chinchín en la puerta D02 | books at the gate B03
todos hemos jugado alguna vez a juegos de beber, pero este fue diferente: bebíamos todos. | it’s summer and summer is meant for reading. a few books that I am happy I haven’t missed.
(English text below - click here to proceed to Gate B03)
Puerta D02
Todos hemos jugado alguna vez a juegos de beber, pero este fue diferente: era un juego en el que bebíamos todos.
El juego solo tenía una norma, lo que no significa que lo hiciese más fácil. La norma era la siguiente: teníamos que agradecer a la vida por algo. Pero agradecer de verdad. Y, a continuación, brindar. La ocasión era especial y la mesa era redonda. Aún no habíamos empezado a cenar, teníamos tiempo para pensarlo. Y aunque costó arrancar, acabamos jugando.
Dimos las gracias por haber aprendido a aceptarnos, a querernos tal y como somos, a dejar que nos quieran. Por haber aprendido a valorarnos, a ganar confianza en nosotros mismos; por estar quitándonos de encima, poco a poco, el síndrome del impostor. Dimos gracias a la vida habernos llevado a sitios oscuros, por habérnoslo puesto difícil. Por habernos hecho despertar, por habernos ayudado a encontrarnos a nosotros mismos, por habernos empujado a atrevernos. Dimos gracias a la vida por habernos enseñado que siempre sale algo bueno de los malos momentos, por hacernos ver que por las grietas es por donde entra la luz. Dimos gracias por haber vuelto a creer en el amor. Por habernos enseñado que nada, ni lo bueno ni lo malo, es para siempre; que, por suerte o por desgracia, todo pasa.
Y brindamos. Y lloramos. Y nos reímos. Y volvimos a brindar. Y volvimos a llorar. Y volvimos a reir. Y acabamos de cenar y nos fuimos a bailar.
Quiero agradecer a la vida por haberme enseñado que, aunque jugar sea difícil, hay que hacerlo; que no queda otra que intentarlo, porque perder es mejor que perderte. Quiero agradecer a la vida por haberme traído hasta aquí.
Y ahora quiero proponer otro juego:
Todos hemos jugado alguna vez a juegos de vivir, pero este es diferente: es un juego en el que vivimos todos. El juego solo tiene una norma, lo que no significa que lo haga más fácil. La norma es la siguiente: seamos felices. Pero seamos felices de verdad. Y, a continuación, disfrutemos. La ocasión es especial y la vida es corta. El juego ya está en marcha.
Chinchín,
Gate B03
It’s summer and summer is meant for reading. Here there are a few books that I am happy I haven’t missed, and you shouldn’t miss them either.
Someone Who Will Love You in All Your Damaged Glory, by Raphael Bob-Waksberg.
It’s a collection of short stories that you might love or not —but for sure they won’t leave you indifferent—, written by the creator of BoJack Horseman. I laughed and I cried, separately and also at the same time.
Equally at home with the surreal and the painfully relatable (or both at once), Bob-Waksberg delivers a killer combination of humor, romance, whimsy, cultural commentary, and crushing emotional vulnerability. The resulting collection is a punchy, perfect bloody valentine.
- Goodreads.
Attention: Very intense. I wouldn’t recommended if you are not in a good mental or sentimental place.
Daisy Jones & The Six, by Taylor Jenkins Reid.
A book that will make you feel like a rock star. I have never read a novel written in this style. You will wonder whether this is a real story, because you will want it to be real. You will want to listen to their songs.
The making of that legend is chronicled in this riveting and unforgettable novel, written as an oral history of one of the biggest bands of the seventies. Taylor Jenkins Reid is a talented writer who takes her work to a new level with Daisy Jones & The Six, brilliantly capturing a place and time in an utterly distinctive voice.
- Goodreads.
Note: Perfect for the holidays, but recommended for any time of the year and any mood you might be in. It will make you feel better.
Tuf Voyaging, by George R.R. Martin.
It has nothing to do with Game of Thrones. I am not really into science fiction, and I would have never thought I was going to like this book. Someone who I really trust recommended it so I gave it a chance. I am happy I did because I was wrong. I had so much fun.
The novel concerns the (mis)adventures of Haviland Tuf, an exceptionally tall, bald, very pale, overweight, phlegmatic, vegetarian, cat-loving-but-otherwise solitary space trader. It is a darkly comic meditation on environmentalism and absolute power.
- Wikipedia.
Note: Give it a chance even if you are not into sci-fi, trust me. You will end up loving that… being.
The Midnight Library, by Matt Haig.
A book that I read when I was broken and it tore me apart. A book that I read when I needed it the most. A book that you should read if you doubt, if you keep wondering “what if…?”.
Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had made other choices . . . Would you have done anything different, if you had the chance to undo your regrets? A novel about all the choices that go into a life well lived.
- Goodreads.
Attention: It can be painful. It hurts but it also heals.
Everything I Know About Love, by Dolly Alderton.
I might be a bit biased because I think I am in love with the author, but I promise it is a great book. Struggles in the early adulthood that we all, to a certain extent, have experienced. A book that made me feel that we are not alone but, also, that we alone are enough. The book that I would have liked to write myself.
Glittering with wit and insight, heart and humour, Dolly Alderton's powerful début weaves together personal stories, satirical observations, a series of lists, recipes, and other vignettes that will strike a chord of recognition with women of every age - while making you laugh until you fall over. Everything I know About Love is about the struggles of early adulthood in all its grubby, hopeful uncertainty.
- Goodreads.
Note: A great gift for that person who was there in all your hangover days and after all your bad dates. For that person who was always there for you.
Which are the books you are happy to have read?
Muchísimas gracias por las recomendaciones de lecturas veraniegas...😍 Tenía algunas en mi lista de pendientes y me has dado el empujón final. Chinchín por tus puertas de embarque. 🥂🥂 Es un gusto leerte.