“You thinking about home already, lad, and you just set out in the world? The world will put a hook in your mouth. You’ll set off chasing the sunset, you wait and see…and if you ever go back, your village’ll no be big enough to hold you.” This is one … Continue reading →

I had an entire tote of papers, notebooks, and folders from college filled to the brim. Not one of those tiny totes. It was the kind that’d break your back attempting to move it. For the life of me, I could not think of a single reason to hold onto … Continue reading →

Over the years, I’ve purchased an untold number of calendars, planners, and other things that are supposed to help me better organize my work, school, and life. I’d walk into a bookshop or office supply store, browse their offerings for an hour or so, maybe pick up a new pen, … Continue reading →

It’s been three months since I made the switch from WordPress to a custom system for my blog. This was one of the toughest and scariest changes I’ve made in the 15+ years I’ve been running this site. What if I break things? What if I’ve wasted all this time … Continue reading →

It’s hard to avoid the Bird Box craze these days. Ever since Netflix dropped its new movie based on the book by Josh Malerman, memes of a blindfolded Sandra Bullock have taken over my social networking feeds. People (in the real world) are even taking a challenge by getting into … Continue reading →

There’s been a lot of backlash against Marie Kondō and her KonMari method of tidying in the last week or so as the crowd of folks making their way through the program get to Lesson #2: Books. And, rightfully so. Many of us take our book collections seriously. I’m an … Continue reading →

I remember when Eragon by Christopher Paolini blew up. I was in college. I remember friends and family telling me I must read this book. They told me it was written by a teenager. They said it was better fantasy than even seasoned authors were writing. They were wrong. At … Continue reading →

After reading Marie Kondō’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, I was a bit motivated to begin my journey into a tidier and more peaceful life. At first, I made a plan to simply throw out a bag of stuff each day to get myself started. However, I quickly realized … Continue reading →

Artemis, by Andy Weir, follows a foul-mouthed, 20-something Saudi woman named Jazz. The story takes place in the only city on the moon, from which the book is named. She grew up without a mother, spent her childhood around welders and other laborers, and lives in the dregs of the … Continue reading →

I knew one of my New Year goals was going to be to get rid of some of the clutter I’ve accumulated over the years. As fate would have it, a Kindle deal popped up a few days ago and shined light upon the path that I should take. I … Continue reading →