Reading with Style discussion

20.6 – Multicultural Season
In observance of National Hispanic Heritage Month, read a book written by an author from Mexico, Central America, South America, or one of the Spanish-speaking countries in the Caribbean. Please include the country the author is from when posting points.

Can i get a list of author suggestions?

This link will get you to authors by country. Just click on the country for the list of authors. If you then click on the author's name, you'll get a list of books. I think the book descriptions here at Goodreads are better, though.

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/cou...


The genre map is:

s = science fiction
f = fantasy
h = horror
m = mystery
t = thriller
r = romance
w = western
c = mainstream

Thank you, that was helpful

Jayme, I found also, that looking toward the bottom of an entry for an author brings up "recommendations" by that author. I think those will give you more options more easily - and it's how I found one for my list.

Do other countries considered part of Latin America work for this task? Such as Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico?

Puerto Rico isn't a country. It's a principality of the USA.

I shouldn't be such a geography nerd.

But I can't help but wonder the same thing.

Caity wrote: "Puerto Rico isn't a country. It's a principality of the USA.

I shouldn't be such a geography nerd.

But I can't help but wonder the same thing."

I had in my head that the Caribbean Spanish-speaking countries fell under the heading of Central America, but it serves me right for not checking first. I'll amend the task to include countries like DR and Cuba. Puerto Rico, as mentioned, is technically part of the US, so no dice.

Excellent. Now I can read Three Trapped Tigers by Guillermo Cabrera Infante

OK, I must admit I wasn't terribly enthusiastic about this task when it was posted. I know, I know, I could just skip it and do the others, but I'd like to see if I could actually finish the challenge this time. 30 books in 3 months is really pushing it, so we'll see.

Anyway, I went to my above link and pulled up Chile - it's near the top of the alphabet and I have read Isabel Allende. I didn't think I'd want to read any more of her, but well, I want to finish. Anyway, she had a book by this author Skarmeta Antonio on her recommended list. My library doesn't have it, but does have The Dancer and the Thief: A Novel. The Goodreads description isn't very forthcoming, you can get a better idea of it here: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/s/a...

All I can say is that I can hardly wait for September 1. I can't remember being so enthusiastic about a group of books!

My short list of authors:

Jorge Luis Borges (Argentina)
Adolfo Bioy Casares (Argentina)
Manuel Puig (Argentina)
Paulo Coelho (Brazil)
Roberto Bolaño (Chile)
Gabriel García Márquez (Colombia)
Junot Díaz (DR)

I would like to read By Night in Chile by Roberto Bolaño. The novel is "only" 144 pages but it is 144 pages of Bolaño. Would this be acceptable?

Jennifer wrote: "I would like to read By Night in Chile by Roberto Bolaño. The novel is "only" 144 pages but it is 144 pages of Bolaño. Would this be acceptable?"

The page requirement is 100 pages, so any of Bolano's shorter works are fine.

Is Paulo Coelho okay? They don't speak Spanish in Brazil, but are a former colony of Portugal, which borders Spain.

Melissa W wrote: "Is Paulo Coelho okay? They don't speak Spanish in Brazil, but are a former colony of Portugal, which borders Spain."

Hi Melissa: The author doesn't necessarily have to speak Spanish. Paulo Coelho is fine since he's from Brazil and that is in South America. :-)

Excerpted Task Requirements (emphasis added by me)
...read a book written by an author from Mexico, Central America, South America, or one of the Spanish-speaking countries in the Caribbean.

Christina Gonzalez actually grew up in florida but her parents were cuban and at this link http://www.christinagonzalez.com/abou... she claims to have grown up "in a cuban household" and speaks fluent spanish. Is that close enough?

Hmm... I'm having some trouble deciding on a book for this task, as a lot of what I have found hasn't sounded like something I would want to read. Any suggestions for someone who loves and reads a great deal of fantasy? My books should be viewable, if they aren't let me know.

Caity - If you like fantasy, you might also like magical realism. I'd suggest One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez. It's long, but brilliant.

Christy, I read fantasy. Long doesn't scare me unless it's longer than The Great Book of Amber. Needless to say, I have yet to touch Les Miserables.

That was one of the few I was considering, as it sounds the most like something I might read and enjoy. Thanks for the suggestion!

Or if you don't want to start with a long Gabriel García Márquez, try his Chronicle of a Death Foretold. I found that more accessible.

I already found and bought a copy of One Hundred Years of Solitude (for $2, no less). The libraries here seem like absolute rubbish and are rather inaccessible (they're open for maybe 5-6 hours a day, are 20 minutes away, and are closed on weekends). I tried searching the book collection at one of them online once and I swear all they had listed was John Grisham novels.

Thanks for the suggestion, though, Donna Jo. If I like his writing I may end up checking it out in the future!

Krista and Sam,
Did you miss my question in msg 16 above?

Julie wrote: "Christina Gonzalez actually grew up in florida but her parents were cuban and at this link http://www.christinagonzalez.com/abou... she claims to have grown up "in a cu..."

I don't think that will work.

I was going to use The News from Paraguay: A Novel by Lily Tuck for this task, but she's only resided in Peru and Uruguay.

Opinion?