Ape's 2020 Challenge (1)

Hello! My name is Stephen and I read...kind of. I USED to read a lot, but in recent years I haven't been reading nearly as much as I would like. Hopefully this year will be better? Fingers crossed? Maybe?

Books read: 2
Pages read: 544

1. Rat Island by William Stolzenburg
2. Rise of the Gatewatch by Wizards of the Coast

My atrocious 2019 reading stats:

Books read: 17
Pages read: 6,751
Average book size: 397 pages

I averaged:
18 pages per day
129 pages per week
562 pages per month

On average, I finished a book every: 21 days

Fiction books read: 16
Nonfiction books read: 1

Owned books read: 17
Library books read: 0

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My increasingly dismal year-by year stats…which, actually, isn’t INCREASINGLY dismal this year. Still dismal, though.

Books read:
2009: 81
2010: 87
2011: 81
2012: 75
2013: 53
2014: 54
2015: 54
2016: 57
2017: 27
2018: 13
2019: 17

Pages read:
2009: 24,492
2010: 25,958
2011: 19,935
2012: 19,168
2013: 17,643
2014: 16,073
2015: 16,217
2016: 19,236
2017: 7,834
2018: 3,713
2019: 6,751

Average book size:
2009: 302 pages
2010: 298 pages
2011: 246 pages
2012: 255 pages
2013: 333 pages
2014: 297 pages
2015: 300 pages
2016: 337 pages
2017: 290 pages
2018: 285 pages
2019: 397 pages

Average pages read per day:
2009: 67 pages
2010: 71 pages
2011: 54 pages
2012: 52 pages
2013: 48 pages
2014: 44 pages
2015: 44 pages
2016: 53 pages
2017: 21 pages
2018: 10 pages
2019: 18 pages

You may post!

Happy reading in 2020!!

Best wishes for 2020!

Happy reading in 2020, Stephen!

You'll do great this year! Good Luck!

Another resolution is to keep up in 2020 with all my friends on LT. Happy New Year!

Welcome back!

*strews flea powder, barbicide, dDT around*

Well. So this...um...yeah, this is it for 2020? mmm

Happy New Year!

Thanks and WELCOME Kim, Diana, Nina, Rachel, Paul, Jim, Richard, and Leah! :D

Richard: You know what they say, same shit different year. Or something like that.

Happy new year and happy new thread!

The numbers don't really mean much - glad to see you still around! Happy new year!

Glad to see you back, Stephen! Happy New Year!

Happy new year, Stephen!

Have you read a book today?

Welcome Foggi, London (Sorry, what should I call you now, I know you by too many names! :P), Micky, Lori, and Bill!

I have no read today, or....well, this week, for that matter. My reading time over the past couple years has been gobbled up by editing videos for Youtube, but over the past few months my laptop started really bogging down - to the point where running editing software was becoming liability on my computer's ability to sustain life. So I finally decided to buy a new laptop, and instead of doing the responsible thing I decided to buy a "gaming" laptop instead.

Unfortuantely, this has enabled me to play games that I've missed out on for the past several years...so...ummm, yeah, I haven't been reading OR working the past several days.

There's another technical complication in regards to the editing. The laptop doesn't have a disc drive. Of course I knew this when I purchased it, so I bought an external disc reader that plugs in via USB. What I didn't know is that these are finicky as hell and are incredibly unreliable, so my new laptop purchase that I made specifically to edit videos on is currently being used exclusively for gaming until another USB disc drive arrives, though it'll be a crapshoot whether that one works as well.

So long story short, I'm not getting any work done at the moment of any kind!

But I'm a level 17 Pyromancer in Grim Dawn now so that's cool.

I have so many competing things this new year, my reading will be down as well. Plats are down this past year too. 19 platinums completed. 6 non plats completed. I read 20 books or so as well. This darn school thing gets in the way.

>19 xymon81: Oh yeah, my trophy-earning days are behind me, haha. I think I only played 2 new games last year (Wreckfest and Danganronpa 2), which is kind of shocking for me!

>18 Ape: Excuses, excuses. Well, at least you are level 17 Pyromancer in Grim Dawn, whatever that is. LOL ; ) Wishing you a wonderful 2020.

>18 Ape: London is perfect, thank you for asking. :)

And you know what? Catching up on games is just as relevant as reading. Culture is culture! Find your joy where you can. So, congrats on the new gaming laptop.

I've realized I need to create a "to watch" list for myself in addition to a TBR list. I am a film nut, and I'm finally getting around to seeing movies I've wanted to see for awhile. But in my downtime I tend to forget just what I wanted to watch ...

Well, if it makes you feel better, I've got little reading or exercising or cleaning in this week. 😁

Good luck on getting your computer to work.

Happy reading!

Happy new year!

>22 London_StJ: It's true! I'm reading a natural history book on the devastating impact humans have had on the delicate ecosystems of secluded islands as they have scurried across the globe, but that has taken a backseat to burning waves of zombie scum to a crisp and watching their bodies explode into piles of shiny, glittering loot!

>23 The_Hibernator: Thanks! Fortunately my sister's boyfriend had an optical drive and I was able to use it to install my editing software. I've already edited my first video on the new computer and it's a delight! I can actually get work done when my computer isn't freezing every 10 minutes. It's great!

>24 thornton37814: Thanks! :D

>25 norabelle414: Happy New Year to you too! :)

>26 Ape: It sounds to me like the two are pretty closely related...

>26 Ape: Yay!

>27 London_StJ: Haha, I suppose so!

>28 The_Hibernator: Indeed!

The on the not-so-yay front, we're a week into 2020 and I still haven't read a single page...

Hi Stephen- remember me? Lol- it's been a while :)

Happy NewYear, and go hard on the reading goals. I have read much less in the last year than I usually do, you know, RL etc....but always have my stack of shame towering over me on the bedside table while I sleep :)

>30 LovingLit: How could I forget you, whoever-you-are!? :P

I try not to be hard on myself, but I'm so good at it!

Have a great weekend, Stephen.

Hi I am late to the party. *

I hope you have a great weekend too, Paul! (1 week later)

Bryony: As you can tell by how long it has taken me to respond, I'm rarely at the party to begin with, so no worries!

Whatcha playing this weekend?

>35 London_StJ: I'm still playing through Grim Dawn, so I'll be playing a lot of that. However, I've been playing it so much that I'm a little bit behind on editing, so I really need to set aside some time to get caught up on that. Maybe.

Time management is so hard

Belated Happy New Year, Stephen!

Gaming is my hobby of choice (besides reading), but I prefer my gaming in board game form. I own somewhere between 300-500 games at this point.

>21 Berly: >26 Ape: What am I chopped liver?

>29 Ape: Are you on page 2 yet? ; )

>37 London_StJ: Indeed!

>38 alcottacre: Hi, Stasia! Long time no see! While not a board game per se, I was playing Magic the Gathering in paper for about a year when a game store opened up in my town. Unfortunately it wasn't a very profitable business, and it's a very small town, so it couldn't keep afloat. Only stayed open for about a year before shutting down. Was fun while it lasted though!

>39 Berly: Haha! Sorry! I'll have you know I'm a level 44 pyromancer now! :P I'm sad to say I actually haven't read a single page THIS MONTH. Or THIS YEAR, rather. Heck, THIS DECADE even!

I actually haven't read a single page THIS MONTH. Or THIS YEAR, rather. Heck, THIS DECADE even
That's it, I'm carrying out an intervention.
(please read something)

I'm glad you are starting to realize the severity of the situation!

Oh, is there a reading intervention happening here? Echoing >41 LovingLit:... does use of the word "please" encourage you to start reading?

Hello again :)

I hear there's an intervention happening here? Sign me up!

>40 Ape: This calls for serious intervention!!!

Or if a book is too much, try this simple passage...



Come on...you can do it!!

>43 lkernagh: Probably not! :P

>44 Esquiress: You all have no power over me! :P

>46 Berly: I read both the things so do I count them for the 75 challenge!? :D

>40 Ape: Sorry to see that, Stephen. That is some serious reader's block. Hope you get back your reading mojo soon buddy.

>48 PaulCranswick: Yeah, it's been a 3-year reading slump, to be honest. I'm probably going to have to read Harry Potter again just to feel motivated to read. :P

>49 Ape: Well you could count a few of them for the British Author Challenge next month, mate. Just sayin'!

Hi Stephen, dropping by to wish you a happy New Year and happy new thread! (That was Anita impersonating me earlier).

Have you read anything yet? I’ve actually managed some e-books on Overdrive (being on holiday gave me some extra time to read - once we got home).

>50 PaulCranswick: Okay, I just need to finish the book I'm reading before then...if only I could convince myself to sit down and read it for a few minutes.

>51 humouress: Whoops, sorry Anita! XD Glad you're here now, though! I still haven't read anything, no, but don't think I haven't been spending my time wisely. I made this, for example. I'm practically an artist!

>47 Ape: Challenge accepted!

Lord of the Rings trilogy? Good choice of reading material.

(cough... cough)

>55 humouress: But I've already read them! :P

I have great news. I read 10 pages today, so it's officially, I have read in 2020. Finally. We'll see how long it takes before I read the next 10 pages...

>56 Ape: *applause*

>56 Ape: Small steps Stephen!

Admittedly pretty small steps but steps nonetheless.

Also clapping along with Foggi

>56 Ape: Whatcha reading?

>56 Ape: yeeeee ha!!

Also, >46 Berly: that is the reason it is so blimmin hard to proof read anything. Brains that want to read and understand make it simply happen!

How’s the reading going? The ‘challenge’ part is finding a book?

>52 Ape: Is that yours? Very nice. Although his cousin Yoda would just have to lift a finger and frown in concentration o create the same devastation.

I made a short YouTube video for our library yesterday and thought of you. It's like 4 minutes long but took me hours to get the screencast and record it properly, though the recording part was fairly intuitive.

Hope you're keeping well. What are you reading or playing lately?

Sorry I haven't been around much! It's primarily because I haven't read at all. It's bizarre to think that we're more than halfway through March and I haven't finished a book - and in fact, have only read 10 whole pages the whole year, but that the position I find myself in!

>61 humouress: Yep! I've learned a lot about photo editing through creating thumbnails for Youtube. I unfortunately don't have Photoshop because it's kind of expensive, but I can do a lot with my little freeware photo editor I have. :D

>62 bell7: It's very nitpicky, right? I think people who have never edited a video think the amount of time it takes to make one is equal to the amount of time it takes to record. For me, recording a video takes about 20 minutes, but editing is usually 8+ hours for a 10-15 minute video.

Anyway, I'm still technically reading Rat Island, which I've been reading since last December. And as for playing, I've been spending way too much time playing Minecraft. Specifically, Skyblock, which basically turns Minecraft into an massively multiplayer RPG with all the addictive qualities of those games.

Also, I NEED A LINK TO YOUR YOUTUBE VIDEO. :D

>63 Ape: We used a free thing that I couldn't edit out the "ums" and times that I tripped over a word, but it came out pretty good. From script writing to three recordings to getting my boss and another co-worker to watch it and approve it, it took us a few hours. I can imagine a longer video and editing capabilities definitely make it take longer.

One of my friends has two sons that enjoy Minecraft tremendously and one of them built a library and named the librarian after me :D That's the extent I know about Minecraft right there. It does look like fun though.

And since you asked so nicely - How to Make Lists in Your Account.
(While we're closed, placing holds are disabled, so I thought it would be useful)

Uhs, Ums, and Likes are the bane of my existence. I'm lucky if I can get through a recording without doing it at LEAST 20 times. You sound much more comfortable with public speaking than I am though, which makes sense because you're not a reclusive hermit like I am. :P

>63 Ape: Sad to see you still stuck and even sadder that it is putting you off spending more time here, buddy.

I've been stuck many's the time before - go and re-read something you know you loved before and it may clear the blockage!

Paul: I don't know, the group must be much more peaceful with me not being very active. :P

The issue right now is just time. If I'm not editing then I'm recording, and if I'm not recording I'm script writing, and if I'm not doing that then I'm photo-editing. There's always something to be done. I should probably set "work hours" for myself and only work within that time frame, but at the moment I'm constantly busy with SOMETHING and just haven't found the time to pick up a book. :(

>67 Ape: It isn't a good thing that you are making it more peaceful here!

Good to see that you have, at least, plenty to occupy your time.

>65 Ape: I wrote myself a script and occasionally read straight from it. But thank you. I'm not naturally comfortable public speaking, but my job has made me have to do it more. If we'd been recording my face too, I'd have been a lot more nervous!

It sounds to me like you're keeping yourself busy with things you enjoy, and that's perfectly okay of course.

>68 PaulCranswick: You're welcome! :P

>69 bell7: I'm in the same boat! Public speaking is horrifying, but making videos has definitely made me much more comfortable speaking in front of an audience. At this point I'm probably more comfortable doing that than social interaction - which Youtube hasn't helped with at all. I could get in front of a large group of people and give a speech, but if anyone approached me afterwards and tried to have a 1-on-1 conversation I'd probably fall apart.

Hi, Stephen! I thought of you this morning as Charlie was using video chat to play magic the gathering with his best friend...

Amber: Ha, that's awesome! There's a free-to-play game called Magic Arena that's great to play right now, but playing paper Magic through video chat sounds way cooler. :P

Oddly enough, my eleven year old made a video tutorial on fractions tonight for his maths homework. He ad libbed the video easily enough but splicing them together and adding title cards (using iMovie) took forever.

He used a white board and kept using his hand to erase his workings and also kept rubbing his face with that hand. Thankfully he didn’t end up with a black face but it did convince me that maybe we really do touch our faces 5,000 times a day. Something I learned recently because of Covid 19.

>73 humouress: Yep! I record 1 giant audio file and then spend hours cutting and splicing. Then, since I'm not on camera, after I do all that what I have is a spliced-together audio file set to a blank screen, so I have to spend a few more hours creating the visuals. I used to do pack opening videos and those were a delight, as they rarely took more than an hour to edit, but it's so expensive to make those videos!

5,000 times!? Hm, assuming we account for sleep, that's...once every 12 seconds or so? No way, I only scratch my ass that often.

🤦🏻‍♀️

So like I was saying, much more peaceful when I'm not around. :P

>74 Ape: That's why you are needed here, Stephen. Nobody else in the group is talking about ass scratching!

>77 PaulCranswick: Well I'm just happy I can contribute to our little society here.

: )

I hope you're properly social distancing, Stephen. I know that's really hard for you since you love being social and standing very close to people

Kim: I'm not that furry!

Nora: Haha, yeah, needless to say I'm taking it well. In fact, it's great! I don't even have to come up with bullshit excuses to get out of social engagements...BECAUSE THERE AREN'T ANY!

We should have global pandemics more often.

>81 Ape: Was it you that started it all?

>82 humouress: OF COURSE NOT!!! I can't believe you think I would do something like that. Do you really think I would unleash a pandemic upon all of humanity with such a low mortality rate? NONSENSE!

with such a low mortality rate

Well, glad we clarified that...

I'd hate to be misrepresented. :P

Oops. Apologies.

>86 humouress: No problem! :P

So despite living what might be the most isolated existence of anyone ever I have developed a cough over the past few days. Wonderful. Mostly I'm annoyed because I want to record videos, there's a product that is released once per year in Magic, and my videos on it are some of the most watched videos I've ever produced. Unfortunately I won't be able to make those if my voice goes, which is rather obnoxious.

Of course, ad revenue is down anyway since advertisers are cutting budgets so I guess it doesn't really matter anyway.

In the meantime, I have an excuse to tell people to not come near me so that's good.

Hope you are on the mend, that you get your voice back and you can pull off the video!!

Have a lovely, peaceful, safe and healthy weekend, Stephen.

No cough too!

>88 Berly: After a few days of coughing and severe exhaustion, I think things are improving.

>89 PaulCranswick: Thanks Paul!

In other news, no I haven't read at all.

I wanted my message this year to be fairly universal in a time we all should be pulling together, whatever our beliefs. Happy Celebration, Happy Sunday, Stephen.

Hope you’re feeling better.

And reading.

Thanks, you two! I'm 99 percent recovered from whatever I had, which mostly amounted to a light, nagging cough.

Still not reading though sorry. :P

Are we still waiting the completion of your first book, Stephen?

Hope you are ok, not like you to go off grid for nearly two weeks.

Sorry! I still haven't been reading, which means I also haven't been posting. :(

You've always got something interesting to say, Stephen, reading or not.

I miss you around the threads.

Happy birthday!!!!!

Paul: If you say so! :P

Thanks Nora! :)

Happy birthday, Stephen, if slightly belated.

Gosh, so many birthdays this week. Happy birthday!

I missed your birthday...sorry. Happy Tuesday! (Does that count? For a little?)

: )

Guessing you’re too busy reading to visit your thread?

Sorry! I'm here! Thanks for the belated birthday wishes! I've been very busy, and also not getting much done at the same time, which I'm pretty sure breaks the laws of physics, the space-time continuum, or something else of that nature.

It should be no surprise that I haven't actually read at all, my page total for this year is currently standing at about 10 pages. I'm also neck deep in one of the most time-consuming video projects I've ever done, which I'm kind of regretting getting into at this moment. I'm fully aware of what the sunk cost fallacy is and I acknowledge how foolish it is to fall into such a trap but being called a fool has never stopped me before!

That's no big deal. I'm always very busy without getting much done. But haven't you finished a book this year?

Good luck with the video project.

Nope, I have NOT finished a book this year. I've only read on 1 single day and that was a total of 10 pages. I did BUY a book this year if that counts for anything. :P

Gosh; you’ve gone from reading 80+ books annually a decade ago (which is more than I’ve ever managed) to reading even less than me.

>70 Ape: it's funny isn't it, how just doing it more makes you better and more confident at video making! My friend did a video a day during lockdown, and then produced a fantastic short video to promote her business. So clever. I hope you continue to get better, Stephen!

>105 Ape: OK, I am a little shocked, but pleased that you are still about :)

>106 humouress: I know, right? I created my Youtube channel in 2017 and I've never completed the challenge since!

>107 LovingLit: Definitely! I had no clue what I was doing when I first started, I just turned on a screen recorder and started talking (quietly) but now I can talk to you in-depth about video codec artifacting, microphone frequency responses, and what is an acceptable noise floor for an audio interface at any budget.

I still can't string a sentence together without stammering or getting tongue-tied though. :P

I had a dream that I was re-reading Harry Potter so that counts toward the challenge right? :P

>109 Ape: lol! Good one.
But, OK, sure. You can have that one if you want.

Hi!

>109 Ape: Thinking about reading is almost reading.

Hope you get your mojo back soon, Stephen. Have a great long weekend.

You could read your books on YouTube?

>110 LovingLit: I was telling Rachel that in my dreams the series was 75 books long and the books were many thousands of pages in length, so it looks like I'm done with the challenge. Eat my dust, suckers! :P

Hi Rachel!

>112 PaulCranswick: Me too...but I still haven't read, so probably not...

>113 humouress: I doubt anyone would be interested in watching that. I can't barely spit out a full sentence without getting tongue-tied!

Hi Stephen. Conducting a tour of the threads and just realized that while I have been visiting, I haven't be dropping a line here. Hope you are keeping well in this interesting pandemic-alt universe we have found ourselves in.

Hi Lori! I've been training my whole life for social distancing so I'm doing perfectly fine in this environment.

The past several days have been a roller coaster ride for me. My reaction to George Floyd's death was not unlike most people's, or at least anyone who isn't an absolute numbskull - I was just as angry at the injustice as anyone. My initial reactions to the riots were that it sucked that innocent people were paying the price for the crimes of terrible people, but peaceful protests have not been effective and people have merely been getting louder and louder with each passing demonstration. This is merely the natural progression of things, and it will only get worse until the people in power finally decide to fucking listen. Besides, THINGS are replaceable, and I don't doubt that the government will work hard to assist those who have been affected for the rioting. While I don't have a high opinion of our President, aka The King of Moron Mountain, I firmly believe he will want to appear as the hero and will loudly proclaim how much he helped victims of the riots when it comes down to that (nevermind how deaf he is to the George Floyd, the ACTUAL victim.)

Unfortunately, the past couple days have been rough for my sister. She has gotten swept up by Cancel Culture. While she has been active in the Black Lives Matter discussion on social media, the company she is associated with has not been. Someone published a list of the social media accounts of everyone who is associated with that company, and she has started receiving hateful messages and death threats for working with and supporting racists...despite her proactive stance.

Granted, someone being canceled is a far cry from someone being murdered, and while my sister's current troubles pale in comparison to what non-white, non-cis, and non-hetero people go through on a daily basis, it re-affirms my belief that humanity is not salvageable. That no matter how much social progress we make as a society, humanity is ever the cesspit of garbage I've always thought it to be. From racist cops to cancel culture psychopaths, people fucking suck.

I do hope something positive comes from this. My hopes aren't high as long as King Dillweed is in office, but the outpouring of support on social media among my peers and the images of protests across the country give me the tiniest bit of hope that maybe people are waking up to the bullshit that generation after generation of people have had to endure.

I will, however, continue to dis-associate with this trashcan of a species, if you don't mind.

That really sucks that your sister was doxxed! (Or...doxxed in reverse?) Some people, even those on the side of justice, seem to forget that everyone needs to put food on the table and a roof over their head. Aren't there better people for them to harass?? It's not like she's the CEO.

Stephen, I'm sorry for your sister. That's really mean, not to say indiscriminating, to publish their accounts. Isn't it illegal, too?

My sister creates Youtube videos as well. She actually has multiple channels with a combined total of 20,000+ subscribers. She was just sponsored by the website, and they had a list of all the people they sponsor on their website. Someone decided the website was racist, called them out on Twitter, and posted a picture of the list of sponsors. People on Twitter did what people on Twitter do, took the post at face value and started harassing everyone involved, despite my sister's (and the website's) proactive posts in support of the protests.

The irony is the harassment has been predominately white people. Go figure.

Ugh, sorry to hear about the harassment your sister's dealing with, Stephen. It really frustrates me how quickly human beings can judge and do really cruel things to each other based on assumptions. (Mine is really mild compared to your sisters and as you say to what non-white, non-cis, and non-hetero people go through on a daily basis, but my youngest sister is 15 years younger than me, and man the *glares* I used to get for holding her in public. Taught me real quick to be careful what I assumed.)

Mary: I can imagine. As a teenager I used to bait those glares. I was one of those kids running around in all black with a ball-chain necklace and skulls printed on every article of clothing I had. I definitely found it appealing to ruffle the feathers of those well-to-do ninnies. But now I realize those glares are indicative of something much more heinous and despicable.

In other news, I finished a real live book, so I guess I can consider myself a reader again.

1. Rat Island: Predators in Paradise and the World's Greatest Wildlife Rescue by William Stolzenburg



Pages: 288
Rating: 3/5

Nonfiction: History/Nature Conservation
Owned

-------------------------------

I'm not sure I completely agree everything said in this book. It's about how human exploration has led to exploding rodent populations on island throughout the world with wildlife that can't defend themselves against the pests. Many ground-nesting birds have gone extinct as rodents have laid waste to their nesting grounds. While I agree it is one of many tragedies caused by humanity's buffoonish globe-trotting, it always strikes me as odd when "nature conservation" involves mass-killing.

I read The New Wild some time ago and really like that author's philosophy. While invasive species are often destructive to the habitats they find themselves in, in a time of great upheaval it seems odd that humans are so insistent on destroying species that are flourishing, simply because we have decided that species doesn't belong in certain places. Perhaps I am not educated enough, but I find myself drawn to the concept that "nature conservation" isn't conserving nature if it involves human intervention.

Granted, humans are often at fault for the invasive species to begin with, and I certainly think we should take precautions to limit how much WE propagate the spread plant and animal species while we traipse about the planet, but I find our attempts to preserve ecosystems as if they are picturesque scenes in a snow globe designed for our amusement to be equally as foolhardy.

Anyway, I finished a book. Look at me go.

YAY!!!

>123 Ape: Well done, Stephen.

The absurdity of the crap being faced by your sister at the moment makes me boil. I do despair of humanity which seems to have a scattergun approach to the apportionment of blame and responsibility.

Yay, you finished a book! Sorry it wasn't a better one though.

>123 Ape: Are you close to doubling your reading numbers, Stephen?

In this difficult year with an unprecedented pandemic and where the ills of the past intrude sadly upon the present there must still be room for positivity. Be rightly proud of your country. To all my American friends, enjoy your 4th of July weekend.

>128 PaulCranswick: Maybe he's lost in a good book?

Hello everyone! I unfortunately have not been reading. In fact, I have found myself somewhat addicted to video games. I haven't really had time to read or play games over the past couple years, but quarantine has really amped up my interest. I believe the major cause is unlimited internet. My provider has lifted all data limits so people can work from home, and so I've been able to buy/download to my heart's content. My laptop is filled to the brim with games I've wanted to play for years and it has been rather all-consuming. And since I've basically downloaded an entire catalogue of games, I don't see this ending any time soon - even if my data limit goes back into effect.

No reading though, unfortunately. In fact I'm barely keeping up with editing, so reading DEFINITELY isn't getting done. :(

>131 Ape: My provider has lifted all data limits so people can work from home, and so I've been able to buy/download to my heart's content.

Now where have I heard that before ... kids, can you remind me?

Oooh, yay for unlimited data!! Happy gaming! What are some of your favorites so far?

>132 humouress: Just what are you getting at!?

>133 scaifea: I think I've spent the most time playing a game called Mudrunner. It's the most boring and simplistic game I've ever played, I think. You basically just drive large trucks through mud. That's it. But it's really a puzzle/strategy game, you get dumped on these huge open-ended maps that are filled with mud, rivers, and swamps, with the goal to navigate through it without getting stuck. So you end up spending a lot of time in the menus plotting courses and weighing the risks of one route versus another. It's really fun, and also just viscerally satisfying. :)

I've also been playing a lot of Minecraft online competitive games.

>134 Ape: Ooooh, that doesn't sound boring at all, actually! Very cool.

>134 Ape: Mud baths are good for your skin ya know. ; )

>135 scaifea: It's too cool! It's consuming my life!

>136 Berly: I'll take your word for it. :P

>134 Ape: >132 humouress: Nothing ... it’s just that that line sounds really familiar, for some reason ...

>137 Ape: Not a bath person?

>138 humouress: Haha, it's true that when I first got this new laptop I got sucked into Grim Dawn for awhile, but that really only lasted for a few weeks. Hopefully that will be true for this new round of video games, but it's not likely I'll read regardless, since what it is really doing is eating into my editing time.

And no, I'm not particularly a MUD bath person.

Books, what are those?

>140 Ape: This video may help clarify.
(Though honestly it's sooooo old I'm sure you've seen it)

>141 bell7: I actually haven't seen it, but that certainly has been my reading experience this year! :)

>142 Ape: It was shown in my YA literature class, I think, back in grad school (2007-8), and it still makes me laugh (soooo many interactions over computers as a reference librarian feel the same way). Sorry that's been your reading experience though, that must be rather frustrating :(

I will read again! One day! Eventually! Maybe... I'm actually seriously considering audio books. I don't think I want to listen to fiction books, but maybe it's time I get over my aversion to them and start listening to nonfiction audio books. I need to figure something, because I'm in the process of making a 2nd Youtube channel so I'm going to have even less time than before.

>144 Ape: Audiobooks are great when you have something to do that doesn't take your full attention -- repetitive tasks, driving, cleaning...

I think audio books depends on the reader not so much the listener.

>123 Ape: Yesss! A glimmer of hope in an otherwise dark world.

Sorry to hear about your sister- injustice is everywhere, and what she is (hopefully *was*) experiencing is reactive junk.

>145 foggidawn: My life is full of repetitive tasks!

>146 PaulCranswick: Yeah, definitely, but I think I'd still rather read fiction books myself. I feel like a narrator could influence how I experience a story, whereas nonfiction is just about the information.

>147 LovingLit: I believe that nonsense has ended, thankfully. The best part about that social media mentality is people have short memories and attention spans.

So anyway, I was talking about that Mudrunner (>134 Ape:) and I've been playing it on a new, gaming-focused Youtube channel I've been creating content for. You can find it here. My first couple recording sessions had a lot of problems (I wasn't recording at 60fps so the video is choppy, my lighting was bad, among other things) but I have improved in recent sessions so it should be getting better with time.

Who watches Schitt's Creek and can tell me how accurate this is?

Also why did I take a personality quiz that matches you with movie/tv characters when I don't really consume that type of media?

Ah, well, I guess it was accurate! :P

Well it's official, editing for 2 channels is twice as time consuming as editing for 1. I still haven't picked up a book since I finished the last, which was... *scrolls up* in June. I never thought I'd go 2 months without even TOUCHING a book, but there you go.

I did BUY a book on Amazon a couple days ago, so surely that counts for something!

Since all I do is play Magic and video games, I guess I can talk about those. Yesterday I achieved the 2nd highest rank you can achieve on Magic Arena. I've played Magic for a VERY LONG TIME, but it takes a ton of time to rank up on Arena because, no matter how good you are, you are still going to win roughly half your games since it's a 2-player game. Anyway, the ranking system is Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, and Mythic. Mythic is primarily filled with pro players, and I don't see myself ever making it there, but I hit Diamond and it felt great.

In non-Magic gaming news, I'm playing a game called Hard West which is an American West/Lovecraftian Horror crossover game. It's also a slow-paced turn-based strategy, so I'll probably end up playing that on Youtube eventually.

I also went on one of my crazed political rants on Twitter earlier today. I used to do that frequently here and you were all kind enough to tolerate my nonsense, but I should probably remember that the average person on social media probably isn't as understanding. I also probably shouldn't have done it on my official account.

Oh well. Sometimes you have to purge a few followers. >:)

Wow, congrats on the Diamond ranking! That's amazing!

>153 Ape: Congratulations!

Although my joy is tempered by the fact that I'm fighting a losing battle against excessive screen time by both my boys ;0) Having said which, I've just spent the morning cataloguing their PS4 games.

>154 scaifea: I was quite proud, I even took a screenshot.



>155 humouress: Ooooh, fun! I have a PS4 but haven't played it much recently as I've been almost exclusively playing computer games. There are so many more of them, and they're so cheap!! :P

Congrats on leveling up!

>156 Ape: As well you should! Woot!!

>157 foggidawn: Thanks!

>158 scaifea: Thanks for supporting me with my weird, wackadoodle compulsions! :P

----------------------------------

I other news, I have officially posted a Minecraft video to Youtube, so I think I've hit rock bottom where content creation is concerned.

Did you know it's 2020 and I've only just now started using Soundcloud? What a glorious app. :P

Well done, Stephen, on getting to the Diamond tier! Whoot!!

>161 lkernagh: Thanks!! :D

*waving* a quick hello, Stephen, as unfortunately I have nothing intelligent to add about video games. I like them, in that I like watching people who know what they're doing paly them, but I'm terrible at them and never really played much since when my brother had an N64 growing up.

>163 bell7: Hi! Considering I've recently started a gaming channel on Youtube, I kind of hope lots of people feel like that! :P

That's understandable though. I tend to focus a lot more heavily on strategy and turn-based games than the frantic action games that most people play. It's way less frustrating...for the most part. :)

>164 Ape: Kyran and Belle seem to play games constantly and I am sure they would be interested in your gaming channel, Stephen.

>165 PaulCranswick: Nice! I hope they enjoy seeing awkward dudes driving virtual trucks through the mud. :P

>166 Ape: My eleven year old seems to be addicted to that, though (to be brutally honest) I don't see the attraction in watching other people playing games instead of playing yourself.

All the same, I wish you the best with your channel.

>167 humouress: For the same reason we all read books instead of writing them ourselves. Or why people watch sports instead of playing themselves. Or spend time alone watching talk shows instead of talking to other people ourselves. Basically any form of entertainment is fundamentally pointless and unproductive, but ultimately we do with our free time the thing that gives us the most enjoyment.

If it helps, people rarely watch video game content because they want to watch specific video games. They typically watch because they like the personality. For example, I used to love Anthony Bourdain's travel shows. Imagine sitting at home watching someone else travel and eat delicious food? But I didn't watch because I cared about the specific places, but rather because I wanted to see Anthony experience those places and hear his thoughts about it.

The same is often true for video game creators.

Good point.

Don't mind me, I'm just documenting my descent into madness.

You've body snatched a Viking?

Okay. Carry on.

>172 humouress: Will do!

>171 MickyFine: Yup.

Totally not photoshopped I swear. ;)

>174 Ape: Believe you.

What's this??

2. Rise of the Gatewatch



Pages: 256
Rating: 3/5

Owned

-----------------------------------

Mostly a collection of art, with a few words here and there. It counts though, dang it!

Boo-ok?

I...yes, I think so!

>175 humouress: Woot!!

>176 Ape: *faints*

Yay, reading!

Thank you, thank you! Just don't expect an encore! Such a marvelous feat should be savored, for months! Too much excitement is bad for the heart, surely.

Yay, you did it! Savor away

Hi Stephen!

>183 bell7: STILL SAVORING! :P

>184 leahbird: Hi Leah! Not much reading happening around here, I'm afraid, but nice to see you! It's been awhile! :)

>173 Ape: Looks like you've been working out. AND you read a book. Whew! So much happening here. : )

>186 Berly: Nope, not been working out, that's just my natural physique after wrestling bears and... *googles manly activities* ballroom dancing all day. Also, those Google results aren't nearly as misogynistic as I expected.

>187 Ape: - Wrestling bears and ballroom dancing... a good balanced workout, I would imagine. :-)

What did those bears do to you?

>189 lkernagh: Definitely! Probably. I don't know, what do I know about working out? :P

>190 humouress: They started it!

I started listening to my first audiobook ever. Got a few chapters into The Food of the Gods by H. G. Wells. So far what I've learned is I like dry, boring descriptive passages in audio books and not a lot of dialogue. So I guess if anyone has any dry, boring, descriptive book recommendations, I'll take them!

But they have to be classics, because I'm listening on a website called Librivox.org. It's free, but only offers audio recordings for public domain books. Which is to say - published prior to 1924 (as of 2020)

Oh, yay for audiobooks!
Have you looked into your library's offerings? That would give you more choices, and it sounds like you might enjoy something like narrative nonfiction on audio?

Amber stole the words right out of my mouth. Go check your library!

>194 MickyFine: *fist bump*

>195 scaifea:

>196 MickyFine: *SNORK!!* YAS!

*whispers* We jumped out a WINDOW!

I haven't been to a library in YEARS. It's a shame! I don't know if I'll be going to the library physically but I think one of the libraries I used to go to had audio books you could check out through their website. I need to check to see if my card is still good though. :P

Narrative nonfiction sounds perfect though!

Most libraries (especially during this crazy COVID year) have amped up their digital offerings. Check your library's website - they're likely to have either OverDrive (Libby is their app) or CloudLibrary. hoopla is also another major source of audiobooks in some libraries.

Yep, I bet you don't even have to go to the library. Oooh, and Hoopla is great!

If had a decent library over here, I would be a regular. When I finally relocate back to the UK, the local library will soon be sick of seeing me!

>201 PaulCranswick: Well, if you would deign to use Overdrive you could start borrowing from your UK library now. And without any ill effects on their part. :0)

ETA: I don't suppose you still have a valid Singapore library card? Their offerings aren't bad these days.

I don't know how many of you are familiar with Among Us, but I got to play (and record) it today with some online friendos. It's probably the first verbal communication I've had with anyone outside of my direct family since Covid, and even though I'm a stammering, stuttering idiot, it was a lot of fun.

I'm sure some of you know what Mafia or Werewolf are. Those games in which someone is murder trying to kill off the innocents and the innocents have to guess who the killer is before they're all dead. It's like that, but in video game form.

I'll definitely post the video here if anyone is interested in such things. Even if it mostly consists of me sitting in silence for over an hour. :P

I love Among Us but I have a full meltdown anytime I'm the impostor. Can't I just keep my head down and do my tasks???

Ha! I was mostly disappointed every time I didn't get to murder everyone. BUT, my game actually crashed the 1 time it was an imposter so I didn't have to go through the pressure of a Discussion while imposter.

Charlie *loves* Among Us and has been playing it with his friends quite a bit lately. I just love the memes built up around it.

>206 scaifea: It's the perfect game to play with friends! It's competitive but not skill-based like most video games, which is great, although my experience proved some people are REALLY GOOD AT LYING!!

Anyway, if anyone wants to watch me sit silently for an hour and 13 minutes while playing Among Us, you can do so here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2r7Eo2VXIWE

So when are we going to have an LT session of Among Us? :P

I need Charlie to teach me how to play, but then I'm in!

I'd be down, we don't have to do voice chat, there is text chat in game. :)

>202 humouress: I will look into that, Nina.

Have a great weekend, Stephen.

Hi Paul!

I still haven't finished a single book, even if I've made it a million times easier by listening to them instead of reading them. Unfortunately time is really the issue, and most of the things that are consuming my time require me to focus on them, so having a book playing in the background just isn't doing much for me.

This Brit wishes to express his thanks for the warmth and friendship that has helped sustain him in this group, Stephen.

Thanks, Paul! Now if only I could convince myself to actually visit more often. :(

HI EVERYONE!!

Hi Hi Hi!

Hello. Have we met before?

Hey, Stephen! I see you made Paul's top 90 list.

>218 humouress: Don't wind the poor guy up!

>219 PaulCranswick: You mean he didn't?

>216 foggidawn: *Waves*

>217 MickyFine: Not yet, but only because you live in Canada. :P

>218 humouress:, >219 PaulCranswick:, >220 humouress: I don't know what that means, but I'm honored, I'm sure.

>221 Ape: I keep stats Stephen on posts to threads and books read. I do think Nina was pointing out that you do not lead the books read list.

Reading or not, have a great weekend, buddy.

>222 PaulCranswick: No, I wasn't. I'm not mean like that - just ask Richard. I was pleased to see Stephen on the list despite the fact he hasn't been on LT much this year.

Hello stranger! Glad to see you are still having fun gaming, although I do miss the book recs. And, yes, you still made the top 90. LOL

>223 humouress: I was joking, neighbour. xxx

>225 PaulCranswick: Oh ... alright then.

This sounds like an Among Us conversation, and speaking of which, I played it again recently and posted a video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2bIDVhyCUI

:P

Kim: I will read again...someday. Eventually. Probably! Currently I'm producing 4-5 videos a week though and it's very time consuming.

>227 Ape: That's the second time I've ever (I think) heard of that game. The first time was earlier today when my younger son said 'You know you can change your name in Among Us?' (Er ... who? What?) Anyway. He showed me a video where the characters had renamed themselves for the words to 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight'. Kind of cute.

Wow - 4 to 5 videos a week? That's a lot.

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
May 2021 bring you less need for masks, loads of peace and joy, good health and, of course, books!

I hope you get some of those at least, Stephen, as we all look forward to a better 2021.

Wishing you and yours the very best of the season.

Happy new year Stephen

Happy New Year, Stephen!

Thanks everyone! I made a 2021 thread, you can find it here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/328474