C > Recent Status Updates

Rereading because I started book 9 and realized I’ve completely forgotten book 8. I could probably do with a reread on 7 but heeeell no - trying to reread Harry Potter was daunting enough.

I'm struggling to get through this one due to audio issues, as well. In Audio, the dialogue goes: "blahblah," He said. "Blah blah," she said. "Blah blah?" he asked. "Blah blah!" she said." And so on and so forth.. This should have been trimmed out of dialogue for the audio version. I have stopped and tried restarting this a couple times now and the "he said" "she said" bits are just murdering my earholes.

Book 2: Master of Many Treasures, was great. Definitely keeping this one. I'm now on Dragonnes Eg and so far really enjoying it.

I'm struggling to get through this one due to audio issues, as well. In Audio, the dialogue goes: "blahblah," He said. "Blah blah," she said. "Blah blah?" he asked. "Blah blah!" she said." And so on and so forth.. This should have been trimmed out of dialogue for the audio version. I have stopped and tried restarting this a couple times now and the "he said" "she said" bits are just murdering my earholes.

I like Mary Roach, and I usually love to hear her speak and read her own work. I'm not loving her attempt at accents though. I'm an ex-pat Canadian and hearing her rendition of a Canadian accent is grating - it's a bad "Minnesota" accent ala Fargo. We don't speak like that Mary! You know this! You were there...in Canada! Around Canadians! lol Someone should have stopped her right off the bat & said "maybe no.."

"A single tear rolled down his cheek" - oh say you didn't just write that! lol

I'm revisiting Mary Brown & debating on whether I want to keep her books around. Pigs Don't Fly was good, w/the exception of the bullsh#t trope of fat = ugly, skinny = redemption. The character does experience emotional growth and her appearance becomes a minor focus compared to her choice of direction in life. Not to say her choices are great, but they're not quite as bad as I might have expected.

I'm enjoying it, but may have to go back and re-listen. He makes many sensible, relevant points.

SF short stories are puzzles to work out - where are we, what's going on, what has happened in the world to lead us to this place, and where are we going? I enjoy that I never know where we're going to end up in each story, and the first part is always a bit of an adventure -I have no idea what to expect, and this is a journey to figure it out! And somewhere, there will be a twist, and a new adventure!

I think the troubling thing about learning more about this topic is that I recognize when it is happening to me in person (or just happened), but in some cases still get roped in (lack the skills to exit gracefully or to not default to "polite/nice" person mode).

Eeeeugghhh… I feel the trainwreck coming and it’s making me anxious.
I liked: “confidence is being ok with being bad at something”

Oh I am already really really enjoying the audiobook narrator...
I like the language and turn of phrase in the writing, as well.

Oh I am already really really enjoying the audiobook narrator...
I like the language and turn of phrase in the writing, as well.

I don't remember all the characters being so whiny and OH my GOD "AM I a good person? Am I? or am I a BAD person? Maybe I'm just a tool to be used! But AM I good?" Ughhh just stop!

If I read this before, I must have skimmed like crazy. I don't remember anything about it.

Her comment on meditation annoyed me - it's not a competition between nature and meditation.. There is no panacea for all that is wrong with humanity. An approach like that is confusing religion for research, and miss that wellness is a holistic process. I relate to much of what she says, and need nature to feel well, myself, but it is not a one stop shop.

Another book that sounds like a sociopath's dream come true, but is directed towards those with an interest in security and explains the how and why of scamming/conning/phishing/vishing/smishing, etc. so that you can avoid being a victim to social engineering (or in my case, help others avoid it).

I've had a worn old tattered copy of this book on my shelf for years. Listening to it in audio so I can get it read.

The passage quoted in this post jumped out at me: https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#lab...

When he says a "hot blonde with six pack abs" he's talking about a dude, right?
I'm not really motivated to bang one, either way, but just curious.

This is where I laughed and said, “Motherf***er!” out loud and had to go explain the whole book so far to my partner. It takes a while to get rolling but this is a great book. If you loved Maeve from Netflix’s Sex Education, you will love Diana.

The thoughtfulness that went into Mr. Rogers' neighborhood is *incredible.*

Flip flops between grotesque, poetic and strange. My favorite so far has been the chapter from the creature's point of view - especially in audiobook. The characters are 1 dimensionally good/bad...that's a bit Disney/Hollywood boring. Can't wrap my head around interspecies sex with a creature with a hand big enough to span her whole chest. The cat scene was dark, but very funny (not for the cat, granted).

I think the audiobook skipped ahead 4 hours... but I can't tell. That's not a good sign.

My boss - a dude, and your classic outdoor sports guy's guy - recommended this to me. I (sexist asshat) asked with incredulity, "Did YOU read these?" He was like "yeah, I read most of the series." So, score one for cool boss, shutting down gender stereotypes like a champ.

This book is stressing me out!

Lord, this sprawling saga is going to take a lifetime.