An Assortment of Kings: Update April 15, 2019

Happy Holy Week!

I took the kids to a used book sale this past Saturday, and made out like a bandit while holding an infant in one arm and dragging a three-year old behind me. Here are some of our steals.

Speaking of books, there is a big e-book sale for Game of Thrones, the first book in George R.R. Martin’s popular series. Check it out on Bookbub (which, by the way, you need to subscribe to if you haven’t already).

What I’m reading: I finished Keep Going! by Austin Kleon—an inspiring must read for modern artists. I hope to meet Austin in person during his book tour. I also finished Year of Our Lord 1943: Christian Humanism in an Age of Crisis by Alan Jacobs, which is more of a scholarly work about how key Christian intellectuals responded to the moral crisis of education presented to the West during WWII. My reads-in-progress include:

• The Way of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson. I really did not like the opening prologues but once I got past them and into the first official chapter, I was hooked.
• Still going through my Art of Lent and Lent for Everyone devotionals

In case you missed it: I recently finished Connie Willis’ Doomsday Book and wrote a short review here on my blog.

What I’m writing at work: Lots of writing and editing for one of our existing product guides. About to begin some research on best practices for consolidating and filtering content on the web. I’m hoping to solidify our strategy for consolidating help topics in a single help system rather than creating smaller separate ones.

What I’m writing in my spare time:

• Wrapping up an essay on public shaming, forgiveness, and social media. It’s taken me far too long to write, but the topic is not an easy one. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s sermon on Loving Your Enemies forms the cornerstone of it.
• Getting back into editorial work for my novel. I’ve been quite distracted by the above essay.
• Piecing together a book review of You Are What You Love by James K. Smith. I hope to share it here on the blog soon.

Favorite article of the week: The Old Thrills of Game of Thrones Might Be Gone for Good. A skillful articulation of some of the big problems with the show. But hey, at least the battle scenes should be neat.

Favorite quote of the week: “Well, I myself find that respect is like manure. Use it where needed, and growth will flourish. Spread it on too thick, and things just start to smell.” ~Brother Kabsal, from The Way of Kings