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.