico/southern Colorado dialect is relatively standard, Cobos has taken care to indicate divergences where they exist (e.g., "raices" is pronounced "rái-ces", not "ra-íces"). He includes a short historical and linguistic introduction, tracing the four-hundred year evolution of the dialect. Finally, for a kick, at the start of each alphabetical section you'll find a short proverb -- "P. 'Pa pendejo no se necesita mestro' (To be a fool one needs no school)."

A valuable book that sells for a good price. Five stars.

For years, my wife and I had heard people in northern New Mexico speaking Spanish as described in this book, and we believed they were just not educated properly in correct Spanish grammar and vocabulary. Then I found this book. All the sudden, all the odd pronunciations, verb conjugations and vocabulary made sense. This Spanish evolved almost on its own since the 1500's!

My wife, who is from Oaxaca, Mexico, constantly looks to me to interpret for her when we do business with Northern New Mexicans (who refer to themselves as "Españoles", not Hispanics)who speak this dialect of Spanish. Some time ago, we bought furniture from a sales-lady who referred to herself as an "Española". My wife was happy to be attended to in her native tongue, but when the sales lady asked for my wife's "licencia para arrear", I could tell she didn't have a clue. Thanks to this book, I was able to properly interpret it as "drivers license" (not "marriage license" as my wife was inclined to believe).

From a practical standpoint, it's probably not of much use anywhere else in the world, but if you come to northern New Mexico, and you want to converse with the native Spanish-speakers, you'd better come armed with this book!

I recently wrote a book about the history of the towns of New Mexico's Sandia Mountains, and during that time I probably picked this book up two or three times every day.
It is invaluable--loaded with obscure words that no normal Spanish-English dictionary would ever have. It's well-structured, nicely organized, clearly printed, thorough, and as complete as you would ever need it to be.
In its way, it's a sort of linguistic and cultural history of New Mexico and southern Colorado, disguised as a dictionary. Leaf through it and glance at a few words and definitions, and you can't help but learn fascinating things about the people and the places that produced these terms.
If you are a New Mexico student or scholar or writer, you really NEED to have this book. Your work will be incomplete without it.

This dictionary stands out because the translations are not literal, but adapted from the culture of each of the two languages: English and Spanish. Eg.: "Tomar el rabano por las hojas - To put the cart before the horse".

I found this dictionary to be the first of its kind. A truly bilingual work which is "the" aid for translators and interpreters of the English and Spanish language who are interested in sayings and proverbs and the wisdom behind each of them adapted to the Anglosaxon or Hispanic cultures.

This book goes beyond merely listing linguistic equivalents of sayings and proverbs. It offers interpretations and insights into the nature and origin of the proverbs that reach across a language spectrum that includes Latin and French. This is excellent for the student of the languages, but translators should not expect a comprehensive collection of sayings and idioms since there are only about 2500 sayings listed here.

ya no le busques, comadre !
Estas spn las dietas mas adecuadas Y MISERICORDIOSAS !

Y vieras que no son tan "sacrificadas "?

Y hay programas de dietas para todos los gustos ,
YO las voy vambiando y no me fastidio...
Y SON EFICACES EN SERIO !

My parents sent this book to our then-14-month-old son for Christmas last year. From the first reading (on Christmas morning) to now (he will be two years old next month), he has loved this book! The illustrations are stunning! It is one of his favorites and never fails to occupy his attention. I read it to him in Spanish while my husband 'reads' it to him in German (his native language) and through this past year, our son has learned to identify and say the words for the bee, the fish, the butterfly, a few numbers and even the ladybugs (mariquitas). In addition, we travel internationally at least twice a year and this is the book we have taken on our 10 hour+ flights with him to read during 'down' times.

My children have really enjoyed this book. They love to touch and count the little three-dimensional mariquitas/ladybugs. The spanish dialog on each page is not too long so my husband (who doesn't speak Spanish) can still read it to the kids without too much difficulty.

I highly recommend it.

I bought this book for my 20 month old daughter and she loves this book! She wants to read it every day. She loves the little mariquitas (ladybugs) and we are both learning Spanish together. We highly recommend this book.

How can i could explain what Karen means to me? Is a wisdom her self. Thanks for do this instead of still being in the confort zone.

lE RECXOMIENDO ESTE LIBRO ES EXCELENTE, ADEMAS QUE TE DA TANTAS HERRAMIENTAS PARA LA VIDA..DEBES TENERLO.

este libro es en definitiva DEMASIADO BUENO! de verdad que Karen es una extraordinaria maestra, sabe expresar de manera clara y puntual todas las ideas y conceptos que desea impartir a sus lectoras. la influencia de sus escritos es positiva y aprovecho para recomendarles tambien los libros de sus hijos y su esposo que tambien son fantasticos

pienso que sea que quien lea tenga o no devocion mistica-espiritual, este libro igual le sera de gran ayuda porque recordemos que todos estamos en la misma busqueda y vivimos en el mismo barco llamado PLANETA TIERRA. es tiempo de mejorarnos a nosotros mismos si queremos que el mundo tambien mejore porque el cambio viene de adentro hacia afuera y no al contrario

gracias a la familia Berg por compartir la kabala con el mundo y que Dios los bendiga siempre con todo lo que sus corazones deseen y necesiten

I have bought over a 100 copies of this book for my ESL adult students so that they can understand English grammar. It especially useful in explaining the use of modal verbs, idiomatic verb-preposition combinations, and verb tenses -- like the present perfect. The verb chapters could be a little clearer but this is still the best out there. It is basically "Master the Basics: English" with a parallel Spanish text. Use it backwards or forwards. Just ordered 15 more.

This book is great. I read it with ease. I can speak english easily now thanks to this book I am 100% capable to speak this language easily because guess what I only know english because I live in the United States. I did believe that it covered the basics for grammer. You might find it hard but stick with it. The english language will come to you.

Domine lo basico - Inglés empieza con un examen diagnostico. El alumno puede seguir adelante estudiando los elementos que más necesita. El libro sierve también como referencia para instructores de ESL. Domine lo básico - Inglés es útil y vale mucho más que su precio. Se lo recomendo.

NADIE LO SABE PERO CERVANTES ERA DEL MADRID, PERDIO LA MANO EN UN MADRID-BARCELONA

El Quijote es de esos libros que invitan al lector a repensar en su propia vida, a buscar nuevos caminos para expresar la maravilla de vivir. Quien tiene contacto con este bello texto termina pareciéndose un poco a Don Quijote, esto es, una persona que no se resigna a ser un pobre diablo y se inventa para si un mundo lleno de fantasia, retos, desafios, y por supuesto de amor, logrando de este modo una nueva experiencia vital

ESTE LIBRO ES CHACHI Y TODO ESPAÑOL DEBERIA LEERL

I picked up Johnson's book on Don Quixote because the novel is large and intimidating to me and I felt I'd need some preparation before reading it. I also felt I needed something to undo the prejudices I had formed against the main character from seeing The Man of La Mancha. Johnson provides an excellent orientation to the many things going on in the novel. His scholarship is current and insightful; the extended discussion in the chapters "A Book about Books" and "Readers and Reading" were especially helpful. I also liked his explanations about how Parts I and II relate to one another (part II is clearly more than just a sequel or "more adventures"). Johnson concludes his study by revealing his own personal reading of the text. I found it plausible (it's mostly a psychological reading), but Johnson by no means suggests that his reading is conclusive or better than any other reader's reading. This is a book I plan to keep at hand as I begin (once again) to try to make it all the way through Cervantes' classic and ground-breaking novel.

My comment. I took a two semester course on the Quijote. This book is excellent in that it points out why this work of Cervantes is landmark for all world literatures in the way that it discusses fiction and metafiction, and also, the merits of the different theories about realism and verisimilitude in literature. It very simply and easily points out to the reader why the Quijote is such a masterpiece and why it continues to be. ...BW

I'm a fan of the Twayne's series of studies, which offer an undergraduate course in about 100 pages. Johnson's little book on Don Quixote is one of the best. It's much better than either the Nabokov book or the studies in the Norton edition, all of which are chatty and interesting but not very helpful in coming to terms with Cervantes' long, often boring, brilliant novel. Johnson provides enough dollops of literary theory, history, biography, culture, and critical exegesis for the reader to really start to work independently. What I liked most was his final reading of Quixote as a man fleeing his incestuous desire for his niece, madly projecting and fantasizing to relieve the pressure. His description of a world where Moors and Jews lived secret lives while passing as Christians, ne'er-do-well aristocrats like Quijano suffered lives of quiet desperation, and encounters with the Other in the New World radically altered Western consciousness at the very time that print brought people into closer communion, provided grist for many hours of thought and appreciation. The sections on reader-response and literary theory were a bit more conventional, but they were clear and compelling nevertheless. If you choose one pony while mounting Rocinante, this is the one to ride.