A Midsummer's Equation by Keigo Higashino

The third novel in the Detective Galileo series. I liked it but I think the first 2 books are much better. It had a slow start but it was gripping. Yukawa (detective Galileo) is an amazing character this time showing his soft side becoming friends with a boy and teaching him physics. I liked how the chapters alternated between events the two main settings, and how Yukawa managed to be involved in both lines of investigation.... and I think the ending was sweet.

The Futurological Congress by Stanislaw Lem

It starts with a cosmonaut attending a Futurological Congress in a bomb free hotel in Costa Rica. Weird things happen in and outside the hotel. There is man plotting to kill the pope and in another floor a banquet for Literated Literature, attended by degenerate folks. Gases and hallucinations. Police and bombs. The cosmonaut ends up trying to escape the chaos but gets injured. When he wakes up, he is in the future and the world is even weirder than before.

This is a serious satire, with humour and absurdities. Political and social commentary. A philosophical novel raising questions about the nature of reality, technology and the use of drugs. It reminded me of Philip K Dick, as reality becomes a layered puzzle.

The Hardy Agency by Pierre Christin and Annie Goetzinger.

French comic. The story follows Edith Hardy, a private detective in 1950s Paris. 

Interesting story. Mysterious protagonist. Amazing art by Goetzinger.

The Telling by Ursula K Le Guin

❤ 🤍 💙 🧡 🖤

This book was perfect. Amazing prose. Engaging, thought provoking, beautiful, emotional. So many things in 247 pages.

The Telling is a Hainish novel, like the Left hand of darkness and the Dispossessed (both outstanding pieces of science fiction). The story is about the meaning of culture, traditions and memories for humans. It is very much about Storytelling as it is about listening and learning. It happens in another planet but we can see ourselves reflected in every page. I loved Sutty, the protagonist, her experience contrasted with the ones of the people she observed. The ending is beautiful. I'm still processing it.

The Shunned House by H.P. Lovecraft.

A creepy read perfect to send off this hideous year. MWAHAHAHA

The Coming Technological Singularity: How to Survive in the Post-Human Era by Vernor Vinge (1993)

I haven't read any fiction by Vinge yet but felt compelled to read his well known essay after some of my previous reads which refer to Vinge or discuss the topic. Also, it is a short read.

I first read about Singularities in Wonders of the Universe (Cox) and then The Illustrated A Brief History of Time (Hawking), referring to the Bing Bang and Black Holes. In those points/places mathematical calculations reach divisions by zero, or infinite, meaning the rules of (known) physics do not apply. Recently I also read a novel called Diaspora by Greg Egan in which characters travel through Singularities (totallyrecommendit. ).

The topic of Vinge's essay is different from the above. It discusses our future after we develop super human intelligence. This is a well-known essay, as it is in this paper (as far as I know) that Vinge coined the term (Technological) Singularity to mean that point in which we, humans will cease to be the most intelligent things on earth. Previously I had read a thesis on Singularities and literature and recently a much recommended Life 3.0 by Max Tegmark which opened my mind to so many possibilities. Also the last novel I read was Accelerando by Charles Stross, difficult read but worth it. Among other things it explores the effects of a Technological Singularity on economics and humanity way of living.

For the blood is the life by F. Marion Crawford

A vampire short story! I liked Crawford's writing style and that it was set in hot Italy.