Memorial Day weekend is upon us again, dear readers!
Haven’t done a great job of returning phone calls or texts lately, so if you find yourself waiting on me I apologize. I’m thinking about you, and the team is hard at work adjusting to life with a newborn. I am excited to connect through these blogs, even if this is a short installation.
What am I reading?
I’ve finished a few pieces since April. Right now, I’m listening to The Way of Kings as part of my Stormlight Archive reread in preparation for book 5 this winter. They’re massive stories, but worth the consumption. (I haven’t actually read book 4 yet). I’ve considered writing some recaps for myself when Sanderson eventually gets to the second half of his mega saga.
I am still slowly chugging my way through For Whom the Bell Tolls, another reread.
I also picked Fire and Blood back up in anticipation of House of the Dragon returning this June. I would not recommend Fire and Blood, GRRM was on one when he wrote it. Difficult to get through, not worth the squeeze. Still haven’t read Silmarillion (I am not going to look up how to spell- I think I’m right), but I imagine Fire and Blood is GRRM’s version of that. I do like the Dance with Dragons story though, so I’m rereading that part. Knowing the story will help me enjoy the upcoming season.
Quick note because everything above is a reread. Watching movies, listening, rereading media that you like is great. We have so many choices now with streaming. Many times I just want to consume something I already know I’ll enjoy.
What am I writing?
Still just writing personal stuff right now, but I am itching to return to my stories. I feel the creativity gnawing after a few months off and it’s time to return. I wasn’t going to let May slip by without my monthly Quick Things.
What do I recommend?
I don’t know how to word this. Pictures, I guess. But some sort of digital picture frame or picture scroller. Pictures that will interupt your everyday.
Since college I’ve lived with Chromecasts that, when idled and not casting, will scroll through an album of pictures. It’s awesome! G’s parents have a digital picture frame that does the same thing, and I find myself watching it whenever we’re in the same room.
Load that sucker up with hundreds of pics and let it shuffle the memories. We take so many, and such high quality, pictures with our phones. I love having something dedicated to showing them to us. Years pass quickly, unfortunately. Having that cute pet picture pop up randomly, or a nice moment with family, stops me briefly with a pulse of happy.
G even has a widget on her phone home screen that does this. Just as effective!
With Love
Zack