Category: Notes

For the longest time, the talk around perfectionism to me was always very… unhelpful. I think that’s the right word. I am a certified perfectionist. And have been trying to overcome it for a long time. So I’ve read and listened to a lot of talk about it. But time and time again, there was always something that didn’t click. The advice is always the same: recognise and then take action. Act despite the fear. Act despite the friction. Act and fail intentionally. And it’s not bad advice. But there was always something that was missing for me. I get an itch on my brain. It tells me that something is not quite right, but I can’t put my finger on it, just yet. I guess this is my gut feeling. He simply hasn’t learn all the words he needs to communicate better with me. When I was reading Refuse …

For a while now, I wanted to find a way to bring games into this corner of the interwebs. While I don’t play as much as I used to (I also have another thousand and one hobbies I didn’t have before), from time to time, some games steal my heart and time. They are all I can think about. And so, I want to share my love for them here as I do with books. But I’m not quite sure how to do it. Showing gameplay in video form is way better to get a grasp of what the game is really like… And I’m not doing that. I’m sorry. I’m not adding video editing as yet another thing to learn. So fast forward to 2024, I discovered a little indie game called Tiny Bookshop. And it immediately reminded me of The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan. In …

I’ve been dreading the day I had to sit down and write this update. I’m not giving up if that’s what you’re thinking, I’ve just made some progress… in the opposite direction. This summer, the TBR grew bigger, and I’m trying my hardest to clean up that mess! But what would you do if you saw some books become homeless? Wouldn’t you help them? Those poor things were shivering! It broke my heart. I couldn’t send them away… So I opened my shelves… They look so cosy and happy now! And I hope they can make me feel like that as well. June It all started on a warm sunny day in June. The doorbell rings with the mailman bringing a package with fresh new books. The second volume of Les Misérables by Victor Hugo – I can now start planning to read that – The Seven Deaths of Evelyn …

It doesn’t even seem real that I decided to embark on this journey three years ago this month. While this is in no way a project or a challenge I’m actively pursuing, I still want to see what’s on the other side. And it will take whatever time it takes. I want to be more intentional with my purchases. To be on top of the books I really want to read. I don’t want to own a graveyard of books, I think I’ll like. I want to find that out instead of keeping guessing. Over time, my approach to this challenge has changed. From a more strict strategy to incorporating other challenges like The Hardest Reading Challenge You’ve Ever Done, HRCYED for short. I went from book-buying bans to adding too many books to my TBR, from great reading months to reading slumps. But all of this is with one …

How often do you reread books? How often do you read the books you love again? I asked these questions recently, and the answer was rarely. Last year, I only reread 1 book, and the year before, I reread 5 books. In 2022, I reread only 3 books. In 2021, I reread 2 books. And in 2020, none. In total, in these 4 years, I read 193 books, from audiobooks to ebooks and not forgetting comic books. From almost 200 books, I only reread 11. But this isn’t a problem. It’s not written anywhere you have to reread books. You don’t even need to reread a book in a series to continue it. Rereading is a choice based on the type of consumer you are. And I love revisiting stories I like, so why don’t I do it more often? I’ve already realised that I love to rewatch shows and …

This post will be a little different. Usually, I keep my updates of the project TBR Zero separate from the monthly update of HRCYED. However, since I’m changing my approach to the readathon and don’t have much of an update for January, I believe it’s best to join the two. Firstly, time to look back on my progress on the TBR Zero project. October 2024 With Becca and The Books announcing the last Spookoplathon (not set in stone), I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to join. I can’t resist a readathon. I’ve been over this. Readathon exists. I join. On my first roll, the dice were in my favour and gave me The Stranger by Harlan Coben to read. I didn’t waste much time with it and quickly finished the book. I was familiar with the story since I saw the mini-series on Netflix. And while I prefer the …

I’ve been promising a post exploring my thoughts on readathons for a while. I’m a serial readathon starter. If I find one, I’ll likely participate in it. If I finish it tough, that’s another story. But first, a brief explanation of what a readathon is for those who might not be familiar with this communal part of reading. A readathon (like the name suggests) is a reading marathon. The objective is to read as much as you can for a set time, for example, 24 or 48 hours, a week, a month, or a year. Usually, a readathon has a theme. It can be based on genre, diversity, age range, a book series or a single book. Readathons became quite popular online since they are a collective effort. You can do one on your own, although it can be very motivating to do it with others. Suddenly, what is a …

Ever since I read Deep Work by Carl Newport, I have embarked on a journey to try out the four philosophies. After going through the rhythmic, bimodal, and monastic philosophies, it was time to experiment with the last one: the journalistic philosophy. Newport says this is probably the hardest philosophy to reach deep focus because it requires some training. What’s particular about it is the lack of a schedule. In this philosophy, you work whenever you can and try to use every moment possible. Very much like a journalist who writes at any opportunity they can. To test this type of schedule, I needed a plan. I knew I had to set some rules to guide me, or else I would do nothing. But how do you schedule something that is supposed to have no schedule at all? Well, I tried. The journalistic philosophy I encountered difficulties since day one. …

New Year, same challenge. It’s the Hardest Reading Challenge! December wasn’t as packed with reading as I was anticipating. It’s that time of year that quickly slips through the cracks, and once we realise it, it’s Christmas, then New Year, and December is over. It also doesn’t help when these holidays fall in the middle of the week. It was a very confusing time. But we are now in a new year, which means there is a lot more reading to do. The Books Towards the middle of the month, before all the mayhem started with the holidays, I did the 24-hour challenge. The hardest part was to read the 300-page book. I started with one by a Portuguese author é urgente amar (it’s urgent to love) by Pedro Chagas Freitas, and I was not enjoying it. I thought about dropping it and trying to read something else. However, I …

November seems to me like a month full of books, although I didn’t read much. It was the month I read the least so far. However, I’m planning a big reading month for December, so I’m not sad this will be a shorter post. Sometimes, we need to slow down and let things be. The Books I started so many books, and yet I finished barely anything. From Flowers for Algernon, The Voice Upstairs, The Cruise Ship Lost My Daughter and a reread of Annihilation. I can’t promise I’ll finish them all in December, but eventually I will. Of the books I did finish, one was by a local author, Nem Todas as Baleias Voam by Afonso Cruz. While this book isn’t translated into English, I’ll try to tell you what it’s about. I didn’t know much about it when I picked it up. It was recommended by a friend …

Over the past few years, there has been a boom in the gaming industry. They come out like mushrooms popping from the ground. There hasn’t been a time with so many games as we have now. They are everywhere and are more diverse than ever. I’m sure there’s a game for everyone, even for those who don’t play video games. Although there always has to be a problem. Things can’t be nice. Apparently, the world would be too boring. With the 1.6 update of Stardew Valley this summer and now the release for consoles, the game is back on everyone’s mind. This pixel art-style farming game was a tremendous success and became a genre staple. While this game isn’t an original, it’s the biggest one. Coincidentally, we are living in the farming sim wave of new games. They are coming out left and right. Everywhere you look, there’s a farming …