it is a wednesday

[lunabee34]

1. Well I spoke too soon. I had a fever again yesterday (very low), and I feel kinda crummy today without having a fever. Clearly this is still a process, and I'm not going to post any more pronouncements about how I'm feeling better unless it's been two weeks of no fever and feeling better. LOL

2. So all these stationery blogs I read also talk about fancy pencils, and they have been slowly snookering me into thinking I need to be writing with fancy pencils. Which is ludicrous. I do not write with pencils. I do not need fancy pencils. Fortunately, my friend M has some fancy pencils she let me borrow today, and I am relieved to say that they are indeed just fucking pencils (no matter how fancy) that I do not need or want to write with on a regular basis, and my desire for fancy pencils has been successfully exorcised. I feel like I deserve some sort of award for this achievement.

3.

The Tower of Nero by Rick Riordan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This was a really satisfying conclusion to this series.

I have really enjoyed Apollo learning empathy and kindness and developing genuine friendships. I speculated very early on in the series that he would actually chose to remain mortal (at least for a time), and I'm kind of disappointed that he didn't, but overall, I like where his character ends up.

I was also a little disappointed that Jason stays dead, but since the next books seem to be gearing up for Nico and Will to have an underworld adventure (it's to rescue Bob, right? OMG, I hope so; I cried so hard when he sacrificed himself), maybe he will at least make a future appearance.

Riordan is really prolific, so I have every reason to believe that he wrote this book immediately before it was published in 2020. I can't help but think that just like the rest of us needed to read it, he needed to write something about hope and coming out the other side of suffering into something better. This is a book about choosing to do good (to be good) in difficult time. I really needed to laugh and cry and feel like it's possible for things to get better again; this was a good book for making me feel that way.



View all my reviews

Comments

[zulu]

Congratulations on successfully resisting the siren lure of fancy pencils! My most recent "but it's fancy!" fail was a box with many small drawers I intended to lovingly organize hardware in...so far I have a box with drawers, and the hardware all mixed together in a plastic bag. Will it be organized someday? MAYBE.

[lunabee34]

Ha!

I hear ya.

Why does the fancy draw us in so?

Could you make the sorting a game with L? I bet he would like that. Even at 7, Fiona is super into the sorting activities still.

[gloss]

they are indeed just fucking pencils
I've been vaguely tempted to check out fancy pencils, so this is a relief to hear. :D

I hope you feel better again sooner than soon.

[lunabee34]

They are just pencils. I tried the Blackwing Pearl and the Blackwing 602 and the Mirado Black Warrior and the Bic Evolution (which was just terrible as a pencil goes; very light), and they were all just pencils! Hurrah!

Thank you for the well wishes. I'm trying not to be disappointed. I was hoping for continued upward trajectory without regression, but I also hope to find a million dollars laying in my yard, so... LOL

[havocthecat]

It's a rollercoaster, hon, you'll have some hills and valleys, but you'll get off it in the end. /hugs

No. You do not need fancy pencils. Honestly, a good #2 pencil is just about perfect. (I use black wooden Ticonderoga pencils and they are about it for what I need.) Though fancy pencils are pretty. I only use the fancy art pencils on the rare occasions I want to dream about drawing.

[lunabee34]

Thank you. That's a good way of thinking about it. Josh was calling it waves and making swimming motions. LOL

I do believe in the fancy colored pencils. Those are so much more fun to use in coloring books than the cheaper ones.

But no fancy just graphite. I mean, I haven't used a pencil to write anything in literal years. I have no idea why they were so alluring to me. It's a sickness, Havoc.

[havocthecat]

That sounds adorable of Josh, omg.

Fancy writing tools are always a sickness. But kind of a delightful one. But stick with pens, they're even better, you can put fancy ink in them!

[lunabee34]

So far I am trying to resist the allure of ink. I don't have anywhere to store it if I were to start acquiring it. LOL

[trobadora]

So sorry about the fever. Keeping my fingers crossed it'll stay away this time! *hugs*

*hands you your Fancy Pencil Avoicance award*

[lunabee34]

Thank you. *hugs*

I feel like Shen Wei is into fancy pencils. Scientists use pencils, I feel like, in the lab, right? Maybe he is a fancy pencil groupie. Heee.

[trobadora]

Hee! I could see that. :D

[goss]

Oooh, what's this about fancy pencils? I had no idea those were even a thing. o_O

And now you have me all intrigued. Oh no... As if I needed more art supplies to covet. /o\

[lunabee34]

Yes indeed!

Just like there is a fountain pen community, there's a pencil community, mostly focused on graphite pencils with some colored pencils thrown in. This is adjacent to the artist community in that some people are also artists, but the primary focus is on using the pencils to write with. The big favorite seems to be various iterations of the Palomino Blackwing.

[goss]

PENCIL FANDOM. O_O

I just googled Palomino Blackwing and I came upon Pencils.com, and it's like there's this whole new world that I was unaware of.

[lunabee34]

Yes!!!!! It is a fandom. A very opinionated (and persuasive LOL) fandom.

Same with pens and with paper. Three different fandoms, and the center of the Venn Diagram where they converge is huge.

[gloss]

various iterations of the Palomino Blackwing
Ha! I was just telling G. about your brief foray into fancy pencils and she said, "oh, what kind did she try? Blackwing?"

[lunabee34]

I love it.

The pencil is known.

[china_shop]

Palomino Blackwing

It sounds like a My Little Pony!

[lunabee34]

INORITE?

[oracne]

Fancy Pencils sound really sneaky. Hooray for not wanting them!

[lunabee34]

I am so proud of myself. LOL

[princessofgeeks]

So these weren't mechanical pencils? Just regular pencils that are somehow fancy?

[lunabee34]

Here's some examples:

https://www.amazon.com/PALOMINO-BLACKWING-3Pencils-Original-Pearl/dp/B01F79DM4O/ref=asc_df_B01F79DM4O/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=344057144550&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7127414280538788848&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9011177&hvtargid=pla-759229620130&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=66044534541&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=344057144550&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7127414280538788848&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9011177&hvtargid=pla-759229620130

Pencils are apparently Srs Business in some quarters.

[china_shop]

*hugs and hugs*

Kudos on having resisted the lure of the fancy pencils. Hee!

[lunabee34]

I was strong! LOL

*hugs*

[nyctanthes]

I'm pretty sure I could be talked into buying fancy pencils. I prefer them to pens (I like to use the ones with the narrowest possible nib (?)/point.

[lunabee34]

Not to enable or anything, but these JetPens guides might be a place to start if you're interested in fancy pencils:

https://www.jetpens.com/blog/wooden-pencils/ct/66

[jackandahat]

I hope you're feeling better soon! And I'm glad your pencils have been exorcised.

[lunabee34]

Thank you.

*hugs*

I was strong and resisted! LOL

[independence1776]

*hugs*

Fancy pencils? o.O I haven't written with pencils for writing purposes in probably too decades because I hate how they smear and get on my hand. My mind boggles.

[lunabee34]

Mine, too, but it is Serious Business for some people. Like minute detail discussion of every detail and graphite grade comparisons. Some people are really into it.

The last time I wrote with a pencil regularly was about a decade ago when we still kept physical gradebooks instead of digital ones, and I wrote in mine with a mechanical pencil with a really fine tip.

[amejisuto]

I'm sorry you're still sick. Maybe you're at the place where it's trying to break, but it just hasn't yet. You'll get better soon! I just know it.

[lunabee34]

*hugs*

I know you're sending me enough good vibes to send this shit packing. LOL

[timespirt]

"HUGS"

[lunabee34]

*hugs back*

[chelseagirl]

So sorry to hear you're still not feeling good. :-( Hugs!

And hurray for fancy pencils exorcism. I've mostly given up on beautiful writing implements because I never seem to do anything but type, anyway, but I see the temptation.

[lunabee34]

*hugs* Thank you.

I like my pens. I do a lot of writing by hand when taking notes and in my journal, so I do like having nice writing implements. But I have no idea why I was being tempted by pencils. *shakes head* I glad to be free of that temptation. LOL

[wendelah1]

((hugs)) Hopefully you're near the end of the healing process.

[lunabee34]

Thank you. *hugs*

[sallymn]

The lure of any sort of fancy stationery is so dangerous, I have gone into a shop to buy a pen and come out with $20 worth of stuff I didn't know I needed till I saw it (fancy multicoloured pens and notebooks are my biggest weaknesses). Well done for resisting the pencils!

I hope you are well soon {hugs}

[lunabee34]

*hugs*

Thank you.

Notebooks are my biggest weakness too. Despite having approximately a million of them, I always feel like I could use some more. LOL

[spikedluv]

Not reading your comments on the book, but this post reminded me that I had wanted to read this book before the next one came out. Too late, lol! I've now ordered it from the library.

[lunabee34]

This one is the conclusion to the series! It's really good, too.

[spikedluv]

Isn't this number 4 with number 5 being the final book?

ETA: Oh, I just went up quick to check your title and your cut tag has the other book listed, lol!

[lunabee34]

Oh man. Thanks for the catch. Lol

I'll fix that.