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Books read in 2022 (2/2) - Next, I make a small balance that I have read the second part of the year:

 

 

11. 12 reglas para vivir. Jordan B. Peterson.*

 

 

Rating: ★★★☆☆ (recommended)

 

Jordan B. Peterson is a Canadian clinical psychologist well known on social networks, who has often received attacks from feminist and left-wing sectors. It must be said that Peterson reasons everything he exposes very well, something that political movements that don’t like his way of thinking do not do, for example.

 

With his 12 rules to live by, he wants to help us fight against chaos, because it keeps us from peace and happiness. It also tries to keep us away from hypocrisy.

 

A quite interesting book.

 

*Peterson, Jordan B.. 12 reglas para vivir. Un antídoto contra el caos. Editorial Planeta, S.A.. Barcelona, 2018. 510 pp.. (TO en inglés: 12 Rules for Life: An anthidote to Chaos. Traducción: Juan Ruiz Herrera). ISBN: 978-84-08-19330-2

 

 

12. El patrón bitcoin. Saifedean Ammous.*

 

 

Rating: ★★★★★ (read it)

 

In the last century and a half, humanity has advanced more than in all of history put together. The use of personal computers and computing, as well as the invention and popularization of the Internet, has changed our lives. But another transformation is taking place that is as or more important than the previous ones, which will decisively affect our existence: the creation of bitcoin and decentralized finance. And many people are still not aware of it.

 

Ammous's book is the product of a lucid mind, which exposes the chaotic functioning of central banks and international finance. And it does so from a historical and current perspective. But all is not lost. The world is evolving rapidly, and the creation of bitcoin marks a stellar moment in history.

 

If you don't want to miss the train, start training in cryptocurrencies. And this book will help you start the way.

 

We are in front of a reference work.

 

*Ammous, Saifedean. El Patrón Bitcoin. La alternativa descentralizada a los bancos centrales. Deusto. Centro de Libros Papf, SLU. Barcelona, 2018. 381 pp.. (TO en inglés: The Bitcoin Standard. 2018. Traducción: Mercedes Vaquero). ISBN: 978-84-234-3322-3

 

 

13. La transformación. Khristo Poshtakov.*

 

 

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ (correct)

 

The work is made up of eight stories, easy to read and unpretentious. The book is entertaining, although right now I don't remember any of the stories because none of them have left their mark on me. However, it is good to read them to get a taste of what is written in Eastern Europe in relation to horror and science fiction.

 

*Poshtakov, Khristo. La transformación. Neverland Ediciones. Madrid, 2006. 103 pp.. ISBN: 84-934970-0-2

 

 

14. Les lluminoses. Lauren Beukes.*

 

 

Rating: ★★★☆☆ (stimulating)

 

The book tells of Harper Curtis, a serial killer who travels through time. It does so thanks to a magical house, which is the gateway to other times. The temporary estrangement allows him to act with impunity, and to hunt down and kill the girls he sees as "luminous". But one of these, Kirby Mazrachi, will stand up to him. And he will do it with the help of Dan Velasquez, a sports journalist who previously covered the black chronicle.

 

The work is written in the present tense, which gives it a certain dynamism but, in my opinion, makes it less literary. However, I must say that I liked it and found it quite entertaining. Although perhaps I was expecting something more. Of course, if you are a fan of time travel stories, this book becomes essential.

 

The novel has inspired the HBO series of the same name.

 

*Beukes, Lauren. Les lluminoses. Mai Més. Barcelona, 2021. 383 pàg. (TO en anglès: The Shining Girls. Traducció: Lluís Delgado). ISBN: 978-84-122356-9-2

 

 

15. Joc de màscares. Jaume Arasa.*

 

 

Assessment: work to consider

 

As indicated in the synopsis, Alegna Carbó is a journalist who has been commissioned to do a report on Fashion Week in Milan. At one of the parties that are held, he takes some photographs of the businessman Xavier Pububilla with another individual, which causes them to beat him up and steal his cell phone so that these photos do not come to light. The murder of the businessman, together with other facts that will end up being related, make up the guiding thread of the work.

 

The novel has a descriptive style that creates worlds of its own, uses first- and third-person narrators, and has some flashbacks. All well-found resources.

 

Stonberg Editorial should be thanked for the search for new authors, without this being detrimental to the quality of the works it publishes.

 

*Arasa, Jaume. Joc de màscares. Stonberg Editorial. Barcelona, 2022. 316 pàg. ISBN: 978-84-125206-4-4

 

 

16. L’art de fumar en pipa. Joaquim Verdaguer.*

 

 

Rating: ★★★☆☆ (curious)

 

Short, entertaining book that provides more information than initially appears. We could say that it is a find, and a good way to learn to smoke a pipe.

 

*Verdaguer, Joaquim. L’art de fumar en pipa. Palma de Mallorca, 1980. 95 pàg. (Introducció i versió catalana de Joan Bonet Nadal. Dibuixos d’Aina Bonner), ISBN: 84-273-0284-3

 

 

17. La chica de al lado. Jack Ketchum.*

 

 

Rating: ★★★★☆ (not for everyone)

 

The ultimate purpose of any writer is to excite the reader. But very few get it, almost none. That's why they are so special men Mika Waltari or Juan Marsé, they know how to touch the intangible, they know how to make you feel.

 

Apart from this select group of creators, there is another group that is also capable of altering our conscience, in this case making us feel bad. This is not easy to do either. They are also select, unique and special. They are the dark authors. In that group are Jack Ketchum, Clive Barker and Tom Piccirilli. And "The Girl Next Door" reaches as far as it proposes.

 

If you want to have a bad time read it, I'll tell you no more. So the impact will be even stronger.

 

*Ketchum, Jack. La chica de al lado. La Factoría de Ideas. Madrid, 2006. 320 pp. (TO en inglés: The Girl Next Door. Traducción: Paz Fernández). ISBN: 84-9800-243-5