I just had my first lesson with a guitar teacher and I can already tell it’s going to be a massive help to me. Within the first five minutes he helped me understand that my picking technique was not quite right and helped me see that I was placing my thumb wrong on the back of my neck. I’ve spent the last seven days trying to focus on just fixing those things and I’ve already noticed an improvement.

My biggest struggle now is slowing down the songs I’m trying to learn into small chunks and learning to play those perfectly. Like, I know in my head what the song is supposed to sound like and I am having a hard time stopping my brain from telling my fingers and my hand to pick/strum it at the speed my ears hear it at…it feels so slow to learn it with a metronome and it is really discouraging me.

I'm really upset about this. I really enjoyed it over there.

Recently got a bottle of Black and White scotch while in Mexico. It was cheap and it goes down smooth. Tastes excellent with a cigar. Probably going to enjoy that tonight.

I didn’t read Artemis, but I read Hail Mary after giving into the hype. I enjoyed the premise and the ideas but…good god, the dialogue just about had me tossing the book across the room every page. It came off so juvenile and whiny and really turned me off of giving the book the same levels of praise I was seeing online.

The only ones I haven’t read here are A Secret History and East of Eden. Need to change that soon, it sounds like, because I adored the others! Tomorrow x3 was astonishing.

Babel has been on my list for a while! Need to give it a bump to the top soon.

Have you read Yellowface? Or her other series, The Poppy War?

Hey I dig it. Some Grisham hits the spot for me.

However, I’m a lawyer myself so sometimes it’s hard for me to read legal thrillers because I want to escape real life….

The Blacktongue Thief has been on my list for a while. Maybe I should dive into that one soon.

Legends and Lattes I read and…only sort of enjoyed. It was fun but I felt overhyped. Maybe I’ll check out the Irregular Witches recommendation instead!

I’ve never heard of the Slice of Life comic, but then again, I haven’t really gotten into manga before.

EDIT: sorry for the million comment notifications. The app I was using freaked out on me.

For sure, I’ll check in with you after I get around to finishing it!

Oh interesting. Good to know! I dug The Stormlight Archives (still need to read the latest one…), but couldn’t get into Mistborn at all. Maybe I’ll give Skyward a go. If it’s YA it should be a fast read and I’ve heard good things!

Currently reading Lords of Chaos about the history and influence of Black metal in Nordic countries. Super interesting stuff.

I’ve also been digging Kings of the Wyld, a fantasy book about a a group of old mercenaries who have to “get the band back together” to save the lost daughter of one of their members. Lots of fun “band” and “music” references throughout, and it’s also funny and has a lot of heart.

I’m going on vacation next week and looking to read some interesting - and easy- nonfiction. I guess you could say I’m looking for “pop nonfiction” or “airport nonfiction”. Stuff that’s informative and easy to read for the average reader. Recently, stuff I’ve enjoyed in this vein includes: An Immense World by Ed Yong, Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake, and Caste by Isabel Wilkerson.

^^anyone have any suggestions along those lines?

Ah got it. Thanks for sharing!

I’ve felt the same way! Everyone I’ve interacted with so far has been friendly, helpful, and welcoming. Much less snark and pretentiousness than I experienced over on that other site.

Ah, got it. Thanks for linking that information!

I’ve never been a PC gamer (mainly cause I have always been in the Apple ecosystem), but have always wanted to get into it. Have felt like I’ve been missing out a lot.

I’ve considered a Steam Deck, because I’ve heard so many great things, including that it’s helped reignite passions for gaming in many people! But my concern is that I already am so busy and struggle to find time to sit down and game with my Switch or Xbox…I don’t know if getting a Steam Deck would even really make much of a difference in helping me play more at this point. Could be a pretty costly investment for myself if I don’t end up using it a ton.

Anyway, that’s my two cents. If you are gaming regularly and want to be able to do more “mobile” PC gaming, it’s probably a good option!