I recently heard someone on a podcast mention that she’d started keeping a reading journal, where she quickly jots down thoughts and things she wants to remember whenever she finishes a reading session. Apparently, it’s helped her actually remember more of what she reads.

There are quite a few books I know I’ve read but barely remember at all anymore, so I’m part of the club now. I bought a tiny softcover notebook and write down short one-to-three-sentence summaries every so often. Less letting books wash over me, more actually engaging with what I’m doing.

And with that little anecdote from my life out of the way, I hope you’ll now engage with these comics!

Monday

Justine and Pablo offered "Hitschies" at Justine's party. I'd never tried them before, and they were delicious. Delicious enough for me to get weak and buy myself a whole pack. I really shouldn't have sweets at home because I know I can't control myself around them. I'm pretty good at controlling myself when it comes to not buying stuff I don't want to consume, though. So this was kind of a rare lowlight in my culinary adventures.

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In regards to the second part of this comic: I'm struggling with the number of brunette women with ponytails in my life. I'm not sure if it's just me not being able to properly portray them in this minimal comic style, but they all end up looking the same. The next one as well. That's Ines, not Anna. This one is Hanna, not Anna or Ines. I guess it doesn't really matter in the end. Nobody is paying close enough attention for it to actually get confusing.

Tuesday

These spontaneous walks have become less frequent since Ines moved to a different part of the city, and I miss them. It was great having friends in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, there's no way of finding an apartment anywhere else, so I'm stuck here in my absurdly beautiful Winterhude. Oh well...

Wednesday

At one point I held a thing against the wall for like five seconds. Anna did everything else herself. We're living the beginning of the end of the patriarchy over here!

Thursday

Let’s just say Anna’s and my preferences when it comes to mattress hardness are slowly converging on a point in the future where the only sensible solution will be two different mattresses in her bed.

I’m reading Stephen Fry’s Heroes at the moment, and just like Mythos, it’s a great way of finally getting all the details of the Greek myths without having to slog through the badly written originals. Sorry, not sorry. I especially love how he keeps connecting the myths to modern-day life, whether it’s words we still use or names that have survived for thousands of years. Who would have known that the Perseids are named after Perseus!

Friday

Remember how I bought a PlayStation 5 Pro at the end of March because I knew the memory-related price hikes were just around the corner, and because I also knew I’d end up buying one later this year anyway because there was no way I was going to miss GTA VI when it finally comes out?

I remember, and I couldn’t be happier with that decision. Have you seen the extended gameplay trailer? That is a video game I’ll actually be able to play in just a couple of months! It looks incredible. I genuinely can’t wait to get my hands on it.

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LOL @ my art from March. A lot has changed since then.

Saturday

A cute little day. We spent quite a while in the perfume section of a large shopping center, trying dozens of fragrances. It was fun, and it sent Anna spiraling down a deep rabbit hole of fragrance research. I love those moments when you suddenly unlock a new interest and get to learn an entirely new set of things. I also learned that I’m apparently a big fan of pine in my fragrances. Who would have guessed I’d enjoy smelling like a tree!

Sunday

No shade, but neither Munch’s nor Lassnig’s work did much for me. I did, however, enjoy the piece of chocolate cake and strolling through the exhibition with Anna. I love that going to museums is a regular part of our relationship, and I love living somewhere with enough museums and exhibitions that there’s pretty much always something new for us to see. Even if, occasionally, the cake ends up being the highlight.

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Me sitting at a table with someone else, eating something, is such a recurring theme in these comics that I sometimes wonder if I’m getting lazy. I’ll try to come up with something else next time. This one could just as easily have been us standing in the queue to order the cake or putting away the tray afterwards.

That's it for today, friends. Thank's for reading. Let me know if any of this made it into your reading journal. See you soon!

Marcel

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