- A black cat visited on Monday and he totally looks like Snow! Maybe Snow sent him.
- We finished Chernobyl. The acting and story telling was amazing. I’ll be thinking about it for weeks, and can’t wait to read about it after I get through my current stack of library books.
- Speaking of that – will someone more library-savvy please explain this to me? Sometimes when I look at my account, the books I have checked out will say they’re available for renewal and have x-amount of renewals left. Then I’ll look later in the day, and it will say they are NOT available for renewal at all. Then it will change again. And all of these changes happen well before the (first) due date. Is this some supply and demand thing? (I’m looking so I know which book to read first (usually the book with zero renewals) and the changes totally perplex me.)
- I finished Nemesis last Saturday. I somewhat enjoyed it. I liked trying to guess what the plot twist was. I don’t want to give anything away, but the book focuses on a sophomore class of 64 students in an isolated Idaho town dealing with a catastrophic event. A significant portion of the book is about the kids figuring out how to run things. Meh. I’m not in to politics, and apparently, especially teenage politics. And I didn’t care for the author’s style of fitting in character descriptions with dialogue. For example, ” ‘Ethan’s gonna flip,’ Alice Cho mumured, her smooth features forming an apple-shaped face.” That kind of description happened OVER and OVER. Eye roll. I don’t know if I’ll read part 2 and 3.
- Now I’m reading Educated, and am finding it extremely interesting, and hard to read at times, because the stories are so appalling. It’s the memoir of a woman raised by survivalist parents in Idaho (funny enough, this book is actually set in the same area as Nemesis). She had no formal education until she went to college when at age seventeen. Her family life stories are shocking. And it’s completely understandable why she’s so skeptical and lost in the “real” world.
- Did anyone else see that iTunes is going away? Did I imagine that? Am I the only one who still uses it?!
Link to Random Thoughts Thursday 231
I just heard about itunes going away yesterday. I thought that was strange too. But I mentioned it to Mike and he told me we hadn’t been using it for a while and we’re using Amazon music now. I hadn’t even realized. The library thing, maybe it’s because someone else has put a hold on the book?
I think most people use Amazon or Spotify now! Do you use it when you run?
I was wondering if that was causing it. But it changes throughout the day and it’s on books from other libraries!
Mike makes me playlists to listen to when running so I just use those 🙂 That’s so weird about the books and the renewals at the library.
I never used iTunes, I use the free version of Spotify which is good enough for me. My kids all have paid subscriptions to it and listen to it all the time.
About “Educated”, I know, right??? I found myself getting really angry about some of the abuse in the book, and also found it hard to read sometimes. But at the same time, what resilience she had…unbelievable that she went off to college without even really ever attending school.
And Snow II? How cool!
Maybe one day I will try it! Although, I have a playlist I listen to when I run over and over and over… and that’s the main time I listen to iTunes! (I still use the radio in the car, most of the time).
Yes! So angry! I read the part last night about her dad burning his face off. I actually read it out loud to Steven so he could get an idea for the accidents this family finds themselves in, and he was like “okay, that’s enough” when I was halfway through the chapter.
Her resilience is amazing! And her stubbornness, too 😉
Yes! He actually just came by again! I think we should call him Ghost – because (Jon) Snow had a dog named Ghost, because he’s Snow’s ghost, and because it would be funny to call a black cat a name associated with the color white again.
Ghost is an excellent name!
The part with the face burning was crazy – hard to believe he survived that.
I am also a radio person in the car! I like to feel I have some connection to what’s going on IRL when I am driving – traffic reports, weather, news, etc… And we think it’s fun when we are doing a road trip to listen to local stations – especially in another country and another language.
I keep calling him Ghost and Steven keeps calling him Snow II. LOL.
Yeah, I like that part about listening to the radio as well – I thought that was fun when we were in Canada!
We just finished Chernobyl last night—so amazing! Have you watched the “podcasts”? I haven’t had time to do that yet (and there is only so much ‘Chernobyl’ I can take in a sitting b/c it is so effed up) but am really looking forward to it.
I gave up on iTunes a while ago after being an early iPod adopter but then having issues with my account and so forth. Switched over to (free) Pandora and (paid) Spotify and have never looked back. I LOVE Spotify!
I’ve been listening to the podcasts too! I really enjoyed them and thought they added a lot. The one about episode 4 made me feel even worse about the animals though 🙁
How is Spotify better than Pandora, in your opinion? I don’t know much about either!
So admittedly, I use the free Pandora (not as often anymore) and the premium ($10/mo) Spotify.
Spotify: No ads, option to download songs/playlists for offline listening, unlimited streaming…songs, albums, other peoples’ playlists, “stations”, podcasts, etc. With a few RARE exceptions of artists who just don’t want their music on these platforms I have found everything I have ever wanted here. I truly can’t say enough good about the service! I started using it in 2013 when I was preparing a “dinner music” playlist for our wedding. And it was going to be held in a champagne cellar (essentially underground) with no service, so I needed something economical with an “offline” option! It gets coveted icon space on the “front screen” of my phone (haha) and has option for playing on phone or desktop.
Pandora: At least the version I use is more about curated “stations”. You can choose an artist or a genre and it starts serving you music in related forms (and also stuff from the artist). You have the option to “like”, “dislike”, or “skip” songs (limited amts of skips per hr on the free version + you get served short ads) and this helps it to essentially apply machine learning/algorithms to your preferences and make stations that are very tailored to you. However, in my experience you can’t directly create a specific playlist or choose specific songs and Pandora will also serve you content in random order. Pandora is Spotify’s predecessor and I have some VERY curated stations that are pretty reliable based on the effort I put into them prior to doing Spotify.
I hope this was helpful!
Also another service that Matt really likes is “Slacker radio” which he listens to a lot while working. I haven’t investigated that one but it seems like another online option if you are looking for one.
This was SO helpful, thank you! It does sound like Spotify is where I would want to go if I switched, since I make playlists for the classes I teach, and need to use them offline. Pandora sounds fun for finding new music. Hmm, I will have to think about trying this out! Thanks so much!
Hm, I wish I could help you out on the library renewal question but that’s a really weird thing! I’m wondering if people are requesting it but then canceling their request? But I wouldn’t think that would happen as often as it seems to! I guess if that IS happening, I’d try to read that book first just to be on the safe side.
Has the black cat been back? What a sweetie! I have no doubt that Snow sent him. <3
LOVED Educated so I'm happy you're reading it. It was so appalling what she went through but so amazing how she came out of it. Her family's reviews of the book on Amazon are… enlightening, to say the least. lol
I can't remember the last time I used iTunes, haha. I'm a Spotify Premium member all the way!
I was wondering if it was something like that too, or if they requested and mine got temporarily changed to no renewals until they found a new copy? I have been trying to read those books first!
He has been back! Last Thursday, he and Khali were nose-to-nose through the glass.
OMG, I cannot imagine what her family’s reviews are. They just seemed so caught up in their own reality. I really wonder how she is doing now. I felt like time kind of sped up at the end of the book and a lot was left out!
I don’t have any actual insight on what would cause the library situation, but my guess is the same as Stephany’s – that people request it and then change their mind. I know with the Chicago Public Library, you weren’t allowed to renew a book if someone else had it on hold (or if it were a new book), so I’d think that’s probably what’s happening: people are putting it on hold, then deciding they don’t want to wait for it anymore (or maybe the library has multiple copies, and they got one of the other copies, thus fulfilling their hold), so then you’re free to renew.
Oooh, I’m glad to hear you’re reading Educated! I think I thought you had already read it? It was highly recommended by multiple blogs, so I must’ve just assumed one was yours since you often tell us about the books you read! I thought it was VERY powerful. Have you gotten to the part about the Holocaust yet? That BLEW MY MIND, and really put her upbringing into perspective. My biggest takeaway from the whole book was how much the human body can survive, which probably wasn’t the point, but that’s definitely what stuck with me!
I feel like the whole iTunes sunsetting thing is being a little overblown. My understanding is that they’re just spinning off the individual pieces of iTunes (within the computer app) into separate apps instead of having everything all in one spot. I believe you’ll still be able to buy music through the Music app, which will replace the music portion of iTunes? Unless I’m misunderstanding things, which is definitely possible!
I wondered if it was something like that at the library, but it just seemed bizarre that it would change so much in ONE day?! But yeah, like you said, maybe when someone puts a request in, it changes that renewals for ALL copies of that book until one is found? Who knows.
The Holocaust thing blew my mind too. I was wondering what all the other students were whispering about and what it was that she asked. It’s interesting how historic events like that (that seems like such a light phrase to call that, and I don’t been to be so light about it) and her distorted family’s story-telling are what made her so interested in what she studied in college. I got that out of the book too – like how the hell did she and her family survive all those traumas?!
The article I read re: iTunes mentioned something like that too, and I hope that is the case so I don’t become forced to relearn something when I am not in the mood to 😉 Ha.
My mom also recommended “Educated”. I may have to check it out. I haven’t added a new song to my iPod in 7 or 8 years! I still take it on my runs and listen to the oldies but goodies. At home we listen to Pandora.
It’s an intense read but very interesting!
Sometimes the oldies are exactly what you need 😉
Good to hear that you liked Chernobyl – that one is on our watch list. Right now we are rewatching GoT from the beginning and holy cow do a lot of things that happened in season 8 come together! But it’s dark and we can only manage two episodes a night before needing a happiness break – not sure changing to Chernobyl would be any less dark, LOL.
Isn’t it super enlightening (maybe that’s the wrong word, ha) to rewatch GoT?! Every time we do that we catch so much more!
Yeah, Chernobyl isn’t super happy, ha! You might have to pair it with something light, as well.
I’ve heard really good things about “Chernobyl”, so it’s on our list but… I’m feeling very summer-y and not sure that I want to commit to something quite so grim. Lame, I know. Since GoT, we’ve been watching a lot of cycling.
As for the commitment to serious subjects, I feel the same way about reading too! I’m re-reading Harry Potter at the moment. I read “Educated” in February, I think, and enjoyed it. Although, maybe that’s not quite the right word since it is so intense. I know that a lot of people have compared it to “Hillbilly Elegy”, but I thought it was better in lots of ways. First of all, she acknowledges that she may not be 100% reliable because it is a memoir, whereas he contradicts himself all the time and doesn’t even own it – that really frustrated me! Her story is just crazy at times.
Not lame! Save it for later! 🙂 Are you watching live cycling?
She definitely has notes in there noting all the different accounts, which blew my mind. Like was her dad the one who put her brother in the tub for his burns, or was it her? Her story is crazy almost ALL the time. It’s hard to believe all that happened to that family. I will have to take a peek at Hillbilly Elegy. I am trying to read the memoir Running Home now but I can’t get in to it.