Exactly today, June 20, summer begins, even if it is with storms and a jacket. The most desired season of the year! Even if it’s just to enjoy rest, vacations, beach, pool, mountains… and more time to read our favorite books. We are just in the perfect weeks to decide – and buy – the novels and essays that we will put in our suitcase and that will undoubtedly be part of the memories of summer 2024.
We go there with five ideas; easy books to acquire as they are part of Casa del Libro’s June bestsellers, three novels and two non-fiction, to please everyone. We have thrillers, scary and mystery stories, romantic and flirtatious novels and other books with which we will learn a lot and will serve us for our personal growth. Which one of them do you choose?
‘If you like the dark’ (Stephen King)
Plaza & Janes If you like the dark
Stephen King is one of the masters of suspense and terror in literature and he couldn’t miss a summer without his books, ideal for not getting up from the hammock. This year he presents a collection of twelve stories that revolve around the darkest aspects of our lives (death, destiny, fear, risks…), titled ‘If you like the darkness’ (Plaza & Janés). They are the most entertaining stories, such as ‘The Dreamers’, in which a Vietnam veteran accepts an assignment and discovers that some corners of the planet should remain unexplored, or ‘Answer Man’, where we reflect on the gift of clairvoyance: blessing or curse?
Pages: 704
‘Snob’ (Elísabet Benavent)
Sum ‘Snob’
It was one of the bestsellers at the recent Madrid Book Fair: the new novel by Elísabet Benavent, ‘Esnob’ (Sum of Letters), in which for the first time the narrating voice is carried by a man. Alejo, a posh guy from a good family who could be the wolf of Wall Street, ends up working as an assistant to Marieta, a crazy crack who founded a dating app that surpasses Tinder. He is a conservative old man and she is an independent woman who does not think about following the path of getting married and having children; and even if they do not agree, they are condemned to understand each other. A novel that reflects on the pressure of finding a relationship in our days; so much so that we do it by ‘match’.
Pages: 600
‘When the storm passes’ (Manel Loureiro)
Planet When the storm passes
Just a few hours ago it was announced that ‘When the storm passes’ (Planeta), by Manuel Loureiro, had been the winner of the prestigious Fernando Lara 2024 novel prize. After moving through various genres, from apocalyptic books to historical novels, is consolidated into a thriller with this novel starring Roberto, a man isolated on a small Galician island because of a storm. On the seashore he discovers a strange bundle whose contents will unleash a wave of resentment, jealousy and revenge in the inhabitants. And if that were not enough, someone leaves him an ‘enigmatic’ message on the door of his house that he cannot understand. He only has to survive.
Pages: 480
‘Its smell after the rain’ (Cédric Sapin-Defour)
B Its smell after the rain
Let’s now move on to non-fiction books and an essay that has been almost as successful in Spain as it was in France, where it became the most important book of 2023. It is a love story between a human animal and a dog, a relationship that forever changed the author’s way of understanding his life and became a constant source of reflection. ‘Its smell after the rain’ (Editions B) You will love it if you have a dog -or other animals-, but also if you don’t. From the moment Cédric adopts Ubac, the days become walks and his philosophy of life changes: now only the present matters. With Ubac, the author forms a living organism of two beings. Their coexistence is filled with a thousand daily details, time lengthens and contracts as Ubac ages and the inevitable absence arrives.
Pages: 304
‘Stop being you’ (Joe Dispenza)
Uranus Stop being you
More than a decade after its original publication, the 20th edition of Joe Dispenza’s book continues to interest all those who want to become enlightened in psychology, neurology and NLP (Neurolinguistic Programming). ‘Stop being you’ (Uranus), Written by scientist Joe Dispenza, it delves into all those topics that captivated us so much – quantum physics, neuroscience, biology and genetics – to teach us how to reprogram the brain and expand our framework of reality. The result is a practical transformation method to create prosperity and wealth, but also a prodigious journey to a new state of consciousness.
Pages: 352
