Numbers: August 31, 2026

Welcome to another installment of Magic Mondays, this will make it the fifth week on a row, and a clean sweep for the month of August. I do wish to write a bit more, but as long as this weekly post keeps on reaching you, I’ll call it a victory.

But enough complaining, let’s get into the progress for this week.

Concerning the thirteen week of the current year of reading, lets say that finally I’m back on the right, even if it’s only just barely. The total was 1,417 pages, that’s 66 pages more than the minimal total and a step in the right direction in order to cross some important thresholds. Again, Saturday was the best day of reading with a whopping 512 total pages.

Since I was reading some long haul book over the past few weeks, like the fifth volume of The War of the Spider Queen, Annihilation, the years total made a significant leap, ending with 14,668 pages and almost grazing the 15,000-page mark, which if everything goes according to plan, will be achieved by Wednesday.

The goal for this week, number fourteen of the nineteen year of this project, my goal is to do a few things, first, reach the aforementioned milestone, try to close out the month with the projection of pages covered, read at least 1,424 pages, and lastly, reach at least the halfway point of the last volume of The War of the Spider Queen, Resurrection. Quite the mouthful of a week, just the first step toward what I have in store for the year.

Jumping into the broader picture, and the big three milestones for this project, which are getting closer with each passing day, and in some monumental ways.

Let’s start with the most proximate one, the 700,000-page mark, the latest projection puts it at August 24 of 2027, that’s a leap from last week of 9 days earlier, and almost a year to the date to achieve it.

For the crown jewel of milestones, also known as the path of the phantom wolf, I’m not going into the name at this moment, but the incredible news are that the projection puts it now at the year 2028, on December 28 to be precise, that’s 10 days earlier than last week projection. Like I have been hinting on the last post, the tail end of this milestone is going to be followed by a life changing trip, accompanied by my partner in crime, that I know will help prepare for the last stage of my beloved project.

In doing research of one the various stops of the trip, I came across that, on the second stop, a volcanic landscape somewhere in New Mexico, is the backdrop of one of the spookiest scenes of Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian, a jagged hellish labyrinth of basalt rock that test the resilience of the Glanton Gang, even more reason to get lost in this fantastic landscape to get re-energized for the final leg of things.

And speaking of final legs, the big boy, or the 1,000,000-page mark, as with the other three milestones, there was significant progress. The current projection puts it on September 24, 2035, that’s a 14-day gain, making me only 4 years, 3 months and 19 days behind the coveted date of my 50th birthday and the deadline of the project.

Now that we covered the main story, let’s make room for my current side-quests and the fuel of the amazing headway achieved over the past few weeks.

For side quest number one, the 49-hour timed reading challenge, the clock fortunately did keep on moving. It came down from a little over 20 hours left to 10 hours 41 minutes and 3 seconds to read, that’s over 9 hours of progress in the week, in order to open the prize of two amazing stories .

For side quest number two, the bane of my existence, better known as the 100,000-page year, the road ahead is still a bumpy one, with 85,532 pages left on the challenge, that’s around 2,188 pages per week for the rest of the year. This particular side quest is both a great challenge but also a great reward if achieved, it takes pressure off the upcoming years, with less pages to read each subsequent year and not to mention the big ego boost from reading 100,000 pages on a year.

As tradition dictates, I’ll close out this edition of Numbers with my At The End Total, which this week sits at 840,838 pages, an increment from last week of 1,137 pages. Consistency and grit are getting closer each day to my goal, that now more than ever feels within grasp, and paraphrasing Vessel, ‘I’m finally here, and I’m not leaving this time“

A quick recap

Total pages (Y-19): 14,668 pages
Pages Left (Y-19) : 55,536 pages
Total pages (General) : 663, 648 pages
Date to achieve 700,000 pages : August 24, 2027
Date to achieve 750,000: December 28, 2028
Date to achieve 1,000,000: September 24, 2035
Days Behind : 1572 days

For now, I’m off to read

Azriel

31 August, 2026 0

Numbers: August 24,2025

Welcome to another Magic Monday, this makes it four weeks in a row, and just one more to go for the whole sweep of August. Also, there’s a couple of posts brewing from another sections of this blog, I finally feel confident that the rhythm of my writing will continue to grow exponentially.

But let’s get into with what we are here for, the progress of the past week.

Concerning the twelve week of current year of reading, well, let’s say it was a little underwhelming. The total was only 904 pages , that’s 447 pages less than the minimal projected for the week, being Saturday the best day of reading with 281 pages. This is a minor setback, but nothing that a few cups of coffee accompanied by some intense reading sessions can’t resolve.

Even with this low result, the total for the year ascended by 900 pages, place it at 13,061 pages. This gets me even closer to the milestone of the year, the 15,000-page mark, which, according to the projection of this week, I should be crossing it in 12 days, that would be September 5, a couple of days more than last week, but my goal is to off-set that little increment by the middle of the week.

For the upcoming week, number thirteen of the year, my goals are clearly set, read at least 1,418 pages, finish the fifth volume of The War of the Spider Queen, Annihilation, currently on page 286 of 411. And finally, and what will live be without some challenges, reach the aforementioned milestone of 15,000 pages. Easy pease

Now for the bigger picture. The monumental task ahead for me to conquer the whole purpose of my beloved project that I started almost 18 years ago, is fortunately getting closer with each passing week.

Let’s start with the 700,000-page mark, the current projection places it on September 2, 2027, that’s a two days decrease from last week. As I have been saying for the last month, I’ll take any progress I can get, and this particular milestone should and will be achieved within the confines of this year of reading.

For my personal favorite milestone, the 750,000-page mark, the current projection places it on January 7, 2029, that’s also a two days decrease from last week. And to spoil a little bit from the incredible trip attached to the achievement of this gargantuan task, I can say that it will take us, that’s me and my partner in crime, on a journey of 2,704 kilometers across the states of New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and Utah, fulfilling a live long dream of standing on one of the most breathtaking deserts of the world.

Respecting the big boy of the party, better known as the 1,000,000-page mark, the current projection puts it on October 8, 2035. And as it was last week, the date decreased by a whole week, and with 4 years 4 months and 2 days of delay, I’ll take every single day closer to my 50th birthday, hoping and working on my reading to make the final leg of this magnificent journey as easy as possible.

As with any great story, the main quest is the final destination, but the side quests is what makes the journey interesting. Speaking of which, my first side quests, or the 49-hours timed reading, had a significant progress, the clock move an impressive 7 hours 50 minutes and 15 seconds, leaving 20 plus hours between me and the new acquisitions for my ever growing book shelves.

The second side quests, or how to read 100,000 pages in one year, the toll still sits at a hefty 86, 939 pages, which seems unreachable, but with a little elbow grease and 2,163 total pages this week, the goal can remain obtainable. This particular side quest is screaming for a classical Readathon in the style of my favorite challenge of the now extinguished 24in48 marathon, yeah, that’s reading 24 hours over a weekend. I should look into that to give a much needed boost to my year.

To close out this edition of Numbers, and with all the joy of my heart, my At the End total had an increase, right now is projected to tally 839,701 pages by my 50th birthday, that’s an increment of 1,273 from last week.

This always brings me back to my mantra: “ one step at a time, one page at a time “. The most important thing right now is consistency with an added dash of craziness to keep my momentum going forward, because believe me, I’m going to need all the help I can take, that, and vast amounts of caffeine.

A quick recap

Total pages (Y-19): 13,601 pages
Pages left (Y-19) : 57,143 pages
Total pages (General) : 662, 041 pages
Date to achieve 750,000 pages: January 7, 2029
Date to achieve 1,000,000 pages: October 8, 2035
Days behind: 1,585 days

For now, I’m off to read

Azriel

24 August, 2026 0

Numbers: August 17,2026

Welcome to another installment of Magic Mondays, being this the third week in a row , fills me with such joy and excitement. I wish to have more time to write, but as long as this section keeps going on like a hum drum, I can mark it as a win.

There’s a post pending from my section Azriel’s Infinite Book Shelf, I finished the fourth volume of the War of the Spider Queen, part of my trek thru The Forgotten Realms, but I’ll get deeper into that sometime tomorrow.

Now, get into this weeks update, and it’s a juicy one.

Concerning the eleventh week of my current year of reading, the total I’m delighted to inform that surpassed the minimal for the week and it finish with 1,540 pages, that’s 189 more pages than needed. Although the week started slowly, Saturday proved to be the perfect boost I needed, finishing with a staggering 712 total pages.

The total for the year ascended to 12,161 pages, putting the next milestone of 15,000 pages within 17 days, and projected, of course if this pace can be maintained, on September 3, that’s 3 days earlier that last week’s projection.

For the week ahead, number twelve of the year, the goal is simple, reach at least 1,416 total pages and get the current book, Annihilation , the fifth volume of The Spider Queen War, to at least 3/4 done, that’s around 200 pages for the week, in between, a lot of DC Comics series that have been on my radar for quite sometime, and now with the subscription is the perfect time to tackle them. I’ll be going thru some of the ones I have read in the next The Journey post.

Now for the bigger picture. As you might know, the next three milestones are quite the handful, but they give me a place to aim my efforts, and on the past weeks, I have seen a steady decrease in the dates to achieve, and seeing this same trend all around the board, that forward momentum, it just rekindles the desire to go and chase pages but more importantly, new adventures.

Anyway, for the most proximate milestone, 700,000 total pages, my current projection puts it at September 4, 2027. That’s 9 days earlier than last week’s projection, Still, my intention is to accomplish this goal within the confines of this year of reading.

As I said in past posts, my personal favorite milestone is the 750,000-page mark, of course is because what’s attached at the end of it, the roadtrip of a lifetime with my partner in crime. Not to give a lot away but this involves rugged desert views, natural wildlife refuge, at least 3 National Parks, and the ancient ruins of a mysterious civilization, and so much more.

But in order to get on the road I must keep on reading, right now, the projection puts this milestone at January 9, 2029, that’s 9 days earlier than last week’s projection

Now for the big boy, the coveted 1,000,000 pages, and subsequently, this milestone to has another trip at the almost end, in this particular one, the plan is to finish the journey at the Emerald City, and get there in style, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

The projection for the whole enchilada is currently on October 15, 2035, that’s 7 days earlier than last week’s projections. Every single day count, even if I’m still 4 years 4 months and 10 days behind, this type of burst in my reading is what keeps moving the date closer to my 50th birthday.

Of course in order to achieve the main story quest, a little wink there to the beloved gamers in my life, I must rely on the side quest that gets me the cool gear. Starting of with my current number one side quest, the 49-hour timed reading.

Much to my surprise, this week, in between all of the grownup chaos, I manage to insert quite the few reading sessions to help me unwind, so much so that the clock moved an astonishing 9 hours 28 minutes and 36 seconds, leaving a little under 28 hours between me and some new acquisitions to my reading ranks.

On side quest number two, or how to read 100,000 pages in one year, there was also some progress and the toll came down to 87,839 pages, still a monumental task, but one that would be a dream to achieve.

Thankfully with all this forward momentum has bump up the At The End total, also known as the current projected total pages by my 50th birthday keeping the current pace of reading, quite the mouth full, anyway, it sits on 839,460 pages, that’s 1,032 pages more than last week’s projection.

Although this small feats would appear to be not that much, adding it up has brought me from a finishing date in 2042 to 2035 in only a couple of years of dedicated reading.

Now a quick recap:

Total pages (Y-19): 12,161 pages
Pages left (Y-19): 58,043 pages
Total Pages (General) : 661,141 pages
Date to achieve 750,000 pages: January 9,2029
Date to achieve 1,000,000 pages: October 15, 2035
Days behind: 1,593 days

For now, I’m off to read

Azriel

17 August, 2026 0

Numbers: August 10, 2026

Welcome to another installment of my Magic Mondays, and I’m happy to tell it’s the second week in a row that this beloved section of my journey has made its way to you.

Let’s get into it.

Concerning the tenth week of my current year of reading, the total was a bit underwhelming, only 1,057 pages, almost 300 less of my minimal average for the week. Although this was not such a satisfactory result, there was a day of over 500 pages, quite the feat.

On a more positive note, the first 10,000 pages of the year were achieved over the weekend, thanks to some reading spurts my total right now sits at 10,639 pages. The next milestone on the horizon will be 15,000 pages, that, according to my projections, it’s 27 days away, that means that by September 6, I should be reaching that achievement.

Entering the eleventh week my goal is to read at least 1,419 pages to get back on track this reading year, it’s not that far off the rails, but that can change really quickly. Still, there’s 301 long days ahead of me before the end of the current year, and as always , the task is to rack up as many pages as possible.

Now let’s talk about the bigger picture, as you know, there’s 3 milestones that have my full attention, 700,000, 750,000 and the coveted 1,000,000 pages. Running the numbers for the week, new dates rise for each of the three.

The 700,000-page mark is projected for September 13, 2027, that’s 2 days gained from last week’s projection. This particular goal is one that I would love to finish before the end of this year of reading, that means June of 2027.

Next is the 750,000-page mark is projected for January 18, 2029. This date also show some improvement from last week’s projection, 3 days gained to be specific. This milestone is a particularly special because it encompasses a mystical trip that I have put off for quite a while and it will alter my future in incredible and fantastic ways, but that’s enough about that for now.

The big boy or the 1,000,000-page mark also show a measly improvement, 4 days of improvement from last week’s projection, which put it at October 22, 2035. I’m still 4 years , 4 months and 17 days behind schedule, fortunately, this number has come down consistently over the last two years. That keeps my spirit up and my hope on the idea that this crazy journey of mine is achievable.

Continuing with my side quests,on the 49-hour timed reading and the acquisition of more reading material, the clock moved quite a bit in my favor racking up 8 hours, 40 minutes and 19 seconds. Leaving still 37 hours of intense reading.

The second side quests, or how to read 100,000 pages in one year, just crossed into 89,361 pages left to achieve this gargantuan task. In order to get this quest done, my total for the week must be upward of 2,128 pages.

Lastly, my projection for my At the End total sits at 838,428 pages, there’s still a lot of work to be done to get this number over the 1,000,000-page mark, and with 1,765 days left for my 50th birthday, the focus should be nothing less than obsessive.

A quick recap:

Total pages (Y-19): 10,639 pages
Pages left (Y-19): 59,565 pages
Total Pages (General): 659,619
Date to Achieve 750,000 pages: January 18, 2029
Date to Achieve 1,000,000: October 22, 2035
Days Behind: 1,600 days

For now, I’m off to read

Azriel

10 August, 2026 2

The Journey: August 7, 2026

The last few days have been brutal , between the scorching heat and the tribulations of adulthood my reading has been subpar.

Between the last two weeks, I have only racked up only 1,295 pages, it will seem like a lot, but in the scheme of things that’s around 1,400 pages less that I projected for this year’s total, and don’t even get me started with the idea of reaching 100,000 pages for the year.

But not all is negative things, I’m only 237 pages away from the first 10,000 pages and halfway through reading the fourth book of the year, Extinction from my treacherous trek thru the Forgotten Realms.

Also, and much to my delight, I got back to read more DC Comics, this thanks to the newly discovered app, Infinite. Right now, I’m working on the incredible run of Absolute Wonder Woman, the book is perfectly written, by Kelly Thompson, and beautifully illustrated by Hayden Sherman, this has been a breath of fresh air, it’s been a while since something has impressed me this much, simply put, comic book perfection.

The early challenge of this month is to get back on track with the minimal goal projected for the year, this task are do or die if I want to reach the 1,000,000 pages. The balance for August sits at 6,826 pages left to read, a little over 209 pages per day.

The focus as always should be going after the side quests in order to achieve the bigger goals, with that in mind, my goal is to aim for the 90,237 left to achieve, for the first time I might add, a 100,000-page year. With 43 weeks left on my year of reading, I should and must read at least 2,099 pages per week, quite the gargantuan task, but as always, I’m more than up to the challenge.

On the second side quest, also known as Azriel’s Infinite TBR, the clock hasn’t move along that much, as you can see below, there’s still a good chunk left on the first 49 hours of clocked reading and for those two new additions to my shelves.

With all this little quests and machinations surrounding my journey, I’m more than confident that everything that this year has prepared should be conquered with flying colors.

For now, I’m off to read.

Azriel

7 August, 2026 0

Numbers: August 3, 2026

Welcome to the glorious return of Magic Mondays, the section of this blog where I torture myself and question why I haven’t read more, you know, normal problems for a book worm.

It’s been 253 days, that’s November 24, 2025 if you’re keeping count, since I made a thorough breakdown of my progress on this crazy journey of mine.

So this will be the first progress report for the nineteenth year of reading. In an earlier post, back in June, I commented that last year was by far my best one, wrangling a whopping 70,570 pages, thus, setting a new standard of total reading that I’m planning to pursue for the remainder years of the project, which aren’t that many.

Well, after almost 2 months of reading, I’m inches away from the first 10,000 pages of the year. My total is at 9,735 pages, this thanks to a plethora of characters, from treacherous Drow to conflicted Dark Knights, let’s say my reading has been nothing short of epic. Still, there’s at least 60,469 pages in front of me.

The next milestones for (Y-19) will be reached firstly 10,000, hopefully in a couple of days, and 15,000 in around 31 days, at the beginning of September, but as always, the objective is to bring that date closer to the middle of August.

Now, for the broader picture, the next big milestones are 700,000, 750,000 and 1,000,000 pages. According to my final projections this first milestone should be achieved by September 15, 2027. The second milestone or the three quarters of that juicy million should be achieved on January 21, 2029, comparing it to my last projection on November of last year, this date has moved up by 399 days, that kind of forward motion is what rekindles my confidence in getting to my goal on my fifteenth birthday.

Lastly, the big boy, that coveted 1,000,000 pages, my last projection put my finishing date by October 26, 2035, and again, if I compared it to November’s projections, I made a leap of 533 days. There’s no secret formula, just consistency and sticking to the mantra: “One step at a time, One page at a time”

I’m still 4 years, 4 months and 21 days behind schedule, but this is no deterrent for me to keep pushing forward, and to further motivate myself, I’m implementing a couple of side-quests.

First, in order to broaden my already swelling book shelves and have more material to dive into, I’m implementing a 49-hour timer that at its completion will hold a couple of books/Graphic Novels/ Manga as a prize at the end of this gargantuan task.

At the end of this 49 hours there’s Relentless, Book 36 of The Legend of Drizzt and Volume 35 of the legendary Manga, Berserk

The second side quest is to finally read 100,000 pages in one year, talk about a gargantuan task. Right now my pace is a bit slow, but with 90,265 pages in front of me, and little over 300 days to do it, the task doesn’t seem that far fetched, now the only thing left to think about is the prize at the end of this journey, if you have any ideas, hit me up on the comments.

As the final note of this edition of numbers, I have been tracking for some years how much, with the projections between average pages per day and days left, will I achieve by the time of my 50th birthday, better know in this project as At The End, well, right now that magic number is at 837, 794 pages. I’ll better get back to the Underdark to keep pounding away those pages

A quick recap

Total pages (Y-19): 9,735 pages
Pages left (Y-19): 60,469 pages
Total pages (General): 658,715 pages
Date to achieve 750,000: January 21, 2029
Date to achieve 1,000,000: October 26, 2035
Days Behind: 1,604 days

For now, I’m off to read

Azriel

3 August, 2026 0

Azriel’s Infinite Book Shelf-Condemnation : The War of the Spider Queen Book III

My incredible journey in the Forgotten Realms continue with the third installment of the series War of the Spider Queen, Condemnation.

The search for Lolth continues as the unlikely party that survived the obliteration of Ched Nasad embark on an even more treacherous journey.

The rag tag group comprised by Quenthel Baenre, Pharaun Mizzrym, Jeggred Baenre, Halisstra Melarn, Danifae Yauntyrr, Ryld Argith, and Valas Hune escape thru a portal and find themselves of the surface world, on the ruins of the city Hlaungadath, once a thriving floating city, now the desert is slowly swallowing it.

Destiny’s path brought them there to a priest, Tzirik, acolyte of Vhaerun, the mischievous god of the males Drow. In their desperation to find why the Silence of Lolth still prevails they seek answers in the most treacherous of places.

With the help of a stolen artifact, Tzirik , transport them to the astral plane in which the Spider Queen dwells, the Demonweb Pits. To their surprise the rogue priest has other plans, the destruction of Lolth and the rise of Vhaerun in her stead.

With the odds against them,they barely escape with their lives thanks to the heroics of the body guard Jeggred in the material realm, in which he destroys the physical body of the rogue priest, pulling them abruptly from the astral plane with even more questions about the faith of Lolth.

As the party fights for their very existence a conspiracy brews in Menzoberranzan. The assassin Nimor Imphraezl, part of the brotherhood of Jaezred Chaulssin, comprised by Drow males that are part Shadow Dragons, is plotting to overthrow the ruling matriarch rule of the City of Spiders.

The all out melee descents on Menzoberranzan, as Nimor makes an alliance with the gray dwarf King Horgar Steelshadow and the Half-Demon Kaanyr Vhok. A horde of duergar (gray dwarfs) and tanarukks (orcs tainted by the dark powers) descent on the battle of the Pillars of Woe, an enormous cave just south of the City of Spiders.

Almost one third of the Menzoberranzan army is destroyed, luckily, a small contingent of warriors from House Baenre come to their rescue and cover their retreat. Now, with a decimated army, the faith of the City of Spiders hangs on a treat, as they prepare for the siege and their goddess still remains silent

In this book the nature of the treacherous Drow comes in full swing, the alliances and betrayal shift almost at every turn of the page. You can feel the desperation of the priestess in face of the Silence of Lolth, what was regarded as a problem on the city of Menzoberranzan has now shifted into a cosmic catastrophe, were other deities are taking advantage to move up on the pecking order

My favorite part was the exploration of the Astral Plane, is refreshing to read a more detailed description of the realm from where one of the coolest characters from the whole Realms comes, the mysterious black panther Guenhwyvar, loyal companion of the greatest hero of all time, Drizzt Do’Urden

I’m dying to jump back into the next chapter of this enthralling series, Extinction, let’s hope the title is not a self fulfilling prophecy.

On the cover by artist Brom appears master assassin Nimor Imphraezl

Condemnation : War of the Spider Queen Book III

Author: Richard Baker

No. Of pages: 459

Date of Publishing : May, 2003

29 July, 2026 0

Didn’t He Ramble

I woke up today to the traffic news that Irish musician Glen Hansard transcended from this coil of existence at the age of 56 years.

The first time I listen to his powerful music was with the soundtrack of Once, for which him and his long time collaborator Markéta Irglová won a Oscar for best original song, Falling Slowly.

It was the soundtrack of a few road trips, hearing a songwriter that is at the level of Bob Dylan on the open road was a spiritual experience.

It was his 2015 album, Didn’t He Ramble, that got me thru some thought times, his passionate rendition, deep lyrics and that spark of hope that resonated in his voice was uplifting.

To honor his beautiful art, I’ll play on repeat all those songs that held in the dark, that wiped away all the silent tears and brought me such joy

You are eternal Glen, and you will be greatly missed.

Azriel

29 July, 2026 0

Azriel’s Infinite Book Shelf-Insurrection: The War of the Spider Queen Book II

To continue the journey thru the incredible world of The Forgotten Realms, I read the second installment of the series The War of the Spider Queen, Insurrection .

Picking up where the first book left off, the Drow city of Menzoberranzan stands on the brink of disaster , with the ability of the priestess to summon magic from Lolth gone, the very foundation of the matriarch is crumbling. Now what was a shadow war has erupted into open conflict.

In a desperate effort, Matron Mother Baenre, the supreme ruler of Menzoberranzan, gives the dangerous task of investigating if the silence of the goddess is only manifesting in their city to her daughter, Quenthel. This journey with takes her thru the treacherous tunnels of the Underdark to the trade city of Ched Nasad, the city of the Shimmering Webs.

Joining her to this seemingly impossible task are a couple of familiar faces from the previous book, the arrogant sorcerer Pharaun Mizzrym and the weapon master Ryle Argith.

To round this ragtag party down Jeggred Baenre, a draegloth (half-Demon/half-Drow) that serves as bodyguard to Quenthel, and the scout mercenary Valas Hune, expert tracker and knows every nook and cranny of the Underdark, embark as the small party to try to unravel the mystery of Lolth silence.

The perilous journey is tenfold due to the lack of assistance from the spider queen’s magic, this disadvantage is exploited from the very creatures of the Underdark and the other Drow factions roaming around the dark tunnels.

The most interesting part is the reaction of the society of the Drow, in the wake of such a catastrophic disaster of the integral part of their way of life is removed, all the backstabbing, power grabbing, conspiracies and manipulation become enhance is the face of a shattering paradigm.

The characters become conflicted in whether to continue with the mission, abandon the party, or seize the opportunity to take power into their own hands.

Their arrival to the Shimmering Webs city only make things worse, a full scale crumbling, literally and figuratively speaking, of the magic that hold all the society together, has collapsed and threatens the Drow world to be casted into oblivion

As with the last book, my favorite part is to dwell more into the mysterious Underdark, particularly seeing a city as Ched Nasad, founded by Menzoberranzan exiles with petrified cobwebs of two giant spiders sent by Lolth, and enhanced with faerie fire that gives it a purple and amber hue.

This volume only makes you want more insight into the mysterious Underdark, fortunately there’s still four more books to go.

On the cover by artist Brom are Quenthel Baenre, high priestess of Lolth, and Jeggred Baenre, draegloth body guard of the priestess

Insurrection: War of the Spider Queen Book II

Author: Thomas M. Reid

No. of pages: 409

Publishing Date: December 2002

11 July, 2026 0

The Journey: July 8, 2026

It’s been some time since my last post of this Journey to 1,000,000 pages.

I want to re-catch the flow of the almost daily stream of ideas, and most importantly the trek to my coveted goal. It’s most imperative to me to, along with my reading, share the day to day nuances that fuel my path.

In this birthing year, my progress has not been quite want I wanted to be. One month in and my total is around 5,400 pages, when it should be past the 6,000 mark.

I know this doesn’t seem like that big of a difference, but with the days ticking by, only 1795 left until the big 5-0, every day is worth its weight in gold.

To jump start my year, I brought a familiar face that always helps me get back on track. I talking about Kentaro Miura’s seminal work Berserk, the Black Swordsman is back again with his journey against the apostles of madness and the void.

To ease into a good rhythm, my goal is to read the new acquisitions, from number 27 to 34, by the end of the weekend.

The amazing thing is that my partner in crime always pushes me to get those numbers, there’s no better way to spent a Saturday afternoon watching her play Crimson Desert, while I devour those pages, with tea, coffee and cookies, in between everything

Hopefully by Sunday my numbers will be aligned with the projections or even better, on track to read 100,000 pages in the year, a side quest that has eluded me, but it will be conquered.

For now, I’m off to read

Azriel

8 July, 2026 0

The Road to 1,000,000 pages