Who I'm Reading

You've seen this cute little monkey avatar, Angamonkey, this been jumping around Bookrix critiquing books and adding her sage suggestions. And I know you’ve pondered this young lady’s story, well I happen to have it. Her name is Angely Mercado and she has a slight obsession with monkeys, owning several stuff animals with strange names like Crinkle Bananas. She considers herself a weirdo, a dreamer, and what self respecting writer isn’t those; a jogger, a New Yorker and somewhat of a cat woman, but that doesn’t encompass this budding wordsmith.

 Born in Queens New York, Angely said she has always been fascinated with words. She told me this cute little story. When she was about five; she took it upon herself to copy the entire book of the Cat in the Hat. She was already on her way to becoming a Bookrix critic. Angely rich fascination with words and storytelling stems fundamentally from her corner stone, her family. Her grandmother, when she would visit from the Dominican Republic, always made it a point to tell her stories from her rich culture. While her mother often told stories that instill morals, her father told funny animals’ stories and Puerto Rican folk tales. These rich and diverse storytellers help shape the person Angely would soon become. And after she wrote a haiku, a finalist in a contest in elementary school, the deal was sealed. “That was one of the events that made me consider writing as a career.”

 Angley has always been an avid reader, as a child would she sneak books and a flashlight under her pillow to read in bed. She told me. “I read like it’s my job.” A job she loves and her mother often brags to her friends, telling them ‘Angely doesn’t just read a book, she devours them.’ Currently a college student, Angely has won scholarships because of her exceptional essays as well as having good grades. Angely will be in her junior year at CUNY Hunter College this fall where she’s a Creative Writing major and a Media minor. And get this, our budding journalist, has even been published in the school newspaper.

 Angely likes to stay busy, this summer she’s currently taking a Basic Reporting course, while maintaining her job at one of the college offices where she does clerical work. Due to all the various literature classes she’s had to take, Angely said she’s been introduced to so many great books, she can’t say she has one favorite, loving most of the books she’s read. But she did point out a few favorite poems, “Romance Sonambulo” by Lorca, “To His Coy Mistress” by Andrew Marvell, “Alone” by Edgar Allen Poe, and “Poesia Negroide” by Fernando Fortunado Vizcarrondo. Her favorite play is “The Merchant of Venice” by Shakespeare. And she narrowed down her favorite authors to Paolo Coehlo and Shakespeare. “I’ve also learned to love the authors on Bookrix, the talent and creativity on that site have never ceased to amaze me.”

 Reading works by several authors like Tommi DaPaola and Gar Soto inspired Angely early on, having amazed her at how they played with words. They helped to shape how she moved toward a future in writing today. Although for a while she considered giving up on her life long dream of becoming a writer and journalist. Can you imagine we might not have had this talent around? Lucky for us, it only took a few good novels to change her mind. ‘I hope that writing remains important to me for the rest of my life; I can’t imagine what I would do without having it in my life.” Angely has three siblings an older sister and a younger brother, but lives in Ridgewood in Queens with her parents and older brother

Author's Choice
Blurb:

Family members, especially grandparents are a valuable source of inspiration. I grew up listening to my maternal grandmother's stories about her life, about my mother and what it was like to live in the Dominican Republic during a dictatorship. This memoir is a conversation I had with her not long after I returned from traveling to Puerto Rico and Mexico.

Reviews;

How wonderful to have story telling grandparents

Loved it

Wow, you are such a good writer.


My Favorite Book

The Author choice my favorite so here's another one of her poems, that oddly is her favorite too.

Blurb:

Taking the subway is an adventure. The stops are predictable and mapped but the people who might come and go are not. The riders help form the pulse of what makes the city move. They are all cells riding through the veins of an elaborate system.

Reviews:

The poetry is eloquent, and adds some spice to it. 

I could smell the subway while reading your story.

Extremely well-told, and good sense of humor.


I hope you enjoy these two books by a very talented young author and check out the others in her collection 

*******Bonus****** 

Fabio Fiallo was a Dominican writer who was exiled to Cubaduring the reign of the dictator Trujillo. When Angely was about eight, her grandmother mentioned him, but she didn’t really pay that much attention. When she was older Angely decided to look up some of the poet’s work online and one of his poems made her laugh, it was called Golgotha Rosa. “It was just so amazingly witty.” Angely was impressed by this exiled poet, that her grandmother always said was the cousin of a great uncle. Yes, that’s right everyone, our Angely is related to this amazing poet. “I can only hope that I might one day write something worthy of his work.”