Hace unos días salió mi nuevo libro, De astutos, tragones y mordelones, con ilustraciones del muy talentoso Juan Gedovius publicado por Editorial Norma. ¡Quedó hermoso! Excelente ilustración y diseño y tres preciosos cuentos de tradición oral de México con personajes muy divertidos. Ya avisaré cuando sea la presentación oficial. ¡Será una agradable sorpresa que todavía hay que confirmar! Y, preguntaré a alguien más docto que yo en asuntos computacionales cómo subir la foto de la portada (y las portadas de mis otros libros...) al blog para que la puedan ver. Confieso que me asombra que pude subir mi photo el otro día.
Just a few days ago my new book, De astutos, tragones y mordelones, with illustrations by the very talented Juan Gedovius and published by Editorial Norma. It's beautiful! Excellent illustration and design and three great Mexican folktales with very funny characters. I'll let everyone know when the formal presentation will be done. It will be a lovely surprise which still has to be confirmed. And I'll ask someone who is more techie than me how to upload the cover to the blog (as well as the covers of my other books...) so that everyone can see it. I confess that I am amazed that I was able to upload my photo the other day :-)
viernes, 25 de febrero de 2011
lunes, 21 de febrero de 2011
Ray Bradbury y sus cuentos mexicanos
Me encanta Ray Bradbury. Me gusta su imaginación, los vuelcos de tuerca y finales totalmente inesperados y la forma en que usa el lenguaje. Es un deleite leerlo: una vez para zambullirse en el cuento y las demás para ver cómo lo hizo. Desde chica me topé con Las crónicas marcianas y, desde entonces, he leído muchos de sus cuentos, novelas y novelas cortas. Entre los cuentos que más me gustan son los de Douglas Spaulding, su alter ego y memoria de su niñéz, en libros como Dandelion Wine y en cuentos sueltos que aparecen en varias antologías. También me encantan sus cuentos mezcla de realidad y fantasía, los de terror y cualquiera que tenga que ver con Marte. Otros son los que escribió sobre México porque hablaban de lo nuestro. ¿Los han leído? Los que más me gustan, aunque son bastante terroríficos, son The Lifework of Juan Díaz, The End of the Line, Calling Mexico y El Día de Muerte. Se los recomiendo, aunque las palabras en español usado en los originales en inglés están incorrectas en muchos casos.
I love Ray Bradbury. I like his imagination, his turn of the screw and totally unexpected ends and the way he uses language. It's a delight to read him: one time to dive into the story and the other times to see how he did it. From an early age I bumped into The Martian Chronicles and, since then, I've read many of his stories, novels and novellas. Among the stories I like the most are the ones about Douglas Spaulding, his alter ego and recipient of his childhood memories, in books like Dandelion Wine and other stories which appear in several anthologies. I also love the stories that meld realism with fantasy, his horror stories and any that have to do with Mars. Others are those he wrote about Mexico because they talk about what is ours. Have you read them? Those I like the most, though they are quite terrifying, are The Lifework of Juan Díaz, The End of the Line, Calling Mexico and El Día de Muerte. I highly recommend them, even if many of the words used in Spanish in the original English versions are incorrect in most cases.
I love Ray Bradbury. I like his imagination, his turn of the screw and totally unexpected ends and the way he uses language. It's a delight to read him: one time to dive into the story and the other times to see how he did it. From an early age I bumped into The Martian Chronicles and, since then, I've read many of his stories, novels and novellas. Among the stories I like the most are the ones about Douglas Spaulding, his alter ego and recipient of his childhood memories, in books like Dandelion Wine and other stories which appear in several anthologies. I also love the stories that meld realism with fantasy, his horror stories and any that have to do with Mars. Others are those he wrote about Mexico because they talk about what is ours. Have you read them? Those I like the most, though they are quite terrifying, are The Lifework of Juan Díaz, The End of the Line, Calling Mexico and El Día de Muerte. I highly recommend them, even if many of the words used in Spanish in the original English versions are incorrect in most cases.
martes, 15 de febrero de 2011
The Hunger Games/Los juegos del hambre
Ya sé, ya sé, es martes, no lunes y, además, el lunes pasado no escribí nada acá porque estaba fuera de México. En fin, estoy leyendo el tercer libro de la serie Los juegos del hambre y estoy picada. Bien escrito y con un ritmo bueno, personajes bien logrados y temas importantes, te lleva a darle la vuelta a la hoja constantemente. Lo que me llama la atención es la violencia que hay en ellos. Hago la aclaración que no es algo que me escandalize sino me pregunto si, en Estados Unidos (y otros países), donde hay una derecha que se siente con el derecho de prohibir la lectura de libros que consideran "inapropiados" para ciertos lectores, especialmente niños y jóvenes, no lo han prohibido. Me imagino que sí y lo checaré al rato en la página del American Library Association (ALA), que defiende los derechos del lector a leer lo que quiera. La cuestión de la censura es larga y polémica. Yo siento que el único que tiene el derecho de vetar algo es el padre de familia o tutor pero sólamente para sus hijos. No pueden ni deben pedir que se retire un título o varios de los estantes y/o se prohíba a todos (en la escuela, por ejemplo, o en la bibloteca pública). Claro que hay libros que resultan ofensivos para muchos (yo he leído varios) pero no por eso se puede pedir que se "quemen" para todos. Hay muchos libros que han sido atacados --como los de Harry Potter, por mencionar sólo un ejemplo-- pero ¿se deben ocultar o se deben leer para conocer su contenido y luego platicar del asunto? ¿Si, por ejemplo, en un libro hay una actitud racista, homofóbica, etc., no es mejor hablar de ello con el lector dependiendo de su edad? Siempre he creído que la lectura puede formar gente más tolerante que ve más allá de sus narices porque se pueden situar en los zapatos de él o la protagonista. En fin, es hora de ponerse a trabajar (previa salida a caminar con Becca, mi perra, para que se canse y me deje escribir). Si quieren, se pueden meter a la página de la ALA para consultar las listas de los libros para niños y jóvenes más atacados. Se sorprenderán de verlos y las razones por las cuales han sido atacados. Algunas razones son de risa.
I know, I know, it’s Tuesday, not Monday and, besides, last Monday I didn’t write anything because I wasn’t in Mexico. Anyway, I’m reading the third book in The Hunger Games series and I’m hooked. Well written and with good rhythm, well drawn characters and important themes, it makes you want to turn each page constantly. What also attracted my attention is the violence in them. I want to make it clear that it’s not something that scandalizes me but I do wonder if, in the US (and other countries), where the Right wing feels it has the right to prohibit certain books they consider “inappropriate” for certain readers, especially kids and young adults, they haven’t been censored. I imagine they have been and later on I’ll check the American Library Association’s web page. They defend the right of reading what one wants to. The censorship question is polemic and lengthy. I feel that the only ones who have a right to censor what kids read are parents and guardians. They should not and cannot demand that a title or several titles should be removed (in school, for example, or in the public library). Of course there are books that offend many (I’ve read several) but that doesn’t mean that you can ask that they be “burned” for everyone. There are many books that have been attacked –like Harry Potter, just to mention one example—but should they be hidden or should they be read in order to know their content and later talk about it? If, for example, a book contains racist or homophobic attitudes, isn’t it better to talk about it with the reader depending on his or her age? I’ve always believed that reading can form more tolerant persons who can see further than their noses because they can walk in the shoes of the main character. Anyway, it’s time to get to work (after I take Becca, my dog, out for a long walk to tire her so she lets me write). If you want to, you can visit the ALA page to see the list of books for children and young adults that have been attacked. You’ll be amazed why they’ve been censored. Some of the reasons are hilarious.
I know, I know, it’s Tuesday, not Monday and, besides, last Monday I didn’t write anything because I wasn’t in Mexico. Anyway, I’m reading the third book in The Hunger Games series and I’m hooked. Well written and with good rhythm, well drawn characters and important themes, it makes you want to turn each page constantly. What also attracted my attention is the violence in them. I want to make it clear that it’s not something that scandalizes me but I do wonder if, in the US (and other countries), where the Right wing feels it has the right to prohibit certain books they consider “inappropriate” for certain readers, especially kids and young adults, they haven’t been censored. I imagine they have been and later on I’ll check the American Library Association’s web page. They defend the right of reading what one wants to. The censorship question is polemic and lengthy. I feel that the only ones who have a right to censor what kids read are parents and guardians. They should not and cannot demand that a title or several titles should be removed (in school, for example, or in the public library). Of course there are books that offend many (I’ve read several) but that doesn’t mean that you can ask that they be “burned” for everyone. There are many books that have been attacked –like Harry Potter, just to mention one example—but should they be hidden or should they be read in order to know their content and later talk about it? If, for example, a book contains racist or homophobic attitudes, isn’t it better to talk about it with the reader depending on his or her age? I’ve always believed that reading can form more tolerant persons who can see further than their noses because they can walk in the shoes of the main character. Anyway, it’s time to get to work (after I take Becca, my dog, out for a long walk to tire her so she lets me write). If you want to, you can visit the ALA page to see the list of books for children and young adults that have been attacked. You’ll be amazed why they’ve been censored. Some of the reasons are hilarious.
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