It’s gift-giving season. Technology, clothing, toys, gourmet products, experiences… Any product is valid for giving to our loved ones. And of course, books have to be included in those gift lists. Here is a selection of books with a clear Aragonese accent:
The Best Book in the World by Manuel Vilas
The Barbastrian Manuel Vilas is one of the most recognized Aragonese authors, and he owes this to works like this one, published last year. Its title is as pretentious as it is impossible, as the writer himself acknowledges. However, even if it is not the best in the world, it is highly, highly recommended because it discusses all that matters to us: life, death, money, pleasure, power, and it does so like life itself, with a brilliant mix of transcendence and comedy.
The Master Plan by Javier Sierra
Another author, now from Teruel, with countless followers in Aragon, Spain, and many other countries: Javier Sierra. Each of his books is reprinted over and over again. The same happens with the new intrigue presented in The Master Plan. Within its pages, history is rediscovered from a new angle where art plays a starring role. More specifically, the mysterious masters who have woven an unrelenting plan that guides every aspect of our culture and ways of life, that is, our civilization.
Earth Two by Maya Reyes
Not everything is about established authors or big publishing houses with huge print runs. There is also a world of emerging writers and daring editors who take the risk of publishing works from unknowns. This is the case with the Milmadres publishing house, based in Zaragoza, which has decided to publish the work of authors who may or may not become bestsellers in the coming years. For quality and bravery, they do not hold back. An example is this science fiction novel that primarily speaks about us as human beings.
Libraries and Misplacements by José Luis Melero
The Zaragoza native José Luis Melero was awarded the 2025 Aragonesas Letters Prize. This award recognizes a whole literary and journalistic career inspired by his infinite love for books. In fact, almost all his works stem from his bibliophilia and his knowledge of the Aragonese and Spanish cultural world. This is also true in Libraries and Misplacements, where he invites us to lose ourselves among books that will never be best sellers but are true delicacies.
A Mother’s Face by Patricia de Blas
The Bilbilitan Patricia de Blas has many written works accumulated due to her career as a journalist. And like many other writers, she eventually decided to leap into fiction. She did so with her first novel, Sostika, and in 2025, she published her second: A Mother’s Face. A book featuring three women around forty. They all live in the same city, but each has her own social and economic circumstances, providing them with different perspectives on issues like the desire to become a mother, the biological clock, or surrogate gestation.
Cesaraugusta Falls by Marisa Felipe
The protagonists of this book by Zaragoza’s Marisa Felipe are also women. A work that is closely linked to her professional role as a coach. In fact, the real protagonist of the book is coaching, which can transform the relationships between the characters and their environment. After all, it is based on a premise: “coaching, the art of asking you questions, can change your life, the life of your friends, and even that of your city.”
Punished without Drawings by Julio José Ordovás
The Xordica publishing house has become a benchmark in the world of books in Aragon over the years. Many of Julio José Ordovás’s works have been published there. This Zaragoza native alternates various genres, from diaries and poetry to journalistic works. And of course, he has also ventured into novels, such as this book titled Punished without Drawings, a narrative that explores the references of an entire generation and recounts life with a sincerity that at times becomes comically and bitterly intertwined.
The Lady of the Purple Orchid by Beatriz Morancho
Beatriz Morancho Cuezva is a renowned lawyer. However, she has tried to swap the reality of the courts for the fiction of literature. The result is this novel titled The Lady of the Purple Orchid, which received the debut author award at the 2025 Aragón Negro Festival. So, for those seeking a thrilling story of police and crime set in Zaragoza, this is the perfect book.
The Critique by Pilar Sánchez Lailla and José Luis Cano
This book is Aragonese through and through. First, because it is inspired by the work The Critique by Baltasar Gracián. Second, because it features illustrations by José Luis Cano. Third, because it is published by the local publishing house Prames. And fourth, because the task of creating this abridged edition was taken on by Dr. Pilar Sánchez Lailla from the University of Zaragoza, who was inspired by the saying, “what is good, if brief, is twice as good.”
The Gentle Slips of Rain by Enrique Bunbury
And we conclude with poetry. A minority genre, but one that becomes a bestseller when signed by a rock and roll star like Enrique Bunbury. This is the third collection of poems by the “wandering Aragonese,” and this time the trigger for his verses has been the grief following his father’s death. In short, a lyric infused with sadness but capable of finding beauty in the worst moments.
