David - proud Gleeman in Branwen's adventuring party > Recent Status Updates

Portia spins her thread and readies another Great Nest innovation. The stone strikes her opponent. The spider has already reloaded, the slingshot of silk strung in a taut "V" between her wide-placed front feet.

It's humbling that a spider can use a slingshot far more skillfully than I ever could!

The three spiders are out of their territory by 50 days. Theirs is a species given to curiosity. Portia's people are born explorers.

So on this planet, spiders are basically cats!

She is Portia, and she is hunting. She is eight millimetres long, but she is fierce and cunning. Other spiders specialize in catching jumping spiders like Portia. Portia specializes in hunting spider-eating-spiders, most of whom are larger and stronger than she.

Portia is one scary spider!

Starting a new buddy read with The wonderful Sophie! Last time we read a Star Wars book, and now we're going back to.. spaaaaace!

Wishing all the wonderful women in the world a very happy and empowered International Women's Day!

Wishing everyone on Goodreads a very Happy Valentine's Day! :)

And since it doesn't feel like one of my updates without a cat gif, here's another gif for you wonderful people today! :D

In remembrance of a man who did everything he could to bring the world together, I’m wishing you all a very peaceful day surrounded by loved ones. May we all one day live in the united and equitable world that Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. dreamt of.

Wishing a very Happy New Year to my Goodreads family! I hope 2020 brings you all joy, success, and great books! And now, my first cat gif of the new year...

Wishing you all the same joy and blessings today that your friendships bring me all year round! Thank you for all the laughs and book chats throughout the year. May you all have a wonderful day today, and if you celebrate the holiday, a very Merry Christmas as well!

Between cleaning up after two major snowstorms in a row and feeling kinda crummy these past few days, I've been reading at a snail's pace lately! I'm finally feeling better now, so I hope to speed up my reading pace and make up for lost time! No more snail's pace for me! :D

I will be offline most of today and with my family reflecting on what I'm most thankful for, but I want to tell you all how thankful I am for all of YOU! The friendships I've made on GoodReads have really enriched my like. Thank you, everybody for all the book chats, kindness, and laughs over the years!

Mixed feelings on the artwork. I appreciate Emma Ríos' unique style, particularly in tight shots where her opaque drawings add to the atmosphere. However, her artwork can be muddled to the point where it's hard to follow what's going on. I read a battle sequence where I'm not still sure who did what!

"You let her loose! And now the whole world's gonna burn."
"This world ain't been kind to me. I say let it burn."

Well... THAT was disturbing!

After "Oathbringer", I need a bit of a breather before starting my next 1,000+ page novel. I've been wanting to read this one for a while since I really liked Kelly Sue DeConnick's work on "Captain Marvel". I'm so excited this will be my first graphic novel of 2019! :D

He propelled himself off the ground, hanging in the air. And in so doing, he entered Kaladin's domain.

This battle is so thrilling! I'm more excited than these doggies right now!

Alive with Stormlight, Kaladin didn't care if the Fused were gaining on him or not. One of the Fused pointed at Kaladin with his lance.
"If that was a challenge, you against me, I accept," Kaladin called back. "Gladly."
At that moment, his Stormlight ran out.

Timing is everything!

"Don't tell me you believe that old story?"
"One can believe in a story without believing it happened."

I feel every book lover can relate to this. When we're invested in a fictional world, it's real to us, and nothing can pull us out of that world for a while.

Nothing...

Dalinar found he was looking forward to the meeting. What a strange revelation. He'd spent so much of his youth dreading politics and the endless rambling of meetings.

Dalinar felt about work meetings the way I still do!

"I'm trying to hide. Like a cracked vase, where you turn the nice side toward the room, hiding the flaw."
"You don't have to hide, Shallan. Maybe the vase is cracked, but that only means it can show what's inside."

That was so deep! This book is totally making me feel feelings right now!

Jasnah joined the group, delivering a stack of papers.
"May I see?" Ialai asked.
"No," Jasnah replied; Dalinar his a smile in his drink.

I can relate to Dalinar trying not to laugh openly. The only time I can keep from laughing is when someone insists I'll have to laugh at something...

"Mother!" Jasnah said. "Histories!"
Oh, right.
"History is the key to human understanding."
Here we go
"We must learn from the past and apply that knowledge to our modern experience."
Lectured by my own daughter again.

Jasnah as a teacher:

Dalinar leaped off the balcony, hitting the banner at an angle and using it like a slide. Near the bottom, he flipped off the banner, grabbing its edge with two hands and hanging there for an instant before dropping.

Dalinar is so graceful! Meanwhile, this is me trying to walk a straight line

"That was rude."
"Rudeness doesn't necessarily imply untruth, though."
"I did not mean an insult, regardless. You are not to be blamed. Betraying oaths is simply your nature."

Some people just have a gift for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time!

"I had a splinter once," Shallan noted. "It eventually got out of hand."
"You... you did NOT just say that!"

Like Shallan, I enjoy a good bad joke!

Even when no one else does...

Zedzil followed, but when he tried to throw a pouch at Szeth, the wind was too great. The pouch fell backward immediately, striking Zedzil on his own shoulder.

Sounds like me whenever I throw anything. Usually the only target I can hit is myself!

"Who's out there? Show yourself!"
Kaladin sighed. So much for doing some stealthy reconnaissance.

Kaladin trying to be sneaky


He should take stealth lessons from this guy

"It only took a Desolation to bring us all together," Sebarial said from the food table. "The world should end more often. It makes everyone so much more accommodating."

Navani found herself wondering if it was too late to have him tossed off the tower.

What a smart-ass! Sebarial is this guy

"This area is populated by Reshi idealists, Szeth-son-Neturo. They have a strange, nonviolent attitude, even towards criminals."

Szeth, dude, when someone refers to a nonviolent attitude as "strange", that's a huge warning sign! And speaking of signs...

These spheres represent the souls of objects. The souls of swords, recently swung and glorying in their purpose fulfilled. Other weapons belonged to dead men, blades that had the faintest inkling that they'd failed somehow.

Only Sanderson could make me feel sorry for a sword!

Adolin had never bothered imagining what Damnation might look like. Yet here he was.

Uh-oh! Sounds like Adolin wound up in the bad place!