Vincent > Recent Status Updates

Restarted, because I had forgotten too much. Hopefully can finish it this time without such long breaks.

If Tuon does not get what's coming to her by the end of this book, I shall have to deduct at least one full point. Perhaps another if the Seanchan as a whole don't. At least it was satisfying (if, again, infuriating) to witness Egwene's confrontation with her.

Read Chapter 13, 'The Flood and the Forest'. Honestly was rather repetitive; I guess near the end of the book it's trying to bring it all together a bit, but I could have done without it, especially given that there's another (admittedly small) concluding chapter still to come.

FFS.

Read Chapter 15. Are we supposed to forget that Tuon is evil?

Read Chapter 12 about education and profession, advancement versus attachment. My opinion is a balance between liking change and broad orientation on the one hand, and disliking distance, careerism and indifference. I don't want to spend my whole life on one thing, but nor do I want to feel like it doesn't matter how I perform because I'm just going to change course, anyway. Thankfully, that balance seems doable.

Finished Chapter 11, about honor and the willingness to espouse a sense of morality rather than being neutral about things to avoid disagreements or limiting one another's freedom of choice.

Read Chapter 10 about financialization, liquefaction, commodification, commoditization. This book is more politically engaged than Range, and I find myself agreeing with part of this at least. It's complicated, because I don't necessarily like the focus on tradition and the indictment on people changing things in their lives (simplification for space), but I agree with the importance of solid local connections.

Well, I have just finished reading the conclusion, and according to my e-reader I'm at 69% through the book. Peculiar. Acknowledgments next.

Chapter 47 was a bit annoying. Elayne was a bit mean and entitled and the Seanchan always make my blood boil (I hope they all end up dead). The end bit with Perrin and Mat was kinda cool.

Those were a few really exciting chapters. But... Hopper...

Finished Chapter 11, about the danger of overreliance on familiar tools, whether they be literal tools such as firefighters' equipment, or more abstract tools like NASA's culture of rigid hierarchical decision-making and insistence on quantitative data.

Oh light, Michael Kramer did the most adorable voice for Olver in this chapter. "Mat! Mat!"

How about that, proper communication! Jordan would never have done that.

Nynaeve hugging Rand? Love that. Jordan would never have done that.

A bully is a bully, whether she uses the strength of her arm or other means.

Kill 'em all! :D

Cadsuane is still insufferable, but Sanderson had no choice there, given how she has been portrayed so far. At least so many of the other characters are being salvaged. Perrin is getting better, Nynaeve is getting better, Rand is getting … well, yes, better. Mat is restored a bit to an earlier state, which isn't necessarily better but I don't mind it. And Egwene's storyline is fantastic.