User Profile

This was just a bit better than the 1st book.

Mar' is still living with Maloran. And doing work with the Fells. One one trip to help a creature, her relationship with the family business becomes more fraught. And she gets a chance to meet more of her family. Maloran makes an interesting new friend. And she learns of a bird that could affect humanity's story.

Such a good story flow. Organic characters. And when the story gets to high points, it is so engrossing. These characters are so fun. Others are easy to hate. Others are complicated to be angry at.

I really liked this alot. So fun and involving.

I'm a big fan of Matt's videos. And found this on audiobook. And Everand is starting to enshitify, so I can only sample Who's Afraid of Gender. So I switched over to this.

I watched a vid on Zen Buddhism, and got further interested in it. So I tried to find as good a book as I could. This was a good look into Zen Buddhism. At least from my perspective. It was odd hearing a very British voice reading it. It almost felt culturally voyeuristic.

The book goes over the history and believes and methods of Zen Buddhism.

I was surprised to learn how violent some of the prominent Zen figures of the history were. 30 lashes with a stick, someone thrown off a building, even a brutal death of a cat to make a point. Also be ready for some rather blunt language from some anecdotes.

Also be ready for inconsistent themes. Zen is not so much about a peaceful mind. As it is freedom from a consistent mind. Defying definitions, and logic. Even defying Buddhism.

It was a fine read. Still churning on some of the ideas.

CW: physical harm, rough language, death of an animal

#Books #Bookstodon #Buddhism #Zen

This was well written and well read by the author. It defines its characters well. And makes them rise out of the page. It knows what it wants to do, it gets to the business of doing it, but doesnt get to heavy on the way of getting there.

A really affecting story of race, queerness, history, and freeing one's self.

CW: US-South slavery, queer outing, alcoholism

#Books #Bookstodon

Another great Redwall book. I had fun with Mariel, and the party she had. Also the rabbit trio including Rosie. The dibbons were lil' shits, but they were fun. And surprise double villains, kinda.

Tho, I will say, it is starting to feel a bit samesies. Some very familiar story beats being repeated. Not in a problematic way. I still have good fun with the additions of the changing era. But it does sort of.. uncomplicated the things. I can see things coming. But am still amused by the new characters, and slight-to-broad variations. But it still has the slight stagnant vibe present.

And I was glad when the story stopped with the 50th creative woodland food stuff. It was fine in moderation. But this went over board.

Still, I love this abbey. And still want to hear more. Hopefully direct continuations from eras I already read. Like with Matemao, where I can hear some familiar names along with new ones. Instead of -very- separate generations.

I got alot out of this book. It is very approachable. Not to overwhelming. And not judgy like some environmentalism can be.

Something important to cover is that the book acknowledges that it's impossible to be totally 0 waste. 0 waste is the -goal- the movement sets for itself. But one must know full well is unattainable. But the effort is the most important. This isnt here to shame you. But to also give some consequences for somethings. But the main idea is alternative options for those things.

This gave me some goals of my own to work for. I was already doing a few of the things it talks about. But it has me looking into shampoo, water filter, and fabric alternatives. I have already put a composting book in my list for later.

I highly recommend keeping a noepad nearby while reading. This is a bit rapid fire, and has some interesting tips that will need research for your situation. I keep finding things I'm interested in, and needing to remember for later.

So I love Brian. I love these books.

But this guy needs to stop talking about food. So far, every 5 paragraphs is about some woodland food stuff, in - detail. I love these actors in the audio', but even they can only do so much.

I just feel like the time and words spent on describing the nuts roasted in garlic and wrapped in reeds or whatever, detracts from the characters. And I was prepared for A LOT of characters, as is normal for these books. But the food is given as much time as a character is. And it's just what they are eating that night. And I have doubts that is going to be important.

I dont feel it's contributing to a thick story. It's world building, but also too much of a specific area. It's uneven. And not what I came here for.

Still having fun, by and large. But I do need this to cool down, severely.