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• Happy Books

  Thanks for the tip Ariana. Keep your suggestions coming and happy reading!
  
  Natasha (Metropolitan)

  Posted by Natasha July 05, 2010 07:56:51

• Happy Books Store

  Super cheap books close to universidad! Bought myself several great titles..which i planning on exchanging for some more at hibernian...

  Posted by Ariana July 03, 2010 15:58:29

• A Kiwi on the Costa Brava

  I have just published a book entitled 'A Kiwi on the Costa Brava.' This is my contribution to the dissemination of knowledge about Catalonia (at a popular level)! It is not written for specialists but primarily for visitors, foreign students, ex-pats, arm-chair travellers and really anybody else who has a reason to be interested in Catalonia but does not know much about it. Although it is easy reading and the narrative uncomplicated, it is informative and thought provoking.
  
  As the narrative progresses and events take place, so themes and topics are introduced, observations made and many of the peculiarities of Catalonia and Catalans that often perplex foreigners are explored. Some of the themes are light-hearted such as the Catalan scatological obsession. Others are more serious such as Catalanism. Each chapter also includes one or two sections on Catalan history that run chronologically throughout the book and as a composite provide a useful introduction to the history of Catalonia. Centred on the Costa Brava, the book visits other parts of Catalonia and the Països Catalans.
  
  The following backcover synopsis gives a good idea about what it is all about:
  
  'Why is 9/11 more important to Catalans? Who was Wilfred the Hairy? When is a wolf's fart edible? Why are bumper stickers of donkeys ubiquitous in Catalonia? What explains the ambivalence of many Catalans to their war generation? Why does Football Club Barcelona have the English flag on its emblem? Does black rice taste better than it sounds?
  
  The answers to these and many other pertinent questions are revealed in A Kiwi on the Costa Brava, Jonathan Stark’s sympathetic account of a typical summer on Catalonia’s most famous coast. It begins with him and his Catalan wife returning to the Costa Brava to discover their summer business in crisis just as the season is about to begin. Finding solace in Mediterranean cuisine, breezy terraces and historic landscapes, they witness the yearly transformation that the Costa Brava undergoes with the arrival of millions of foreign and domestic holidaymakers. Simultaneously the author solves a local mystery, experiences ups and downs as he attempts to improve his Catalan and works on a novel set on the Costa Brava.
  
  Anecdotal, entertaining and humorous but also informative and thoughtful, A Kiwi on the Costa Brava allows readers to gain a better insight into a region of Europe that is both fashionable and well visited, but often poorly known and frequently misunderstood.'
  
  It is on sale at Altair, at various retailers on the Costa Brava and online (Amazon). You can also read a sample on Google Books.
  
  
  
  

  Posted by Jonathan Stark May 10, 2010 16:56:20

• Books

  There is an online Barcelona store that specializes in modern first editions and rare books in English - they do a lot of signed, collectable copies too.
  
  They are at www.anulios.org
  
  You can buy online but you can also go there to visit and see the books though is not a shop ..the guy really knows a lot about books and there are some really interesting ones...they can get probably most first editions I think but I think they also have a range of cheap ordinary books too. I think they buy....

  Posted by Kailee October 30, 2009 10:18:00