Literanista Books, Hispanic Genre, Latino, social issues Statistics Unique Visitors: Total Unique Visitors: Outgoing: Total Outgoing: 24 0 21 375

Articles from Literanista

Lost and Found 2008-03-04 16:02:00 Ah, the irony! So yesterday I blogged about my lost ring and the ring I bought to replace it. Today, on my way to a meeting at work I reached in my pocket, which feels oddly jumbled up and feel something hard! I'm not in the habit of putting things in my pant's pockets but as I begin removing the item, the realization of what the hard item is hits me - my ring!I remember stashing it away for 'safe' keeping in my pocket as I went to wash the dishes week's ago. Thank god, it didn't fall out of my pockets when I hung my denim trousers up.Nothing like a safe homecoming, which brings to mind my favorite children's book: The lost playground by Patricia Coombs and the lost and found again beloved toy named Mostly Frederick Sometimes Sam, who isn't quite a rabbit or a bear or a kangaroo and doesn't fit in anywhere...except in the arms of the little girl whose mom made him. ...

Definitely worth checking out: 2008-03-03 09:45:00 The Twenty Sci-Fi Novels that Will Change Your Life ...

Cherie, mi amor 2008-03-03 08:49:00 I have a serious condition, perhaps I've mentioned it before... I am a shopaholic, it's quite worse now that it's turned into full blown Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic. You see, I shop as if I were a hunter and the must-haves are my prey. Even though I often go home, ditch my bags in my closet and then forget about the items all together until the next time I clean the closet out. I still develop an unhealthy attachment to my things, which I've come to realize I must keep an eye on since my mom is a hoarder and this seems to be related to OCD . That's not something I want to foster within myself. I'm trying to get better, I swear, however once in a while I go astray.My 'ooh, cherie, mi amor' moments are long winded. I can't help it. This weekend I put together an entire collage of items I want to makeover my living room and home office. Then I discovered the bedroom carpet needs to be replaced so I spent a couple of hours picking out a new one. I settled on a sandy ligh ...

Friday Flummadiddle 2008-02-29 10:32:00 Galleycat had some great coverage on the PEN American Center - A Tribute to Chinua Achebe event that I couldn't attend but really, really wish I had!Edwidge Danticat, one of my favorite authors spoke about Achebe's influence on her and her work as did the bold and beautiful poet and political activist Suheir Hammad, whom I know from way back. We went to college together, took the same English classes and I also interviewed her for our college paper. Too bad, I missed it. Toni Morrison was there as well as all sorts of great literati. I remember reading Things Fall Apart in HS (Shout out to Ms. Rogers!) and it was a book and class (Mase was in my class too) I never forgot.I'm now looking forward to attending a different sort of cultural event on Sunday, In the Heights - The Musical. There's an interesting article here about it: "A young Latino's $2.5 million off-Broadway debut". Now I'm not too fond of musicals, I find them somewhat boring but I'm glad to get out, support some Hi ...

NY Times: Teenagers "Stunningly Ignorant" Of History and Literature 2008-02-28 09:53:00 Fewer than half of American teenagers asked knew when the Civil War was fought, and one in four didn’t know when Columbus sailed to the new world.read more digg storyAy, mi madre! We've got to get them reading! ...

Celebra: New Hispanic Books Imprint from Major Pub. House 2008-02-27 10:58:00 Penguin Group announced their latest new imprint yesterday, Celebra, which will focus on "mainstream Hispanic personalities," beginning with yesterday's release of Geraldo Rivera's HIS PANIC: Why Americans Fear Hispanics. Run by publisher Raymond Garcia, who was associate publisher at Harper's Rayo, "the goal of the new imprint is to publish books for mainstream readers that will also resonate with the vast population of Hispanics in the United States."Garcia says in the announcement, "Hispanics are no longer a niche audience, but rather an integral and seamless part of today's mainstream America. With Penguin's excellent reputation for marketing and distribution, I’m confident we will make a significant impact." Celebra will publish as a part of New American Library. Other authors for the line include Gloria and Emilio Estefan, Perez Hilton, real estate developer Jorge Perez, and DailyKos.com blogger MarkosMoulitsas.Via Publisher's Lunch.I'm so glad to see Hispanic genre book ...

On the Right Path 2008-02-26 20:26:00 My mom is a very big believer in Destiny or el destino. When something is meant for you, is right for you, nothing nor anyone can deter it from your path.In Eastern philosophy and religion, it is the Tao, the way. It just IS.This week, I started my new position at Hachette Book Group USA and on my way home tonight, sitting on the bus through the warm and rainy commute, with thoughts of really wanting to be at the PEN American Center - A Tribute to Chinua Achebe - I came across this passage at the very beginning of my newly minted ARC of Nextville: Amazing Places to Live the Rest of Your Life by Barbara Corcoran and Warren Berger:And, so I truly believe in the transforming power of place. I believe that when you go to a new place--when it's the right place--you have permission to start over, or to do things you couldn't or wouldn't do before. In short, you have an opportunity to meet the better you. It's never a cure-all, of course, because we often bring our emotional baggage with ...

Literary Crushes? 2008-02-20 01:57:00 Okay, so I know Valentine's Day was last week and this post is all late... while Cupid's bow didn't exactly miss me nor leave me crippled, I was thinking about this just now - have you ever read a book and felt not only impressed by the weight of the work but so impressed by the dynamic of the person who thought it up that you felt (let's say 'intrigued') to find out more about the author?It's happened to me personally twice.The first time - it was Hemingway. Don't laugh, I know he's, well, old and dead! But I've always been attracted to older men and his writing - it's simply unparralled.Simple, strong, full of imagery and fills me with a wanderlust that I just can't describe.To me, he is Cuba, cats, cigars, manliness, the Florida Keys, Caribbean crystal waters and fishing, guns and the hunt, and brilliance."There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed." - Hemingway, ErnestSo very true, ask any poet or artist.The second time - my best frien ...

Free Movie Screening: UNDER THE SAME MOON 2008-02-18 21:52:00 MOVIE: UNDER THE SAME MOONRATED: PG-13 -From director Patricia Riggen, this drama centers on a young boy's journey across the US/Mexico border to be reunited with his mother. Adrian Alonso stars as Carlitos, a Mexican adolescent living with his grandmother while his mother works as a maid in the US, hoping someday to send for her child. But when the grandmother dies unexpectedly, Carlitos must sneak across the border and seek out his mother. Featuring a supporting performance by America Ferrara of ABC's Ugly Betty, The Same Moon premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival where it received a standing-ovation. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie GuideSTARRING: Adrian Alonso, Kate del Castillo, Eugenio Derbez, Maya Zapata FREE Promotional screenings are on a first-come, first-served basis and not guaranteed seating. No purchase necessary. Seating is limited to theater capacity. Additional cities may be added at a later date, check back here for updates.Click here to register for 2 FREE Sneak P ...

Suze Orman's bestselling book WOMEN & MONEY: Free! 2008-02-14 10:09:00 Oprah Offers Free Download A lot of yesterday's extra stories in Lunch Deluxe covered various thoughts on profiting from "free" from four different vantage points, and now Oprah Winfrey is changing that experimental landscape even further. She announced on today's show that a free downloadable version of Suze Orman's bestselling book WOMEN & MONEY (published a year ago by Spiegel & Grau) is available at http://www.oprah.com/ today and tomorrow through 5 pm Pacific time only. The PDF file is offered in both English and Spanish versions, and the site includes this message: "This book is copyrighted. You may view and download the file, but you may not copy the file or share or forward it to any other person."Orman was featured on today's show, helping out a family in financial crisis.The publisher notes "this represents the first time Ms. Winfrey has offered an entire book for free to her viewing audience." Oprah download pagevia Publisher's Weekly ...

Free New Books Online, Including Paulo Coehlo 2008-02-13 13:32:00 Interesting play by Harpercollins, who is offering some books online for free. Those included are:"The Witch of Portobello" by Paulo Coelho;"Mission: Cook! My Life, My Recipes and Making the Impossible Easy" by Robert Irvine (Food Network star);"I Dream in Blue: Life, Death and the New York Giants" by Roger Director;"The Undecided Voter's Guide to the Next President: Who the Candidates Are, Where They Come from and How You Can Choose" by Mark Halperin;"Warriors: Into the Wild," the first volume in a children's series by Erin Hunter.They cannot be downloaded, printed out and are only available for one month.More info via Mashable ...

New Music: Ayo 2008-02-08 15:22:00 Somewhere between the neosoul and caribbean silkyness of Jill Scott and Erykah Badu lies Ayo. I came accross her video this week and have fallen hard for her sound. You will too: ...

Literanista Does Fashion Week in NYC 2008-02-07 14:14:00 A couple of years ago, I was asked by my dear friends to write for their little fashion blog. One that now is a huge hit and grown into a prosperous website, PapierdollLast night, they had a huge fashion week pool party at Hotel HQ in collaboration with Second City Style and projekt:nyc. Now not only was the sweet sparkling liquor, Nuvo tasty but also on the house, which made even better. It was fantastic to mingle poolside with talented photographers, beautiful models and witty stylists as well as old friends.The absolute coolest part, I have to admit was the free schwag. I love freebies, especially a cache like this one. I got a dark grey RUSK laptop bag filled with a Philips GoGear Audio Video Player, a sunless tanner kit, a makeup kit, Rusk hair products, a CD, nail polish and more!The Philips GoGear Audio Player comes fresh off the CES 08 shelves and is so cool.It will be available at the end of March 2008 and offers:20 hours of music playback Drag and drop songs, no special softw ...

Daniel Alarcón and Alex Espinoza 2008-02-06 15:51:00 Daniel Alarcón and Alex Espinoza by Gabriela JaureguiWEB EXCLUSIVE via Bomb! Gabriela Jauregui talks with Daniel Alarcón and Alex Espinoza, born in Lima and Tijuana, respectively, about how their daring recent novels cross the language barrier, the history/fiction divide, and Icarus’s fall. >>> ...

Yes, We Can! Vote! 2008-02-05 08:46:00 New York in da house!It may be gray and muggy out today but spirits are high in the city as we celebrate the homecoming of the victorious NY Giants and tackle the NY State Presidential Primary.Here's a little inspirational music:Now go out and vote! ...