Are you looking for a book in Spanish for
this summer? But with so many books published, you don't know which one to choose?
Yes, yes, the holidays are coming, so today in Automatic Spanish we have
selected some books so that you can enjoy a good read on the beach.
Well, I am a voracious reader. I love books, both novels and essays.
Both genres are necessary to improve your level, to fully expose yourself to
native content , to enrich your vocabulary, to see the grammar "in action",
to look at language patterns and also to better understand how the language
works. you are learning, in your case Spanish. And as Thomas Carlyle said:
“Everything that humanity has done, thought, won or has been, lies magically
preserved in the pages of books.” Next, we talk about 4 books that we have
selected with you in mind, champion. good readings for your holidays. Come on! Let's get started.
If you want to improve your level in Spanish you have to read. Read a lot. However,
the key to success is choosing the right book for you. Our first advice is to choose
a book from the subject matter that interests you. If you don't like novels, then choose essays,
poetry or theater. There are so many books in the world that you will never be able to read them
all. But among so many books you will surely find one that you like.
Sure, some book With which you will enjoy and also improve your level. That is, you will
kill two birds with one stone. Hehehe! Mauro and I usually read a lot. And we
like to share our readings on Instagram. If you don't follow us on Instagram you can look for us
as @podcastespano l. There we do a few different things like little quizzes,
vocabulary activities, show books we're reading, or answer some quick questions
. And I am often asked: “Karo, what books do you read? What book do you recommend for me?
Well, we have chosen 4 books for today: an essay by a non-Spanish author,
and 3 novels by a Spanish author. And we start with the essay book, a
popular science book . A popular science book
aims to interpret and make scientific knowledge accessible to people who
are interested in understanding or learning about a topic.
Right, and I have chosen Yuval Noah Harari's book “Homo Sapiens, from animals to gods. Brief
history of humanity ''. It is a book that I have read twice already. The first time in French and the second
in Spanish, to check how the translation is done, what kind of vocabulary is used,
if it is complicated or not, etc. Anyway, the second reading was focused thinking of you, my dear. And
it seems to me a highly recommended reading for the B1 level ... let's say ... a "settled B1"
or "consolidated". And I say "consolidated" because I am at level B1 in Bulgarian, but if I wanted to
read "Homo sapiens" in Bulgarian, it would cost me a lot, because I just don't have
enough vocabulary yet . Also, there are 450 pages, so it is, for the moment, out of my reach.
Sure, but for you, champion, it is a highly recommended book
because you have the right level to be able to enjoy and improve your level
at the same time. Of course, the book is also great for levels B2,
C1 and C2, since it is not a book written for language learners, but for native speakers.
"Homo Sapiens" is a fascinating story that tells the path that human beings
have traveled in the last 70,000 years. I would say that it is a complete story of what
makes us human. Furthermore, Harari's goal is not to answer all of our questions but,
rather, to leave us with some unanswered questions inviting the reader to ponder.
It is an essay that attempts to answer the question of how the human species
has come to dominate the planet. The author devoted a lot of time to meticulous study
of the history of our species, and then presented the collected knowledge in a
brilliant and highly accessible way. Seriously, the book is brilliant!
True. The author writes in a fluid and effortless way. Although it is an essay,
it reads like a novel, and there is so much knowledge in these 450 pages! Harari
tells why our first ancestors began to wander the world,
wandering from one place to another; why he changed his nomadic way of life to a sedentary one.
He then goes on to talk about why and how money was created, about wars,
capitalism, religion, the scientific revolution, the flourishing of medicine
and technology ... Harari asks if, with the knowledge of genetics and of the
artificial intelligence that we have, we will create a CREATURE that one day will destroy humans,
or if we will be the ones who will destroy the planet and our species.
Hmm ... As for the reading difficulty: the book is easy and enjoyable to read. It is a
fascinating read, but also disturbing. The author does not allow the reader to remain
indifferent to current world phenomena. Harari presents the events as a
chain of cause and effect, which often makes the hair stand on end. Because you realize
how our actions have brought us to where we are today.
Yes, some historical and sociological processes can give you goose bumps and, of course, they
will make you see history with different eyes. And it is that, after reading this essay,
you realize that the human being is a little misguided.
The political and economic questions that Harari raises are thought-provoking. Many times,
Harari throws a question and lets the reader answer himself and ask himself
how each of us could remedy these problems at our microscale. And for
me this makes a lot of sense because the small actions carried out by so
many people have a big impact. Small actions + many people = BIG IMPACT.
We all have responsibility for what happens in the world.
At times, we get the impression that the author pays very little attention to the merits of
humanity: art, created beauty, and the entire cultural sphere in general. But I think
Harari does it on purpose not to allow us to hide or run from responsibility.
Harari does not allow us to think: "Well, it is true that 60% of the wild species of animals
have disappeared , but look how impressive Michelangelo's David is!" or "Yes,
the oceans are full of garbage, but look what beautiful pictures the Impressionists have painted!"
No, Harari doesn't want us to hide behind a few merits of humanity.
Harari asks that we look in the mirror and take responsibility. He does it on purpose.
In short, "Homo sapiens" is a fascinating read,
from which a lot of wisdom can be drawn. I have learned many things that I did not know before.
It is a reading that invites reflection. And if you, my dear,
are looking for an understandable history of the human being, if you are interested in knowledge and want to
expand your general culture, "Homo sapiens" is definitely a good choice.
And we move on to the next book, or rather to the next 3 books because it is
a trilogy. Rosa Montero's replicating trilogy is made up of the following titles:
“Tears in the rain”, “The weight of the heart” and “The times of hate”.
Don't be put off by the "replicating trilogy." I don't like science fiction
because I associate it with worlds that are too futuristic that do not resemble the current
world at all . But this replicating trilogy, although it has futuristic elements, is not so different
from the reality we know. The surprising thing is that I was hooked right away. In fact, I
just wanted to read the first book to get to know the author's prose. But I just couldn't get
it out of my hands, and I had an extremely entertaining weekend with this trilogy.
It is a science fiction thriller set in a future in which the earth is populated by humans,
aliens, mutants, androids, and technohumans or replicants. The protagonist, Bruna Husky,
is a combat replicant who works as a detective and is hired by the
"Replicating Radical Movement" to find out the cause of death of several replicants.
We are not going to go into more details so as not to gut the plot,
because the thriller is very well written.
And speaking of the replicants, you might think it's a copy of Blade Runner,
but no. The parallels with Blade Runner are very rare. And if there is a similarity to
Philip K. Dick's book, we can't tell you, because we haven't read it yet.
However, the saga is very entertaining and worthy of being recommended to "soft" fans of
science fiction, like me, hehe! The trilogy also contains many reflections. The
author reviews multiple themes such as love, the passage of time, honor,
loyalty, the value of friendship and other universal themes that we usually find
in Montero's magnificent novels. And I really liked the characters.
Yes, the characters are peculiar and complex ... and Bruna Husky is a clear example of that:
a more human techno-human than she should be. I suppose you know, figure, that the peculiarity
of technohumans is that they are artificial creations with a pre-established lifetime.
But that is precisely something that torments Bruna. So, she is a technohuman with
existential angst, and also a technohuman who wants to be loved. And these two traits,
very typical of the human condition, cause him to make very silly mistakes in his work.
Of course, the protagonist is not a schematic or simplistic character. Bruna is
independent, sagacious ... But she also has her weak side. She has these two traits so
properly human that Mauro has just mentioned that they make her vulnerable ... not only because she is a
replicant and condemned to a short life, but because she is terribly aware of it:
“Sometimes Bruna felt such acute pain that I thought I couldn't bear it. But then he always
could. Tears in the rain. Everything would pass and everything would be quickly forgotten. Even the suffering. "
The trilogy is easy to read. Yes, Rosa Montero's prose
is pleasant to read. The author does not allow interest and attention to be lost
. It reads fast and there is no danger of getting lost or bored.
In short, the trilogy seemed very entertaining to me, it responds to what I look for
in a thriller. In addition, I am sure, my dear, that Bruna Husky will also like you,
that shrewd and kind-hearted replicating detective who struggles to survive
in a hostile world that is a reflection, in many ways, of the world that we have lived in. .
We should probably live as the protagonist,
as if each moment was unique and our countdown was activated.
Figure, the holidays are coming, and in Automatic Spanish we are going to take vacations and we will not
publish videos or audio-podcasts during the month of August. It will be a month to rest,
disconnect and recharge the batteries. But, for the students of our course "Understanding conversations
in Spanish" we have prepared a surprise. We have added a list of free
additional materials , literally hundreds of hours of audio in Spanish, and in all accents!
Audios with accents from different regions of Spain, but also accents from Latin America:
Argentine, Mexican, Colombian, etc., etc. You have the list of all these audios within the course,
so it is guaranteed that you will not get bored this summer.
Get bored? No way! Because the audios that we have collected are of all kinds: there are commented
works of Spanish and Latin American literature, there are stories interpreted by natives from all over
the Hispanic world (with all the accents!), There are conversations about Hispanic culture:
about books, movies, about relevant characters ... What else? There are hours and hours of
entertaining and enriching listening, so I think this vacation you are going to have a great time.
And, in addition, we have prepared a special bonus. Do you sometimes listen to audios in Spanish that don't
have a transcription? Well, in this bonus we show you how to get the transcription of
(almost) any audio. You will find all this within the course in the BONUS section.
And if you, my dear, want to train your ear and understand any native speaker
regardless of the accent with which he speaks, if you want to enjoy all those
audios that we have mentioned, we leave you the link to sign up for the course
"Understanding Conversations in Spanish" in the link EspanolAutomatico.com/ece-curso.
And with that we finished for today. As always it has been an immense pleasure to spend this time with you,
figure. We will see each other again next week.
See you Monday! A kiss