hi all!! i recently saw some discussion on streaks and mixed reviews on whether people think they should be public or not; on that note, if you are comfortable with sharing comment what your current reading streak is!!! mine is 61 🥰🫶🏻 (this is not meant to be comparative or disheartening for anyone, i just want to share in each others achievements!! whether you have a two day streak or a 20 day streak all should be celebrated ❤️)

Long ago I found that annotating books just didn't work for me. I tried so many different methods and ways of doing it, I tried just straight up taking notes in a separate book, but it never felt right to me or like I was really helping myself in any way, and I just didn't feel like I was retaining as much of what I read as I could. The thing that I eventually found that helped me isn't any type of annotation or note-taking, but it does combine reading with another hobby of mine: collecting Bratz and Monster High dolls. Every time I finish a chapter, I re-enact it completely from memory with the dolls. I have found that I actually remember more than I think, and the re-enactment helps me remember it for even longer. I've actually found it to be super fun and I've gotten really into it by holding casting auditions with the dolls for every new character introduced and everything. It might seem a little weird to other people, but I enjoy it and it actually helps, so I was wondering if anyone else has special ways like this that you probably wouldn't learn in school as a way to retain more from your reading and interact with the text but that are fun and help you?

I just finished the chapter Learning the Grammar of Animacy. I’ve been trying to listen to one chapter each morning while I get ready for work. It gives me something to meditate on throughout my day, and I can already tell that this is a book I’ll be coming back to over and over again for wisdom. The marriage of science and poetry is something that really speaks to me, and the reframing of the natural world as beings we inter-exist with rather than objects we co-exist next to feels like taking a full, deep breath for the first time in a long time.

I was worried about the hype surrounding this book, but so far it’s everything I hoped it would be, and may even become one of the philosophical guideposts in my life.