Reading Update 3/25/16

Currently Reading:

• Uprooted by Naomi Novak
  ~53% done
  So far I am really impressed with this book. I love the narrator for the audiobook. I'm hoping to finish this early next week.
• Why I Am Not A Christian by Bertrand Russell
  ~33% done
  While there are times where it is very clear when Bertrand Russell is writing (red scare, WWI, etc), his thoughts transcend those times and are still extremely relevant. Last night I was reading about how individualism, while understandable in the context of early Christianity, is not useful when trying to manage societies and create the most peace for the most people. He easily articulates my feelings on government (that we should be doing things that maximize efficacy within the limits of ethics). If the quality and sentiment remain consistent throughout this collection, I will probably add this to my (currently one book) list of must-read atheism books (along with The Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan).
• Ship of Destiny by Robin Hobb
  ~? done - I'm reading a combined edition of this trilogy. I'm 81% done with that.
  I am struggling with this book as I struggled with much of the third book of the Farseer Trilogy. I am ready for her to pull it out and hit me hard in the emotions. Also, there's a little too much dragon-fantasy for my taste. I don't entirely understand the fascination with dragons, though I am interested in dragons as a shared set-piece in a meta sense.
• Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson
  Just started
  It was a good prologue, even if it did have a woman in a refrigerator. This is my husband and my read-out-loud book now that we finally finished with Wetware by Rudy Rucker. I love reading out loud with him. Even though we're not really interacting, it feels like we're really doing something together instead of just existing in the same room.

Trying Out Some New Things

I realized yesterday, while attempting to establish my employment dates for when I delivered pizza, that I missed having a "diary" of sorts. I blogged almost every shift of delivering pizza and it was cathartic and ultimately useful.

I tried making this a place for book reviews, but I couldn't sustain it. I have ups and downs that are fairly predictable in their effects if not their duration or frequency. When I'm up I start things, I have more energy, but when I'm down I barely get anything done. I've been able, through my most recent down to sustain a few things. I'm going to try to add this to things I can sustain, at a minimum level, in the long run, and that means some format changes.

Here are some things I'd like to work in:

• Updates on what is going on in my life. This will probably mostly be mental health updates.
• Escritos practicando en español - Puedo leer bien, pero mis habilidades de escribir y hablar no son buenos. ¡Necesito practiar más! (y sientase libre de corregirme si he cometido un error)
• Reading updates (and reviews) - reading is still my biggest hobby and the thing that I love
• Gaming updates - I play tabletop roleplaying games, boardgames, and videogames
• Writing updates (maybe even some practice writing)

In other words, I need to start doing this for me, so that I can go back and plug my memory holes when I need to.