Beyond Psychology, finished

It took almost 3 weeks, but I have finished Beyond Psychology. I was trying to decide if it was a good choice to start my time down here with a challenging book like that or whether it would have been better to pick up something a bit more engaging. I could have built some momentum by reading a couple of Drizzt books or something equally fast, but finally finishing a book that I started and abandoned is a good precedent. That book lived in the back seat of my car for a long time. I would see it, think I need to get back to it, and forget about it again. I no longer have to worry about getting back to it. 

The main point of the book is solid, we are highly irrational creatures who think we are rational, but the data he used to support his points, myths and beliefs of early cultures, were tedious reading. I feel enlightened having read the book but I'm in no hurry to get back to Otto Rank.

So what's next? I am going to zip through a Drizzt book. I want to read something that is fun. I read a couple of chapters today and will likely read more before I call it a day. I also read a chapter of the Hemingses today. I think this is the 4th time I've checked it out. I have about half of the book to go. This book is not as tedious as Rank, but it's very long and dense. I feel like I've read a big chunk, but my progress has barely moved. I have had this book sitting in my Goodreads currently reading for a long time. Everytime I open that app I see that I have not finished this book. I want to get it done. It's interesting and a good read. I've just made the choice to read other stuff before this one and by the time I get to it my loan period ends. We'll see if Drizzt keeps me from it again. I don't think that will be the case but you never know.

I expect to see my reading progress pick up a bit over the next couple of months. I really need to start just hanging out in my apartment. Getting a house will be a big reading time boost as I won't spend hours a week driving by houses, but a couple of hours of just hanging out during the weekend needs to become a habit. That is part of my motivation to read something fun. It's much easier to stay here and read when I have something pleasant to read rather than forcing myself to make it through a handful of pages about the development of a sexual identity. This coming weekend will be a test. I'm back in Virginia the weekend after that so reading will take a back seat to spending time with the family.  

Another week down

I've managed to get through another week of my Florida adventure. Work is going fine. It's challenging not feeling like I'm really contributing, but I'm getting a handle on the process and information flow. I just need to be patient, keep finding ways to contribute, and slowly take over the group. It's going to be a process that takes time. I can manage that. 

I'm still reading Beyond Psychology. In a previous post I wondered if I would have the mental energy to do much reading while I was learning a new job and figuring out how to live on my own (temporarily!). My mental energy is there, I just have other things to take care of. Cooking dinner, walking, talking to T. There isn't much time to squeeze reading in around all of that. I get in a few pages before heading to bed, but it's not like I'm reading for hours on end. I'm not going to do much reading tomorrow as I will be heading to WDW to get my annual pass and see Happily Ever After one last time. I'm also running in the morning, driving to the beach for the run, and I am looking at a couple of houses before I head to Orlando. I may read on Sunday.

I think I will be more willing to read when I pick up an exciting book. Beyond Psychology is very interesting and worth reading, it's just not exactly a thrilling page turner. I may read some Drizzt or something else zippy and fun to get some reading momentum going before I pick up another challenging read. It will also be easier to read when I have a comfortable chair. The beach charis are fine for the beach, but they are sub-optimal for a nice lengthy reading session. My foton comes next week. I wouldn't be surprised if my reading pace picks up after that is put together (yet another activity that I will need to take care of one or two nights that week).

Progress

I have pushed past the point where I got stuck in my first attempt at Beyond Psychology. I finished the chapter where I stopped reading while sitting on the beach this afternoon. It was a lovely way to spend 40 minutes or so. I always want to read at the beach, but my family usually takes my attention away from whatever book I am trying to read. It was nice to read, but I would rather have my family with me. I spent most of the afternoon running errands. I started my day with a run, which was not very good but at this point I'm just trying to get back into a consistent running routine, and the afternoon exploring and getting a few things that I need to make my life a bit better. I did squeeze in 20 minutes or so of reading before I headed out for my errands. I took a beach chair and my book with me to make sure I had the option to stop at a beach and read. I'm glad I did. I wanted to read some more this evening, but I got wrapped up in other stuff. 

I have no real plans for tomorrow. I want to hit the gym and I will talk to T while taking a walk (doing our best to maintain our Sunday morning walk while being several states apart). I will likely watch football. It's been years since I watched network coverage of the games. I've always watched on Red Zone. At least there will be two games on during both the 1 and 4 windows. I will make an effort to read a bit at some point. I don't want to lose my Beyond Psychology momentum.

A quick observation about my new living location. I really like living here. I like the proximity to the beach, I like living in an area with so many sports teams, I like that I have to resist the urge to just drive to DIsney World. The only thing missing is my family. They will be here soon. I just have to make it a few months. Once they are here, things are going to be really great. 

Two days in...

I'm two days into my adventure of living in Florida. I've been taking care of several small tasks and starting a new job so I haven't exactly been bored. One small task that I took care of my first night here was getting my books on the one small bookshelf that I brought with me. I knew I brought more books than I had room for on the shelf. There are books on the top of the bookcase and a small pile on the floor. I will box up books as I finish them so maybe I will be able to get the books off the floor relatively soon. Time will tell. 

I started reading Beyond Psychology on the flight down. I tried reading the book a year or two ago, but I got bogged down about a third of the way through. It sat in the backseat of my car, ignored and unread after I abandoned it . I rescued it before I traded in the car and dropped it in my bag as I was packing up the night before my flight. My original plan was to read the 4th book of the Riftwar Saga on the plane. I thought it would be nice to get that series wrapped up before I started pursuing other reading goals. Beyond Psychology won. The first chapter is great. The second chapter starts strong and gets bogged down in primitive culture stuff. The third chapter gets a little pedantic too. That's what held me up last time. We'll see if I can make it through the entire chapter this time. 

I did finish Death Comes for the Archbishop while we were here moving me in. The book is still on my nightstand. It was very solid. It wasn't quite what I expected, but I was pleasantly surprised by the story. I lived in New Mexico for a decent chunk of my youth. That personal connection resonated with me. It's definitely worthy of being a Top 100 novel. 

I'm going to cut this post short so I can spend some time actually reading. I need to decide the best time for me to read. Is it in the evening right before I go to bed? Is it in the early evening? How much will I read on the weekend? I think the weekend will be big reading time. I'm thinking of taking a beach chair and a book and heading to a park we stopped at while doing some family exploration. I can get many pages read in an hour or so of hanging out at the beach.