The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens

Gripping, super addictive, murder mystery. I read this in 2 days. A young man investigates a murder from 30 years before as part of a college assignment. The book is about the investigation in the present, the events 30 years ago, and a dying man who was convicted for that crime. Excellent character development for the protagonists and a couple of nice twists towards the end.

Nenúfares Negros (Black Water Lilies) by Cassegrain, Duval and Bussi

This is the Spanish translation. There is a digital translation to English by Europe Comics.

This is a gripping crime mystery graphic novel which is based on a novel of the same name by Michel Bussi. I loved the plot, and the twists. I loved the beautiful setting in a French village: Giverny, and the three mysterious female protagonists. And if that wasn't enough to like this book, there are, through out the whole novel, traces of Monet's art, in the landscapes and flowers that he painted and in some of the events in the story.

The Transgender Issue. An Argument for Justice by Shon Faye

This read is part of my #myculturewarsproject. A project I started to understand discussions I read in the media. I have previously read The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt and The Madness of Crowds by Douglas Murray.

This book discusses the current state of affairs regarding Transgender rights and way of life in the UK and abroad. It has opened my eyes to the complexity of the so-called transgender “issue”. I am glad I read it. First of all, it has informed me about the history of the transgender topic, from historical accounts about people and groups who (could) identify as transgender to the evolution of the concept. Second, it has opened my eyes to the unfair treatment trans people receive in their everyday lives. Third, it has clarified some conceptual, social and political issues around trans-people. The arguments are obviously skewed to the POV of the author, a transgender woman. But this isn’t bad, quite the opposite. Although this is not a memoir/biography, but an analysis, the text is enriched by the subjectivity of the author. Fourth, it has helped me to identify sources of misinformation. Fifth, it has left many more questions I want to investigate. To start I’d like to read someone with a different perspective on this same topic, and also to broaden my read to medical and legal issues as well. Content:

Introduction: seen but not heard

1.       Trans Life Now

2.       Right And Wrong Bodies

3.       Class Struggle

4.       Sex Sells

5.       The State

6.       Kissing Cousins: The T in the LGBT

7.       The Ugly Sister: Trans People in feminism

Conclusion: A Transformed Future

While I enjoyed the whole book, my favourite chapter was the Ugly Sister abt disagreements btw feminist factions regarding trans people. This doesn't mean I agree with Faye's ideas. I found it contradicting how trans activists, who rely on scientific advancements to transform their bodies challenge science's fundamental and immutable facts about biological sex. This on its own invalidates every other idea built on top of it. Nevertheless I'd recommend the book to understand one part of the argument.

His Master's Voice by Stanisław Lem

How would humanity’s best minds do to decode a message sent from outer space? What would they do with the information they decode? Is it even a message? Lem approaches these questions from a philosophical perspective, exploring existential and cosmological themes with a satirical touch. A bit of a dense read in parts but a novel worth reading if you are interested in first contact, decoding and seeing great minds working (or not) together.

The Way We Die Now by Seamus O'Mahony

An excellent, easy to read and interesting read. O'Mahony is a physician and has worked in the UKs NHS and in Ireland. In this book he relates how death happens in reality, and shares his thoughts on how it should happen.

O'Mahony states that in our (western) societies we hide from death, we pretend it happens to other people but not us. We do not talk about it and therefore are ignorant of all its implications.

Although the author is a physician, he does not rely solely on medicine, science and technology particularly when dealing with death. He advocates "death with dignity" meaning away as possible from busy and noisy hospitals, from tubes, pipes and any other invasive tools; but close to home and the people who care for us.

Through the book O'Mahony explains how people nowadays rely so much in medicine to the extent that they believe it can treat anything. But it can't. When there is nothing else medicine can do, it is better to accept death and live our last days as best as possible.

Homework: when the time comes, you are frail and dying, would you like to be taken to a hospital to attempt messy resuscitation or would you prefer to leave it as it is and accept your fate?

This might be a difficult topic for some people but I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in what really happens when people die and how we can make it better for ourselves.

Samurai Leyendas vol 1 & 2 by Di Giorgio, Mormile and Genêt

French comic about 3 female, bad-ass warriors. A fun, solid read. It is a spin-off series of the main "Samurai" series (which I haven't read) by the same writer. There are 5 french albums in these two Spanish volumes. They are not sequential stories but overall explain the origins of the three sisters of the shadow (who also appear in the main series). Samurai legends has a samurai setup with a supernatural kick. There are sword fights which are excellent with much movement and action. There is female nudity . Actually too much female nudity and very little male nudity. Amazing art thought. Nice graphic narrative, my favourite those large landscapes with smaller panels on top.

Farewell, my lovely by Raymond Chandler

Classic hardboiled novel. Written in 1940, it treats non-white characters in an appalling way by today standard's. Chandler's dehumanisation of non-whites, I guess, is part of his depiction of corruption in police and the same private detective, who is the protagonist. A well written and engaging novel, nevertheless.