Books For Adults | Books for Children

Fiction

Broken Paradise
ISBN: 0-7432-8779-7
Author: Cecilia Samartin
Publisher: Atria Books
Available Languages: English

In her brilliant literary debut, Cecilia Samartin's Broken Paradise offers heart-wrenching insight into the tender balance between optimism and grief that shapes the immigrant heart, when two cousins take very different paths following the Cuban revolution.

Cometas en el cielo
ISBN: 9788498380880
Author: Khaled Hosseini
Publisher: Salamandra
Available Languages: Spanish, English (Riverhead: Kite Runner)

Available exclusively in paperback from Lectorum, this moving novel is set in Afghanistan in the winter of 1975. Young Amir, in an effort to prove to his father how mature he is, decides he is going to win the annual kite contest, regardless of who he has to hurt in the process. This includes his faithful companion/servant Hassan. Even with the passing of the years Amir never forgets how he lost the best friend he ever had. This New York Times bestseller will soon be released on the silver screen.

Forever My Lady (Available July 2007)
ISBN: 978-0-466-69881-8
Author: Jeff Rivera
Publisher: Warner
Available Languages: English

Urban lit shines in this brilliant debut novel and coming-of-age tale that illustrates the power of love and the struggle to redeem oneself. Rivera has a fresh, original voice. His knowledge of the streets allows him to perfectly capture the harsh and gritty realities of the barrio, and those that call it home.

Juicy Mangos
ISBN: 0-7432-9444-0
Editor: Michelle Hererra Mulligan
Publisher: Atria Books
Available Languages: English

A prestigious group of award-winning authors present the first collection of Latina erotica to ever be published. Each of the 7 stories is based on a different holiday.

Para salvar el mundo
ISBN-10: 1-59820-502-1
ISBN-13: 978-1-59820-502-2
Author: Julia Alvarez
Publisher: Alfaguara Imprint
Available Languages: Spanish

Alvarez's celebrated new novel takes us into the worlds of two women swept up in campaigns against the scourges of their day: Alma, a Latin American novelist who is having writer's block, and Isabel's story many years before who accompanied Francisco Xavier Balmis, who in 1803 undertook to vaccinate the populations of Spain's American colonies against smallpox. To do this, he needed living "carriers" of the vaccine; otherwise, the vaccine would not survive the travel time across the ocean. Isabel selects twenty-two orphan boys to be the carriers and joins them on the voyage to the colonies.

The Savage Detectives
ISBN: 0-374-19148-4
Author: Roberto Bolaño
Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Available Languages: English, Spanish (Anagrama: Los detectives salvages)

New Year's Eve, 1975: Arturo Belano and Ulises Lima, founders of the visceral realist movement in poetry, leave Mexico City in a borrowed white Impala. Their quest: to track down the obscure, vanished poet Cesárea Tinajero. A violent showdown in the Sonora desert turns search to flight; twenty years later Belano and Lima are still on the run. The explosive first long work by "the most exciting writer to come from south of the Rio Grande in a long time" (Ilan Stavans, Los Angeles Times), The Savage Detectives follows Belano and Lima through the eyes of the people whose paths they cross in Central America, Europe, Israel, and West Africa. This chorus includes the muses of visceral realism, the beautiful Font sisters; their father, an architect interned in a Mexico City aslyum; a sensitive young follower of Octavio Paz; a foul-mouthed American graduate student; a French girl with a taste for the Marquis de Sade; the great-granddaughter of Leon Trotsky; a Chilean stowaway with a mystical gift for numbers; the anorexic heiress to a Mexican underwear empire; an Argentinean photojournalist in Angola; and assorted hangers-on, detractors, critics, lovers, employers, vagabonds, real-life literary figures, and random acquaintances. A ploymathic descendant of Borges and Pynchon, Roberto Bolaño traces the hidden connection between literature and violence in a world where national boundaries are fluid and death lurks int he shadow of the avant-garde. The Savage Detectives is a dazzling original, the first great Latin American novel of the twenty-first century.

Shadows of Your Black Memory
ISBN-10: 0-9748881-2-5
ISBN-13: 978-0-9748881-2-5
Author: Donato Ndongo (Translation, Postscript by Michael Ugarte)
Publisher: Swan Isle Press
Available Languages: English, Spanish (Ediciones del Bronce: Las tinieblas de tu memoria negra)

Set during the last years of Spanish rule in Equatorial Guinea, Shadows of Your Black Memory presents the voice of a young African man reflecting on his childhood. Through the idealistic eyes of the nameless protagonist, Donato Ndongo portrays the cultural conflicts between Africa and Spain, ancestral worship competing with Catholocism, and tradition giving way to modernity. The backdrop of a nation moving toward a troubled independence parallels the young man's internal struggle to define his own identity.

In this bildungsroman, Donato Ndongo masterfully exposes the cultural fissures of his native land. "Spanish Guinea" is a heated, sensual landscape with exotic animals and trees, ancient rituals, ghosts, saints, and sinners. We come to know the narrator's extended family, the people of his village, merchants, sorcerors, and Catholic priests; we see them critically at times, even humorously, yet always with compassion and a magical dignity. Michael Ugarte's sensitive translation captures the spirit of the original Spanish prose and makes Ndongo's powerful, gripping tale available to English-speaking readers for the first time.

The Sun Over Breda
ISBN: 978-0-399-15383-9
Author: Arturo Pérez-Reverte
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Available Languages: English, Spanish (Punto de Lectura: El Sol de Breda)

Arturo Pérez-Reverte has enthralled readers and critics around the globe with his Captain Alatriste series. Having sold four and a half million copies to date in the Spanish-speaking world, the series has made Pérez-Reverte a literary superstar and his fictional seventeenth-century mercenary a national icon. And the appeal of Pérez-Reverte's adventurer and his exploits continues to grow, as evidenced by the extraordinary reception for the first two translated volumes in the series -- Captain Alatriste and Purity of Blood. And now, in The Sun Over Breda, Pérez-Reverte continues his thrilling chronicle of the swordsman-for-hire, as Captain Alatriste takes up his blade and rejoins his elite Cartagena regiment as they take part in the battles and siege of Breda. Fifteen-year-old Íñigo Balboa enlists to serve as his master’s aide, and narrates their further adventures of swordplay and skirmishes, of mutiny and wartime honor. And, back in Spain, Alatriste’s nemesis Luis de Alquézar grows more powerful, as Íñigo’s mysterious friend Angélica hints at some plans upon his return . . .

Voces sin fronteras
ISBN: 9781400077199
Author: Edited by Cristina García
Publisher: Vintage Español
Available Languages: Spanish, English (Anchor Books: Bordering Fires)

In Voces sin fronteras, the first anthology to combine writing from both sides of the Mexican-U.S. border, Cristina García presents a richly diverse cross-cultural conversation. Beginning with Mexican masters such as Alfonso Reyes and Juan Rulfo, García highlights historic voices such as “the godfather of Chicano literature” Rudolfo Anaya, and Gloria Anzaldúa, who made a powerful case for language that reflects bicultural experience. From the work of Carlos Fuentes to Sandra Cisneros, Ana Castillo to Octavio Paz, this landmark collection of fiction, essays, and poetry offers an exhilarating new vantage point on our continent -- and on the best of contemporary literature.

Zig Zag
ISBN: 9780061193712
Author: José Carlos Somoza
Publisher: Rayo/HarperCollins
Available Languages: English

Elisa Robledo, a young physics professor, has a terrible secret. A secret she has been hiding for ten years; one that torments her every day. While an advanced physics graduate student at one of the most prestigious universities in Europe, Elisa was invited to join a select research team working on manipulating String Theory, making it possible to witness images of the past as if they were live and actually happening. According to the team’s research, breaking down particles of light, and accessing the code hidden within each fragment, they theorized that the possibility of witnessing the past, viewing such milestone events as of the crucifixion of Christ, or the earth when dinosaurs still roamed. Scurried away on a remote island in the Indian Ocean, they made leaping advancements in their analysis. Yet, their experiments resulted in something much more frightening and dangerous than any of them could have ever imagined. The team awoke something dangerous in their meddling into the fluctuation of Time. Now, years later, Elisa is faced with solving the mysterious and gruesome deaths of each member of the team she was once so proud to be a part of. Something or someone has focused their sights on Elisa and her former academic fellowship. In order to solve the mystery behind what the team’s experiments awoke and just who or what is behind the dark forces trailing the once team’s every move, Elisa must discover what really happened on the island where her team was once sequestered, and where she had naively thought their dedicated science was meant for good.

Non-Fiction

Ama de Verdad, Vive de Verdad: 7 Caminos Para Lograr Una Relación Sólida Y Duradera/Real Life, Real Love: 7 Paths To A Strong & Lasting Relationship
ISBN: 978-0-425-21461-9 (Spanish)
ISBN: 978-0-425-21460-2 (English)
Author: Padre Alberto Cutié
Publisher: Berkley Books
Available Languages: Spanish, English

Lovingly dubbed “Father Oprah,” Father Albert is renowned for his sensitive, practical advice. By revealing the joy of -- and seven paths to -- developing real relationships, Father Albert’s book advises couples how to overcome problems and strengthen their love and commitment.

El Mañana
ISBN: 9780307277152
Author: Mirta Ojito
Publisher: Vintage Español
Available Languages: Spanish, English (Penguin: Finding Mañana)

In this unforgettable memoir, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Mirta Ojito travels back to the event that brought her and 125,000 of her fellow Cubans to America: the 1980 mass exodus known as the Mariel boatlift. Ojito offers a mesmerizing glimpse behind Cuba's iron curtain and recalls the reality of being a sixteen-year-old torn between her family's thirst for freedom and a revolution that demanded absolute loyalty.

Inglés en 100 días
ISBN-10: 1-59820-358-4
ISBN-13: 978-1-59820-358-5
Author: Aguilar
Publisher: Aguilar Imprint
Available Languages: Spanish

With English in 100 Days you will be able to learn the 1000 essential phrases and words of the English language with a commitment of only a few minutes per day. The 30 units of the course will guide you through situations that we all must face and they will give you the tools to not sweat any situation. The professors who took part in elaborating this course are specialists in the teaching of the English language and know that the most important aspect of learning a new language is to be able to communicate in a great variety of daily situations. Some of which we emphasize are: immigration procedures when entering the United States, how to make new friends, how to order food in a restaurant, how to search for work and to prepare for a job interview, how to go to the supermarket and the post office and many others.

Kidnapped/Secuestrada
ISBN: 0-7432-9131-X
Author: Leszli Kálli
Publisher: Atria Books
Available Languages: English, Spanish

When Leszli Kalli was 18, her plane was hijacked by a group of
terrorists who kept her captive in the Colombian jungle for 373
days. This is her diary.

Midday with Buñuel: Memories and Sketches: 1973–1983 (Available Fall 2007)
ISBN-10: 0-9748881-3-3
ISBN-13: 978-0-9748881-3-2
Author: Claudio Isaac (Translated by Bryan T. Scoular); Foreword by James D. Fernández
Publisher: Swan Isle Press
Available Languages: English, Spanish (Conaculta; Centro Buñuel de Calanda: Luis Buñuel: a mediodía)

Spanish filmmaker Luis Buñuel (1900–83) was an artist known for his surrealist imagery and unflinching social criticism. An exile who produced some of his most famous work in Mexico and France during Franco’s dictatorship, he left a complicated imprint on the creative landscape of the twentieth century and on generations of younger filmmakers -- including his friend Claudio Isaac. Drawn from Isaac’s personal papers, Midday with Buñuel: Memories and Sketches: 1973–1983 is an intimate and unconventional portrait of this cinematic icon -- and memoir of Isaac’s own artistic development. The text includes sketches, vignettes, and anecdotes from Isaac’s notebooks, revealing his perspective first as a precocious boy and then as a young man. Isaac reflects on Buñuel’s presence among a community of exiles, artists, actors, writers, and intellectuals in Mexico City. These are at once touching, perceptive, and critical glimpses into Buñuel’s roles as husband and father, friend and colleague, surrealist, philosopher, and iconoclast during his last years. Throughout, Isaac’s words reveal his deep admiration and affection for an older friend full of contradictions. Intimate photographs from the Isaac family archive complement the writing, and Bryan T. Scoular’s careful translation makes this text available for the first time in English.

Part biography, part memoir, Midday with Buñuel brings to life the creative milieu of Mexico City and gives readers a privileged view of the relationship between these two filmmakers.

Mondo Lucha A Go-Go: The Bizarre and Honorable World of Wild Mexican Wrestling
ISBN: 9780060855833
Author: Dan Madigan
Publisher: Rayo/HarperCollins
Available Languages: English

In Latin America, Lucha Libre wrestling has inspired such obsession, emotion, and loyalty that it has transcended its roots to become one of the new superstars of mainstream pop culture around the world. Mondo Lucha will take readers on a thrilling, colorful, and informative journey from the very beginning of this phenomenon, tracing its history, influence, and profiling some of its biggest celebrity wrestlers. Lucha Libre wrestling is nothing short of a phenomenon. Its inescapable visuals have completely permeated the mainstream, and its popularity grows exponentially every year, expanding out from Latin America to hold the entire world in its vise-grip. Dan Madigan will provide the ultimate guide for Lucha fans, in an awesome four-color book that will be undoubtedly informative and incredibly entertaining. Posters, photos, wrestling cards, handbills, mementos will be featured throughout the book. Personal recollections, quotes, stories and memories of Luchador’s lives and experiences will provide the backdrop for a completely unique experience in sports.

Northern Spain: DK Eyewitness Travel Guides
ISBN: 9780756625030
Publisher: DK Publishing
Available Languages: English

Green Spain, as Northern Spain is often known, offers the visitor a great variety of landscapes: lush forests, deep-green valleys, soaring high mountain scenery, and exquisite beaches. For those looking for more than sun and sand, cultural highlights such as Santiago de Compostela, and the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao are contrasted with the wonderful national parks that can be found in the Central and Eastern Pyrenees. But the best beaches and most charming villages are not neglected. Everything is depicted in the glorious visual style for which Eyewitness Travel Guides are known.

Primicias de cocina Peruana
ISBN: 8424114817
Publisher: Everest
Available Languages: Spanish

A veritable culinary encyclopedia, this book offers a complete introduction and overview to Peruvian cooking. Packed with photographs, illustrations, and historical information, it offers mouthwatering recipes including Mixed Ceviche, Stuffed Potatoes, Shrimp Soup, Northern-Style Cod, Rice with Duck, and Chicken Stew. A glossary is included.

Tex{t}-Mex: Seductive Hallucinations of the "Mexican" in America
ISBN-13: 978-0-292-71457-1 (paperback)
ISBN-10: 0-292-71457-2 (paperback)
ISBN-13: 978-0-292-71456-4 (hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-292-71456-4 (hardcover)
Author: William Anthony Nericcio
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Available Languages: English

A rogues’ gallery of Mexican bandits, bombshells, lotharios, and thieves saturates American popular culture. Remember Speedy Gonzalez? “Mexican Spitfire” Lupe Vélez? The Frito Bandito? Familiar and reassuring -- at least to Anglos -- these Mexican stereotypes are not a people but a text, a carefully woven, articulated, and consumer-ready commodity. In this original, provocative, and highly entertaining book, William Anthony Nericcio deconstructs Tex{t}-Mexicans in films, television, advertising, comic books, toys, literature, and even critical theory, revealing them to be less flesh-and-blood than “seductive hallucinations,” less reality than consumer products, a kind of “digital crack.”

Nericcio engages in close readings of rogue/icons Rita Hayworth, Speedy Gonzalez, Lupe Vélez, and Frida Kahlo, as well as Orson Welles’ film Touch of Evil and the comic artistry of Gilbert Hernandez. He playfully yet devastatingly discloses how American cultural creators have invented and used these and other Tex{t}-Mexicans since the Mexican Revolution of 1910, thereby exposing the stereotypes, agendas, phobias, and intellectual deceits that drive American popular culture. This sophisticated, innovative history of celebrity Latina/o mannequins in the American marketplace takes a quantum leap toward a constructive and deconstructive next-generation figuration/adoration of Latinos in America.

Tú eres mi estrella: Cómo preparar a un niño para aprender/My Shining Star: Raising a Child Who Is Ready to Learn
ISBN: 978-0-439-80539-8 (Spanish)
ISBN: 978-0-590-02651-2 (English)
Author: Rosemary Wells
Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.
Available Languages: English, Spanish

Rosemary Wells has touched a nerve with parents with her smart, direct, pull-no-punches book of virtues designed to help parents prepare their children for success in school. By building self-esteem and creating a home that is harmonious and supportive, virtues like empathy, perseverance, good work, and personal habits, honesty, and more, will get children socialized and ready to learn. Teachers all over America have helped the author hone in on their most important concerns about behaviors that effect the learning environment in school.