Paul > Recent Status Updates

Oh my, I always struggle getting through books with heavy drug use. The writing is so good though. I have to endure!

Sedaris says: "You'll never forget the name of the most popular girl in the 6th grade"... "Even when you're old and on your deathbed it will come to you. That is her triumph. "
😂😂😂
Crazier yet, her name popped in my head without hesitation.

I love the setting, classes, races, artwork, but these character creation rules. Why!? On paper it looks simple but it's just tedious enough that it takes a bit of the fun away. Add a point here, then there, ok now let's take away some here. now a little more over there... Although my daughter's excitement plummeted, I still have high hopes for this rules book. Lots of potential!

"Proper art moves us while artifice trys to make us move."

I got to chapter 5 when I realized that I wasn't fully taking in the eye opening information and ideas that separate authentic art from artifice. I'll be taking a slower, more analytical approach this time.

My daughter and I are taking turns reading chapters each night. We're loving it so far.

I read part 1. I was interested to see what this book had to offer. It's a 28 day plan (I don't do well with these types of books) and was prefaced with, "If this work sounds overwhelming, intimidating, and unrewarding... it is". Talk about an instant turn off. Also, with holidays and the after holiday depression coming, it seems like a bad time to start. Shelving this... indefinitely? *Shrug* We'll see.

Listening to the audio book and so far the stories have been ok, but the 10th story, Jingle Jangle, was so gross and creepy it left my daughter in shock. "Flesh dripping off of bone" and a young boy not heeding the warnings of his grandmother lead to a lesson learned the hard way. I loved it... but my daughter... 😆Well, I might have to listen to these beforehand. 🤔 But where's the fun in that?!

System agnostic rules for exploring a dark and twisted forest. I really like the rules for hunting and cleaning the body, but the exhaustion rules are where it shines. 6 levels of exhaustion (technically 8) that the wilderness and monsters all written around. It really builds a tense survivalists feel.

I've got 40 more monsters to read & I can't wait to read about the factions!

Despite how much I love this book so far... I really need to be in the zone to read it. It's very thinky and I just can't handle it right now so it's going back on the shelf for a bit.

It's a very real take on this author's childhood acting career in LA with her overbearing mother uncomfortableably close every step of the way.

This book has so many layers if inspiration I'm going to struggle to put my thoughts into words. A must read for parents, educators, and anyone who wants to understand the effects smartphones have and are having on us.

These poems are absolutely fantastic!
I'm making my way through the songs, but I can't help but feel that something is missing as I read these song lyrics. I I'm guessing I need to listen to them to really appreciate this chapter.

I already have a strong feeling this will be the most impactful book I'll read this year. Data for all claims are presented clearly and logically. I'm wracking my brain trying to think of solutions to this problem even though I know it will be covered in part 4.

I have no idea what to expect from this one, but I'm on a Roald Dahl kick so here we go!

Being a book on spoken word and slam poetry I decided to pick up the Audiobook. The first chapter does a great job of briefly explaining spoken word in it's relation to poetry and elsewhere.

Then the poems begin and the feels kick in hard.

In regards to the profession of teaching from the poem Starfish

"A teacher once told me that this is the curse of direct service: we make a difference, just not enough of one."

We just finished reading the chapter on Whizzpopping and the whole family is in absolute stitches. This book is too much fun!

Chapter 37 was intense. Both in terms of the character's situation and the politics implied. Man... I had to take a break. A lot of books do that, where each chapter jumps to new character. Sometimes it's hard to handle that jump after an intense chapter and you just need a break. Deep breaths.

It's another adventure with Rose and Mrs. Zimmerman! I started reading this with my daughter this weekend and we are loving it.

A bit over half way through this fantastic fantasy adventure. Included within are strong female protagonists, incredibly fascinating magic system, and a good touch of politics with out going full Game of Thrones on me.

Some of these poems are so powerful. In The Museum of Broken Relationships the author gives a tour of items discarded from breakups. It's one of my favorites so far.

Also reallylike this snipit of The Definition of Love

"...where I come from beauty is in the eye

of anyone who sees what’s missing

but can’t stop pointing to what’s still there.

If there is no definition of love yet,

I think that’s a good one."

The first story, The Lake, is very well written. I especially love this story because it connects that idea of the mythical monster so clearly to the "monsters" in our society today.
I can't wait to read the next story.

Lewis, a wimpy 11 year old boy who's often bullied by older kids around town, finds a lucky curio with a dark history in his grandfathe's old trunk. His best friend, Rose-Rita, a tomboy who always stands up for Lewis is arguably the stronger and more memorable character here. The topics of bullying and gender roles are strong in this one. I'm really enjoying it thus far.

The version of this book that I'm reading is so old that the pages are falling out with every turn. At first it was kind of fun to try and keep them in order, but now it's just becoming a distraction. Unfortunately, I probably won't be able to finish this one unless I get another copy.

Reading this to my daughter and we are really enjoying the large text and very unique, zine-esque page layouts for each page. So much fun.

It's like reading a mushroom gurus diary. Very anecdotal yet full of fun fungi facts. I just need to stay awake... It's not exactly a gripping tale.

My daughter misplaced this book right as Matilda learned she had powers brewing. Loved it until that part. Hopefully we'll find the book when we clean this weekend.

a great collection of games and eloquent adventures so far. Played Tunnels and Goons with my daughter over the weekend and we loved the simple 3 stat system on 2d6. I think the core rules are free on itch.io.

It's like a super simple cleaned up version of Dungeon Crawl Classics and MCC together. Unfortunately, it drops a lot of the fun randomness that those games have, but it's super crisp! Loving it so far.

I got this as part of the humble bundle supporting Ukraine. Pretty fascinating sci-fi story thus far. I'm hooked