Week #5: 2023.03

2023-01-22

Update on 110 Reading Challenge

I am partaking in a reading challenge that my local library is doing. So far I have read 45 hours. Which means I just read 6 hours this week. Worse than last week. :( Part of it was because I was struggling with technology issues part way through the week (shakes fist at Mercury retrograde). The tinkering took up a lot of time. Hopefully this week I’ll be able to read more.

Books I Read

• The Cybernetic Tea Shop by Meredith Katz: This was a little sci-fi novella that I found at the library. It’s a romance set in an alternative world where AI sentient beings exists. Very sweet and short.
• Equipose by Katie Zdybel: I am very glad I saw this at the library. It was featured in the “prose” section and rightfully so. The prose in this little collection of stories was absolutely immersive. I was pulled into each little world of the characters that was lovingly crafted by Zdybel.
• Nana (Volume 1) by Ai Yazawa: I was re-watching Nana (the anime) and decided to re-read the manga as well. The anime made me forget that Ai Yazawa drew so beautifully. Here drawing style is so unique and pretty. The characters suffer from some same-face-itis but their personalities make up for it.

Books I’m Currently Reading

There are some books from last week that I’m still reading and some that I have picked up.

• Norton Anthology of American Literature (Shorter Version) 6th. Edition by Nina Baym: We’re slowly making our way through this book. I just finished reading excerpts from Thomas Harriot, William Bradford, and John Smith. I never really understood the cultural significance of The Mayflower (I remember reading some book where some character bragged about having an ancestor who stepped off of The Mayflower and being like “okay?”) so this was interesting to read. This section was somewhat religion heavy.
• Healing Rites by Mattea: I am on the verge of marking this one DNF (did not finish). The writing is not my cup of tea. I was able to endure it in the first short story because I was curious about the world but the rest of of the stories just make my eyes glaze over… I’ll give it another 2 pages and see how it goes from there.

Making the Decision to Self-Study

I was originally going to go back to school in the fall. However, after running numbers and weighing responsibilities, I’ve decided that I will just self-study for the time being while I acquire capital. Right now I am supporting my aging parents and while I have moved back in with them and therefore have more disposable income, I still don’t have my own home. I don’t have a good emergency fund. As a result, I cannot afford another degree (taking a loan seems risky as well).

So this week I will concentrate on setting a plan for myself for the upcoming year. I think this would be a good testing ground as well, to see if I truly like the English Literature content enough for me to dedicate another 4-5 years to it.

Week #4: 2023.02

2023-01-15

Update on 110 Reading Challenge

I am partaking in a reading challenge that my local library is doing. So far I have read 39 hours. Which means I just read 8 hours this week. That’s a little over an hour per day… At the current pace I’m going, I would need to read almost 2 hours per day. Am I sweating? Maybe.

Books I Read

• The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin: I just finished reading this book and… Wow! I want more. I really wish the book didn’t end on such a cliffhanger. Ursula K. Le Guin is brilliant. She was able to weave really dense anarchist theory into a wonderful narrative. This was a great thought experiment.
• It Never Happened Again by Sam Alden: I was intrigued by the medium this artist chose for this graphic novel. Alden drew this novel in pencil. The first story was rather loose and sketchy, whereas the second story was more tight and detailed. They were both touching stories.
• Aya by Marguerite Abouet: This was another graphic novel that I devoured. It was a quick read. The contents aren’t exactly the most lighthearted, but the characters were lively and dynamic, which made me keep reading. Teenagers are gonna teenage.

Books I’m Currently Reading

There are some books from last week that I’m still reading and some that I have picked up.

• The Cybernetic Tea Shop by Meredith Katz: I haven’t made much progress on this one since last week. I was too absorbed in The Dispossessed!
• Norton Anthology of American Literature (Shorter Version) 6th. Edition by Nina Baym: We’re slowly making our way through this book. I just finished reading excerpts from Thomas Harriot, William Bradford, and John Smith. I never really understood the cultural significance of The Mayflower (I remember reading some book where some character bragged about having an ancestor who stepped off of The Mayflower and being like “okay?”) so this was interesting to read. This section was somewhat religion heavy.
• Healing Rites by Mattea: I’m still finding that this is dragging on a bit. I made it to the third story, but… I could not care more. Hopefully once I get through this story, the rest will be easier to read.

RE: Nighttime Routine

I still struggled with my nighttime routine last week. However, last night I was in bed by before 22:00, and I hope the trend continues. My goal is ultimately to wake up around 04:00-04:30 every day. I was making a schedule for myself, and I never realized how little free time I have. There are about 4 hours of free time that I have every day (if it’s a good day) and 1 hour of free time if it’s a bad day. Of course, my “free time” will be dedicated “study”/“school” time once school starts in the fall.

Spending Time with Family

Lately, I’m also trying to spend more time with family. My parents are aging and now that I’ve moved back home, I’m trying to be around them more. We went out for lunch over the weekend and I went for a walk with my dad.

Exercise???

One of the things that I’ve realized is that if I want to go to the gym, how?? I can’t go in the morning because it would eat at my study time. But if I go in the evening, I will have to go to bed later. There is literally no space. I think maybe I will exercise over lunch. There is no other way around it, unfortunately. The old adage of “School. Work. Social Life. Gym. Sleep. Pick three.” seems to ring true here.

Week #3: 2023.01

2023-01-08

My New Year’s Resolutions

Happy New Year! I am starting the New Year a little less prepared than I usually am. I don’t have a clear vision of my goals, other than:

• Prepare for my English Major by reading some preliminary works
• Go back to the gym
• Finish my first semester of my English Major without a hitch

It seems like I already know my goals, but I haven’t put sufficient thought into how I want to achieve them. There are probably half a dozen things I wanted to do before getting to that stage, but maybe I should look into it now.

Update on 110 Reading Challenge

I am partaking in a reading challenge that my local library is doing. So far I have read 31 hours. There are about 51 days left until the end of the challenge. Which means I would need to read about a little less than two hours per day if I want to reach 110 hours at the end… Sounds like a lot! I’m counting on reading some days more than others!

Books I’ve Read

• Men to Avoid in Art and Life by Nicole Tersigni: A rather short and cheeky book, poking fun at different types of men to avoid. The author transposed text over famous works of art. It was an enjoyable and short read!
• Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist’s Journey (Volume 2) by Akiko Higashimura: I started reading this series last year, but never continued it until now. Sometimes I wonder if the reason I didn’t pursue art more thoroughly in my free time is because I didn’t have a mentor like the mangaka did in this series. Still, the mangaka struggled quite a lot in her artist’s formative years, so it’s still not all smooth sailing, even with a mentor.

Books I’m Currently Reading

The books I’m reading right now are… a lot. I’ll just note the books that I’m reading actively right now.

• The Cybernetic Tea Shop by Meredith Katz: I picked this up at the library on the whim. It’s a rather cute story about a robot who works at a tea shop and a repair technician meeting. Sci-fi but more slice of life!
• The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin: This is a very different kind of sci-fi… This novel is really something on another level. I am always amazed at Le Guin’s writing. The Dispossessed is quite politically charged and keeps me on my toes quite while reading it. I could only wish I had her mind.
• Norton Anthology of American Literature (Shorter Version) 6th. Edition by Nina Baym I’m currently in a reading group for this Anthology. So far we’ve only read the preface, but our next meeting is this Tuesday. The one thing I can say thus far is that I am quite ignorant when it comes to American history, and this is a nice primer to American history!
• Healing Rites by Mattea: Found this book on the Fediverse and decided to give it a shot! It’s a little collection of short stories about a disabled mage. I am a little on the fence about it. It drags a bit, but I love how diverse the characters are.

Nighttime Routine

I am struggling with my nighttime routine. I can’t seem to go to bed at a good time. With my schedule, I would need to be going to bed at 9pm, but it is way too early for me. I like getting up early and doing things before the rest of the world wakes up. My motivation to do hard tasks is at its peak in the morning. I only stay up late to do lazy stuff. Which makes me feel like I really do need to get my nighttime routine under control!

Week #2: December 19-25

2022-12-25

Update On 110 Years of Reading

I am partaking in a reading challenge that my local library is doing. So far I have only read 9 hours. I average around 2 hours a day. If I want to make it 110, I would need to read 3 hours a day! I don’t know if it’s doable, but I have been enjoying scratching off the scratch card they gave out.

In true fashion, I have started several books and haven’t finished any. I started reading Gone Girl in audiobook form, among several others.

Intentions for Next Week

• Deep dive into goal planning for 2023
• Set up my planner
• Set up my computer in the basement
• Read some more!