Robert Breen
@robertbreen.bsky.social
Writer, lifelong reader, and retired strategist sharing reflections on books, journaling, and the examined life. Finding meaning through the quiet art of paying attention. #Sober. Essays and posts at robertbreen.com.
This is the way.
September 17, 2025 at 9:53 PM
This is the way.
"There is nothing so often condemned, and so deeply loved, as the past."
— Will Durant
— Will Durant
September 7, 2025 at 11:47 AM
"There is nothing so often condemned, and so deeply loved, as the past."
— Will Durant
— Will Durant
The 15” M4 MacBook Air: https://robertbreen.micro.blog/2025/09/02/the-m-macbook-air.html
September 2, 2025 at 3:57 PM
The 15” M4 MacBook Air: https://robertbreen.micro.blog/2025/09/02/the-m-macbook-air.html
"To see a thousand objects for the first and for the last time, what can be deeper and more melancholy? To travel is to be born and to die at every instant."
— Victor Hugo from Les Misérables
— Victor Hugo from Les Misérables
August 18, 2025 at 1:59 PM
"To see a thousand objects for the first and for the last time, what can be deeper and more melancholy? To travel is to be born and to die at every instant."
— Victor Hugo from Les Misérables
— Victor Hugo from Les Misérables
You would think after three months, I would be tired of all the crowds, noise, and concrete. But I couldn’t shake the feeling during a walk through the East Village last night that I was on an elaborate movie set or maybe the holodeck on a starship. NYC might really be the center of the universe.
August 16, 2025 at 1:49 PM
You would think after three months, I would be tired of all the crowds, noise, and concrete. But I couldn’t shake the feeling during a walk through the East Village last night that I was on an elaborate movie set or maybe the holodeck on a starship. NYC might really be the center of the universe.
I look forward to these Sunday morning walks in Manhattan. The city empties out over summer weekends. Fewer people out walking, even fewer cars. An hour’s walk along these streets and avenues is therapeutic for the body and soul.
August 10, 2025 at 1:31 PM
I look forward to these Sunday morning walks in Manhattan. The city empties out over summer weekends. Fewer people out walking, even fewer cars. An hour’s walk along these streets and avenues is therapeutic for the body and soul.
The Rose Reading Room at the New York Public Library. It’s just a few subway stops from our apartment, so I’m able to spend time here often. What an inspiring place for a reader or writer!
July 3, 2025 at 1:54 AM
The Rose Reading Room at the New York Public Library. It’s just a few subway stops from our apartment, so I’m able to spend time here often. What an inspiring place for a reader or writer!
June 30, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Finished: Nightmares and Dreamscapes by Stephen King 💙📚
Not King’s best short story collection. I think that award goes to You Like It Darker from last year. But any collection of stories by this generation’s master storyteller is still pretty great.
blog.robertbreen.com/2025/06/06/n...
Not King’s best short story collection. I think that award goes to You Like It Darker from last year. But any collection of stories by this generation’s master storyteller is still pretty great.
blog.robertbreen.com/2025/06/06/n...
June 7, 2025 at 12:39 AM
Finished: Nightmares and Dreamscapes by Stephen King 💙📚
Not King’s best short story collection. I think that award goes to You Like It Darker from last year. But any collection of stories by this generation’s master storyteller is still pretty great.
blog.robertbreen.com/2025/06/06/n...
Not King’s best short story collection. I think that award goes to You Like It Darker from last year. But any collection of stories by this generation’s master storyteller is still pretty great.
blog.robertbreen.com/2025/06/06/n...
I passed the four-year mark of quitting alcohol today. Where I once struggled with days or weeks, now the years are piling up. The key for me was ruling out any thoughts of future moderation. It took many failed attempts before I accepted this simple truth. #sober
June 6, 2025 at 1:25 PM
I passed the four-year mark of quitting alcohol today. Where I once struggled with days or weeks, now the years are piling up. The key for me was ruling out any thoughts of future moderation. It took many failed attempts before I accepted this simple truth. #sober
Systems, Not Goals: https://blog.robertbreen.com/2025/05/06/systems-not-goals/
May 6, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Systems, Not Goals: https://blog.robertbreen.com/2025/05/06/systems-not-goals/
It's been a long while since I walked out of a used bookstore carting an entire box of books, but I could not pass these up. I love the essay form ("a loose sally of the mind"), but my supply was dwindling. No more! 💙📚
April 28, 2025 at 4:12 PM
It's been a long while since I walked out of a used bookstore carting an entire box of books, but I could not pass these up. I love the essay form ("a loose sally of the mind"), but my supply was dwindling. No more! 💙📚
These Vagabond Shoes: https://blog.robertbreen.com/2025/04/02/these-vagabond-shoes.html
April 2, 2025 at 7:35 PM
These Vagabond Shoes: https://blog.robertbreen.com/2025/04/02/these-vagabond-shoes.html
Finished reading: Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner 📚💙
What a beautiful and poignant book. Hopeful and joyous at the possibilities of life, but bookended by the realities of disappointment and loss. ★★★★★
What a beautiful and poignant book. Hopeful and joyous at the possibilities of life, but bookended by the realities of disappointment and loss. ★★★★★
March 28, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Finished reading: Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner 📚💙
What a beautiful and poignant book. Hopeful and joyous at the possibilities of life, but bookended by the realities of disappointment and loss. ★★★★★
What a beautiful and poignant book. Hopeful and joyous at the possibilities of life, but bookended by the realities of disappointment and loss. ★★★★★
Reflections on Reading The Story of Civilization: https://robertbreen.micro.blog/2025/03/21/reflections-on-reading-the-story.html
March 21, 2025 at 8:05 PM
Reflections on Reading The Story of Civilization: https://robertbreen.micro.blog/2025/03/21/reflections-on-reading-the-story.html
On Notebooks and Pens: https://robertbreen.micro.blog/2025/03/07/on-notebooks-and-pens.html
March 7, 2025 at 5:14 PM
On Notebooks and Pens: https://robertbreen.micro.blog/2025/03/07/on-notebooks-and-pens.html
Finished reading: The Old Man And The Sea by Ernest Hemingway 💙📚
Donald Sutherland did a wonderful job narrating this audiobook. It was nice to reacquaint myself with Hemingway’s short and simple sentences, yet so full of energy. Made me yearn for the ocean. ★★★★★
Donald Sutherland did a wonderful job narrating this audiobook. It was nice to reacquaint myself with Hemingway’s short and simple sentences, yet so full of energy. Made me yearn for the ocean. ★★★★★
March 5, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Finished reading: The Old Man And The Sea by Ernest Hemingway 💙📚
Donald Sutherland did a wonderful job narrating this audiobook. It was nice to reacquaint myself with Hemingway’s short and simple sentences, yet so full of energy. Made me yearn for the ocean. ★★★★★
Donald Sutherland did a wonderful job narrating this audiobook. It was nice to reacquaint myself with Hemingway’s short and simple sentences, yet so full of energy. Made me yearn for the ocean. ★★★★★
Elevate Your Online Reading with Matter: https://robertbreen.micro.blog/2025/02/27/elevate-your-online-reading-with.html
After living with some frustrations with Readwise Reader, I looked around for a new read-it-later app. Matter emerged as the top choice for its design, functionality, and uniq...
After living with some frustrations with Readwise Reader, I looked around for a new read-it-later app. Matter emerged as the top choice for its design, functionality, and uniq...
February 27, 2025 at 10:09 PM
Elevate Your Online Reading with Matter: https://robertbreen.micro.blog/2025/02/27/elevate-your-online-reading-with.html
After living with some frustrations with Readwise Reader, I looked around for a new read-it-later app. Matter emerged as the top choice for its design, functionality, and uniq...
After living with some frustrations with Readwise Reader, I looked around for a new read-it-later app. Matter emerged as the top choice for its design, functionality, and uniq...
I love my Kindle Oasis, but Amazon is sure making it hard to stay loyal. Maybe Kobo will save the day and release an updated black and white e-reader to replace its discontinued Libra 2. This should be the golden age for e-reader innovation. Kobo? Apple? Sony? Anyone?
February 13, 2025 at 3:33 PM
I love my Kindle Oasis, but Amazon is sure making it hard to stay loyal. Maybe Kobo will save the day and release an updated black and white e-reader to replace its discontinued Libra 2. This should be the golden age for e-reader innovation. Kobo? Apple? Sony? Anyone?
Ah, Patrick O’Brian. He was truly one of a kind. If you haven’t discovered Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin, there’s not a moment to lose. 💙📚
February 12, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Ah, Patrick O’Brian. He was truly one of a kind. If you haven’t discovered Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin, there’s not a moment to lose. 💙📚
Listening to the updated Chill Mix on Apple Music has become a relaxing Sunday afternoon ritual. I usually flinch these days with intrusive algorithms, but in this case, bring it on. Every track is fantastic. And it’s nice to listen to new music vs. the rut of the same old albums or playlists.
February 9, 2025 at 11:05 PM
Listening to the updated Chill Mix on Apple Music has become a relaxing Sunday afternoon ritual. I usually flinch these days with intrusive algorithms, but in this case, bring it on. Every track is fantastic. And it’s nice to listen to new music vs. the rut of the same old albums or playlists.
Think different. 💬
February 5, 2025 at 9:58 PM
Think different. 💬
Finished reading: Storyworthy by Matthew Dicks 💙📚
An entertaining book filled with practical advice on how to improve your storytelling, whether in front of a live audience, on a date, or in a written essay. Dicks shares examples of his own stories, then breaks down why they work. ★★★★☆
An entertaining book filled with practical advice on how to improve your storytelling, whether in front of a live audience, on a date, or in a written essay. Dicks shares examples of his own stories, then breaks down why they work. ★★★★☆
February 2, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Finished reading: Storyworthy by Matthew Dicks 💙📚
An entertaining book filled with practical advice on how to improve your storytelling, whether in front of a live audience, on a date, or in a written essay. Dicks shares examples of his own stories, then breaks down why they work. ★★★★☆
An entertaining book filled with practical advice on how to improve your storytelling, whether in front of a live audience, on a date, or in a written essay. Dicks shares examples of his own stories, then breaks down why they work. ★★★★☆
Incredible update to the Readwise app today. You can now “chat” with your highlights, which uses AI to find connections you probably overlooked or forgot from your reading. Since it only draws from the highlights you saved, the results are astonishingly personal. This is my kind of AI! 💙📚
January 30, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Incredible update to the Readwise app today. You can now “chat” with your highlights, which uses AI to find connections you probably overlooked or forgot from your reading. Since it only draws from the highlights you saved, the results are astonishingly personal. This is my kind of AI! 💙📚