Something of an Explanation

This past year, I read two very different books that suggested the same very simple philosophy. I love Richard Russo's work, and when I finally read Somebody's Fool I wasn't exactly surprised by the hard-won pragmatism that Sully had ultimately bequeathed to his loved ones after he died, but I knew right away that despite it's self-evident truth I hadn't ever truly tried it: if you keep doing something and it doesn't work, try doing something different.

My friends, I have done that thing over and over and found that it doesn't work, and I have continued to do that same thing still again.

Last week, I finished Brandon Sanderson's epic fantasy Wind and Truth, and while I'm not entirely sure what's actually going on in the Cosmere or how the machinations of their gods are supposed to work, I'm definitely sure that one of the lessons the characters had to learn through much pain and suffering was the same that Sully put so bluntly in North Bath, Maine on plain-old Earth. If you keep doing something and it doesn't work, try doing something different.

So here is my something different, humbly offered. I subscribe to the care-about-what-you-think-about-and-think-about-what-you-care-about school of thought, though I'm able to put it into practice far less often than I'd like. And I desperately want an outlet to put more thought into what I read, watch, listen to, and learn. Each week, then, I will offer a few brief thoughts on everything I consumed that week. I hope you'll find it helpful in picking your next piece of art and/or entertainment, and I hope you'll share your thoughts with me and any other readers that stumble into this space however unwittingly in the comments.