Críticas Magazine

What 's the latest from across the Atlantic? Well, Da Vinci Code madness in Spain has finally tempered and Dan Brown has passed his torch to Barcelona native Ildefonso Falcones for his historical novel, La catedral del mar, as the most widely read book in the country. The news was announced yesterday in the Spanish media citing a study called Hábitos de Lectura y Compra de Libros en España 2007  (The Habits of Reading and Bookbuying in Spain for 2007), conducted by the Federación de Gremios de Editores de España (FGEE).

U.S. readers of English will get to opine about Falcones’ Cathedral of the Sea's storlyline and prose when it’s released in May by Dutton. The book, about the the construction of Barcelona’s Santa Maria del Mar cathedral in the Barrio Gothico section of the city, was originally released by Random House Mondadori in 2006. The book became an instant best seller. Quite an impressive feat by Falcones, a former lawyer turned first time author.

Ken Follet’s novel Los pilares de la tierra (The Pillars of the Earth) took second place, followed by Brown’s El código da Vinci in third (though it had reigned for three years in first place), and fourth by Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s La sombra del viento (The Shadow of the Wind). But Brown isn’t completely gone with the wind, he still occupies fourth place with Ángeles y demonios (Angels and Demons).

What they Bought
The novels most purchased in Spain 2007, from first to fifth, were La catedral del mar, El código da Vinci, La sombra del viento, the complete Harry Potter saga by J.K.Rowling and Dublin native John Boyne’s El niño con el pijama de rayas (The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas), whose film adaptation Miramax will release in the U.K. and Ireland first before it hits the U.S.

Other books worth noting for their swift sales were encyclopedias, Javier Moro’s essay Pasión India (Passion India) and of course, the Bible.

What Spanish Kids Like

For the list of books most read by kids, the bespectacled  Harry Potter held court followed by Spanish native Laura Gallego’s Memorias de Idhun (Idhun Chronicles) and Montana native Christopher Paolini’s Eragon. For kids ages 10 to 13, German children’s writer, Knister, took first place with Kika Superbruja, followed by the Harry Potter series, and C.S. Lewis’ Las crónicas de Narnia. The kids books that were most bought during 2007 were the Potter books followed by Paolini's Ergaon and Gallego's Memorias de Idhun. Be sure to stock up on these books for your library in Spanish and English, since the world's reading tastes are feeling so darn local these days.