CHICLIT

Yep, I admit it. I happen to be a hopeless romantic and love chic literature. I started to read Wilbur Smith at an early age as those were the fiction book that I could find at my home library. His books are about wars and Africa and conflicts, but also about great love and family. Went on to reading the Brontë sisters and Austin among others while studying English as a foreign language.

As an adolescent I came back from a trip to the US with a carry-on suitcase full of Sweet Valley High to learn more "modern" and casual English and stories. Nothing to compare of course, but made a list and lent the books to my also avid friends. I still have those book waiting in a box and I am thinking if to donate them to a library where I could later on share them with my children (when I have and they grow up of course!) or a school... haven´t made up my mind.

More recently, discovered that a former nearby neighbour after having being an accountant decided to try writing and it went very well. Moreover, she is a big success in Argentina where I am from. I am talking about Florencia Bonelli  who writes also about great loves and identity as I talk about in another post of this blog. Her books kept me company in the long flights between Madrid and Córdoba, via Buenos Aires, via Montevideo and via Santiago de Chile! For her last book, the third of the Caballo de Fuego saga, I bought it at the ibook App or Kindle shop, I don´t remember, but it was my first ebook.

Thanks to her monthly recommendation email and also thanks to Amazon, I have discovered three other authors that I enjoy, specially this summer (December/January in Argentina) and later on hibernating at our home in Berlin's winter (February)... Paullina Simons "The Bronze Horseman" saga and Children of Liberty also goes in-depth not only in the story about a great love, but also in how our identity is configured and shaped by migration, the way spaces (both places and historical times) affect the way we are, the way we live, laugh and love.

Finally, I have gone back to victorian times of London and the travels to end of the world with Laura Kinsale. I have read 10 of her books in one month, literally devoured them! All of them do great research and paint with words historical moments skillfully. Her characters are very different and heroes and heroines are blissfully different in the books. Una observación en cuanto al precio de sus libros, en inglés cuestan entre 2 y 5 euros, mientras que las versiones traducidas al castellano cuestan 11 euros!

I have also enjoyed several books by Susan Mallery  specially Fool Gold´s, Dessert Rogues and Blackberry Island collections. Her stories are more similar between each other as she writes several books in one year! And she is the first author I see that has an App. Downloaded it and its quite cool. On the technology side, Florencia Bonelli has a mailing list and she writes a monthly newsletter with recommendations (many of which are from her Editorial obviously) but her Facebook page is managed by one of her best friends, Loti. Paullina Simons on the other hand, manages her own Facebook page and that is a great difference.

Last European summer I read E.L. James "Fifty Shades of Grey" saga. I was intrigued and the books were interesting as I had never considered the issues described there as game between two people with a safeword but her stories are indeed a bit repetitive and not like the other authors I have to say. Yesterday I got a recommendation email about Katie Fforde. Will check her out on the coming weeks!