Yeah, the silver lining of sorts from the earlier stress of dealing with her brain tumor is that it felt so certain at the time that we were going to lose her. So there was a whole anticipatory mourning process to go through. And when the drugs and radiation proved effective, everything changed.

That's why I use the phrase "bonus time".

So I feel a little more prepared for when the day eventually comes, but, yeah, will still be really difficult.

Got some AMAZING news yesterday: @nprofile1q...'s giant golfball-sized brain tumor has "almost completely resolved"!



There is residual meningioma around the outside of her brain, but her doc says she has "an estimated 90% reduction in overall tumor burden"!



Her pet insurance covered the very expensive radiation therapy to zap the tumor last April. Now 10 months later her doc is thrilled to say that this is probably the best outcome he's ever seen.

She has residual brain damage and will need to stay on her anti-seizure meds. And there's no way to predict if or when the tumor might come charging back.



But for now there's a real chance that she'll live well past her upcoming 8th birthday.



She's my first doggie and, as a single guy, my only constant companion. The moment I sit on the couch, she hops up to snuggle. Every time. No creature (dog, human, or otherwise) has ever wanted to spend so much time with me, so consistently. 🤣



So glad to get this bonus time with her!

Proxmox and especially PBS.

That's basically where I've landed for now after burning myself out on harder books or "I ought to read this" pressure.

I also just somehow forgot how GOOD a book can be!

Wow, that is a hardcore edition when there's a whole section in the info page just for the font!

I was excited to learn that the TV show ends with... the 6th book? So 7, 8, 9 are all unknown story horizons for me! Hadn't expected that much to be left hanging off the edge.

But also trying to not overcommit my time to just this one series. I'd fallen so far out of any kind of reading habit for so long, but now that I'm reading again I don't want to pigeonhole myself.

For me, the price diff of the pretty hardcover was an easy YES.



I've decided that as long as the hardcover edition of a book isn't grossly overpriced, I'll shell out the extra bit for it.

After reading three sci-fi books in a row, it's time to change things up.

Here's my current queue:


Yes, I'm a typical programmer nerd sci-fi geek. But I also studied Literature at UCLA and loved my two Shakespeare classes. The buzz on "Hamnet" is insane and it's a shorter read. And I'd rather read the book first before seeing the film.

Excited to keep working my way through The Expanse series, but a 9-book series is a heavy load. I'll keep them spaced out a bit so I don't go stale.

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Aside: I haven't read all of Shakespeare's works, but I think Hamlet is the best written while The Tempest is probably my favorite (it's pretty intense to read it as Shakespeare speaking almost directly for himself via Prospero).

Finished reading my THIRD book this year!

Leviathan Wakes (The Expanse book 1)

Gorgeous 10th anniversary edition!





Loved the TV show but only now getting around to reading the books.

The authors are very good writers. Reading this right after Andy Weir and John Scalzi is a night-and-day difference. Abraham and Franck (aka "James S. A. Corey") are adults who write like they've thoroughly experienced the real world.

The tight pacing caters to short attention spans (they imposed their own target of ~3k words per chapter) but isn't insultingly dumbed down like a Dan Brown novel (he intentionally writes for a ~6th grade reading level).

The chapter structure alternates between the two main characters' POV, giving us a very rich look inside their very different minds.

These are writers who understand people in a deep way that a lot of (most?) sci-fi nerd authors totally lack. Their characters have depth, grit, imperfections, hard-earned wisdom. Dialog and especially their inner thoughts are spot-on. They're not trying to create characters, they're just letting these "real" people speak and act for themselves.



That being said, since I saw the TV show first, I can't say how disorienting or not it might be for completely noob eyes to take in and keep track of the wide variety of characters. I complained that with "Redshirts", an ensemble cast doesn't work in a novel. You'll have to tell me if this succeeds where "Redshirts" failed.

The sci-fi elements are of course fascinating and so richly detailed and well thought out; everything in this first book is foundational to why the TV series was so successful (btw: this book is roughly the first 1.5 seasons).

I did not expect to be this impressed. Read it.

That all being said, your note about engaging via writing is spot-on.

I got to teach "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" to the most advanced AP kids in the high school where I did my student teaching. We would read a few pages each night and their homework was to identify a passage that intrigued them (there is NO shortage of thought-provoking passages in that book!!!).

We'd then spend the first 10 minutes writing a reflection on whatever passage we chose. We'd spend another 5-10 minutes sharing some of those reflections and discussing.

I would write a reflection as well w/each class and then post them to our class website.

It was absolutely amazing.

Plato is a beast to read. If I'm remembering right, the style is to have paragraphs-long winding, complex tangents that take forever to loop back and make a point.

Like you need SO MUCH RAM while you're reading to keep that all in your mental stack before he actually starts using it.

I think of the "Great" books (for whomever's definition or list) like I do the AFI Top 100 Films list. So many of them are on there because they were significant influences on film, BUT... are they actually good / impressive / enjoyable to watch NOW? For so many of them, my answer is: nope nope nope.

It shouldn't be the "Top" film list. It should be the "Most Significant" or "Most Influential" film list.

In the typical American book canon, I have no idea why we make kids read Huck Finn. There are just so many better, richer, and more enjoyable books out there.

When I was going through my UCLA Lit courses, I loved loved loved Jane Austen. But I was also a huge Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Gilmore Girls fan (iykyk). Austen was right up my alley. I gave my sister a copy of "Pride & Prejudice" but I told her: If the first paragraph doesn't strike you as funny, put the book down and move on.

This is all a long way to say: I'm skeptical that any list of "great" or must-read "classics" can ever make sense. At best, you could say, "IF X or Y or Z appeal to you, THEN you should check out A or B or C."

"Dune" is one of my favorite books. I'd recommend it to almost no one.

Reflection now that I'm actually reading books again:

But first some eye-candy: Third book of the year in progress!



(and what a beauty she is!)

My years-long reading dry spell seems to have been at least partially because the books I was trying to read were just too hard and/or not engaging enough.

I can listen to endless hours of bitcoin podcasts, but it turns out that reading bitcoin books and nonfiction just puts me to sleep.

I also had a snobby resistance to popcorn fare (light entertainment that isn't trying to be Jane Austen).

But now here I am devouring fun sci-fi page-turners.

I also forgot that a book can be as short as a 6-10hr read; it doesn't have to be a weeks-long / months-long slog.

So reading a book can be roughly on par time-wise with watching a TV season. But is more mentally active and, added bonus: less associated with snacking. 😂

My worries about having a pinch of permanent cognitive decline are lessening.

So it's been awesome to rediscover reading. Can recommend.

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And notably / sadly / redemptively(?), this is coming from a guy who had gone back to school to do UCLA's entire undergrad Lit program. And holds a Master of Education to teach high school English. And taught for two years. 🤷‍♂️