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finished chapter 1. this book is clearly written for a high schooler audience, so I dunno how much I feel like continuing. but it's also a pretty quick read; at least chapter 1 is. i'll go with my mood since this isn't like required reading or anything.

finished chapter 8 The Deflation of Comparison and chapter 9 The Great Disappointment of Expectation

I was originally thinking of writing up a summary or some relevant commentary for every chapter I read, but I realized it was getting a little annoying, and detracted from my actual goal for having this account which is simply to encourage myself to read. so I'm just gonna post whatever thoughts I have if I feel like it.

Chapter 8 didn't vibe with me as much as the other chapters, for whatever reason. Maybe it's because I'm not really like that in the first place. Meanwhile, Chapter 9 discussed the idea of defining identity around what one does and how that can be a little shallow, and that reminded me of how Spanish has two verbs that both mean "to be" -- "ser" and "estar", which respectively seem to refer to essence vs. state. "ser" and its forms are for what one is; "estar" and its forms are for what one is being.

end of chapter 7: The Standstill of Indecision

this chapter is about, well, indecision. for example, having tons of options doesn't help you unless you actually use one of them, and having too many options can sometimes be a waste of time. but perhaps more importantly, there's probably not necessarily a best decision. just go do something. go with your gut feeling if you need to.

end of Pink Like Me

it feels like we're finally getting on with what seems like the main quest, after a large number of sidequests. that said, the sidequests did do quite a lot to establish the setting and provide backstory for the main character, so it's not like they were a waste. maybe it was useful setup for what follows; slow-setup stories tend to be pretty good.

end of chapter 6

This chapter talks about balance -- and how a perfect static equilibrium isn't possible nor desirable. It talks about appreciating "wobbling", dynamically swerving about a point of balance, rather than disappointment in a lack of ever achieving said balance. Productivity is actually made of alternating processes of "absorbing" (prep work, sometimes mental and unseen) and "squeezing" (producing tangible output), to use a sponge as an analogy; some things work better for some people as all-or-nothing states to flip between rather than only some at a time; and variety itself enriches our lives.

I actually ended up using that "absorbing and squeezing" analogy online when I saw someone recently complaining about getting nothing done.

end of chapter 5. much distractions so it was slow, and i was also reading other things. also this book makes me think about my own life and compare-and-contrast the ideas i've learned from with the advice my parents gave me; ironically, that's also a distraction.

this book has a lot of good advice. chapter 5 in particular mentions two things i've learned from experience -- that (1) on the way to accomplishing something big you kinda inevitably have to go through a process that's probably messy and doesn't have much to show for it, and (2) you should be prepared to get in for the long haul rather than try to sprint to the end because if you do the latter you'll just end up exhausting yourself quickly due to bad pacing. learn to appreciate the process and find happiness in the accomplishment of smaller tasks, with a perspective of the whole. at the very least, think of it as what good you're able to do. if all you have is an "I need to do it" sense of responsibility (and nothing else), that's a recipe for burnout.

end of A Friend In Need

y'know, I wasn't expecting this story to have this much grittiness. but at least it's got a coherent feel to it.

also, the lot of geographic place names in the world of Golarion might be confusing to people who aren't familiar with the lore. I definitely recommend looking up sources of info like the Pathfinder Wiki and the various youtube videos covering the lore of Pathfinder such as the history of the world of Golarion.

also, sidenote, the main character of this tale is someone who shows up in the "present" (in the fictional chronology) as a major figure in Pathfinder Society leadership. for example if you play the very first Pathfinder Society Scenario for the second edition of the Pathfinder RPG, you'll run into him.

finished the book. y'know, i'd totally forgotten about handkerchiefs. and this book also got me to ponder how people celebrated things like thanksgiving and christmas back before plastic was invented.

three more books to go until i get to my (albeit measly) reading goal!

end of chapter 5 "special occasions"

end of chapter 2 "food and drink"

lots of neat ideas for how to avoid plastics (especially single-use plastics) around food and food-related products. not all applicable to everyone, but still worth thinking about. like, not everyone can get milk delivered, but making your own snacks is more accessible.

also i still have yet to look up that laundry nuts idea from chapter 1.

also i should post comments more often

end of chapter 1 "home"

this book isn't really a "reading book" of the usual sort but just a guide where each page or two is about some sort of product and how to replace it with non-plastic alternatives. i'm just going through it systematically page by page. definitely recommended, whether you want to read it cover to cover or just have it as a handy reference.