on books by marta bahillo

 

 

 

 

 

Books and reading have always been a big part of our babaà world. Today we introduce a new series where we ask friends of babaà about their reading style, favourite books, and emotional connection to the written word. 
 
We start the series with Marta Bahillo, babaà founder, who always has a book ready in her back pocket.

 

how do you organize your books?
Poetry, narrative, essays, Spanish / English 
I love having all poetry books in dedicated shelves – that’s my most important thing

what are you going to read next?
Hungry Hill, my fried Dylan just sent after a Christmas holiday together in that particular area of Ireland where the book is set. I can’t wait.

if you had to pick- do you prefer reading emotional or intellectual books?
I need both.

the last book that made you laugh? 
The Years by Annie Ernaux, not comedy at all but some comments so particular and witty they made me laugh very much.
describe your ideal reading environment. show us!
Anytime, anywhere, take any opportunity given and go.

what was your relationship to books growing up?
My aunt used to gift me a pile every Christmas when I started to read. Then I read my musts for school with such joy when I was a teen, I would go to the bar downstairs from my parents and read El Quijote or Ten Years of Solitude and smoke cigarettes and drink coke, I don’t think I have drank coke since! 

is there a certain emotion you’re looking for when picking out what to read?
Not a particular one but YES an emotion. Depending on where I am myself. I need novels with a bite for inspiration, poetry for a state of mind and being, essays to feel I make progress etc..  Also it is not the same reading during the day than reading at night. Books help feeding any emotion.

you have 12 uninterrupted hours to read right now, what do you reach for?
I would start and finish Flights, I have read 56 pages but i have been traveling and i know it is a book to read in one go and get THAT emotion.

show us a stack of books you have laying around
see one above, I have stacks all over

what´s the book that has made the biggest impression on you in the last 5 years?
The Rainbow by DH Lawrence, another emotion in itself. Magic. Want to re-read all throughout my life.

you walk into a bookstore…what section do you go to first? how come?
Poetry. It says a lot about the curation, also it is a great place to start always 

is there a sentiment that you’ve read that has changed you as a person? what was it?
Siri Hustvedt – read anything from any discipline, expand, grow.

how do you choose what you’ll read next?
I’m always  looking, listening, hearing and editing in my head, for what I want. 

do you take a break between books or dive right in to something new?
Depending on the stage of my kids and work, always pick a new one to start but I don’t always start straight away.

if you’re not feeling a book, will you finish it? 
No.

how have your reading tastes changed over time?
Very much. I just want more, as a human, as a human being, not sure if changed or expanded.