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24<h1>Books</h1>
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26
27This is a list of novels and books I have read, sorted by the date when I finished reading the book. "Language" refers to the language which I read the book in, not necessarily the original language of the book.
28
29
30      <p> 
31      <center>
32      <!-- **************************** 2026 ******************************* -->
33      <h2> 2026 </h2>                    
34      <table border="0" width="85%"><tbody>
35        <tr>
36          <th class="g2">Title</th>
37          <th class="g2">Score</th>
38          <th class="g2">Author</th>
39          <th class="g2">Language</th>
40        </tr>
41        <!-- start book -->
42        <tr>
43          <td class="g1">人魚の眠る家 (The House Where the Mermaid Sleeps )</td>
44          <td class="s8">	 8	 </td>
45          <td class="g3"> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keigo_Higashino">Keigo Higashino</a> (東野 圭吾)</td>
46          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/Japan.png" class="flag"> </td>
47        </tr>
48        <tr>
49          <td class="g4" colspan="4">
50          This is not a mystery novel, but a quite intense drama.
51          <p/>
52          A small girl has an accident in a pool. They managed to reanimate her, but her brain suffered irreversible damage, so she's left in a vegetative state. The girl's mother decides to take care of her daughter, even if she may be brain-dead. There are several philosophical discussions about life and death through the book, and a quite informative description of how the Japanese law handles these cases and how child donors come to be.
53          <p/>
54          Don't expect a happy ending, but the epilogue was good.
55          <p/>
56          Although is not a very happy story, I was quite immersed into it and I just read it in one week (usually it takes me several weeks to read a Japanese novel...). I started reading on the 23rd of July. Later I found out that Keigo Higashino died on that day... 😢
57          </td> 
58        </tr>
59        <!-- end book -->
60        <!-- start book -->
61        <tr>
62          <td class="g1">サイレントヒルf (Silent Hill f)</td>
63          <td class="s8">	 8	 </td>
64          <td class="g3"> Shirō Kuro (黒 史郎)</td>
65          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/Japan.png" class="flag"> </td>
66        </tr>
67        <tr>
68          <td class="g4" colspan="4">
69          Novelization of the "Silent Hill f" game. It follows the same events of the game, in the same order, except for the Prologue. The prologue explains how some school boys bully a little fox when the protagonists were still little kids. There are also no "mini boss battles" in the novel. The ending is the same as the "true" ending (4th ending) of the game, but mixed with elements of the other endings. 
70          <p/>
71          It's a bit difficult to read because there are many old Japanese words. Not necessarily "old Japanese", but they describe things that existed in rural Japan in the 60s, but they aren't words that we use these days (e.g. 茅葺 KAYABUKI, thatched roof). There are also some kanji not even the Japanese people I asked could recognize, like 迚も (TOTEMO) -- a Japanese-only kanji, it doesn't exist in Chinese...
72          <p/>
73          Review in Spanish: <a href="https://youtu.be/_b2O5eLsbdU?si=O-aAK09_hJY__8LN">Novela de Silent Hill f 🍒 Diferencias respecto al juego</a>
74          </td> 
75        </tr>
76        <!-- end book -->
77        <!-- start book -->
78        <tr>
79          <td class="g1">ノルウェイの森 / <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegian_Wood_(novel)">Norwegian Wood</a></td>
80          <td class="s8">	 8	 </td>
81          <td class="g3"> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haruki_Murakami">Haruki Murakami</a> (村上 春樹) </td>
82          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/Japan.png" class="flag"> </td>
83        </tr>
84        <tr>
85          <td class="g4" colspan="4">
86          It's the first novel from Haruki Murakami that I read. I always imagined it's going to be very artistic or philosophical, so I was avoiding his 
86novels. However, recently a friend was recommending this novel and I decided to buy the original while in Japan. If I read the original and I don't like it, at least I practice Japanese so it feels less like a waste of time. The Japanese version is split in 2 books, but it's just one story, so this is a review for both books.
87          <p/>
88          Surprisingly, it was relatively easy to read, in terms of sentences and vocabulary. I heard that Murakami is an admirer of Hemingway and copies his concise style, which it's supposedly easier to read. However, this has led to Murakami been characterized by Japan's literary establishment as un-Japanese, apparently.
89          <p/>
90          The title is a reference to a Beatles song called "Norwegian Wood", but that "wood" refers to the material, but in Japanese "Norway NO MORI" means "Norwegian Forest". The song is referenced multiple times in the novel. It actually starts with Watanabe listening to an orchestral version of it in a flight to Germany, and feeling nostalgic and getting emotional.
91          <p/>
92          The novel is quite dark... The first memory of Watanabe remembering Naoko gave me flashbacks of a girl who spoke cryptically like that and I felt quite annoyed, to be honest. Why can't people speak more clearly? Anyway, in that segment they talk about a well, which probably didn't exist in reality. The well is a central and recurring theme in Murakami's novels, apparently. It's a symbolic space representing the deepest, darkest parts of the subconscious and the unconscious mind.
93          <p/>
94          I'd say the main theme of the novel is depression and suicide, and how different people deal with it, some clinging to the dead, and other clinging to the living.
95          <p/>
96          Everything is narrated in first person, from the point of view of Watanabe. He's a very patient young man that adapts well to the change of times (late 60s in Japan) and very likeable, although he doesn't have many friends.
97          <p/>
98          I didn't like the sex scenes. I think they are important because they are a reflection of how the young characters feel and experience, but it's not something I like to read...
99          <p/>
100          In any case, I felt emotional at the end, and I would say this novel can even be dangerous. If you are feeling down, this novel probably destroys you even more. For me, it was more that it reminded me of the times I've been down. The way it describes these sensations is very good. I particularly like the time when he describes Watanabe felt like life was passing by, everyone was moving forward, but he felt like we was dragging his feet through mud. I've felt like that before.
101          <p/>
102          Anyway, I'm not sure I will read any other of Murakami's novels, but at least now I understand why he's so popular. I'm happy I read and it was good Japanese practice.
103          </td> 
104        </tr>
105        <!-- end book -->
106        <!-- start book -->
107        <tr>
108          <td class="g1"><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/プラチナデータ">プラチナデータ</a> / Platinum Data</td>
109          <td class="s9">	 9	 </td>
110          <td class="g3"> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keigo_Higashino">Keigo Higashino</a> (東野 圭吾) </td>
111          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/Japan.png" class="flag"> </td>
112        </tr>
113        <tr>
114          <td class="g4" colspan="4">Another mystery novel from Keigo Higashino with <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2282917/">a movie adaptation</a> from 2013. Trailer: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ktsv0eXwvg">プラチナデータ 予告編</a>
115          <p/>
116          I haven't watched the movie, but from the trailer I can see there's a big difference of what "platinum data" is. In the movie, they call "platinum data" to the DNA database, but in the novel is just certain type of data, and the mystery revolves around discovering what that data is.
117          <p/>
118          The first part of the novel was very good, with lots of different twists and topics. First it starts with the scene of a crime in a hotel, of some SM play gone wrong. This is seemingly unrelated to what happens later, but in the crime they use some brain stimulation device that makes an appearance later on. With the excuse of this crime, they introduce the main topic of the novel, which it's a DNA tracking system that can be used to create realistic portraits of the criminal, and it can also be used to search the closest relative in the DB. But that's not all, because the novel is also about multiple personality disorder and psychological manipulation. It also touches the topic of GenAI before there was GenAI! The novel is from 2010, but it contains some interesting philosophical discussions about art, very relevant today. In the novel, there is a robot that creates exact replicas of the ceramics that the father of the main protagonist creates. Not only that, but it can create original artwork replicating some artist style. Anyway, the main topic of the novel is about the right to privacy and it makes you think to what extent giving your data to government and police is safe. But it contains many more topics that kept me interested all the time.
119          <p/>
120          Again, there's an appearance of a 14-year old girl that it's common in Higashino's novels. She says she's the main character girlfriend, which it sounds inappropriate. Higashino has some fixation with underage girls... I think it's because they represent innocence, but it can sound inappropriate at times. I think in the mov
120ie that character is given to an adult.
121          <p/>
122          Also, the ending is not that good. Just satisfactory, I guess.
123          </td> 
124        </tr>
125        <!-- end book -->
126        <!-- start book -->
127        <tr>
128          <td class="g1">パラレルワールド・ラブストーリー / Parallel World Love Story</td>
129          <td class="s8">	 8	 </td>
130          <td class="g3"> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keigo_Higashino">Keigo Higashino</a> (東野 圭吾) </td>
131          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/Japan.png" class="flag"> </td>
132        </tr>
133        <tr>
134          <td class="g4" colspan="4">Another old novel from Keigo Higashino, from 1995. It has <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9251748/">a movie adaptation</a> from 2019.<p/>
135          Takashi rides the same train every day to uni, and sees a girl on the train running parallel to it (the Keihin-Tohoko line and the Yamanote line run in parallel for a few stations). After one year, Takashi falls in love with her without actually knowing her, but then he graduates and they no longer see each other from those trains. Until some time later his best friend, Tomohiko, introduces her as his girlfriend, Mayuko. The 3 of them end up working on a Virtual Reality system called "Parallel World", and the story is told from 2 apparently alternate realities: one where Takashi is secretly in love with Mayuko, and another reality where Takashi is Mayuko's boyfriend. 
136          <p/>
137          Because the title said "Love Story", I assumed this novel was not a mystery/"deduction novel" (推理小説), but it actually is. Takashi tries to find what happened with Tomohiko and other people who start disappearing, while trying to find out what's going on with his own memories. The "love" part was a bit too much for me to empathise. Takashi is too obsessed with Mayuko. Even the beginning with the trains running in parallel can be a bit tricky when you think about it, although is supposedly to be romantic.
138          </td> 
139        </tr>
140        <!-- end book -->
141      </tbody></table>
142
143      <!-- **************************** 2025 ******************************* -->
144      <h2> 2025 </h2>                    
145      <table border="0" width="85%"><tbody>
146        <tr>
147          <th class="g2">Title</th>
148          <th class="g2">Score</th>
149          <th class="g2">Author</th>
150          <th class="g2">Language</th>
151        </tr>
152        <!-- start book -->
153        <tr>
154          <td class="g1">美しき凶器 / Beautiful murder weapon</td>
155          <td class="s9">	 9	 </td>
156          <td class="g3"> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keigo_Higashino">Keigo Higashino</a> (東野 圭吾) </td>
157          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/Japan.png" class="flag"> </td>
158        </tr>
159        <tr>
160          <td class="g4" colspan="4">Another old novel from Keigo Higashino, from 1992. <p/>
161          Four olympic medal athletes (Takuma, Jun'ya, Yusuke, Shoko) try to erase proof of a special doping program they took part of. While looking for their files at the mansion of the scientist responsible for those experiments, Sendo, the scientist shows up with a gun. They fight and they kill Sendo, burn the house, and run away. However, someone was looking from the CCTV cameras, a 190cm-tall super athlete foreign woman, "Tarantula". The woman was another of the experiments of Sendo. She was captive, but she's freed by a careless policeman who gets killed by her. She starts a chase to find the 4 athletes, and the police plays cat and mouse at the trail of murders that Tarantula leaves on her way.
162          <p/>
163          Most of the mystery novels from Keigo Higashino that I read so far were of crimes that had already happened, or that happened at the very beginning, and the detectives were trying to unravel the mystery. However, this was more like an action movie. The police were quite useless, to be honest. The interesting part is following Tarantula on her journey, trying to understand how things work in Japan, without fully understanding the language. It's also about the psyche of these elite athletes. There's a bit of a plot twist in the end, but the ending isn't great. However, the novel is a page-turner.
164          </td> 
165        </tr>
166        <!-- end book -->  
167        <!-- start book -->
168        <tr>
169          <td class="g1"><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/ウインクで乾杯">ウインクで乾杯</a> / A toast with a wink</td>
170          <td class="s9">	 9	 </td>
171          <td class="g3"> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keigo_Higashino">Keigo Higashino</a> (東野 圭吾) </td>
172          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/Japan.png" class="flag"> </td>
173        </tr>
174        <tr>
175          <td class="g4" colspan="4">Another old novel from Keigo Higashino, from 1988, originally named "Kyoko's dream" (香子の夢). It has a movie adaptation from 1989, <a href="https://youtu.be/9YL9O6O36l8?si=ZMCT6CEa1sgBRC5q">香子の夢 コンパニオン殺人事件</a>. <p/>
176          Kyoko works as a hostess for private events, and she dreams of being rich one day to be able to afford expensive jewellery. One of the events she works for is a yearly celebration from her favourite jewellery brand. There, she targets a good looking rich man. She meets him by coincidence after the party, and tries to get close to him. However, everything gets interrupted 
176when one of Kyoko's colleagues, Eri, is found dead. Her colleague apparently poisoned herself, but the police doesn't discard the possibility of murder. The next day someone knocks at Kyoko's door. It's a new neighbour that just moved in, and it happens to be one of the officers that questioned her the previous night, detective Shibata. Between the two of them, they'll find the truth of what happened that night.
177          <p/>
178          I loved Kyoko's character. She's a girl in her twenties with a very naive dream of buying expensive jewellery, but very hard-working and dedicated. She goes to great lengths to learn about classical music, ballet, and cooking to impress the rich man she's after. But when around Shibata, she acts playful and natural. And her help was key to solving the case. I was rooting for the couple of Shibata and Kyoko, and the ending was good enough for me.
179          </td> 
180        </tr>
181        <!-- end book -->  
182        <!-- start book -->
183        <tr>
184          <td class="g1"><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/ある閉ざされた雪の山荘で">ある閉ざされた雪の山荘で</a> / In an Isolated Cottage on a Snowy Mountain</td>
185          <td class="s9">	 9	 </td>
186          <td class="g3"> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keigo_Higashino">Keigo Higashino</a> (東野 圭吾) </td>
187          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/Japan.png" class="flag"> </td>
188        </tr>
189        <tr>
190          <td class="g4" colspan="4">This is an older novel from Keigo Higashino, from 1992, first published in the edition I was reading in 1996. And this was the 51th print, from 2006! So it seems it's a popular novel... So popular, that last year they made a movie adaptation: <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt30832517/">Aru Tozasareta Yuki no Sanso de (IMDB)</a>. From the description of the movie:
191          <blockquote>Kazuyuki Kuga aspires to become an actor. He auditions for the lead role in a theater company's next work. Among the 300 people who take part in that audition, only 7 people are selected for a final audition round. Kazuyuki Kuga is among the final 7 participants. These 7 people then travel to a snowy mountain villa and stay there for 4 days to take the final audition. By the director's orders, all contact with the outside world are not allowed. Soon, the participants begin to disappear one by one.
192          </blockquote>
193          When I was reading it, I wasn't sure if they were really being 
193killed, or if the narrator is also tricking us... Because there are 2 narrators: one typical omniscient narrator, and Kuga. But there's a very good plot twist at the end. Not sure how well it will work in a movie, but in a book I was surprised. Although apparently it's not new and Agatha Christie may have done something similar in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Murder_of_Roger_Ackroyd">The Murder of Roger Ackroyd</a>. But I haven't actually read Agatha Christie's novel so I can't compare. Anyway, perhaps I haven't read enough and I'm easily surprised, but I really enjoyed this book.</td> 
194        </tr>
195        <!-- end book -->  
196        <!-- start book -->
197        <tr>
198          <td class="g1">祈りの幕が降りる時 / The final curtain</td>
199          <td class="s0">	 10	 </td>
200          <td class="g3"> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keigo_Higashino">Keigo Higashino</a> (東野 圭吾) </td>
201          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/Japan.png" class="flag"> </td>
202        </tr>
203        <tr>
204          <td class="g4" colspan="4">Another page-turner! This was a very intricate crime mystery from the detective Kaga series. It's about an actress with a mysterious past. An old friend from high school visits her on the first day of her new play, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Love_Suicides_at_Sonezaki">The Love Suicides at Sonezaki</a>, and that friend appears dead a few days later in an empty apartment. The crime also relates with the late mother of detective Kaga, so I was really engaged reading this!<pr/>
205          It also has a movie adaptation from 2018, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7080138/">The Crimes that Bind</a>, starring Hiroshi Abe as detective Kaga.
206        </td> 
207        </tr>
208        <!-- end book -->        
209        <!-- start book -->
210        <tr>
211          <td class="g1">赤い指 (Red finger)</td>
212          <td class="s9">	 9	 </td>
213          <td class="g3"> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keigo_Higashino">Keigo Higashino</a> (東野 圭吾) </td>
214          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/Japan.png" class="flag"> </td>
215        </tr>
216        <tr>
217          <td class="g4" colspan="4">A crime from the detective Kaga series. I think the main theme of this book is actually about taking care of your elders and about dementia. So it's not a case where the detectives have to think a lot to solve it. Everything is quite obvious because the family that tries to hide the crime are quite bad at it... But it makes you think. Apart from the main story, there's also a storyline that explains the passing of detective Kaga's father, and how Kaga's cousin Matsumiya (also a detective) takes care of his uncle during those last days. Here's a video in Spanish summarizing the whole story: <a href="https://youtu.be/I5LGVi7v5EA">Dedo rojo (Focotaku)</a></td> 
218        </tr>
219        <!-- end book -->
220        <!-- start book -->
221        <tr>
222          <td class="g1">Felix, The railway cat</td>
223          <td class="s7">	 7	 </td>
224          <td class="g3"> Kate Moore </td>
225          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/GB.png" class="flag"> </td>
226        </tr>
227        <tr>
228          <td class="g4" colspan="4">😻 Heartwarming story about Felix, a station cat in Yorkshire's Huddersfield train station in the UK. It's written as slices of life in that station, with a glimpse at Felix life through the people working at the station. If you like this genre, this book may be a 10. I don't usually read this type of non-fiction, but I didn't get bored with it. Recommended if you are a cat person or a "cat parent" (I do have a cat). Unfortunately, Felix passed away in 2023: <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c97383pvyy8o">Railway cat and internet sensation Felix dies</a>.</td> 
229        </tr>
230        <!-- end book -->
231        <!-- start book -->
232        <tr>
233          <td class="g1">The art of thinking clearly</td>
234          <td class="s0">	 10	 </td>
235          <td class="g3"> Rolf Dobelli </td>
236          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/GB.png" class="flag"> </td>
237        </tr>
238        <tr>
239          <td class="g4" colspan="4">A very interesting book about biases. Even though I was aware of many of this from reading other authors like Daniel Kahneman and Dan Ariely (I also recommend those readings), I like the format of this book: each chapter is just 2 or 3 pages and it's dedicated to one type of bias (99 in total), with very clear examples and s
239ome simple advice if we want to become aware of it (to avoid it). I took lots of notes.</td> 
240        </tr>
241        <!-- end book -->
242      </tbody>
243      </table>
244      <!-- **************************** 2024 ******************************* -->
245      <h2> 2024 </h2>                    
246      <table border="0" width="85%"><tbody>
247        <tr>
248          <th class="g2">Title</th>
249          <th class="g2">Score</th>
250          <th class="g2">Author</th>
251          <th class="g2">Language</th>
252        </tr>
253        <!-- start book -->
254        <tr>
255          <td class="g1">Como las grecas</td>
256          <td class="s5">	 5	 </td>
257          <td class="g3"> Bob Pop </td>
258          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/Spain.png" class="flag"> </td>
259        </tr>
260        <tr>
261          <td class="g4" colspan="4">An essay about the culture of drinking and over-drinking. Since I don't drink alcohol, I couldn't relate at all and I found it very tedious to read... Fortunately, it's just a short essay. I read it in a couple of hours in a plane.</td> 
262        </tr>
263        <!-- end book -->
264        <!-- start book -->
265        <tr>
266          <td class="g1">Toxic Superfoods</td>
267          <td class="s7">	 7	 </td>
268          <td class="g3"> Sally Norton </td>
269          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/GB.png" class="flag"> </td>
270        </tr>
271        <tr>
272          <td class="g4" colspan="4">My GP told me to check this book, in case it helped with eczema. Spoiler: it didn't. Medicine did. It's an interesting read, nevertheless. It's just a warning about eating too many oxalate-rich foods. I hadn't heard about oxalates before reading this. Apparently it's present in veggies, some worse offenders than others. The worst are spinach, apparently. She has some tables to get a general idea on how much oxalate is present in different types of food. There were not many Japanese ingredients, though. But I google it, and I found a paper from a Japanese author listing them. Anyway, I wrote down the stuff I was eating during the week and it turns out I don't eat that many oxalates. I even reduced them more, without going oxalate-free. I haven't noticed any miraculous change as some of the stories described, so take it with a grain of salt. But in general, the advice seems like common sense: follow varied traditional diets, like our parents and grandparents did; don't fall for the "superfoods" craze and poison yourself by eating the tons of the same thing.</td> 
273        </tr>
274        <!-- end book -->
275        <!-- start book -->
276        <tr>
277          <td class="g1">NieR: Automata 少年ヨルハ (<a href="https://archive.org/details/nier-automata-yorha-boys-novels">YoRHa Boys</a>)</td>
278          <td class="s7">	 7	 </td>
279          <td class="g3"> Jun Eishima (映島 巡), Yoko Taro </td>
280          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/Japan.png" class="flag"> </td>
281        </tr>
282        <tr>
283          <td class="g4" colspan="4">A side story from NieR Automata. I think it was originally a stage play, and then it was novelized. In the reviews they say it has 3 parts: the YoRHa boys part, the "flashback", and a treasure hunt side story. But the prologue in the YoRHa boys part is actually a separate story, where Model 2 (2B) is a girl. In the rest of the book all the characters are guys. The first part of the book was OK, but the whole story where they are trapped in the mountain dragged for too long. In fact, during the Flashback chapter everything is summarized in a few pages and I felt the story was better if told that way. There's an epilogue in the YoRHa boys part, but actually, I think the last chapter is a better epilogue to the book. The last chapter is about 3 rogue androids (non-YoRHa) on a treasure hunt, and they end up visiting some of the locations in the game, and meeting a few characters in the game as well. I think in general NieR Automata has a BDSM feeling to it, not only from the cloth design, but also by the theme of "if you are the one who kills me, then I'm happy". I think it works fine in the game, but in this novel it was a bit out of tune, specially in the prologue. At some point they just sound insane, so it's hard to feel emotional for such psychos.</td> 
284        </tr>
285        <!-- end book -->
286        <!-- start book -->
287        <tr>
288          <td class="g1">
288NieR: Automata 長イ話 (<a href="https://archive.org/details/NieRAutomataLongStoryShort">Long story short</a>)</td>
289          <td class="s9">	 9	 </td>
290          <td class="g3"> Jun Eishima (映島 巡), Yoko Taro </td>
291          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/Japan.png" class="flag"> </td>
292        </tr>
293        <tr>
294          <td class="g4" colspan="4">The novelized story of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nier:_Automata">NieR Automata</a>. It's exactly the same story of the game. If you stopped playing the game after the first ending, and you don't want to continue with the second half, you could either read this novel or watch the anime. Although the anime hasn't finished yet, at the time of writing this. Some secondary missions of the game aren't present in this book. So if you want to read about Emil, for instance, you have to read the other novel, "Short story long". Also, the introductory chapter where 9S and 2B first meet happens very quickly, in just a couple of pages. The other bits are more elaborate, though. Anyway, I had fun reading this because I could picture in my head scenes of the game, but I'm not sure if it would be the same if I hadn't played the game.</td> 
295        </tr>
296        <!-- end book -->
297        <!-- start book -->
298        <tr>
299          <td class="g1">The Way of Nagomi</td>
300          <td class="s8">	 8	 </td>
301          <td class="g3"> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Mogi">Ken Mogi</a> </td>
302          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/GB.png" class="flag"> </td>
303        </tr>
304        <tr>
305          <td class="g4" colspan="4">A new philosophy of life by Professor Ken Mogi (Sony CSL). It describes the balance that we must find in things in order to live a happy life. Prof. Mogi says NAGOMI 和み is the root of every aspect of Japanese culture and philosophy, including IKIGAI (of which he also wrote about) and WABI-SABI. The book makes you think and it introduces many interesting concepts and anecdotes, so it's an interesting read. But I felt it was a bit comical at some point, because everything can be thought as NAGOMI, even corruption in the government... 😅</td> 
306        </tr>
307        <!-- end book -->
308        <!-- start book -->
309        <tr>
310          <td class="g1">NieR: Automata 短イ話 (<a href="https://archive.org/details/nier-automata-short-story-long">Short story long</a>)</td>
311          <td class="s9">	 9	 </td>
312          <td class="g3"> Jun Eishima (映島 巡), Yoko Taro </td>
313          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/Japan.png" class="flag"> </td>
314        </tr>
315        <tr>
316          <td class="g4" colspan="4">A collection of 8 short stories that complement the story of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nier:_Automata">NieR Automata</a>. If you played the game, this is the perfect book to get a bit more context and revive some of the special moments in the game. It also helps a bit to bridge the gap between the events in NieR Replicant and NieR Automata. The story before the last one was particularly emotional, at least for me. Apparently the English translation has some errors, but if you've played the game you should be able to spot the errors and understand what they really mean. The book comes with some nice drawings by Itahana Toshiyuki. 2 of the stories are written by the director of the game, Yoko Taro, and the rest are written by Eishima Jun, whose real name is Emi Nagashima and who's written many other novels for Square-Enix, including Final Fantasy X, XIII, and XV novels.<p>The NieR Automata anime follows the same story of the game, but it also includes some of the side stories from this novel.</td> 
317        </tr>
318        <!-- end book -->
319      </tbody>
320      </table>
321      <!-- **************************** 2023 ******************************* -->
322      <h2> 2023 </h2>                    
323      <table border="0" width="85%"><tbody>
324        <tr>
325          <th class="g2">Title</th>
326          <th class="g2">Score</th>
327          <th class="g2">Author</th>
328          <th class="g2">Language</th>
329        </tr>
330        <!-- start book -->
331        <tr>
332          <td class="g1"> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomorrow,_and_Tomorrow,_and_Tomorrow">Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow</a></td>
333          <td class="s0">	 10	 </td>
334          <td class="g3"> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabrielle_Zevin">Gabrielle Zevin</a> </td>
335          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/GB.png" class="flag"> </td>
336        </tr>
337        <tr>
338          <td class="g4" colspan="4">Apparently the most sold book on Amazon in 2022. A friend had read it and he said he thought of me all the time as he was reading it. He wanted to lend me the book but I decided to buy it on Kindle instead, because it's quite a big volume! My friend was right to think of me. The game is about a couple of game developers and their ups and downs. It's a business story with successes and failures. There's passion, and love, and drama. There are references to many games I know, and there are fictional games imagined for this novel, but with great level of detail. I would like to play them if they existed! Anyway, the way it was written really touched my geek heart.</td> 
339        </tr>
340        <!-- end book -->
341        <!-- start book -->
342        <tr>
343          <td class="g1"> 怪笑小説 (Funny humor novel)</td>
344          <td class="s7">	 7	 </td>
345          <td class="g3"> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keigo_Higashino">Keigo Higashino</a> (東野 圭吾)  </td>
346          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/Japan.png" class="flag"></td>
347        </tr>
348        <tr>
349          <td class="g4" colspan="4">A collection of humorous short novels. Not really that funny. The end is always slightly weird and that's supposed to be funny, but perhaps just for half of them. They are all quite interesting, though. I like the first one, where you can hear people's thoughts in a train full of people commuting back from work, and a story about a "super tanuki", where they mock the paranormal & supernatural. I made a video review of these an other of Higashino's novels (voiced in Spanish): <a href="https://youtu.be/C8-OVEC-qpY?si=hjWFMYNlKSzdEUmj">Keigo Higashino: Devoción del sospechoso X, Secretos, y más (youtube)</a></td>
350        </tr>
351        <!-- end book -->
352        <!-- start book -->
353        <tr>
354          <td class="g1"> 秘密 (Secret)</td>
355          <td class="s8">	 8	 </td>
356          <td class="g3"> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keigo_Higashino">Keigo Higashino</a> (東野 圭吾)  </td>
357          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/Japan.png" class="flag"> </td>
358        </tr>
359        <tr>
360          <td class="g4" colspan="4">This novel has a Japanese movie adaptation, and a French remake, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Secret_(2007_film)">"Si j'étais toi"</a>, starred by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Duchovny">David Duchovny</a>
360. It's one of the most praised novels by Keigo Higashino, so I decided to read this one next. I read it without knowing anything about it, so it was quite surprising. But I need to spoil it a bit here in order to review it. The story is about a married couple with an 11 year-old daughter. The mother and daughter are in a bus tour to a ski resort, the bus crashes, and the mother dies. She saves her daughter, but the daughter enters a comma. She wakes up quickly from the comma, but it's the spirit of the mother who inhabits the body. The whole novel is about the couple trying to live a normal life in this strange situation. They keep the secret from everyone else. There are some awkward moments that I wondered if they were put there so a potential <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lolicon">"lolicon"</a> audience could phantasize about it...  There's nothing that bad in the novel in that sense, but I felt the whole concept of the novel could be seen slightly suspicious... I suppose that's why in the movie adaptation the daughter is 18, not 11. Apart from the supernatural theme, there are other interesting topics like coming to terms with an accident like that for all parties involved. For instance, the widow of the driver gets harassed by relatives of the victims. Overall, it's a very good story and the ending was quite emotional. Since the novel starts with a tragedy, I wasn't exactly expecting a happy ending, but it was good. I read the 48th print from 2010 (1st print was from 2001), and it contains an interesting afterword by the Japanese actress that plays the girl in the movie.</td> 
361        </tr>
362        <!-- end book -->
363        <!-- start book -->
364        <tr>
365          <td class="g1"> 容疑者Xの献身 (The Devotion of Suspect X)</td>
366          <td class="s9">	 9	 </td>
367          <td class="g3"> Keigo Higashino (東野 圭吾)  </td>
368          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/Japan.png" class="flag"> </td>
369        </tr>
370        <tr>
371          <td class="g4" colspan="4">I don't know when it happened, but the other day I realized that our bookshelf  was full of books from the same author and that author was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keigo_Higashino">Keigo Higashino</a>. According to the Wikipedia, he's not only popular in Japan, but he's the most popular novelist in China! And several of his books have a movie adaptation. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Devotion_of_Suspect_X">The Devotion of Suspect X</a> alone has 6 movie adaptations, including a recent project by Netflix. Obviously I got curious and I started reading this novel, even though I usually find novels written in Japanese hard to read. I was surprised that this one wasn't as hard as I expected. There's lots of dialogue and it is quite a page-turner! From the early start, you know 
371who committed the crime, but the interesting thing is that you kinda side the killer, an abused woman. And the novel is basically following the investigators as they try to unravel the mystery. Interestingly, there are several mentions to graph-coloring, a maths subject, and my last technical blog post was precisely about that, <a href="http://tech.metail.com/colouring-graphs-for-a-wireframe-shader/">Coloring graphs for a wireframe shader</a>. I would give the novel a 10, but the ending was slightly unsatisfactory. I would like to know what happened to the daughter as well.</td> 
372        </tr>
373        <!-- end book -->
374        <!-- start book -->
375        <tr>
376          <td class="g1"> エゴイスト (Egoist) 🏳️‍🌈</td>
377          <td class="s8">	 8	 </td>
378          <td class="g3"> Makoto Takayama (高山 真)  </td>
379          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/Japan.png" class="flag"> </td>
380        </tr>
381        <tr>
382          <td class="g4" colspan="4">This LGTBQ novel was originally published under the pseudonym Makoto Asada (浅田 マコト) in 2019, and republished after his death under his real name (he died of liver cancer at 50, in 2020). The novel/essay has been adapted to <a href="https://egoist-movie.com">a film in 2023 of the same name</a>. We watched the movie in a movie theater close to Shinjuku 2-chome. The movie was good, but it had some sudden plot twists. So we bought the novel to compare. The story is basically the same, but in the novel it may seem the 2 characters date for a few years, while in the movie everything seems to happen quite suddenly. The novel starts with some recollection of the bullying the main character, Kosuke, suffered as a kid in school for looking gay (not for being gay, since he was still too young to know he was gay). Also, Kosuke talks about his mother illness and death, and about running away as soon as he could from that small town to the big city, Tokyo. Several years later he's become kinda selfish ("egoist"), until he meets the other main character, Ryuta, and they become boyfriends after some struggle. The later part of the story is about the relation between Kosuke and Ryuta's mother, who's also sick like his mum was. Without making too many spoilers, I think the title is not only about being "selfish", but also about allowing yourself to speak your real feelings. Japanese tend to be quite apologetic, and when they want to express their real desire they say expressions like "wagamama iwasete" (我がまま言わせて), literally "please let me say something selfish". Some people didn't like the ending, but I found it quite moving because it was about the mother of Ryuta saying something "selfish", that is, making a request, therefore, expressing her feelings freely. </td> 
383        </tr>
384        <!-- end book -->
385        <!-- start book -->
386        <tr>
387          <td class="g1"> La vida contada por un sapiens a un neandertal</td>
388          <td class="s7">	 7	 </td>
389          <td class="g3">  Juan José Millás, Juan Luis Arsuaga  </td>
390          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/Spain.png" class="flag"> </td>
391        </tr>
392        <tr>
393          <td class="g4" colspan="4">A series of interviews to paleontologist Arsuaga, by journalist Millás. It reads like a novel, but it talks about human history and evolution. They say it's a new genre, although they don't give a name for it. In Spanish, I would call it "género cuñado erudito", where your brother-in-law talks about scientific stuff over Christmas dinner. The problem I see to this book versus a more traditional non-fiction book (e.g. Steven Pinker books) is the lack of references. That's why it sounds a bit too informal ("cuñao")... There are some explanations that sounded a bit lacking. For instance, Arsuaga denies that every generation lives longer than their parents. He says that the reason behind the increase of life expectancy is the decrease of infant mortality. I think that's the <em>main</em> reason, but apparently <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longevity">longevity</a> is also increasing thanks to advances in medicine and hygiene, among other factors. I think he's trying to make the point that our biological clock hasn't changed since the Paleolithic, which may be true, but that doesn't mean that adults during the Paleolithic had the same changes to reach an advanced age as we have right now. It is true that people have a poor understanding of statistics and if you tell them that the life expectancy at the time was 30 years, some people may think that there were no old people at the time, which it's not true. But even removing the deaths of infants, and using a different measure like "life expectancy at 5", the life expectancy was 45, not 80 as it is in many developed countries right now.</td> 
394        </tr>
395        <!-- end book -->
396      </tbody>
397      </table>
398      
399      <!-- **************************** 2022 ******************************* -->
400      <h2> 2022 </h2>                    
401      <table border="0" width="85%"><tbody>
402        <tr>
403          <th class="g2">Title</th>
404          <th class="g2">Score</th>
405          <th class="g2">Author</th>
406          <th class="g2">Language</th>
407        </tr>
408        <!-- start book -->
409        <tr>
410          <td class="g1"> Digital Minimalism</td>
411          <td class="s8">	 8	 </td>
412          <td class="g3">  <a href="https://www.calnewport.com">
412Cal Newport</a>  </td>
413          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/GB.png" class="flag"> </td>
414        </tr>
415        <tr>
416          <td class="g4" colspan="4">Social media platforms need our attention to make more money. Recently I felt like I was compulsively checking Twitter, Instagram and Facebook feeds for no reason. Those feeds are right now full of posts of people or companies I don't even follow. Digital minimalism philosophy explains ways to reclaim back your attention to use it more purposefully. You don't have to give up your smartphone, but rather use it as a tool to enhance your life. Humans aren't supposed to be connected to that many minds constantly asking for your attention! It may produce anxiety if we fall in the trap.</td> 
417        </tr>
418        <!-- end book -->
419        <!-- start book -->
420        <tr>
421          <td class="g1"> Sensei 3: diálogos con maestros del videojuego japonés</td>
422          <td class="s9">	 9	 </td>
423          <td class="g3">  Luis García Navarro  </td>
424          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/Spain.png" class="flag"> </td>
425        </tr>
426        <tr>
427          <td class="g4" colspan="4">And more interviews with Japanese game developers! This is the last book in the series. I enjoyed "Sensei 2" more, but the last interview in the series, to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoko_Taro">Yoko Taro</a>, it's a complete <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mic_drop">mic-drop</a> 🤯😃<br/>
428          Chat with Luis: <a href="https://youtu.be/-PVlhIXZ_EM?si=c3UZjc7c3G0U--gk">Gossip: game devs in Japan, with Ahgueo & Fibroluminique
429 (youtube)</a>
430        </td> 
431        </tr>
432        <!-- end book -->
433        <!-- start book -->
434        <tr>
435          <td class="g1"> Sensei 2: diálogos con maestros del videojuego japonés</td>
436          <td class="s0">	 10	 </td>
437          <td class="g3">  Luis García Navarro  </td>
438          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/Spain.png" class="flag"> </td>
439        </tr>
440        <tr>
441          <td class="g4" colspan="4">More interviews with Japanese game developers (programmers, designers, directors, and musicians). Even better than the first book. The passion from these people and the interviewer himself is contagious! Apart from interesting anecdotes (including a full epilogue dedicated to the relation between Michael Jackson and SEGA), there are some interesting learnings from these "sensei", as well as some funny anecdotes (like when Kenji Kaido needed a pen to fill in a form to ask for a pen he needed, <a href="https://youtube.com/shorts/YW9lRWwfKwQ?feature=share">absurd bureaucracy short</a>)</td>          
442        </tr>
443        <!-- end book -->
444      </tbody></table>
445      
446      <!-- **************************** 2021 ******************************* -->
447      <h2> 2021 </h2>                    
448      <table border="0" width="85%"><tbody>
449        <tr>
450          <th class="g2">Title</th>
451          <th class="g2">Score</th>
452          <th class="g2">Author</th>
453          <th class="g2">Language</th>
454	      </tr>
455	     <!-- start book -->
456        <tr>
457          <td class="g1"> The Future of the Mind</td>
458          <td class="s9">	 9	 </td>
459          <td class="g3"> Michio Kaku  </td>
460          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/GB.png" class="flag"> </td>
461        </tr>
462        <tr>
463          <td class="g4" colspan="4">Many topics that are repeated in his other books, but all from the perspective of understanding the mind. It covers all the scientific advances to understand brain illnesses, to understand its biology, the effect of drugs, physically duplicating the brain, defining conscience in a measurable way, storing the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connectome">connectome</a> of the brain, sending it to other planets, understanding animal minds, alien life, and more.</td>
464        </tr>
465       <!-- end book -->
466	      <!-- start book -->
467        <tr>
468          <td class="g1"> The Future of Humanity</td>
469          <td class="s9">	 9	 </td>
470          <td class="g3"> Michio Kaku  </td>
471          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/GB.png" class="flag"> </td>
472        </tr>
473        <tr>
474          <td class="g4" colspan="4">Nice summary of the major extinction events on Earth, and what other dangers humanity will face. In order to survive, we may 
474need to colonize other planets and other stars. The books explains the physics behind it. It’s a very interesting journey, although some of the things written in this book already appear in some of Michio Kaku’s previous books, and the discussion on string theory appears again in his next book, The God Equation.</td>          
475        </tr>
476       <!-- end book -->
477	     <!-- start book -->
478        <tr>
479          <td class="g1"> The God Equation</td>
480          <td class="s8">	 8	 </td>
481          <td class="g3"> Michio Kaku  </td>
482          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/GB.png" class="flag"> </td>
483        </tr>
484        <tr>
485          <td class="g4" colspan="4">Interesting review of the history of physics and the quest to try to understand how the universe got created. Starting with Einstein and then with quantum theory, things start getting complicated and I found it hard to follow at times. The last chapter tries to answer some philosophical questions, like whether there is a God, or whether a God is necessary to explain the creation of our universe. Kaku says there must be a creator to set the parameters of the initial formula, but then the explanations that can be given from string theory and M-theory (membranes) kinda contradicted that. At least it was how it sounded to me. Perhaps it was left ambiguous on purpose, but I felt slightly deceived in that last chapter.</td>          
486        </tr>
487        <!-- end book -->
488	      <!-- start book -->
489        <tr>
490          <td class="g1"> Final Fantasy XV - The Dawn Of The Future</td>
491          <td class="s9">	 9	 </td>
492          <td class="g3"> Jun Eishima (映島 巡) (real name: Emi Nagashima 永嶋 恵美)  </td>
493          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/Japan.png" class="flag"> </td>
494        </tr>
495        <tr>
496          <td class="g4" colspan="4">The first quarter of the novel explains the story of Ardyn, which it's exactly the same that we see in the DLC of Episode Ardyn. Then, there's less than one quarter dedicated to Aranea and what happened to Gralea, the capital of the Empire of Niflheim, followed by event that happen 10 years after that, making 60% of the book. The main characters of that 60% are Lunafreya, Sol (a new character, who is emperor Aldercapt's secret granddaughter), and Noctis. Although I don't usually read books in Japanese because I'm quite slow, it was a fun read. Reading it in Kindle is convenient because you can search words in the dictionary, even offline. The only problem that I see in this novel is that it gives us an alternative ending to the game, and I'm not very fond of alternative endings... What does it mean? Did the game ending not happen? Also, it would have been cool if they had released these as DLC, but only Ardyn's episode saw the light... (Video review de Final Fantasy XV: <a href="https://youtu.be/wROX6D5lS90">[Fokanálisis] Final Fantasy XV (sin spoilers)</a>)</td>          
497        </tr>
498        <!-- end book -->
499      </tbody></table>
500
501      <!-- **************************** 2020 ******************************* -->
502      <h2> 2020 </h2>                    
503      <table border="0" width="85%"><tbody>
504        <tr>
505          <th class="g2">Title</th>
506          <th class="g2">Score</th>
507          <th class="g2">Author</th>
508          <th class="g2">Language</th>
509	      </tr>
510	      <!-- start book -->
511        <tr>
512          <td class="g1"> Sensei: diálogos con maestros del videojuego japonés</td>
513          <td class="s9">	 9	 </td>
514          <td class="g3">  Luis García Navarro  </td>
515          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/Spain.png" class="flag"> </td>
516        </tr>
517        <tr>
518          <td class="g4" colspan="4">Very interesting interviews. A unique chance to peek inside Japanese game developers minds. (Video teatralizando una de las entrevistas: <a href="https://youtu.be/1DgcxiLLU7g">Entrevista a Miyabe-san</a>)</td>          
519        </tr>
520        <!-- end book -->
521      </tbody></table>
522 
523      <!-- **************************** 2019 ******************************* -->
524      <h2> 2019 </h2>                    
525      <table border="0" width="85%"><tbody>
526        <tr>
527          <th class="g2">Title</th>
528          <th class="g2">Score</th>
529          <th class="g2">Author</th>
530          <th class="g2">Language</th>
531	      </tr>
532	      <!-- start book -->
533        <tr>
534          <td class="g1"> Días Ajenos: Primavera-Verano</td>
535          <td class="s6">
535	 6	 </td>
536          <td class="g3">  Bob Pop  </td>
537          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/Spain.png" class="flag"> </td>
538        </tr>
539        <tr>
540          <td class="g4" colspan="4">A couple of interesting quotes, but boring overall.</td>          
541        </tr>
542        <!-- end book -->
543      </tbody></table>
544      <!-- **************************** 2018 ******************************* -->
545      <h2> 2018 </h2>                    
546      <table border="0" width="85%"><tbody>
547        <tr>
548          <th class="g2">Title</th>
549          <th class="g2">Score</th>
550          <th class="g2">Author</th>
551          <th class="g2">Language</th>
552	      </tr>
553	      <!-- start book -->
554        <tr>
555          <td class="g1"> La vida empieza a los 40</td>
556          <td class="s4">	 4	 </td>
557          <td class="g3">  Gregory Cajina  </td>
558          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/Spain.png" class="flag"> </td>
559        </tr>
560        <tr>
561          <td class="g4" colspan="4">Every chapter sounded the same. Not sure I took anything from it.</td>          
562        </tr>
563        <!-- end book -->
564        <!-- start book -->
565        <tr>
566          <td class="g1"> El món groc</td>
567          <td class="s7">	 7	 </td>
568          <td class="g3">  Albert Espinosa  </td>
569          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/Catalan.png" class="flag"> </td>
570        </tr>
571        <tr>
572          <td class="g4" colspan="4">Learnings from a boy who battled cancer for many years. This inspired the TV series <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polseres_vermelles">Polseres Vermelles</a>. Interesting read.</td>          
573        </tr>
574        <!-- end book -->
575      </tbody></table>
576
577      <!-- **************************** 2014 ******************************* -->
578      <h2> 2014 </h2>                    
579      <table border="0" width="85%"><tbody>
580        <tr>
581          <th class="g2">Title</th>
582          <th class="g2">Score</th>
583          <th class="g2">Author</th>
584          <th class="g2">Language</th>
585	      </tr>
586        <!-- start book -->
587        <tr>
588          <td class="g1"> The better angels of our nature: Why violence has declined</td>
589          <td class="s7">	 7	 </td>
590          <td class="g3">  Steven Pinker  </td>
591          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/GB.png" class="flag"> </td>
592        </tr>
593        <tr>
594          <td class="g4" colspan="4">It's good to look back from time to time and see how much we've progressed. There's still a long way to go, but this book proves violence has decreased with centuries, contrary to popular belief that past times were better, or that savages are more peaceful than civilized people. The first chapter was very interesting, and I'd give it a 10, but the rest of the chapters contain too many statistics, and it can get really thick and boring at times. It made me really sleepy, to the point I've been using it to get fast asleep at night for a WHOLE year, because that's what took me to finish this book... </td>          
595        </tr>
596    		<!-- end book -->
597    		<!-- start book -->
598        <tr>
599          <td class="g1"> ひとにぎりの未来 (A tiny piece of the future)</td>
600          <td class="s7">	 7	 </td>
601          <td class="g3">  星新一 (Hoshi Shin'ichi)  </td>
602          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/Japan.png" class="flag"> </td>
603        </tr>
604        <tr>
605          <td class="g4" colspan="4">More short stories by Shin'ichi Hoshi. I like the irony in some of them, but I find some others a bit lame. The second next to the last, about a society where people used tears as the base of their social interactions, was specially long and boring. Also, he imagined a future all based in "telephony" and big machines with gears, but now that we live in the digital era, his vision of the future looks more like a "retro-future". It is cute, though, and envisioning the future of engineering is not the main point, anyway. I think these stories have not been translated to English. It's a pity. </td>          
606        </tr>
607        <!-- end book -->
608      </tbody></table>
609      
610      <!-- **************************** 2013 ******************************* -->
611      <!-- None!!! :( -->
612      
613      <!-- **************************** 2012 ******************************* -->
614      <h2> 2012 </h2>                    
615      <table border="0" width="85%"><tbody>
616        <tr>
617          <th class="g2">Title</th>
618          <th class="g2">Score</th>
619          <th class="g2">Author</th>
620          <th class="g2">Language</th>
621	      </tr>
622        <!-- start book -->
623        <tr>
624          <td class="g1"> The language instinct</td>
625          <td class="s8">	 8	 </td>
626          <td class="g3">  Steven Pinker </td>
627          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/GB.png" class="flag"> </td>
628        </tr>
629        <tr>
630          <td class="g4" colspan="4"> How the mind creates language. It's a bit thick, and sometimes I wished he went more directly to the point, but I guess he has to try to convince everyone… I agree with almost everything he says, so much shorter explanations would do for me… </td>          
631        </tr>
632        <!-- end book -->
633        <!-- start book -->
634        <tr>
635          <td class="g1">
635 Musicophilia</td>
636          <td class="s9">	 9	 </td>
637          <td class="g3">  Oliver Sacks </td>
638          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/GB.png" class="flag"> </td>
639        </tr>
640        <tr>
641          <td class="g4" colspan="4"> A very interesting reading that tries to explain all that goes on in our brains when we listen to or play music, through moving cases of real patients. It's a very interesting reading who made me more curious about music. After reading it, I've started asking to some people in my surroundings and I've found out, for instance, that my piano teacher is a synesthete! Oliver Sacks is also the author of "Awakenings", the book that inspired the Oscar-nominated movie with the same name.</td>          
642        </tr>
643        <!-- end book -->
644        <!-- start book -->
645        <tr>
646          <td class="g1"> Thinking, fast and slow</td>
647          <td class="s9">	 9	 </td>
648          <td class="g3">  Daniel Kahneman </td>
649          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/GB.png" class="flag"> </td>
650        </tr>
651        <tr>
652          <td class="g4" colspan="4"> This is an important book that teaches you how your mind uses 2 types of thinking, a fast one that guides intuitions, and a slow one for deep deliberations. Common sense is born from fast thinking, by averaging and categorizing everything that surround us. It is indispensable for survival, but it has systematic errors that this book teaches us to recognize. For example, in the previous book review I mention something known as the "halo effect". There are many interesting concepts you better check up. Kahneman is also considered the father of "behavioral economics", and with a Nobel prize in economics, for sure you'll learn to think "slow" about money matters.</td>          
653        </tr>
654        <!-- end book -->
655        <!-- start book -->
656        <tr>
657          <td class="g1"> 僕が六本木に会社をつくるまで <br/>Story of the Social Networking Service "GREE"</td>
658          <td class="s6">	 6	 </td>
659          <td class="g3">  Yoshikazu Tanaka </td>
660          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/Japan.png" class="flag"> </td>
661        </tr>
662        <tr>
663          <td class="g4" colspan="4"> A success story written in plain Japanese, so very easy to read. However, let me cite Daniel Kahneman: "stories of success and failure consistently exaggerate the impact of leadership style and management practices on firm outcomes, and thus their message is rarely useful" (from "Thinking, fast and slow"). I guess the lesson to be learned is that anyone trying hard enough can make a successful business. But of course, not everyone succeeds since I believe there's a component of luck -from the book of Kahneman, speaking about Google: "Of course there was a great deal of skill in the Google story, but luck played a more important role in the actual event than it does in the telling of it. And the more luck was involved, the less there is to be learned." </td>          
664        </tr>
665        <!-- end book -->
666      </tbody></table>
667
668      <!-- **************************** 2011 ******************************* -->
669      <h2> 2011 </h2>                    
670      <table border="0" width="85%"><tbody>
671        <tr>
672          <th class="g2">Title</th>
673          <th class="g2">Score</th>
674          <th class="g2">Author</th>
675          <th class="g2">Language</th>
676	      </tr>
677        <!-- start book -->
678        <tr>
679          <td class="g1"> Hijos de nuestro barrio<br>Children of Gabalawi</td>
680          <td class="s9">	 9	 </td>
681          <td class="g3">  Naguib Mahfouz </td>
682          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/Spain.png" class="flag"> </td>
683        </tr>
684        <tr>
685          <td class="g4" colspan="4"> The late Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz wrote this book in 1959, and it seems it's still banned by Islam… The book is very well written, with a dynamic style, and the allegories it contains could be considered as provoking for the time as "South Park" would be today. It is, of course, not so grotesque for today's standards ;) The synopsis from Wikipedia: "The story recreates the tied history of the three monotheistic Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), allegorised against the setting of an imaginary 19th century Cairene neighborhood.
686Gabalawi being an allegory for religion in general, the first four sections retell, in succession, the stories of: Adam (Adham أدهم) and how he was favored by Gabalawi over the latter's other sons, including Satan/Iblis (Idris إدريس); Moses (Gabal جبل); Jesus (Rifa'a رفاعة); and Muhammad (Qasim قاسم). Families of each son settle in different parts of the alley, symbolising Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
687The protagonist of the book's fifth section is Arafa (عرفة), who symbolises modern science and, significantly, comes after all prophets, while all of their followers claim Arafa as one of their own."</td>          
688        </tr>
689        <!-- end book -->
690        <!-- start book -->
691        <tr>
692          <td class="g1"> Obabakoak</td>
693          <td class="s9">	 9	 </td>
694          <td class="g3">  Bernardo Atxaga </td>
695          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/Spain.png" class="flag"> </td>
696        </tr>
697        <tr>
698          <td class="g4" colspan="4"> I had no idea what this book was about. I just knew it was from a Basque author, and that it was originally written in Basque. I have no idea of Basque so I read the Spanish version, of course. The book has also English and Japanese translations. The title means "The ones from Obaba" in Basque, and it's a collection of short stories around an imaginary Basque town called "Obaba". The first 100 pages are short stories related to kids, and I think they are the best of the book. The later were loosely related one to another, but I would have preferred they were not, because this connection makes you expect more than what you get in the end. </td>          
699        </tr>
700        <!-- end book -->
701        <!-- start book -->
702        <tr>
703          <td class="g1"> Ángeles y demonios<br>Angels & demons </td>
704          <td class="s9">	 9	 </td>
705          <td class="g3">   Dan Brown </td>
706          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/Spain.png" class="flag"> </td>
707        </tr>
708        <tr>
709          <td class="g4" colspan="4"> This is really a page-turner! I couldn't stop reading the book! I finished it in a couple of days. I think it's far better than his next book, "Digital fortress". Perhaps it's because I was more familiar with the topic in "Digital fortress" and it seemed absurd… The only bad thing of the book is that the end is "too much"… In this sense, is similar to "Digital Fortress" and "Da Vinci's Code", where a very good guy is suddenly a very bad guy. It turns out to be very predictable, plus the negative effect that making the character that "very bad" suddenly gives an almost comical turn to the story… On a side note, it's been years since I last read a novel in Spanish. The translation was quite good, although the last joke about "mass" I couldn't get it without mentally translating it to English…</td>          
710        </tr>
711        <!-- end book -->
712        <!-- start book -->
713        <tr>
714          <td class="g1"> The Upside of Irrationality: The Unexpected Benefits of Defying Logic at Work and at Home </td>
715          <td class="s8">	 8	 </td>
716          <td class="g3">   Dan Ariely </td>
717          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/GB.png" class="flag"> </td>
718        </tr>
719        <tr>
720          <td class="g4" colspan="4">  The successor of "Predictably Irrational". Both books are on behavioral economics, but while the previous book was more about economics, this one is more about behavior itself. There's even a chapter about online dating, all seen from a market's perspective. Quite an interesting reading!</td>          
721        </tr>
722        <!-- end book -->
723        <!-- start book -->
724        <tr>
725          <td class="g1"> Predictably Irrational </td>
726          <td class="s8">	 8	 </td>
727          <td class="g3">   Dan Ariely </td>
728          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/GB.png" class="flag"> </td>
729        </tr>
730        <tr>
731          <td class="g4" colspan="4">  From Publisher's Weekly: "Irrational behavior is a part of human nature, but as MIT professor Ariely has discovered in 20 years of researching behavioral economics, people tend to behave irrationally in a predictable fashion. Drawing on psychology and economics, behavioral economics can show us why cautious people make poor decisions about sex when aroused, why patients get greater relief from a more expensive drug over its cheaper counterpart and why honest people may steal office supplies or communal food, but not money. [...]". Ver
731y interesting! </td>          
732        </tr>
733        <!-- end book -->
734        <!-- start book -->
735        <tr>
736          <td class="g1"> Physics of the future: How Science Will Shape Human Destiny and Our Daily Lives by the Year 2100 </td>
737          <td class="s9">	 9	 </td>
738          <td class="g3">   Michio Kaku </td>
739          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/GB.png" class="flag"> </td>
740        </tr>
741        <tr>
742          <td class="g4" colspan="4">  From Publisher's Weekly: "Kaku (Physics of the Impossible), a professor of physics at the CUNY Graduate Center, gathers ideas from more than 300 experts, scientists, and researchers at the cutting edge of their fields, to offer a glimpse of what the next 100 years may bring. The predictions all conform to certain ground rules (e.g., "Prototypes of all technologies mentioned... already exist"), and some seem obvious (computer chips will continue to get faster and smaller). Others seem less far-fetched than they might have a decade ago: for instance, space tourism will be popular, especially once a permanent base is established on the moon. Other predictions may come true—downloading the Internet right into a pair of contact lenses—but whether they're desirable is another matter. Some of the predictions are familiar but still startling: robots will develop emotions by mid-century, and we will start merging mind and body with them. Despite the familiarity of many of the predictions to readers of popular science and science fiction, Kaku's book should capture the imagination of everyday readers." Highly recommended reading :) </td>          
743        </tr>
744        <!-- end book -->
745        <!-- start book -->
746        <tr>
747          <td class="g1"> Digital Fortress </td>
748          <td class="s7">	 7	 </td>
749          <td class="g3">   Dan Brown </td>
750          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/GB.png" class="flag"> </td>
751        </tr>
752        <tr>
753          <td class="g4" colspan="4">  Fast-paced hacking conspiracy thriller. Full of cliches.</td>          
754        </tr>
755        <!-- end book -->
756        <!-- start book -->
757        <tr>
758          <td class="g1"> Parallel Worlds: A Journey Through Creation, Higher Dimensions, and the Future of the Cosmos </td>
759          <td class="s8">	 8	 </td>
760          <td class="g3">   Michio Kaku </td>
761          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/GB.png" class="flag"> </td>
762        </tr>
763        <tr>
764          <td class="g4" colspan="4">  Very interesting book about the future of intelligent life in the universe. The physics on this book are a bit thick, though. If you want a shorter version of the same, probably better just to read "Physics of the impossible" by the same author. </td>          
765        </tr>
766        <!-- end book -->
767        <!-- start book -->
768        <tr>
769          <td class="g1"> South Park and Philosophy </td>
770          <td class="s6">	 6	 </td>
771          <td class="g3">   Richard Hanley (and friends) </td>
772          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/GB.png" class="flag"> </td>
773        </tr>
774        <tr>
775          <td class="g4" colspan="4">  Interesting book, but contains a lot of blabling... I enjoyed the introduction, that basically says that South Park is full of "Bullshit alarms", things that make us thing there's something wrong in the world today... And the last chapter is quite nice too, on fake physhics and "cold reading". The last chapter was written by the creator of <a href="http://dhmo.org">DHMO.org</a>.  </td>          
776        </tr>
777        <!-- end book -->
778      </tbody></table>
779      
780      <!-- **************************** 2010 ******************************* -->
781      <h2> 2010 </h2>                    
782      <table border="0" width="85%"><tbody>
783        <tr>
784          <th class="g2">Title</th>
785          <th class="g2">Score</th>
786          <th class="g2">Author</th>
787          <th class="g2">Language</th>
788	      </tr>
789        <!-- start book -->
790        <tr>
791          <td class="g1">   Gulliver's Travels </td>
792          <td class="s7">	 7	 </td>
793          <td class="g3">   Jonathan Swift </td>
794          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/GB.png" class="flag"> </td>
795        </tr>
796        <tr>
797          <td class="g4" colspan="4">   Everyone knows Gulliver's travels. Kids read simplified versions of this book. But I was curious about the original novel, and since it's out of copyright and you can download for free, I gave it a try. It's quite interesting to find out all the influence this book has. For instance, I learned that the computer terms "big-endian" and "little-endian" come from this book. Also, some anime fans fail to notice that the movie about the flying island of "Laputa" was also inspired by the flying island of the same name that Gulliver visits in one of his travels. Apart from that and some interesting references, I find that after almost 3 centuries, some of the explanatanions from the author sound now very naive. Obviously we now much more about physics now as to fall to the detailed pseudo-scientific explanations the author tries to give as if to add veracity to his tales. I would take out those... Anyway, check <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulliver's_Travels">Wikipedia</a> for a nice analysis of the book.</td>          
798        </tr>
799        <!-- end book -->
800        <!-- start book -->                  
801        <tr>
802          <td class="g1">   The Comet & The Tornado </td>
803          <td class="s8">	 8	 </td>
804          <td class="g3">   Don Marinelli </td>
805          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/GB.png" class="flag"> </td>
806        </tr>
807        <tr>
808          <td class="g4" colspan="4">   A touching and enlighting story about the creation of the Entertainment Technology Center, and about Randy Pausch, and his <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo">Last Lecture</a>. Don Marinelli, co-founder of the ETC, gave a very inspiring talk in Siggraph this year, and I bought his book. It says more or less what he said in his talk: education should be about uniting the left and right brains. Art and technology should come together, and there's no better place for that than videogames. "Anyone who thinks there is a difference between entertainment and education doesn't know much about either" (M
808arshall McLuhan). </td>          
809        </tr>
810        <!-- end book -->
811        <!-- start book -->
812        <tr>
813          <td class="g1">   The God Delusion </td>
814          <td class="s9">	 9	 </td>
815          <td class="g3">   Richard Dawkins </td>
816          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/GB.png" class="flag"> </td>
817        </tr>
818        <tr>
819          <td class="g4" colspan="4">   This is an important reading in order to combat ignorance. On a side note, it's the first digital book I read, on my new Amazon Kindle DX :) </td>          
820        </tr>
821        <!-- end book -->
822        <!-- start book -->
823        <tr>
824          <td class="g1">   La Cadena de los abusos </td>
825          <td class="s0">	 10	 </td>
826          <td class="g3">   Olga Gavilán </td>
827          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/Spain.png" class="flag"> </td>
828        </tr>
829        <tr>
830          <td class="g4" colspan="4">   A very interesting reading about harassment, at all levels: emotional, physical, at work, at home, ... A must-read for everyone so we can build a better world! Check <a href="http://tupsicologa.es">tuPsicologa.es</a> </td>          
831        </tr>
832        <!-- end book -->
833        <!-- start book --> 
834        <tr>
835          <td class="g1">   Physics of the impossible</td>
836          <td class="s0">	 10	 </td>
837          <td class="g3">   Michio Kaku </td>
838          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/GB.png" class="flag"> </td>
839        </tr>
840        <tr>
841          <td class="g4" colspan="4">   Michio Kaku is the cofounder of string field theory. In this book he discuss things we see in sci-fi, like invisibility or teleportation, and explains wether these things will actually become possible or not. He talks about existing technology and ongoing research, so it's not only talking about sci-fi but about stuff that matters. It's also very easy to follow and some of the personals notes on important scientists in history are also quite interesting.  </td>          
842        </tr>
843        <!-- end book -->
844      </tbody></table>
845
846      <!-- **************************** 2009 ******************************* -->
847      <h2> 2009 </h2>                    
848      <table border="0" width="85%"><tbody>
849        <tr>
850          <th class="g2">Title</th>
851          <th class="g2">Score</th>
852          <th class="g2">Author</th>
853          <th class="g2">Language</th>
854	      </tr>
855        <!-- start book -->
856        <tr>
857          <td class="g1">   My stroke of insight</td>
858          <td class="s8">	8</td>
859          <td class="g3">  Jill Bolte Taylor </td>
860          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/GB.png" class="flag"> </td>
861        </tr>
862        <tr>
863          <td class="g4" colspan="4">  The author is a brain scientist who had a brain stroke on her left hemisphere. She tells her experience and gives and insight on how the brain works and how we can use the right hemisphere to feel happy.  </td>          
864        </tr>
865        <!-- end book -->
866        <!-- start book -->        
867        <tr>
868          <td class="g1">    <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stuff_of_Thought">The Stuff of Thought: Language as a window into human nature</a></td>
869          <td class="s7">	7</td>
870          <td class="g3">  Steven Pinker </td>
871          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/GB.png" class="flag"> </td>
872        </tr>
873        <tr>
874          <td class="g4" colspan="4"> This is the third book of Steven Pinker I read. It's the link between "The language instinct" (which I haven't read yet), and "How the mind works". The book is interesting, but I give a lower mark than the previous ones for two (personal) reasons: (1) I already knew most of the stuff he talks about because of his previous books, so it's not "enlighting" any more; (2) I'm not a linguist, so some of the descriptions are a bit boring for me. I think the book would be much more shorter if he got straight to the point... </td>          
875        </tr>
876        <!-- end book -->
877        <!-- start book -->        
878        <tr>
879          <td class="g1">   Metal Gear Solid</td>
880          <td class="s7">	7</td>
881          <td class="g3">  Raymond Benson </td>
882          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/GB.png" class="flag"> </td>
883        </tr>
884        <tr>
885          <td class="g4" colspan="4">  Novel adaptation of Konami's <b>Metal Gear Solid</b> game for PS1. It's exactly as the game, although when I played I tried more stealth and less violence, hehe. The ending is a bit different though. Anyway, if you played the game long ago, it may be worth reading.</td>          
886        </tr>
887        <!-- end book --> 
888        <!-- start book -->        
889        <tr>
890          <td class="g1">   Crónicas Marcianas (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Martian_Chronicles">The Martian Chronicles</a>)</td>
891          <td class="s8">	8</td>
892          <td class="g3">  Ray Bradbury </td>
893          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/GB.png" class="flag"> </td>
894        </tr>
895        <tr>
896          <td class="g4" colspan="4"> Very nice approach to colonization of Mars. Since its like a collection of short stories, it's very easy to read. What I don't like it's the pessimistic vision of human nature. I guess the author is influenced by the wars of his time, and the atomic bomb. I think this vision of humans being like "plague" is too old-fashioned (the book is from 1950, so it can't be helped, I guess). </td>          
897        </tr>
898        <!-- end book --> 
899        <!-- start book -->        
900        <tr>
901          <td class="g1">   宇宙の声 ("Voice from outerspace")</td>
902          <td class="s9">	9</td>
903          <td class="g3">  星新一 (Hoshi Shin'ichi) </td>
904          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/Japan.png" class="flag"> </td>
905        </tr>
906        <tr>
907          <td class="g4" colspan="4"> This SF novel contains two stories. If you let me translate them freely, "Voice from outerspace" (宇宙の声) and "The phantom planet" (まぼろしの星). Shin'ichi Hoshi is well known for his short stories, and although these are a bit longer, they are distributed in small chapters, each containing a small travel, that can be thought of a short story in itself. Because of this and its simple style (I guess it's SF for Japanese kids?), it's very easy to read (it took me 2 weeks, just reading on my way to work). I'd say it's almost phantasy, rather than SF.  </td>          
908        </tr>
909        <!-- end book --> 
910        <!-- start book -->        
911        <tr>
912          <td class="g1">   Tabloid Tokyo 2: 101 All-New Tales of Sex, Crime and the Bizarre from Japan's Wild Weeklies</td>
913          <td class="s7">	7</td>
914          <td class="g3">  Mark Schreiber </td>
915          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/GB.png" class="flag"> </td>
916        </tr>
917        <tr>
918          <td class="g4" colspan="4"> Can't hardly believe all those are true... but anyway, kindda funny. </td>          
919        </tr>
920        <!-- end book -->
921      </tbody></table>
922      
923      <!-- **************************** 2008 ******************************* -->
924      <h2> 2008 </h2>                    
925      <table border="0" width="85%"><tbody>
926        <tr>
927          <th class="g2">Title</th>
928          <th class="g2">Score</th>
929          <th class="g2">Author</th>
930          <th class="g2">Language</th>
931	      </tr>
932        <!-- start book -->        
933        <tr>
934          <td class="g1">   ありふれた手法 ("Commonplace technique")</td>
935          <td class="s8">	8</td>
936          <td class="g3">  星新一 (Hoshi Shin'ichi) </td>
937          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/Japan.png" class="flag"> </td>
938        </tr>
939        <tr>
940          <td class="g4" colspan="4">  A collection of short stories by Shin'ichi Hoshi. In my opinion, not as deep as "Future Aesop" (未来いそっぷ), but interesting nevertheless. And since they are short, even in Japanese they are easy to ready. </td>          
941        </tr>
942        <!-- end book -->
943        <!-- start book -->        
944        <tr>
945          <td class="g1">   The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature</td>
946          <td class="s0">	10</td>
947          <td class="g3">  Steven Pinker </td>
948          <td class="g3">	 <img src="../pix/flags/GB.png" class="flag"> </td>
949        </tr>
950        <tr>
951          <td class="g4" colspan="4"> Another enlightning reading about the mind by Steven Pinker. Our brain is not a blank slate, despite people trying to prove so. </td>          
952        </tr>
953        <!-- end book -->
954      </tbody></table>
955     
956     
957		<p/>
958		Older readings:
959		<a href="readings90.html">[1994-2007]</a>
960		
961		</center>
962		
963		
964		
965		
966		
967	</div> <!-- end content area -->
968	</div> <!-- end main area -->
969
970
971	<div id="footer"></div>
972
973</div> 
974<!-- end page -->
975</body>
976</html>

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