My year 2023 in books

Posted on December 26, 2023 by jaimeirastorza

Following the posts in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022, this one gives account of my readings in 2023.

The reading of books this year fell from previous ones, to a single digit figure, 6 books. The amount of pages also fell to 2225 pages, as well far from the average of 2020 to 2022. However I don´t regret it, rather the contrary 🙂 . Reason is that early 2023 I found in Alma a partner to spend and share lots of significant moments. Our shared activities and travels reduced the amount of time for reading, although I am still trying to find routines together to recover reading time 😉

Still I found moments for books and in fact I had the highlight of buying a signed exemplar “Una Nueva Mirada al Mundo” in famed Feria de Libro de Madrid from friend and AEGEE mate Juan Hernández Alfaro:

And also I kept finding pleasure in reading at home, at my parents, by the swimming pool at my place, in Retiro Park, but also during travels.

But now, let´s just review this year´s reading list. (Titles given first in spanish indicate a release read in this language)

  • Heat 2 (466 pgs).  By Michael Mann and Meg Gardiner. I started to read this book at the end of 2022 and enjoyed a lot the expansion of the universe that movie director Mann crafted for his monumental “Heat” movie in 1995. That movie defined my teenage and it was great to go back to the background of the characters. The plot this time is much more violent and with an international flair that the original movie lacked. I missed the trepidant rythm of the 95 release, but welcomed the techie tones of its robery plots, and the darker tones all along. The background about Neil McCauley helps to like more the character of the movie, portrayed by Robert de Niro. On top of it, I bought this book in Los Angeles during my 2022 trip to California. I couldn´t help to visit the scenarios where Neil, Chris and the rest of the gang performed their most famous scores. For experienced readers, just a cops and thieves thriller, for me, kind of a pilgrimage 🙂
  • La Peste (The Pest) (351 pgs). By Albert Camus. Along with “L´Etranger”, the paramount novel of Camus, a fictional story about a pest pandemic, offers the author the opportunity to reflect on aspects such as the fear against the unknown, but also the sacrifice to serve the greater good. The first two thirds of the book were a bit tedious to me at times, but they built the narrative tension resolved finally in unleashed and painful drama. Today we can draw parallelism to our struggles during the Covid 19 pandemic and we can find a larger than life character in monumental Dr. Rieux. I can just thank brother Javier for his gift of this book.
  • American Prometheus (590 pgs). By Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin. A journalistic research book, it covers the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, from childhood to his death. It gives hint to the formation of the complex personality of Oppenheimer, witness and part of the golden age of the quantum physics, that took him to lead the scientists that theorized and crafted the first atomic bomb. It follows with his strong political engagement and personal struggles. The book sheds light to the less known corners of his life, helping to understand one of the fundamental names that shaped the twentieth century, if not the present day. Fantastic reading.
  • El amor en los tiempos del cólera (Love in thetimes of cholera) (495 pgs). By Gabriel García Márquez. After the disappointment of Hundred years of solitude, read last year, this one was a full reconciliation with García Márquez. An ode to love, in its many forms. The story following Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza from teenagers to the sunset of life. Tenderness, passion, generosity through the decades. Beautifully written, a reference book.
  • The Sporty Game (231 pgs). By John Newhouse. This book provides a thrilling deep dive into three decades of evolution of the airline and airplane making industries. From the sixties to early eighties, it describes struggles of Boeing, McDonnell, Lockheed, Rolls Royce and the nascient Airbus to bring flying wonders such as the B-747 Jumbo Jet to the public. A must read for aviation geeks, remembering the big names of chief engineers and top executives of those mythical companies. My release, a second hand one, came with an additional bonus: a signed letter, as the book was originally a gift from a bank executive in California to a financial director in Lockheed back in the eighties.
  • Venticuatro horas en la vida de una mujer (Twenty-four hours in the life of a woman) (92 pgs). By Stefan Zweig. Third book I read from the austrian author. So far all translations into spanish of his elegant prose. I consider to start reading them in german. This short tale with bittersweet tones, a woman feeling the passion triggered by a man in need of being saved from the curse of gambling.

For a 2024 with many happy readings!

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My year 2022 in books

Posted on December 26, 2022 by jaimeirastorza

Following the posts in 2017, 2018,  2019, 2020 and 2021 this one gives account of my readings in 2022.

After the transition and stabilization year 2021 in which I read 11 books, with some 3900 pags, this 2022 saw a significant increase in the books read, up to 21, although the number of pages didn´t increase that much, just to 5.100, still some 1000 pages less than record year 2020. The reason is clear, thinner books 🙂 . The fact is that I found a series of “thematic reads” that contributed to this ratio, while having the positive “gamification” effect of finishing books regularly instead of stucking with one for months.

Again, I found pleasure in reading at home, at my parents, by the swimming pool at my place, in Retiro Park, but also during travels and stays in Germany, France or the United States and in many hours spent in the hospital.

La Cabaña, one of my reference spots for reading at Retiro Park

But now, let´s just review this year´s reading list. (Titles given first in spanish indicate a release read in this language)

  • Study in Scarlet (141 pgs).  By Arthur Conan Doyle. After having read the first two compilations of cases last year, I took on the project to complete the “canon” of Sherlock (*). Starting with this first novel devoted to the fictional detective. In it, we are taken on a travel through time and across continents, with a touching love story in the founding mormon communities in the US, for a thrilling plot evidently more elaborated than in any of Holmes´ short cases.
  • The sign of four (146 pgs). By Arthur Conan Doyle. Next novel in the canon is this plot also of international and colonial flavor. It has trepidant, unusal, action passages and we are witness to Dr.Watson feelings.
  • The Hound of the Baskervilles (168 pgs). By Arthur Conan Doyle. The most famous and acclaimed case of Sherlock and with good reason. A thrilling plot that runs like a clockwork, with phenomenal characters and side stories. The trust relationship between Holmes and Dr. Watson starts to be better depicted. If the reader would only have one case to read of Sherlock, it definitely needs to be this. Fantastic novel to entertain the reader whenever she desires it.
  • Lord of the Flies (271 pgs). By William Golding. Another dystopia I read written also in the 50s. A group of boys and young children stranded in a deserted island, as they start to discuss how to survive and wait for a rescue. A reflection on how social structures are formed, the tension between reason and emotion, free will vs rules. And some passages loaded with extraordinary beauty and emotion. A classic of the western schools curriculum, but even a better read as an adult. Recommended and easy reading.
  • Dr Jeckyll and Mr Hyde (111 pgs). By Robert Louis Stevenson. After the stranded boys, found another novel capturing a moral debate in an entertaining plot, though shorter this time. The experiments of Dr Jeckyll allow for a reflection on the prevalence of morals and societal conventions vs “ape-like” instincts. Elegantly written in victorian english gothic style. My release came with the entertaining story “The Bottle Imp”, also a reflection on human weakness, in this case the greed.
  • Of Mice and Men (106 pgs). By John Steinbeck. I read Steinbeck´s Grapes of Wrath in 2017 and it was time to come back to the brutal chronicler of american Great Depression. In this shorter novel I got what I expected. We follow misfit Lennie and smart George in their quest for a job and dreams of a better life, enduring injustice and pain. A friendship story for the ages, ugly aspects of humans in need and the definition of sadness in its finale. Not as crude as the Grapes, but still Steinbeck by the book. A must read.
  • On the Road (281 pgs). By Jack Kerouac. After the toughness of Steinbeck I chained two more american modern classics. The woman in the bookstore where I bought it told me this was her favorite book. I understood it quickly. The first 100 pages are possibly the most energy loaded ones I have ever read. Part coming of age novel, part depiction of the 50s american dream, this almost autobiographic novel takes us to follow writer-to-be Sal Paradise and the unleashed vital spirit of Dean Moriarty in their parties and travels across the US. Reflections of life and love that marked the so called Beat generation. Can just recommend, but I warn the reader that those first pages were…exhausting!
  • In Cold Blood (316 pgs). By Truman Capote. Next american modern classic after “On the road”. The masterpiece of Capote. He was a journalist covering the investigation of the murder of the Clutter family of farmers in Kansas. But what he captured in this book is much more than that. A thrilling crime novel, an astonishing documentary of rural life, a psychiatry treaty when depicting the murderers and an engrossing portrait of the 50s (broken) american dream. A grand, brilliant, page turner. Deserved fame without doubt. Can just recommend.
  • The Art of War  (175 pgs). By Sun Tzu. One can´t count the many times that this book has been mentioned and referenced in our daily life, in other books and movies. Well, it is fascinating to read the lines that have endured such a test of time, as they were written…some 2500 years ago! When taking notes, one can capture teachings and foundations for conflict management, strategy, tactics on the field, logistics, leadership, communication theory… My release came also with “The Sayings of Wutzu” also a chinese general of the time. Not bad if looking for personal growth readings.
  • Deng Xiaoping and the transformation of China. (714 pgs). By Ezra Vogel. After my travel to China in 2018 I was looking for some readings about the country and I found the sound recommendation of economy professor Jesús Fernandez Villaverde (bio) here (in spanish) for this book. It is a solid research on one of the most influential leaders of the 20th century, if not of all time. Controversial without doubt, as he was considered responsible for the Tiananmen masacre in the eyes of western world (which he was), but still a pragmatic mind like probably no other in his time, facing the historical challenge of modernizing China after Mao era (which almost took China to medieval times), reportedly taking more people out of poverty than any other leader in history. When I read Singapore´s Lee Kuan Yew´s biography in 2020 (review here), he depicted Deng as a brilliant mind and historical leader. This book confirms it. To the reader interested in modern China, practical politics and a view on the world, this book is more than worth the effort it takes to be read. Like Lee Kuan´s in 2020, finishing reading this was one of the highlights of the year, without doubt.
  • El Regreso de Sherlock Holmes (The Return of Sherlock Holmes) (441 pgs). By Arthur Conan Doyle. This was a collection of further 13 cases of our detective. Entertaining as always, what we get to see here is Holmes being more “picky” on Dr Watson´s skills and his narration of the cases. So, more character development, paving the way eventually for some key aspects in following cases. For me, in a spanish release, was a quick read in the first heat wave of the summer…
  • Old Man and the sea. (99 pgs). By Ernest Hemingway. An easy classic to be introduced to this historical author. Easy to read, the plot with old fisherman Santiago in his battle to capture a great marlin. With it, reflections of life, grit, perseverance and references to baseball legend Joe DiMaggio. It may be a bit tedious in some passages, but it has very tender tones at times as well. A “quick win” for a reader avid of classics, to be honest 🙂
  • Magallanes el hombre y su gesta (Conqueror of the seas: the story of Magellan). (352 pgs). By Stephan Zweig. A visit to the fantastic Naval Museum in Madrid prompted my buying of this exemplar there. Zweig´s exhuberant prose (at least its translation into spanish) meets the superlative mankind feat of the first circumnavitation of the globe by the fleet initially commanded by portuguese captain Ferdinand of Magellan and departing from Seville, which was taken to final accomplishment by the spaniard Juan Sebastian Elcano. The drama and depiction of the struggles and conspiracies of the first historic travel around the world are best narrated by this bombastic author. It was for me an escape for hours spent in hospital in moments of family suffering.
  • El Fin de la Eternidad. (The End of Eternity) (279 pgs). By Isaac Asimov. After having read the Foundation series it is always a pleasure to come back to Isaac Asimov. This time on the occasion of being recommended by good friend Gonzalo. With the always easy to read style of Asimov, the reader finds here a thoughtful contrast between free will vs determinism. It linked to the previous “Lord of the flies” in this sense, but here with much more fantasy and, yes, a sexier subplot and undertones. As I always say, it is great to enjoy a book recommended by a friend. This was the case. Gonzalo did the same with “Neverending story” which made me quite happy, but this is a story to be told in another occasion… 🙂
  • La defensa de Madrid (233 pgs). By Manuel Chaves Nogales. I read Chaves Nogales “By Fire and Sword”, a cronicle of the spanish civil war, in 2020, which I marveled at (review here). So I went back to the author. This book describes, with the author´s precious prose, the battle of Madrid between the two sides in the spanish civil war. A cruel and miserable one in the grounds of the famed park Casa de Campo and the marvelous Ciudad Universitaria (University Campus), which made for a contrast between the rage of the battle and the spirit of the University. The book also elevates the figure of the republican General Miaja as a man of unrivaled courage leading the resistance of Madrid. It was a privilege to discuss the chapters with my father, who is a man more than versed in the matter. This reading and the circumstances of it made for another of the highlights of the year.
  • Justice. What is the right thing to do. (269 pgs). By Michael Sandel. Another “coming back”, in this case to the author of ” What the Money Can´t Buy”, which I read in 2019 (review here). Also by chance, as I found the book as a second hand release in my neighborhood lovely bookstore La Lumbre. Harvard ´s political philosopher Sandel reviews the basics of western law´s morals in this release with almost course book quality. From Bentham´s utilitarianism, to the libertarians and Locke, to Kant, John Rawls and Aristotle, with shocking cases to depict the moral debates: is it “moral” to enrol mercenaries in war to defend a nation, or “fair” to have a disabled girl in a top football cheerleader squad, or a disabled golfer in a professional tournament? As everything published by Sandel, a quick reference for informed debate. Can just recommend.
  • The Valley of Fear. (156 pgs). By Arthur Conan Doyle. To follow up with Sherlock Holmes´ canon project, the last of the novels of the detective of Baker Street. What starts with a difficult case to solve in the streets of London, takes the reader again in a travel through time and continents. This occasion again to America, with a plot with Western movie tones, harsh, savage, intense. I linked it to some extent to Clint Eastwood´s movie “The Pale Rider” (comment intended not to be a spoiler). For me, at par with “Study in Scarlet” among the novels of Holmes. More brutal plot, but less intense love story, still a step or two below the magnificent “The Hound of the Baskervilles”.
  • Notes of a dirty old man. (204 pgs). By Charles Bukowski . Well, by the end of summer of this year I took a tour across California with stays in Los Angeles and San Francisco as highlight. After having read the american classics of the 50s reviewed above, it was clear that I had to get some more literature from writers of the area. In fact I mixed destinations, and while I bought books in LA (see picture below), it was not until San Francisco that I bought two books from the cursed author of LA. In fact I bought them in City Light Books store, the store devoted to the Beat generation, which has an alley nearby devoted to Jack Kerouac. Back to the book, the “Notes” were reportedly filed within FBI records for being too subversive of the morals of the 60s, when it was written. It is in fact an extreme book, where Bukowski takes note of amoral stories of decandence in Los Angeles, ruthless characters, sex by the sake of escape and animal alleviation, crime… the book seems to be written at times by the author being drunk. It probably was the case. As a collection of disconnected notes, a reader may find it hard to go on with the book, it was the case for me.
The Last Bookstore in Los Angeles, can just be described as a paradise for readers
  • His last bow. (187 pgs). By Arthur Conan Doyle. The Sherlock Canon project moving on, this was the next collection of cases from the famous detective, 9 in this occasion. The anecdote is that I had bought the book as in LA “The Last Store” as part of the “Complete Works” of Sherlock Holmes, as I had no way to find a release for “The Last Bow” and the next collection “The Case Book…”. So, the highlights in these cases were the reappearance of Sherlock´s brother Mycroft in an extraordinary case with implications to the fate of the United Kingdom, the further development of the trust relationship with Dr Watson and Holmes quintessential quote that he investigates not for the reward and recognition but rather in a sense of “art for the sake of art”. This less known quote of him is, in fact, the paramount one of all his books.
  • The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes. (230 pgs). By Arthur Conan Doyle. This collection of 12 cases of Sherlock is the final one written by Conan Doyle. It is the final showdown, and the author stresses this point right in the introduction to put the reader in the proper farewell mood:

So, we get to read more of Holmes discussing with Dr Watson on the latter´s skills of observation, challenging him. In one case he even cheats him for the sake of the investigation. On other occasion we see Holmes finally expressing his affection for Watson in the face of the doctor eventually being shot, we see cases narrated by the very Sherlock instead of Watson. This is, in sum, the most heterogeneous collection of cases of the detective. That is a value in itself. For the new reader, however, I still recommend to start with “The Adventures…” and focus in the novels with preference for the “The Hound of the Baskervilles.”

  • Ham on Rye. (273 pgs). By Charles Bukowski. The second release of this author that I bought in San Francisco´s City Lights Bookstore. Here we follow Bukowski´s alter ego Henry Chinaski in a coming of age story. From Great Depression kid, suffering rejection from parents and teachers alike, to a cursed writer-to-be. In Henry´s character I perceived a turn inwards,as if to protect himself from his surroundings, while developing a sensitivity which is later the basis for the writer. The early discovering of sex and alcohol provides for many funny moments and helps to understand the extreme stories of the “Notes…”. An easy reading, I recommend this book to start with Bukowski rather than the mentioned “Notes…”.

For a 2023 with as many happy readings!

(*) For the reader interested in the character of Sherlock Holmes, find here canonical order of the the works devoted to the detective:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canon_of_Sherlock_Holmes

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Sevilla Marathon 2022

Posted on March 8, 2022 by jaimeirastorza

“It was motivating when I reached you […] I am so happy with the race” Javi was quite emotional when we rejoined under the sun at the finish line of Sevilla Marathon in magnificent Avenida de la Palmera. He had overcame me around km 28, and managed to beat his expected finish time as I did myself. Some 20 minutes later, we learned that Juan, the third of the 4 J´s, had also exceeded expectations considering his lack of training and a chronic tendinitis.

For the three of us, this race was sort of a “comeback” to the 42km after more than two years since Porto. In between, nothing less than the Covid pandemic, which turned upside down the lives of everyone, of course including training routines, motivation, mental and physical state…

But even under these circumstances, and focusing now on myself, I somehow managed to turn the odds from the tendency in previous races, with worsening times in the marathon races in 2018 and 2019… and get back on track and even beat the time of Lisbon in 2017, almost 5 years ago. With 4h 12` I was more than happy as well and I embraced Javier sharing the emotion.

Happy brothers after the race

How did this happen after the negative experiences which were reflected in the final comments of post devoted to the last races? (See links here for 2019, Vienna and Dublin)

Preparation

In those races, where I reached a low, I hinted at difficulties to keep pace with proper training, in most occasions related to lack of life-work balance. Thus, one key element is that last year I change position in my job and relocated moving back to Madrid. As described in my post about readings of 2021, this came with new routines and a better balance. This translated in increased and stable training practices, which in turn drove a weight reduction of more than 10kg in some 8 months. For long distance running, this makes definitely a difference. I have managed to recover a bit my shape of the times when I started running long distances back in 2008.

The newly recovered discipline brought in new incentives. Apart from coming back to the old training sessions in my beloved Retiro Park from April 2021, I started cycling as well a couple of months later, an activity that provided a good balance for the running sessions.

I however felt stagnated at the end of summer time with the heat in Madrid. I had difficulties to find energy to go to Retiro after coming home from work, but then I reached another turning point when I spotted the Parque del Manzanares directly in my drive back from work. The spot is part of the cycling ring around Madrid, which I had learned riding the bike, and provided a no-brainer stop for training. I sped up again from October on.

End of november I experienced a small injury from fatigue during a high intensity training, from which I recovered to be in time for the first long distance test in mid December, the Half Marathon Sevilla Los Palacios, a tradition since my times there, which I clocked below 2 hours. In Christmas I got infected with Covid and lost about a week and a half of traning (and the opportunity to share with Javier my newly discovered track in Parque del Manzanares). However I managed to perform the long distance training units over 21km, 30km, 20km. In that sessions I enjoyed the beautiful scenery of Madrid Río and its Casa de Campo and was able to sustain paces around and below 6’/km, a good basis with 30s/km faster than the tests previous to the marathons in the last years.

Reporting the result of long distance training units to Javier and friends

When the time arrived to head for Sevilla, I felt happy and confident.

The Race

With the fresh experience from the training and having arrived at Sevilla, the strategy was to set a pace similar to the one I had in the 30km test, which I finished strong, around 5’50” to 6’/km, up to km 30 and then it was just a matter of practically run around the city center, a track well known from my years living there.

I set the the pace at around 5’50″/km, slowly approaching the pacers for 4h30′ , which I ended up surpassing. I kept running at par with Javier and Juan, slightly behind them. At around km10 we run in front of the apartment of our cousin Marileo and family, who saw and cheered us, boosting with emotion our performance. I kept that pace until km13 where I sped up a little bit and kept ahead of them for some time.

I was running comfortably in the range of 5’30” to 5’0″/km, trying to reach the half marathon that way. Then I expected to lose some pace and rest a bit for some kilometers.

I did lose pace in the east part of the course for some kilometers and when I was recovering again, at km28 Javier surpassed me. We were running along the big San Francisco Javier Avenue, and both of us felt quite good. We cheered each other and Javier went ahead at a faster pace.

Maintaining the pace around 6’/km for most of the rest of the course, I felt very happy to spot my friend Jesús (the one that introduced me in the Los Palacios Half Marathon) and his wife Sara at the magnificent Plaza de España. They cheered me up and I headed for the loop around city center. Another high came some 2km later, when also my colleague and friend Rafa spotted me and took some seconds of video of myself running. We had met by chance the previous night when both of us went having dinner with our groups in the same city area. The encounter was another happy one.

The counter-clockwise loop around the city is slightly uphill and my pace went for some 3/4 km above 6’/km, until we entered the city center from the north through the sunny Alameda de Hércules. A place that brought me many memories of beautiful nights with friends there, and the struggles of running along it northwards in the race of 2017.

The last two kilometers, along the Catedral and Avenida de la Constitución, were just great, I danced a bit with the musicians in the last spots, laughed at the water station that provided food at that very last part of the race, and headed quite happy to the surroundings of Parque de Maria Luisa and the last turn into Avenida de la Palmera to cross the finish line at 4h 12′.

The block diagram above shows my times in the relevant milestones. Indicative of the solid performance is the good balance between the time at 21km, around 2h8′ and the second half of the race within practically the same time. Not a negative split like in Lisbon 2017, but very good result.

The happy trio after having all beat our expectations

Final comments

I had written in the final comments of the post for the Dublin marathon that the weather had made a significant difference to achieve a better than expected time, considering my training that year. Well, for this third participation in Sevilla, the weather did not exactly play on my side, as we had a sunny day and mild to warm temperature, which for me is rather detrimental.

However, the combination of notable weight loss plus a much more constant and continuous training provided for the necessary basis that I had been lacking in the previous years.

I recovered thus the satisfaction of investing effort, and enjoying it, in the training sessions with the expectation of achieving certain results.

If this will mean that I am able to go back to the times of the beginning of the 2010´s to clock below 4h, only time will tell. In the way to reach there I have found the incentives of new training tracks, sports and a better balance. If these elements hold, I hope to report accordingly in the next one.

Until then, the memory of a wonderful weekend, with family, friends and fantastic sightseeing, will provide for the motivation to kept improving and enjoying.

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My year 2021 in books

Posted on January 4, 2022 by jaimeirastorza

 

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Following the posts in 2017, 2018,  2019 and 2020 this one gives account of my readings in 2021.

After the reading rush of the second half of 2020, which contributed to a record of 13 books and some 6.250 pages read, 2021 was a year of transition and kind of “back to normal”.

In the first quarter of the year I changed my position at work and moved from Seville back to Madrid, which meant that I devoted some time to find new routines, also for reading. At the end, I managed to finish 11 books and started another one that I envisage to finish beginning of 2022.

With these 11 books, the number of pages read decreased to some 3900, some 2300 less compared to the record figure of last year.  Rather than feeling bad about that, the fact is that with the “new life” starting in spring time, I found the pleasure of not only reading at home, at my parents or in Toulouse when visiting brother Javier and family, but also by the swimming pool at my place, or in terraces at public parks such as my beloved Retiro Park or Parque Genovés in the beautiful city of Cádiz during holidays.

But now, let´s just review this year´s reading list. (Titles given first in spanish indicate a release read in this language)

  • La Iliada (The Iliad) (430 pgs).  By Homer. The epic poem narrating the Trojan wars between Troy and the greeks. A myriad of descriptions of the fights between commanders and princes of both parties, with detailed depiction of the wounds and carnage inflicted. It builds tension to the duel of Hector and hero Achilles. A mythological book, the fate of humans is left to the passions and desires of the gods, especially Apollo. A fundamental book to understand western culture, the repetitiveness and detail of the lives and origin of every fighter was at the end tedious to me. I recommend it if the reader is willing to make some effort to overcome this aspect.
  • El Diario de Anne Frank (Anne Frank´s Diary) (375 pgs). By Anne Frank. A modern classic, the fresh account from the eyes of a girl turning teenager in the two years hidding from nazis in the upsrising of their rule over The Netherlands. The day to day struggles of two families and part coming of age story before our eyes. Easy to read and tender in many passages. 
  • Divina Comedia (Divine Comedy) (535 pgs). By Dante Alighieri. An all time classic, written in XIV century, takes Dante in a journey through history and the account of the human passions and flaws of the soul, guided in hell and purgatory by poet Virgil in order to rejoin with wife Beatrice. I appreciated the “engineering” structure of chapters grouped in rings. Until heaven, where the level of symbolism just got me lost.
  • Cien Años de Soledad (Hundred Years of Solitude) (495 pgs). By Gabriel García Márquez. The paramount novel of García Márquez “magic realism” telling the story of generations of the Buendía family and the rise and fall of the fictional city of Macondo. Even if in many passages the reading is intense and visceral, the loop structure, and endless repetitions of similar stories of the Buendías also lost me. I really did not like the style and would definitely not recommend it.
  • Treasure Island (303 pgs). By Robert Louis Stevenson. Another classic, in this case of youth literature. The canon of pirates novels just has it all, a treasure, a bold youngster Jim Hawkins, a crew of noble characters such as the doctor and Captain Smollet, and of course a wicked villain, Long John Silver and his line for the ages: “…yohoho, and a bottle of rum!”. Arr! I really recommend it, and see it as prerequisite for Moby Dick, as Ishmael could be Jim Hawkins with 10/15 years more, and for Count of Montecristo, in the same line of adventure but at smaller scale than Dumas´ classic, of course.
  • Animal Farm (120 pgs). By George Orwell. A brilliant and easy to read satire about the rise of totalitarism out of the rebellion of the people against injustice. As bitter as the reality, everyone could draw modern examples of the clash between pig Napoleon in the elite and noble executor horse Boxer. With a more simple message and more entertaining than the later “1984” also by Orwell, my release included a preface by the author about his concerns on the rise of soviet totalitarism corrupting his socialist ideals, which he saw already hinted in the spanish communists in the civil war. Important reading.
  • How to avoid a climatic disaster (230 pgs). By Bill Gates. In times where the conversation on climate change and its consequences has become extremely polarized, this book takes a step back and offers a reasoning framework focusing on five human activities which contribute to emitting greenhouse gases. Then, options and the outlook for a growing population are discussed. The problems are complex, so we all better start having meaningful debates rather than throwing arguments at each other. The book helps with the former. 

  • The Adventures and Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (506 pgs). By Arthur Conan Doyle. Another classic set of characters from the XIX century. The famous Sherlock with his unique deductive skills and Dr. Watson as supportive catalyst to put these skills to work. The “Adventures” and the “Memoirs” compile respectively 12 and 11 cases, with a similar structure in each one while evolving the characters and providing more details of the persona Mr. Holmes along them. Very rich and elegant writing style from Conan Doyle, these short stories were the “series” of that time, like our current Netflix, HBO or Amazon releases of today. I will start with the novels to deepen in this fantastic universe. Lots of fun.

  • Air Wars  (238 pgs). By Scott Hamilton. A reading for the aviation geek, one that probably knows the reporting of Scott in his blog Leeham News. A narration of decades of the formidable industrial rivalry between giants Boeing and Airbus. Insights about historic contracts, airplane programs that were successful and some that not. Some passages are repeated throughout the book, but can still be of value to those with interest in the industry, especially around airplanes sales negotiations.
  • El Príncipe (The Prince) (252 pgs). By Nicholas Machiavelli. Much taboo about the term machiavellian, the fact is that The Prince is, to the modern reader, a rather pragmatic guide to leaders and heads of governments. Out of his bitter experiences in diplomacy, Machiavelli writes on the the basics of governing inherited or conquered lands, leadership of armies and policies with the governed people. The most famed passages are those related to the virtues expected from the leader, or how to govern with a lack thereof, which is at the end of the day the practice of reality, of the human condition. In my release the highlight was really the comments and notes by Napoleon Bonaparte, a “practical” view to the theoretical thesis of Machiavelli. Unleashed Napoleon, great fun, I recommend the book especially if containing such notes.
  • The Martian (435 pgs). By Andy Weir. The incredible story of astronaut Mark Watney left stranded in Mars by his crew and his struggles to survive. I got the book recommended by friend Miguel years before the release of the motion picture blockbuster starred by Matt Damon and finally I bought it second hand when getting my release of The Prince in La Lumbre book store. Well, I watched the movie years ago before reading the book, enjoyed it immensely…and did even more reading the book. More of the wit, of the technical depictions, of the irony, of the characters development. An adventure story with an overwhelming positive and optimistic tone which makes me recommend it for times of crisis and uncertainty…for times such as these we are living in now 🙂

 

For a 2022 with the pandemic more under control and as many happy readings!

 

norbert-toth-I1oL89qxefc-unsplash

Credits to Janko Ferlic and Norbert Toth for the opening and closing pictures from unsplash.com

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My year 2020 in books

Posted on December 30, 2020 by jaimeirastorza

Following the posts in 2017, 2018 and 2019, this one gives account of my readings in 2020.

If 2019 had been already a challenging year both in the reading and writing frequency, 2020 started the same way. And then March came with the outbreak of Covid19 pandemic. This contributed to and compounded with a stressful year at work.

I will not speak of months of confinement and opportunity to read more or acquire new skills. That narrative did not apply to me at all. Even if my relatives and myself stayed healthy, it was a catastrophic period and in fact my readings came to a full stop between april and september.

However, after summer pause I somehow managed to recover some peace of mind and could use reading as a balancing activity.

In fact, with the reading rush in the second half of the year, the amount of books read rose, up to 13 books (from 7 in ’19 and 9 in ’18) and more than tripling the number of pages, with around 6.250 pages. Let´s review them.

  • El Bosque Oscuro (The Dark Forest)(570 pgs).  By Cixin Liu. Second novel of the trilogy The Three Body Problem. A larger book than the first one of the series, I found it to be an easier reading and more entertaining, especially with the plot around the Wallfacers and the development of the Cosmic Sociology. Still, the narration jumps from story to story in a way that reminds of the somewhat chaotic film making style of Christopher Nolan.
  • The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat (233 pgs). By Oliver Sacks. The neurologist of Mount Carmel takes the reader on a ride along neurological pathologies and their effects in the functioning of cognitive and sensorial systems. Fascinating cases are presented, but the writing style was hard to me and maybe to other non native readers in english. It made difficult to engage with descriptions and technical explanations.
  • From Third World to First (690 pgs). By Lee Kuan Yew. I bought the book to deepen in the foundation of Singapore after my visit to the state-city in 2016, and it has been one of my best buys ever. The book may serve as a guide to set up a country with the first part of it discussing the steps they took on education, national identity, language, economy, defence, creation of leadership, governance… The second part is a summary of his diplomatic insights and views after having dealt with leaders around the world for over four decades. It is difficult to judge Lee Kuan from a modern western perspective (is regarded by many as a far right autocrat) but his thoughtful and witty style made the almost 700pgs reading just delightful. One of the highlights of the year.
  • Fundación y Tierra (Foundation and Earth) (524 pgs). By Isaac Asimov. I regained with this book part of the excitement that went lost in Foundation´s Edge, the previous one in the series. The quest across the galaxy to search for the origins of humankind is a worthy closing for this fantastic saga. Still, it has not the freshness of the original trilogy.
  • Awakenings (360 pgs). By Oliver Sacks. This one was a bit easier to read than the previous from Dr. Sacks and focuses on his cases of patients of the outbreak of encephalitis lethargica in the 20th century that he treated in the 70s and 80s in Mount Carmel with the advent of the L-Dopa drug. A devastating account of mental suffering of patients along decades, but also emotional narration of the few passages of recovery. A roller coaster from the depths of mental hell to the overwhelming joy of getting out of it. Dr. Sacks final message is just as powerful as it gets:

  • El Fin de la Muerte (Death’s End) (734 pgs). By Cixin Liu. After finally getting the appeal of the story with the previous “The Dark Forest”, the plot takes new heights in the multidecade, interstellar battle for survival and really deploys a big amount of fantasy. Good plot twists for the best book of the saga. A pitty that the first one may discourage the faint reader to get to the end.
  • Moby Dick (536 pgs). By Herman Melville. I had the book in my shelf for years if not decades. Finally I discovered narrator Ishmael (the guy that tells the story and you feel he does it over a beer in a bar…) in his account of the hunt for the White Whale. Written in the 19th century, it was difficult to read in many chapters with lots of slang and specific sailing vocabulary. The book combines encyclopedic views of every aspect of the whales and whaling business, and I mean “every, to the bone”, with symbolic reflections on art, philosophy and religion. But also a trepidant story of Captain Ahab and his Pequod. The highlight to me was the first lowering of the whaling boats from the Pequod, pure adrenaline and a monumental plot twist. The book may require to be re-read in some passages, but it was great having completed it.
  • 1984 (326 pgs). By George Orwell. On of the most celebrated dystopies along with Aldous Huxley´s “Brave New World”, which I read in 2018. This is more somber and brutal. I read the book after having watched Michael Radford´s movie adaptation as a teenager, and I appreciated the expanded development of characters and story. This is a basic reading about totalitarism and the manipulation for social and individual construction. I read it in parallel with Moby Dick and progressed quicker with this one.
  • A Sangre y Fuego (By Fire and Sword) (305 pgs). By Manuel Chaves Nogales. The narration of the sevillian journalist of 11 episodes in the spanish Civil War, following individuals of each side and their struggles. The worst of the two bands with stories of cruelty, retaliation, envy and ignorance. Beautifully written and easy to read.
  • Dune (740 pgs). By Frank Herbert. One of the science-fiction all time classics along with Asimov´s Foundation series. First book of the saga for a powerful set up of conflicting “houses” and characters. Interesting reflections of a young Paul Atreides on power, religion and nature. However, from half of the book on I found it a bit repetitive and increasingly pretentious. I got the recommendation by friends not to read further books of the saga and I guess I will stick to it.
  • Manual de Resistencia (307 pgs). By Pedro Sánchez. The memoirs of four years in the political career of current spanish prime minister. From his nomination to Secretary General of PSOE in 2014 to his ascent to government after a successful motion to depose Mariano Rajoy in 2018. A controversial politician, his narration contains hints of early identity politics (we vs. they) so present these days across the world. I found his views on the catalonian independence conflict, and the way to express them, more of a statesman and surprisingly different from the tone of the rest of the book. The writing style is awful, as if it had not been edited at all, making for a pitiful read in many passages. The comparison to Lee Kuan´s book is just dramatic.
  • The importance of being Earnest (60 pgs). By Oscar Wilde. A short play of the irish genius, narrating the pursuits of young Algernon Moncrieff and Jack Worthing to marry two young ladies, it unfolds in social critic about classes in satire style. In Acts 3 and 4, the wit of Oscar Wilde is unleashed. I laughed out loud alone at home like never before. I can just recommend to read it.
  • El Conde de Montecristo (The Count of Montecristo) (1440 pgs). By Alexandre Dumas. This was a long read (split in two volumes) but was worth every page. The story of the revenge of young sailor Edmond Dantes, after being imprisoned the day before his wedding, is one of the most celebrated novels of all time. A monumental plot for that revenge and the terrific character of the Count provide for many moments of reflection on philosophy and justice, but also a portrait of the best virtues and worst aspects of the human soul. A true roller coaster of emotions. Adventure, love, revenge, immense fortunes, crime…the novel just has it all. If one could always read it for first time! One of the highlights of the year.

For a 2021 with the pandemic under control and as many happy readings!

Credits to Laura Kapfer and Mahendra Kumar for the opening and closing pictures from unsplash.com

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My marathons run in 2019

Posted on December 28, 2019 by jaimeirastorza

This late post about the marathon races I run this year comes instead of the usual reports after the spring and fall marathons in which my brother Javier, myself and friends take part since many years.

As mentioned in another post, this has been again a challenging year that took a toll on both training for road running and posting about it.

The following lines provide a summary of the (bad) training, race results and feelings, since, at the end of the day, a marathon race, finishing it, is always quite an achievement and worth sharing and celebrating with a post!

Krakow Marathon – April 28th

After the good vibes of the previous fall race in Dublin, the preparation for this one started well in late January but I could not keep pace with the training sessions. More work travels than usual and stress and I ended up beginning of April with merely some tens of kilometers run per month. I tried to catch up and build some volume in the weeks ahead of the race, performing a test over 30km just to check that I would finish.

Already in Krakow I met with Javier and family, and also Juan, who would join us one year after Lisbon. On Saturday evening it started to rain and so it went until we left.

The race took place entirely under rain conditions and I started quite conservative over 6’/km. Even at that pace I started to feel difficulties past the km 15 so I lowered it a bit. At half marathon I caught Juan, who was feeling really bad and struggling to just continue. But in fact that turned the race into an exciting no-man-left-behind effort. For the next 16 km or so we kept cheering ourselves with motivational appeals under heavy rain.

At km 38 or 39, Juan took some meters ahead, and got a boost with a new energy gel which I had not, so I fought the last 3 km alone along the river up until the finish line. Still, remembering the many kilometers run together, we celebrated with a picture:

The time, 4h 48′ marked a new personal worst in my 15th participation in the distance…but it would not be the last.

Porto – November 3rd

Even though the result in Krakow had been quite a warning, the situation with training sessions did not improve for the fall race. A couple of travels lasting a week in the month before Porto did not help and the mileage was the lowest ever. With the experience of Krakow I was able to perform another 30km test to check the feasibility of the feat.

With that test, running over 6’30″/km, I was positive to finish but I thought for first time to go over 5h…

Arriving at Porto, we also joined our old fellow runner and Airbus colleague Manuel (aka Manvidal), with whom we last run in the 100km of Millau in 2015, and previously in Rotterdam and Rome. The pack of four was ready.

Starting from the coastal neighborhood of Matosinhos, the first 12km took us to its cargo harbour and back, and, even sooner than in Krakow, I already noted that this would be a tough race. I had started even more conservative, with the pace of the 30km test, above 6’30″/km.

Already running along the coast and river Douro to the inner city, I had to lower the pace to reach km 18, and later cross the magnificent Ponte Luis I bridge to the Porto wineries. There I crossed with Juan running back already from the half marathon milestone. I did it some minutes later but never caught him as I did in Krakow.

In fact, back on the bridge, and running along the river to the next Pont do Infante before km30, I had to walk after refreshing in one water station. Apart from Millau, this was the first time I had walked in a long distance race. I recovered during one kilometer and slowly started to “speed up” to around 7’/km…

I had just some 10km ahead, and I was already crossing the 4h mark, so a new personal worst was looming. The mental compromise to still keep going was similar to certain moments in Millau. However, the beauty of the city and the sight of the river and the sea really cheered my up. I struggled the last 5km and even sprinted in the last hundreds of meters, clapping at the band and cheerleaders before the finish line. All things considered, I was quite happy to tick my 16th participation in the 42km! 

With a time of 5h 18′, I had set the expected new worst, but I happily joined Javier and Juan to drive back with a taxi to the city center.

Back in our apartment we rejoined with Manuel, and the celebration dinner was one of the best ever:

As final remarks I was about to write similar comments to those I made after the races in 2017 and 2018 on respecting the distance, not playing with the training, that this should change and so on… Maybe so will be case for the next one.  Maybe next year will be not as challenging and I will find the proper stability and incentives to keep a good training plan.

I fear a bit the fact that, even have given up on good training in the last years, I managed to finish some races over 42km. I don´t know how long this will last. I still enjoy the struggle, and of course the leisure program on the weekend of the race with Javier and friends. But I would like this to change for better.

Let´s see how the report will look like for the next one, most probably, in Madrid.

 

 

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Molinos de viento de Consuegra

Posted on December 27, 2019 by jaimeirastorza

“Mire vuestra merced -respondió Sancho- que aquellos que allí se parecen no son gigantes, sino molinos de viento, y lo que en ellos parecen brazos son las aspas, que, volteadas del viento, hacen andar la piedra del molino”

La estancia en casa rural que desde hace más de quince años hacemos los compañeros de promoción de la universidad el fin de semana previo a Navidad, tuvo este año una visita destacada.

Alojados en el pueblo castellano manchego de Villanueva de Bogas, la mañana del sábado visitamos el Castillo de Consuegra y los molinos de viento Rucio y Bolero, del conjunto de trece que rodean el castillo.

Molinos desde el Castillo de Consuegra

La visita guiada al molino Rucio nos encantó a todos y estas líneas resumen la misma y lo aprendido con su molinero.

Procediendo el nombre de Castilla La Mancha en parte del topónimo árabe Al-Manshaf , o tierra sin agua, los molinos de viento permiten capturar la energía del mismo para moler el grano de trigo en la obtención de harinas, fundamentales en la elaboración de pan y multitud de recetas a lo largo de los siglos.

En el molino Rucio vimos los elementos mecánicos principales:

  • Palo de gobierno, amarre y borriquillo (el molinero explicaba a los niños que no se trataba del animal…) para la orientación frente al viento del conjunto mecánico y aspas.
  • Aspas, eje y rueda catalina, para la conversión de la energía del viento en movimiento rotatorio.
  • Linterna, engranaje con la rueda catalina en relacion 1:8 (8 dientes la linterna por 64 de la catalina)
  • Mando de alivio, que gobierna la elevación de la piedra volandera sobre la solera y con ello la calidad de la harina.
  • Tolva, para introducir el grano entre las piedras de moler.
  • Piedra volandera, solidaria con el eje de la linterna y ajustable en altura sobre la solera.
  • Piedra solera, piedra fija a la estructura del molino.

Esquema con elementos mecánicos en el interior del molino

Elementos principales del molino

El temporal de viento y lluvia que ese fin de semana azotaba casi todo el país permitió, sin embargo, ver el molino en la magnificencia de su funcionamiento.

Con viento ábrego (viento sur oeste) y con las aspas “sin velas”, el molinero nos explicó que el conjunto puede soportar vientos de hasta casi 100km/h, velocidad que se debe evitar y antes de la cual se debe frenar el conjunto sobre la rueda catalina y bloquear el mecanismo.

Mapa de orientación de viento

Con la piedra volandera de unos 1.200kg, la fuerza de rozamiento a vencer por la misma está en relación con el grano de trigo suministrado por la tolva y la calidad de la harina que se desea obtener. Esa calidad procede de la fricción resultante de acercar mediante el mando de alivio la piedra volandera a la solera para obtener harina más fina para cocinar. De hecho, todo lo fina que permitan los hasta 20CV que permite desarrollar el molino en las condiciones de viento más ventajosas. Las harinas más gruesas, que necesitan menos energía para su producción, valen como alimento para animales.

Sobrecogidos por la fuerza del viento y la sensación de potencia sobre la piedra volandera, las explicaciones del molinero hicieron las delicias de los más pequeños de grupo.

La visita a los molinos tiene el complemento perfecto en el Castillo de Consuegra, con magníficas vistas sobre la región, y es muy recomendable para visitantes de la zona. A este respecto, nos llamó positivamente la atención la cartelería explicativa del molino en varios idiomas, incluidos japonés y chino!

Los datos básicos con horarios, precios y contactos en este link.

 

 

 

 

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My year 2019 in books

Posted on December 26, 2019 by jaimeirastorza

This year has been a challenging one in which both the reading and writing frequency dropped to levels way below my own expectations. To the writing, it speaks loud that this is the first post since…exactly one year when I wrote the previous one to the books read in 2018 (link).

To the reading, the amount of books read fell again, to a total of seven, and around 2.000 pages,  compared to eleven books last year. Still, this activity kept providing good moments of reflection, learning and fun. Let´s review them.

· What money can´t buy . (250 pgs) Written by Michael Sandel, professor of governance at Harvard University and awarded 2018 Princess of Asturias in Social Science . This book discusses the effects of economic incentives as they pervade even more aspects of our lives every day. From paying children to read at school, paying to secure a better place at the ticket queue or to resell mortgages based on the expected date of death, with a premium if it comes sooner… Sandel provokes the reader with moral aspects of these activities and erects himself as an odd voice of humanism in today´s America.

· If this is a man. By Primo Levi. I bought the book (400 pgs including follow up “The Truce”) in our visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau camps during the weekend of the Krakow Marathon. A sad but important reading. Beyond the personal tone of Elie Wiesel´s “Night”, which I had read in 2018, Auschwitz survivor Levi analyzes and gives account of the degradation of human values when in the extreme circumstances of a concentration camp.

· The art of the deal. By Tony Schwartz, although presented as a Donald Trump book (380 pgs). In times of trumpism, a reading to “get to know the enemy”. The book starts with a week in the life of  Trump in the 80s, already hinting at the persona we see today in tweets, just with the phone, non-stop communication 24/7. Fun at moments, the chapters review his most important contruction deals along more than two decades. Interesting to see how he persevered to close deals after years of rejections. The narcisist tones already present, the book helps to understand that he is definitely one side to America.

· South. By Ernest Shackleton (276 pgs). After having read Captain Scott´s diaries in 2018, I feared to be bored by another account of endless hours measuring ice floe thickness and weather conditions. The book had its fair share of it but the tone was quite different. The narration of the failed trans-antarctic expedition with the ships Endurance and Aurora, an epic tale about decision making, risk taking and leadership by example. A man of his men, I am still amazed at the writing style of this breed of explorers:

· Impact Science. By Bruno Sánchez-Andrade (125 pgs). Not every day you get to read a book written by a friend or acquaintance. This was the case. Self edited and available in Amazon, in the book impact scientist Bruno tries to answer his trademark question “So What?” when applied to science outcomes. With a review of cases where scientific work did not make the expected difference, and cases where it did, he makes the case for a better communication to general audiences, especially to decision makers. Quick reading for a world ever in need of change through science.

· Factfulness.  By prof. Hans Rosling (356 pgs inc. annexes). Last Christmas gift from sister Beatriz. The editorial success of 2018 and, to me, very much in the optimistic, or rather possibilistic, line of my reading that year of Pinker´s The Better Angels of Our Nature. The book expands on the divulgation of world facts within the project Gapminder of prof. Rosling. It reviews ten mental biases that prevent us from understanding what and where world problems really are, and the progress that has already been made to solve or to alleviate them. This last aspect is quite important in order to reinforce actions taken with renewed forces. In times of pessimism, a good takeaway is his distribution of world population in four levels of development (L1 to L4), not any longer just the divide “poor vs. rich”. A cheerful reading (and quite shorter than Pinker´s!!).

· The Three Body Problem. By Cixin Liu. I just read the volume I of the trilogy in the spanish translation (400 pgs). Recommended by a friend, and quoted as praised by Barack Obama and Facebook´s Mark Zuckerberg, to me is a bit over hyped. With a spoiler alert, it seemed to me as a kind of Contact-meets-Foundation. Entertaining and bold in many passages, I had hard time to follow some oniric passages. Still, I liked the chinese cultural references after my long trip to the country in 2018. With the second and third volumes increasing in pages, I will see when I schedule the reading.

For a 2020 with hopefully more readings!

Credit of opening and closing pictures to resp. Debby Huddson and Susan Yin for unsplash.com

 

 

 

Posted in Books, Personal development | 3 Comments

My year 2018 in books

Posted on December 26, 2018 by jaimeirastorza

Following last year´s experience (link here), which I enjoyed very much, in this post I list the books I read along 2018 with a comment or two about them.

Unfortunately, this year I did not manage to read as many books as in 2017, with 11 compared to 14 in 2017, but still the figure is better than two years ago, and almost a book per month.

Here I go with the list:

· Elon Musk (Jan). I started the year borrowing the book from sister Beatriz and I very much enjoyed it. I had written about Elon before (here) and I am a confessed admirer of what he has achieved and the purpose behind his enterprises. The book by Ashlee Vance provides good insight in his life and struggles, and how his companies work, not sparing interesting technical details on the developments of the famed Tesla electric cars and SpaceX rockets. I recommend it both for entrepreneurs and people working for large corporations and organizations. Still, after reading it (and somehow in line with my post about it) my conclusion would be: I would not work for him, but this world definitely needs more Elon Musks.

· Brave New World (Jan). The classic by Aldous Huxley, this book is, along with Orwell´s Nineteen-Eighty-Four, one of the most important dystopias ever written. With a more positive tone than the somber Orwell´s release, it is incredible how, being written in 1931, it could foreseen the advent of mechanistic and consumption societies, the propaganda, and the tensions between freedom and order. Entertaining to read and eye-opener.

· Last Expedition (Feb-Mar). The diary of Captain Scott in his quest for the South Pole between 1911 and 1912. Clearly not a master writer, and quite tedious in large passages, it is strange that this book was one of my highlights of the year. Apart from the controversy on whether Amundsen or Shackelton deserved more credit as explorers, the account day by day of the two years he spent in Antarctica builds up the tension to the final weeks until the death of his last crew and himself. I am still amazed how this person found words and moments to write as their friends were dying around him, keeping the discipline in such an extreme environment, until his very death. I really felt sadness reading those passages. A fantastic final account.

· Foundation Trilogy (Mar). I read the spanish version. Just fantastic. After the sad and mostly monotonous Last Expedition, I relaxed with one of the absolute classics of science fiction, written by Isaac Asimov between 1951 and 1953. The narration of the centuries of humanity evolving as “prescribed” by Hari Seldon´s Psicohistory is a chant to unrestrained fantasy. Fantastic plots and tension across ages, wit, imagination with great characters including the evil The Mule. A thrilling plot and better ending, written in 1953! I finally understood why the series were so famous. Hours and hours of child-like fun and, on the other hand, the principles of psicohistory so describing of the evolution of mankind, which I would sort of confirm with a later reading…

· Capital and the common Good. (April) My yearly study of the work of Georgia Levenson-Keoane, second after Social Entrepreneurship. Almost text book quality with study cases on environment, health, financial inclusion and disaster relief. Important concepts such as risk pooling and sharing, alignment of incentives that can be applied to many aspects in life. The link to my review is at the beginning of this paragraph. I will keep studying and researching in this field.

· The Better Angels of our Nature (May-Sept). By Steven Pinker. Guided by Bill Gate´s literary recommendations, I embarked in the reading of its more than 600 pages. I admit it took longer than expected. Some passages with tons of data made for an arid reading at times. But Bill´s conclusions, in my opinion, were right: monumental work of research to evidence the decline of violence of mankind, written with a clever structure. Mr.Pinker provides the data to support the theories behind the evolution and revolutions in three time scales: millenia, centuries and decades.  Now a reference book for me to discuss on social and human evolution, I may read his other book “Enlightment Now”. Also guided by Mr. Gates comments about it…

· Foundation´s Edge (Sept-Oct). Asimov´s continuation of his Foundation trilogy. I read again the spanish translation during my holiday trip to China. Entertaining and very easy to read, I finished it before even getting to the half of the tour. The development of the psyschohistory continues. However, to me, the surprise effect compared to that of the trilogy is not as strong and the array of characters not as complete. I will continue reading the Foundation series but will give some time before resuming with it.

· The Picture of Dorian Grey (Oct-Nov). By Oscar Wilde. Maybe the most famous of the works of the irish writer. A thought provoking reflection on the limits of morality, with a narration in the edge of science fiction. I found it easy to read, enjoying the brilliant dialogues of the british victorian high society. Apart from the clever trick of the portrait ageing instead of young Mr Grey, I found much more interesting the character of Lord Henry. I discovered a challenger of the status quo, and the match that really fires this journey beyond political correctness.

· Fahrenheit 451 (Nov-Dec). By Ray Bradbury. Written in 1951 Fahrenheit completes, along with Huxley´s Brave New World and Orwell´s 1984 and Animal Farm, the set of most famous dystopias of the mid 20th century. It accompanies the inner troubles of fireman Guy Montag, who is part of a book-burning squad. In my view a bit too symbolic in the first third of the book, the narration soon evolves into a clever discussion of the value of literature and writing as a means to preserve knowledge and a critic eye on our hedonistic “fast-forward” societies. Full of clever dialogues and quotes, it shares with 1984 an imaginary world war in the background, allowing the final third of the book to adopt also an anti-belicist tone. I enjoyed more Brave New World as reader, but found more interesting teachings in this one. And this passage…

The place of Harvard graduates in our future…

· Night (Dec). By Elie Wiesel. Last reading of the year, the mere 117 pages narration of Mr Wiesel´s passage in Auschwitz-Birkenau, Buna, and Buchenwald concentration camps, following deportation from Hungary in the end of World War II. With the stated purpose by the author to preserve the memory of what evil can do, I confronted this book with some fear of what I would read. After reading it I have mixed views. What I expected about the evil, in part a depiction of nazi tormenters, remains mostly absent in the narration. There are very few passages of torture or graphic violence, even if the monstrous Dr Mengele is mentioned in some chapters. The evil takes rather the form of the struggles of Mr Wiesel and the inner battle when compromising his most dear values (in regard with religion and compassion with others) for the sake of survival. Myself preferring visual works, I can think of Schindler´s List movie as a good example of a document with the same purpose of providing a vivid memory of that horror. However, one thing is unsurpassed: that text is autobiographic. The pain on those pages is just inimaginable. Never forget.

And again, for a 2019 with as many readings.

Credit to Jessica Ruscello on unsplash.com for the closing picture.

The opening one, taken by myself in the Trinity College Library during my visit for the Dublin Marathon (similar pictures of Trinity College Library can also be found on unsplash)

 

 

 

 

 

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Dublin Marathon 2018

Posted on November 2, 2018 by jaimeirastorza

“Mucha mili…” or in sort of an english translation “it´s the mileage…”. Mileage, experience, you name it…and above all, proper weather conditions.

These were the main elements that contributed to the good sensations finishing the Dublin Marathon 2018 on October 28th. Talking numbers, I clocked officially 4h28’39”, which is good 10min faster than the spring race in Vienna (post here). Still, that is one hour slower than my best time ever, precisely some 10 years ago in my debut in the distance in Munich 2008 (link).

The good sensations came somehow as a surprise because the prospects for the race were not good. Again a bumpy summer with workload peaks interfered in the training with the result of overweight as not seen in many participations before, and with the three week holiday trip to China just before the race.

Preparation

With the recent painful experience of Vienna, I intended to train better through the challenging sevillian summer. I know I would need to fight the high temperatures (above 35ºC at 11PM for entire weeks…) in the training sessions, but that compounded with the increased workload in my job and subsequent depletion of my energy reserves. The result of it: 48km run in August, 118km in September, and mere 58km in October, almost all of them during the holidays in China! I had completed that mileage alone in one month preparing for Lisboa the year before. Not worthy to speak of any series training, or long runs on weekends, none of which I was able to complete due to excesive heat, lack of fountains and a not proper preparation.

I was preparing my mind for a participation similar to that of Paris Marathon in 2012, where after an injury and not having trained in the month ahead of the marathon, I traveled to the city not sure even to run. This time, I had at least the incentive to travel, apart than running along wiht brother Javier, to share time with his family, Luca and kids.

Arrived at Dublin, we were welcomed by low temperatures, consistently below 10ºC. At least we would not suffer from heat as in Vienna.

Runners ahead of the race

The Race

With low expectations and a couple of layers of clothes for the first kilometers, I set a modest pace at around 5’50″/km. Soon I was caught by the 4h10′ pacers, who were speeding up at the beginning and I decided to join them, running comfortably in the range of 5’45” to 6’/km, and reach the half marathon. Then I expected to lose some pace and probably be caught by the 4h20′ pacers.

Dublin marathon course as recorded in the Garmin GPS

That first half, without time pressure has been on of the best (not in terms of speed, of course) I remember, enjoying the cheerful Dublin crowds and the nice scenery of the city. I reminded me the first marathon loop of the Millau 100km.

As expected, right after the half marathon milestone, the pacers left me, a slight increase in pace in a light uphill and I lost them. From km22 and for the next 10km I would be in the range of 6’20” to 6’35″/km, which would put me in the final 10km. A manageable distance, when you have already 13 marathon races behind, even if the famous “Wall” lies ahead. I slowed a bit the pace, made use of the power gels, installed myself in the range of 6’50” to 7’/km, cheering kids, enjoying music and I prepared for a final effort of 4 to 5km.

When I crossed the 40km milestone at 4h10′, I realized that I would make it under 4h30′ even if I needed to dramatically lower the pace due to pain or other crisis. It was not the case, and with a very different mood as in Vienna, I let my feeling of accomplishment out with an expressive face:

Finishing strong

I enjoyed the cheers of the volunteers and race staff and went to the baggage claim where I would meet Javier. He as well had had great sensations, going back under 4h, and improving his performance compared to Vienna.

Happy finishers in Dublin

Final comments

As I said at the beginning, a combination of weather and experience helped to completely turn the sensations of Vienna in the spring. To be fair, the difference was made by the cold temperatures and absence of sun. Having trained less and with a race course clearly more challenging than the austrian capital, the difference in temperature made it all for the better time record. Experience helped to set a modest pace in the first half, and regulate in the second, but this has been a quite clear demonstration of how my performance suffers with heat and sun.

For the next marathon race, I will try to recover the levels of training of previous races and years, but I will know that if cold weather is present, I will probably have the odds on my side to come back under 4h.

Another final comment is that with this race I recovered, last minute and at Javi´s urging, the tradition of tweeting a funny motive ahead of the race. Last original one had been for Millau in 2015, and I reused for Sevilla 2017 the same of 2015. Lisboa and Vienna went without any picture.

 

 

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