Reading Shelf

I read MOST of How to Take Smart Notes by Sonke Ahrens. The first half was the main attraction as it delved into the system and its use. I ended up really liking it and I'm going to try the slip-box for myself to see if it helps with creativity. The main idea is to have concepts and ideas on index cards and look through them to help the mind connect ideas. The rest of the book was looking at various case studies and efficient learning strategies which at times was interesting, but some weren't relevant to my interests. You may find this worth a look if you're into hoarding info / articles or use commonplace books. There are youtube videos on the subject called Zettelkasten aka 'slip-box' if you rather start there. Plus some people make it digitally in Obsidian, but I decided to use index cards kept in an old Pokemon card box.

Other than that I finally got around to reading the King's Beast Vol 5 that was sitting on my desk for a while. I forget how much I enjoy that series. If you haven't read it its about a young woman crossdressing to pass as a bodyguard to serve a noble in the palace. She is there to investigate her brother's death and seek revenge on his behalf. She belongs to a marginalized race so she intends to work in secret. Despite the darker setting and goals it still has those lighter moments that make it feel like a well-rounded drama.

I started a mental model book, but then I got the Smart Notes book through the Interlibrary Loan and so that became priority. I can always renew the Super Thinking - Big Book of Mental Models. Smart notes has me wanting to try the slip-box method! Intially I was thinking I would just try to make a journal form of it, but I see it is trapped in a linear mode of thinking. So I want to try this out and see how it helps my creativity.

I finished the audiobook just in time! Paladin's Strength was a fun fantasy romance read and I can't wait to read more of the authors next books. The pacing of the book was enjoyable, not overly descriptive, and shows insight to both characters but maintaining a little mystery for the reader. I highly recommand if you're a romance fan. It is a different couple from the first book of the series, but one of the mysteries from the first novel continues here.

On chapter 23 of Paladin's Strength. Loving it so far I love the way this author writes and I enjoy the mentions of the characters from the previous book. I'm going to try to follow some advice from Odysseas and try to read fiction in a longer session to see if that works out better for me. I usually have trouble finishing fictional books even if I enjoy them.