Visiting the LA Times Festival of Books this weekend

(A little note/disclaimer: It’s been about two weeks since my last post. Ademas de sentir que ando neglecting a mi blog un poquito, me siento a little under the weather. I have a really bad cold that won’t go away. So they sent me home from work today because I really didn’t sound/look/feel well… and here I am trying to get back into the writing mood. I guess I needed the time out. Hasta una mujer no quiso ride the elevator conmigo this morning. Oh the horror! I think she thought I was a walking virus and let me go first…

Anyhooooo, entre mi last post and this one, we had a family visit con los sobrinitos, Semana Santa and Easter came and went, now it’s tax day and I’m thinking que vamos muy rápido con este 2012.)

To get back into the blogging spirit, may I make a recommendation? If you are a book lover, a voracious reader or just generally enjoy talking to likeminded people who READ: The annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books takes place this weekend at the USC  Campus and it is not to be missed.

The advertising supplement from the Sunday Los Angeles Times was very useful for planning a trip to the book fair. Photo by yours truly with the iPhone.

I’ve been hearing about it on the radio (KCRW) and yesterday’s LA Sunday Times included the newspaper insert with the program. There’s all sorts of useful information.

You can click HERE for the link to go to the website and browse to see if there’s anything that suits your fancy. The event is free, but some of the lectures or presentations require admission.

There will be something for everybody, book signings, celebrities, books for kids, books on any subject/theme you can imagine, generous sponsors and finally some nice California weather for a change.

I am particularly excited about three  lovely and amazing ladies I practically grew up with (aunque no las conozca en persona, they influenced me and are part of my life in Spanglish) who will be at the event:

Julie Andrews: Our dearest, most favorite actress from The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins will be presenting “The Very Fairy Princess: Here Comes The Flower Girl” on Sunday at 12:55 pm, Target Children’s Stage.

Judy Blume: YES! THE one and only Judy Blume, the writer that made me love reading in the first place. My friends and I practically devoured her entire collection: Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Are You There God It’s Me Margaret, Superfudge, Blubber, etc etc.I think she set me on a lifelong love of books, and I don’t say this lightly.

“Judy Blume in Conversation With Mary McNamara” on Saturday 2:30pm, Bovard Auditorium. ($13 admission)

Betty White: Our beloved national treasure and ultimate Golden Girl will also be in person at the fair. “Betty and Friends: My Life at the Zoo,” Interviewed by Karen Grisby Bates. On Sunday at 1:20 pm, Los Angeles Times Stage.

Also, not to be outdone, latinos RE-PRE-SENT! con el super wacky and cool author and editor of the OC Weekly, Gustavo Arellano (Ask a Mexican!) who also just happens to have recently written a book with a very clever title: “Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America” which I’m planning to get a copy of at the fair.

Looking forward to reading Gustavo's new book "Taco USA" since I've been hearing good reviews.

So take advantage of this wonderful opportunity and also, get ready, because in May, we have another Book Fair coming, pero en español!

Yes, pretty soon we must visit the LEA-LA Feria del Libro en Español, el 11, 12 y 13 de Mayo en el Convention Center. More on that later.

A visit to The Last Bookstore in DTLA

The Last Bookstore is located on the corner of Spring and 5th Street in downtown Los Angeles.

For those of us who love books, finding a new bookstore that speaks to our nerdy sensibilites as well as to our aesthetic values brings new thrills which are hard to describe. For me, I guess it’s one of those things that makes me want to do a happy dance. No me da pena admitirlo, estas son las cosas that get me all excited.

So it was a particular joy to discover such a place right in the middle of the vibrant downtown LA reinvention, on the corner of Spring and 5th street. The place is called “The Last Bookstore” and it is awesome.

Originally, I had read of about this bookstore in a fabulous article/list which was shared on Twitter called “The 20 Most Beautiful Bookstores in the World”. (Click on the link to go to the list.) I was particularly excited to see that El Péndulo, in Mexico DF (La Condesa) had made the list. I’ve been there several times and yes, it’s beautiful. But since one of the bookstores mentioned is right here in LA, I knew I had to visit. (I hereby proclaim a newfound obsession about visiting them all, even if it takes years to travel around the world.)

Lucky for me that my friend Olivia is also a nerd (I say it with respect and admiration) and was psyched to go along for the discovery. So off we went. The site is a wonderful building with great “bones” and architecture. Its wide open space and columns made me think of an opulent time from the past in downtown LA, when it may have been a bank or financial institution, but thankfully has been rescued/recycled into a place of knowledge.

You can read the story about The Last Bookstore here, and you may be curious to know, they buy books in good condition (no encyclopedias, no books that are falling apart or smell like kitty litter) and they are usually interested in classical literature in hardcover. Pero yo les voy a llevar algunas novelas/libros en español que talvez puedan quedar en mejores manos…

Here are some pictures, and just so you know, you can find books on almost any subject here at a great deal. Most of them are very cheap and you won’t feel like you are breaking the bank.

Happy Reading!

A wide angle view of the bookstore.

The cashier is a beautiful sculpture of books.

Grab a book and make yourself comfortable.

Just don't stay there too long, lounging and not buying anything. This is a business after all. There is a one hour time limit for sitting and reading. ¡No se vayan a dormir!

La sección de libros en español. I personally plan to contribute to new reading material, since I think they could use more titles.

Hey, you can find paperbacks from James Joyce and the book of Dream Interpretation from Freud. (I have a few dreams I have to analyze myself!)

Olivia finds a Decca record she likes. They have a huge selection of LP's for 99 cents.

She also found a disco de Menudo, from the early days, and I almost flipped. Look: Miguel, Xavier, Charly, Ricky, and Jhonny!

They also have a coffee bar that serves "Cafecito Orgánico" coffee and other treats.

The lovely Miss O at The Last Bookstore.

Checking out La Reina del Sur dvd at the Library

Man, the weekends go by fast. Somehow 48 hours are not enough para hacer todo lo que quieres/tienes que hacer, especially when you know you’re going to spend a Sunday afternoon watching commercials and the SuperBowl. (OK the halftime with Madonna was amazing, right?… But I digress.)

On my list for the weekend was to squeeze in a visit to the Library in downtown LA, even if it’s totally out of the way for me. If I can just get in 30 minutes during the week, I am a happy camper. May I recommend you visit it (again!) and see the cool stuff they have going on?

Browsing through their DVD collections on the first floor, oh joy! There are Documentaries, Foreign Movies and TELENOVELAS. A really good selection for all of us who have discerning tastes. I was impressed.

Wouldn’t you know it? They already have the La Reina del Sur dvd on the shelf. If you haven’t already seen it, here’s your chance to see what all the hoopla was about last year. Mind you, this is an edited version on 2 volumes (12 dvds total) but it’s a great series, nevertheless. Or maybe you’re just a LRDS junkie and you just want to re-live your favorite moments con El Ratas y Don Epifanio, not to mention El Pote y el Batmancito. I miss them…You could buy the series at Amazon, but it will set you back 40 bucks. Here at the library you can check it out for free for 2 weeks.

You can check out La Reina del Sur series dvds at the 1st floor of the LA Central Public Library in downtown.

Interesting juxtaposition of the Novelas dvds next to Anime. There is something for everybody.

Cinephiles rejoice. A cult classic from el DF in the late 80's. Alfonso Cuarón's first hit: Solo con Tu Pareja. Still funny after all these years.

Los pasillos de la biblioteca, with miles and miles of books.

Cool title in Spanglish. "Orozco in Gringoland" Will have to check it out soon. Chronicles Jose Clemente Orozco's work in New York City.

Mi favorite Spanglish professor Bill Santiago is in the Huffington Post.

Read all about it! Bill Santiago, Spanglish genius, comedian and fabulous writer has a great column today over at HuffPo. Get over there and take a look.

Click here to go to the link.

Great writing, funny stuff! Bill Santiago's "Harry The Dirty" post from HuffPo.

I promise you, promise you you’re going to LOVE his writing. In fact,  I’m going to re-read it just about now. He also has a brilliant way of explaining Spanglish to people like me who can’t describe it any better than just a mesh of 2 languages in my brain, going on “al mismo tiempo”.

But here’s an excerpt:

…See, this is the way a properly wired Spanglish mind processes information — constantly analyzing English and Spanish in terms of each other, scrutinizing translations, combinations, confabulations. Your brain is in a constant loop between the two operating systems, your two cultures, your two realities. Granted, most of the time it’s unconscious. Uno ni se da cuenta, really, that you’re doing it. It’s just that cuando you have both languages inside you, vives en los dos a la vez. It’s very quantum, como quien dice.

It can be a little dizzying to always be filtering the world in a Spanglish default mode. Pero, would I want it any other way? ¡Jamás! Which by the way is one of my favorite Spanish words, meaning “never” or “never again” or “when el infierno freezes over.”

There’s a lot of passion in the word jamás; you can feel it when you say it, spewing up like magma from way inside your gut. It’s pronounced with a soft ‘j’ (like an ‘h’ in English), not with the jelly ‘j’ in pajamas. You can hold that soft ‘j’ sound as long as you like, depending how much you are feeling it in the moment, and then nail the sentiment with a dramatic accented stress on the last syllable. It’s very cathartic. ‘Never’ can also be translated into Spanish as ‘nunca,’ of course. But ‘nunca,’ isn’t nearly as strong a word. It only means never. Whereas ‘jamás’ means never ever ever ever ever. So never say ‘nunca’ when you mean ‘jamás.’ Not to be confused with Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist group, by the way.

See what I mean? Es la única persona que me puede explicar lo que pasa en mi cabeza con los dos idiomas. And with comedy!

You can also get Bill’s book, “Pardon My Spanglish” over at Amazon and catch his stand-up around the country. His website is on my blog roll to the left.

Este, señores, es el Spanglish Bible. Leanlo please. "Pardon My Spanglish" by Bill Santiago is available on Amazon.com

Saludos Bill! Keep the funny posts coming.

Vamos: LéaLA, la primera feria del libro en español en California

VAMOS.

Todos los amantes de la lectura en español estamos de fiesta este fin de semana en LA.

LéaLA promete ser uno de esos eventos especiales que hay que disfrutar en Los Angeles, con escritores, intelectuales  y amantes de la lectura en un espacio enorme y con entrada GRATIS. Lo organiza la Universidad de Guadalajara con otros patrocinadores locales.

No todos los días tenemos la oportunidad de ver en persona a Isabel Allende, Laura Restrepo, Xavier Velasco, Ofelia Medina, Kate del Castillo, Lydia Cacho, Francisco Martin Moreno, Dayanara Torres, José José (!!!) y muchos otros presentadores en un solo lugar. Además hay talleres de lectura, de cine, de lenguaje e idioma, temas culturales, etc.

Ahorita estuve leyendo el programa y me emocioné mucho. ¡Quiero ir a todo! Espero ustedes se puedan dar una vuelta tambien.

Tendrán temas para lectores de todos los géneros, y algo para toda la familia, incluyendo un espacio de lectura para niños. Because it’s never too early to get them to love books.

Visiten el website y vean todo lo que pueden disfrutar. Aqui esta el link:

Programa LEA-LA

Por favor vayan y lleven a su familia. De verdad hay que asistir para apoyar este evento porque 1) es un esfuerzo muy grande traer todo este programa a California y 2) si no vamos, ya no nos van a querer traer estas opciones culturales gratuitas. Que vea todo el mundo que los latinos en California leemos y queremos más cultura y más opciones inteligentes.

Léa-LA es este viernes 29 y sábado 30 de Abril, y el domingo 1 de mayo en el LA Convention Center en Downtown LA, “Concourse Hall”. Direccion es 1201 South Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, CA 90015. Abierto desde las 10am hasta las 7pm. Entrada Libre!

Cookbooks Galore

Cookbooks para todos en el Barnes and Noble.

Spring is here, Easter is coming up, and just from browsing at my local Barnes and Noble, it seems everybody is coming out with a new cookbook.

I don’t know about you but every time I see a shiny cookbook, it makes me want to just go out and cook something new. It does inspire me. I guess that’s the whole point behind the marketing strategy. You can cook like these chefs, so called chefs, and celebrities (so they say) but am I a regular cook? Not by a long shot. Who has the time nowadays?

So I was surprised to see a new cookbook by Eva Longoria, the Desperate Housewife, globe-trotting, UCLA student (she’s getting a master’s degree in Chicano studies, thank you very much) and Latino activist who supports mental health issues, children’s health, among a bunch of other causes.  Apparently this multi-tasker still has time to prepare home cooked meals for her familia. Or so the book implies, as there’s plenty of pictures of Eva peeling veggies, in the kitchen, con su mamá y sus tías, moviendo el sartén. Hmmm, I have a feeling it’s more her mom and tías that do the cooking. Just saying!  Anyway, it’s called “Eva’s Kitchen” and has the typical “latina” or mexican-latino fusion inspired recipes, with glossy, colorful pictures.

Eva Longoria's new cookbook is called "Eva's Kitchen."

Otra que no se queda atrás es la Gwyneth Paltrow, the overachiever everybody loves to hate. I am currently on “la-gwyneth-otra-vez -me-está- cayendo-gorda mode” but it is always shifting. (I have a love-hate relationship with her, which is more than I can say for the blogging community, which loves to hate her… but I digress.)

Goop's book. "My Father's Daughter" (Photo from Eater.com)

La Goop herself  just came out with a cookbook called “My Father’s Daughter” and everybody on the online foodie blogs came out to bash her, yet again, for her snobby, better than thou, life is perfect attitude. She can really annoy the hell out of people. But truth be told, she’s very talented, she can sing, hablar español, has good style and good genes. Enough said.

One of the tweets I follow on Twitter, Ruth Bourdain (fictional account that mashes Ruth Reichl and Anthony Bourdain’s point of view, you should follow it!) had a funny tweet the other day regarding the book:

So I was surprised when I happened to like the book, after browsing through it, and thinking, I really want to get it. Dammit! I loved the look and feel of the book, it has beautiful photos, the recipes look delicious, and achievable. Pero es de la Gwyneth, así que…I’ll admit:

Si tuviera an extra $30 bucks I might consider purchasing it. But since I don’t, right now I’ll just admire it at the bookstore and wait till it goes on sale, eventually.

Lo que me llamó la atención es que nowhere in the book, and I mean nowhere, is it mentioned that she is married to Chris Martin. Not in the acknowledgements to everybody who is important in her life, not in the thank you’s, not even in the back flap bio. Hmmm. That sounds weird to me.

———–

UPDATE: So I was mistaken: looks like they are still together. Chris Martin was at her NYC book presentation-private dinner this week.

Here’s the link to the NYT photogallery. (Click here) Nice party! Ah the beautiful people.

And here’s the link to the companion article, Click:   She acts, she sings, she cooks?

Is Gwyneth trying to be the new Martha? (Photo from NYT.com)

No show, con del Toro y Carlos Fuentes

It was a very disappointing Friday night at Disney Hall in LA. Turns out that the much anticipated book presentation of Carlos Fuentes’ VLAD was abruptly cancelled. No word on the motives and nobody from the organizing committee, la Universidad de Guadalajara en Los Angeles UDGLA, bothered to show up to give us an explanation. Bummer! It would have been an interesting conversation, even though Mr. Fuentes tends to be a little pompous and wordy… rollero pues, but Mr. del Toro would’ve made it more animated and fun.

Quien sabe qué pasaría. But the organizers could’ve been more courteous and let us know beforehand. It’s not an easy task to get to downtown LA on a Friday evening. Parking isn’t cheap, either. At least Disney Hall was fair enough to return the parking fee.

I felt bad for a guy who came in with his collection of Carlos Fuentes books so he could get his autograph. And they looked like books from Mexico, like older print editions, with the soft cover almost falling off y el cartoncito deslavado. A true Fuentes reader. Qué lástima. There are not many of those fans here in LA.

Just hope the Feria del Libro en Español “LeaLA” is better organized by the UDGLA. It’s set for April 29, 30 and May 1st in LA.

 

No show. Ni Carlos Fuentes ni Guillermo del Toro llegaron.

Sunday evening cafecito y “Killer Crónicas”

Después de una semana full of revelations, estoy disfrutando de un little downtime cafecito and a wonderful book I received from Susana Chavez-Silverman, a true Spanglish linguist and beautiful writer.

“Killer Crónicas” has me hooked and I’m barely on chapter 2. This book will serve as an early literary example of how Spanglish gradually evolved into a vibrant and energetic new language, pese a quien le pese.  I have to catch myself from gasping as I go through the pages, because this is what the voice in your Spanglish head sounds like (at least my inner voice) and she has captured it perfectly, even writing in accents from Madrid, Buenos Aires and Mexico. So very interesting indeed.

Says the LA Times: “A stirring memoir…practically a performance. Killer Crónicas is a testament to the matruring sense of global and pan-Latin citizenship being claimed by Chicanos and US born Latinos in the AmericanWest. Combine this with such innovation in language, and her book may be one day regarded as a refreshing turning point in Latino literature…”

Killer Cronicas, Bilingual Memories by Susana Chavez Silverman (University of Wisconsin Press, 2004) y un cafecito. The perfect late afternoon combo.

¡Ya era hora! Premio Nobel de literatura para Vargas Llosa

Esta mañana fui feliz con la noticia de que Mario Vargas Llosa recibe el Premio Nobel de literatura. ¡Desde cuando que lo merecía! Muchas felicidades al escritor!

Para celebrar voy a releer “La tia Julia y el escribidor”. O tambien “Travesuras de la niña mala”. O la favorita de mi amigo el Chelo, “Quien mato a Palomino Molero?”, esta la voy a tener que sacar de la library.

La tia Julia y el escribidor. Hay que disfrutarla de nuevo! (Foto de amazon.com)

Aqui les dejo una breve bibliografía de uno de mis autores favoritos, por The UK Guardian. Hagan click!

And read the NY Times article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/08/books/08nobel.html?_r=1&hp

RIP J.D. Salinger…

 

What I like best is a book that’s at least funny once in a while…What really knocks me out is a book that, when you’re all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn’t happen much, though.
The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield

J. D. Salinger

I was in the 8th Grade at Our Lady Of Guadalupe Academy when I first read The Catcher in the Rye and it was the first book that I remember made me feel like a “grown-up”.  A friend had lent it to me, it wasn’t required reading or anything (I suppose the nuns would not have approved) and finished it in days.  

So I’m sorry to hear the news that J.D. Salinger passed away today at 91 years old. He never wanted to be seen, nor gave inteviews, and we never really knew much about him, which added to the intrigue. It must be a sad day for his fans.

I think I’ll pick up a copy in the library to read it again.

New Year, same vice

“When I get a little money, I buy books; if any is left, I buy food and clothes.” – Erasmus, humanist and scholar.

Libros para todos los gustos.

Aqui su segura servilleta had a little money left over from the holidays and in the spirit of gift giving- to myself- I headed over to my favorite Barnes and Noble. I LOVE THIS PLACE. I can, and have on occasion, spent many afternoons just browsing the beautiful and wonderful books and different sections.

This year I gave myself a few goodies, all to fit with my resolution to read more.

Clockwise from left: a Vargas Llosa classic, a life planner for 5 years, a mag to inspire to run more, and book to read when I need faith and motivation from my friend Joel.

What did you give yourself this year? I highly recommend self gifts, preferably by January 6, so you can say “me lo trajeron los Reyes Magos.”  Not that we need any excuses!

Julia Fever!

It's a wonderful world of books inspired by Julia! The display is called "What Would Julia Do?"

If you’re a fan of good movies, good food and the good life, do yourself a little favor and go see “Julie and Julia” soon. It is a beautiful movie of Julia Child’s life that just may inspire you and have you looking for her book “Mastering the Art of French cooking” as soon as you leave the movie theater. A friend of mine told me she did just that but the book was sold out! Honestly, “viéndolo por el lado amable”, this recession may have us cooking at home more than ever and looking for classic recipes to elevate our palates. I happened to browse into one of my favorite bookstores- Vroman’s- in Pasadena, which by the way is where Julia Child was originally from, and found this beautiful display called “What Would Julia Do?” It was full of lovely books from which the movie was adapted and also included other related authors and themes (Paris, anyone?)

I am definitely going to practice my French with one of the recipes in the book, and try not to worry too much but enjoy the process. (A ver que tal me sale el beef bourgignon…)

I’ve also added 2 titles to my book checklist, you’ll see them in yellow: one is called “The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry,” which I think is a very clever title and tells the story about a 36 year old woman studying at Le Cordon Bleu, and also “Julia’s Kitchen Wisdom.”

2 new books to check out!

Good books

Check out this link to the International Latino Book Awards for 2009.

Congratulations to all the winners! 

And remember to support Literacy in your community. 

http://lbff.us/latino-book-awards

I ♥ LAPL

 

Side entrance on Hope Street.

 The next time you have free time, do yourself a favor and visit the Central Library in downtown LA on 5th and Flower.  This is a magical, wonderful place. It’s the complete universe in 6 floors of book bliss (haciendo referencia a Borges en la Biblioteca de Babel, en donde el universo es compuesto por todos los libros posibles acomodados en interminables combinaciones hexagonales.)    

The architecture of the building itself is so gorgeous, you could spend hours observing the details. You also get free wonderful art exhibits and a nice little gift store with unique and modern gifts. I recently discovered the foreign language section and my heart skipped a beat… and then I realized “you mean to tell me I’ve been going to Barnes and Noble all these years because I thought they had a good selection???? ” Si nomás tienen 3 shelves de libros en español!!  Aqui hay UN PISO dedicado a libros en todos los idiomas…. MILES de libros en español del tema que se puedan imaginar y que más les guste (macramé how-to books from the 70′s anyone?) AND they lend them to you. I do love the LAPL!

NOTEWORTHY stuff:

 

BOOK HEAVEN.

 

 

 

First floor gallery has a photo exhibit by Paul Outerbridge until June 28, 2009.

 

"...one of America's earliest masters of color photography. Using bold luminous Kodakchrome, the photographs explore the quirkiness of 1950's leisure culture..."

 

From the exhibit "Paul Outerbridge. New Color Photographs from Mexico and California. 1948-1955." On display at the 1st floor gallery.

 

 

Shop here.

¡ánimo Benedetti!

Encontré esto en internet con motivo de la hospitalización de Mario Benedetti, uno de mis escritores favoritos y un tesoro latinoamericano. Parece que ya esta más estable, tiene 88 años.

Lo escribe otro grande: José Saramago (Ensayo Sobre la Ceguera) de Portugal:

“Mario Benedetti está pasando horas malas. Hemos pensado que podíamos ponernos a leer sus poemas por todo el mundo y así ayudarlo en este momento. Un poema, por si no tenéis algún libro suyo a mano. Y por si queréis pasarlo a otros amigos”.

Pues tengo varios en mi haber, pero este tiene que ser uno de los que mas me gustan. Mándenle buena vibra para que se alivie pronto.

 

VICEVERSA (Mario Benedetti)

Tengo ganas de verte

necesidad de verte

esperanza de verte

desazones de verte

 

tengo ganas de hallarte

preocupación de hallarte

certidumbre de hallarte

pobres dudas de hallarte

 

tengo urgencia de oírte

alegria de oírte

buena suerte de oírte

y temores de oírte

 

osea

resumiendo

estoy jodido

                           y radiante

quizá más lo primero

que lo segundo y también

                               viceversa.

¿Hacemos “Share”?

 

Durante pleno Spring Cleaning se me ocurrió que estos libros either I’m done with them or I’m not going to finish reading them (Abu Ghraib es muy deprimente) o de plano no me surten efecto (“Single No More”… sin comentarios.) Anyway, instead of taking them to the local library for donation, I thought it best to share with you, if you are interested. Let me know and I’ll make arrangements to send them to you or bring them in person next time I see you. 

The titles from top to bottom:

1. Photography, A Crash Course. Dave Yorath.

2. Love is the Killer App. Tim Sanders. (Think about the title as business tool, not about affectionate love.)

3. Why Girls are Weird. Pamela Ribon. (Es novela, no un “self help” book, mind you!)

4. ¿Quién Dijo que No Se Puede?. Maria Antonieta Collins. (Es un manual de dietas.)

5. America’s Queen. Sarah Bradford. (Bio de Jackie Kennedy Onassis. Need to make room for Michele Obama’s bio!)

6. Single No More. Ellen Kreidman, PHD. (Do I need to explain this? It was a birthday present 4 yrs ago from my parents… but that’s another story.)

7. Michael Phelps, Beneath the Surface. Michael Phelps. 

8. Latinos, Inc. The Marketing and Making of a People. Arlene Davila (Interesting facts, but a little outdated, from 1999)

9. Diablo Guardian. Xavier Velasco. (Novela. Violetta tiene quince  años cuando  cruza la frontera con más de cien mil doláres robados de sus padres, asimismo excelentes amigos de lo ajeno. Azarosamente desembarcada en Nueva York, sobrevive durante cuatro años a todo tren, gastando varios kilogramos de dinero mal habido...)

10. Chain of Command. The Road from 9/11 to Abu Ghraib. Seymor M. Hersh.