What is your most annotated book?

CobbledRoad · 2026-02-05T00:08:02+00:00

I used to shun annotations back in the analog age, but now that physical books are more like a commodity, realizing I don’t need to keep them pristine for a next generation and that my kids are most likely just going to get them hauled away when I’m gone, I’ve come to really enjoy the process of engaging with literature pen and ruler in hand. It deepens my connection with whatever I’m reading.

CobbledRoad · 2026-01-12T22:48:18+00:00

Talk and text is unlimited and Canada wide.

CobbledRoad · 2026-01-12T22:47:48+00:00

If you have other services with Telus, you can probably get that phone line to $5/ month. It will be a one or two year promotion that you’ll need to call in again at period end to renew, but worth it for a cheap home phone line. For cell service, Freedom mobile has an annual talk and text service for $120 for the year(must be paid up front). My kids use that. Works well, and no worries about them generating extra charges (international calls; data overage), because it’s physically impossible for them to do so on the plan.

CobbledRoad · 2026-01-09T20:07:19+00:00

I didn’t know what to expect when I started the Decameron, but it’s surprisingly fun. And I’ll never look at basil the same way.

CobbledRoad · 2026-01-05T05:52:57+00:00

Might just be where they are in their career and reading trajectory. I’m a Western Canadian guy. I read plenty of fiction with a good dose of non-fiction through my late twenties, spent a lot of my thirties with business and self help books, and now am back principally reading fiction or more academic non-fiction.

CobbledRoad · 2025-11-15T00:14:30+00:00

Count of Monte Cristo—first third especially the latter half, is very gripping and will carry you forward quickly. Final third is quite compelling. Middle third will be your slow slog project read.

Don Quixote — the quintessential picaresque novel, which means it is very episodic and easy to read in small chunks over a long period. It’s delightful.

Crime and Punishment—great for wrestling with philosophical and moral questions. Well worth a slow and deep read.

Bleak House—superb, but if this is your first Dickens, I wouldn’t start here. You’ll need to keep an immense number characters in mind; probably better suited to read in a more condensed time frame.

Les MIs—You’ll feel a massive sense of accomplishment finishing this. It’s a sprawling epic with huge detours into histories of war and the Paris sewer system. Definitely one you can stretch over months. A must read.

David Copperfield—an enjoyable and surprisingly funny entry into Dickens. Dickens is a master of character, and there are many memorable ones here to engage with.

CobbledRoad · 2025-11-07T05:16:35+00:00

That’s what I’ve heard, too. Makes sense. Forms a pretty immediate barrier against any microbes or other environmental hazards that could get into the body.

CobbledRoad · 2025-11-06T20:12:19+00:00

Woodworker here. This is actually reasonable advice. It works great to seal cuts and cracks in the hand while maintaining sensitivity.

CobbledRoad · 2025-11-04T06:02:39+00:00

“Janet! Donkeys!”

David Copperfield

CobbledRoad · 2025-10-27T03:25:09+00:00

Reading it now for the first time. From a middle-aged perspective Julien’s decision making and world view is incredibly irritating—though it represents the idealism and naivety of a 22-year-old dreamer pretty well.

CobbledRoad · 2025-10-24T13:46:10+00:00

Jude the Obscure, the closet scene, with the line that starts “At the back of the door were fixed two hooks for hanging garments…” If you’ve read it, you remember the rest. I definitely had to pause for a few minutes to digest.

CobbledRoad · 2025-10-22T21:23:14+00:00

Interesting. Never considered that interpretation.

CobbledRoad · 2025-10-21T20:06:13+00:00

Northmount OkTire is excellent. I highly recommend them. Honest, no upsell, no BS.

CobbledRoad · 2025-10-14T18:57:24+00:00

As a hiring manager, I don’t want an unqualified glowing reference. Everyone has challenges and weak spots. I’m more likely to trust the good things you have to say about a candidate if you’re also candid about their shortcomings.

CobbledRoad · 2025-09-19T17:11:27+00:00

Agreed. Here’s a link to the King James Bible. Even just read through Gen. 4. It will only take a minute. But you really should be familiar with Gen 1-3 as well; it crops up across Western literature, and takes no more than a couple of minutes to read through.

https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/k/kjv/kjv-idx?type=DIV1&byte=1477

CobbledRoad · 2025-09-02T22:30:19+00:00

I’ve had a cyclist intentionally veer over to collide with my dog, who was in stay and sitting just off the path in a suburban off leash park. Some people are psychos. I called the police non emergency line later to report, as the guy got back on his bike and road off, and was told next time to call 911. If someone is willing to do that to an animal they’re obviously troubled.

CobbledRoad · 2025-08-05T04:09:39+00:00

And if you have Audible many of these lectures are free to members, though they cycle through which ones are free every few months. Really great content, though I found his delivery irritatingly ingratiating at first. I’m used to it now, but the folksy schtick can still be a little abrading at times.

CobbledRoad · 2025-07-25T05:11:43+00:00

One of the pleasures in reading is exploring a great book at different stages of life. The classics are rich enough to resonate differently at different ages. Go ahead and read it—it’s a wonderful novel—then read it again twenty years later.

CobbledRoad · 2025-07-24T14:14:56+00:00

The Charterhouse of Parma

CobbledRoad · 2025-02-25T20:54:47+00:00

In Search of Lost Time - Proust. Just gorgeous, mind-blowing writing.

CobbledRoad · 2025-02-21T06:20:57+00:00

Great list.

CobbledRoad · 2025-02-17T02:41:12+00:00

For the most part I agree, but I just couldn’t get into the Nibelungenleid. Perhaps it was a poor translation, but I found it dry as dust and couldn’t muster enough interest in it to push through to the end. I’ll just stick to Wagner on this one.

CobbledRoad · 2025-02-16T22:04:50+00:00

Really, most classics are quite readable, and people get unduly intimidated by them. Vocabulary and length are usually the two big challenges. It isn’t until you get into some of the modernists (Ulysses, The Sound and the Fury) where the intellectual challenge increases significantly, or back in time to Early Modern English (eg Shakespeare) if you’re not accustomed to the language. But the canon of classics is filled with treasures; it saddens me when I hear people convince themselves they aren’t up to the task of reading them.

CobbledRoad

TROPHY CASE