23 Books By Latinos That Might Just Change Your Life

Whether you're looking to find yourself in a book or lose yourself in a story, there's a colorful and magical literary world to explore through the lens of Latino authors. 

You can discover the magic in reality with Gabriel García Márquez, the wonders of love with Pablo Neruda and the power of identity with Sandra Cisneros -- to name a few. 

With that in mind, we asked The Huffington Post newsroom to share a book by a Latino author that shaped their life or simply became a favorite. So if you want to find inspiring words between the pages of your next literary obsession, you're in luck.

Here are 23 books by Latino authors that should be on your must-read list: 

 

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This Is The Best Public Restroom In America

The tiny town of Minturn, Colorado can never loo-se. That's because it just won the title "Best Public Restroom in America."

Earlier this month, corporate services company Cintas gave Minturn's new bathrooms top honors following a national competition that included 10 other town toilets. 

The Denver Post reports Minturn's public restrooms, installed in March, were designed by the city planning director to resemble the passageway into a Rocky Mountain mine, a nod to the town's rich mining and railroad history. With just over 1,000 residents, the town takes great pride in its proximity to Colorado's epic natural wonders. And boy, is it worth the (bathroom) trip:

Inside, the loos feature turquoise and copper-colored walls, with steel butterflies on the ceilings.

Other contest finalists included a whiskey barrel bathroom in Charleston, South Carolina:

A salt mine bathroom in Hutchinson, Kansas:

This swanky loo at The Music Hall in Portsmouth, New Hampshire:

And the homiest nursing suite EVER at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Ohio:

These potties are pretty, indeed. 

But trust us: Bathrooms are NOT quite so beautiful on every trip: 

 

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Photos Of 'Tiny People In Big Places' Put Everything Into Perspective

Visit any natural wonder -- even if it's just the hiking trail in your town -- and you'll soon recall how teensy we humans are in this big, BIG world. 

Photographer Daniel Alford knows this well. He shot a photo series, "Tiny People in Big Places," in South Africa, the U.K. and Iceland, while trekking landscapes alone for a week or more at a time. The results are stunning. And Alford says his trips convinced him that a digital detox trip offers the best kind of view. 

"Society has a mentality of short-term gains," he told HuffPost. "Nature doesn't work like that. Thinking of a scale of geological time gives you a much different perspective on things."

We're inclined to agree...

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Photos Of 'Tiny People In Big Places' Put Everything Into Perspective

Visit any natural wonder -- even if it's just the hiking trail in your town -- and you'll soon recall how teensy we humans are in this big, BIG world. 

Photographer Daniel Alford knows this well. He shot a photo series, "Tiny People in Big Places," in South Africa, the U.K. and Iceland, while trekking landscapes alone for a week or more at a time. The results are stunning. And Alford says his trips convinced him that a digital detox trip offers the best kind of view. 

"Society has a mentality of short-term gains," he told HuffPost. "Nature doesn't work like that. Thinking of a scale of geological time gives you a much different perspective on things."

We're inclined to agree...

Also on HuffPost:

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Could Australia Soon Have Its Very Own Disneyland?

Is "the happiest place on Earth" finally heading Down Under? Rumors are rife this week that plans for an Australian Disneyland may be underway.

According to Stuff.co.nz, billionaire Wang Jianlin, China’s richest man, is planning on building a major theme park on the Gold Coast, home to Dreamworld, Seaworld and Warner Bros. Movie World, among other attractions.

Wang’s company, the Wanda Group, is currently in talks with the Australian government about this development, reports the Gold Coast Bulletin.

“Wanda in Australia has already acquired the biggest cinema company in the country and theme parks are one of the things Wanda wants to invest in in the future,” Wanda Group general manager Xie Hong told the news outlet. "It is Wanda’s intention to set a theme park up on the Gold Coast, but this major project is still under negotiation with the state government."

The Bulletin noted that Xie "declined to say whether the park would have a Disney theme."

However, an interest in building a Disneyland in Australia has been mounting for decades.

Back in the 1990s, there were reportedly "secret" plans for a Disney resort on the Gold Coast. The idea was scrapped at the last minute.

"The president of Disney theme parks absolutely loved the plan. We were so far down the line, we had all the impressions drawn up, the site mapped out, the land optioned. We had the state and federal governments on our side and it all just fell at the final hurdle," Australian property developer Gordon McAlister, who claims to have been involved in the Disney plan, told the Bulletin earlier this year. 

"We got to the last meeting in Burbank, California, when [former Disney CEO] Michael Eisner stepped in and said 'No, I want to go to China.' That was it, he was the boss. He wanted Disney dollars in China, he was looking at Disney as a whole corporation, not just a theme park. And that’s how Hong Kong got a Disneyland instead," McAlister continued. "We got that close."

Then in 2007, the Walt Disney Company itself proposed building a Disney resort in Sydney, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. 

In the end, hefty costs and other considerations shut down the "Disney Wharf at Sydney Harbour'' idea. 

Currently, there are Disney theme parks in three of the seven continents, including several in North America and one each in Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai. 

 

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The Real Reason Airplane Food Tastes So Bad

Airplane food isn't known for its quality. But it turns out that bad taste in your mouth may be YOUR fault. Or, rather, a fault of the plane itself.

Recent research has found that loud noise -- specifically the noise in an airplane cabin  -- can significantly alter our perceptions of taste, making sweet foods less potent and umami flavors more robust.

For the study, which was published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance in March, 48 participants sampled tastes in both a quiet room and one made to sound like an airplane cabin. Researchers concluded the "plane cabin" inhibited people's ability to taste sweet flavors while enhancing umami, the savory flavor in foods like bacon, soy sauce and Parmesan cheese. Sound changed participants' perceptions of these tastes by about 10 to 15 percent, study co-author Robin Dando, an assistant professor in Cornell University's department of food science, told HuffPost. The effect is likely due to sensory interactions between the noise and a nerve in your ear. 

Tomato juice is rich in umami flavor, a likely reason it tastes so different (most people say better) on a plane. In fact, in 2008, staff at Lufthansa noticed passengers were drinking as much tomato juice as beer on flights, a shocking discovery for a German airline since, as a Lufthansa catering executive pointed out, Germans really love beer. 

There are other factors than noise that also affect taste at 30,000 feet. Dry cabin air can evaporate nasal mucus, and pressurization may cause membranes to swell, both of which effectively numb your taste buds on a flight. In 2010 a study commissioned by Lufthansa found that perceptions of sweet and saltiness drop by up to 30 percent in flight-like conditions, making it difficult to taste all kinds of foods.

Maybe we'll stick with the peanuts. 

H/T Time

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Hundreds Of Tamales Tragically Seized, Destroyed By Feds

Hundreds of tamales were "seized and destroyed" at Los Angeles International Airport after agents discovered that they contained pork.  

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists found 450 wrapped tamales inside the luggage of a passenger entering the country from Mexico on Nov. 8, according to a Wednesday press release. 

The transportation of pork products across international borders is prohibited by the U.S. government in order to prevent the spread of disease.  

The traveler attempting to transport the tamales indicated on customs forms that food was being brought into the country, but reportedly gave a negative verbal response when asked if the food contained pork.

The passenger was slapped with a $1,000 fine for commercial activity with the intent to distribute.  

"Although tamales are a popular holiday tradition, foreign meat products can carry serious animal diseases from countries affected by outbreaks of Avian Influenza, Mad Cow and Swine Fever," said Anne Maricich, CBP Acting Director of Field Operations in Los Angeles, said in the release.

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Could Australia Soon Have Its Very Own Disneyland?

Is "the happiest place on Earth" finally heading Down Under? Rumors are rife this week that plans for an Australian Disneyland may be underway.

According to Stuff.co.nz, billionaire Wang Jianlin, China’s richest man, is planning on building a major theme park on the Gold Coast, home to Dreamworld, Seaworld and Warner Bros. Movie World, among other attractions.

Wang’s company, the Wanda Group, is currently in talks with the Australian government about this development, reports the Gold Coast Bulletin.

“Wanda in Australia has already acquired the biggest cinema company in the country and theme parks are one of the things Wanda wants to invest in in the future,” Wanda Group general manager Xie Hong told the news outlet. "It is Wanda’s intention to set a theme park up on the Gold Coast, but this major project is still under negotiation with the state government."

The Bulletin noted that Xie "declined to say whether the park would have a Disney theme."

However, an interest in building a Disneyland in Australia has been mounting for decades.

Back in the 1990s, there were reportedly "secret" plans for a Disney resort on the Gold Coast. The idea was scrapped at the last minute.

"The president of Disney theme parks absolutely loved the plan. We were so far down the line, we had all the impressions drawn up, the site mapped out, the land optioned. We had the state and federal governments on our side and it all just fell at the final hurdle," Australian property developer Gordon McAlister, who claims to have been involved in the Disney plan, told the Bulletin earlier this year. 

"We got to the last meeting in Burbank, California, when [former Disney CEO] Michael Eisner stepped in and said 'No, I want to go to China.' That was it, he was the boss. He wanted Disney dollars in China, he was looking at Disney as a whole corporation, not just a theme park. And that’s how Hong Kong got a Disneyland instead," McAlister continued. "We got that close."

Then in 2007, the Walt Disney Company itself proposed building a Disney resort in Sydney, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. 

In the end, hefty costs and other considerations shut down the "Disney Wharf at Sydney Harbour'' idea. 

Currently, there are Disney theme parks in three of the seven continents, including several in North America and one each in Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai. 

 

Also on HuffPost:

 

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Hundreds Of Tamales Tragically Seized, Destroyed By Feds

Hundreds of tamales were "seized and destroyed" at Los Angeles International Airport after agents discovered that they contained pork.  

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists found 450 wrapped tamales inside the luggage of a passenger entering the country from Mexico on Nov. 8, according to a Wednesday press release. 

The transportation of pork products across international borders is prohibited by the U.S. government in order to prevent the spread of disease.  

The traveler attempting to transport the tamales indicated on customs forms that food was being brought into the country, but reportedly gave a negative verbal response when asked if the food contained pork.

The passenger was slapped with a $1,000 fine for commercial activity with the intent to distribute.  

"Although tamales are a popular holiday tradition, foreign meat products can carry serious animal diseases from countries affected by outbreaks of Avian Influenza, Mad Cow and Swine Fever," said Anne Maricich, CBP Acting Director of Field Operations in Los Angeles, said in the release.

Also on HuffPost:

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4 Fabulously Fun Vacations That Will Bring Out The Child In You

SPECIAL FROM Next Avenue


By Rosie Wolf Williams

In the 2015 summer flick Vacation, Rusty Griswold decides to drive his family across country to the fictional theme park Walley World, just as his father Clark (Chevy Chase) did 30 years earlier in National Lampoon’s Vacation. The movie probably wasn’t such a good idea — it bombed at the box office and the collective critics’ rating at Rotten Tomatoes was a dismal 26 percent. But in real life, the idea of Rusty revisiting the vacation spot of his youth is brilliant. It turns out, taking a nostalgia trip is good for you.

When you go back to a happy place from your past — whether it’s a place you visited as a child or one you took your own children to as an adult — good memories overtake your brain.

“In this situation, the unconscious mind does not know the difference between the present and the past,” says Dr. Wendy Nickerson, a Florida psychologist who founded International Health Coaching Enterprises.

And the “happy hormones” experienced the first time are re-triggered.

 

“They may recall their child in awe when seeing the ocean for the first time or their screams of laughter as they chased squirrels around the trees at a national park campsite,” Nickerson says. “When this happens, oxytocin is immediately released throughout their bodies, creating a sensation of happiness and contentment.”

The benefits go even deeper than that. Taking a nostalgia vacation can help adults feel more optimistic about the present and the future, according to a 2013 study published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, because they help us put things into perspective.

“When we can learn to be in acceptance of times gone by, we are freed up to experience feelings of great gratitude and are able to see the bigger picture and legacy of the divine unfolding of our lives,” Nickerson says. “We begin to feel appreciative for the things that we did right as parents and the inherent gifts that we have passed down to our children. This type of nostalgia vacation has the propensity to activate this grander and divine acceptance and feelings of inner peace.”

A road trip may offer purely physical benefits, too. A study from UC Berkeley suggests that the positive emotions we experience when looking at the breathtaking natural beauty of say, the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone Park, can actually lower levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines.

And the more one experiences happy and peaceful emotions, the more one experiences good health, both mentally and physically.

Of course, sometimes a vacation “remake” doesn’t match expectations. “It is highly unlikely that the experience will be similar to that when the trip was taken in childhood, says Dean McKay, professor of the department of psychology at Fordham University. “Consider the vacation an opportunity to write new memories of the place. Be sure to schedule new experiences of the place alongside the activities that made it special to begin with.”

And even if you’ve never experienced the thrills of riding cross-country in a station wagon, you can still plan a vacation that taps into those memories of yesteryear. Here are four destinations sure to spark old memories while creating new ones:

Disney World

Visit the park in early February or mid-September when the crush of families is slightly less crushing. Stay in a resort that caters to adults and has a view of the park’s light show. Don’t miss Epcot Center — it was designed to engage and intrigue people of all ages, and you can eat and drink your way around the World Showcase.

Legoland

Legoland parks have a rule prohibiting adults sans children. However, some of them, including the ones in Dallas and Boston, have adult nights that offer fun activities for big kids who still love the colorful building blocks. Really, Legos are ageless, aren’t they?

Renaissance Faire

Knights in shining armor, ladies-in-waiting, fairies and elves. Playing pretend at a Renaissance Faire can help you unleash your creativity and even help you become more comfortable with taking risks, says David Deal, who runs a consulting company by day and performs in the Faire by night. “Visiting the Faire is like watching a great Pixar movie. Both grownups and children can enjoy the story lines and experiences.”

Space Academy

Many of us grew up wanting to go to Space Camp, and now we have the chance. The U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala., has a two-night training course for adults. Construct and launch rocket models, train on a simulator, and learn about the history of space exploration. The center even offers a team-building experience for businesses.

Read more on Next Avenue:

How to make sure your parents are safe in bad weather

How to live independently as you age

10 ways to make life easier for a sick friend

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At This Thanksgiving Celebration, It's The Turkeys Who Do The Eating

At this Thanksgiving feast, big, beautiful turkeys are placed upon a long, well-dressed table -- and then they gobble down fruit, tofu, bread crumbs, kale and cooked rice, before hundreds of admirers.

"Instead of being eaten, the turkeys are the guests of honor!" Terry Cummings, co-founder of the Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary in Western Maryland, told The Huffington Post. The sanctuary will celebrate its 18th annual Thanksgiving WITH the Turkeys on Saturday.

Humans eat well here, too -- a vegan potluck spread -- once the turkeys have finished up their feast.

Then it's time to pay visits to the sanctuary's 200-some farm animals, many rescued out of abuse and neglect, who will live out their lives on this 400-acre paradise.

There's cows, goats, sheep, chickens and pigs, who can get cozy while while enjoying a belly rub. (This is our kind of pig in a blanket.)

There are eight birds who will dine on Saturday. Three -- Willow, Tallulah and Madison -- came from an organic turkey farm, where they'd been raised to be eaten. Lucky for them, a kindhearted person bought them in order to save their lives. 

Hugo, Giselle and Naomi were captured by animal control after being found hanging around a housing development, hopping up onto people's decks. Mackenzie is just 3 months old, and was discovered alone in the woods.

"She is so friendly and loves to perch on our arms to be petted," Cummings said.

They're all special and deserving. But the turkey whose upcoming celebration seems most poignant is the feathery guy for whom Thanksgiving is itself the anniversary of his abandonment and his rescue.

"Perry, our big friendly boy who loves to strut around to impress the girls, was left in a crate on our driveway on Thanksgiving day 3 years ago, with no note or clue about where he came from," Cummings said. 

Yes, friendly. Cummings uses that word a lot to describe her flock.

"They are so friendly and love to follow people around just like a dog and love to sit near you or even in your lap to be petted. Anyone who meets them in person will see how wonderful they are," she said.

Which of course is part of the point: Folks meet Perry and his friends, whose charming ways may encourage some change.

Perhaps bring down the number of turkeys who'll be part of the Thanksgiving celebration, in that more traditional, less affectionate or reverential, sort of way.

"These wonderful intelligent birds deserve our respect and compassion," Cummings said. "The animals enjoy this event as much as the humans."

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Thanksgiving WITH the Turkeys will be held on Nov. 21 at the Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary in Poolesville, Maryland. Get more details on the event Facebook page.

And get in touch at arin.greenwood@huffingtonpost,com if you know someone with a soft spot for pet turkeys, or have another animal story to share!

 

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