There is books that have a special valuewhich mean a lot in the life of those who have read them, perhaps not only because of their literary quality, but because of the moment in which they were discovered, or because of the person who gave it as a gift… They are those beloved books that will always be part of the personal library. Well-known people in different fields explain which specimen stands out from others and why.
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It was on Sant Jordi when a young man Carles Recasens, current president of the Col·legi de Metges de les Illes Balearsreceived from his then girlfriend The crooked lines of Godof Torcuato Luca de Tena. «It is the first book that my wife gave me, at that time, I was 20 or 21 years old. At that time, I didn’t know that I wanted to be a psychiatrist or that I was going to be one, so it is a book that I have a special affection for. Now, she says, she prefers historical novels and among the authors, Ken Follet.
TO the president of the Balearic Islands, Marga Prohens, was marked at a very young age by a work by a Mallorcan author. «The most special book isDins el darrer blauby Carme Riera, because I took it from my mother’s bookshelf, it is the first one I read by Carme Riera and, furthermore – now she is considering taking it to the opera – it is the book that made me discover an author from whom I later read it. “I have read absolutely everything.” «It is a book that I read many years ago, I would say more than 20 years, and I think it is part of the history of Mallorca, of Palma, of the Jewish neighborhood… And, later, when I lived there, and even now, when “I walk through the Jewish quarter, specific passages from the book come to me.”
Yourcenar, García Márquez and more
Margalida Ramis, president of the environmental group GOBhis answer is very clear: Memoirs of Hadrianof Marguerite Yourcenar. «I read it in Spanish and Julio Cortázar’s translation is a gem. The book is, due to the density of the story and the beauty of the language and human gestures that are explained in it. A real marvel. I have never found a book that is quite like it. Since then, my fascination turned to Marguerite Yourcenar and I have read everything I found by and about her.
The book preserves it, in an unremarkable edition. «I know that there are other very beautiful ones. “I always look for it in second-hand bookstores in case I find a better edition.”
The dean of the College of Architects of the Balearic Islands, Bernat Nadal, I could mention more than one of those beloved books. “There are several, depending on the moment in your life when you read it and the circumstances that surround or motivate the reading,” he says. But if it is about highlighting just one, he mentions Story of an idiot told by himself of Felix de Azúawhich he read during his studies while taking an elective subject (10 critical thoughts) of which the author was the teacher.
Jaume Carot, rector of the UIBhe discovered with the help of his older brother One hundred years of lonelinessof Gabriel Garcia Marquez, “at a time when access to information was not as easy as now and even less so in a town like the one I lived in,” he remembers. «It is my first contact with magical realism and it allowed me to let my imagination fly when I was a teenager. I have read it three times, for the first time when I was 12-13 years old,” he adds.
Neuroscientist Nazareth Castellanos mentions a relatively recent book, Infinity in a reed, by Irene Vallejo, which he bought on the recommendation of his bookseller. Why is it special to her? «For the erudition and sweetness that her lines emanate, for reminding us that books sculpt the human being and society. For inviting us to recover the importance of beauty, elegance and knowledge,” she says.
The choice of bishop of Mallorca, Sebastià Taltavull, It also dates back to his adolescence. His book is Documents of the Second Vatican Council, for being his “reference book”, and which he “always” consults. “It is a roadmap, since it represents the renewal of the Church and the dialogue with society and the contemporary world,” he says.
Football playerAbdon Prats shoot for one’s own land and review Never give up on being happythe first book of mentor manacori Joan Gallardoin which he reflects on happiness, knowledge, inner work, philosophical study, and personal and professional experience.
The mayor of Palma, Jaime Martínez, has two reference books. The first is Artof Yasmina Reza, because “from a blank painting many principles and values are questioned.” And the second, The book of beastsof Ramon Llullthat “I would recommend it to anyone who wants to dedicate themselves to politics.”
