Heat waves don't just affect humans. High temperatures, humidity, and tropical nights can also take a toll on our pets, which is why it's important to adapt their environment and daily activities so they can get through the summer in the best possible way. As veterinarian Jaume Martínez, from the El Masnou Veterinary Center, explains, who has been dedicated to looking after the health of pets for nearly forty years, heat, "if they didn't live with us, they would experience it very well, because they would be still during the day, they wouldn't do anything, they would be in the shade, in a cool place. And even more so for cats, who are specialists in finding the coolest place to shelter". As Martínez reflects, they would spend the day resting, trying to hydrate themselves when they could, "and it's at night that they would be more active: they would go to eat, they would go hunting, they wouldn't be making useless efforts". With us it's different: "Things change because we, obviously thinking of dogs, take them for walks in places that can be asphalted or with surfaces that get very hot, and this makes them suffer from the heat in a very different way".

How do plants and animals know what time it is? What role do the Sun, the Moon, the stars, and the weather play? Why is the water clearest in June and at midnight on New Year's Eve does the star Sirius shine directly south? These are some of the questions that navigator, adventurer, and naturalist Tristan Gooley answers in Las estaciones ocultas (Ático de los Libros), a fascinating book that collects all the keys to decipher nature's calendar. By investigating the inner workings of the seasons, he explains how we can know when, how, and why things change. The researcher points out that every day of the year contains subtle signs (in the sky, in plants, in water, or in animals) that reveal the infinite changes in the landscape, from those first buds that announce the arrival of warmth or the flight of some insects that anticipate rain. An approach to nature's rhythm that is done with scientific precision, but with a literary language that invites you to wander through nature observing all that the signs that nature offers us every day tell us.

For decades, talking about menopause and the changes it causes in women has been a taboo and neglected topic. Fortunately, from that "women's issues", we are moving towards a new era where importance is beginning to be placed on this vital stage. This stage involves, beyond the often-caricatured hot flashes or the better-known osteoporosis, a whole series of hormonal changes that affect women's overall health and life. A physiological transition discussed with rigor and in a very didactic and understandable way by Laia Blanco, Inés Ramírez, and Stéphanie Kauffmann in the book "Placer en la menopausia" (Plataforma editorial), a guide that proposes women face this stage of life with well-being, pleasure, and fullness. These goals can be achieved if it is understood and managed appropriately. As Inés Ramírez explains, "there are a whole host of symptoms linked to menopause that are underdiagnosed and are still very taboo. Hence the need to talk about this topic. And we do so from the observation and experience of all the years we have spent in consultation, seeing women who suffer from all these symptoms associated with genitourinary syndrome of menopause".

Building a career sometimes involves great sacrifices. Balancing personal and professional life often seems an unattainable challenge, but the fact is that we must move forward on this dual vital scale and, most importantly, we must do so by giving each of the areas the time and attention they deserve, understanding, from the outset, that we cannot say yes to everything. Starting from this premise, Joris Van der Schoot and Agustín Peralt have collected in their book Work like a northerner, live like a Mediterranean (Plataforma Editorial) what they consider to be the ten essential commandments to better organize our lives and achieve balance between work and personal life.

The art of not complicating life. The title of the book by writer and essayist Alexis Racionero, although not what he initially intended, is a whole declaration of intent of what we find in this editorial proposal published by Arpa. An essay that deals with the importance of simplifying life and living with more authenticity and serenity. It delves into the main philosophical and cultural practices of the East and West in search of guidelines that allow fostering disaffection and betting on presence and austerity to achieve greater happiness and well-being.

More than 140 years after the laying of the first stone, even today, what is considered Antoni Gaudí's masterpiece continues to take shape. In the final years of his prolific career, he poured all his efforts into building a temple that has today become Barcelona's main tourist attraction. Thousands of people visit it every year, and there seems to be a widespread consensus on its architectural and cultural value. However, the building has not been without controversy, starting with the fact that some question whether what we see today is what Gaudí would have done.

Aesthetic pressure and fatphobia are conditioning our relationship with food, and this leads to an increase in body dissatisfaction, a decrease in self-esteem, an increased probability of suffering from eating disorders, not to mention that it promotes unnecessary cosmetic surgeries and touch-ups and makes bodies that do not meet standards invisible. All situations that provoke self-censorship and generate constant comparisons, leading many people to forget the need to maintain a healthy relationship with food. Based on this premise, pharmacist and dietitian-nutritionist Julia Palacios, specializing in eating behavior, has poured all her knowledge into the book Mucho más que pechuga y lechuga (Bruguera) with the aim of offering a new perspective on the relationship we have with food. A book that talks about fatphobia, biology, privilege, pleasure, and guilt, but above all about the importance of context and other topics rarely found in a nutrition book. "I would love for people, by reading the book, to shed their guilt. I would also like us to accept that body diversity exists and that it is beautiful that it exists. And that we learn to claim pleasure. Women have been deprived of pleasure in many aspects of our lives, not just in food. And I think it is revolutionary to verbalize it, right? 'I like this,' 'I prefer this,' also having a voice and vote on the subject of food,"' explains the author.

It seems difficult to imagine that a book about human anatomy can be entertaining, passionate, exciting, and educational, but Gabriel Weston, a British surgeon, writer, and communicator, has achieved it with Con vida, published by Salamandra. The book begins with a detailed narration of an autopsy that immediately alerts us to everything we can discover during the reading, and the author's statement of intent arrives very soon: she explains that science only makes sense if it can be linked to something personal. In this regard, she states that the body cannot be viewed as a purely mechanical entity, but must be looked at from a more human perspective. Weston is a woman of letters who came to the world of medicine almost by chance and explains that she decided to write the book about 10 years ago. "Initially, I wanted to write it as a surgeon who had realized that much of the anatomy we used and that was still taught in medical school was outdated," she says. And she adds: "As a person with an artistic background, I also wanted to write a book that would bridge the gap between the arts and sciences. I wanted to look at the body through this dual lens."

On March 10, 1876, 150 years ago, the first telephone call was made, a milestone that forever changed our way of communicating. “Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you,” was the phrase that the Scottish inventor and scientist, Alexander Graham Bell, conveyed to his assistant, Thomas Watson, just three days after patenting his invention, which progressively relegated the telegraph, used since 1844. Quickly, that system became popular to become a mass communication medium that we all carry in our pockets today.

40% of dementia cases could be prevented or delayed with good prevention from an early age. This is stated by David Pérez Martínez, a neurologist with extensive professional experience focused on the study of cognitive decline and Alzheimer's, who assures that it is never too late (or too early) to start taking care of our brain. The neurologist recently published the book Cuida tu salud cerebral" (Alienta Editorial), a guide with which he aims to offer a practical approach that brings readers closer to the importance of having information at hand to adopt preventive measures. Prevention that we must carry out throughout our lives, which is why, in the book, he proposes a personal action plan suitable for all audiences. He states, emphatically, that the challenge, beyond having information and knowledge, is deciding to act. As Pérez explains, "for ten or fifteen years we have known that diseases like Alzheimer's do not begin when the symptoms start, but rather much earlier, probably fifteen or twenty years earlier. Therefore, if we intervene early with preventive measures, we could try to slow down the course of these types of diseases or delay their onset".

Scents have the power to transform atmospheres, modulate behaviors, and can seduce, comfort, or heal. The sense of smell is the mirror of a society and also a historical portrait. This is stated by Dr. in neurosciences and research professor at CSIC, Laura López-Mascaraque, in her book El fascinante universo del olfato, published by geoPlaneta. A volume that aims to highlight the sense of smell, probably the greatly forgotten one, as priority has always been given to what we see and hear, when, in reality, smell is the gateway to memory and emotions and a way to explore the world.

What do localities like Tossa de Mar, Cardona, Bielsa, or Aýna have in common? Well, among other things, their undeniable tourist appeal, but also the fact that they have been the setting for landmark films such as Pandora and the Flying Dutchman, Chimes at Midnight, Palmeras en la nieve, or Amanece, que no es poco. These are four examples of locations that fit perfectly into what is known as screen tourism, a type of cultural tourism that drives visits to destinations, landscapes, or cities that have appeared in or are related to films, television series, or audiovisual productions of all kinds, such as documentaries, video games, or commercials, as well as events linked to the audiovisual world, such as festivals or themed gatherings. It is an upward trend that has been experiencing significant growth since the advent of streaming platforms and leads viewers to visit the settings where their favorite stories were filmed.

Three-year-old children plugged into a mobile phone screen to distract them (and not bother anyone), eight-year-old children who already carry a smart device in their pocket to which they dedicate hours, teenagers who have made the smartphone another appendage of their body, adults abducted by an infinite scroll watching short videos for hours that, to put it elegantly, offer content of dubious intellectualism. Most of us can identify with some of these profiles, images that have contributed to demonizing smartphones. But, are they really as harmful as they say? Is the problem the screens or the content? Is our brain prepared to respond to all the stimuli that come from the screen? Aarón Fernández del Olmo, a clinical neuropsychologist, doctor of psychology, and philosophy graduate, has thoroughly studied this issue. In his book "El cerebro hackeado" (Editorial Kailas), he proposes to break some myths about the consequences of using smartphones and to offer some tools for healthier use.

Perhaps without realizing it, we spend half our lives surrounded by people with narcissistic behavior, people who are always able to get what they want thanks to their mastery of the art of persuasion, a skill that often makes them irresistible but especially manipulative. This is the profile discussed in his latest book, written in his characteristic irreverent yet precise and reflective style, by psychologist Víctor Amat, who, in The 10 laws to be fucking irresistible (Vergara) aims to give readers the tools to combat narcissists with their own weapons. Amat explains that the book stems from his professional experience as a professor of persuasion techniques for healthcare professionals and from the demands of patients who come to his practice complaining that they have encountered a narcissist at work or in their personal lives. His goal, he states, is for them to understand and apply persuasion in everyday life, but above all, "how to use it for good." And here he wants to differentiate "the narcissist from what would be a malicious narcissist": "I think we all have a touch of narcissism; therefore, the important thing is to distinguish the person's intention," he says. He asserts that the key is to learn from these people to protect ourselves and improve, and he sees persuasion as both a shield and a weapon. Because we have all been deceived by charming people at some point in our lives.

A claw, a chair, a laundry paddle, a plume, a printing press, a dress, an urn, or a corset. These are some of the 25 objects that journalist Sílvia Marimon Molas, Culture Editor at ARA, has featured in the book Inventory of silenced stories (Eumo Editorial), an essential and highly educational journey through everyday objects that have been crucial in shaping our society today. Objects that Marimon links to both renowned and anonymous women who have too often been forgotten in history books.

Influenced by his extensive studies of classical and medieval architecture, as well as his passion for heraldry, the work of architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner is distinguished by its use of ornamentation, often exuberant, especially during his Floral period, where ceramics, glass, iron, and wood become works of art. This ornamental richness features elements from real and fantastical bestiaries, which the architect imbued with specific symbolism in each of his projects, allowing for different interpretations depending on the context. To explore this aspect of his work in depth, the Lluís Domènech i Montaner Studies Center (CEDIM) has recently published the book The bestiary of Domènech i MontanerFiguration and Symbolism, by Gemma Martí, is a comprehensive and detailed study that identifies zoomorphic representations in the architect's work and offers a symbolic interpretation.

The result of an equation involving snow and mountains doesn't always have to be skiing. We can also enjoy it on snowshoes, a system that, although its origins are difficult to pinpoint, historians believe was invented in Central Asia more than 5,000 years ago. The oldest known snowshoe was made from a birch branch shaped into a circle and straps to secure it to the foot. Since then, the device has evolved radically, and after many years when the usual materials were wood and rope, today we find lightweight and resistant technical materials that make them more efficient and safer.

Naturalistic, community, wild, urban, botanical, minimalist, edible, floral gardens... The range of gardens found around the world seems almost infinite and is constantly evolving, always responding to the needs of each era. And this isn't a contemporary phenomenon, because throughout the history of gardening, each period has had its own style, reflecting the aesthetic preferences of each time and culture, as well as the climatic conditions, the terrain, and the materials available. From the hydraulic efficiency and symmetry of Egyptian gardens, through the multifunctionality and emphasis on landscaping in ancient Greece, to the spatial control of medieval gardens, the minimalism of Japanese gardens, or the geometric rigor of French gardens.

Being in London and strolling through Hyde Park, spending a weekend in Paris and visiting the Luxembourg Gardens, or going to Madrid and crossing El Retiro Park are common practices for residents and tourists visiting these major capital cities. For city dwellers, urban parks and gardens are places to reconnect with nature, relax, and engage in various recreational activities. They are also spaces that promote health. A Greenpeace report maintains that, when it comes to green spaces in urban areas, all cities should follow the 3-30-300 rule, ensuring that each person can see at least three trees from their home, has 30% vegetation cover in their neighborhood, and is within 300 meters of a decent park. According to the organization, being in contact with green spaces offers benefits such as mitigating high temperatures and flooding; improving mental health and contributing to better brain development and cognitive function; and helping to reduce the risk of non-communicable diseases and premature mortality. In the main Catalan cities, we also find green spaces that provide oxygen to the urban environment, with some notable examples such as the Devesa Park in Girona, the largest urban park in the country with more than 2,500 centuries-old trees; the Ciutadella Park in Barcelona, ​​built at the end of the 19th century and the first park specifically designed as a public park; the Parc del Milagro in Tarragona; and the Parc dels Camps Elisis in Lleida, with its various landscaped areas. However, these parks and gardens are far from the size of some of the most important and well-known urban parks found around the world.

We Catalans love to observe the sky, consult thermometers and rain gauges. We enjoy meteorology and we love looking up. Seeing a clear blue sky, or one dotted with clouds of different shapes, helps us predict the weather. And Catalan proverbs are a good example of this. Clouds are hydrometeors formed by tiny particles of liquid water or ice, or both, suspended in the atmosphere and which, generally, do not touch the ground. They can also contain larger particles of liquid water or gel, as well as non-aqueous liquid particles or solid particles from sources such as industrial gases, smoke, or dust. If you would like to learn more, the illustrated book recently published by Cinco Tintas, which covers everything related to clouds, is worth checking out. Observe the cloudsIts authors, Gavin Pretor-Pinney – co-founder of the Cloud Appreciation Society – and William Grill – illustrator – have created an illustrated guide for all audiences that reveals the facts, secrets, and stories of the main cloud types and explains how they shape the weather around them.