11TH ANNUAL SUMMER READING LIST FROM LAS COMADRES & FRIENDS NATIONAL LATINO BOOK CLUB

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  

CONTACT:  Teresa M. Tobin, Project Manager  

tmtobin.lcbookclub@gmail.com

 

 

New York, NY (June 20, 2025)  —  Las Comadres & Friends National Latino Book Club is pleased to announce the release of its 11th annual Summer Reading List on this the first day of the summer.

 “Reading is most rewarding when you feel a connection to the story,” says Teresa M. Tobin, Project Manager. “Our Summer Reading List has something special for everyone. The voices of our talented Latine writers bring fresh perspectives and meaningful connections. And for the first time, upon our readers' request, we have added a book in Spanish. So, settle in, turn the page, and let these stories take you somewhere new. Enjoy the journey!”

The Summer Reading List includes 20 books in a variety of genres.  It includes a golden classic novel written by a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, a children’s picture book to share with kids and grandkids, and our first ever Spanish language book.  Stories are set in Cuba, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Mexico and across the United States.   We encourage readers of all ages to purchase our selections and add them to their TBR piles, give copies to family and friends, donate copies to neighborhood libraries, and enjoy Reading Latino Lit.

  

Las Comadres & Friends National Latino Book Club

2025 Summer Reading List

 

1.       A SIMPLE HABANA MELODY by Oscar Hijuelos (Grand Central Publishing) – fiction, classical

2.       A STORY OF STORIES: THE TEXAS BORDER BARRIO LIFE AND WRITINGS OF DOÑA RAMONA GONZÁLEZ by Cristina Devereaux Ramírez (Tinta Books) – biography

3.       +El Último Hombre Blanco / THE LAST WHITE MAN by Nuria Labari (Random House) – fiction

4.       FOR A GOD TO REST: A CARTEL MARIACHI ROMANCE by Tamaya Cruz (Tamaya Cruz Books) – romance

5.       *GLORIA by Andrés Felipe Solano (Counterpoint) – fiction

6.       I TRUST MY INNER VOICE: A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO SELF-BELIEF, MANIFESTATION AND MINDSET TRANSFORMATION by Ana Parra Vivas (Hasmark Publishing International) – self-help

7.       LATINO FIRSTS: TRAILBLAZERS AND MILESTONES IN UNITED STATES HISTORY by Nicolás Kanellos (Visible Ink Press) – biographies

8.       LUCHA OF THE NIGHT FOREST by Tehlor Kay Mejia (Make Me A World) – fiction, young adult

9.       *MAMIACHI & ME: MY MAMI’S MARIACHI BAND by Jolene and Dakota Gutiérrez (Harry N. Abrams) – children’s picture book

10.   #ON THE TIP OF YOUR MOTHER’S TONGUE by JP Infante (Thirty West Publishing House) – poetry and prose

11.   RAIN REVOLUTIONS by Bessie F. Zaldívar (Long Day Press) – fiction, short stories

12.   *REINBOU by Pedro Cabiya (Astra House) – fiction

13.   RESERVOIR BITCHES by Dahlia de la Cerda (The Feminist Press at CUNY) – fiction, short stories

14.   TELL IT TO ME SINGING by Tita Ramirez (Simon & Schuster) – fiction

15.   THE INFLUENCERS by Anna-Marie McLemore (The Dial Press) – fiction, mystery

16.   *THE LATINA ANTI-DIET: A DIETITIAN’S GUIDE TO AUTHENTIC HEALTH THAT CELEBRATES CULTURE AND FULL-FLAVOR LIVING by Dalina Soto (Ballantine Books) – self-help

17.   THE PINK AGAVE MOTEL & OTHER STORIES by V. Castro (CLASH Books) – science fiction

18.   THE SONS OF EL REY by Alex Espinoza (Simon & Schuster) – fiction, LGBTQ+

19.   THE WAVES TAKE YOU HOME by María Alejandra Barrios Vélez (Lake Union Publishing) – fiction, magical realism

20.   WE WILL BE JAGUARS: A MEMOIR OF MY PEOPLE by Nemonte Nenquimo and Mitch Anderson (Abrams Press) – environmental & naturalist biography

 *book available in Spanish      +book available in English     

#dual language (English-Spanish)

 

Las Comadres & Friends National Latino Book Club was founded in 2006 and is currently in 12 cities, with more cities to follow.  All books are in English, written by Latine authors. Membership is free and open to all readers, Latinos and non-Latinos, women and men.  Each month, Las Comadres & Friends Book Club features a Book of the Month selection and one or two additional “Conversations with” books.  At the end of the month, there is a LIVE zoom teleconference with the author(s), plus a simultaneous X-Chat on @ReadLatinoLit.  The interviews are recorded and uploaded to the Las Comadres YouTube Channel (@LasComadresParaLasAmericas).

For more information on Las Comadres & Friends National Latino Book Club, to register for the monthly teleconference, and to submit your book for consideration, visit www.latinolit.com.

For more information on the 2025 Summer Reading List, email Teresa M. Tobin, Project Manager, at tmtobin.lcbookclub@gmail.com.

 

Las Comadres & Friends National Latino Book Club

www.latinolit.com

X: @ReadLatinoLit

YouTube: @LasComadresParaLasAmericas

Hashtags:  #ReadLatinoLit, #LasComadres, #LCBC

  

Leadership Team

Teresa M. Tobin, Project Manager

Maria C. Ferrer, Nydia Marsella, Dora M. Abreu, Karen D. Gonzales and Dr. Nora de Hoyos Comstock

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#READ LATINO LIT 

www.LatinoLit.com

2025 NORA AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED

 

Nora Award Winners were announced live on Saturday, April 26, at the Worldwide Comadrazo and 25^th Anniversary Celebration in Austin, TX.      

 

The Nora Awards, named in honor of our National / International Founder Dr. Nora de Hoyos Comstock, recognize Comadres who exemplify the virtues of Loyalty, Generosity, Community, Sisterhood and Kindness.  The Finalists were nominated by their fellow Comadres.  

 

 

The 2025 Comadre of the Year award goes to Comadre TERRY SAUCEDO from Rancho Cucamonga, CA / the Inland Empire Comadres Network.

 

 

The 2025 Comadre Community Service award goes to Comadre SHEILA PEREZ-KINDLE from Denver, CO / Denver Comadres Network.

  

 

 

A newly minted Compadre Extraordinaire Nora Award was presented to JACK BELL, Nora’s husband for his endless support of Las Comadres Para Las Americas for the past 25-plus-years.  In his honor, Las Comadres has renamed the Friend of Las Comadres award to the “Jack Bell Friend of Las Comadres” Nora Award.

 

 

The first “Jack Bell Friend of Las Comadres” Nora Award was presented to the Austin Community College, an organization that continually supports Las Comadres Para Las Americas and the Latine community at large. This winner was chosen by the Board of Directors.  Accepting the Nora Award was Dr. Susan Warner-Sanchez.

 

 

Click here for the WWC webpages:   https://lascomadres.com/world-wide-comadrazo-april-25-27-2025/

Click here for the 2025 WWC Commemorative Book

Click here for Lourdes Rodriguez’ keynote speech

Click here for the 2025 Nora Award Winners

Click here for the Vendor List

Click here for view of our Sponsors

Click here for Dr. Ana Nogales about her experience at the WWC25.

#NoraAwards

#ComadresLeadTheWay

LAS COMADRES & FRIENDS BOOK CLUB ANNOUNCES BOOKS FOR JANUARY 2025

CELEBRATING 18 YEARS !

Las Comadres & Friends National Latino Book Club is proud to announce its January Books of the Month:

 

  

THE PRINCE AND THE COYOTE by David Knowles -- A Pura Belpré Award Winner, this book brings to life one of Mexico’s most treasured heroes, Nezahualcoyotl, in a story that will thrill readers far and wide.

 

EMBODY JOY: A WOMAN’S JOURNEY OF RECONNECTION WITH HER BODY by Beatriz Fritschler  -- This memoir is not just a personal account but a universal story of resilience, healing, and the power of embracing one's true self. 

 

For complete book summaries and author bios, visit our website at www.latinolit.com.

 

Shop for your books here:  https://bookshop.org/shop/lascomadresbookclub

 

Subscribe to the Las Comadres YouTube Channel for more author interviews:  https://www.youtube.com/@LasComadresParaLasAmericas/playlists

 

 

SAVE THE DATE! Monday, January 27, 8pm ET for the monthly Teleconference where we will get a chance to talk to the authors and ask them about their books.  

 

Register today for the teleconference and you may win a FREE BOOK: https://latinolit.com/join-teleconference/

 

 

Happy Reading and Always Read Latino Lit!

 

LAS COMADRES CELEBRATES MEMBERS' ACCOMPLISHMENTS & BOOK NEWS -- DECEMBER 2024 / JANUARY 2025

 

Welcome 2025!   We open the new year with a heartfelt Congratulations to the following Comadres on their Accomplishments, and to Comadre Authors on their new books.   

 

 

 

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Vibiana Aparicio-Chamberlin (Pasadena, CA) -- Received the coveted PEN Nomination for her poem, The Many Faces of La Llorona, published in the Altadena Poetry Anthology Review 2024. I also read Spanish translations from her book, Mi Amor (September 2024) at Los Libros in Lincoln Heights. I recited Nopal, Muse, Medicine and Sustenance from my thrice winning International Latino Book awarded Chicana On Fire (December 2024) at the Xicana Exhibit, El Camino College.  AND!  She exhibited portraits (August-December 2024) at The CASA 0101 Art Gallery and an altar dedicated to recently deceased Gloria Molina, First Latina elected to the CA assembly.

 

Andrea Arroyo (New York, NY) – Was a guest at art conferences and exhibitions in Italy and France last year. Her solo exhibition "Faces & Façades" at the Morris-Jumel Mansion Museum in Manhattan (https://morrisjumel.org/exhibitions/faces-facades/) was featured in the NY Amsterdam News and is on view through March 23, 2025. Please email me for a QR code that grants free entrance to the museum; email amae347@yahoo.com.

 

Julieta Corpus (Weslaco, TX) – Her book, Of Love And Departures/ De Amor Y Despedidas, is a bilingual poetry book available through Amazon. It is a collection of poems in English and in Spanish about love and loss and grief written during and after the death of her late husband Arturo Saldana, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2014 and passed away in March 2016.

 

Yanelba Ferreira (Bronx, NY) – Happy to announce her recent acting roles!  (1.) Performed as Jury Foreperson (co-star role) in Law & Order, Season 23, Episode 4 which aired on February 8, 2024.  (2.)  Performed as Rosa Castillo (supporting role) in the short film “Hello Brooklyn!” directed by Dustin Prestige, premiered at Stuart Cinema in Brooklyn, NY on October 8, 2024 and is also available for viewing on YouTube: https://youtu.be/_wlJzVUmTU0.  (3.) Performed as Mami (supporting role) in the short film “Niña Linda” directed by Ashley Morales, premiered at Rider University on December 8, 2024. Film is currently not available for viewing online as it is being submitted to film festivals.

 

Lourdes Ortiz (North Attleboro & Massachusetts) -- Graduates with an MBA in May 2025. She has three small children – 6, 4 and 1.  She works a full-time job; cares for her three kids; and stays up many late nights, sometimes ‘til 3am, studying. Lourdes is very happy and very proud of herself.  [We are too!]

 

Mirtha Perez (Cedar Park, TX) -- The week before Christmas, Mirtha and her daughter went to San Juan, Puerto Rico, to kick off her gymnastics season with Acrotex Cedar Park.  She competed in the Puerto Rico Classic and got 1st in Bars, 3rd in Beam and 3rd All Around. She qualified for the Laurie Hernandez Champions Challenge the next day where she got 5th place All Around, and Laurie was there to give some pep talks to the gymnasts.  It was an amazing experience for both!

 

Susana Sandoval (Denver /Chicago/Los Angeles) – Won a Scholarship for her annual grantsmanship training (recertification).

 

Leonor Vargas (Austin, TX) -- This year, Wisdom En Familias LLC, was honored to collaborate with the Community Advancement Network to design and lead outreach for the bilingual mobile Mental Health Outreach Toolkit (Pathways to Mental Health Healing). This initiative was created to uplift and serve Spanish-speaking communities, addressing the urgent need for accessible mental health resources. With the steadfast support of our incredible partners—Southwest Key Programs, NAMI, our advisory group, and funders—we worked passionately to empower individuals and families. Through this effort, Wisdom En Familias delivered 53 presentations and reached 725 participants, offering knowledge, tools, and hope for healing.  (From Leonor: Mil gracias to everyone who contributed to this transformative work. Together, we are fostering stronger, healthier communities. Here’s to building on this important mission in 2025 and beyond!)

 

 

 

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COMADRE AUTHORS

 

Congratulations to our COMADRE AUTHORS for their latest publications.

 

 

 

 

NOVEMBER 2024

 

Nimia Maria Ramos Beauchamp (Bayamon, PR) –  Nimia and Kimia Shahrokhi, known for a series of coloring books as Drs. Kimia & Nimia, have new book available, AyurPermaVerse Coloring Book, based on Ayurveda, Permaculture, Botany principles for children from 5-14 but all ages can color!   

 

 

 

DECEMBER 2024

  

Anjanette Delgado (Florida) -- published a book this month with a small independent publisher in Puerto Rico. It's called El sexilio, mostly in Spanish, and talks about us women and how sometimes we are forced to exile because of the violence against the feminine. 

 

 

JANUARY 2025

 

Dr. Melba Salazar-Lucio (San Antonio, TX) – her memoir, WHERE I AM FROM, will be published by Storyworth.

 

Las Comadres Para Las Americas (Austin, TX) – published COOKING WITH LAS COMADRES cookbook.  60 Comadres contributed 130+ recipes from main dishes to soups to pastelones to surrollitos to carne guisada to flan to sangria to coquito.  This cookbook is a fundraiser for Las Comadres, all proceeds go to fund 2025 programs.  Order your copy here.  

 

  

Congratulations to all !  

LAS COMADRES & FRIENDS BOOK CLUB ANNOUNCES BOOKS FOR OCTOBER

 

Las Comadres & Friends Book Club is pleased to announce its October books:

 

 CRAFT: STORIES I WROTE FOR THE DEVIL by Ananda Lima (Tor Books) – intoxicating, imaginative and surreal fiction debut by award winning author.

 

CHICANO FRANKENSTEIN by Daniel A. Olivas (Forest Avenue Press) – a modern retelling of the Mary Shelley classic that addresses issues of belonging and assimilation.

For complete book summaries and author bios, visit our website at www.latinolit.com.

 

 

Save the date of Monday, October 28, 8pm ET, for the monthly teleconference with live interviews with the authors.   Register now and you may win a FREE BOOK:  https://latinolit.com/join-teleconference/

 

Subscribe to the Las Comadres YouTube Channel for more author interviews:  https://www.youtube.com/c/lascomadresparalasamericas

 

 

Happy Reading and Always Read Latino Lit!

 

 

LAS COMADRES CELEBRATES MEMBERS ACCOMPLISHMENTS & BOOK NEWS - AUG & SEPT

 

Congratulations to the following Comadres on their Accomplishments, and to 

Comadre Authors on their new books.   

 

 ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Cecilia Aragon (Seattle, WA) – Appeared on the CBS show MISSION UNSTOPPABLE, filmed in September 2024. Plus, Cecilia celebrated her 40th wedding anniversary in June! Cheers! 

Ileana Araguti (Beaumont, CA) – The Spanish version of her novel SHATTERED PARADISE is now available, PARAISO DESTROZADO.  Ileana is working on new novels and is looking for literary representation.

Andrea Arroyo (New York, NY) – Returned from exhibitions in Italy and France, and she invites Comadres to join her for the opening of her next solo show in NYC, "Faces & Façades," featuring a new series of paintings inspired by the women and architecture of Northern Manhattan. Please join her on October 19, 3-4:30pm, at the Morris-Jumel Mansion Museum. Free and open to all, no Rsvp needed: https://morrisjumel.org/exhibitions/faces-facades/

Gloria Chin (New York, NY) – Launched Synergy Strategy Group, a Strategic Communications and Public Relations Consultancy focused on uplifting minority and women owned businesses, non-profits and entrepreneurs. With nearly 10 years of television news experience in the #1 media market and 17 years of public relations counsel to c-suite leaders, city leaders, and 2 U.S. Mayors, I am looking to put this experience to use for my community. Adelante!

Diana Diaz (Hackensack, NJ) – After an impressive 25-year tenure of a prominent Bankruptcy Law Firm, serving as the Chief Operating Officer for the last 10- years, Diana took a bold step forward and resigned to pursue her passion for helping others. Shortly after, she founded her own Legal Research Bankruptcy Consultant Firm, and she is pursuing her dream of becoming an attorney, laying the foundation for her future law firm. Reflecting on her journey, Diana realized that fear was once her greatest adversary, holding her back from seizing opportunities. However, she has now conquered that fear, emerging more confident and determined than ever to continue her mission of uplifting the Hispanic community. This journey is not just a professional milestone; it’s a profound personal transformation that inspires her to forge ahead and make a lasting difference.

Nylda Dieppa (Orlando, FL) – Her book, ALBORADA /DAWN: A Cross-Cultural Memoir in Poetry has received an Honorable Mention award from the International Latino Book Awards in the Juan Felipe Herrera Best Poetry Book Award category. Nylda is proud to be in the company of Emanuel Xavier, one of three finalists in the same category and author of LOVE(LY) CHILD.  She interviewed him for the Las Comadres Book Club recently.

Laura Esparza (Austin, TX) – After retiring in March 2024, Laura founded a new foundation called A3, devoted to raising and distributing funding to individual artists, musicians, performers and other arts related contractors who offer their work to the Austin public for free.

Eris Garriga (New York, NY) – Has a new Spanish language book coming soon, AGUADILLA EN IMAGENES Y VERSOS.

Ana Gonzalez, OP (Boston, MA) – Is rocking Graduate School at Boston College and on track to graduate with her MA in Theology and Ministry with an emphasis in Latino Pastoral Ministry.

Raquel “Rachel” Moran Nevarez (Pharr, TX) – Won a Goodwill Scholarship from the Texas Association Court Administration (TACA) for continuing in Certification of Court Administration in the State of Texas for Certified Court Management.

Mireya Perez-Bustillo (Brooklyn, NY) -- Her poem, Going to the Mammos, was published in Brownstone Poets 2024 Anthology.

Mirta Rinaldi (Forest Hills, NY) – The company she works for, League of Kitchens, is publishing a cookbook that showcases her recipes, along with the recipes of her peers. We are proud and excited to introduce this collaborative book that allows us to share a little bit of our culture and favorite family recipes. We will have a book tour through the end of the year with a big launch event at the Invisible Dog Art Gallery in Cobble Hill on November 13th, 7pm, here in NYC. All Comadres and friends are welcomed to celebrate our book and taste eight of our instructors’ food!

Madeline Vega (Austin, TX) – Was interviewed by the University of Texas Austin Electrical and Computer Engineering department for Hispanic Heritage Month: https://www.ece.utexas.edu/news/alumni-profile-madeline-vega  

Desiree Zamorano (Altadena, CA) – Her book launch and profile appeared in Latinitas Magazine: https://latinitasmagazine.org/author-desiree-zamorano-releases-new-novel-dispossessed/

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COMADRE AUTHORS

 

Congratulations to our COMADRE AUTHORS for their latest publications.

 

AUGUST

Ileana Araguti (Beaumont, CA) – The Spanish version of her novel SHATTERED PARADISE is now available, PARAISO DESTROZADO from New Trends Press.

Sarah Bonamino (San Antonio, TX) – her book THE BORDER BETWEEN US, fiction, was published by Blackstone Publishing.  The book is also available in Spanish, LA FRONTERA ENTRE NOSOTROS.

Mireya Perez-Bustillo (Brooklyn, NY) -- Her poem, Going to the Mammos, was published in Brownstone Poets 2024 Anthology.

SEPTEMBER

Desiree Zamorano (Los Angeles, CA) – her book, DISPOSSESSED, a historical fiction novel, was published by Running Wild Press.

OCTOBER

Julia Amante (Inland Empire, CA) – her romance book, CHRISTMAS WITHOUT YOU, was published by Wise Writer Publishing.

Nimia Maria Ramos Beauchamp (Bayamon, PR) – self-published a games and puzzle book, COMBO X-WORD PUZZLE ALTERNATIVE HEALTH 2024.  Find out more here:  www.APYArte.com.

NOVEMBER

Deborah Nevarez-Vivolo (Placerville, CA) – her poetry appears in the INLANDIA: A LITERARY JOURNEY, published by Inlandia Institute.  Her flash fiction was published in last year’s WRITING FROM INLANDIA anthology.

Mirta Rinaldi (Forest Hills, NY) – her recipes appear in THE LEAGUE OF KITCHENS COOKBOOK from Harper Collins.

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL.

www.lascomadres.com