Alicia Sianes Bautista
Alicia Sianes-Bautista holds a PhD in Comparative Education and currently teaches and develops her research projects at the Spanish Distance University (UNED). In her free time, she writes short stories, realist fiction, and poetic prose. Her debut collection, Amor, Desamor, y Cursilería was published in 2024 by Talón de Aquiles.
Who was the first writer you ever obsessed over?
I believe many writers my age grew up reading J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter book series. However, I remember reading Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s The Shadow of The Wind at a relatively early age, and he’s been my favourite Spanish writer since. I read every book he wrote and even some other short stories that he would publish for World Book Day. I loved the dark and mysterious atmosphere in his novels, and wished to find the Cemetery of Forgotten Books within all the wonders it hides. I also enjoyed listening to the music he used to write for some of his books.
What book have you reread more than any other?
I do not tend to reread books. There are so many that I would rather invest that time in delving into books I’ve never read before. Probably the one that I’ve read up to 3 times is Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, and I reread the first three books of the Harry Potter series just for the purpose of reading them in English.
What’s the strangest book you’ve ever loved?
Probably The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star, by Nikki Sixx (Mötley Crüe’s bass player). It is basically his diary during the time when he was an addict. It is weird how, despite not being interested in that topic at all, the book keeps the reader’s attention. Somehow readers begin to empathise with the main character as well, feel his pain, his anxiety, his desperation... It is not a book that I would easily recommend, but it is one which I ended up enjoying.
Who is your favourite contemporary writer?
If I had been asked this question a couple of years ago, I wouldn’t have known what to answer... Fortunately, two summers ago, I read María Oruña’s Forest of the Four Winds, and I absolutely loved it. Now I’m in the process of reading all her novels in which she usually combines mystery, history, scientific research, legends... She might have become my favourite living author so far.
What’s your favourite film adaptation of a book?
I actually just went to the cinema yesterday and watched Hamnet. The adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s novel is absolutely wonderful.
What’s your favourite non-fiction book?
Swing Under the Nazis: Jazz as a Metaphor for Freedom by Mike Zwerin. That is probably one of the books that has made the biggest impression on me. How the inclination for listening to a certain type of music was reason enough for someone’s life to be either taken or forgiven, not that long ago, is both shocking and moving. The book is a compilation of interviews with people who survived WWII (jews, gypsies, and even some Nazis ) that have a strong connection with swing music. The book includes some pictures and other graphic documents that surprised me very much and definitely help the reader understand the complexity of such a context in the 30’s.
Tell us about a book you’ve read that didn’t live up to the hype…
Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations. It is considered a “must” and, even though the story is undoubtedly good, I found the narrative’s rhythm very slow and, in my opinion, many unnecessary and perhaps too dense descriptions that end up diverting the reader’s attention from the course of the story.
Do you have a favourite poem?
Gloria Fuertes is a writer whom children usually read at school. It’s been decades since I read her poetry for the last time, and probably in a random language textbook. Not so long ago, however, I found this poem that made me think about the way people in the West live nowadays, and I loved it.
La gente corre tanto // People run so much,
porque no sabe dónde va, // because they don’t know where they are going,
el que sabe dónde va, // he who knows where he is going,
va despacio, // goes slowly,
para paladear // to savor
el «ir llegando». // «getting there»
What are you reading right now, and what are you going to read next?
I am currently close to finishing reading (Des)Hacer las Américas by Belén Montalbo. The author compiles many of her experiences living in the US with the purpose of demystifying the “American Dream” in relation to topics such as paperwork, racism and slavery, credit scores, and reporting. I just read Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell. The next book in Spanish will probably be Where We Were Invincible by María Oruña and Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett in English.
Order Amor, Desamor, y Curselería here.
