Hello Friends! I hope you’ve been doing well and had a good weekend. I’ve been just busy with work and when not working, trying to relax. I had the chance to catch up with some friends and family over phone calls last weekend so that was very nice.

In other exciting news my book buys to celebrate my bloggiversary last month finally arrived. Actually I’m still waiting for one but thought I’d go ahead and share what I got.

First up is Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley. Am I like the last person who hasn’t read this book? I didn’t see the movie version either but this is the choice for my book group discussion next week. Not sure if I’ll be able to participate (virtually) but I am looking forward to this book.

I had also heard a book tuber I follow talk about Mexican Poet, Jaime Sabines, and how his poetry is very accessible. I have heard of him but had never read any so I decided to get this collection of love poems, Poesia Amorosa, which I could only find in Spanish. I’m so excited to read this book.

My third treat was the Kolaj Magazine #28. This is a magazine about contemporary collage. I remember hearing about this a while back and then I forgot but am so glad I looked into again. I love art and lately collage is calling me more and more. The subscription rate is not too high so I thinking of subscribing.

Speaking of magazines, remember a while back I had mentioned that I was going to call my local B&N to see if I could do some curbside pickup of magazines? Unfortunately they told me that most of their magazines will not be coming in until later in the year. They have some of the more popular ones but I love to read crafty magazines and independent magazines so they aren’t carrying those for now. Some of those do have quite expensive subscriptions so I’ll have to see which others I’ll try to subscribe to. Anyway, we’ll see. At least I have discovered a new one.

Anyway, that’s the latest around here. What new books have you added to your shelves?

Do you have your reading passport ready? Good because July is also Spanish Literature Month a reading event hosted by Stu and Richard. Just like I mentioned in my previous post about Paris in July, I’ve only participated in this reading event probably once before as we’re usually traveling during this time but now that we are staying home why not do some armchair traveling. This event starts in July and actually ends in August so there’s a bit more time to get some reading done.

When I looked on my bookshelves for some Spanish authors I found quite a few but I wish I had some of them in the original Spanish. I’m bilingual so I would like to do a bit more reading in Spanish but the books I do have in Spanish are from authors from Mexico or other Latin American countries which I will save for Hispanic Heritage Month later in the year.

I can’t remember if I’ve told you before but Spain was my first trip to Europe and I loved it. I traveled through Barcelona, Madrid, Cordoba, Seville and Granada. I thought you’d get a kick out of seeing a page from my scrapbook. Here I am standing outside the balcony of our hotel in Granada and the picture below is the little plaza the hotel overlooked. I know that one day I would love to go back but for now it’s through books.

Okay back to the books. Here are some books I have to choose from:

I have several books by Arturo Pérez-Reverte: The Club Dumas, The Seville Communion, The Fencing Master and Queen of the South. I know I really enjoyed his novel The Flanders Panel so I really should read another of his books.

The Vineyard by Maria Dueñas. A novel about ambition, heartbreak, and desire set in Mexico, Cuba, and Spain in the 1860s.

The Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. I loved his book The Shadow of the Wind and I think this sounds like it could be a great book too.

The Carpenter’s Pencil by Manuel Rivas. Set in the dark days of the Spanish Civil War, The Carpenter’s Pencil charts the linked destinies of a remarkable cast of unique characters.

Fuimos Canciones by Elísabet Benavente. Oh I found one in Spanish. This one sounds a bit more like a chic-lit book but I’ve heard good things about this one so I think it would be great fun.

If you don’t know where to start with Spanish Lit, here is an article on the Best Contemporary Spanish authors. I hope you’ll get a chance to join in on the fun. Again, not sure if I’ll get a chance to read more than one book but regardless I’m excited to imagine myself once again walking along the Rambla or visiting El Prado. And, thank you again to the hosts of this event!