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Reading: In the Last Analysis by Amanda Cross. A murder mystery novel from the 1960s. I've read a few 1960s SF novels of late and had identified a trope in which a man (usually a man), would begin a long paragraph with "as you know Steve, orbital mechanics dictates..." and had chalked it up as a late golden age SF quirk. However this book is much the same, though a lot of the long paragraphs are about psychoanalysis and the misunderstood lifestyles of psychoanalysts and university lecturers rather than orbital mechanics. It also displays, though not to the same extent, some of 1960s SF's ideas about the innate qualities of men and women. The mystery itself is engaging, even though I do feel slightly lectured at. The jury is out.

Listening: I've been trying out Sophie Aldred's Ace Odyssey podcast. An interview based show, but framed by a fantasy and a slight story about the ageing spaceship Sophie apparently inhabits. I'm not entirely sure the interviews and the fantasy entirely mesh. Again, the jury is out.

Watching: Sewing Bee and an anime called Clevatess are probably the only things made this decade that I have watched of late.

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purplecat

August 2026

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