Adulting: How to Become a Grown-up in 468 Easy(ish) Steps by Kelly Williams Brown (Review)

Title: Adulting: How to Become a Grown-up in 468 Easy(ish) Steps

Author: Kelly Williams Brown

First Published: 2013

Add it: Goodreads, Amazon, Book Depository

Rating: ★★★★☆

If you are an adult, I bet that sometimes (or often as in my case) you lament the amount of shit you have to take care of on a daily basis. Remember how easy it was when you were a kid? You do your homework, help about the house, read a poem... And this is enough for people to accept you as an accomplished human being. Not so easy now, not so easy! 

On the other hand, as Kelly Williams Brow rightly points out, the feeling of accomplishment after you've nailed a complicated adult situation is worth straining your will. From house maintenance to job interviews to handling a breakup - Adulting covers a lot of issues that you have no idea about until they manifest themselves in your live and you're like WHAT?

The book is a bit too US centered so you may just skip the tax returns and retirement plans is they don't apply to you, but the general idea is still valid - you should totally take care of this shit or else it will take care of your undoing. Overall, after reading this I don't feel overwhelmed, rather reassured. I mean, it's totally doable, so chances are I can manage too.

In my book: An encouraging read for those who despair over dish washing, car maintenance or handling social events with grace.

Alif the Unseen by G.Willow Wilson (Review)

Title: Alif the Unseen
Author: G.Willow Wilson
First published:  2012
Add it: Goodreads, Amazon, Book Depository
Rating: ★★★★☆

Since I started learning Arabic in summer, I'm trying to also learn more about the Middle East, because frankly speaking, my ignorance is vast and unpardonable. Alif the Unseen combines all the stuff that I love so much in books - computer sci-fi and urban fantasy - set on a backdrop of one of the rich oil cities in the Middle East. And the setting is not just a prop - the background defines the characters and the storyline, and the reader learns so much while not being explicitly lectured.

Alif is a young and poor computer genius who earns money by providing online anonymity to everyone who needs it. As social unrest breaks into Arab Spring revolutions across the region, the government becomes less and less happy with Alif, and BIG PROBLEMS are looming in front of him. Alif, of course, is more concerned about his girl issue, because, well, hormones. When shit hits the fan, he has to make some tough decisions and seek help in unimaginable places. But I won't tell you more of the plot, do yourself a favor and read the book :)

I loved how Alif the Unseen tackles the social and religious aspects of life in the nameless City - without any kind of judgment, very matter-of-factly. The wild mix of characters lets the reader observe a lot of facets of life in a Muslim police state and make her own opinions on them. There is also a very powerful message that however different people are, they can work together if they respect each other, and this is the only way to get things changed for the best.

My only problem with the book was how programming issues are tackled (professional deformation, you know :)) and that sometimes the action just stops so that the characters have time to philosophize about IMPORTANT STUFF. But, you know, these are minor problems in an overall great book.

In my book: An exciting sci-fi + fantasy read that also gives you tons of interesting insights of the Middle East life.

Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou (Review)

Title: Mom & Me & Mom
Author: Maya Angelou
First published:  2013
Add it: Goodreads, Amazon, Book Depository
Rating: ★★☆☆☆

This is the last pick for Our Shared Shelf reading group organized by Emma Watson. I've enjoyed reading along with the community because it has made me pick a lot of books that I wouldn't even consider reading otherwise. That said, it was a 50/50 hit/miss for me: some books I loved and some hated, but it was a great journey nevertheless.

Mom & Me & Mom was one of the books I didn't enjoy. The writing is overly simplistic and disconnected - jumping from story to story skipping whole years. A lot of stuff got glossed over - like, who mentions being raped in childhood and then just goes further without elaborating?? It's kinda important, you know?

I'm aware that Angelou has other autobiographies and perhaps for readers who are familiar with them or who at least know who she is, the book would have made more sense. I have never heard about Angelou before and I still feel like I don't know her, even after reading her autobiography. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think that's how autobiographies SHOULD work.

In my book: A confusing read.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? December 12th

In an effort to staying more organized in my reading, I've decided to join the Monday party of updates hosted at Book Date. Monday update posts are my favorite in a blog update feed - I love peeking at what everybody around is reading - it's like creepily trying to read the title of a book your fellow morning commuter is engrossed with.

What I Read Last Week:

Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche

I've struggled through 50 pages of the book and then gave up. More on that failure later :)

Adulting: How to Become a Grown-up in 468 Easy(ish) Steps by Kelly Williams Brown

A very matter-of-fact and encouraging read. I was inspired to pick it up because I was moving to another flat and pretty depressed with this whole boring and difficult adult thing. 

What I Am Reading Now:

Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

For my WEM project. The book is very big and heavy so I only read it at home, which greatly slows the process, as I'm constantly on the move. I'm about 1/5 through now and although it is funny and clever at times, it's very tiring to read because of wordiness and repetitiveness.

Secondhand Time: The Last of the Soviets by Svetlana Alexievich

This is a heartbreaking but essential read. Very difficult to read emotionally but very worth it too.

The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil by Philip G. Zimbardo

The book is very interesting and educative, but the author is not a master of concise writing, so it's taking more time than I've expected. Still, I'm nearing the end of the book already :)

And what are YOU reading this Monday? Join in the fun!

The Modigliani Scandal by Ken Follett (Review)

Title: The Modigliani Scandal
Author: Ken Follett
First published: 1976
Add it: Goodreads, Amazon, Book Depository
Rating: ★★☆☆☆

It was my first Ken Follett, and I was so prepared to love it - I know people who are HUGE fans. But before committing to some of his giants, I've decided to read something smaller (besides it was a bargain on Book Depository). Well, maybe this was my mistake - to start with a less known and praised work. I did not like The Modigliani Scandal.

I feel shortness might actually be one of the main sources of problems in the novel. The characters feel like props and the plot goes fast and is not very elaborated. Most of the key shocking revelations I have guessed in advance and characters behaved pretty predictably.

I love the art world atmosphere and it was nice to glance a bit behind the scenes of the art world, yet some of the plot twists depended on people behaving highly unprofessionally and I'm wondering now if this is even slightly close to the true situation. But then the book is rather old, so it's very possible that security standards have changed a lot since then.

In my book: A fast-paced but not very elaborate or complicated novel.

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli (Review)

Title: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda
Author: Becky Albertalli
First published: 2015
Add it: Goodreads, Amazon, Book Depository
Rating: ★★★★☆

Weirdly, I like books about high school. They are so angsty and emotional and sometimes calling for facepalms every second page. But hey, we all remember we WERE that crazy at this young age. Anyway, these books usually end with the main character growing somewhat and hopefully figuring his or her shit out. This is more difficult to achieve for this book's protagonist, as he's not out yet, blackmailed about his orientation, and oh yes - in love with an anonymous dude online that might just be from his school.

Simon's life situation pretty much sucks, but he always stays funny, committed to remaining a decent human being and even sometimes considerate of others - unthinkable for a high-schooler! Characters are what make the book so fluffy - most of them are instantly likable (apart from some occasional unnamed jerks) and accepting and even reasonable in situations when it matters. I think it's one problem I had with this books - I mean, come on, why does everything need to go smoothly?

Nevertheless, I was left with a happy feeling of satisfaction at the ending, and am glad I've bought the book. It's a fast and funny read, and Facebook scavenger hunt MUST be a real thing! Seriously, let's all play that :)

In my book: A cute little book which tells you that sometimes it doesn't suck to be a teenager that much :)

The Twelve by Justin Cronin (Review)

Title: The Twelve
Author: Justin Cronin
First published: 2012
Add it: Goodreads, Book Depository
Rating: ★★★★☆

Do you have a topic that makes you instantly suspicious of a book? For me it's vampires! I immediately start figuring out if it's YA and if the vampires happen to be hot and sparkly. You can tell I'm not a fan of the humiliating transformation these terrifying creatures of the night have undergone in modern culture.

But Cronin's vampires are properly and dignifyingly scary! It's the second book in the series, but probably I liked it even more than the first. There are old acquaintances and new characters, both so real that you feel like you can hear their thoughts and feel what they feel. More is told about the first days after the infection spread and we also see more ways in which groups of people have learned to survive as a society.

The whole plot feels like a blur of disjoint puzzle pieces, which, as you read on, start to fit into the whole picture with the most satisfying clicks. I'm very intrigued about the third book now. Although I don't remember The Passage (the first in the series) very clearly, I think there was not much information about "patient zero", and he should be the main character of the last book of the trilogy!

In my book: An awesomely written, gripping vampire apocalypse!

Dewey's End of Readathon Survey

I've done it!! I've read for about 13.5 hours in the past 24 hours, which is pretty awesome! I'm not a very fast reader, so it amounts only to 622 pages, but hey, the font was small! :D Check out my progress notes on the bookmark to the right! And here goes the end of the event survey!

Which hour was most daunting for you?
Hour 3, I guess. I always get very sleepy after lunch, and I only had 5 hours of sleep the night before. So I indulged :)

Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?

The second book that I've started today - Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda - is a very funny and easy read, and you also root for the main character

Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next season?
I wish it was not on the weekend after the new Civilization release because keeping my laptop shut down was especially difficult today ;-P But readathon happens about 12 times more often than new Civ games so I guess the chances of this ever happening again are thin))

What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
Drinking mate tea! Much better than coffee in the long run!

How many books did you read? What were the names of the books you read?
I read the last 2/3 of The Twelve by Justing Cronin and the first half of the abovementioned Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Which book did you enjoy most? Which did you enjoy least?

I guess The Twelve was a bit too intense for a whole-day immersion. Simon is more enjoyable so far, I'll probably continue reading it even though the event has ended))

How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?

Very likely! The event was a blast, especially the twitter discussions and the challenges! Can't thank the organizers enough for putting this together! You're the best!

Dewey's Opening Questions

I'm so excited about the start of readathon!! Hour zero is 10 mins away and here I am taking part in the opening meme: 

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?

Czech Republic!

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?

Kinder surprises! Chocolate - yum!

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!

I'm a Ph.D. student in speech recognition, travel enthusiast, and book lover!

5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?

I did participate once but life got in the way. The one thing I'll do differently today is switching off Facebook, hehe:)

Good luck to all of us!

Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon Sign-Up.

As nothing particularly exciting is going to happen around here this weekend, I plan to SIT AND READ with Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon! Seriously, I think this is the first time I might actually be able to fully participate in this famous and awesome readathon. I'm excited, and I plan to get prepared well: cook the food, shut down facebook and get some good sleep the night before.

Here's a picture of books I'll have to choose from this weekend:

I have the WEM monster by Cervantes, from which I hope to read some chapters, the gripping Cronin masterpiece that I'm already half-way through and hope to finish, and three rather thin books to keep things lively around here. I'm especially excited about Simon, I've read great reviews! Where to you think I should start?

I plan to update my reading progress on Goodreads, which is also shared on Twitter. And maybe I'll do some hourly challenges here if my internet connection behaves. And we'll see how many hours out of 24 I'm able to read)) I'm excited!!

Drop me a link to where you'll be updating if you're planning to participate too!

The Circle by Dave Eggers (Review)

Title: The Circle
Author: Dave Eggers
First published: 2013
Add it: Goodreads, Book Depository
Rating: ★★★★☆

Are you afraid of Google? If you think of it, the amount of information it knows about you is pretty unsettling. But the majority of people are OK with that because it makes their lives easier in so many ways. I personally am one of them. But what if people continue being OK with everything it introduces and as a result, they end up abandoning their right to privacy completely for the sake of safety and transparency? It's a 21st century kind of Utopia, and one very easy to imagine.

The book starts with Maya's first day on a shining high-tech campus of a huge search engine / social network / everything company called the Circle. She can't be happier to land the job, although the demands are pretty high. She integrates more and more into company's life while disintegrating from her friends and family. Eventually, she becomes the center of the big changes in the company's policies and services.

I really enjoyed the writing. Well, maybe "enjoyed" is a wrong word, let's say it was very appropriate. It was unstoppable and hectic, as constant updates and notifications are. You can feel how excruciating being always online and worrying about it can be. Everything is happening in the real world and then of course the immediate flow of comments and likes comes. You can feel the irritation growing inside you as you are always told what's happening on the virtual plane too. And it is really great writing, because this is exactly how the characters' brains work - always paying attention to the flow of reactions on the Internet.

I liked how Eggers explored a lot of possible consequences of every new technology, it is all very believable. Sometimes what was happening was a tad bit over the top though, so no fifth star here, but a great read nonetheless.

In my book: A perfect read for both technology junkies and those who are wary of this whole new online thing.

All That Is Solid Melts into Air by Darragh McKeon (Review)

Title: All That Is Solid Melts into Air
Author: Darragh McKeon
First published: 2014
Add it: Goodreads, Book Depository
Rating: ★★★★★

I've just returned from an Italian holiday! Love this country: food and Renaissance are both amazing! Before the journey, I had thought for quite some time about what I wanted to read on the trains, and had decided on probably the least holiday-themed book ever. But somehow, it fitted perfectly. The thing is, I went on this trip with my mom, and we always have these heated discussions about politics and Soviet Union. She's often resentful of me being so negative about the whole period. I guess she's nostalgic of the era of her crazy young life, or maybe the propaganda is so ingrained into your brain that you can't easily get rid of it. I try to listen to her, but I can't but remember all the facts that I've read and that are painting a very different picture than what she remembers. The picture this book paints, for example, is not pretty. It is true and painful and urgent and shows exactly what was wrong with the social system in Soviet Union at the time of the Chernobyl catastrophe.

I'm usually skeptical about non-soviet authors writing about soviet times. True, there is such thing as research, but I didn't believe you could write based on research as believably as if you'd lived it. Well, this book proves me wrong. Every little detail rings true, beginning with the mundane stuff like living arrangements to the unsaid fears deep in the people's minds. The writing is very vivid and precise, and it lulls you into the atmosphere of the book so that it's very difficult to put down.

I admit I didn't know much about Chernobyl meltdown before reading this book, just the basics. As it turns out, the catastrophe was much more horrible than I could have imagined. And the most horrifying thing is not radiation itself, it's how the system prevented any kind of effective counter-actions. There was even no backup plan or emergency procedure, because preparing them would mean admitting the plant could fail, and that's just unthinkable, right? If you just imagine how many lives could have been spared if they actually counted for something! Medical advice was ignored to honor subordination and save the face of the officials and the nation and people were treated.. well, in the same way as people were always treated in Soviet Union.

In my book: A very powerful book that shows the big picture of the catastrophe and the small, individual picture of the lives of the people caught in its whirlwind. Really stunning!

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin (Review)

Title: The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry
Author: Gabrielle Zevin
First published: 2014
Add it: Goodreads, Book Depository
Rating: ★★☆☆☆

To put it shortly - I was not impressed. And I really expected to be! I like sweet, touching, feel-good books about how people become their better selves through a series of unlikely events. And I thought that The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry would be something like The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. It aspired to but it wasn't even close.

So the story tells about the life of the titular A.J. Fikry, a bookshop owner, who is going through a tough period in his life after his wife's death. Everything changes when he finds a girl left in his bookshop the night before her mother commits suicide. Then, of course, he can't bear to part with the girl, adopts her and she grows up in a bookshop and becomes a wonderful nerd, just like her new father. So what can go wrong with such a sweet plot? Well, everything.

The writing is kinda sketchy and pretty obvious. You cannot help rolling your eyes at some social situations, wondering how dumb everybody must be to behave like that. Things happen episodically and fast, and I guess we should be thankful for that because not everybody has enough patience to read 200 more pages of awkward, non-charming courting full of sloppy literary references. Some moments are so intentionally tear-jerking that I got really pissed off. I mean, I like to cry over a book, but only because it's naturally and beautifully sad, not because the author had decided to cram a lot of tragic stuff and stupid pathos on three pages.

There are a couple of nice twists in the plot, and that's why it's still two stars, but overall the time you'll spend following the 2-dimensional characters is just not worth it.

In my book: A notoriously unsuccessful attempt for a touching and sweet novel.

TWEM Starting Line

This post marks the starting line of my reading from the lists in The Well-Educated Mind by Susan Wise Bauer. The first three books arrived yesterday, and I've already started Don Quixote. It's huge. I didn't expect it to be so huge! But I'm not too intimidated because it should be funny and also I know that with the notes I can keep it all together.

Wish me luck and join me in reading TWEM books! And tell me, were you intimidated when beginning with TWEM, if you're doing/have done the lists? I mean, those are not very easy to read titles!

Lock In by John Scalzi (Review)

Title: Lock In
Author: John Scalzi
First published: 2014
Add it: Goodreads, Book Depository
Rating: ★★★★★

I'm a sucker for science fiction that is clever and consistent, and after introducing just one (albeit major) change into our lives, goes all the way through with it to imagine where the ripples on the water would go. In Lock In the world is suffering from an aftermath of a global virus which causes about 1% of the people that has survived it to get "locked in" into their brain without being able to move.

There are millions of people in this state all over the world, and the world has adapted to them: they have a virtual space to hang out into, they can buy special robots in which they can put their minds and function close to normal, they can even occasionally hitch-hike in minds of special facilitators. And when one of these facilitators is caught at a crime scene, nobody is sure if he was with a client in his head and if he's guilty.

Lock In dives into so many interesting social and political problems, and yet manages to stay a gripping and action-packed detective novel, where a charming dynamic duo of FBI agents will do their best to solve the crime while keeping you at the edge of your seat. I read the book in one day, and it was a gorgeous day full of intrigue!

In my book: Lock In lives up to all the hype it's getting! One of the best books of the year, for sure!

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (Review)

Title: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Author: Mark Haddon
First published: 2003
Add it: Goodreads, Book Depository
Rating: ★★★★★

This unassuming little book turned out to be much more complex and touching than I had expected it to be. It starts as a detective story: Christopher finds his neighbor's dog killed with a garden fork one night, and being a fan of Sherlock Holmes stories, he decides to find out the truth. Christopher is really good at deducting, so he would be perfect for the job, if only he was not afraid to talk to people because he has Asperger's.

In the course of his investigation, Christopher encounters various obstacles, like his father telling him to mind his own business, people calling the police, and Bad Days, when he sees 4 yellow cars on a road to school. The investigation is stalled, and then it turns out to be something else completely, and the storyline goes where you don't expect it to go AT ALL. Well, at least it took ME by surprise. Maybe you're less easy to impress :)

I don't know if the author has some first-hand experience communicating with people who have Asperger's, but it certainly seems so. At the very least the book is very well researched and rings true in every sentence. Christopher's train of thought is totally alien and fascinating, but it also makes a lot of sense if you think about it. I don't wonder someone like him has problems communicating with people, we're indeed weird, unpredictable and too grabby. And the book also shows people who are OK talking to Christopher, and it doesn't take that much - just a little patience and consideration. I surely think that even if Christopher won't be able to become an astronaut as he dreams, at least nothing prevents him from getting a degree and becoming a scientist. I believe in him!

In my book: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a very touching and true-ringing novel, that will not leave you unaffected.

The Tolkien Tag 2016

Let's get the PARTY started!! A Tolkien Blog Party, no less! And although there's no "of special magnificence" tagline this year, it's still mighty exciting! Thanks for hosting, Hamlette!

So here's to Bilbo and Frodo, and here are my answers to the tag questions:

1. How many books by J.R.R. Tolkien have you read?

Ummm... all of them? Well, maybe except the latest Arthur translation. But I will, you'll see!

2. Have you seen any movies based on them?

And again - all of them. Although, as you can probably guess, I was not a big fan of the latest two.

3. Are there any scenes/moments that make you cry?

I'm an easy crier, so LotR gets me every time, especially with the ending and all of the deaths. Having a drink and some napkins for a LotR movie night is a must! Don't remember if I cried while reading, though, I haven't done it in a while.

4. Are there any scenes/moments that make you laugh?

Oh well all of them with Merry and Pippin. They are just so cute! Gandalf is also one for an occasional good joke.

5. Have you ever chosen a Middle Earth name for yourself? If so, what is it?

Well, it's still with me on every web page that requires a login. It's Arenel - a slightly modified version of Aredhel Ar-Feiniel, who has a breathtaking story in Silmarillion.

6. Who would you want to party with/marry/fight to the death? (pick three characters)

I want to party with the hobbits, obviously! They are the best at the business! For marrying none other than Aragorn is an option, I love him deeply! <3 I wouldn't want to fight anybody to death there, they are all so tough! I'm pretty sure it is my death we'll be fighting to, so what's the difference?)

7. When was the last time you visited Middle Earth, via books or movies?

I bought a beautiful illustrated version of LotR a couple of years ago, and I read maybe half of the first book then. 

8. Do you consider Gollum to be a villain? Why or why not?

It was obviously Tolkien's intention to convince the reader that he's not evil. So I trust the Professor on that one.

9. How would you sum up what Tolkien's stories mean to you in one word?

A safe place that's always there when I need it.

10. List up to ten of your favorite lines/quotes from the books or movies.

I'm the worst at remembering quotes, but I did learn some poetry from LotR by heart. Here's my favorite one:

I sit beside the fire and think
of all that I have seen
of meadow-flowers and butterflies
in summers that have been;
 
Of yellow leaves and gossamer
in autumns that there were,
with morning mist and silver sun
and wind upon my hair.
 
I sit beside the fire and think
of how the world will be
when winter comes without a spring
that I shall ever see.
 
For still there are so many things
that I have never seen:
in every wood in every spring
there is a different green.
 
I sit beside the fire and think
of people long ago
and people who will see a world
that I shall never know.
 
But all the while I sit and think
of times there were before,
I listen for returning feet
and voices at the door

Not the "I'm Back" Post

Hi, wonderful people that are (hopefully) still here somewhere! No one will actually believe me if I say I'm back for good here this time. I've lost my credibility when I did exactly this a year and something ago, and then disappeared again what? 5 posts after? So let's just say that I'm not promising anyone (including myself!) anything and we'll see how it goes!

I'm at the point of life where I've again started to get excited about books, and I can see my friends and colleagues trying hard not to roll their eyes when I'm gushing about a new fave of mine. And of course, I can feel the itch to put my thoughts to a virtual paper in hope of finding like-minded readers out there on the vast Internet.

A lot has happened in my life since I wrote last. I climbed a volcano at night in Indonesia, visited a Google conference in London and circled Majorca on an 18th century rigged ship. I got depression, gained 10 kilos and now already lost 7 of them (fingers crossed to losing the rest, working on it!). I've started learning Arabic for no reason and got to really enjoy it. I'm nowhere close to even figuring out what I want my PhD to be about and whether I want it at all. I've started a webpage called 80 days & counting (get the reference, fellow book nerds?) about traveling with my best friend, and myriads of technical problems and writer blocks after we still don't hate each other. Maybe we should marry!

Although I still live in a rented flat that is actually on sale at the moment, I keep buying books, and 3 levels of my IKEA shelf are now occupied with paper happiness. Wherever I go, I leave some space in my suitcase, because I realize I'll definitely stumble on a bookshop on the first day of my travels and then will have to throw out toothpaste or something equally necessary to fit in just one more book. I may have a problem here. Especially London was bad, as you can imagine :) Anyway, here's my precious:

I know it doesn't look like much to happy house owners, for example, but the thought of transporting them to a new place when I inevitably have to move scares me.

Anyway, what I plan to do now is to just write about whatever great books come my way, without feeling compelled to catch up on last year reviews or anything. But I do want to catch up with my favourite bloggers that are still online, so expect a visitor) I've been participating in Emma Watson's feminist book club Our Shared Shelf since the beginning of this year, so probably some posts will be about books for it. Anybody else following their program? I've cleaned the challenges slate here on the blog and refreshed the design. Hopefully you like the new one more! Ah, and I'm starting The Well-Educated Mind reading as soon as my Don Quixote arrives. I even have a journal! :)

So that's that, thanks for still being here, let's see how this "homecoming" goes!