The first thing I remember from childhood is running after books in my grandmother's house. I read everything: copies of Vea and Teve Guía magazines, the well-known Remedios Caseros. Books have been with me ever since.
It came as no surprise to any of my colleagues when, at my editor's request at Platea, I agreed to write about Puerto Rican books on the market that could, I hope, make perfect gifts this Christmas. The criteria: contemporary books written by Puerto Ricans on and off the Island.
To put the list together, I enlisted the help of my Platea colleague and author Yana Faris, as well as recommendations from the booksellers behind Libros787 and Librería Laberinto.
Keep reading!
Books you can give as gifts this Christmas, recommended by Platea PR
Disobedient and fat
Between being and not being, we're a mess
The grandfather's hat
Alas: El vuelo de Aquiles
Latidoscuro / Crisálida / Sábanas
Gorda desobediente, Leuryck Valentín
Written in the first person by Leuryck Valentín, Gorda desobediente sets out to challenge beauty stereotypes through sexuality, love and fatphobia. This autobiographical and hot novel is not a lloriparty, but rather a way of showing that a fat woman can be the protagonist of the story, provoke desire and feel it herself.
Entre ser y no ser, somos un papelón, Saraí Ayala
If you have ever been on a date and something unexpected happened, you may have lived through a papelón. In her book Entre ser y no ser, somos un papelón: La realidad de los dates en Puerto Rico, Saraí Ayala collects papelónicas stories about dates, ranging from memorable moments to funny situations.
El sombrero del abuelo, Yasmarie Hernández González
In El sombrero del abuelo, author Yasmarie Hernández González navigates the emotions of loss and grief through stories aimed at children, to help them understand why the people who used to be there are no longer around. The book is a tribute to the author's grandfather, Coco, five years after his passing.
Alas: El vuelo de Aquiles, Emmanuel Alejandro
Alas tells the story of Aquiles Aparicio, a boy who was born with wings but fears what the people around him think. Young Aquiles will discover, after an adventure full of courage, that he was made to change lives.
Latidoscuro / Crisálida / Sábanas, various authors
These are three poetry collections by Puerto Rican writers Richard Rivera-Colón, Vianca Arocho and Yasmarie Hernández González, respectively, and they are part of the Colección Pangea from Colectivo Editorial Luscinia. All three were edited by Ana-Loreanne Colón.
Books you can give as gifts this Christmas, recommended by Libros 787
Even the bathrooms will cure you!
Flor de Básquet: The Extraordinary Story of Flor Meléndez
Caribe Taíno: Ensayos históricos sobre el siglo XVI
¡Hasta los baños te curan!, María Benedetti
María Benedetti portrays in ¡Hasta los baños te curan! the tradition of herbal medicine and spiritual healing that existed in Puerto Rico through the 1980s. This recipe book offers remedies drawn from healers, homemakers, farmers and other people interviewed.
Flor de Básquet, José A. Campos Fusté
This book chronicles the life and story of Flor Meléndez Montañaez, recognized for his career as one of the most charismatic and celebrated coaches in Latin American basketball. Flor de Básquet is not only for fans of the sport, but also for anyone who wants to learn about one of the Puerto Ricans who has raised the Island's name.
Caribe Taíno: Ensayos históricos sobre el siglo XVI, Jalil Sued Badillo
Caribe Taíno presents Puerto Rican history from a different perspective. Here Jalil Sued Badillo brings together nine essays, published in prestigious history and anthropology journals, that highlight how crucial indigenous societies were in Puerto Rico.
Books you can give as gifts this Christmas, recommended by Librería Laberinto
The Other Julia
Writing in Puerto Rican Spanish
Puerto Rico: History of a Nation
La otra Julia, Mayra Santos-Febres
A recipient of the John S. Guggenheim Fellowship, La otra Julia is a landmark and controversial biography of Julia de Burgos. In it, Mayra Santos-Febres uncovers the parallels, interests and values the two share, along with a way of understanding the author of "Río Grande de Loíza" and "A Julia de Burgos".
Escribir en puertorriqueño, Luis Rafael Sánchez
This edition of selected works by Luis Rafael Sánchez, edited by Luce López-Baralt and Aníbal González-Pérez, moves through the short stories, novels, chronicles and theater of one of the most emblematic figures in Latin American literature.
Puerto Rico: Historia de Una Nación, Jorell Meléndez-Badillo
Jorell Meléndez-Badillo offers a new way of looking at the political, economic and social challenges Puerto Rico faces today, tracing them from before the arrival of Cristóbal Colón through the establishment of the Commonwealth.
Give Puerto Rican literature this Christmas
Puerto Rico overflows with talent, and in literature that is especially true. Give local books this Christmas, and don't forget to tell us in the comments!
This content was translated with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
