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Now I Surrender: A Novel
Álvaro Enrigue
Natasha Wimmer
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A woman’s desperate flight from an Apache raid unfolds into a sweeping tale of the Mexico–US border wars.
Orchestrated with a stunningly imagined cast of characters, both historical and purely fictional, Now I Surrender radically recasts the story of how the West was “won.” In the contested borderlands between Mexico and the United States, a woman flees into the desert after a devastating raid on her dead husband’s ranch. A lieutenant colonel in service to the fledgling Republic, sent in pursuit of cattle rustlers, discovers he’s on the trail of a more dramatic abduction.
Decades later, with political ambitions on the line, the American and Mexican militaries try to maneuver Geronimo, the most legendary of Apache warriors, into surrender. In our own day, a family travels through the region in search of a truer version of the past.
Part epic, part alt-Western, Now I Surrender is Álvaro Enrigue’s most expansive and impassioned novel yet. It weaves past and present, myth and history into a searing elegy for a way of life that was an incarnation of true liberty—and an homage to the spark in us that still thrills to its memory.
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Posts about this title from Bien Leidos
Bien Leidos\
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tomesandtextiles\
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• Apr 7
Happy Tuesday, mis internet amigxs,\
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Before I start with book news, I wanted to make sure you've all seen the terrible library news coming from this administration: 125,000 libraries have been defunded AGAIN by the Trump administration and it's up to you to take action. Also, while you're calling your reps, make sure to tell them to vote NO on HR 7661, the national book ban.\
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We had such a lovely chat with Alvaro last night. For those that missed it, it was recorded and will be up soon.\
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We're currently reading The House of the Spirits this month. It's not too late to join us on Discord ahead of the Amazon Prime series premier on April 29th.\
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Everyone Who Is Gone is Here is our nonfiction pick that we're finishing up this month. You can check out our most recent update of book club selections in this post.\
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But for now, on to this week's Latine releases...\
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ROMANCE \
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How To Fake A Southern Gentleman by Mayra Cuevas and Marie Marquardt (Audiobook)\
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More Like Enemigas by Stephanie Hope (Audiobook) \
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PICTURE BOOK \
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Lucia's Goals by Angela Quezada Padron and illustrated by Christina Barragan Forshay\
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POETRY: April is National Poetry Month \
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Against Breaking: On The Power Of Poetry by Ada Limon (Audiobook) \
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Visitations by Julia Alvarez (Audiobook) \
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xoxo,\
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Carmen
WEEKLY NEWSLETTER: April 7th Latine Book Releases
8 books
9
Bien Leidos\
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tomesandtextiles\
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• Apr 4
Happy Saturday, mis internet amigxs,\
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I had a lot to say on Friday when I reviewed Now I Surrender on Friday, so today's opening will be relatively short. Reminder that we'll be chatting with Alvaro Enrigue on Monday night in lieu of the first hour of sprints. The link to join is here.\
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We're currently reading The House of the Spirits this month and it's not too late to join us on Discord ahead of the Amazon Prime series premier on April 29th. I have some news regarding the book that I cannot wait to tell you....\
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But for now, on to this week's Latine releases...\
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ROMANCE \
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How To Fake A Southern Gentleman by Mayra Cuevas and Marie Marquardt (Audiobook) Contemporary rom-com retelling of My Fair Lady taking place within the halls of a southern \
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More Like Enemigas by Stephanie Hope (Audiobook) Queer romance debut--heartfelt sapphic rivals to lovers romance with wedding hijinx, family secrets, and tons of spark featuring Cuban representation\
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PICTURE BOOK \
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Lucia's Goals by Angela Quezada Padron and illustrated by Christina Barragan Forshay: bilingual picture book about a young girl who's determined to prove everyone wrong that says girls aren't supposed to play soccer. Just in time for World Cup fever.\
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POETRY \
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Against Breaking: On The Power Of Poetry by Ada Limon (Audiobook) a timely and beautiful reflection from the 24th poet laureate of the United States, Limon, about the healing power of poetry.\
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Visitations by Julia Alvarez (Audiobook) Great Dominican writer, Alvarez, returns to her great love, poetry, to examine everything from her childhood to her later, "silver" years.\
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xoxo,\
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Carmen
EXCLUSIVE NEWSLETTER: April 7th Latine Book Releases
7 books
1
Bien Leidos\
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tomesandtextiles\
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• Apr 3
Good afternoon, mis internet amigxs,\
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We're chatting with Alvaro on Monday night about Now I Surrender, but we're in the midst of our spoilery discussion of Now I Surrender today on Discord. I'd meant to record a video on my thoughts to submit to book reviews, but since losing Veela on Monday, I haven't felt up for being in front of the camera. So today is a first for Bien Leidos: I'm sharing all the notes I've written down (warning: some are spoilery thoughts) about Now I Surrender and also a bibliography I developed from Alvaro's acknowledgements and personal lore below:\
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Literary fiction that comes with a bibliography can be a blessing or a curse. It can ask too much of the reader, dragging down the action of the story. But how many facts tips fiction towards nonfiction? Does a zealous love of history make historical fiction inaccessible or boring for the reader? I've seen a number of takes like this about Now I Surrender this month and it's been so interesting because if this was a more familiar history, would readers have felt the same way? I know for me, I always approach historical fiction as a student and luckily for me, Alvaro is a professor who shares the books he references openly not just in his text but in his acknowledgements. We have a full bibliography to pull from and his references lead me down a mini 2-book rabbit hole after I finished my reread on audio (see below).\
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This small literary detour made big changes in my perspective of the book. For example, when I originally read the opening of the book, it struck me as an anxious and self-aware author pretending he was the biblical god in the book of Genesis, creating the world they were introducing to us. I thought it was a clever, self-depricating device that delivered this work of fiction to the reader, reminding us that Alvaro is the person creating the story, but also as a way of injecting himself into the story, which he would do time and again throughout the novel.\
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However, when I read Geronimo: In His Own Words, I realized the opening of Now I Surrender was actually a reference to how Geronimo's autobiography begins:\
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"In the beginning the world was covered with darkness. There was no sun, no day. The perpetual night had no moon or stars."\
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versus Now I Surrender:\
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"In the beginning, things appear. Writing is a defiant gesture we've long since gotten used to: where there was nothing, somebody put something, and now everybody sees it."\
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I'm pretty sure there are many, many references like this I would never get in Now I Surrender, but for what Alvaro delivered, I appreciated both what this book was on its face, what it tried to teach the reader about this often overlooked part of history, usually swept aside and whitewashed not just by history books, but also in media. His focus on making the borderlands complicated, messy and multifaceted both in its population and history is greatly appreciated by this student of history.\
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Whether you get the references or not, Alvaro makes the setting, place, and people fully developed elements of the story. You can see the landscape, mountains, feel the heat and dustiness of the desert. Janos is a footnote of a town. You travel through the desert side-by-side with Camila. Geronimo is much, much more than the chief of the Chiricahua Apache. American and Mexican bureaucracy is desultory and ineffectual. You also felt the dizzying grief of surrender but not defeat.\
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I'm never sure whether to greet Alvaro's absurdity with laughter or tears. He has this penchant for writing about these unbelievably sad turning points in history and making the details funny while talking about the last of something: in the case of Geronimo, the last to surrender. You could tell Alvaro truly admires Geronimo as a person, warrior, leader, legend and wanted the reader to come out of the book with some semblance of his respect. Alvaro taught me more about Geronimo than any history class I had in school.\
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I am the first to admit that I do not gravitate towards women written by men, but I was pretty awestruck in the way Camila was developed: from a nameless, fearful woman fleeing to a strong and extremely competent Chiricahua wife telling Zuloaga how things were going to be. Quite honestly, I was suspect when she first appeared on the page, but she became central to the story and was the vessel through which timelines are revealed--because it DID take me a while to realize that Geronimo's timeline was decades after hers--but she was also far more important than the opening of the novel appeared to make her. The revelation of who she was to Geronimo was bittersweet in many ways and I loved how it tied to all the lore of Mangas Coloradas, Cochise and Geronimo and their joint lineage together.\
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Alvaro certainly had more runway to write than in his previous ones and I loved that he included epistolary elements such as interviews and telegrams to set the political stage of Geronimo's surrender. He made politicians and soldiers farces for their participation in the decimation of indigenous peoples. He dehumanized the colonizers through their bureaucracy and I was cheering him on for that type of intellectual humiliation.\
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I found the distinction, or lack of distinction, between the Mexican government and the US government so interesting. I also thought the reasoning the Chiriacahua chose to surrender to the US was absolutely fascinating. You so rarely hear the perspective of the Mexican government's treatment of indigenous peoples. Again, I learned so much from this book, and I was so grateful for the lesson, although I do understand that historical fiction isn't here to necessarily teach us, but it can be the beginning of understanding a moment in history.\
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I personally believe that the key to enjoying an Alvaro book is if you can read the first line and last line in a row and you not only does your jaw drop from the way they're connected, but find that you enjoyed the journey between them satisfying. He lands a last line like gymnast hurtling towards a perfect landing on the vault that gets 10s across the board. Now I Surrender is all 10s for me.\
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READING JOURNEY \
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As I mentioned, Now I Surrender lead me down a path, so here's my reading journey and why I followed up with these books:\
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Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli: Fun fact for the chismosas, Valieria is Alvaro's ex-wife and this book is her perspective on the real-life trip Alvaro took with his family from NYC to Arizona to research Now I Surrender. This is a fictionalization as well, so obviously not all fact, but this was an interesting foil to how the road trip was presented in Now I Surrender. Read this if you're into he-said-she-said.\
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Geronimo: In His Own Words as told to JM Barrett: It was so fascinating to hear Gernonimo's story and perspective as was told to Barrett. Again, he's a historical figure I'm not super familiar with, so it was fascinating to hear the cadence of his words and storytelling.\
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Here are others referenced in the acknowledgements for those that want to continue to learn:\
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If you made it all the way here, thank you so much for your attention. I'm curious what you thought about Now I Surrender and if I said anything in the review that made you want to pick it up.\
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xoxo,\
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Carmen
Now I Surrender Review + Book Recs
3 books
7
3
Bien Leidos\
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tomesandtextiles\
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• Apr 1
[Good morning, mis internet amigxs,\
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Apologies the link is a bit late, but we'll be chatting with Alvaro Enrigue on Monday, April 6th at 8:00 PM EST in lieu of our early sprints. The link for the chat is below. I ask that you DO NOT SHARE the link, as our chat with Alvaro is for Bindery subscribers only. In addition, since the chat will be recorded, please mute yourselves and turn off video before joining the chat.\
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Topic: Bien Leidos Author Chat with Alvaro Enrigue\
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Time: Apr 6, 2026 08:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)\
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Join Zoom Meeting\
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https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83432287765?pwd=a5atXzvCQ072Xi7i90zPKrQKajA7K8.1\\
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Meeting ID: 834 3228 7765\
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Passcode: 230846\
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- *\
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One tap mobile\
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+13052241968,,83432287765#,,,,*230846# US\
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+13017158592,,83432287765#,,,,*230846# US (Washington DC)\
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Join instructions\
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https://us06web.zoom.us/meetings/83432287765/invitations?signature=NscYey0S6T-YXYtmrydX8H7wUOpclMSOIH3y7hhbV8I](https://bien-leidos.binderybooks.com/item/kRsHi7iruck9l7947jS7/)
Alvaro Enrigue Author Chat Link
1 book
6
2
Bien Leidos\
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tomesandtextiles\
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• Mar 17
Happy Tuesday, mis internet amigxs,\
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A quick introduction to the 1 Latine releases this week. Paid subscribers received all the remaining March Latine releases on my radar as well as an in-depth update on what's going on in the background with me including some future plans. It's never too late to become a paid subscriber and get Bien Leidos news first!\
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BIEN LEIDOS BOOK CLUB & DISCORD UPDATES\
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WE HAVE MODS! After a short application process, I have added 5 moderators to help me continue to make our Discord safe and fun space to talk books, life, hobbies, and more. Be on the lookout to improvements and changes to your Discord experience!\
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Already mentioned on Discord, but I wanted to give you a quick heads up to expect The Intrigue by Silvia Moreno-Garcia as our August book club pick. She mentioned this week on Threads that when she writes outside of horror/fantasy genres, her numbers aren't as strong. I've fallen off my SMG train a bit with everything going on in the world, so I wanted to remind you that The Intrigue releases July 14th. You can pre-order on Bookshop or LibroFM.\
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We will be voting on upcoming June and July picks, but here are upcoming book club selections so you can get your TBR in order.\
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FICTION\
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March: Now I Surrender by Alvaro Enrigue and translated by Natasha Wimmer (we will be chatting with Alvaro on Monday, April 6th in lieu of sprints at 8:00 PM--invite to register will go out soon)\
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April: The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende\
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May: Asiri and the Amaru by Natalia Hernandez\
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June: TBD -- will be voting on Discord soon\
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July: TBD -- will be voting on Discord soon\
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August: The Intrigue by Silvia Moreno-Garcia\
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NONFICTION\
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March - April: Everyone Who Is Gone is Here by Jonathan Blitzer\
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May - June: Accordion Eulogies by Noe Alvarez\
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I'll do a formal post updating all our upcoming reads, but wanted you to have the latest list of upcoming reads.\
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And now on to this week's release!\
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ROMANTASY \
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Daughter of the Hunt by K. Arsenault Rivera (Audiobook) Retelling of Iphigenia and Artemis myth from Puerto Rican Romantasy author, Rivera. Second book in the Oath of Fire series.\
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xoxo,\
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Carmen
WEEKLY NEWSLETTER: March 17th Latine Releases
4 books
6
Bien Leidos\
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tomesandtextiles\
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• Mar 10
Happy Tuesday, mis internet amigxs!\
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I have been so behind this week due to a family emergency earlier in the week and I can't seem to catch up. I want to apologize for this brief introduction this week, but hopefully some of the news I'm sharing with you will help assuage my brevity here.\
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HOUSE OF THE SPIRITS GIVEAWAY \
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As you're all aware, we're reading The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende in April ahead of the Spanish-language release of the show on April 29th. I posted an amazing giveaway yesterday for 5 copies of the Everyman's Library hardcover edition of the book AND an Out Of Print t-shirt that features the original cover! You can enter to win on the PRH website .\
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MARCH BOOK CLUB REMINDER \
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The second week in March is not to late to join us on Discord for book club! Our fiction pick is Now I Surrender by Alvaro Enrigue (we just voted in Discord for a chat date and the announcement will be announced this week) and our nonfiction sidequest read is Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here by Jonathan Blitzer. There are also several unofficial buddy reads going on as well. If you've been hesitant to join, now is the perfect time! You can check out ALL our official upcoming picks in this IG carousel if you want to begin planning your TBR for more Latine reads.\
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And now, on to this week's releases...\
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ROMANCE \
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The Starter Ex by Mia Sosa\
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Second Chance Duet by Anna Holguin (Audiobook)\
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HISTORICAL \
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Frida's Cook by Florencia Etcheves (Audiobook)\
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HORROR \
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You Should Have Been Nicer to My Mom V. E. Tirado (Audiobook)\
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Cabaret In Flames by Hache Pueyo\
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MIDDLE GRADE \
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No Way Never Sisters by Natalia Sylvester & Chantel Acevedo (Audiobook)\
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Mystery on Macaw Mountain by María José Fitzgerald (Audiobook)\
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Queso, Just In Time by Ernesto Cisneros (Audiobook)\
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xoxo,\
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Carmen
WEEKLY NEWSLETTER: March 10th Latine Book Releases
12 books
8
Bien Leidos\
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tomesandtextiles\
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• Mar 3
[Happy Tuesday, mis internet amigxs,\
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A nationwide book ban has been proposed by the House of Representatives targeting LGBTQ+ books. Action items can be found on Instagram and Tik Tok. Further news and action items coming this week.\
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The world is feeling HEAVY right now, so I wanted to bask in a moment of Latine bookish joy with you and tell you about upcoming March 3rd Latine releases, before that, I wanted to begin with a GIVEAWAY.\
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Our March book club selection, Now I Surrender by Alvaro Enrigue, releases TODAY and I've got ONE MORE HARDCOVER COPY UP FOR GRABS EXCLUSIVELY FOR ANYONE WHO LIKES AND COMMENTS ON THIS POST (US address only). If you're a Librito or Lector member, you have another chance at another copy here. I'll email the winner on Wednesday and you'll have 24 hours to get me your mailing address to claim your book!\
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Also, reminder that our non-fiction sidequest read March through April is Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here by Jonathan Blitzer (audiobook). Several people who have the paperback have mentioned that the font is VERY small, so if you have vision issues or don't like to read small font, please keep that in mind.\
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This is a busy week of releases so let's get on with the show...\
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TRANSLATED LITERARY FICTION & MARCH BOOK CLUB PICK \
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Now I Surrender by Alvaro Enrigue and translated by Natasha Wimmer (Audiobook) \
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Diorama by Carol Bensimon and translated by Zoe Perry and Julia Sanches (Audiobook) \
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YOUNG ADULT FICTION \
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Estela, Undrowning by Rene Pena-Govea (audiobook) \
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If We Never End by Laura Taylor Namey (audiobook) \
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BILINGUAL PICTURE BOOK \
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Gooool! A Bilingual Book Of Soccer by Mike Alfaro and illustrated by Gerardo Guillen: \
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NONFICTION\
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Red Stones: A graphic account of the Salvadoran Civil War by Ernesto Saade: \
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El Paso: Five Families and One Hundred Years of Blood, Migration, Race, and Memory by Jazmine Ulloa (Audiobook) \
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AUDIOBOOK RELEASE FOR GRAPHIC NOVEL \
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How to Say Goodbye in Cuban by Daniel Miyares (audiobook) \
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xoxo,\
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Carmen](https://bien-leidos.binderybooks.com/item/aE9idlzgVPgBM2TEd8UG/)
WEEKLY NEWSLETTER: March 3rd Latine Book Releases + GIVEAWAY
8 books
21
11
Bien Leidos\
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tomesandtextiles\
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• Feb 28
[Happy Saturday, mis internet amigxs,\
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A nationwide book ban has been proposed by the House of Representatives targeting LGBTQ+ books. Action items can be found on Instagram and Tik Tok. Further news and action items coming this week.\
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The world is feeling HEAVY right now, so I wanted to bask in a moment of Latine bookish joy with you and tell you about upcoming March 3rd Latine releases, plus I wanted to begin with a GIVEAWAY.\
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Our March book club selection, Now I Surrender by Alvaro Enrigue, releases on Tuesday and I've got ONE MORE HARDCOVER COPY UP FOR GRABS EXCLUSIVELY FOR ANYONE WHO LIKES AND COMMENTS ON THIS POST (US address only). I'll email the winner on Wednesday and you'll have 24 hours to get me your mailing address via reply to my email! You will have a chance at a second copy in a larger poll of entrants on Tuesday's release day blog post.\
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Also, reminder that our non-fiction sidequest read March through April is Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here by Jonathan Blitzer (audiobook). Several people who have the paperback have mentioned that the font is VERY small, so if you have vision issues or don't like to read small font, please keep that in mind.\
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This is a busy week of releases so let's get on with the show...\
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TRANSLATED LITERARY FICTION & MARCH BOOK CLUB PICK \
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Now I Surrender by Alvaro Enrigue and translated by Natasha Wimmer (Audiobook) Alt-Western historical fiction taking place in multiple timelines from multiple POV's about how the West was "won" Revolutionary, in only a way Alvaro can write. Can not way to discuss with you on Discord. We start chatting on March4th!\
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Diorama by Carol Bensimon and translated by Zoe Perry and Julia Sanches (Audiobook) Brazillian translated literary fiction about Cecília reexamines the case of a close family friend killed by a colleague and rival: her father, after many years trying to outrun her past.\
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YOUNG ADULT FICTION \
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Estela, Undrowning by Rene Pena-Govea (audiobook) Estela Morales navigates her struggles with anxiety, eviction, and both external and internalized racism as she attends one of San Francisco’s most exclusive high schools.\
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If We Never End by Laura Taylor Namey (audiobook) I'll never NOT celebrate an exlusive limited hardcover for a Latine book!!!! Cuban-American Namey brings us a spec romance about a girl who winds an enchanted watch and a boy appears who has no idea who he is or how he died\
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BILINGUAL PICTURE BOOK \
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Gooool! A Bilingual Book Of Soccer by Mike Alfaro and illustrated by Gerardo Guillen: Just in time for the World Cup!\
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NONFICTION\
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Red Stones: A graphic account of the Salvadoran Civil War by Ernesto Saade: Saade documents how in 1981, the Salvadoran Civil War reached Miriam's village of Santa Marta and what occurred.\
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El Paso: Five Families and One Hundred Years of Blood, Migration, Race, and Memory by Jazmine Ulloa (Audiobook) From a New York Times reporter, this sweeping human history of El Paso reveals the violence, power, and privilege at play in America’s most famous border town.\
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AUDIOBOOK RELEASE FOR GRAPHIC NOVEL \
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How to Say Goodbye in Cuban by Daniel Miyares (audiobook) Audiobook release of the graphic novel detailing the dramatic coming-of-age graphic novel memoir of 12-year-old Carlos (who would grow up to become the author’s father), his life during the Cuban Revolution, and his family’s harrowing escape to America.\
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xoxo,\
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Carmen](https://bien-leidos.binderybooks.com/item/JKkNiTVEmo4MiRYk5J16/)
EXCLUSIVE NEWSLETTER: March 3rd Latine Book Releases
8 books
7
4
Bien Leidos\
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tomesandtextiles\
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• Feb 24
Happy Tuesday, mis internet amigxs!\
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February 28th is the last day to post your #MeltIceBookStack on Instagram! I encourage you to do the same to help raise funds for Minneapolis. Your stack can help raise necessary funds for mutual aid to assist those in immediate need.\
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I have a few book club and Discord announcements before we get to this week's releases...\
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BIEN LEIDOS BOOK CLUB \
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All the winners of the Now I Surrender giveaway have been contacted via their Bindery email. As a reminder, since the book doesn't release until March 3rd, we won't be opening up discussion on Discord until the 4th. Our chat will be spoiler-free throughout the month, as per usual, so feel free to jump in as soon as you receive your copy. Also, we WILL be chatting with Alvaro again! I'm currently talking to his team to confirm availability and will more than likely poll in Discord, if you want to have a say in those dates.\
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March 1st also begins our nonfiction sidequest, Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here by Johnathan Blitzer. We'll be reading through the end of April, so feel free to join us whenever you want in the next couple of months. There is a possiblity we'll be chatting with Johnathan. I'm in talks with his team to see if schedules align.\
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I'll be posting polls this week in Discord for spoilery book club discussions of Sparks Fly and Racial Innocence.\
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April and May fiction book club selections have been finalized. Watch this space for some exciting giveaways and announcements coming up very soon!\
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COMING UP THIS WEEK ON DISCORD \
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Discord has voted and the 4th Wednesday of every month will be Sticker/Journal night. Name for this monthly event is pending, but for the time being it's Chaos: A Love Story. If you're into journaling, pens, stickers, this is a fun night on Discord where you can share your newest stickers, journal spreads, pens, etc...\
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*THIS WEEK'S LATINE'S RELEASES* \
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We've got a massive selection of Latine books releasing this week, so let's get to them!\
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HISTORICAL FICTION \
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The Other Moctezuma Girls by Sofia Robleda\
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TRANSLATED FICTION \
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Technology and Barbarism: or how billionaires will save us from the end of the world by Michel Nieva and translated by Rahul Bery and Daniel Hahn\
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The Invisible Years by Rodrigo Hasbun and translated by Lily Meyer (Audiobook) \
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I Give You My Silence by Mario Vargas Llosa and Translated by Adrian Nathan West\
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NONFICTION \
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Tumbleweed Underworld: A Saga of Morphine and Mayhem in the Arizona Territory by Eduardo Obregón Pagán\
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CHILDREN’S \
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La Golondrina by Sonia De Los Santos and Illustrated by Teresa Martínez\
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ROMANCE \
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The Hope Once Lost by Ambar Cordova\
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xoxo,\
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Carmen
February 24th Latine Book Releases
9 books
1
Bien Leidos\
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tomesandtextiles\
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• Feb 18
Good morning, Bien Leidos!\
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I wanted to announce the winner of our April book club poll as well as let you know some changes to upcoming book club selections--it'll just be a change in reading order versus changing books, though so keep reading!\
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So the winner of our April fantasy pick was Asiri and the Amaru by Natalia Hernandez! As I was putting together the post, I saw Isabel Allende's Instagram post that La Casa De Los Espiritu Spanish language television adaptation would be releasing on April 29th on Prime. For our Bien Leidos 2 year anniversary, I'd been planning to select a classic of Latine literature to read in May. In fact, I was going to be putting up a poll today, but this announcement made the answer clear to me (as did a 4 hour poll I put up on Discord--YOU REALLY NEED TO JOIN IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY), so what I did was switch up the order of our book club reads for April and May. I'll be posting the announcements in a bit on social media, but I wanted to deliver the announcements exclusively to you first.\
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I also wanted to remind you that we're still reading Sparks Fly this month so it's not too late to join! I'll be putting up a poll today to schedule our spoilery chat early in March.\
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Also, our March pick is Now I Surrender by Alvaro Enrigue. It releases March 3rd, so we'll get started with our chat a little bit later in the month since this is a new release. And in case you haven't entered, I have a MASSIVE 15 BOOK GIVEAWAY FOR NOW I SURRENDER up that ends tomorrow!\
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I am very much looking forward to reading all these books with you! Thank you for being a part of this amazing community!\
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xoxo,\
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Carmen
April + May Bien Leidos Book Club Polls Result
4 books
12
2
Bien Leidos\
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tomesandtextiles\
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• Feb 17
BIEN LEIDOS BOOK CLUB: MARCH ANNOUCEMENT Thanks to @Riverhead Books for supporting this giveaway
BIEN LEIDOS BOOK CLUB: MARCH ANNOUCEMENT Thanks to @Riverhead Books for supporting this giveaway SYNOPSIS OF NOW I SURRENDER BU ALVARO ENRIGUE A woman’s desperate flight from an Apache raid unfolds into a sweeping tale of the Mexico–US border wars. Orchestrated with a stunningly imagined cast of characters, both historical and purely fictional, Now I Surrender radically recasts the story of how the West was “won.” In the contested borderlands between Mexico and the United States, a woman flees into the desert after a devastating raid on her dead husband’s ranch. A lieutenant colonel in service to the fledgling Republic, sent in pursuit of cattle rustlers, discovers he’s on the trail of a more dramatic abduction. Decades later, with political ambitions on the line, the American and Mexican militaries try to maneuver Geronimo, the most legendary of Apache warriors, into surrender. In our own day, a family travels through the region in search of a truer version of the past. Part epic, part alt-Western, Now I Surrender is Álvaro Enrigue’s most expansive and impassioned novel yet. It weaves past and present, myth and history into a searing elegy for a way of life that was an incarnation of true liberty—and an homage to the spark in us that still thrills to its memory. #booktokfyp #readlatinxbooks #bienleidos #tomesandtextiles
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• Feb 17
[Happy Tuesday, mis internet amigxs!\
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Before I get to today's releases, I wanted to update you on a few things.\
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I posted my #MeltIceBookStack this week and I encourage you to do the same to help raise funds for Minneapolis. While the news has been lauding ICE pulling back, news on the ground is dire. Your stack can help raise necessary funds for mutual aid to assist those in need.\
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Thank you all so much for your support with the announcement last week that I was accepted into the News Creator Corps Trusted Creators Spring Fellowship! Classes begin next week. I can't wait to share more with you.\
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DEADLINE TO VOTE FOR APRIL BOOK CLUB SELECTION IS TONIGHT! \
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As a reminder, you have until TONIGHT to get your vote in for our April book club selection. Our genre is FANTASY for April. You can vote on Bindery and on Discord. So far, the results are slightly different on both platforms, so if you feel strongly about a particular choice, then get your votes in on both platforms before the deadline!\
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ESPERANZA HOPE SNYDER AUTHOR CHAT REPLAY IS LIVE \
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For those that missed the author chat last week with Esperanza Hope Snyder, here the link to the unlisted YouTube recording of our chat in case you want to check it out.\
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GIVEAWAY FOR MARCH BOOK CLUB SELECTION: NOW I SURRENDER BY ALVARO ENRIGUE \
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NOW I SURRENDER GIVEAWAY! I have 10 physical copies and 4 audiobooks of April Bien Leidos book club pick, Now I Surrender by Alvaro Enrigue, up for grabs for ALL BINDERY SUBSCRIBERS. (Lectores and Libritos members, you have an additional chance to win 1 audiobook and 5 copies in this post where the pool of entrants is significantly smaller). This giveaway is US only.\
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TO ENTER: Just like this post and let me know in the comments whether you prefer a physical or audiobook copy. I'll pick a winner on Thursday, February 19th.\
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Quick note on a February 10th release I forgot to mention: Celestial Monsters by Aiden Thomas released on paperback last week!\
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And, finally, on to this week's releases...\
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ROMANCE \
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The Ex-Perimento by Marla J. Morillo (Audiobook) \
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NONFICTION \
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Citizenship: Notes on An American Myth by Daisy Hernandez (Audiobook) \
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Devout: Losing My Faith to Find Myself by David Archuleta (Audiobook) \
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xo,\
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Carmen](https://bien-leidos.binderybooks.com/item/CTHHnVW1HFYRibb7iotm/)
WEEKLY NEWSLETTER: February 17th Latine Book Releases
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• Jan 8
My most anticipated 2026 Latine Releases
Part 1 of my most anticipated Latine book releases in which I go through my upcoming ARC reads -- part of my January challenge to post every single day of January 2026
Latine Book Bingo Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb1hMhuel1I&t=698s
Latine Book Bingo Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crIo3beKmaE&t=107s
WHERE ELSE TO FIND ME
Join Bien Leidos Book Club by joining my Bindery: https://bien-leidos.binderybooks.com/
Find me everywhere else: https://linktr.ee/tomesandtextiles
Books mentioned in this video:
The Intrigue: https://bookshop.org/a/1421/9780593874356
Now I Surrender: https://bookshop.org/a/1421/9780593084076
Estella, Undrowning: https://bookshop.org/a/1421/9780063429956
Carnival Fantastico: https://bookshop.org/a/1421/9798217024469
The Ex-Perimento: https://bookshop.org/a/1421/9780593955246
Apparitions: https://bookshop.org/a/1421/9781917260183
Pedro The Vast: https://bookshop.org/a/1421/9781643757100
X Is Where I Am: https://bookshop.org/a/1421/9781917260206
The Lust Crusade: https://bookshop.org/a/1421/9780593953280
Few Blue Skies: https://bookshop.org/a/1421/9780063287914
The Magic of Untamed Hearts: https://bookshop.org/a/1421/9780593952481
If We Never End: https://bookshop.org/a/1421/9781547618057
Keeper of My Kin: https://bookshop.org/a/1421/9781668025659
What Lies Beneath The Flowers: https://bookshop.org/a/1421/9780593124345
Only Friends: https://bookshop.org/a/1421/9781668098066
Opening credits illustrated and animated by the extremely talented Manuela Guillén: https://www.instagram.com/lazybeamarte/
#booktube #latinxbooks
15 books
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tomesandtextiles\
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• Jan 4
DAY 3 POSTING CHALLENGE: 2026 Latine Book Bingo Book Recommendations Part 1
25 Latine book recommendations to help you fill Bien Leidos Book Club bingo card! I take you through the first half of the bingo card with my recs for each.
BOOKS MENTIONED IN THIS VIDEO:
Orange Wine (Ebook is currently $3.99): https://bookshop.org/a/1421/9781964721354
Our Share of Night: https://bookshop.org/a/1421/9780451495150
My Train Leaves at Three: https://bookshop.org/a/1421/9780593977330
This Is The Only Kingdom: https://bookshop.org/a/1421/9781616209148
Gods of Jade and Shadow: https://bookshop.org/a/1421/9780525620778
The Sun And The Void: https://bookshop.org/a/1421/9780316336543
The Ex-Perimento: https://bookshop.org/a/1421/9780593955246
The Unworthy: https://bookshop.org/a/1421/978166805188
La Lucha: https://bookshop.org/a/1421/9781917260169
Middle spoon: https://bookshop.org/a/1421/9780593835173
When the Tides Held the Moon: https://bookshop.org/a/1421/9781645661535
Haunting in Hialeah Gardens: https://bookshop.org/a/1421/9780593472132
Now I Surrender: https://bookshop.org/a/1421/9780593084076
Estella, Undrowning: https://bookshop.org/a/1421/9780063429956
We Are Green and Trembling: https://bookshop.org/a/1421/9780811238618
Posession of Alba Diaz: https://bookshop.org/a/1421/9780593641071
Thirst: https://bookshop.org/a/1421/9780593472088
Poppy State: https://bookshop.org/a/1421/9781643265148
The Man Who Could Move Clouds: https://bookshop.org/a/1421/9780593311165
Salvacion: https://bookshop.org/a/1421/9781250895080
Death Takes Me: https://bookshop.org/a/1421/9780593737002
These Vengeful Gods: https://bookshop.org/a/1421/9780593898123
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• Nov 25 2025
Weekly reading update
Weekly reading update #novemberreading #currentlyreading #avidreader #bienleidos #tomesandtextiles
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• Nov 17 2025
November Week 2 Reading Progress
November Week 2 reading was immensely enjoyable #novemberreading #latinxbooks #nonfictionbooktok #bienleidos #tomesandtextiles
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• Nov 5 2025
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Remember when I revealed this cover back in August? Alvaro Enrigue's epic alt-Western, Now I Surrender, translated by Natasha Wimmer, is one of my most anticipated releases of 2026 and I hope to make it one of yours, as well! I've included the full synopsis at the bottom of this post for you to check out.\
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Thanks to Riverhead Books for partnering with me for this giveaway, Bien Leidos Bindery Subscribers can exclusively enter to win one of THREE advanced reader copies of Now I Surrender!!!\
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All you have to do is--\
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- Be following Bien Leidos at any level on Bindery\
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- Comment below if you have a favorite Alvaro Enrigue book or if this will be your first one\
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- Have a US address to mail the book\
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Winners will be notified on Monday, November 10th. Good luck to all those entering!\
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Including a pre-order link below as well!\
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SYNOPSIS \
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A woman’s desperate flight from an Apache raid unfolds into a sweeping tale of the Mexico–US border wars.\
\
Orchestrated with a stunningly imagined cast of characters, both historical and purely fictional, Now I Surrender radically recasts the story of how the West was “won.” In the contested borderlands between Mexico and the United States, a woman flees into the desert after a devastating raid on her dead husband’s ranch. A lieutenant colonel in service to the fledgling Republic, sent in pursuit of cattle rustlers, discovers he’s on the trail of a more dramatic abduction. Decades later, with political ambitions on the line, the American and Mexican militaries try to maneuver Geronimo, the most legendary of Apache warriors, into surrender. In our own day, a family travels through the region in search of a truer version of the past.\
\
Part epic, part alt-Western, Now I Surrender is Álvaro Enrigue’s most expansive and impassioned novel yet. It weaves past and present, myth and history into a searing elegy for a way of life that was an incarnation of true liberty—and an homage to the spark in us that still thrills to its memory.](https://bien-leidos.binderybooks.com/item/jHwP8LKOTDrYwPyIzKrJ/)
Win an ARC of Now I Surrender by Alvaro Enrigue
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Posts about this book from across Bindery
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• Apr 12
Join for free
EARLY ACCESS: Reading Update & Bookstore Profits for March
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• Apr 4
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Sunny's Book Club: Now I Surrender by Álvaro Enrigue
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• Apr 3
Now I Surrender Review + Book Recs
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• Apr 1
Alvaro Enrigue Author Chat Link
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• Mar 17
WEEKLY NEWSLETTER: March 17th Latine Releases
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• Mar 10
WEEKLY NEWSLETTER: March 10th Latine Book Releases
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• Mar 3
Join for free
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Join for free or login](https://shesbecomingbookish.binderybooks.com/item/Ap6VChjEfhHPDOLFWjxa/)
Open for New Releases: The Best March 2026 Historical Fiction Releases
Historical fiction fans beware…this list of books will destroy your TBR!
In this video, I’m breaking down the most anticipated March 2026 historical fiction releases.
29 books
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• Mar 3
WEEKLY NEWSLETTER: March 3rd Latine Book Releases + GIVEAWAY
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• Feb 28
EXCLUSIVE NEWSLETTER: March 3rd Latine Book Releases
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• Feb 24
February 24th Latine Book Releases
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• Feb 18
April + May Bien Leidos Book Club Polls Result
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• Feb 17
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• Feb 17
WEEKLY NEWSLETTER: February 17th Latine Book Releases
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Sunny's Book Truck\
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CJ\
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• Jan 31
Join for free
Poll:\
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March Book Club\
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Friends! Enemies! Everyone in between!\
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I hope you're all doing as best as you can be and taking care of yourselves. It's time to vote for the March book club!\
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A woman’s desperate flight from an Apache raid unfolds into a sweeping tale of the Mexico–US border wars.\
\
Orchestrated with a stunningly imagined cast of characters, both historical and purely fictional, Now I Surrender radically recasts the story of how the West was “won.” In the contested borderlands between Mexico and the United States, a woman flees into the desert after a devastating raid on her dead husband’s ranch. A lieutenant colonel in service to the fledgling Republic, sent in pursuit of cattle rustlers, discovers he’s on the trail of a more dramatic abduction. Decades later, with political ambitions on the line, the American and Mexican militaries try to maneuver Geronimo, the most legendary of Apache warriors, into surrender. In our own day, a family travels through the region in search of a truer version of the past.\
\
Part epic, part alt-Western, Now I Surrender is Álvaro Enrigue’s most expansive and impassioned novel yet. It weaves past and present, myth and history into a searing elegy for a way of life that was an incarnation of true liberty—and an homage to the spark in us that still thrills to its memory.\
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An award-winning international author’s stunning US debut about two estranged friends who are forced to reunite over one feverish weekend and reckon with the choices that tore them apart.\
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A decade has passed since Ava spoke to Aliya. During the years of silence, Ava's life has remained at a standstill, while Aliya got the one thing they both wanted more than anything: a book deal. Forced back together at a mutual friend’s bachelorette in London, Ava returns to Aliya’s doorstep, desperate to unpack the truth of their shared history—and what they meant to each other.\
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When the two first met in the halls of their historic campus, their connection was electric. Aliya and Ava created a world of their own through the stories they wrote, influencing and borrowing from each other’s work. But when the end of college loomed, the real world began to pull them in opposite directions. Was their bond ever truly as strong as Aliya thought? And what would become of the stories they told themselves about each other?\
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Weaving together the friends’ past and present, Strange Girls is an ingenious portrait of a fraught friendship, and an exploration of the ties forged in the intensity of the college experience, and the scars left when they break.\
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A magnificent new novel from the bestselling, award-winning author of An American Marriage—Tayari Jones has written an unforgettable novel that sparkles with wit and intelligence and deep feeling about two lifelong friends whose worlds converge after many years apart in the face of a devastating tragedy.\
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Vernice and Annie, two motherless daughters raised in Honeysuckle, Louisiana, have been best friends and neighbors since earliest childhood but are fated to live starkly different lives. Raised by a fierce aunt determined to give her a stable home in the wake of her mother’s death, Vernice leaves Honeysuckle at eighteen for Spelman College, where she joins a sisterhood of powerfully connected Black women and discovers a world of affluence, manners, aspiration, and inequality. Annie, abandoned by her mother as a child and fixated on the idea of finding her and filling the bottomless hole left by her absence, sets off on a journey that will take her into a world of peril and adversity, as well as love and adventure, culminating in a battle for her life.\
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A novel about mothers and daughters, friendship and sisterhood, and the complexities of being a woman in the American South, Kin is an exuberant, emotionally rich, unforgettable work from one of the brightest and most irresistible voices in contemporary fiction.\
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Set during a doom-fated vacation to the Oregon coast, The Disappointment follows a couple trying to hold close to one another while a bent reality—warped by personal losses and an ever-increasing drift toward the surreal—threatens to unravel them\
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It’s the night before a much-needed vacation, and Jack—a former playwright mourning his failed career—catches his husband, Randy, packing his mother’s urn. They had agreed: no mother on this trip. Parents, living or otherwise, aren’t the ideal guests for romantic getaways. But Randy has been carrying his mother’s remains everywhere since her death, and he isn’t ready to let go now.\
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Despite its natural beauty and kitschy charm, the Oregon coast does not provide the respite the couple seeks. Instead, their surroundings and encounters with locals grow increasingly surreal as the days pass. An overly -dedicated Method actor, tantra-obsessed neighbors, and a child environmentalist who may be able to communicate with the dead are but a few of the characters whose presence exposes long-simmering tensions that threaten to undo Jack and Randy’s marriage—to say nothing of their hold on reality.\
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Told with sly, irreverent humor, and shot through with dark currents of envy and longing for something other than what one has, The Disappointment explores the mutual exhilaration and terror of being placed center stage in one’'s own life.\
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Four very compelling choices! Happy voting and remember we are reading The White Hot by Quiara Alegría Hudes in February, today is your last day to sign up.\
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Love what we do? Become a paid subscriberfor less than a cup of coffee a month. Your ongoing support helps us plan ahead, fund causes we care about, and create meaningful programming for our community.
Vote for the March book club! ☘️
4 books
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• Jan 8
My most anticipated 2026 Latine Releases
Latine Book Bingo Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb1hMhuel1I&t=698s
Latine Book Bingo Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crIo3beKmaE&t=107s
Opening credits illustrated and animated by the extremely talented Manuela Guillén: https://www.instagram.com/lazybeamarte/
#booktube #latinxbooks
15 books
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tomesandtextiles\
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• Jan 4
DAY 3 POSTING CHALLENGE: 2026 Latine Book Bingo Book Recommendations Part 1
25 Latine book recommendations to help you fill Bien Leidos Book Club bingo card! I take you through the first half of the bingo card with my recs for each.
22 books
6
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tomesandtextiles\
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• Nov 25 2025
Weekly reading update
Weekly reading update #novemberreading #currentlyreading #avidreader #bienleidos #tomesandtextiles
5 books
3
Bien Leidos\
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tomesandtextiles\
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• Nov 17 2025
November Week 2 Reading Progress
November Week 2 reading was immensely enjoyable #novemberreading #latinxbooks #nonfictionbooktok #bienleidos #tomesandtextiles
4 books
2
Bien Leidos\
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tomesandtextiles\
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• Nov 5 2025
Win an ARC of Now I Surrender by Alvaro Enrigue
1 book
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