Happy coincidence: the two books most sold by Sant Jordi share the fact of being written with a lot of humor. The fiction of Crispetes de matinada is a wisely managed festival of hilarious situations, conversations, and thoughts, and the non-fiction of Manual de defensa del català (yes, unfortunately, it is non-fiction) presents itself to readers with humor that acts like the mustard and ketchup that make a shoe-sole type burger digestible.

Eight months ago, all this was unthinkable: publishing a novel, that it would have readers, that it would have so many readers that it has been on the bestseller list in the State for 34 weeks, discovering Sant Jordi and doing so as a writer who signs. Two months ago, Lucía Solla Sobral (Marín, Pontevedra, 1989) took a leave of absence from her job at a technology start-up because the unexpected success of Comerás flores (Libros del Asteroide) has meant she can only sleep at home two or three days a week. Working between shifts in hotels was already unsustainable. The day after Sant Jordi, she took a flight back to Oviedo, where she lives, and this Saturday, to Argentina.

Allow me, to begin, to express the pride and satisfaction, as someone would say, that a day as well celebrated as yesterday's Sant Jordi provokes. We can congratulate ourselves. We can congratulate ourselves.We know Regina well, at ARA, especially the newspaper's audiovisual team, of which she was a part. Regina, more than connecting with readers' tastes, has connected with readers' hearts, and such a phenomenon is unbeatable. Regina conveys truth. Added to this is the mastery of fresh and fun narrative technique, the result is yesterday's: number 1. This morning I spoke with her and she told me she was happy, for among other reasons, because it was also the triumph of humor in Catalan. has connected with readers' hearts, and such a phenomenon is unbeatable. Regina conveys truth. Added to this is the mastery of fresh and fun narrative technique, the result is yesterday's: number 1. This morning I spoke with her and she told me she was happy, for among other reasons, because it was also the triumph of humor in Catalan.

Sant Jordi has once again overflowed Catalonia with the magic formula that never fails: books for all tastes —from the exquisite Nobel laureate Han Kang to young authors in love with success, such as Gil Pratsobrerroca, David Uclés and Inma Rubiales—, roses at prices ranging from 4 to 25 euros, and the contagious enthusiasm of millions of citizens who have taken to the streets ready to have a good time.

Indeed, Saint George is like capitalism, which integrates everything. On Rambla de Catalunya, between stands of roses, NGOs, and political parties, I stumble upon one from the National Police, just below Mallorca street. I feel a chill and instinctively move away. I'd say there are no Mossos: for now, they've been given the mission of entering secondary schools undercover. On a day like today, Catalan police might have to recite poems that don't incite violence, without dragons or Saint Georges, much to Mendoza's delight. Meanwhile, the police of old are handing out leaflets to children on Rambla de Catalunya. Barcelona, indeed, continues to be a city of wonders.

The Cambra del Llibre released this Thursday a provisional but quite accurate list of the best-selling books for Sant Jordi. In Catalan, the top positions are held by Regina Rodríguez Sirvent (fiction), Òscar Andreu (non-fiction), and Míriam Tirado (children and young adult). In Spanish, the best-sellers have been Eduardo Mendoza (fiction), Ana Garriga and Carmen Urbita (non-fiction), and Emma Gil (children and young adult). According to data from the Cambra del Llibre, total sales for Sant Jordi 2026 are close to 27 million euros, almost a million more than last year.

Something is moving in the fabric of Gràcia's bookstores. In recent months, two new establishments have opened: Nocturama, in Plaça Revolució, and Pàgina 128, at Carrer Torrent de l’Olla, 177. For both, this is their first Sant Jordi in the neighborhood: Pàgina 128, specializing in children's books, has a stall in Gran de Gràcia, but Nocturama has not prepared anything special. “Today is about meeting readers and readers meeting me,” says bookseller Marina Rodríguez, who opened the shop just two weeks ago. Furthermore, on May 15, a new bookstore, Finestres Palestina, will open on Carrer Verdi. They will therefore be three additions to Barcelona's most extensive and varied bookstore network. “We are the second neighborhood with the most bookstores in Europe, only surpassed by Charing Cross in London –boasts Jordi Duarte, owner of Taifa Llibres, on Carrer Verdi–. The number fluctuates each year, but in the entire district there are usually between 36 and 38 bookstores. Each has a different model, and a network has been created where if you don't find a book in one, you'll find it in another.”

Absolute success for the comedian and communicator Òscar Andreu this Sant Jordi with Manual de defensa del català (Univers): he started signing at the Plataforma per la Llengua stand and a queue of about a hundred people formed. The book was released on April 7th with an edition of 16,500 copies. At Plataforma per la Llengua, it has sold out. While a reader told him family stories related to learning Catalan, Andreu didn't look up from the book and continued signing non-stop. Impossible to talk to him. “I like his humor, and everything related to language interests me,” says a reader, Carles Vila. “Long live Catalan and long live Catalonia!” exclaim a couple, Miquel and Emma, while Òscar Andreu signs their copy.

Throughout Sant Jordi's day, between book signings, canapés, and plane tree pollen, I watch the news and listen to the radio. In the afternoon, once the fish is sold, they provide economic data for the day. The sales figures for flowers and books give me goosebumps. No one will take away our merit for this day. To talk about it, the reporters deployed in the capitals share anecdotes, tender moments, and try to talk about the flood. They all talk about the territory. "Throughout the territory" or "we are now going to another part of the territory" or "and if the number of roses sold has been high throughout the territory, the sale of books has also been high"...

Mishima completed their first Olympic cycle of La Nit de les Roses this Wednesday. It has been four years since they were the first band to perform at the historic La Paloma venue in the heart of Barcelona's Raval after its renovation, and they did so by proposing a pre-Sant Jordi party that fuses words and music, as befits the most literary band on the contemporary Catalan scene. As Manuel de Pedrolo said, if they are roses, they will bloom. And these have burst forth proudly: if seeing them chanting Mishima's songs and the applause for the writers who acted as openers are the barometer, this is a tradition that has come to stay. 

The Mishimas completed their first Olympic cycle of La Nit de les Roses this Wednesday. They have already In times of fear for the future of Catalan, David Carabén sent an optimistic message: “Our language is in good enough shape that we had to go over it a few times these days to select authors”. The lineup was certainly a luxury. Opening the proceedings was the latest recipient of the Premi d'Honor de les Lletres Catalanes, the poet Biel Mesquida, who torrentially recited the last three pieces from his latest book, Trast

Sant Jordi, the great civic and cultural festival of Catalonia, endures everything. Literary sugar excesses and critical or humorous boutades. However cutesy we make it, however much of a profile some people adopt, we all end up celebrating the diada. It's unbeatable. Who gives up choosing a book? Who doesn't want to receive or give a rose? It's so hard to stay on the sidelines... It's a marvel that somehow works on its own, by the force of popular adherence that overcomes all mental and ideological borders, that is part of what we call shared identity. Because the magic formula doesn't fail: book and rose. So simple and so brilliant. As they say now in gastronomy, they pair well: reading and love-nature.

Look how big the Sant Jordi festival is, that every year it completely bypasses all the country's news agendas and reduces the day's events to the category of “the rest of the day's news”.

For Ali Smith, reading is so important and has shaped her in such a decisive way that this Wednesday afternoon she stated, in a packed Saló de Cent of Barcelona City Hall: "Books and libraries have a relationship and significance similar to what we humans have with water. I know that three-quarters of my body is water. I suspect that three-quarters of my body is also made of books".

After the crusade to change the name of Saint George's Day, I hope the thick heads are creating a manifesto to change the name of Saint Patrick's Day (intolerable that it is called that) to "beer day", damn it. Now then. Saint George's Day is such a radiant, radical and joyful day, so unique, so sensible and wild, that wanting to change its name or intention, wanting to change a thread of its dress, is wanting to crash against the fence. The tradition of making the 'tió' poop, which we love, you can explain with a gesture of sufficient irony in your mouth – "they hit a log so that it poops gifts, hehe" –. But with Saint George's Day, irony and sufficiency would not be understood, they have no place. Saint George's Day is the tangible and angel-touched proof of that "los catalanes hacen cosas" from the missed M. Rajoy. You take the most civilized and cultured being in the world to see how we queue under the sun to get them to sign... a book, and he rubs his eyes and asks for medication.

We have become extraordinarily skilled at choosing, practically in everything. We choose the best school, the best extracurricular activity, the most ergonomic backpack, the BPA-free lunchbox, and the flat-soled sneakers. We choose sugar-free, we choose to restrict mobile phones, we choose respectful clothing as if clothing could behave disrespectfully, and we choose toys with a Montessori label.

Dragons are fodder for pop culture. Film, series, literature, music, and comics have used dragons, stretching the limits of what this mythological creature can represent: an imposing fantastic beast, a cute little animal, an exotic creature... In fiction, the dragon is a malleable character that can be adapted to family comedy, monster movies, or epic fantasy. We chose 10 that have gone down in history.

The Calvià town hall, Mallorca, is once again celebrating this year (it did last year too) a festival called Saint George, which is essentially Sant Jordi but aimed exclusively at tourists and British residents, who are very numerous in this beautiful corner of the Serra de Tramuntana. The town hall, governed by the PP with the support of Vox, considers (these are verbatim words from their website, translated from Spanish) that it is their responsibility to “highlight the significant British presence in the municipality, and foster coexistence through culture, music, and shared leisure”. To this end, and in the coastal town of Palmanova, “this festive day will take place, including an extensive program of activities for all ages in a family and multicultural environment”. The aforementioned activities “highlight the English identity and the vitality of this group with a significant presence in the municipality”. The rulers of Calvià have discovered multiculturalism of whites with whites, which would be tourist multiculturalism. This beautiful celebration will not take place on Sant Jordi's Day, but this coming Sunday, April 26th, to encourage people to go for a peaceful walk with their children. If the British are in the mood, perhaps they can greet them and take a photo. The “cultural activities” include tribute concerts to The Beatles and Freddie Mercury, face painting workshops, an “artisanal” market, and “themed” parades about the legend —here the translation is impossible— of Saint George and the dragon. The Saint George of Calvià, it hardly needs to be said, dispenses with any reference to Sant Jordi and to the culture and language of Calvià, Mallorca, and the Balearic Islands, which are Catalan language and culture. It is part of a political vision that considers the island a Spanish enclave, and if convenient also British, and which at the same time does not neglect to work on the tourist projection of the municipality (the only and true obsession of elites with a pathological relationship with easy money) under the sign of de-seasonality, a concept that once progressivism advocated thinking it was about better distributing tourism and its impact throughout the year, but which has ended up meaning massification and collapse for as many months as possible. For a long time, Calvià has had far-right municipal governments that also have to face, every year, a dilemma: Jaume I and his troops landed in Mallorca on September 10, 1229 in Santa Ponça, precisely within the term of Calvià, and they find it a problem to celebrate the anniversary because then they have to balance to hide that those Christians who killed Moors (good) were Catalans (very bad).The day before Saint George, on Saturday the 25th, the Book Day will be celebrated in Calvià, with stalls selling this product. Perhaps writer Mendoza will have time to stop by, as he will find in Calvià a celebration alternative to Sant Jordi very similar to the one he demanded a few days ago.

It's a tradition that's gaining traction, the Estrella Damm Musical Sant Jordi, which this year coincides with the 150th anniversary of the brewing company. As usual, different spaces in the Old Estrella Damm Factory on Rosselló street in Barcelona will host about twenty concerts between 11:30 AM and 9 PM, featuring groups and artists of all kinds, such as Maria Jaume, Els Amics de les Arts, Buhos, Ven'nus, Naina, Xarim Aresté, Pastora, and Lildami.

"Don't you have a smaller or thinner one, so it doesn't weigh too much to read in bed?" Beyond literary quality, book format, or other publishing specifics, a book's length can push us towards or against buying it. A study of 2,500 bestsellers from the New York Times revealed a few years ago that the average number of pages had grown from 320 in 1999 to 400 in 2014. Is there a similar pattern with books originally written in Catalan? If we take a look at almost 5,000 narrative and essay books originally published in Catalan in recent decades, the trend is confirmed: books in Catalan (including those released simultaneously in another language) are getting longer.