Did you feel it?
There was a shift during 2023 in the way people consume media.
Ten years ago, you picked up whatever was on the bestseller lists, went to whatever movie was playing in the theaters, and watched whatever was on the limited channels on your TV. Then you went to work and could talk about it with your friends or coworkers, because we all read/watched/listened to what was provided to us.
Then, the options became endless. Overwhelming, even. It was an exciting time at first! Authors could self-publish, there were over 400 new shows between networks, cable, and streaming, and films were made available with no more than a click of your pointer finger. Titans emerged. Superhero movies and Netflix megahits. We got one after the other after the other.
This year, it seems like we all got tired of it. There’s too much out there to choose from, and yet nothing at all. Sometimes staring at a wall, or TikTok, felt safer than cracking open a book on your ever-growing TBR stack or spending 40 minutes scrolling through Amazon, Netflix, Max, and Paramount+ for a movie or show to watch. Did you want to spend $20 to see the new Marvel movie that was just subpar, or was it easier to just stay in, heat up some leftovers, and open up Instagram Reels for the next hour?
Don’t worry, we all had moments like that this year too. But, we found some bright spots that shook us out of our funks and stood out among all the noise. They inspired us, informed us, changed our outlook on the world, and entertained us. These picks reminded us how lucky we are to have so many choices at our fingertips. We hope they stand out for you too.
Continue readingAnother year, another sprint to the finish line. Amiright?
As we tentatively returned to our “new normal” lives this year, the content we consumed ended up reflecting what we needed out of it. For some, that meant books that fed our escapism or media that broke up the monotony of our daily lives with something fresh and different. For others, it meant content that satisfied a craving for knowledge or taught us something new.
That’s the beauty of art. There is a book, podcast, movie, or show out there for us no matter what we’re looking for. Something that every person on this planet can connect with, learn from, and feel at home in.
So if you’re looking for something in 2023, maybe you’ll find it in our team’s recommendations. Here’s the content that we connected with in 2022 …
Continue readingYou’ve probably heard someone somewhere claim that writing is a muscle; if you don’t exercise it, it’ll shrivel up and atrophy. But that’s not entirely true. Writing isn’t a single muscle. It’s more like a muscular system, made up of a great many parts, each of which need their own kind of exercise.
That’s why—just like athletes—we reach plateaus in our writing journey. Sometimes pushing past that plateau means changing our strategy a bit. Other times we need to try something completely new.
In this post, you’ll find 22 tips that’ll help guide you towards becoming a better writer. They cover reading, building better writing habits, and improving the technical aspects of your writing.
Continue readingRemember when we thought 2020 would be the worst of it? And now we’re approaching year three of “the end of days?” If you’re like us, you’ve mentally blocked it. No, we were too busy with our heads buried in our books, noise-canceling headphones superglued to our ears, and Netflix asking “are you still watching?”
Whereas last year’s trend was lofty plans that didn’t quite pan out, this year we dedicated our time to things we really wanted and needed.
For some, that meant an escape from our reality. For others, it meant self-reflection or intellectual expansion. And some of us just needed a break from looking at words all day!
Whatever you’re looking to make of 2022, our recommendations will hopefully help you achieve it.
Continue reading