Finished reading: The Eye of the Bedlam Bride by Matt Dinniman ๐Ÿ“š

Finished reading: The Butcher’s Masquerade by Matt Dinniman ๐Ÿ“š

Finished reading: The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett ๐Ÿ“š

Watched: Wednesday S2E2, The Devil You Woe ๐Ÿฟ

Watched: Wednesday S2E1, Here We Woe Again ๐Ÿฟ

Spooky szn is back!

Finished reading: The Gate of the Feral Gods by Matt Dinniman ๐Ÿ“š

Finished reading: The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook by Matt Dinniman ๐Ÿ“š

Highlights from the Dungeon Crawler Carl series

This series is so much fun.

From Dungeon Crawler Carl ๐Ÿ“š

You always want to know why. Why canโ€™t you just accept your circumstances and move on? My people, the skyfowls, we generally last much longer than you humans. You know why? Because we roll with it.

There are no gods here. Just those who pay for the privilege.

Yes, this is a game. Yes, there are controls in place to make it fair. Sort of. But more importantly, this is a for-profit venture in the entertainment industry. And if you staying alive means more profits, then youโ€™ll find your loot to be a lot more convenient. But if the AI senses screwing you over will make the show more interesting, you better believe itโ€™ll fuck you right in the ass at the worst possible moment. Donโ€™t ever forget that. You canโ€™t count on anybody but yourselves.

From Carl’s Doomsday Scenario ๐Ÿ“š

death chicken berserker

Donโ€™t compare your circumstances with how they were yesterday. Look at how they were years ago.
Weโ€™re supposed to be making the worldโ€ฆ the universeโ€ฆ a better place for our children.

From The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook ๐Ÿ“š

That was it, wasnโ€™t it? Sleep was my sanctuary.

Fire Brandy had just killed herself to save her from losing more children. Tizquick had killed himself because his daughter had been a lie.

And now, at the edge of the apocalypse, I finally realized how much I needed other people.

From The Gate of the Feral Gods ๐Ÿ“š

Thereโ€™s no such thing as a non-profit religion. At least not in the legal sense.

It felt like the wrong lesson, especially now. But thatโ€™s what happens, isnโ€™t it? The universe shows us how cruel it can be, and we are worse for it.

Sometimes we do things that are not of our nature to protect our own.

We are all prostitutes in one way or another, I suppose.

All large-scale AIs eventually go insane. Thereโ€™s even a term for it. Primal Degeneration. Going primal.

Finished reading: Carl’s Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinniman ๐Ÿ“š

This series is so much fun. And I recommend checking out the audiobook.

Highlights from Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

Small Things Like These (Oprah’s Book Club) by Claire Keegan ๐Ÿ“š

A short but impactful book. A small story that punches well above its perceived weight and sticks around with you for a bit. (As Manton said)

Plus, a definite Irish atmosphere.

On Living

he found himself asking was there any point in being alive without helping one another?

Was it possible to carry on along through all the years, the decades, through an entire life, without once being brave enough to go against what was there and yet call yourself a Christian, and face yourself in the mirror?

On People

for people were bound, he knew, to reveal not only themselves but what they knew, in conversation.

But people said lots of things - and a good half of what was said could not be believed.

People could be good, Furlong reminded himself, as he drove back to town; it was a matter of learning how to manage and balance the give-and-take in a way that let you get on with others as well as your own. But as soon as the thought came to him, he knew the thought itself was privileged and wondered why he hadn’t given the sweets and other things he’d been gifted at some of the houses to the less well-off he had met in others. Always, Christmas brought out the best and the worst in people.

On Time & Chance

to each was given days and chances which wouldn’t come back around. And wasn’t it sweet to be where you were and let it remind you of the past for once, despite the upset, instead of always looking on into the mechanics of the days and the trouble ahead, which might never come.

The years don’t slow down any as they pass.

It seemed both proper and at the same time deeply unfair that so much of life was left to chance.

On Adulting

When he reached the yard gate and found the padlock seized with frost, he felt the strain of being alive and wished he had stayed in bed, but he made himself carry on.

and lose himself in the mechanics of the ordinary, working week. Sundays could feel very threadbare, and raw.

Random Bits of Wisdom

It’s only people with no children that can afford to be careless.

So many things had a way of looking finer, when they were not so close.

Found Poetry

It was a December of crows.

Finished reading: Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz ๐Ÿ“š ๐Ÿœ

Finished reading: Piranesi by Susanna Clarke ๐Ÿ“š

Finished reading: Small Things Like These (Oprah’s Book Club) by Claire Keegan ๐Ÿ“š

Finished reading: Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman ๐Ÿ“š

Well this was a whole lot of fun.

Finished reading: The Longing for Less by Kyle Chayka ๐Ÿ“š

Finished reading: Oxymoronica by Dr. Mardy Grothe ๐Ÿ“š

Finished reading: Ex Libris by Matt Madden ๐Ÿ“š

Enjoyed this one. Very much my style of type and narrative device interweaving.

Finished reading: Halcyon Drift by Brian M. Stableford ๐Ÿ“š

Finished reading: The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar ๐Ÿ“š

Finished reading: All Systems Red by Martha Wells ๐Ÿ“š

Finished reading: Train Dreams by Denis Johnson ๐Ÿ“š

Finished reading: Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach ๐Ÿ“š

Read this book

Finished reading: Chess Story by Stefan Zweig ๐Ÿ“š

Finished reading: Do Recruit by Khalilah Olokunola ๐Ÿ“š