Tag: National Hispanic Heritage Month

Amazon Kindle, Books

An Exciting October Surprise in Books

Mona Alvarado Frazier

Hello October! Hello, overcast skies and cooler weather. I missed you!

The first two weeks of September in California were miserable. Too darn hot and sticky, especially without central air conditioning.

When the media promoted pumpkin spice latte’s during the heat wave, I thought they were unusually cruel. All I could think of was chilled drinks.

But I had a fantastic following two weeks of September because I traveled overseas. More on that in the October newsletter.

Because of jet lag, I woke up super early today. Catching up on email led me to my Amazon page.

Look what I found. An October surprise:

Amazon Ranking

#1 New Release in Teen and Young Adult Hispanic and Latino American Fiction eBooks.

I don’t know how that happened, but thank you for taking the time to pre-order. It’s an act of faith, and I appreciate your support.

I’m grateful to each of you who ordered the novel.

The advanced reading copies may be available in the next couple of months. I’ll list the dates in the newsletter and where they will be available.

And speaking about the newsletter, I hope you found my library link to free e-books helpful.

Photo by Vlada Karpovich on Pexels.com

My newsletter listed children’s books for Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month (HLHM) Since HLHM isn’t over until October 15th, and for me, it’s never over, here are a couple of more lists.

The top 50 Hispanic/Latinx books from GoodReads.

The New York Library’s top Adult, Youth, and Children’s books for HLHM.

October is a great time to fill up the Kindle, laptop, or iPad, snuggle up with a hot beverage, and read for hours.

Happy reading, and enjoy the cooler weather.

“And all at once, summer collapsed into fall.” 

Oscar Wilde
Latino Literature, poetry, Writing

Flor Y Canto: The Flower and the Song

Mona Alvarado Frazier

Floricanto by Alurista
Floricanto by Alurista

I’ve had ambivalent thoughts on any “heritage” month, mostly because I feel we should appreciate everyone’s heritage at every opportunity. On the other hand, by designating a ‘month’ there is a concentrated focus on a culture which does raise awareness of other heritages.

The photo above symbolizes the Aztec ( in the Nahuatl language) word for  “Poetry” in xochitl in cuicatl  which is a dual term meaning the flower (flor) and the song (canto). I read this book of 100 poems in college. That was my first introduction to poetry which resonated with my dual culture and language as a second generation American of Mexican descent.

So it is in the spirit of awareness, and increasing one’s knowledge of and appreciation for the written word, that I reblog this from Andrea Beltran, poet:

Today’s the last day of National Hispanic Heritage Month, but why let it stop there?

Lots of goodness over at The Poetry Foundation. There’s a sampler of Latin@ writers as well as links to articles, audio/video, and events in celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month.

Read the August 2013 issue of The Acentos Review

Follow a new blog: Letras Latinas. They never let me down.

A poetry pairing at The New York Times features Alberto Rios’ poem “A Small Story about the Sky”

Ruben Quesada is giving away a digital copy of his poetry collection Next Extinct Mammal on Twitter. Send him a message at @rubenquesada on Twitter.

A poem by Eduardo C. Corral: “Cayucos“

Daniel Olivas (@olivasdan) shared this link to a recommended reading list by age group: Florida Department of Education’s Hispanic Heritage Month reading list

Julia Alvarez talks about writing, reading, and the power of women

The Rane Arroyo Chapbook Prize deadline has been extended through October 31st. Read more about Rane Arroyo

In memory of José Montoya, a video of his reading “El Louie“

An appreciation for Oscar Hijuelos at The Los Angeles Times

I hope you enjoy these poems today and anytime of the year.