Víctor Amela has thousands of interviews behind him. He will have forgotten a few, but he still remembers the one he made to a Buddhist wise man a few years ago because he transmitted something very revealing to him: “Happiness is a decision made by each of us.”
It is very possible that the oriental scholar was right, but a little help from outside never hurts. The editor of Libros de Vanguardia, Ana Godó, knows this well and has devised a way to contribute to cultivating happiness through reading with the publication of three works that go directly to the axes of well-being: the stomach, the body and the soul.
The journalist Cristina Jolonch, one of the main experts in gastronomy, has been in charge of the part of the stomach, which should never be neglected, in De carne y sangre, a compendium of interviews that revolve around food “and that encompass conversations with chefs, but also with diners.” Jolonch’s work has gone beyond the pages of De carne y sangre and has also become a one-hour podcast series, Quédate a comer, a success with audiences, because “the interviewees open up and show their most human side.”
Jolonch is convinced that “when you share things, you know yourself better” and that is what Zaloa Uriarte, an expert in transformational leadership, does: share her knowledge with readers so that their bodies and minds are always as if they had just finished to pass the ITV. Uriarte has published Wellbeing Engineering in Vanguard Books. Well-being, which is synonymous with happiness, something that Uriarte found “in India with meditation.”
An experience that he shares with Alexis Racionero, who went “to India at a time when he was on the verge of mental breakdown.” Racionero’s journey continued “wandering through Asia, learning about its intellectual tradition and looking for a way to put all that learning into practice.” He thus acquired knowledge that he has captured in The Look of the East (Libros de Vanguardia).
Thanks to the generosity of Jolonch, Uriarte and Racionero, readers can now better cultivate their body, their spirit and their palate. The subscribers of the Vanguardia Club know this very well, who on Tuesday attended the presentation of De carne y sangre, Engineering of well-being and The look of the East at Casa Seat.
One of the most original and fun presentations of the season, because there was talk, but it was accompanied by an atypical “practical part.” Uriarte taught a series of exercises, “movements associated with breathing, very useful for people who spend many hours sitting and which are performed without getting up from the chair.” Racionero gave the public a meditation to “connect with the heart.” And on behalf of Jolonch and the Vanguardia Club, the attendees took a bottle of red wine. The friendliness of Amela, presenter of the event, also contributed to a great afternoon.
Racionero traveled to Asia in search of knowledge. Marc Morera went to Shanghai for more prosaic reasons: “With the crisis of 2013 and 2014, many people of my generation chose to go live abroad. I got a job in China and with my partner, Silvia, we pulled together and settled in Shanghai,” he explained on Thursday at Altaïr.
Marc and Silvia lived four years in the city, where they adopted their dog, Lia, and were happy, but when it was time to eat partridges and start a family they decided to return to Barcelona. Once settled at home and after the birth of her second daughter, Morera suffered “the midlife crisis and I started to draw and write.”
The result of this activity is Two Dumplings (Amok), a graphic novel, which “is not a guide to traveling to China, but rather the chronicle of an experience and also an instruction manual for expatriates in general and for my daughters when they are adults. in particular”.
And if the presentation of Libros de Vanguardia was the most fun of the season, the one of Where you can’t find me (Matchstories), by Tamara Molina, was the one that attracted the most young people. A large group queued yesterday in front of the Bernat bookstore, book in hand, to meet Molina. The capacity was full and they had to stay outside. It is Molina’s first novel, but she is known for being a content creator on social networks and raises passions.
Thanks to this job, she has been able to write: “When I was a waitress or salesperson at El Corte Inglés, I came home exhausted, but since I have been a content creator I have more time and I have been able to finish this first novel,” she explained. Furthermore, her occupation has allowed her to find a publisher even before having the book ready: “I was invited to a press trip with Megan Maxwell, there I met Esther, the editor, and I made the proposal to her,” she recalled.
Where You Can’t Find Me tells the story of Gala, a girl who flees from a toxic boyfriend and takes refuge in Italy. “She wanted to write a book of contemporary love, but with a message,” said Molina, who is convinced that her novel “is reflective and healing.”
It is not a drama, but Molina has cried a lot: “I cried when I was writing, I cried with the readers’ comments and I cried when my friends saw that I had dedicated it to them. “They cried too.” And Molina’s followers on the networks will be able to see it soon because “as soon as I have time to edit, I will post the video with everyone crying.”
