December, in addition to being cold, always brings the end of a cycle. Or what is the same: time to recapitulate, also with the books of the year. we all wanted that 2021 will arrive , because it seemed that it was going to temper everything that had happened in the previous months. And well, life was more or less the same. A field in which there was much hope was in the cultural field. The pause in which the pandemic plunged us caused many projects to be delayed. A fact that also affected the books, since some of the expected titles were reserved for 2021. That is why at Condé Nast Traveler we have made a list of books of the year to give away on these dates. A selection, I imagine that like all, very personal that tries to group works of different styles so that the possibility of getting it right increases. Let's go with her:
The Maritime Alps, Vicente Monroy.
FOR LOVERS OF FICTIONAL HISTORY
The Lengua de Trapo publishing house began this year a series called National Episodes. An initiative that gathers the idea of Galdós and that tries to tell the most recent history of our country turning it into fiction. One of those chosen for it was the writer Vicente Monroy, who in the maritime alps tell the end of the dreams of youth and adult life with the attacks that took place on the Ramblas of Barcelona in 2017 in the background.
Landing, Bruno Galindo.
FOR MUSIC LOVERS
Bruno Galindo is an old acquaintance in the music industry. So much so that he has lived through its rise and fall from the record label side, as a musician and as a journalist. Some experiences that he has transferred to Grounding (KO Books), an exercise in personal and collective memory that helps to better understand Where is the music world right now?
I lie, Silvia Hidalgo.
FOR THE INTIMISTS
Since a couple of years, the editorial Transit has been doing the great job of finding and rescuing first-person books written by women. And one that represents these principles very well is I lie by Silvia Hidalgo. A work that delves into the chiaroscuro of a woman's intimacy to talk to us about failure, cheating, the couple, desire and the body.
Scream Queer, Javier Parra.
FOR LOVERS OF HORROR FILM
Horror movie lovers are in luck with Scream Queer. LGTBIQ+ representation in horror movies. Written by the seventh art critic Javier Parra, this book published by the publisher Two Whiskers tells how this genre has treated the LGTBIQ+ collective. An evolution that goes from representation as monsters in the first decades of the last century to full acceptance today.
Post Mortem, Carlos Areces.
FOR COLLECTORS OF UNIQUE BOOKS
For those who like unique works with careful editing in detail, this year it was published in the stamp Twinkling Post Mortem Collection Carlos Areces. A work composed of the collection of post-mortem photographs of Carlos Areces and a book on this type of art written by specialist Virginia de la Cruz Lichet. All this with a very special edition that I recommend, even if it is, to approach it out of curiosity.
The Mushroom at the End of the World, Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing.
FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT
Mutsake is a fungus that helps trees grow in places damaged by humans. That is why he had to be the protagonist of The Mushroom at the End of the World (Captain Swing), an essay in which Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing talks about those beings that help preserve diversity in ecosystems damaged by us. Investigating one of the world's most sought-after mushrooms, the author exposes the relationship between capitalist destruction and collaborative survival.
In the end the monsters always win, by Juarma.
FOR THE STREETS
A small town in deep Andalusia, a group of friends and drugs are the main ingredients of In the end the monsters always win (Blackie Books), novel written by Juarma. A fast work, with a lot of dialogue, that hooks, and that tells with great crudeness the life of a part of the youth of deep Spain.
Proper names, Marta Jiménez Serrano.
FOR THOSE WHO WOULD PUT AN ALTAR TO THEIR GRANDMOTHERS AND MOTHERS
The proper names (Sixth Floor) by Marta Jiménez Serrano, has almost become one of those novels that need no introduction. And it is that the narrative debut of this writer does nothing but reach more and more readers every day. And it is not surprising, since she tells like nobody else a beautiful story about a girl's passage to adulthood, valuing the work of grandmothers and mothers, almost always unviable.
Human sacrifices, María Fernanda Ampuero.
FOR THOSE WHO LIKE STORIES
María Fernanda Ampuero dazzled thousands of readers with her first book of stories Cockfight. This 2021 he returned to the news table with Human Sacrifices (Foam Pages), a play about different kinds of horror. A book that seeks to shake the reader to show him that violence cannot be commonplace.
Don't be yourself, Eudald Espluga.
FOR THOSE WHO ARE BURNED AND DON'T KNOW WHY
You are exhausted and you can't take it anymore. You read online terms like burnout and you feel identified with its description. A feeling that is almost generalized and that does not come from you, but from the moment we live. Therefore, if you want to investigate more on the subject, here are two books: Don't be yourself (Paidós) by Eudald Espluga and I can't do it anymore (Capitán Swing) by Anne H. Petersen.
Planes flying over a monster, Daniel Saldaña Paris.
FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO ENJOY THE CITY IN A DIFFERENT WAY
In Planes flying over a monster (Anagram), the writer Daniel Saldaña Paris creates a very interesting proposal: he writes about five cities according to the feelings that were aroused in him when he lived in them. Isn't that how our experience of them is? Doesn't the way we enjoy them depend on our vital moment?
Fly home, Daniel Purse.
FOR THOSE WHO SEEK BEAUTY
Fly Home (Foam Pages), by Daniel Monedero, It is a book that I will never tire of recommending. In the few stories that complete the work, this writer achieves the complicated task of telling the beauty through the words. Some stories that are carried out by disoriented characters who are in search of their identity.
The tooth, Rosario Villajos.
FOR THOSE WHO LIKE DIFFERENT NOVELS
Rosario Villajos's tooth (Aristas Martínez) has been another of the great surprises of this year. It is a rare novel, whose protagonist survives poorly and alone in London. A story that serves the author to narrate in a disturbing way the migration and precariousness of today's world.
Nola, Antonio Jimenez Morato.
FOR THOSE WHO HAVE A STACK OF PENDING BOOKS
The lists of recommended works are usually unfair because they only include what was read in the year. Nevertheless, Reaching everything published is impossible and there are many books that run out of time. Therefore, to close the article, I wanted to make a special mention to a series of them that, I hope, will stop being pending soon: look what you are (Candaya), by Luis Rodríguez; Nola (Jekyll & Jill), by Antonio Jiménez Morato; We would exist the sea (Randomhouse), by Belén Gopegui; the dwarfs (swiss army knife), Shell Alós; and some more that I can't remember.