fiction – The Beige Moth

Reading/Watching: April 2026

April 12, 2026April 13, 2026 Robin VanGilder1 Comment

Alright, time for another check in on what I’ve been engaging with lately.

I do so hate the “consumption” metaphor for reading books, watching movies, playing games, etc. I understand the utility of it, but it does flatten things and makes the process feel more… flat. You consume to fill a hunger for something. There is only one way to interact with any piece of art or media and it is to take it and wring everything out of it. It’s also so… definitive, like are people really getting absolutely everything out of all the media they “consume”?

Engaging with art is such an specific and individual thing, it just feels off to me to analogize it that way. You can rewatch a movie or replay a game and get something completely different out of it, but you cannot “reconsume”.

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The Tainted Cup and the Good Empire

March 29, 2026 Robin VanGilderLeave a comment

Well, after saying last week that I don’t read very much contemporary fiction, I went and tore my way through a book from 2024 in like 5 days.

This isn’t really gonna be a review, but suffice it to say: The Tainted Cup is a real page-turner. I had a really great time reading it! Especially once I got going, the last 300 pages flew by like nothing. Maybe I’m not so allergic to modern stuff as I thought. But the ending really got me thinking about things, and thus I felt the need to get on here and Blog About It.

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Chapter 135: The Chase.—Third Day

April 13, 2025April 13, 2025 Robin VanGilder4 Comments

Alright, I’ve delayed enough, let’s finish this monster up.

I’ve had a real sense of impending doom lately, had some sleepless nights due to anxiety and whatnot. There are things I can do to combat that, and I know that I am in fact given to seeking out portents of disaster and using that as an excuse to take refuge in paralysis, but it would also help a lot if the country I live in wasn’t rapidly descending into fascism. Therapy is all well and good, but sometimes material conditions are the root concern, y’know. And yet, here I am, ready to finally finish out this years-long project. Let’s get to it!

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Chapter 111: The Pacific

April 7, 2024 Robin VanGilder2 Comments

Let’s keep this train a-rollin’.

I apologize for being a bit late this week, things were busier at work and I’ve been a bit stressed over my upcoming move. I’m really workin’ on it in earnest now, getting things organized, packing up all my books and video games and movies, etc etc. A lot of that is all squared away now, plans are set, all that’s left is to be ready on the day itself.

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I Read Another Book: The Pelican Brief

August 20, 2020 Robin VanGilderLeave a comment

Moby Dick is not the only book I’ve been reading.

It would be rather odd if it was, since I only read a few chapters a week, and they’re usually not very long, and for months I wasn’t even updating this blog! No, while I haven’t been reading as much as usual lately, since I’m not working at the Pike Place Market for obvious reasons, I have been pecking away at some books before bed every night.

In the spirit of one of my favorite podcasts, I decided to make some posts about ’em. Just the usual reflections, but on a whole work instead of a little piece of it. It’s not a formal review, just some stray thoughts and observations, more in the style of my Moby Dick posts.

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