Noisy Deadlines

“I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.” – Douglas Adams

  • 🍂 I love this season of the year. I like the colors, the cool air, the golden light at sunset. There's something so peaceful about this transition into winter. With no trips or major commitments ahead, I'm really looking forward to a few quieter months.
  • 🍁 This week also marks eight years since my partner, and I immigrated to Canada! What an adventure it’s been! 🥳
  • ✏️ Lately, I’ve returned to private journaling with 750Words. The interface is beautifully simple, and I love how the stats gently nudge me to write every day. I’d fallen out of the habit, and I’ve noticed how much that affects my mood. So, I’m committing to the November 750Words challenge!
  • 🏊‍♀️ My aqua fitness class has also resumed after the summer break, another small joy!
  • 📖 I am re-reading Neuromancer by Willian Gibson for my local Book Club. I first read it 12 years ago, and honestly, I remember finding it confusing. This time around I think I'm grasping more of it, but still, I don't know what exactly is going on half of the time. I can see how this book is a cultural reference to the whole cyberpunk genre, but, wow, it is a strange ride.
  • 📅 One thing I've noticed this month: I stopped doing my Start of the Day review with time blocking. I was being more relaxed on how I plan my days. I was still getting things done at work, but I noticed I stopped taking breaks and I was completely skipping my shutdown routine. Even the lunch break was affected, with me not properly stopping for lunch. That's not how I want my work routine to be. So, I’ve gone back to time blocking. On paper. That tactile process makes all the difference for me. It's the only way I will mentally prepare myself for the day and I will remember to pause.
  • ✉️ I received a couple of lovely messages from readers sharing their feelings about listening to full albums in response to my blog post. Thank you! 😊
  • 🎧 I am still listening to Nightwish albums, there is so much to unpack there.

📌 Cool online reads:

  • Career Snakes & Ladders | Kev Quirk: I loved this post about career and identifying what’s truly important in life. This quote is perfect: “As a result of all this, I’ve realised that success isn’t just about upward motion. It’s about endurance, purpose, and perspective. It’s about being content in the work we do. Being challenged but not overworked. And most importantly, being in a position to spend time with loved ones.”
  • Listening to Full Albums Again by Joel: he also wrote about listening to full albums! We share similar feelings.
  • Music Monday by Nick Booth: I loved this idea of randomizing the act of choosing a full album to listen to, and the doing some reflection about it. I will try it.

📺 Videos I enjoyed:

I discovered a channel with an opera singer analyzing vocals in metal songs: The Charismatic Voice by Elizabeth Zharoff. I’m loving her enthusiastic approach, and I’ve been learning a bit about the art of singing. Oh, I found her channel because she has some cool videos with Nightwish music 🤗. And she interviewed Bruce Dickinson and Floor Jansen.

#weeknotes #music #heavymetal

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

🎧 This year I realized that I had stopped listening to full albums. I have been using Deezer for 11 years now (yes, I checked). Deezer is a music streaming service, not as famous as Spotify, I guess. One of the main reasons I subscribed was its great selection of Francophone artists. I was learning French at the time, and music has always been one of my favorite ways to learn a language. It also had albums from all my favorite bands, including many that were hard to find back home in Brazil.

Before that, I also went through the mp3 phase: Napster, LimeWire, Kazaa. I burned my own CDs, made personalized covers, and curated playlists long before streaming platforms existed.

I also had physical albums from my favorite bands such as Metallica, Iron Maiden, Queen, Pink Floyd, The Doors, Led Zeppelin, and Angra, to name a few. Finding CDs from European metal bands like Stratovarius, Blind Guardian, Grave Digger, or Nightwish in Brazil was not easy. So (ahem, illegally, I know) downloading mp3s was the only way to listen to some of them.

After the mp3 boom and the rise of streaming, something changed. I almost stopped listening to albums as complete works. I was missing that feeling of sitting down with a cohesive experience, where each song connects to the next and the order matters.

I have been listening to the same playlists on Deezer for years, with almost no changes. So, this year I decided to return to full albums. I started manually choosing what to play and listening in the order the artist intended, without shuffling or letting algorithms take over.

Streaming services do not make this easy anymore. Albums tend to be buried under playlists, mixes, and endless recommendations. It requires a bit more effort, that's for sure. But it's still possible!

I also use Deezer's option of showing the lyrics while I listen, which is cool.

🤘 And since rediscovering Nightwish, this experience has become even more enjoyable. Listening to their full albums from start to finish has made me genuinely happy. Their music reminds me of why I fell in love with albums in the first place: the storytelling, the emotion, and the sense of being transported somewhere else entirely.

Listening to an album from beginning to end feels like reconnecting with the artist, and also with the version of myself who used to sit with the CD booklet, reading lyrics and discovering hidden tracks.

Maybe that is what I was missing all along: the feeling that music is not just background noise or mood filler, but a complete experience meant to be lived from beginning to end. 😊

I found some pictures of my old CD’s. I don’t have them anymore; I sold them all before my move to Canada. I don’t regret not having them anymore, since I can still listen to them via streaming services.

#NoisyMusings #music #heavymetal

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

  • 🤘 I created a project to listen to the entire Nightwish discography. Yes, I’m obsessed with this band right now. I started with the first five albums, which mark the end of the Tarja Turunen era (1996–2005). Then I moved on to the two albums featuring vocalist Anette Olzon (2007–2012). Now I’m exploring the albums with the current vocalist, Floor Jansen and I’m still amazed by her. I’m not done yet!
  • 🎧 It was a lovely surprise to finally receive the audiobook I’d placed on hold at the library nearly a year ago. I’d almost forgotten about it: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, narrated by Stephen Fry. I listened to it with my partner, who’s also a Douglas Adams fan. It’s excellent!
  • 🎧 And then we started the second book in the series, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, narrated by Martin Freeman. It’s also excellent. It’s impressive how Freeman voices all the characters so distinctly. Highly recommended!
  • 📖 These audio experiences have sparked a new interest in audiobooks. I don’t usually listen to books, but another title I had on hold was delivered this week, and I’ve started it. It’s a nonfiction book: Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism by Yanis Varoufakis. I’ve been listening during my commutes and in the mornings before work. It’s been interesting so far!
  • 🌳We also went for a 7km hike this weekend along Lime Kiln Trail and Beaver Trail to enjoy the fall colors.

📌 Cool online reads:

📺 Videos I enjoyed:

This list will exclusively include stuff related to the band Nightwish, so get ready (or skip it)!

#weeknotes #music #heavymetal

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

  1. Mirror Dance (Vorkosigan Saga (Publication Order) #8) by Lois McMaster Bujold, 600p: This book dives into some really intense stuff, and while I usually shy away from stories involving torture and body horror, I felt like Bujold handled it with a lot of emotional nuances. That being said, it was an amazing read! Both Miles and Mark go through horrible experiences, and we see them overcoming all sorts of challenges. The pace is excellent and the suspense with the dual POV was great (even though Miles is absent for most of the book). There is lots of trauma in this book, but it is used as character transformation, it's not gratuitous. Mark's pain isn't romanticized, and yet his journey toward healing feels earned.  Watching him confront the legacy of being a clone, a tool, a shadow of someone else, and then slowly carve out his own space in the world was incredibly moving. Bujold's writing doesn’t flinch from the darkness, but she also doesn’t wallow in it. There are hope and resilience and it's probably the best book in the series so far for me.

  2. The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t with Her Mind (The Frost Files #1) by Jackson Ford, 496p: This was one of my local book club's picks.  It starts strong with a high-intensity action scene, and the premise is intriguing.  However, I felt it lacked deeper character development.  It opens as a murder mystery but loses momentum midway through. The villain, who gets his own chapters and point of view, felt flat and underdeveloped. The main character is Teagan Frost, a young lady with telekinetic powers working for the government in covert operations alongside a team of former criminals and outlaws. Her powers only work on inorganic matter.  It bothered me a bit that Teagans' explanation was that she couldn't move anything containing carbon or hydrogen molecules, which does not quite translate to “organic matter” in a scientific sense. I found spelling errors and typos in the text which pulled me out of the story. Overall, it wasn’t really my cup of tea, but the fast-paced action kept me reading.

  3. The Leopard Prince (Princes #2) by Elizabeth Hoyt, 255p: Lady Georgina Maitland (or George), an aristocrat who refuses to marry just because society expects it (I love an unconventional heroine), meets her new land steward, Harry Pye, and finds him quite dashing.  When sheep begin mysteriously dying in the area, George teams up with Harry to uncover the truth. Harry is a broody type with a big heart, deeply connected to the land and nature. I especially enjoyed how his mysterious past was gradually revealed throughout the story. Another nice touch is George’s retelling of a wild fairy tale about a Leopard Prince, and it becomes a charming inside joke between the couple. The story blends a well-crafted cross-class romance with a strong heroine, a compelling mystery, and a hint of fairy tale magic.

  4. Start Where You Are: A Guide to Compassionate Living by Pema Chödrön, 151p: This book introduces Tibetan Buddhist wisdom through the lens of lojong slogans, which are brief, thought-provoking phrases designed to encourage reflection and shift habitual patterns.  Many of the slogans center on cultivating compassion in daily life. It's written in a conversational tone with some light humour making it more approachable. I thought the number of slogans was a bit overwhelming and felt repetitive after a while. But beneath that, the book offers a powerful and timely reminder: to be less judgmental of ourselves and others, and to practice the art of letting go.

#readinglist #books #reading

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

Note: So, I started writing this post at home and planned to finish it during my lunch break on my work laptop. I had added a few more points, links to videos and articles I’d read, it was all ready to publish. Then something happened, and the draft didn’t save. I suspect it had something to do with my work network not liking the write.as link or something. All I know is everything I added was gone!

Now I’m tired, and it’s too late to re-add everything, so I’ll do that next time or in a separate post. I just wanted to publish this one as-is for now.

  • ✏️ I have not been writing too much lately, even my private journaling has been less regular. But today I felt that I was able to write some week notes, so here goes.
  • ⚒️ Work has been extremely busy, with some truly unreasonable deadlines lately. After work, I’ve been feeling completely drained. Some days, all I can manage is a walk, dinner, a bit of reading, and then bed.
  • 💼 One more note about work: the big lump sum job is finally over. It closed on a Friday, and even though I was prepared, it was still incredibly stressful. I felt the aftereffects of that stress in my body for days afterward.
  • 👟 The highlight of these past weeks was the Canada Army Run! I wasn’t sure I’d be able to participate this year because of my knee issues. But I got my custom orthotics and new running shoes, and I ran the 10K! I was so happy I felt no pain or discomforts! It was amazing! I ran slower than last time to avoid injury, and I was satisfied with my final time of 1h05min.
  • 🎮 I got the early access to the game STAR BIRDS on Steam! Star Birds – The New Game by Toukana and kurzgesagt. I finished the first part and really enjoyed it.
  • 🍂 I’m loving the fall colours. We went out on the trail a couple of times for some beautiful hikes.
  • 📖 I’ve updated my Kobo, and now I can read Instapaper articles on it! I used to rely on Pocket, but it shut down recently.
  • 🎧 I went on a bit of a nostalgia trip rediscovering the band Nightwish.I remembered loving their early albums from the 2000s. They’re a Finnish symphonic metal band with a female lead singer, blending heavy and speed metal with keyboards and melodic vocals. Some songs are gloriously over the top, and I love them!

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Post 100/100 of 100DaysToOffload challenge (Round 2)! 🥳

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

  • 😇 I’ve been quiet lately because there’s a lot going on at work, and I’ve mostly kept myself away from the computer at home. The past two weeks at work were intense and completely drained my energy. I’m still recovering.
  • 🦿 I ordered custom orthotics to help with the pain in my knees. They should be ready for pickup later this week. I was planning to get a new pair of running shoes, but I’ll wait until I have the orthotics so I can try new shoes with them.
  • 👟 I’ve been going out for walks instead of running, because, yeah, my knees. I don’t want to push through pain just for the sake of routine.
  • 📕 I finished reading “Mirror Dance”, which is #08 in the Vorkosigan Saga (by publication order). It was excellent! I’m reading the series in internal chronological order, so my next book will be “Memory”, which is #10 in publication order.
  • 📖 I started reading “The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t with Her Mind” (The Frost Files #1) by Jackson Ford for my local book club. I’m enjoying it so far!
  • 📒 I’ve also returned to using my Happy Planner to organize my week. I’ve decided to finish 2025 with this planner and choose a new one for 2026 later on.
  • ⌛ One thing I noticed over the past couple of weeks is that not doing time blocking made me feel overwhelmed and unsatisfied with my day. I tried using my digital calendar again, but it just doesn’t give me the same results. So, this week, I’m going back to time blocking on paper.
  • 🎮 I’m also trying to get back into gaming, so I started a game I bought a while ago called “Citizen Sleeper”. I like it because it feels like a text-based RPG set in space, with beautiful art. There’s no action stress or need for quick reflexes and coordination. It has interesting characters and great storytelling.

📌 Cool online reads:

📺 Videos I enjoyed:

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Post 99/100 of 100DaysToOffload challenge (Round 2)!

#100DaysToOffload #100Days #weeknotes #music #heavymetal

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

  1. The Bullet Journal Method: Track Your Past, Order Your Present, Plan Your Future by Ryder Carroll, 336p: I finally read this book, and I appreciate the system it describes. I love the idea of the rapid logging key, and I've been using it for years whenever I'm taking notes. I understand the argument of reengaging with our lists by doing regular migrations. The routine of doing AM and PM reflections is also extremely beneficial. The migration filter (C.A.R.E.) reminds me of the “Clarify” step in GTD. So, it's a well-rounded system to manage obligations and goals in a simple notebook. I like that! I would adopt it fully it my world wasn't so ingrained with digital information.

  2. Ethan of Athos (Vorkosigan Saga (Publication Order) #3) by Lois McMaster Bujold, 237p: Such an interesting premise: a planet only inhabited by gay males with their own system of beliefs and childbearing using uterine replicators. Something goes wrong with the planet's source of genetic material and Doctor Ethan is forced to leave and go off-planet to figure out a solution to their problem. It is delightful and funny to see Ethan being horrified when he sees a woman for the first time. He interacts a lot with Ellie Quinn, the Dendarii mercenary we know from other books in the series. I found it very compelling, and I liked the mystery. It lays ground for future major developments in the universe. This series continues to be one of my sci-fi favorites.

  3. Brothers in Arms (Vorkosigan Saga (Publication Order) #5) by Lois McMaster Bujold, 338p: Another great read! It introduces a new element to Mile's story which I was not prepared for, and it delivers! It deals with human cloning and all the ethical issues that comes with it. And we get a chance to visit Earth and see how things are going in there. Miles is in his usual state of trying to solve problems the best way he can without too much damage. And we can see again Miles’ unwavering sense of humanity and acceptance of differences. He is such a great character with a big heart. I had to jump right into the next book (Mirror Dance) because I needed to know what's next.

  4. Sinner (Priest #2) by Sierra Simone, 386p: I didn't like this one as much as the first one in the series. It has the age-gap difference trope with an older man (Sean Bell) and a younger lady (Zenobia) who wants to become a nun. But before she takes her vows, she wants to have a chance to explore her sexuality. So, an arrangement with a deadline is set between the two. It was a bit over the top for me. I guess romance mixed with religious shenanigans is not really my cup of tea.

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Post 99/100 of 100DaysToOffload challenge (Round 2)!

#100DaysToOffload #100Days #readinglist #books #reading

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

  • 👟 I’ve been enjoying summer, going for runs or walks along the river. If I am careful with my knees, taking breaks when needed and never running more than 7 Km at once, I’m okay.
  • 🦵 Talking about knees, the x-rays came out okay, no structural bone related issue. My doctor will do some more investigating like doing a gait analysis.
  • 🩱 I started going to an Aqua Fitness class on Saturday mornings. I’m enjoying it, it’s a nice start of the day activity and it’s easy on my joints.
  • 🎂 I got older, I turned 46! And I think for the first time I’m really feeling the weight of those years in my bones. There are more aches and pains, I want to slow down more often, I seek quiet moments. But also, perimenopause comes with mood swings and varying energy levels depending on the day.
  • 📗 I finished reading “The Bullet Journal Method” book by Ryder Carroll. I love the idea of a single notebook where you can combine planning, journaling and reflection. I was looking for a better way to plan my day and set some goals for the week, which brings me to the next point…
  • 📝 … I started a personal Bullet Journal. It doesn’t replace my GTD lists in Nirvana, it works as a daily planner with journaling. I was trying to do this planning in the Happy Planner. I wasn't enjoying the layout and the spaces available, not to mention it is super bulky. I got an A5 disc-bound notebook to start my bullet journal and I like it! I mix planning with journaling. I will write a post about it soon.
  • ✅While I was starting with the Bullet Journal, I had the idea of trying to switch from Nirvana to MS To Do because of all the integrations with the Microsoft environment that I use at work daily. I set it up, used it for 2 days and I didn’t like it that much.
  • 🔊 I got Bluetooth speakers for my home office. This project has been on my someday-maybe list for a year or more, and I finally decided to make a choice and just get them. I wanted something portable and not crazy expensive. I got two JBL Flip 7 which can be synced to create a stereo sound.
  • 🪛 Things that broke and got fixed around my household: laundry washing machine wasn't draining the water, there was something wrong with the water pump. My partner managed to open it up and found that there was something stuck inside the water pump. Problem solved. The garage door spring broke: I called a technician who came super quick and promptly replaced it. Solved. My car didn’t want to start one morning. The battery was completely dead. We had to boost it to take it to the dealership (it’s still under warranty) and the issue was that the cabin light wasn’t going off after we turned off the car, draining the battery. The battery is still healthy, all fixed now.
  • 🚀 I got back to the Vorkosigan Saga books and finished “Ethan of Athos” by Lois McMaster Bujold. And then I started the next book “Brothers in Arms”. I skipped this month’s pick for my local Book Club “She Who Became The Sun” by Shelley Parker-Chan. It was too grim for me right now.
  • 🧩 I started another puzzle: The Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh, from the Fine Art Masterpieces collection (Eurographics).

📌 Cool online reads:

📺 Videos I enjoyed:

Yes, it’s going to be a bunch of videos from Virgin Rock 🤘

—-

Post 98/100 of 100DaysToOffload challenge (Round 2)!

#100DaysToOffload #100Days #weeknotes

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

Lately I’ve been feeling overwhelmed by the digital world. Well, maybe not the whole digital world per se, but using digital tools for everything in my life.

I started noticing this discomfort on my morning routine when I sit down to journal. I would open my app, to immediately get distracted with everything else on the screen, or just with the possibilities that the digital world offers me. It’s right there in front of me. I could just do a quick email check, look at my calendar or easily search for something online and get pulled in. So, I would have less time to journal before heading to work, and typing started to feel unsatisfying. It felt mechanical and disconnected from my thoughts. I wasn’t getting much out of it.

The irony is that I started to question my digital tools use while I was at work, of all places. We’re closing a major tender project in a month, and I was given paper copies of the architectural and structural drawings. Because this is a complex project, I realized how beneficial the paper copies were to understand the design and its complexities. I started taking notes and highlighting directly on the pages. This time, I really used the paper copy to annotate everything and used various Post-its to bookmark sections. I’m familiar with using paper drawings, but usually just as a reference for a quick flip-through.

My manager only reviews drawings on paper, and this time I understood why. I was able to focus for hours without interruptions or screen distractions. Walking into review meetings with just my paper copy, notebook, and pen felt refreshing. Not having my laptop made the meetings more focused and calm.

So, long story short: I’m leaning into writing, annotating, planning, and journaling on paper.

I’m testing drafting this blog post in a paper notebook. I don’t want blinking cursors, grammar suggestions, or any AI tweaking my words. I’m craving a blank page with nothing else to distract me.

I’ve started a dedicated notebook just for blog post drafts. I used some of the Bullet Journal Method recommendations to set up an Index, a Future Log, and a Collection for Blog Post ideas. This is my first draft!

I also begun a personal Bullet Journal for my daily logging and journaling. The goal is to replace the Time Block Planner and the Happy Planner. It’s only been a few days, but I’m already enjoying the spaciousness of a paper notebook. My daily journaling feels more in tune with my actual day. I like the space to unload my thoughts and log things.

This was the missing piece in my productivity system. Analog journaling gives me PERSPECTIVE, while my digital GTD lists and calendar give me CONTROL.

With a paper notebook, it’s easier to plan my day and make decisions about what truly matters.

This is just the beginning: more thoughts to come!

P.S.: I took about 30 minutes to draft this post by hand, then about 15 minutes to type it out and adjust some wording on the fly and adding the image.

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Post 97/100 of 100DaysToOffload challenge (Round 2)!

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

  • Drunk on All Your Strange New Words by Eddie Robson, 299p: It starts with a murder mystery with an interesting setting: post first contact with aliens called the Logi. The communication between aliens and humans is only possible through telepathy which causes intoxication to human interpreters, they basically get physiologically drunk. Lydia is the main character who works as an interpreter to an Alien representative. It is a plausible near future speculative fiction. It's interesting that there is a cost to the communication between humans and aliens. In a world that everything is automated, I thought it was cool that Lydia was the only one around who could actually drive a car manually (and that played a role in the plot, giving us a cool action scene).
  • Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood, 402p: This is a contemporary age-gap romance set in Italy with flashbacks and with a friends-to-lovers trope. It was funny, with a slow burn romance that explores the controversy of a relationship between Maya (20-year-old woman) and Conor (35-year-old grumpy man). Also, charming dogs, a volcano eruption, and a beautiful setting. This one is definitely a rom-com with cheesy situations and funny banter. It wasn't my favorite Ali Hazelwood book, I think I missed a more STEM focused environment.
  • Between Two Thorns (The Split Worlds #1) by Emma Newman, 375p: Urban fantasy with mirrored worlds: Modern London (Mundanus) and the magical Nether (a Victorian-style realm) and the Fae lands. Cathy (the protagonist) rebels against the traditional expectations of her aristocratic family in the Nether, and manages to escape to Mundanus for a while, until she is found and forced to get back to the Nether. Cathy suffers from emotional and physical abuse from her family, and she seeks autonomy. There is a bit of a mystery going on with Arbiters (a type of Nether police) and missing people. There is also a sarcastic animated gargoyle who was infused with an Arbiter soul. Anyway, it was okay, but I didn't want to continue reading the series.

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Post 96/100 of 100DaysToOffload challenge (Round 2)!

#100DaysToOffload #100Days #readinglist #books #reading

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

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