Read Around the World March 2021: Spain

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For March we were off to sunny Spain a viva Espana

Fun facts about Spain from this website:

• Many believe the name Spain diverged from the word Ispania, which means the land of rabbits
• With just over 505,000 sq. km. (195,000 sq. miles) Spain is the second-largest country in Western Europe, after France.
• Spain has over 8000 km (4970 miles) of beaches
• La Tomatina, or “the throwing of tomatoes” is held every year on the last Wednesday of August in the town of Buñol, outside of Valencia. Over 150,000 tomatoes are thrown.
• Spain has the highest number of barsout of all the countries in the EU.
• The most popular type of music in Spain is Flamenco. Flamenco is thought to have been developed by the Moors who brought it to Spain from North Africa in the early A.D. 700s. It has been influenced by Andalusian, Islamic, Sephardic, and Gypsy cultures.
• There is no tooth fairyin Spain but rather a tooth mouse called Ratoncito Perez.
• There are more native Spanish speakersthan native English speakers in the world.
• The Moors occupied Spain for 800 years; consequently, over 4,000 Arabic wordsand Arabic-derived phrases have been absorbed into the Spanish language.
• Spain was not part of the first or second world war.

I spent March visiting Spain via the works of one of my favourite authors Carlos Ruiz Zafón. I have now read his entire back catalogue and can honestly recommend his YA books to readers of all ages. For those who have not read this author before I highly recommend reading his The Shadow of the Wind series. This series captures the horror of the Franco regime in Barcelona while also featuring the magical Cemetery of Forgotten Books. I would recommend this to anyone who loves books about books and who can cope with scenes of torture, revenge and ultimately hope and redemption.

Bonus read finished just in time for this post All This I Will Give to You by Dolores Redondo. This is an intriguing murder mystery but at almost 500 pages it is not a quick read. When Manuel’s husband Alvaro dies in mysterious circumstances and in a place he wasn’t meant to be Manuel is forced to face the idea that he didn’t really know the man he loved. Despite wanting to walk away from it all and what it could mean Manuel instead finds himself drawn in to solving the mystery. The more he learns the more he can appreciate why Alvaro behaved as he did. I loved the glimpses this book provided into the process of wine making in the Lugo region as well the descriptions of the weather in different Spanish regions (I’m English weather is our thing LOL).

Other readers visited via the following books:

Currey from Litsy – Nada by Carmen Lagoret rated pick.

TorieStoriesS from Litsy – Cathedral of the Sea by lldefonso Falcones rated so-so.

Did you visit Spain with us? What books did you choose?

April means we are off to New Zealand will you be joining us and how do you plan to visit?