I have finished my seventh book of the year — the first volume of The Southern Reach Trilogy, “Annihilation”, which I’ve read it in Brazilian Portuguese, where it’s called “Aniquilação”, a simple, direct translation.

I had never read anything by Jeff VanderMeer before: the only thing I knew about him came from some discussion forums over the internet, where I learned he was a fiction author specializing in fantastical, supernatural and futuristic stories.

Last Monday, while reading another of such forum threads, I saw many users praising this trilogy of his, and, as I was looking for an excuse not to start reading the last volume of the first Dune Trilogy, “Children of Dune”, I decided to dive right into it. The result was much better than I’d ever expect. It took me only 6 days to finish reading the book, and it made me want more. So much so that I have already started the second volume, “Authority”, “Autoridade” in Portuguese.

While I’m talking about books, I’m experimenting with Hardcover.app as an alternative to Literal.club for tracking my reading activities. Why?

Well, I’ve had an account at Hardcover for two years now, but having followed their progress since then, I find it a very nice piece of software, just as much as Literal. But this week, actually, I’ve become a supporter of Hardcover, so I can give some incentive to Adam Fortuna, the fantastic guy behind the app. I feel the app is becoming more polished, and it feels more pleasant to use it. Let’s see how things go over there. If you’re curious and/ or want to connect, I’m @danielsantos there.

My son is (already) departing to Japan this next Monday.

As per his suggestion, we’ve all watched Tim Burton’s 2005 version of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, starring Johnny Depp, followed by the newer “Wonka”, filmed in 2023, directed by Paul King and starring Timothée Chalamet.

Although depicting the same main character — “Wonka” is actually the story of how Willy became Wonka — the two movies have very different styles. I could say I liked them both, equally, although it wouldn’t be fair. I like Johnny Depp’s story better than Timothée’s one, maybe because it resembles me of a more normal storytelling. The 2023 film is apparently more childish, and… a musical, a genre I’m honestly not fond of.

But opinions apart, it doesn’t really matter. What mattered was the quality time and memories built with my children and wife. The last couple of movies we’ll be watching together, at least for some time — I look forwards to watching the next one in Japan! 😊

Speaking of last minute arrangements for his trip, by the way, we needed to run in order to have some documents taken care of in the notary public. I’ve also asked our doctor for English translations of some common prescriptions so my son can buy common medicine while in Japan.

Besides these chores, I have also taken my son to the exchange agency, so he could exchange some more Brazilian reais into Japanese yens. I confess that, while doing such things, my mind floated away, as it occurred to me that these are our last activities together for some time.

Man, I do hope everything turn out well during his stay in Japan, and also that time flies so we can join him again as soon as possible.