Reddit mentions: The best spanish & portuguese literature books

Submission Statement: Universality fairly easily leads to the conclusion that humans anywhere out of the left tail are fundamentally the same, mentally speaking.

>In computation, universality simply means a process that can simulate all processes — including itself. By simulation, we mean copying the behavior of a process to as much fidelity as we would like. At some point, if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and walks like a duck, we stop, and consider it a duck for all practical purposes. (There, I wrapped the Turing test for artificial general intelligence in a nutshell for you.) Replace “processes” with “machines,” and you roughly see how computers work: a universal machine is a machine that can simulate all machines, including itself. You can think of a machine simply as a process that transforms an input to an output following a fixed set of rules.
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>Think about it: if the human species depended on exceptional geniuses who nevertheless could never communicate their exceptional thoughts to another human being, then either they are intellectual con-artists (like postmodernist “philosophers”), or we would have been doomed a long time ago. Although a few critical individuals clearly hit upon the right ideas at the right place at the right time, many other individuals need to be able to independently verify and improve upon these ideas. The real intelligence lies in human cooperation. There is no such thing as an exponentially smarter human being for the same reason as there is no such thing as an exponentially taller human being. A genius who cannot communicate his thoughts to another human is, in fact, not a genius!
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>As an individual, what matters much, much more than your alleged IQ is what you do with your precious, limited time on Earth. Remember, universality says that we are all capable of exactly the same ideas. That is why even differences in human languages don’t really matter. (Whether or not the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is true, we get for free the result that it is ultimately irrelevant.) Remember, the insidious thing about IQ — as Nassim astutely observed with his owl eye— is that there are people who fancy “their” people genetically smarter than yours, and only want to “help” you. (They are often the same people who like to mistakenly think that the “West” discovered all civilization, and that the “West” is Nordic / North Atlantic / North Europe.) At best, they are overeducated idiots; at worst, they are racialists. No matter what anyone tells you, you can learn about anything you like. Go out, and find out what you are good at, what Nature put you here to discover, and teach the rest of us.
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>So, who should care about IQ? Nobody! Why? Because we are universal!

Mushy Snugglebites is my main squeeze!

I love collecting books! IMO, they're one of the greatest things to collect! =D They're fantastic entertainment, you can always share books with friends, and they're awesome for camping, roadtrips, or the beach. Best of all, they're reusable. I love reading books over again! You can always catch something you've never caught before!

If I win, I'd really like this book! I love mysteries, but more unique ones rather than the regular grizzly murder stories. This one looks promising! Thanks for the fun contest! =D

Given your feedback you might be interested in The Secret Footballer's Guide to the Modern Game.

Inverting the Pyramid is a great overview of football tactics from the beginning of the game until the 2000s, but the book stars before the 1900s IIRC so if you're not super into history or what formations were popular in like 1920, the first half of the book is quite a slog.

In terms of literary value, Soccer in Sun and Shadow is your best bet. It's beautifully written and easy to read but focuses on South America

None of my suggestions will provide much in terms of facts. Other redditors have dealt with that admirably. Mine are artsy-fartsy items that paint a partial picture of the social fabric of Spain during and immediately after the Civil War.

Belle Epoque. Don't let the French name deter you. It's a weird, funny film about a Spanish youth falling in love with 3 sisters, set against the initial rumblings of the Spanish Civil War. Also, Penelope Cruz.

Pan's Labyrinth is an obligatory reference here, despite taking place just after the Civil War. Watch The Devil's Backbone first, as Slippy-Toad suggested. Both films were directed by Guillermo del Toro, who is from my hometown (Guadalajara, Mexico).

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon is an excellent novel about Barcelona. The story spans several decades, but it begins just as the Civil War is beginning. I've read it in English and Spanish, and I must say that the English translation is one of the best I've ever encountered.

Finally, you should try to read translations of Federico Garcia Lorca's poems and plays. He was a Spanish poet who was the most famous member of the Generación del '27. His death in 1936 is still shrouded in a lot of mystery. He was gay, eccentric, and incredibly prolific. A lot of his plays deal with the plight of women in a rural, machista (misogynistic), Catholic society. They are darkly humorous, richly scathing and heartbreaking in their depiction of a people ruled by authoritarianism. I will recommend three.

• Yerma. His best play. I read it in high school, and even then I liked it.
  
  
• Bodas de sangre.
  
  
• La casa de Bernarda Alba.
  
  Hope this helps.

i've ordered Herr Pep and Boquita. really pumped to read those. on the internet, Marti Perarnau has interesting guides to various European leagues.

the best soccer book of ALL time though is by Eduardo Galeano, El futbol a sol y sombra, also known as Soccer in Sun and Shadow.

Inverting the Pyramid is Great, How Soccer Explains the World is awesome, and Alex Bellos' book, Futebol: The Brazilian Way of Life is also really, really great.

It is a very awesome of you to gift these games to one lucky redditor. I have never played the Alien Breed games so I would appreciate it if you would consider picking me. I don't have room in my budget for any new games right now so I would definitely play them.

I would like to share my favorite sci-fi novel with reddit. Zig Zag by Jose Carlos Somoza. I don't want to spoil it if anyone does decide to read it but it is a sci-fi horror/thriller/mystery novel about time travel. It is an amazing book and I do not think it is very well known.

Most of what's on here is fairly classic straightforward detective stuff, which is great, but I've always been a sucker for mysteries that merge with other genres or do unusual things. A good handful if that's your bag:

• The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster - 3 short novels packaged together and vaguely related. Also a pretty great mindfuck book
  
• Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem - detective novel whose narrator has Tourette Syndrome
  
• The Alienist by Caleb Carr or In the Shadow of Gotham by Stefanie Pintoff - Historical fiction/mystery taking place around the turn of the century and during the dawns of forensics/criminal psychology/criminology
  
• Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan - Sci-fi/hardboiled detective novel in a future where the human mind can be digitized and backed up off-site, rendering murder irrelevant. Terrific book, I find myself compelled to reread it and its sequels every year or so.
  
  Those are all more or less "detective fiction" style mystery, if you're looking at the broader genre I cannot recommend The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon any more highly. I haven't been sucked into writing like that in a long long time.
  

Things Fall Apart (Chinua Achebe) has already been recommended, but I'd second that recommendation. I didn't enjoy reading it, but it was an amazing glimpse into a dying culture and a masterpiece of literature. I appreciated it more after I finished reading it than while I was reading it.

Wolf Totem (Jiang Rong) - ditto. For me it was not quite as emotionally difficult to read as Things Fall Apart.

My new contributions are:
Silence (Shusaku Endo) - A young Portuguese Jesuit missionary goes to Japan during the 17th century during intense persecution of Christians.

Try something by Arturo Perez-Reverte. Captain Alatriste is swashbuckling fun and danger, kind of like The Three Musketeers but a quicker read. It's set in 17th century Spain. The Queen of the South is about drug trafficking in Mexico (modern) and a bit slower and darker, but still not a difficult read at all.

I also really like Sharon Kay Penman and Edith Pargeter. Most of the books are set in England or Wales though, so I don't know if that will work for your assignment.

Check out Drood by Dan Simmons. I picked it up on a whim, and couldn't be happier that I gave it a chance. It's a total trip, and suspenseful in a laid-back / behind-the-scenes sort of way.

Also, I find anything by Michael Chrichton to be utterly "un-put-downable". I'd recommend starting with Congo or Prey, but definitely give Sphere a shot before you move on.

Edit: Sorry I meant Micro instead of Prey. Prey was "meh" but Micro is great. Also definitely check out Timeline! (Sorry, I'm basically obsessed with Chrichton)

Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, is another favorite of mine. But, it's been so long since I last read it that I can't really remember why. I'm going to be rereading that one again soon.

Stoner is great as is Pale Fire. Cannot go wrong with any of them.

I am not sure I can think of many authors at the same level than Nabokov. He's one of the best stylists I've read. I am thinking Joyce is at least as good in certain sections of Ulysses (the last chapter is gold) but not as consistently as Nabokov.

Another book that might have similar style is Palinuro de México. Great prose and erudition although I stopped reading around the end of the first half (not the book's fault though). I read it in Spanish but there's a translation by the Dalkey Archive Press: https://www.amazon.com/Palinuro-Mexico-World-Literature-Fernando/dp/1564780953.

One similar book (at least in style) in my to-read list is The Death of Virgil. The prose is great but the book is huge so I have been putting it off.

I'd also love more recommendations if anyone have them.

Ernesto Sábato's The Tunnel is absolutely amazing. It's about a painter who starts obsessing about this chick, and goes progressively crazier and crazier and crazier. The book ends at four in the morning, when you realize you read it through to the end 'cause you couldn't put it down. It's nice and short and separated into little chapters - perfect for the easily-bored reader.

Unfortunately, it's kinda hard to find in English, but absolutely worth the search (or if you can read Spanish, clicky.)

I always liked Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, too, which is in a kinda-but-not-really similar vein as 1984. It's considered a classic and it's much easier to find than The Tunnel - but Huxley's writing, as great as it is, just isn't even in the same league as Sábato's.

Its funny because I actually came here to suggest another Bryson book called In a Sunburned Country which chronicles Bryson's visit to Australia- thought this was relevant as OP's love interest is either en route to or already in Australia I figured she'd get a kick out of it.



If you want something that has a mix of love/romance, action, thrill, check out The Shadow of the Wind. I thought this was a good book and is very well written. Zafon is able to paint images with his words in a way that puts you in the story like no other author i've encountered.

That's just for 2008 though... I'd open it up to other years.

First up is anything by Umberto Eco. He's the guy who wrote "Name of the Rose", but his other books are phenomenal. If you hated "The DaVinci Code" then check out "Foucalt's Pendulum". He makes Dan Brown look mildly retarded. His novels are so heavy and serious that I was surprised by his tiny book of essays "How To Travel With a Salmon" which is hilarious.

Let's see... what else... "Shadow of the Wind" is excellent. The Musashi novels are fun to read. Scaramouche, which was turned into an OK movie. Classics like Cyrano de Bergerac should be required reading.

I had a hard time hunting down all the volumes to "Journey to the West" and it's not a task that should be taken on lightly, but I think I'm a better person for having muscled through them.

Links:

http://www.amazon.com/Name-Rose-Everymans-Library-Cloth/dp/0307264890/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228637805&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Foucaults-Pendulum-Umberto-Eco/dp/015603297X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228637841&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Travel-Salmon-Other-Essays-Harvest/dp/015600125X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228637864&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Wind-Carlos-Ruiz-Zaf%C3%B3n/dp/0143034901/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228637894&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Musashi-Eiji-Yoshikawa/dp/4770019572/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228637921&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Scaramouche-Rafael-Sabatini/dp/0554360268/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228637963&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Cyrano-Bergerac-Edmond-Rostand/dp/0451528921/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228637993&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Journey-West-4-Boxed-Set/dp/7119016636/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228637756&sr=8-1

The Doom Brigade, by Weiss and Perrin (link below for cover photo).

It was my first Dragonlance book, and one of the very first fantasy books I had ever read. It has gone on to become one of my favourite and most cherished books, and it sparked a lifelong love of reading scifi and fantasy. I still go back and re-read it every few years and it takes me right back to 12yr old me poking around in the shelves of a bookstore and suddenly being carried away on an amazing (and ongoing) journey at first glance... Now that I think about that again, I realize that it sounds very similar to the opening section of The Shadow of the Wind (Zafon) in the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, which incidentally is another favourite book that played a foundational role in my love of reading.

The Doom Brigade
The Shadow of the Wind

Noooo! My books are still packed because we're mid-move. Thanks for hosting, Lady!

edit: Here is what's left. The rest of our books are at the new place with our furniture. Moving Pro Tip: Only pack 1/3 of the box with books and put clothes on top. Otherwise the box is waaaay too heavy! The book I recommend for you is The Shadow of the Wind. One of my favorites!! Bibliophile

You can try out a book from [this guy] (https://www.amazon.com/Spanish-Short-Stories-Beginners-Unconventional-ebook/dp/B019LTPH62?ie=UTF8&qid=1463080896&ref_=sr_1_7&s=digital-text&sr=1-7) - they are short original stories broken in chapters with vocabulary and comprehension questions, so they are easily read.


Otherwise, I would suggest finding interesting children´s books, as the vocabulary is by default smaller/simpler. I bought a translation of an Enid Blyton story (Los Siete Secretos) and it´s pretty good for my level.

I always loved Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. That book is some of his best work; I became entraced, just utterly enamored with this book the moment I picked it up in the "New and Noteworthy" section of Barnes and Nobles.
Here is the cover- Even it is evocative of the entire mood of the book.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0143034901?cache=4d86abfaae77a4a6df90f3ab8702937a&pi=SY200_QL40&qid=1408808620&sr=1-2#ref=mp_s_a_1_2

Here are all the local Amazon links I could find:


amazon.co.uk

amazon.ca

amazon.com.au

amazon.in

amazon.com.mx

amazon.de

amazon.it

amazon.es

amazon.com.br

amazon.nl

amazon.co.jp

amazon.fr

Beep bloop. I'm a bot to convert Amazon ebook links to local Amazon sites.
I currently look here: amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca, amazon.com.au, amazon.in, amazon.com.mx, amazon.de, amazon.it, amazon.es, amazon.com.br, amazon.nl, amazon.co.jp, amazon.fr, if you would like your local version of Amazon adding please contact my creator.

Man, summer book adventures are the best kind of adventures there are :)

My recommendations are Mary Doria Russell's The Sparrow - beautiful, smart, kind and tragic sf novel about first contact with an alien world - and Carlos Ruiz Zafon's The Shadow of the Wind - I got it as a "blind date" book from my local bookstore and I've only read about 80pp so far but it's full of mysterious book-related possibly supernatural plots.

The Shadow of the Wind is one of my all-time favorites. It's magical realism set in a gothic Barcelona, and it's amazing.

Not quite new, and not quite yellow, but an amazing book nonetheless. The Shadow of the Wind

Yeah this is the reason why I don't watch telenovelas, everything is exagerated.

Better get the book the telenovela is based on: Queen of the South by Arturo Perez-Reverte

Shadow of the Wind and Angel's Game, both by Carlos Ruiz Safon:

https://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Wind-Cemetery-Forgotten-Book-ebook/dp/B000OVLINI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498238020&sr=8-1&keywords=Shadow+of+the+Wind

https://www.amazon.com/Angels-Game-Cemetery-Forgotten-Book-ebook/dp/B001NLKZLE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498238029&sr=8-1&keywords=Angels+Game


Kushiel's Dart and pretty much all the books that followed, by Jacqueline Carey:

https://www.amazon.com/Kushiels-Dart-Legacy-Book-ebook/dp/B0055DLCAY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498238161&sr=8-1&keywords=kushiel%27s+dart


Right now, I can't think of anything that I keep going back to over and over.

The Shadow of the Wind was quite good story telling.

A few of my favorites from over the years...
A Yellow Raft in Blue Water

The Secret History

The Shadow of the Wind

Yup. But i'm not sure where love ends and infatuation/obsession/admiration/all-of-the-above begins. The whole experience reminds me of Firmin's love with Norman.

It's the last move before the cross that's impressive. Otherwise, this only shows Shipp's horrific MLS touch -- put the ball into space and chase it.

He's good and he's got potential, make no mistake, and he's excellent on set pieces.

And there's nothing wrong with him cutting inside from a wide position; in fact, that's what he should be doing.

But his touch is still typically American -- that is, heavy and clumsy. It's not his fault. He's learned how to kick the ball, but he's just now learning how to dance with her.

(Note: before you all jump on me for calling the ball "her", you need to realize than in most gendered languages, "ball" is feminine. Also, you need to read Soccer in Sun and Shadow. Don't argue before you've read that book.)

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. It takes place in Spain in the 20's and 30's. It's a cool mystery.

You're probably already familiar with it, but that description reminded me immediately of The Shadow of the Wind.
Different stories, for sure, but something of the feeling beyond the descriptions struck me as similar.

Not even close bo'tard.

California is Spanish in origin. It was the name given to a mythical island populated with black amazons by 16th century Spanish author Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo in his book Las Sergas de Esplandián

Alameda is also Spanish in origin. Alameda means a place where 'álamos' (Spanish for Poplar tree) grow or are cultivated.

If its a word that you don't recognize in English that originates anywhere on the west coast, the etymology is almost certainly Spanish. Remember kids, Columbus sailed for Spain. He set the stage for future Spanish explorer Cortés to come to the new world to capture a huge swath of Meso-America turn it into a Spanish Territory.

/History Lesson

https://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Wind-Carlos-Ruiz-Zafón/dp/0143034901

Does have a detective like element but is more about a son’s quest to discover the author of a mysterious book and his relationships.

It could be Shadow of the Wind. I read it around 2003 but I think I had a different cover image.

https://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Wind-Carlos-Ruiz-Zafón/dp/0143034901

Is this the book of which you speak?

The Shadow of the Wind

Try The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafón.

Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfus (fantasy-ish)

[The Shadow of the Wind] (http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Wind-Carlos-Ruiz-Zaf%C3%B3n/dp/0143034901/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1374006329&sr=1-1&keywords=shadow+of+the+wind) by Carlos Ruiz Zafón (hard to describe, but really engaging)

Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson (cool historical fiction)

football (soccer) in sun and shadows. Looks at many sides of the sport

The Shadow of the Wind
http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Wind-Carlos-Ruiz-Zaf%C3%B3n/dp/0143034901

Do yourself a favour

So you've read it too?
http://www.amazon.com/Fencing-Master-Arturo-Perez-Reverte/dp/0156029839

Last summer I read Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Zafon. It will always remind me of this time of the year.

Try The Shadow of the Wind: https://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Wind-Carlos-Ruiz-Zaf%C3%B3n/dp/0143034901

The Obscene Bird of Night by Jose Donoso

http://www.amazon.com/Obscene-Bird-Night-Verba-Mundi/dp/1567920462

I enjoyed this book very much.

The Shadow Of The Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon and The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Nighttime by Mark Haddon. You're welcome... about Shadow.. It's mystery someones burning copies of a book and the kid in the bookstore tries to figure out who's behind it. It's soooo goooood. For the other request maybe Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill and Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki

About mystery in the Spanish civil war period you could read any of the Carlos Ruiz Zafón's books, like The shadow of the wind, The angel's game or Marina.

Actually, those books are a 'book book' genre. ;)

The Golem and the Jinni

Winter's Tale

And as someone else mentioned The Shadow of the Wind and the follow-ups Angel's Game and The Prisoner of Heaven - they're basically Guillermo del Toro movies waiting to happen.

Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

The Shadow of the Wind is a 2001 novel by Spanish writer Carlos Ruiz Zafón, and a worldwide bestseller. The book was translated into English in 2004 by Lucia Graves.

The novel, set in post- Spanish Civil War Barcelona, concerns a young boy, Daniel. Just after the war, Daniel's father takes him to the secret Cemetery of Forgotten Books, a huge library of old, forgotten titles lovingly preserved by a select few initiates. According to tradition, everyone initiated to this secret place is allowed to take one book from it, and must protect it for life. Daniel selects a book called The Shadow of the Wind by Julián Carax. That night he takes the book home and reads it, completely engrossed. Daniel then attempts to look for other books by this unknown author, but can find none. All he comes across are stories of a strange man - calling himself Laín Coubert, after a character in the book who happens to be the Devil - who has been seeking out Carax's books for decades, buying them all and burning them. In time this mysterious figure confronts and threatens Daniel. Terrified, Daniel returns the book to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books but continues to seek out the story of the elusive author.

I just happened to pick this book up one day and it is now one of my favorites. I have re-read it many times.