What I’ve been reading

1. Jo Nesbø, The Redbreast.  These days it’s odd to read a fictional book about neo-Nazi cults in Norway, including a murderous villain who leaves behind a manuscript explaining his ideas and purpose.  I didn’t love it, but I liked it and I never considered putting it down; I will likely try another book by Nesbø.  The author, by the way, graduated from the Norwegian School of Economics.

2. Félix J. Palma, The Map of Time.  Spanish speculative fiction, now in English.  It never feels deep, but finally we have a time travel novel chock full of new (and good) ideas.  Recommended to all those who find that sufficient, but not for those who don’t.

3. Tim Congdon, Money in a Free Society.  Neo-monetarist tract!  With plenty on all the different notions of the liquidity trap out there, which are often confused.

4. Kate Christensen, The Astral: A Novel.  About marriage, self-deception, and general decay and destruction.  Her best book so far.

5. Isaac Asimov, Franchise.  Only a short story, but available in stand-alone form.  Asimov considers a future world where AI is so advanced that elections can be settled by asking a few questions to a computer-identified “typical” voter and adding that input to the calculations of the computer.  One of his deepest works, recommended for all students of public choice.