Kristen > Recent Status Updates

Made it to Chapter 83 with Ryan while we were riad-tripping in Virginia and Kentucky, and then he finished the book on his own. I restarted today, 08/10/26, because I’d fallen asleep in the car too often and was confused.

Started around October 27, 2024 with Ryan, but I think we must have been distracted somehow because we didn’t take to it and took forever to make progress on it. Restarted July 14, 2026 and it’s a very different book than we remember … enjoying it much more this time!

Reading #2 started on 05/13/26, but paused until re-starting on 05/25/26.

“From the viewpoint of a private property economy, the “gift” is deemed to be “free” because we obtain it free of charge, at no cost. But in the gift economy, gifts are not free. The essence of the gift is that it creates a set of relationships. The currency of a gift economy is, at its root, reciprocity.” (Page 27)

“That is the fundamental nature of gifts: they move, and their value increases with their passage. The fields made a gift of berries to us and we made a gift of them to our father. The more something is shared, the greater its value becomes.” (Page 27)

Started reading 08/07/2025 with Ryan while camping, but then paused it for too long and now I’m restarting on 05/14/2026

““I have learned that there is nothing so worth believing in as a lady of resources,” he said softly. “You will find you have resources in yourself that no one suspects, and they will see you through.”

He kissed her, softly, and in the sweetness of the moment she realized that there was no man so worth loving as one so unafraid to believe.””

page 64

1.) 07/20/2015 - 07/22/2025
2.)

Tried starting this twice before (once on my own + once with Ryan), but David Attenborough’s beautiful voice was too soothing for us to pay attention at the time. Restarting 09/07/2025 and it’s the right time to listen

Restarted on 08/22/2025 with WhisperSync Kindle so I could bookmark and highlight every gem