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tarr

Re:Ask HN: What're You Reading? on Tuesday September 29, 2026 @08:22PM (#49902747)
The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper, by Roland Allen.

From the title, it sounds very tedious, but I think it’s super cool. It chronicles the history of notebooking/journaling and the impact it’s had throughout time. Notebooks haven’t been been around and accessible for very long (relatively), and it’s interesting to hear about how somebody like Leonardo da Vinci used them to grow ideas. Makes you wonder how we possibly could’ve progressed without them.

Re:Ask HN: What're You Reading? on Tuesday September 29, 2026 @08:11PM (#49902644)
I’ll read 5-10 books at a time, but it takes me 5-10x longer to finish them (obviously).

It’s sort of like watching many TV shows at once, I suppose? Watch an episode of each per week.

Re:Ask HN: What're You Reading? on Tuesday September 29, 2026 @08:07PM (#49902602)
I’m also reading this! Not quite the narrative of “All Quiet on the Western Front”, but an interesting recount from a regular guy in the trenches.
Congratulations on shipping!

I’ve been working on a similar idea for similar reasons, but only for personal use.

Initially, I thought that if I had a better platform to chat with (better than say, Duolingo) then this would unlock a big growth area for me where I could get more realistic conversational experience. But, as I’ve been building and experimenting, I realize that during conversations I still fall back mostly on the expressions that I’m comfortable with. So, I’ve been experimenting with different modes that will push me to use more advanced forms of grammar and focus in different areas, and so on. Also, I allow myself to select a level of proficiency and dialect (e.g., B1 Mexican Spanish) so that I can get corrections and suggestions that are more specific to my goals.

I’m curious to know if, as a user of your application, you feel like it’s pushing you into awkward situations that will force you to grow your skills?