1 of 9
Sara Blaylock
Terry Batten, Scotland, in BCN: 13 years
"My favorite book is 'Kidnapped' by Robert Louis Stevenson."
2 of 9
Nadia El-Yousseph
Susan Duelm, USA, in BCN: five years
“'The Places You’ll Go': It’s an optimistic look at the harsh reality of being an adult.”
3 of 9
Ema Kazlauskaite
Nina Kuzmina, Latvia, in BCN: four months
“I always try to have a book by Terry Pratchett somewhere close at hand. He is an outstanding storyteller, very entertaining, but at the same time, very humane. Any book from the Discworld series is totally recommendable!”
4 of 9
Ema Kazlauskaite
Eva Timmusk, Estonia, in BCN: one year
“My most favourite recent book is 'The Buddha of Suburbia', written by Hanif Kureishi. It's about Karim, a mixed-race teenager, who is desperate to escape suburban South London and make new experiences in London in the Seventies. The book captures feelings in a very raw and human way. I could identify myself in many situations as I've also grown up as an immigrant away from my roots, which was at times confusing. It handles the important and serious issues of life through humour, which is also my philosophy of life, when facing difficulties it's always better to laugh about it!”
5 of 9
Nadia El-Yousseph
Richie McCauley, UK, in BCN: four years
“'1984': It’s got loads of imaginative ideas that are still quite believable. It makes me think about things that we take for granted, like being free.”
6 of 9
Sara Blaylock
Bjarney Hinriksdottir, Iceland, in BCN: two months
“The book I’ve had on my bedtable for the last year is 'Eat, Pray, Love' by Elizabeth Gilbert. It’s funny, honest and full of good spiritual quotes that are good to read once in a while.”
7 of 9
Ema Kazlauskaite
Maria Saarela, Finland, in BCN: 4.5 years
"'The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge': it's not my favourite book of all times but it was the only book I read for my studies that made me laugh out loud; because it is not easy to understand and therefore you can read it many times without getting bored; because it presents an idea that I like very much and agree with; good news for the multicultural audience of the magazine, the book has been translated into many languages!"
8 of 9
Sara Blaylock
Terry Batten, Scotland, in BCN: 13 years
"My favorite book is 'Kidnapped' by Robert Louis Stevenson."
9 of 9
Sara Blaylock
Luaile Nicolau, Argentina, in BCN: nine years
“My favourite book is 'Los martes con mi viejo profesor' [Tuesdays with Morrie].”
Sant Jordi, the day that Catalunya celebrates romance with an exchange of books and roses between lovers, is upon us this month. To get you in the mood for browsing the bookstalls that will be set up around Barcelona on April 23rd, we asked nine residents what their llibre de capçalera is: literally this means ‘headboard book’, and is the book you keep by the bed because it’s a great favourite. Have a look at our slideshow to see what tomes people recommended...