#314 🐼 Once in a while, a series destroys you…

Reading time: 3 minutes

The week was kind of meh this time. I can’t recall what exactly happened that ruined the mood. Maybe it’s the toothache. On and off, had to try a fresh set of medicines apart from the ongoing ones.

Didn't do anything really, except for some client work and some sleeping. And probably like 2 hours of daily reading.. I think I can manage reading all the books this month that I have to.

One good thing that I happened to notice is that I’m having more adventurous dreams recently.

Can’t recall any, though, except for one… I was with a group of 2-3 people (friends?) in a forest clearing, and a leopard and a bear approached us. Someone or some villagers chased them away.

I documented these sometime. But haven't been feeling like doing that either, for some time now.

The only nightmare, by the way, a really scary nightmare I can remember, is perhaps from a decade ago. A skeleton attacked me. A skeleton, yep. Dead in the night.

Ahhh let it be. It’s Saturday, yeah Saturday, 20.40 hours, and I’m currently listening to…

I’m writing this on Saturday, as I didn’t feel like doing anything else. Not even feel like reading to fill up the time. So, just thought about preponing my Sunday newsletter writing ritual.

Hopefully, next week will be “productive.” Much of my current one went into Reels.

I did finish a season of Youth of May early in the week. A historical K-drama suggested by a friend. Had been watching 1-2 episodes a day.

It broke me. Broke me like a 5-star read would. Yeah, just like that My Friends book I mentioned earlier. Same kind of effect.

Youth of May is one of those dramas that I liked, but might never watch again. Kind of painful. Too much, and I don't want to re-live that again.

Most of my favourite dramas are light shows. Heirs, Heartstrings, Goblin, Love Next Door… all romance somehow. Friends and Big Bang Theory, too. Some like Dexter (the serial killer) and White Collar fall in the dark/grey zone. Still like them.

But yeah, once in a while, a series destroys you… shreds you in bits.

So not watching anything, anytime soon. I should be reading. Maniacally, if needed.

Currently, I’m going through two review copies, and there are four more to finish by this month’s end. Totally achievable. If I focus.

Somehow, this has come to numbers. Entirely my fault. Allured by book covers, I’ve been mindlessly signing up for these ARCs, without taking in consideration that I’ve other pending books as well.

I should probably take only two review books a month, only then will everything be in a proper balance. But that number looks so low, especially when I want to promote more indie authors.

Btw, I’ve crossed 50 reads for this year. Will achieve 60 easily, First time, in all these years.

And I finished the famed horror book, The Shining, that I started a few weeks ago.

It was scary, of course. So scary that I couldn't muster the courage to read it in my room at night. Read the second half in bright daylight. Whatever “bright” you can expect on rainy days.

But the book felt a bit slow. I know, it was intentional… growing on you slowly. But I got more bored than terrified. Anyway, I think it’s the only “classic” that I could read.

Mostly, I’m inclined to read contemporary novels. I’m done with going deep into life lessons.

All I’m looking for from books is an escape into a fictional world. Can’t handle philosophical shit at present. No realities for me.

I know I’ll be back to my usual self soon. We all do, right? Probably next week itself.

It’s probably that toothache. Not problematic anymore. But sometimes, just the fear of pain can be more troublesome than the pain itself, no?

Once my reading deadlines seem to get back on track, I’m thinking about reading The Housemaid (Freida McFadden’s). Hopefully, sometime this week.

I haven’t read any of Freida McFadden’s novels yet. A friend read a few back to back, and that got me curious about how these stories can be so addictive. So, I bought one, and I’m waiting to start reading it.

Have kept the book by my side so that I don’t get distracted and pick up something else.

Another book I’ve kept near is Prajapati, that Bengali book I bought some days back. Haven't yet started that either.

It’ll take time to finish. I’m slow at reading Bengali. But I want to practice. A book, because I can already read snippets on messages and Reels. But to read long-form content, I need to practice with long-form.

Doesn’t matter if I like the story or not; all I want from the book is to speed up my Bengali reading.

Will leave you at that today. See you next week.

Bidding adieu. Enjoy your day. Live long and prosper.