It's a quiet sunday afternoon. The week's been really tough. When everything's alright, there's always one small things that creeps in to make things go wrong. For a long time, I've been wanting to finish all weeks with an empty todo and an empty (from problems) mind, but I feel like it's not how reality works. I can't fully "flush" my brain from last week's issues and they'll carry over to the next.
Bartender, how about a beer? I'll just sit down by the fireplace and rest for a while. By the way, does anyone have any book recommendation?
I know the feeling.
Small steps, one thing at a time, but for now, have a beer, warm up by the fireplace, nothing else matters in this moment.
If you're a sci-fi, space opera fan, anything by M.R. Forbes. His books make great escapes from reality for a bit, at least for me.
~mellita mentioned William Gibson, so I'm going to follow up with that and mention William Gibson's Pattern Recognition. It's the first of a trilogy and the first of his works to be set in the present. It still holds up well for the present too. It has a quality, conveyed by the main character, that I can only describe as 'presence', as she seems open to whatever the moment brings no matter how unprepared she may feel.
Hey, here's hoping you can put your feet up and get some worries off your mind. Hopefully one of these recommendations can help with that:
Outlines sociologist Niklas Luhmann's note-taking method, known as 'Zettelkasten', which was central to his high-quality prolificity. The method has a learning curve, but is well-supported and highly practical. The book also discusses how the ways we write affect how we learn.
The first in the 'Sprawl' trilogy. The best I can say to recommend this very well-known novel is that it's something of a cyberpunk blueprint. I'm not done reading it yet, but it's mightily entertaining so far; a little cheesy, but in a good way.
I'm re-reading this at the moment, G. H. Rendall's translation. If it weren't fascinating enough to read the private work of an actual Roman emperor, its philosophical message is easily applied to one's own life, and has really helped me get through some tough times.
Currently reading this one, also. Whether or not it was actually authored by its eponymous sage is a matter of controversy. Nevertheless, it comprises a fascinating assortment of (sometimes contradictory) philosophical viewpoints. The book's often referred to as a "companion for life" for a good reason.