Summer readings (Vol. II)

Kaixo kaixo!

I'm happy to report that my summer readings are in full swing and that like I expected, I've been enjoying reading. SO MUCH. However, it has been a little chaotic. I started two books that I'm still not done with, but then my parents talked to me about a trilogy (that is, a series of three books, like Divergent or The Hunger Games #teamPeeta). People here commonly refer to it as "La trilogía del Baztán" or the Baztan trilogy, which are three books on some criminal cases in the Baztan valley, a little area right by Irun where there is a rich history of wizardry and legendary creatures. Apparently, during my spring semester at the US, it has been all the rage here, and everyone has been reading these books. I was piqued by curiosity and when my aunt told me one of her coworkers had lent them to her for the summer, I asked her if I could read them. And, six days later I'm done with about 1500 pages. I gorged these books. Literally (figuratively).

El guardián invisible (The Invisible Guardian) by Dolores Redondo:
A series of murders of young girls by Elizondo, the heart of the Baztán valley, has made Amaia Salazar, an FBI trained police inspector, go back to her hometown she'd rather forget. These teenagers have appeared strangled with a cord, naked, with their make up wiped off and the most incredible detail, with their pubes shaved like a child's and a local pastry on top of it. Amaia has to deal with these murders that are being deemed the "Basajaun" murders, the murders of a mythological creature that takes care of the mountains, and with her own demons from her past that resurface as she goes back there.

As a longtime Criminal Minds fan, I was very happy to see unsub profiling combined with a location that I know (I got very excited to see Durango, Colorado in Criminal Minds because I did my study abroad there). I considered criminology as a career, before doing a reality check and realizing that I'd never be as cool as Dr. Spencer Reid or have as awesome of a job, I limited my criminology interest to literature and media, so this book was fantastic to read.

Do I recommend it? Yes!

Legado en los huesos (Legacy in the Bones) by Dolores Redondo:
Johana Márquez's murder trial is about to start. After having raped, mutilated and killed her and tried to put the blame on the Basajaun killer, her stepfather Jasón Medina commits suicide in a bathroom of the courtroom. Amaia Salazar, who is now pregnant, is summoned there as Medina has left a suicide note directed at her with one word: "Tarttalo", the name of a mythical Basque monster who, the legend said, used to terrorize the Baztán valley. Amaia has to go back to her hometown in Elizondo to uncover a deep secret ingrained in the valley.

This was by far the book I liked the most out of the trilogy. Not only is it the most packed with action, it just feels like you can't stop reading. It took me a day and a half to finish it, I gotta admit. But you have to read the first book to keep up with the storyline, don't read it on its own!

Do I recommend it? Heck yeah!

Ofrenda a la tormenta (Offering to the Storm) by Dolores Redonco:
When a woman denounces that her granddaughter's death by sudden infant death syndrome may have been misdiagnosed, as her son-in-law seems to be acting weird about it. The baby has red marks in her face that signal a drowning. Her great grandmother claims her great grandchild has been killed by a dark force that kills people in their dreams, Inguma. The investigation in this case will lead Amaia Salazar and her team to other cases of baby girls dying of SIDS in Baztan, too many of them, which will eventually lead to the root of all the evil that has been condemning the valley.

I hate ebooks, and I will always choose paper over an electronic reader. However, I was so desperate to read this and I couldn't find a paper version anywhere, so I asked my dad (gasp!) if he could lend me his ebook to read it. My dad is awesome and he lent it to me. Figure out how bad I wanted to read this book. Really bad. I really liked it and I wish it hadn't ended.

Do I recommend it? Yes!
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Although I do recommend these books, there's a little catch. The books are not available in the US (yet!). The first one will be on sale March 2016 (I know, so long to go...) here, but if you can find get it from the UK (these books have been a mega-hit in Europe) you'd be able to read it in English, and there's always the internet.

Love,

- Ane

Summer Readings (Vol. I)

Kaixo!

I hope everyone is doing wonderful! As a recent graduate enjoying this limbo time between my MA and my PhD, I love the fact that I can read for pleasure. Time management is huge in grad school and you usually end up sacrificing some hobbies. I used to be the biggest bookworm when I was a kid. I was the first kid in class to learn how to read when I was 5 and my 4th grade teacher told my mom she was scared amazed that I read as fast as an adult (proudest middle school moment). So this summer, it is my mission to read as many books I can. You can take an English grad out of literature, but you cannot take literature out of an English grad (OK this last phrase made no sense but whatevs).

And this is why I'm inaugurating the "Summer Readings" series for my blog where I will review the books I have read so far. I will start with this two books:

The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

This one is a classic. I mean, it's not from the Shakespearean era, but the movie that was based off this novel was a masterpiece. This novel is located in a Benedictine abbey in Italy during the Middle Ages, where a series of deaths of different monks of the abbey is intertwined with a theological dispute over the poverty of Jesus Christ and the validity of different orders. The narrator of the story is novice Adso of Melk, who travels to the abbey with the Franciscan friar William of Baskerville. The two of them uncover a series of mysteries of the abbey which specially have to do with the humongous collection of books in the labyrinthical library.

I have always loved the movie, I saw it in school a million times (I wonder if they owned any other movies apart from this), and I thought it was incredibly interesting. Friar William and Adso reminded me of Sherlock Holmes and Watson, but it was even better because history of religion was involved with the presence of the Inquisition, and I love learning about it. So I found it in the college library and I thought it was about time I read the novel it was based off. Like the movie, I really liked it. I learned more about the characters and the way the unraveling of the mystery escalated in an awesome way, I couldn't put it down. A downside may be that unless you are very versed in Latin and the history of catholicism, some of the plot lines and phrases have to be looked up, and I usually don't like stopping for that when I'm reading, so I would recommend getting a newer version with notes, which I'm sure exists.

Do I recommend it? Yes!

Buy it here or here.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Another book that I wanted to read after watching the movie. I wish I read the books before, but there is also a positive side to watching the movie first: You are usually not disappointed because the book is usually better than the movie, and whenever I learn there is a book behind the movie I get excited to learn more about the characters from the book. After watching the movie a bazillion times (I think I should watch new movies instead of rewatching the same ones but what can I do, I love some movies), I was looking for an excuse to read the book, and since I was trapped in the Midwest after graduation because my travel plans fell through after my relationship was over, I needed a distraction, and I finally decided to purchase it. And OMG I'm so glad I did.

As many of you know, The Help is located in 1962 Jackson, Mississippi, where African-American maids clean the houses and raise the children of the crème de la crème of Jackson. The books is told from the perspectives of Skeeter, a white girl who belongs to the social circle yet is unmarried and dreams of being a journalist in NYC, and two maids, Aibileen and Minnie, who take care of very peculiar families which are under the influence of Hilly Holbrook, who makes the devil look like a puppy. When Skeeter starts publishing a column on house cleaning in the local newspaper, she asks Aibileen for help, and from there, the idea of writing about the experiences of the Black maids of Jackson takes shape. As I expected, I learned a lot about the characters, and I practically devoured the book. Something unusual is that the storyline does not go exactly the same way as in the movie, and the portrayal of Celia Foote is more negative than in the movie, I believe. In any case, stop doing whatever you are doing and start reading this book right now.

Do I recommend it? Yes!
Buy it here or here.

I hope you enjoyed the first post of this series, and any recommendations for new books are HIGHLY appreciated! :)
Love,

- Ane