Mexican Lifestyles

In 2000 Karen Blue published her first book, “Midlife Mavericks: Women Reinventing Their Lives in Mexico.”

This historical season is the time to learn about Mexico, so we queried a handful of knowledgeable informants about what they recommend, other than Allyn Hunt’s column. What follows are their favorite books about Mexico in English, be they fiction or nonfiction, wide or narrow in scope. Many were originally written in English, some in Spanish, and many are available in both languages, which can make for instructive side-by-side reading for those wishing to improve their command of either language. We generally omitted books our informants described as “boring,” although this list includes both intellectual and popular titles, many of which can be found in the AMSOC (Guadalajara) or LCS (Lake Chapala Society) libraries, or at Sandi bookstore in Guadalajara.

In a break with the tradition of honoring writers penning works in the Spanish language, French poet, narrator, essayist, critic and translator Yves Bonnefoy has won the 2013 FIL Award in Romance Languages.

In her first book, “Living at Lake Chapala,” local writer Judy King has compiled a treasure trove of information with equal appeal for seasoned expat residents, newcomers and folks still contemplating a move to the area.

July 19 saw the launching of a new book describing the mammals of Jalisco’s Primavera Forest. “Mamíferos del Bosque La Primavera, Guía Ilustrada” (in Spanish) has 112 pages and 60 color photographs. The authors are three biologists, Silvia Zalapa, Edgar Godinez and Sergio Guerrero.

Mike Headley started dreaming up tales for kids as a young father raising his own brood of three. It wasn’t until his offspring left the nest and he went into retirement that he found the time and impetus to put the stories down on paper to share with a wider audience. His recent discovery of a Chapala teenager with an innate knack for cartoon drawing finally put him on the path towards publication of his first book, titled “Where Do the Tumbleweeds Go?”