Bookcrossing.com, Noticias & Junte en Austin

GUEST POST: 

Bookcrossing.com – Bilingual Post 

by Bertha Jacobson

BookCrossing.com – English:

There are some ideas that capture our interest and imagination. We embrace them with open arms and somehow, expect others to do the same. I would like to thank Lydia Gil for her generosity, allowing me to use her space in Labloga.blogspot.com today, so I can share my enthusiasm about bookcrossing.com.

The purpose of bookcrossing.com, free to all users, is to give new life to books by helping them travel around the world and through a unique identification number, be able to trace their journeys.

My first contact with bookcrossing.com happened when I found a tagged book in a restaurant. The sticker read: “I am a very special book, you see, I’m traveling around the world”.  It triggered my curiosity so I visited the site and was amazed to learn that there are currently 1,478,035 BookCrossers and 11,115,398 books travelling throughout 132 countries. Wouldn’t it be neat to join and have access to these resources?

I registered as a user and printed tags to release some of my old books, which were collecting dust on my bookshelves.  The first few times, I left them in public places to see if someone would find them. Unfortunately, this method has less than 20% success rate, depending on where the book is released, and a lot of books may end up in the garbage.  A second release method is to exchange books with other bookcrossing.com users through many of their organized activities (rings, rays, borrowing, gifting and random games just to mention a few) and at the same time establish a connection with people who enjoy reading and learning about others.  This is my preferred choice of participation. 

“Why would I give my book for free to someone, instead of selling it to them?” Was the response of a fellow writer, in my attempt to entice him into joining bookcrossing.com  As writers, we all want to make money through the sales of our books, I know. But deep inside, we also want to be read.  Adding two or three of your books to bookcrossing.com is not going to affect your finances in any way. On the other hand, the excitement of seeing your book read by others, and being able to follow its journey along the way is priceless. Thanks to this site, I have been able to discover many writers I didn’t know about.  I have received books from Argentina, Spain, México and Colombia about authors who, though very talented, are not widely known in the United States.

There was a user in Spain who wanted a copy of a book I had, “Tres Veces al Amanecer” by Alessandro Baricco, a renowned Italian author whose works have been translated into many languages.  I had my book, “Coleccionista de Almas”, piggyback a ride along with Baricco’s copy and in appreciation for the unexpected gift, the recipient organized a reading ring which has allowed my book to travel all over Spain!

I continue to participate in bookcrossing.com with controlled releases of books. Unfortunately, even though the US has almost 350,000 users, I haven’t found many Spanish readers.  Please take a minute to visit the website and see if it is an activity you may be interested in joining.  If you do, I would like to start you up with a book ring reading “En el Café de la Juventud Perdida” by Patrick Modiano, 2014 Nobel Prizewinner. My bookcrossing.com user name is: lulajay. Send me a message!

BookCrossing.com – español:

Hay algunas ideas que capturan nuestro interés e imaginación. Las acogemos con los brazos abiertos y de alguna manera, esperamos que otras personas hagan lo mismo.  Quiero agradecerle a Lydia Gil por su generosidad, permitiéndome utilizar su espacio en Labloga.blogspot.com para poder compartir mi entusiasmo por bookcrossing.com

El propósito de bookcrossing.com, un sitio gratuito, es darle nueva vida a los libros ayudándoles a que viajen por el mundo, y por medio de un número de identificación único, podamos rastrear sus recorridos.

La primera vez que supe algo de bookcrossing.com fue cuando me encontré un libro etiquetado en un restaurant. “Soy un libro muy especial, sabes, estoy viajando alrededor del mundo”, leía la calcomanía de la portada.  Me picó la curiosidad, así que visité el sitio de internet y cuál no sería mi sorpresa al ver que cuenta con 1,478,035 usuarios, conocidos como BeCeros, y 11,115,398 libros viajeros a lo largo de 132 países. ¿No sería padre unirse a ellos y tener acceso a estos recursos?

Me registré como usuaria e imprimí calcomanías para identificar y liberar algunos de mis viejos libros, los cuales acumulaban polvo en los estantes.  Las primeras veces los dejé en lugares públicos para ver si alguien los encontraba. Desafortunadamente, este método tiene un porcentaje de éxito muy bajo. Menos del 20% de los libros continúan viajando, y eso depende mucho del lugar dónde se liberen. Muchos terminan en el cesto de la basura. Otro método de participación consiste en intercambiar libros con otros usuarios de bookcrossing.com, ya sea por medio de sus actividades, (círculos, rayos, prestando, regalando, juegos organizados y otras opciones más). Así, al mismo tiempo se establece una conexión con otras personas a las que también les gusta leer y aprender acerca de los demás.  Este segundo método es el que yo prefiero. 

“¿Por qué voy a dar mi libro gratis a alguien en lugar de vendérselo?” Fue la respuesta de un compañero escritor cuando traté de incitarlo para que se uniera a bookcrossing.com.

Como escritores, todos queremos devengar ganancias de la venta de nuestros libros, lo sé. Pero en el fondo, también queremos ser leídos.  El poner dos o tres de sus libros en bookcrossing.com no va a afectar su situación financiera de manera alguna.  Por otra parte, la emoción de ver que su libro es leído y el poder seguir su trayectoria: es invaluable. Gracias a este sitio, he podido descubrir muchos escritores que no conocía antes.  He recibido algunos libros de Argentina, España, México y Colombia de autores que, aunque tienen mucho talento, no son tan reconocidos en los Estados Unidos.

Había un usuario en España que deseaba una copia de “Tres veces al Amanecer”, de Alessandro Baricco, un reconocido autor italiano cuyas obras han sido traducidas en muchos idiomas.  Mi libro, “Coleccionista de Almas”, se fue de caballito con el libro de Baricco y tan agradecido quedó el usuario español por la sorpresa, que organizó un círculo de lectura, ¡el cual ha permitido que mi libro viaje por toda España!

Sigo participando en  bookcrossing.com, liberando libros de manera controlada. Desafortunadamente, aunque los Estados Unidos cuentan con casi 350,000 usuarios, no he encontrado muchos lectores de español. Les ruego que se tomen un momento para visitar el sitio de internet  y ver si esta actividad les interesa.  Si lo hacen, me encantaría organizar un círculo de lectura (book ring) con “En el Café de la Juventud Perdida” by Patrick Modiano, Premio Nobel 2014. Mi clave de usuario en bookcrossing.com es: lulajay. ¡Mándenme un mensaje!

Bertha Jacobson

bjacobson@swbell.net
berthajacobson.webs.com

NOTICIAS DEL ESPAÑOL

Los niños tienen claro qué define ser latino: 

idioma, comida y familia

"A pesar de que el concepto de la herencia hispana puede ser difícil de definir, especialmente para los más chicos, los niños latinos tienen claro lo que les define: el idioma español, la comida y la unidad familiar..."

Pulsa aquí para leer el artículo completo 

¿Y tú? ¿Qué opinas?

 

LATIN@ JUNTE at TEXAS BOOK FEST: 

The devil is gone, but Casino is still hot! 

Join us at the patio for a

Junte of Latin@ Writers & Readers

Friday, October 16, 2015  

7:00 PM 

Casino el Camino

517 East 6th St. Austin, TX  

 

International Latino Book Awards 2015 La Bloga Winners

¡Felicidades!  Congratulations!

La Bloga writers had great success at the International Latino Book Award this past Saturday, June 27, at San Francisco. The awards were given during the American Library Association Conference. 

Best Poetry Book - One Author – Spanish

HONORABLE MENTION

Syllables of Wind | Sílabas de Viento, Xánath Caraza; Mammoth Publications ; Mexico, Chicana-indiguenous Mexican

Best Latino Focused Nonfiction Book

HONORABLE MENTION

Things We Do Not Talk About, Daniel A. Olivas; San Diego State University Press; USA Chicano

Best Youth Latino Focused Chapter Book

FIRST PLACE 

Letters from Heaven, Lydia Gil; Arte Publico Press; born in Puerto Rico to Cuban parents 

Best Latino Focused Children’s Picture Book

FIRST PLACE

¡Jugemos al Fútbol y al Football!, René Colato Laínez; Santillana USA Publishing Company; El Salvador 

To to see the complete list of winners visit, https://app.box.com/s/wbx8o2beavfo1gf1apvqp8hyco4afo8l

Food and drink, cubano and mexicano. And books.

I must have a holiday/food/cooking hangover. Made chocolate cookies this week, dipped in powdered sugar and covered with a frosting of chocolate fudge. Also drank my last bottle of Goose Island Bourbon County Stout, all by myself. 13.8%, thick as light syrup and hearty as a buffalo burger.

Which reminds me, hipster redevelopment is ruining even our white restaurant-bars. My favorite place for ribs, buffalo burger and a Southwick's Ale, Big Hoss, was sold and now there's only one kind of buffalo burger, the ale is gone and the décor went minimalist. Luckily, my daughter sent us to the Roo Bar that's got a great burger, lots of micros, is cheaper and close to Denver's Northside. Yeah, it's preppy, but that's the way the barrio goes.

Yesterday, I made frijoles with ham hocks, and pork green chile--delicioso, dicen. Then there was a buffalo roast last week that was to die for. Chingaus, I'm hungry. Anyway, here some Latino-book-food news:

Another Bloguista book

Last week at Denver's Tattered Cover Bookstore, La Bloga's Lydia Gil read from her new bilingual children's book, Letters from Heaven / Cartas del Cielo.

About Letters, from Arte Público Press:

“The protagonist, Celeste, moves through a grieving process following the death of her beloved grandmother…Healing begins when the girl receives posthumous letters from Grandma filled with love, advice, and special memories. In spite of quarrels with school friends and a bully who makes her life difficult, Celeste finds solace with the family’s network of adult female friends who help her with recipes.”—School Library Journal

Lydis was also recently interviewed in a Denver Post article, "Endangered Cuban cuisine preserved by cooks in America." She talks about Cuban food and traditional recipes that are in the article and her book. It's a "flip" book, meaning you can read the English version straight through, or flip it over to read the story Spanish. It's a sweet onee, somewhat magical in its realism. If you get a chance, go hear one of her readings.

March 5-6, 2015, Reading Rock Stars, Rio Grande Valley, Tex.

March 19, 2015, Thursday, time TBA. Presentation & Discussion at Palm Beach State College, Boca Raton, Florida.

April 15, 2015, Wednesday, 2pm. Panel on “Help Children Cope” at the Texas Library Association Annual Conference, Austin Convention Center, Austin, Tex.

April 18, 2015, Saturday, 1-4pm. Día de los niños, día de los libros celebration, Houston Public Library, Julia Ideson Buildilng, 500 McKinney, Houston, Tex.

April 27, 2015, Monday, Las Comadres & Friends National Latino Book Club, April 2015 Selection, Teleconference

Why Mexicans Should Learn to Love Hipsters

In his latest video, Ask a Mexican Gustavo Arellano takes his tongue out of his cheek, just a little, to slap at the biggest pest plaguing our Latino communities--hipster redevelopment.

As Gustavo says, "Though the issue of gentrification rears its happy head in various manifestations, the most obvious front is food, battlefield for $17 burritos, "street" tacos and the ever-popular mezcal. I mention most of this in my latest ¡Ask a Mexican! video, which ridicules hipsters but nevertheless urges tolerance for their columbusing ways…. HA!"

I've been doing what I can to reeducate young Anglos moving in around me, but you can check out Gustavo's whole video for his game plan. And he'll be running around Aztlán (the Southwest, hipsters) plugging his Taco USA – How Mexican Food Conquered America book that I just love.

Es todo, hoy, 'cause I gotta go eat something,

RudyG, a.k.a. Chicano spec author Rudy Ch. Garcia, who just finished a time-travel story with a theme of--surprise!--hunger.

New Book: Letters from Heaven / Cartas del cielo

Celeste is heartbroken when her grandmother dies. But everything changes when a letter mysteriously comes in the mail—from Grandma! As letters continue to arrive from the beyond, each with a recipe of a favorite food her grandmother used to prepare, Celeste consoles herself by learning how to cook the dishes.

Meanwhile, without Grandma’s Social Security check Mami needs to get a second job to make ends meet. Celeste has to quit dance lessons, and a bully at school gloats that she will replace Celeste as the star in the upcoming recital. To top things off, her friends think that she has gone crazy . . . dead people can’t send letters!

Soon Celeste realizes that all the recipes combined make an entire meal: café con leche, guava and cheese croissants, congrí, plantain chips, ropa vieja and flan. Can she really make a Cuban feast to celebrate her cherished grandmother’s life?

Published in bilingual "flip" format by Arte Público Press, this middle-grade novel celebrates the cultural traditions of the Spanish Caribbean while tackling challenging subjects, such as trouble with friends and the death of a grandparent. The book includes six traditional Cuban recipes with easy-to-follow instructions.

 “A tender depiction of a child’s acceptance of the death of a beloved grandmother and the cultural importance of traditional foods.”

—Kirkus Reviews

 “This delightful novel is a Like Water for Chocolate for young readers. Celeste rises out of her grief by replacing her sadness with el sabor of life, by living as her grandmother did, with love and flavor."

— Judith Ortiz Cofer, author of Call Me María

 “Add one girl who misses her abuelita to a handful of coveted Cuban recipes, stir in a pinch of magic and you get a heartening tale of love, loss and the healing power of family and friendship.” 

—Laura Lacámara, author of Dalia’s Wondrous Hair / El cabello maravilloso de Dalia

 “A poignant and uplifting story about the special bond only a grandmother and a granddaughter can share. Delicious and magical!” 

—Reyna Grande, author of The Distance Between Us

Letters from Heaven / Cartas del cielo

by Lydia Gil

ISBN-13: 978-1-55885-798-8 
For children ages 8-12 

Available now from Piñata Books, Arte Público Press

Lydia Gil & Mario Acevedo

de Lydia Gil en Argentina:

Saludos from Buenos Aires, where I've been for the past weeks with a group of University of Denver students.

This is not your typical tango-and-mate type of class. We're here to meet with witnesses, writers, and human rights activists to explore the various dimensions of the military dictatorship, among them, the testimonies of the disappeared and the projects of memorialization.

There have already been many heart-ripping moments in the few days we've met as a group: reading on a fragment of an excavated wall from a clandestine detention center the following carving--probably made with the edge of a spoon--"Ayúdame Señor". And listening to the roll call of the disappeared... after each name, the crowd shouts: "Presente".

Tomorrow is International Human Rights Day and today, for the Marcha de la Resistencia, the Madres of the Plaza de Mayo will march nonstop from noon until midnight. We wonder if now, three decades later, their march has become a memorial... Who will march after they are gone?

_______________________

de Mario Acevedo en Denver:

Here's info on the signing for my graphic novel.

Sunday, Dec 12, 2010, 3PM
Broadway Book Mall
200 S Broadway, Denver, CO

Science Fiction/Fantasy writers Win Scott Eckert, Alastair Mayer, Warren Hammond, David Boop, Laura Reeve, and Mario Acevedo will be signing their new works.

Mario will be debuting his graphic novel, Killing the Cobra, in which his detective/vampire Felix Gomez battles the Han Cobra heroin smugglers.

Free parking in back and across the street at the post office after hours. Bring a canned food donation to be entered in a raffle for door prizes. More info here.
_____________________

From Su Teatro de Denver:

Here's information on this year's holiday program.

"To Colorado on a Christmas Night"

Presented by Su Teatro at the Denver Civic Theatre, 721 Santa Fe Drive. Through Dec. 19. 1 hour, 40 minutes. 7:30 p.m. Thursdays-Fridays; 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays. $17-$20. For more info: 303-296-0219 or suteatro.org.

Read the Denver Post review - (two out of four stars?)

Picture Books for Navidad

René Colato Laínez

Here is my list of books for navidad for 2009. Enjoy them and feliz navidad y año nuevo.

To view the previous lists of books for navidad, click on the year.
2008
2007


Piñata in a Pine Tree: A Latino Twelve Days of Christmas by Pat Mora. Illustrated by Magaly Morales.

In this adaptation of the folk song "The twelve days of Christmas," a little girl is given such gifts as a piñata and "cuatro luminarias." Includes pronunciation and glossary of Spanish words and a description of Christmas foods and other holiday traditions from different Latin American countries.

Growing up with tamales/ Los tamales de Ana by Gwendolyn Zepeda. Illustrated April Ward . Spanish translation by Gabriela Baeza Ventura.

Six-year-old Ana looks forward to growing older and being allowed more responsibility in making the tamales for the family's Christmas celebrations.



Noche Buena: Hispanic American Christmas Stories by Nicolas Kanellos.

A family seated round the fireplaceSinging and making merry;A sprightly waltz played with graceNoche Buena brings us all the magic of the Christmas season as seen through the eyes of the Hispanic Americans who celebrate it.



Las Navidades by Lulu Delacre

A bilingual collection of popular Christmas songs from Latin America, illustrated to depict the Hispanic culture's rich and exuberant holiday celebrations.



La jaula dorada / The Golden Cage by Alma Flor Ada. Illustrated by Vivi Escriva.

A little boy's search for the perfect gift for his grandmother teaches him about ingenuity, generosity, and freedom.




Benito's bizcochitos by Ana Baca. Illustrated by Anthony Accardo. Spanish translation by Julia Mercedes Castilla.

As they prepare to make the traditional Christmas cookies known as bizcochitos, Christina's grandmother tells her the story of how a magical butterfly first introduced these sweet treats to her great grandfather, a shepherd in the hills of New Mexico.


Salsa stories by Lulu Delacre.

It is New Year's Day, and friends and family from all over Latin America arrive at Carmen Teresa's house for the festivities. Seven heartwarming and humorous stories follow, highlighting holidays from all over Latin America. Each story is told by a different family member, giving the narration a warm, lively sense of family tradition.

Una sorpresa para Josefina: un cuento de Navidad (Josefina's Surprise: A Christmas Story) by Valerie Tripa and Jose Moreno. Illustrated by Susan McAliley and Jean-Paul Tibbles.

The second Christmas after their mother has died, Josefina and her three sisters find that participating in the traditions of Las Posadas helps keep memories of Mamá alive.


Navidad latinoamericana / Latin American Christmas by Charito Calvachi. Introduction by Marco Vinicio Rueda.

Includes text of carols recorded on accompanying compact disc, a novena of prayers before Christmas, and Christmas traditions in Latin American countries


The twelve days of Christmas : a piñata for the pinon tree by Philemon Sturges. Illustrated by Ashley Wolff.

Celebrate the holidays with this lively adaptation of the classic Christmas song. This vivacious rendition, filled with vibrant illustrations, features musical notations and a special recipe for bizcochitos, cookies that can be found in every New Mexican home during Christmas time.

ReadMe: Mimís Parranda

Mimís Parranda is also a great book for navidad. You can find it on La Bloga list of books for navidad of 2007.

Learn more about the author, Lydia M. Gil and her book in this interview at www.spanglishbaby.com.

The "They don't want Us here" argument

What's all below doesn't directly reflect the above title, but it came to mind as I composed this.

"They don't want Us here."

The phrase comes up whenever racists, xenophobes, English-onlys and Limbaughers rear their little minds to fill the Internet, town halls or periodicals with opinions inevitably blaming immigrants (legal or otherwise), Spanish-speakers or just plain old U.S.-born, English speaking Chicanos for a laundry list of economic, social or educational failings in this country. On the surface, yes, it sounds, looks and smells like "They don't want Us."

I don't buy the argument, nor the victim-mentality it encourages, because it's a simple reaction to an immediate, specific situation, and no matter how accurate it may be, it fails to include the larger, more complex picture.

They problem lies in the signification They. Without proposing a new conspiracy theory or resurrecting a new one, we tend to throw They around to refer to distinct groups, when we might be better off always thinking of it as the distinct whole--U.S. society, meaning to include the predominant (and some fringe) groups, segments of the population, agencies, governmental bodies, body of law, philosophy and discourse.

When we include all that as They, I'd argue They do want Us here. Someone has to maintain the U.S. hotel toilets, motel bedrooms, Calif. gardens, housing developments and restaurant kitchens at a low enough wage and without drawing down on their tax contributions or good-old-Americans will go without. The food won't get harvested and delivered to those restaurant tables without Us. Manipulating the politics and repressing the economies of Latin America has kept that flow of all types of labor immigrants at an economically profitable level for most of our history.

And after we're here, They still want Us here. The racist, anti-immigrant rhetoric should be interpreted to mean, They want Us here as less-educated scapegoats, the kind that will suffer inhuman abuse in all the verbal, physical and psychological ways that America is so adept at devising. Our norms here are that it's okay to cut off funds to immigrant children, accuse their parents of being members of an ignorant race (sic), while at the same time employing Us at substandard wages without benefits, and even recruiting Us to fight the Iraq-Afghan-Pakistan War.

Homeland Security should erect a monstrous billboard on the border, facing northward, stating:

"Don't leave us. We need your labor and sweat and without you we might realize we're all fokked because we'd have to find new scapegoats and there are enough Muslims around to take all the abuse."

So, the next time your Chicano or mexicano friend says, "They don't want Us here," please try to educate them.

For a good exposure and a set of some real moronic responses, go to "Most Oregon schools slow to get English learners proficient" to see how the Oregon government thinks "punishing" school districts for under serving English language learners can be best implemented by providing even less money for that.

To read about a state notorious for never having understood how to educate Us (Chicano and mexicano kids), and where for years teachers have fought against the myopic standards-based CSAP exam, go to Colorado's new educational standards stress strategic thinking. Dumping the old one doesn't mean a new one will be any better, but the state has at least added the concept of "thinking" to its dialogue. Would they'd extend the concept to Us where education is involved.

Go here for a review/interview of La Bloga's contributor Lydia Gil and her book Mimi's Parranda that's posted on the website Spanglish Baby. It has everything to do with what They should see in Us.

And BTW, you only have today and tomorrow to win a copy of that book!

Almost lastly, Go to the Jim Lopez/Ty Gorton's Antique Children website to read a stranger adult story featuring a kid, written by yours truly. It's not so much about a non-Anglo kid as much as it's about myopic attitudes toward children.
(Click on the menu bar Subjects and scroll down to Fiction.)

A Grain of Sand is the second one.
Leave comments here to let me know your review of that one.

In the spirit of the coming year's-end, and my unsubstantiated ranting above, and your determination to make the new year different, I invite guest posts on that topic. Leave a comment below if you have something to submit.

RudyChG