#especially since I got an ebook app on my phone

[saxifactumterritum]

List of 10 places I get audiobooks

I have Audible, I don't have a subscription at the moment but I do now and then resubscribe, and I do buy audiobooks from them. It's the easiest and sometimes only way to get audiobooks. However! That said! (with some review/thoughts, I like the sound of my voice):

1. audibooks.co.uk - this is the best paid subscription one I've found, so far, in the UK. The website and app are a bit shitty, I think it is difficult to find where to subscribe or cancel, and I found it hard to find the help and contact page. But they have one of the biggest catalogues I've seen, I find about 80% of what I'm after, including a good amount specifically queer books I search for. It's also got a reward which is a free book out of a selection each month, sometimes they have great ones. 2. local library - if your library says you need proof of address or picture ID to get a card ask them if there are alternatives you can show, I spoke to my library about this (being trans and at the time when I got my card having no fixed address or ID), the man was helpful (I didn't say I was trans or had no home just I hadn't got the documents he wanted).

this is a list of where I, a queer person, get my books so that above is relevent. Getting a library card can be stressful.

My library is pretty okay, the audiobook catalogue is alright, they have two apps with different options. There are often waiting lists, sometimes months long (think 8 months, once it was 13 months. Sometimes it's mere weeks). The catalogue will depend on your library. If you're in London I think the boroughs have different catalogues and sometimes you can sign up to more than one library? though don't quote me, this is word of mouth. My library is a county one so just the one catalogue.

3. If you have a print disability there are two more options, first, Listening Books! (listening-books.org.uk). This is my absolute favourite. It's free if you haven't got enough money, streaming-only is something around £20-£25 per year (per year!), I pay £45 and can get CDs and streaming (different catalogues). They have loads of things, are super easy to sign up to, have a really lovely team who have always been happy to help. I love this service a lot.

4. Calibre (calibreaudio.org.uk). Like Listening Books, you have to have a print disability to sign up (it's about the licencing, both services make books available under a specific law). I like this one too, it's good two apps and good amount of books, and their catalogue is growing really fast at the moment. On one app they have a mix of professional and volunteer readers (some of the volunteers are really good) which means they have more stuff.

5. everyone knows librivox I think, I use it less since I stopped studying literature but yeah, tried and true, a real mix on quality but I've come across some real gems, and there's loads and loads there.

6. I recently added openlibrary.org to this list. You can borrow the digitized books and either read with TTS, or they have a real nifty built-in TTS reader that works great for me. TTS take a bit of getting used to, but you do get used to it and if you give it a chance, even more books! I read a bunch of Jeeves ones I've never read before on here. They have so much books! Different editions too, which is exciting. They have an app and the books play when my phone is locked. Joy!

I actually had this issues when I was studying, most of the time you get one audiobook, one edition, from a specific edition, and you don't often get academic editions of stuff like Shakespeare. That's true of digitized books too, especially ebooks (I'm using digitized to mean any book that's digitized, and ebook to mean one edited and 'published' in some form). I like comparing editions. Being able to see marks of the publishing and editing process is great.

7. YouTube has loads of pirated or volunteer-read books, some librivox ones end up on youtube and then you can listen at three times sped up rate, which is great if you need to read Paradise Lost in a great hurry for a seminar.

8. BBC Sounds app or website. If you don't mind abridgement. I can't find it anywhere, but a bunch of years ago I heard a radio adaptation of Virginia Woolf's 'Orlando', narrated by Emma Frankland, oh scratch that it is here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0002rxy. Awesome .

9. podcasts, any but I have an app called Podbean which has a bunch of old BBC radio programmes on, like Cabin Pressure. Has some classics on there read episodically, or there are a bunch with short stories, I rec Levar Burton Reads all the time has some great short stories and he's a good reader. Or there's a whole world of fiction podcasts, some are great some are find some are mildly diverting. Like books! I highly, highly recommend Hi Nay (Hi Nay Pod if you searching for it most places), I liked The Godshead Incidental a lot, Kelly Marie Tran was in a very good one called Passanger List. If you haven't embarked on fiction podcasts you could check out boombox-fuckboy.tumblr.com and podplane.tumblr.com, which do recs and lists and things.

10. gutenberg press of course, digitized books that are out of copywright. They have some librivox and audio ones too, or you can use a TTS or such.

(I live in the UK, a bunch of these are UK only. I think a lot of countries have options through libraries. Libraries also have CDs of audiobooks, I don't use these as there is a fee here and I haven't got a CD player and my laptop is dying).

[praiseinchains]

SO SORRY!

I've been MIA for what feels like forever, but let me tell you why.

I take morning medication for my thyroid and my heart. My bed is positioned RIGHT next to my desk, that way I can just sit up, pop open my medicine container, chug down some water, and then go back to sleep for the hour until I'm able to eat. Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned one morning. I'd gotten out of bed and taken my medicine and then, out of the blue, my hand just loses its grip on my glass of water. This has never happened to me before (it was a result of my NMO - I've been feeling pretty weak lately, especially my legs). I wasn't all that tired, I wasn't readjusting the glass, I hadn't bumped into anything... I wasn't moving at all! My grip just loosened and I hadn't even realized it down it until everything was wet - INCLUDING MY LAPTOP!

I immediately shut my laptop off, ran to the bathroom to grab a towel and dried off the keyboard (which is where all the water went), dried the laptop off with my hair dryer, took out the battery, and then kept my laptop upside down for a full 24 hours. I was petrified the next day when turning it on. My parents and the computer repair guy we'd spoken to were all encouraged it would be fine since I took such quick action, but I was absolutely terrified it was going to be ruined. It took me 7 times to turn on my laptop. Once I plugged it in it booted up, then shut down again, then I was finally able to get it to stay on. All my files were still good. My keyboard on the other hand was another matter, which makes sense since it got most of the water. The keyboard worked, but none of the keys were what they should be, so there was no way for me to type unless I did it with the on-screen keyboard and I didn't want to pick through each key separately, so I just made a plan to take the laptop in and get the keyboard repaired.

Before I did that, I wanted to get an external hard drive just in case something happened when the repairman was working on it. I'd had another repairman completely DESTROY my hard drive when he was supposed to be taking it out for me so I could use it on another laptop, so I wasn't going to take any chances this time. We went to Walmart a few days later and got it and just as I was plugging it in to transfer everything, I automatically tried to rename it (I like to do that with my drives) before I remembered my keyboard wasn't working. Except it was. I opened up Microsoft Word and was amazed to find that my keyboard had fixed itself. I guess it just needed more time to dry. Since it was fixed, I didn't need to use the hard drive (I'm going to use it to store my videos on).

That was only one problem, however. I have a huge eBook library and I've been trying to organize it with the Calibre app. I wanted to be able to find a specific genre (like cozy mystery, thriller, etc.,) without having to look through every single one. Once I had all my books in Calibre I decided just to export a list of everything, so that it would take up less space. So, I did that and then got rid of Calibre. Somehow, and I honestly don't know how, my folder of 'books to read' was gone. I searched everywhere on my laptop for it until I realized that the entire folder had gotten moved to Calibre and that Calibre had deleted it when it uninstalled. I keep my books separated by series, title, etc., and no other folder was in there aside from the 'books to read'. I had my monthly books; books for October/Halloween; series I wanted to re-read/read... it was all just gone. I was able to pull most of it off my Kindle Paperwhite, but one series I couldn't get back.

If that wasn't enough, I was without Internet connection for the longest time. My parents both had it, and I had it on my phone, but my laptop just wasn't connecting. I'd tried turning it off and back on at least three times, which always works, but this time it didn't. Finally, after the last time, I decided to check for any problems and my laptop immediately found and fixed it and it was restored late last night.

(This is unedited. I've been dealing with so much inflammation lately that I don't have the energy (physical or emotional) to write a post and then edit it. Sorry for any mistakes, which I'm sure there are).

[headcanonspam]

Ahh insomnia, why must you follow me so? Anyway, since I'm not sleeping, might as well go off about my TOG opinions.

So I see a lot of takes about how Joe is a writer & artist (which is as it should be, he IS & honestly if that was all this fandom talked about I'd be down), but I only see bits & pieces here & there about the others and their relationship with creating stuff. So. A few thoughts.

Andy is used to being the subject of art -- far before Rodin, she was worshipped as a god and people certainly represented her likeness & prowress. But it is only with Quynh that she learns how to work beauty with her hands: first by beginning to embellish their armor & weapons, for things they (read: Quynh) use so frequently should be as beautiful as deadly. But it turns softer as well: Quynh teaches Andy how to do Quynh's hair, how to press flowers. But where Andy truly excels, & has always excelled, is dance: she loves to dance & she is good at it. Dancing in community, with Quynh, by herself. She is both the art & the artist & it only lasts until the dance is done: nothing is permanent in dance. Nothing is forever.

Quynh's life started hard and got harder and she hardened with it. But Andy doesn't berate her for loving beautiful things. When they have the time and the money and the supplies, Quynh is drawn to gardening, to growing. I think she's also drawn to things that she can hold with her hands & use -- pottery, weaving. And I think she loves to sing, especially to Andy, especially when Andy is dancing. I think she also loves learning how to play instruments, but singing will always be what she comes back to. When she's back in the world, singing is the last to come back to her -- it reminds her too much of screaming & drowning & screaming & drowning. She still heals, physically, obviously, so her vocal cords should be the same, but privately Andy thinks her voice never quite sounds like it used to. Andy would never say that though.

Lykon I associate most with that smile of his -- it says he's up to trouble and loving it. I don't know what he created when he was alive, but in a modern AU he'd be part of the trio of stealth urban installation social justice artist collective along with Joe & Booker. (With Nile discovering them & joining in & Nicky helping but insisting he's not *really* part of the team he's just being a supportive boyfriend, & Andy & Quynh doing their own thing but definitely knowing about it and offering assists when needed.)

Nicky isn't Joe's muse so much as his co-creator, even if Nicky would demur. But the two of them are -- along with lovers & all the rest -- best friends & to be friends is to have a conversation that never stops. And so I see them talking about art & poetry & writing and in a real sense naturally falling into collaboration. He & Joe pass their projects & passions back & forth until it is hard to tell where their individual contributions begin or end. That said, they are drawn to different mediums: I think Nicky is like Quynh in that he likes to work on crafting things with a use. Pottery, carpentry, gardening, textiles, cooking, blacksmithing. He builds them a house in Malta from the ground up. He always has projects half finished -- stained glass, mosaics, some fermented food experiments that might be from last year or might be from 150 years ago.

Nile loves art, but hasn't been able to indulge in it as much as she'd like, during her mortal life. I think that it will take time for her to develop her own sense of style & talents. But I do have some guesses as to how that process goes over her first dozen decades: she gets involved with some experimental theater; she takes up various instruments & drops them & picks them up again with renewed vigor; she paints; she paints a lot, in as many styles as she can; she gets deep into fashion designing; she works with clay & is touched when Joe & Nicky buy her a wheel & kiln for her favorite safe house; she doesn't get into cooking, exactly, but gets deep into archiving recipes, which is it's own kind of creative endeavor; she self publishes romance novel ebooks for fun. Eventually, she stops worrying so much about finding that one kind of art that she is good at & starts enjoying the moments of discovery, of being bad at something & still loving it, of improving, of being great at something, of not improving but continuing anyway, of making stuff & making stuff & getting to keep doing it, of watching other people make things, of watching how art evolves & loops back & iterates & unfurls & how she gets to be a part of it, this grand conversation that is creative endeavors, at least a little.

Booker likes art that is old & the sense of history that hangs around it. Books, obviously, but paintings & sculptures & furniture & clothing as well. He has a knack for forgery, of course, and part of that is how he understands things as material objects that exist in time & that are changed by time. Like Andy drawn to dance in part for it's ephemerality, Booker is drawn to forgery & historic artifacts because of the dual reminder that time changes everything -- but there's always ways to cheat. That said, he does have a secret soundcloud account for his electronic noise albums. And he definitely has a couple of phone games of varying qualities can be downloaded on the app store.

Joe, the artist poet warrior jock of my heart, has dabbled in all of it, but it always comes down, for him to the notebook/sketchbook he keeps with him -- for him every he makes starts with jotting down his thoughts, either as a drawing or in words. Conversations with Nicky that never finish, scenes he wants to remember, flights of fancy, questions he means to look into, grocery lists, songs to check out, it's all there, in the books & papers he's collected over the years, that Nicky has made margin comments on, that have been spilled on, smudged, sliced by errant swords, but always kept, scattered over safehouse and miles and time, ready to be picked up whenever Joe runs into them next.

[keplercryptids]

how to read more!

hi, i read a lot of books! last year i read 150 books, and this year i’m on track to read 100 more. i’m also a pretty low-spoons disabled person with chronic pain and untreated adhd. lots of people ask me how i read so much so i thought i’d compile some tips.

disclaimer: i don’t have any learning disabilities that impair reading, and with certain workarounds, my adhd doesn’t really hinder my reading either (but please don’t ask me to sit through a movie, i can’t and i won’t). so what works for me may not work for you. just keep in mind that your mileage with these tips will likely vary!

1. audiobooks!

seriously, these are a huge help. if you’re a podcast listener, try subbing out some podcasts for audiobooks every so often. you can download the libby app for free on your phone and get tons of audiobooks from your local library. thanks to adhd, it’s really hard for me to sit and listen without doing anything else, so i like to do chores (especially cooking/laundry/folding clothes), color, do crafty things, play phone games etc while i listen. i know some folks who listen to audiobooks as they read along with a physical book which also may work for some of you.

as a note, my brain won’t let me get into audiobooks of certain genres. i prefer poetry, lyrical prose and nonfiction in audio formats. so that’s something to consider, you may have a genre preference when it comes to audiobooks. follow your bliss.

2. your mood matters.

this is key for me. i am a huge mood reader and i’ve learned that forcing myself to read something i’m not enjoying will ensure that i entirely stop reading everything forever. let yourself put a book down if you’re not liking it. there are millions of books out there! life is too short to read one you’re not loving.

also, i cannot read when i’m stressed. lots of people read to chill out when they’re anxious or upset, and i am NOT one of those people (which is why i fully did not read from ages 18-23 lmao). if you only ever attempt to read when you’re stressed out and find yourself struggling, that could be why. obviously there isn’t a simple solution to this, but taking care of your mental health first is important.

3. if you used to read a lot but struggle to do so now, your reading tastes may have changed.

5-10 years ago, pretty much all i read was literary fiction. so when i tried to get into reading again a few years ago and struggled, part of the reason why was because i’m just not that into literary fiction anymore. i’m much more into adult fantasy and scifi, and it took awhile for me to realize that. if it’s been awhile since you’ve read a lot, try out new-to-you genres.

4. ebooks are good books.

this should really be higher on the list because it’s the #1 thing that’s helped me read more. i have a kindle, and fuck amazon, but i literally only use it for library books and ebooks from indie publishers. the convenience of being able to download pretty much any book i want from the library and start reading immediately, as often as my mood demands, has been critical for both my reading habits and my wallet. last year, 60+ of the books i read were library ebooks.

this is another way of saying, find a format that works for you. i know some people who can only read books on their phones in between doing other things, which sounds like a literal hellscape for me, but you do you!

5. try reading at a certain time of day.

this could totally backfire for some of you, and i don’t always stick to this, but reading as part of my routine (right after breakfast, after i walk the dogs until dinnertime, right before bed) helps me. especially if routines help you with your adhd, this is something that could be useful.

that’s what i got for now! i may add more if i think of them. feel free to add tips and tricks that have worked for you! happy reading you beautiful bookworms.

[swordarkeereon]

Tech Review for Writers: reMarkable2

I got myself a piece of interesting tech this year in hopes it would get me from out in front of a computer screen more often. Meet the reMarkable2, a distraction free (i.e. it’s not connected to the entirety of the internet) e-ink tablet workhorse that’s easy on the eyes.

The reMarkable2 Tablet

First things first. The reMarkable2 tablet is not for everyone and your average person probably won’t find it the least bit useful. So let’s talk about why you don’t want this tablet first.

reMarkable 2 is not for you if: 

– You want an eReader.  eReaders have a VERY DIFFERENT function than the reMarkable2. Yes, you can read PDFs on a reMarkable, but it’s more for *marking up* a PDF and commenting in the margins of a PDF. Not just reading. eReaders like Kindles and Nooks often have built in dictionaries, ways to bookmark pages or passages of text, etc…  that the reMarkable2 doesn’t have. You can search your documents for specific phrases and words and also highlight things in a light gray, but if you’re just looking for an eReader, I suggest a Kindle.

– You want a full functioning tablet that you can put apps on and surf the web with- If you’re looking for a full functioning tablet, you’ve missed the whole point of the reMarkable2. The main point behind reMarkable2 is so you can go to your creative place (wherever that may be) and brainstorm, free from ALL distractions. You can’t stop to surf FB or your Twitter feed on a reMarkable2, thus making it more likely you’ll stay on task and get more done.

– You want something with color so you can highlight because what you really want is a fully functioning ebook reader or tablet. This tablet is really more of a no frills brainstorming and note-taking tool for entrepreneurs, professionals, academics, and creatives (including engineers, writers, musicians, possibly artists if they like to sketch in black and white) who use a lot of black pens and plain paper.

I bought the tablet for the following reasons (which I wrote down BEFORE I received the device):

– I wanted an electronic notebook (not a tablet). I’m one of those people who goes through 3 packs of sticky notes every month, and countless notebooks every year. I am constantly jotting stuff down to keep myself focused and on track while running my own business and helping out at the family business.  My notes can be anything from putting together presentations, classes, and meetings, to extensive to-do lists for the day. Sometimes it’s just me keeping track of sales figures. As a result, my desk is always filled with papers and notebooks and I’m constantly searching for shit. The electronic notebook cleans up all this clutter and helps me organize my brain. (Have you seen my brain!? It’s a mess in there.)

– I  like to write freehand, especially when I’m plotting the next book or writing a blurb, or even writing a chapter – and it must be distraction free. This is something only fellow authors will understand. The fact that the reMarkable2 can convert handwritten notes to text sent via email has me excited because, if I’m lucky and it works, I won’t have to go through and transcribe all my handwritten notes. It basically saves me time by eliminating a step. I can copy/paste the note from my email into the appropriate file on my laptop. This will also save me the clutter and weight of carrying countless notebooks.

– I am involved with projects that require me to sketch out ideas for marketing and/or artwork. I do have tablets that can do this, but nothing that does it *well*. The closest is my Surface tablet, which can do a lot of things, but it still doesn’t feel like paper or allow me the fine detail paper allows. I’m hoping this tablet is a bit more responsive in this area. – I am forever printing out rough drafts of manuscripts for markup – wasting a ton of paper and toner in the process. All because I can’t edit on a backlit screen. My eyes get tired and I miss too many errors. If I can transfer my PDF drafts to the reMarkable and mark them up there with minimal errors left over, I could save some $$. I am actually estimating that I could easily save the cost of the reMarkable2 in 6 months to 1 year’s time by not having to purchase the paper, pens, and toner I usually go through in that time frame.  Plus, these marked up manuscripts often end up in a stack on my office floor for 6 months to a year after publication. 

– I am forever having to read PDFs of laws and regulations for the family business, and while I usually use them on the computer, I sit in front of a computer 8-13 hours a day. I need a non-backlit screen for reading in the evenings just to give my eyes a break.  Yes, I imagine I could do the same with a Kindle paperwhite, but I may just want to jot some notes in the same way I’d mark up a paper copy. I’m still a pen and paper girl. I’m really hoping the reMarkable is my replacement for that (most of the time anyway).

reMarkable2 test to sample the pen styles.

Some considerations I took into account before purchasing:

A lot of customers complained that it took too long to receive the reMarkable or to get support. From all of the research I did, and in reading their website, it’s clear to me that this company caters to academia and businesses. I ordered my reMarkable2 on January 16, 2021, and had it in my hands by January 25, 2021. 9 days. I also ordered it and paid for it through my business. I don’t know if that’s actually why I got mine so fast, but I wouldn’t be surprised. That said, I do think the company should work a little harder to increase their customer service efficiency. 

With regard to customer support – the website clearly states it can take up to 10 business days for support to get back to you. And a lot of the things people seem to be complaining about have troubleshooting instructions on the website. Clearly people weren’t going to the website to try to look up their issue through the support FAQs, which likely would have helped them out sooner.  They were just contacting support immediately, and angry when they weren’t getting a response after 3 days, when it’s clearly stated on the website that it can take up to 10 days due to the fact that reMarkable is a small company. But like I said earlier – they would be smart to increase their customer service team.

reMarkable’s folios are a custom fit and really pretty, but a bit pricey. I made the tablet more affordable by skipping the upgrade on the pen, because a friend of mine got the eraser feature and she wasn’t digging it initially (she loves it now), and I purchased a relatively nice folio from Amazon for under $30 (with no magnets – research told me magnets can cause dead spots in the screen of the reMarkable2). You can also just buy a 10″-11″ tablet sleeve and it would work much the same. There are also universal tablet folios that will fit 10″-11″ tablets that are free of magnets and will likely work just fine. All for under $20 bucks — even a few in faux leather. Remember that a case should protect your investment, not just make it *look* sharp. 

Right out of the Box.

Right out of the box I set the reMarkable up and started using it for brainstorming. Here were my first impressions:

1. It really is pretty damn close to writing on paper.

2. You can rest your damn hand on the screen and it won’t fuck things up or make it wobble as with traditional tablets.

3. My handwriting actually looks like my handwriting and you have almost the same control with this as you would with real pen and paper.

4. The interface is simple and intuitive and anyone who uses computers and tablets day and in day out will have no issues figuring this out.

Now some thoughts on the features:

Handwriting to Text: As an author who likes to occasionally spend time writing the old fashioned way, one of the things that attracted me to this tablet was its ability to translate handwriting to text. No writer wants to have to transcribe their written notes and waste all of that time. So of course I tested it with my horrific handwriting, vs purposefully trying to be neat, and the reMarkable2 was able to convert my chicken scratch into actual text that I could read. I was able to turn the handwritten notes into a PDF, but I was also able to send the handwriting converted to typed text as the body of an email, where I was able to cut and paste it into any program I wanted. I took it further and wrote 1000 words (about 8.2 pages) longhand. It converted all the pages to text in one swoop and I was able to copy/paste it into my manuscript. While there was a little formatting and editing involved — it was a lot faster than retyping handwritten notes. WIN! 

Handwriting for conversion test.

Conversion successful

PDF Transfer, Markup, and Signature: Transferring PDFs to the reMarkable is easy. You simply download the app on your phone and your desktop, and you can take any pdf from either device and import it onto your reMarkable, which you can then markup. I sent myself a slew of PDFs that I had to read and markup. It’s amazing how much more focused I am on a screen like this. I really got the same experience with editing on a digital PDF as I did with editing on a paper copy. My only caveat is that I don’t have more space to make notes since the margins are a bit small on the screen and there’s no “back of the page” to carry notes over to. I can likely manage. Despite that – what a great experience. Goodbye manuscripts all over my office floor!  Hello being able to drag editing work with me wherever I go!    

You can also transfer your PDFs that don’t have an electronic signature option to the device, sign them, and send them back. Talk about HANDY since I do that a few times a month by default. This just eliminates the print/sign/scan. Now I just have to transfer it to the device, sign the document, and email it straight back to whoever sent it. 

Digital Planners may be something I look into for 2022 because reMarkable actually makes them feasible. I tried a tester digital planner, courtesy a friend, on my reMarkable and I have to say – it offers just as much satisfaction as a paper planner. Plus, you can SEARCH large pdfs. It won’t find search terms in your handwriting, but it will find it in your PDF. That’s definitely a handy feature when you’re working with 500 page PDFs. That said, the tablet saves your place (last page you visited) as you’re navigating a PDF, so no need to search for the place you left off. However, there is no way to bookmark multiple pages.

ePub Reading: suppose I could sideload books as ePubs, but I really have no use for this feature. If I want to read ebooks, I use my kindle or the Kindle App on my tablet or phone. Unless I start doing editing of ePubs or want to check out an ePub format for something?  I didn’t buy this as an eReader, and it is terribly lacking as an eReader. Where the reMarkable excels is as a tool for marking up documents. So my guess is it would be great for that if you have a lot of files in ePub format that you have to go over. You also can’t change font sizes for easier reading. You can zoom in and zoom back out to regular size. That’s it. (And this is another reason this is not an eReader.)

Storage: Storage is a little over 6GB (you do not pay for the reMarkable website cloud-sync). But even with about 15 PDFs (some of them really long) on my reMarkable at any given time, I was only at .38 GB. 

reMarkable2 Storage

File System: Like I said earlier – the system is highly intuitive and easy to use. I made folders for my most common notebook uses, then I moved the appropriate PDFs to those folders, and created any notebooks I needed for those folders.

Exporting: You can export as .PNG, .SVG, and PDF.  Handwriting to text can only be sent as text via the body of an email. This is actually great for writing because then you just have to copy/paste from your email into your Word Doc, Google Doc, or Scrivener.

Importing: Imports PDFs and ePubs.

Templates: The templates are great. I generally only use graph paper, plain, and lined paper myself. But I could see how a lot of these would be useful to people. The to-do list is a crappy template just because it requires you to hide your menu to use it (you can’t tick the the checkboxes until you do this). To hide the menu tap the circle in the upper left top of the menu bar. So if you want a partial page to-do list, you can easily make your own checkbox lists using the graph paper option. There are also dot pages for the folks into bullet journaling.

A small sampling of reMarkable2 Templates

Search Feature: You can search within a PDF, but not through your own handwritten text. You must be in the PDF to search it, otherwise you can only search for file names. You can not search across documents for a phrase or word. So if you’re looking for something with the same search capabilities as a laptop or possibly a tablet, you won’t find it here.

Zooming: You can zoom in on PDF documents and write on them while zoomed. However, you cannot change font sizes to make reading easier.

Battery Life:  On days where I used it heavily (about 4-5 hours), I was using around 15% power in a day because I didn’t put it in airplane mode. Three days of 4-5 hours a day use drained my battery to 50%. So me, as a heavy user, not in airplane mode, will likely get 6-7 days out of a single charge. Possibly more since clearly not every day will be a heavy use day. The device does go to sleep after 10 minutes of inactivity.

Pen:The pens are a bit pricey. I did not buy the expensive pen with the eraser and I’m okay with that. But $60 for a pen is still a bit — ouch. 

Pen Nib: I am expecting I will be one of those poor unfortunate souls who will be replacing pen tips every 3-4 weeks during heavy use. Luckily the pen itself doesn’t use batteries. The pen nibs seem reasonable in price, just be sure to order a new pack with your device and when you start that pack, order another as shipping times on those can take a week or two depending where you are and how efficient your mail service is. You don’t want to accidently run out and find yourself without a pen. Yikes.

Security: You can add a password to your reMarkable to keep prying eyes out. But if you’re like me and self-employed, that’s not really an issue. Your remarkable has Wi-Fi, yes, but you can put it in airplane mode to cut the connection. Plus, it only syncs to your cloud storage. There really aren’t any entry points for viruses or people hacking into your device. But then I’m also not a tech person. Let’s just say I highly doubt security will be a huge issue on this thing. Besides, anyone who wants to take a peek at my tablet would likely find themselves bored stiff, unless they like reading really rough first drafts of speculative fiction.  LOL

Backup/Download: You can easily transfer your files back to your computer by opening the app and simply exporting your finished documents, etc… to your computer, backup drive or cloud drive. You can also just email yourself a copy to make it super easy.

My Wishlist:

1. I wish I could add or append new, handwritten pages to an existing PDF. That would definitely solve the space issue. Now, I just make notes in a different file and jog back and forth between the PDF and the notes, which is a little annoying, but doable. One way to solve this issue would be to save all your PDFs to double spaced. It might make markup a little easier. I’ll try that with the next books to go under the editorial knife.

2. I wish there were cheaper alternative covers. My $17 cover looks great and protects my tablet. reMarkable could easily come up with a few additional low-cost choices here. The ultra professionals are still going to buy nice leather folios. 

(I may add to this list in the coming weeks, but right now these are the two main things jumping out at me.)

Overall Review Summary

For writers, reMarkable2 truly is a remarkable distraction free device that can help improve your concentration and organization, give you the freedom to write out longhand and convert it to text without the tedious re-typing, and help you mark up drafts with ease. This would probably serve prolific and professional writers more liberally than the writer who takes a few years to pen a book. Plus, it will probably save you a lot of printer paper, toner, pens and notebooks. For business owners/users – reMarkable will likely save you pounds of sticky notes and legal pads, and hours of time transcribing your notes. Plus, it’s a great on-the-go working tool for content creators and people who review a lot of PDFs. 

Have some thoughts on the reMarkable2? Feel free to leave a comment below!

[onpagetwentyone]

Sooooo, I FINALLY bought a Kindle! Yaaaay! Been wanting to buy one since the tablet that I’ve been using since 2015 gave up on me but I can’t find any local shops that are selling kindle or kobo in the city. Thank God for online shops, I was able to find one. Plus, I’ve got these cute kindle cases, too. :)

I know some people prefer reading paperbacks or physical books over ebooks but for someone who reads or who finds time to read everyday, ereader is the best option. HAHA! It’s too small it fits perfectly in my small bag, I can still squeeze my phone and my coin purse with it. I literally have my bookshelf with me in this small gadget.

I posted the reasons why I love ebooks so much but it got deleted? Not sure. I can’t find it anymore so here you gooooo... :)

*~*~*

REASONS WHY I LOVE EBOOKS

CONVENIENCE. It’s like carrying your bookshelf plus a library in a single device. For someone who always (or at least always finds time to) read, it’s freaking convenient because I don’t have to add a book in all those stuff I carry every day.

ACCESS TO (ALMOST) ALL BOOKS. I know some readers here in the Philippines can related to this. Some of the books by my favorite authors aren’t available in our local bookstores, so buying a physical copy isn’t really an option for me. I can’t buy on online shops because shipping is damn expensive (and Book Depository ceased shipment to the PH due to the pandemic. Frustrating, I know). With Kindle (app or the device itself), you can get whatever books you want to read. Just one-click and you’re good to go.

E-COPIES ARE CHEAPER, AND IF YOU’RE LUCKY, THEY ARE EVEN FREE. No explanation needed right? Just look at the emails amazon is sending us about awesome deals.

I READ FASTER WHEN I READ EBOOKS COMPARED TO WHEN I READ PHYSICAL COPIES. Maybe because it’s really convenient and I can read any time and anywhere even with the lights off? Yup. That’s probably it.

I CAN READ ANYWHERE, ANYTIME. I read everyday, everywhere. In the coffeeshop, at work, at home, ANYWHERE, ANYTIME, EVERYDAY. I can now read everyday without hurting my eyes because of glares. LOL! With Kindle ereaders, you can read as if you’re reading in print so it’s all good. You can still read at night because new kindle versions comes with backlights, you can also adjust the brightness so you can read comfortably.

I CAN READ IN PEACE. No distractions from IG, twitter and other social media. (applicable if you’re reading in tablet/ ipad/ phone)

NO ONE CAN SEE WHAT YOU’RE READING. Let’s face it. Some romance books ESPECIALLY new adult romance covers aren’t really kid-friendly. HAHAHA! I DON’T really CARE if people see the books I’m reading, I just don’t like it when people ask me and sometimes I’m being shamed because of what I’m reading. Not good. not good. So this is an advantage for me.

There you go! This kindle is one of my best purchases! I love it so much! <3 Now excuse this book dragon, she has tons of books to read.

Stay safe!

xo,

JL

[rigelmejo]

Review of Lingq and Reader Language Apps

My tentative review of lingq: Literally seems to serve the same function for me as the Pleco Reader. The positive benefit of using lingq - it highlights words you don’t know in blue, words you’ve started learning in yellow, and words you already know are left unhighlighted. This is motivating because the progress you make is clear, and the words you already know you don’t try to over-study or re-memorize (because my perfectionist tendencies LOVE to get hung up studying things I already know before progressing). Lingq also counts the words you’ve marked as known. That is the primary reason I’m trying the app - I wanted to gauge how many chinese words I actually can read and am familiar with.

However, the core negatives to lingq: their dictionary/lookup function for words is clunky and inconvienient. It only shows the most common translation at a quick click pop up and that isn’t necessarily nuanced or correct. The pop up is hard to get rid of because you have to expand it then exit out of it, which is inconvenient and slows down reading (I wish I could just click the pop-up again or click the word again to remove the translation pop up). It has options to search more in-depth definitions on sites like baidu, but all the steps that takes makes doing so just as time consuming as opening the internet browser or baidu app and searching it that way. So the dictionary option I find is lacking and inconvienient, and that affects ease of reading/ease of use. The dictionary feature IS better than the Idiom reader app, but Idiom reader app also has the ability to look up more in-depth definitions which takes just as much time as lingq/a web browser. 

Basically - Pleco Reader is eons better than both of them. Pleco Reader’s only draw back in definitions, is it provides so many that the less familiar you are with chinese, the more its a puzzle of which definition applies (but usually the top ones are the most common, so it’s rarely an issue) - but a reader can’t be expected to know which meaning of 15 possible a writer may have intended, if that meaning’s one of the least common. So it’s just nice that pleco provides the less common ones so it’s easy to look up when those situations arise. In addition, Pleco Reader is very convenient to flip from dictionary explanations back to reader, not slowing the reading experience. Lingq ALSO has very few chinese materials in varying levels. It seems to rely on users uploading their own materials. So a lot of it seems to be ripped from a textbook, or web article, or native book. Pleco Reader in comparison has several graded readers available to purchase, which are great for picking materials at your actual reading level, with relatively high frequency words to learn, and with grammar that should be comprehensible. Also, pleco lets me import any of my own pdf, ebook, and txt documents, along with any website. So I can read webnovels on there, my own graded readers I’ve got from other places, etc. Pleco Reader is MUCH more convenient for reading virtually whatever you want, and it’s definitions are both easier to access (including most idioms you’re likely to encounter) and more likely to have most helpful definition. 

Probably the biggest difference - Lingq is 12.99 a MONTH. Pleco Reader has a one time cost of 10-20 dollars (depending on the package you buy). Then Pleco sends you a code so if you ever lose your app/get a new phone/something goes wrong, you can enter the code and get back all your purchases. A one time cost is eons more affordable, and really kind of them. I especially like that they put in the effort to give you the ability to recover your purchase if you have any issues. I bought the 20 dollar package I think - so I could get the expanded dictionary, with pretty much any word or idiom I’d ever see, natural speech audio, and the Reader. It has been well worth it. I’ve been using pleco for like 4 months, so the longer I use it the more that cost seems minimal (it’d be like the equivalent of 5$ a month before, free now. Or the equivalent of the cost of Lingq for less than 2 months).

Lingq’s cost PER month I’m not sure I could feel justified in spending. The ONLY added benefit I see of using Lingq over Pleco, is lingq has color coded the words you know/don’t know/are learning, and lingq counts how many words you know. Those two features are motivating. But they’re just motivational benefits. 

Other then that, Lingq has the following features: audio (Pleco Reader has this too), flashcards (using anki or memrise for free appear to be equally good or better than lingq’s feature, especially because you can simply export from lingq), cloze-like questions (again, memrise, anki, Quizlet, and even in some ways clozemaster are free alternatives). I personally hate flashcard type study, so I use memrise when necessary but generally would never use such features - so lingq’s flashcard features aren’t worthwhile for me. If they’re something you’re interested in - again, there seem to be free options available that are as good as or better than lingq. 

So, at least for my own personal learning preferences, lingq does not seem to be worth it. Everything it provides is available somewhere else for cheaper, for a one time cost, or free. Pleco Reader I think offers the most benefits and convenience out of every Language-Reader app I’ve tried. Compared to: Lingq, idiom, using Baidu itself on a webpage, etc - closest comparison is the free ZhongWen chrome extension on chinese sites, I think that’s nearly as convienient as Pleco Reader and obviously the alternative for when you’re on a computer. Idiom is actually a really nice app considering it’s free, and it does serve the basic purpose (Pleco Reader is a one time purchase cost) - idiom has sometimes incorrect translations/audio, but over all if you read enough content then that’s just a few words a paragraph or page that you won’t be able to study.  Those words can be looked up separately in a free dictionary app (like free Pleco’s dictionary, or google translate, or baidu) if they keep confusing you or keep seeming to be wrong. 

Lingq just... does not seem worth 12.99 a month, for only the added benefit of making it obvious which words you know/don’t know/are studying. Other than that single ability, there are comparable tools out there that already does what Lingq does or better, for cheaper or free. 

Overall, readers I would recommend:

Pleco Reader (10 dollars, or a bit more if you buy it in a package, single time purchase) - benefits include the only dictionary you’ll need, audio (per word or for entire text), flashcard making ability, option to import any ebook/txt/website, option to one-time purchase graded readers. Although paid, I appreciate that all purchases are one time only. On a phone, this is the app I overwhelmingly rely on - it has everything I need in one area. I personally like to open up mtlnovels.com and read the novels with dual chinese/english, so I can look at the english sentences afterward - and use Pleco Reader as I get through the chinese chunks to make sure I can look up words I don’t know. If I were going to start translating, I’d probably use this method so I could get a gist of the meaning in english, then go through each line and fix errors and improve the translation for idioms and less straightforward meanings. For reading for Ease, that method’s the best for me to get through the novels I want to read. For reading intensively, I just open up a novel I want to read in all chinese and chug through it using pleco to look up words I stumble on. 

Free alternative: Zhongwen chrome extension. Equally extensive dictionary, links to grammar points, audio (per word), can read anything online or opened in a chrome browser (so you could open your txt documents in it) - sometimes works on subtitles on videos too. Subtitles on viki, on netflix, seem to be readable by zhongwen. It may work on some pdfs opened in chrome. Only available on computers. It’s really fantastic. If you’re on a computer I’d just recommend using this one overall. 

Free Alternative: Idiom - app. dictionary is decent, but some errors or limitations mean occasionally looking up words in another free dictionary app (Google Translate, Baidu Translate, Pleco Dictionary). Machine audio (per word), also sometimes has errors. Can read anything on a website. There are some other readers that serve the same function as idiom, I’ve seen one for webnovels... but I think at idiom overall is as good as or better than the other options out there. Idiom does not auto-link you to novel websites, but if you can find them then you can put any url in. Idiom also works for MANY languages - so you can also use it for french/spanish/japanese/etc. Idiom is the app I use for french, since obviously Pleco Reader is just for chinese. For free readers, and readers in other languages, I think idiom’s the best bet. Lingq might have more appeal for language learners of other languages - since it IS a little better than idiom with providing the correct translations, but lingq’s translations are still off sometimes TOO. So, if you’re learning a language that isn’t chinese, I’d recommend trying Idiom for free and seeing if it’s useful to you before shelving out money for anything paid. 

Not a reader, but there are two netflix dual subtitle chrome extensions that work really well for reading with a dictionary too, I’ll list them later when I look them up. These are ALSO available to use in many languages, so that’s nice. for both of the free dual subtitle extensions, Zhongwen also seems to work for them (if you ever want to look up a secondary definition).

Dictionary Apps:

Google Translate - good for drawing the characters, at least for me it has the easiest time recognizing what I’m trying to look up (I’m left handed and draw characters with my right on my phone so). When I’m watching tv its easy to open google and draw an unknown character in the app when I don’t know the pinyin. It usually only offers the most frequent/common definition, so it has limitations - but for a quick lookup of one word its usually convenient. For a quick gist of bigger chunks of text, google translate is also a quick way to do it although at least some words and phrases WILL probably be incorrect. 

Pleco Dictionary - this part of the pleco app is free. The definitions are the most thorough I’ve seen, and the easiest to get a meaningful definition if google translate is inadequate. Pleco’s definitions hands down seem to be the best. You have to pay for one of the packages to access the ability to draw characters to look them up, to access idiom translations, natural voice pronunciations, and a much more massive dictionary. I just bought it - and now I rarely have to use google translate. Only negative - have to look up things word by word, or by idiom/phrase. Other then that, it’s the best one probably.

Baidu Translate - also free. Biggest benefit is the ability to put a url in and have it machine translate the entire page. Like google, it’s very useful to get a quick gist of bigger chunks of text, and a handful of those words or phrases may be translated wrong. It’s fun to use it to translate english pages to chinese (again, some errors will crop up). It’s sometimes better than Google translate for looking up individual words, and phrases - but also has its limitations. 

Overall I use Baidu and Google for chunks of translations, and then Pleco or Zhongwen for specific words or phrases. It’s why I like using dual chinese/english mtlnovels.com in Pleco Reader - because then the big-chunk machine translated english is already provided (and the only thing Pleco Reader can’t do), and so I can just use pleco to go by word and phrase to get specific pieces of translation that are more accurate. 

I use Google translate or Pleco Dictionary for looking up words by drawing characters - but this is only a free feature in Google translate (and honestly I think Google translate recognizes my handwriting better - so I usually use Google, then if the definition isn’t helpful I copy paste the text version of the word into pleco dictionary). 

[imanes]

at what time of day do u do the majority of ur reading? cus i always try 2 read at night but i only get like 20 pages thru n then i fall asleep!! but im too busy the rest of the day!

at any time really! i don’t like to read before bed bc i usually get way too excited and i can’t sleep afterwards akjflkg when i finished station eleven yesterday at 2am my mind was buzzing and that’s not conducive to a good night of rest lmao. i think i do the majority of my reading between right after work (5pm-ish) and 9pm on a weekday and between noon and 7pm on weekends but that depends on so many factors, especially on how social i’m feeling. nowadays i also read during my commute because i got cloud library and scribd on my phone so i can read ebooks in the metro. i think a lot of people think they don’t have time to read or engage in any sort of meaningful, compelling activity because they don’t have time but if you try to MAKE time for your hobby (whether it’s reading or something else) you’ll soon realise that you actually engage in a lot of superfluous activities like scroll through various apps on your phone or binge-watch tv. i personally barely watch tv so like i do have time to read, but that’s bc that’s the type of media that i choose to consume. if i were more into netflix i’d read less but i don’t find TV engaging enough. just assess what activities you participate in during your free time and see what you can do to free some time for your reading, preferably before 9pm. there’s no one-size-fits-all obviously since we all have different schedules and different priorities but if you make reading one of yours you’ll realise quickly that it’s not that hard to make time for it :-) and in any case (i sound like a broken record at this point) you can listen to an audiobook at almost literally any time and that counts as reading too. i swear i’m not paid by the audiobook lobby i just think it’s neat

[27dragons]

Name of Piece: The Bliss of Ignorance Square Filled: R3 - didn’t know they were dating Rating: T Warnings: None Summary: Bucky and Tony are friends. It only makes sense they’d do nice things for each other. But there’s nothing between them. Really. Created For: @tonystarkbingo

Bucky was playing paper football with Clint when Tony pushed into the coffee shop, arms laden with thick books, as usual. Bucky felt a warm little spurt of fondness. Of all the friends Steve had made while Bucky was deployed overseas, Tony was his favorite. Bucky waved, then dragged over a chair from another table.

“That stack must weigh almost as much as you,” he said as Tony dropped the books on the table with a relieved sigh.

“Just about,” Tony agreed. “But they don’t have ebook versions, so...” He shrugged. “It’s okay, I only need them for a few days.”

“Mechanical Engineering and Robotics,” Steve read off the spines. “Fundamentals of Robotics Design. Tony, what the heck? You took Fundamentals three semesters ago.”

“Yeah, but I thought I should brush up.” He grinned and bounced in his seat with barely-suppressed excitement. “I got that internship with Fujikawa!”

“What! Tony, that’s fantastic!” Bucky said, amidst the others’ congratulations. “You’re gonna blow ‘em away.”

“I hope so,” Tony said. “I mean, it’s just an internship, I know I won’t be actually working on design or anything, but--”

“They’ll be lucky to have you,” Bucky promised.

“Thanks.” Tony opened one of the books and took out a small stack of pages held together with a paperclip. “Of course, now I’ve got to fill in all this new hire paperwork. Anyone got a pen I can borrow?”

Natasha had one, because she was prepared for everything, always.

Bucky and Clint went back to their game while Tony muttered over the forms he was filling out and Steve and Nat bickered good-naturedly about whose turn it was to decide where their next date would be.

“Oh, dammit,” Tony sighed. “They want an emergency contact number. There’s no way I’m putting my parents on here.”

Tony’s wealthy father had cut Tony off after they’d fought over what Tony should major in, among other things. In defiance, Tony had gotten loans and was finishing up his degree on his own terms. Bucky was ridiculously proud of him. “Put me down, doll,” Bucky suggested.

“Really?”

“Sure,” Bucky said. “I’m mostly on night shift anyway, so I’ll be around when you blow something up.”

Tony huffed, but wrote Bucky’s name and number on the form. “Robotics doesn’t really involve a lot of explosions,” he said. “More’s the pity.”

“Okay, so when you accidentally create an evil robot that’s bent on destroying the world,” Bucky amended. Tony laughed, and Bucky ruffled his hair.

[’ware the readmore!]

Tony pushed open the door to Bucky’s apartment. Bucky had given him a key when it had come up that Bucky’s apartment was closer to the Fujikawa office than the fourth-floor walkup that Tony split with Clint and Pietro. “That way you’ve got a place to stash your books an’ stuff so you don’t gotta lug ‘em all that way,” Bucky had said.

It was handy; Tony kept a couple of changes of clothes at Bucky’s, too, in case he had to work late and crash on Bucky’s couch. And Bucky had given him space in the fridge, too, so Tony could eat dinner there before taking the subway back to his own apartment. They often ate together, in fact -- Tony’s dinner was Bucky’s breakfast.

Bucky was in the kitchen already when Tony came in, humming tunelessly as he made a mess of the eggs in his frying pan. He looked up with a bright smile when Tony came in. “Heya, dollface! Good day?”

“Yeah, actually,” Tony said. “I found a little flaw in the design I was proofreading, and my boss said I probably saved the company a couple of months on the project and a shit-ton of money.”

“That’s great!” Bucky said. He threw his arm around Tony’s shoulders and squeezed him in a quick hug before going back to his eggs. “We should go out to celebrate.”

“Speaking of celebration,” Tony said, “your birthday is coming up. You going to let me plan a party?”

“What? You don’t gotta go to any trouble for me,” Bucky said.

Tony glared at him. “It’s not trouble if I want to do it. C’mon, it’s the first birthday you’ve had since you came back stateside. Let us take you out and have some fun!”

Bucky made a face like he was going to argue, and Tony turned on the pout. Bucky could never resist Tony’s pout.

“Fine, okay,” Bucky sighed. His mouth twitched like he was trying to suppress a smile. “Nothin’ too crazy, though, okay? It’s just a birthday, don’t really mean nothin’.”

“I promise,” Tony lied cheerfully, and whipped out his phone. “Cancelling the hunky male strippers now.”

Bucky laughed. “Nah, you might as well keep those,” he said. “Makin’ Stevie blush is the best present you could give me, anyway.”

(“Oh my god,” Bucky said, three weeks later. “I thought you were kidding about the strippers!”

“Buck, I never kid about strippers,” Tony said solemnly. He’d had to badger Clint and Bruce and Natasha into helping him pay for it, but it was totally worth it for the way Bucky’s eyes had bugged out and the blush that climbed up out of Bucky’s collar.

“Best birthday ever.”)

Steve and Natasha were completely disgusting together pretty much all the time, but for Valentine’s Day, they took it to new heights. “Ug, get a room,” Bucky complained.

“Or,” Clint suggested with a practiced leer, “put on a show.”

“You have a boyfriend,” Bucky reminded him.

“It’s okay, I’ll film it for him.” Clint thumbed on his phone and turned on the photo app.

“Gross. Stevie, what the hell happened to the evils of the industrial marketing complex, huh?”

Steve managed to tear his gaze away from Natasha. “I guess when you’re this much in love, you’ll take any excuse to show it.”

“Oh gag me,” Bucky whined.

“Kinky,” said Tony in his ear. “We haven’t even gotten to third base yet.”

“Jesus!” Bucky jumped. “Where’d you come from?”

“Just got here.” Tony dragged out a chair and dropped into it, then tossed a package into Bucky’s lap.

“What’s this?” Bucky picked the box up and turned it over.

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” Tony said. “The bodega on Seventh already has their chocolate on post-holiday markdown.”

“Nice!” If Bucky was going to have to watch his paired-off friends being all sappy and cute with each other all day while Bucky was single, it was nice to have consolation chocolate to go with it. “But don’t think this means I’m putting out.”

“What about this one?”

Bucky leaned over Tony’s shoulder to read the Craigslist ad. “I dunno, this guy sounds like a creeper.”

“They all sound like creepers,” Tony pointed out. “It’s a roommate-wanted ad.”

Bucky chewed on his lip. He could appreciate Tony wanting to move out of Clint and Pietro’s apartment to give the two their privacy, but he didn’t like the idea of Tony living with a stranger. Especially not with the creeps and drug dealers that seemed to be all Tony was finding on Craigslist.

Fuck it. “You could always move in with me,” he said. Bucky’s apartment was small, but he had it to himself.

Tony gave him a wide-eyed look. “I already impose on you enough.”

“Nah. Half your stuff is at my place anyway, you might as well just bring the rest.”

Tony rubbed at the spot on his chest that meant he was considering it. “You’re sure?”

“Yeah,” Bucky said. “I don’t want to go back to night shift, but losing the pay differential kinda sucked. Little help with the rent and bills would be nice, honestly.”

“I’m graduating next semester,” Tony reminded him. “Once I get a real job, I can help out a lot more.”

“Bet Fujikawa’s gonna snap you right up,” Bucky said. “They keep re-upping your internship. They know you’re a keeper.”

“Okay,” Tony said. “Yeah, we can make that work. I bet Clint and Piet will be relieved to have the place to themselves, finally.”

“Everyone wins,” Bucky agreed.

Tony heard the door open, but didn’t look up from his homework. “Welcome home, snugglebug.”

“Hey there, shmoopsie,” Bucky shot back. The ridiculous pet names had started as mockery of Steve and Nat, and then turned into their own private joke. “Anything interesting happen today?”

“Rhodey nearly had a nervous breakdown in the computer lab when the printer ran out of paper and the IT guy said they wouldn’t be around to refill it until tomorrow,” Tony reported. “But I told him I’d print his paper here and drop it off when we meet up for drinks later. That okay?”

“As long as it’s not a hundred-pager,” Bucky agreed.

“Nah, just twelve.”

“No worries, then.”

“Oh, and we got our invitation to Steve and Nat’s wedding in the mail,” Tony said. He pointed at the table that was more of a dumping ground than a useful surface. “Singular invitation. One of them, for both of us.”

Bucky snorted as he picked it up and turned it over. “Fancy,” he commented. “What, no ‘and Guest’ for either of us?”

“Steve did say they were trying to keep it small and intimate,” Tony pointed out. “If either of us were dating anyone, they’d already know about it.”

“They didn’t have to send us an invitation at all,” Bucky said. “Seeing as we’re both in the wedding party.”

“I think that’s just so we can mark our dinner preference,” Tony said. He squinted at his homework, erased a line of math, and reworked it.

“Oh, yeah, here’s the card. Oh, you already filled it out for us. How’d you know I’d want the chicken?”

“Because you only like steak if it’s still bleeding, and there’s no way to get real rare steak from a catering venue.”

“You know me so well.” Bucky messed up Tony’s hair on his way past. “Guess you’ll be an okay date.”

“I hope I catch the bouquet,” Tony quipped. “Then you’ll have to marry me.”

Bucky snared Steve’s elbow and drew him aside. “Stevie. I hate to be a wet blanket at your own rehearsal dinner, but...”

“What’s wrong, Buck?”

“The room you got for me an’ Tony... Look, I’m super grateful to you guys for putting us up, but there was some kind of mix-up with the hotel, an’ they said they can’t change it without your say-so ‘cause it’s on your credit card.”

“Oh.” Steve looked relieved. “Is that all? We can swing by the front desk and do that. What’s wrong with the room?”

“It’s only got one bed.”

Steve hesitated. “That’s... that’s a problem?”

“What do you-- of course it’s a problem!”

“Sorry, Buck,” Steve said, his eyes wide. “I didn’t know. You guys have been together so long, I just assumed--”

“Wait,” Bucky said. “Wait wait wait. What do you mean, together? You mean Tony and me? Like, together, together?”

“Well... yeah?” Steve blinked. “Aren’t you?”

“Of course we’re not!”

“What do you mean, ‘of course’? You an’ Tony have been living in each other’s pockets for like... two years now. He moved in with you!”

“That’s no different than when he was livin’ with Clint and Pietro! It ain’t like we’re suckin’ face everywhere!”

“We just figured you weren’t all that demonstrative in public. Besides, you flirt with each other all the time,” added Steve.

“It’s a joke.”

Steve put his hand on Bucky’s shoulder and looked at him gravely. “Is it?”

Bucky’s mouth fell open, but no protest came out. Over Steve’s shoulder, Bucky could see Tony, laughing as he thumb-wrestled with Pietro over the last slice of bread. Bucky caught himself smiling fondly, and Steve patted his shoulder. “Maybe not as much of a joke as you think, pal,” Steve said. The jerk.

“I’ll... get back to you on that room thing,” Bucky said, unable to tear his eyes away from Tony.

“You do that, Buck.” And Steve was gone.

Shit. Shit. How had he never realized... All their friends thought they were dating? Had been, for... for years.

And sure, they lived together. They went everywhere together, but that was just convenience. It was nice, having company when you were out running errands. It was good sense not to wander the city alone, too, especially when you’d been out having a good time.

And okay, neither of them had gone on any dates in the last couple of years, either, but that was because Tony was focused on his studies and his internship and Bucky was...

Was...

Oh, fuck, was he in love with Tony?

How long had that been going on?

“No dice with the room?” Tony asked when Bucky came back to the table. It was fine, Tony had figured there was a possibility that the hotel’s double bed rooms had already been booked. They could share a bed for two nights; it wouldn’t be that much of an imposition.

“Uh. There’s sort of a... thing,” Bucky said. He looked a little pale.

“Hey, you okay?”

“What? Yeah. Yeah, I’m just...” Bucky looked up and down the table, then took a deep breath, as if steeling himself for something. “Come an’ take a little walk with me?”

“Sure,” Tony said, pushing his chair back. “You sure you’re all right?”

“Yeah,” Bucky said, leading Tony away from the noise and down a side hall. “I just... Um.” When the rehearsal party was out of sight and almost out of earshot, Bucky stopped and leaned against the wall. “So... the reason we got that room,” he said, eyes on the peeling wallpaper, “is ‘cause apparently everyone thinks we’re. Y’know. Together.”

Tony blinked. Then blinked again. “You mean together, together?”

Bucky huffed out a little laugh. “That’s ‘xactly what I said.”

“Oh my god,” Tony said. “Why the hell would they--” Except it made perfect sense, didn’t it, if you were on the outside, looking in. Bucky and Tony spent all their time together. They flirted. They gave each other gifts. They spent their holidays together. They gave each other Valentine’s gifts and planned each other’s birthday parties. They were each other’s emergency contacts, for fuck’s sake. “Huh.”

“Yeah,” Bucky said.

Tony was beginning to understand why Bucky looked so poleaxed. It wasn’t like he’d never thought about it -- Bucky was one damned fine looking man, after all. But he’d never taken it seriously. Bucky was not just gorgeous but smart and brave and funny and kind, and Tony was lucky enough just being Bucky’s friend. But apparently their friends thought there was more there. And he couldn’t help but understand why. “We’ve been dating all this time, and didn’t realize it,” Tony said.

“I guess so.”

Bucky glanced up, and Tony was arrested by the look in Bucky’s eyes. Longing and hungry. Bucky’s eyes dropped, but only to Tony’s mouth and neck, and Bucky licked his lips, let his teeth drag over his bottom lip.

Oh. Oh. Bucky... wanted that?

With Tony?

Tony’s breath hitched and Bucky’s eyes snapped back up to meet Tony’s gaze.

Tony swallowed. “It’s a nice bed,” he said cautiously.

Bucky nodded slowly. “Looked very nice. Big. Comfy. And it’d be a real hassle to make the hotel change our room now. It’s getting late, and all.”

“That’s true,” Tony agreed. “Maybe we should just keep it.”

“We are here together,” Bucky pointed out. “The invitation said.”

“Hang on, I want to try something,” Tony said. Bucky stared at him, and Tony leaned in, felt the soft rush of air as Bucky sucked in a breath. “Yeah?”

Bucky nodded, and Tony leaned in a little closer to brush his lips against Bucky’s once, twice, a third time.

Then Bucky’s hand curled around Tony’s neck, fingers pushing through Tony’s hair, and pulled him in for another, deeper kiss. Tony’s stomach filled with butterflies and a rush of heat flooded Tony’s body. “Oh god,” he croaked.

Bucky reached for Tony’s hand, lacing their fingers together, then glanced at Tony shyly. “Okay? If they see? If they know?”

Tony grinned. “Honey, apparently we’re the only idiots who didn’t know.” He squeezed Bucky’s hand tighter. “Come on, let’s go back to dinner and make everyone sick at how sappy we are.”

“Steve and Nat have it coming,” Bucky agreed. “And then after dinner...”

“After dinner,” Tony said, thrilling at the thought, “we’ll go back to our room and take advantage of that very nice bed.”

~fin.

[godfirstgodalways]

I struggle with depression/anxiety a lot of it is impulse thoughts. Mostly when I become angry at simple things that shouldn’t make it angry. I have t gone to church in a while I want to go but I get depressed thinking people will judge be since I haven’t been there for a while. Can you help?

When my anxiety was this bad, I remember a lot of it was impulsive thoughts too. I get that. About the anger too. Pride and patience was and still is God’s biggest lesson for me. The thing that’s great is you know it’s a problem so you are on the right path. It just takes time to make it a practice where you can resist the urge to lose it and it really begins with your thoughts, especially first thing in the morning. I’ve always had a mind that’s very receptive and maybe you’re the same way..(?) I’ve never been hypnotized but I would probably be a very easy person to put under a spell just because I easily absorb influence. You’ve got to pay attention to who you’ve been spending time with, what you’ve been watching, and what you’ve been listening to. A lot of things have an influence on you whether you’re aware of it or not. For me if I begin the day looking at Snapchat stories or silly things on Instagram that have nothing to do with God/Christianity, later on it’ll be hard to focus on Him when I finally want to. My thoughts will end up being very impulsive and I’ll easily be concerned about things that I shouldn’t be concerned about…basically my focus will not have a direction and clear purpose..I’ll be all over the place and I’ll feel mentally exhausted. It’s better to start the day with peace and inspiration drawn from pouring myself to God.

Maybe you need to reevaluate what you’ve been listening to lately…whatever is entertaining you in the flesh is preventing you from reaching that place of peace in your soul. I remember throwing out everything that God convicted me to throw out and just getting rid of things that were hindering me from growing…from secular music to my Cosmopolitan magazines, and I just detoxed mostly from listening to music that was not helping me have more patience and think more peacefully. Now besides Christian, I  listen mostly to classical, jazz, instrumental, study, chill music, and some oldies every now and then. My anger issues and anxiety has seriously subsided. I only have moments when I’m irritated but I got it under control.

People will not judge you in church because they are probably busy worrying about others judging them too. Really, everyone has their own issues. If you are not ready to go back, at least fill your mind with songs of praise, the newer the better. Also listen to Christian podcasts, read devotionals, journal…something that will get you on track for desiring more of Jesus in your life. Every morning, dedicate the first hour to God. I’ve listed some resources for you. And of course I will be praying for you too that in His perfect time you will find the courage to go back to church.

Apps I have on my phone:

Focus on the Family Focus Broadcast

Valley Vegas/VBF Church

Ask Pastor John (Desiring God)

d365 Daily Devotionals

Got Questions?

Think Up

Calm

Consider subscribing to these channels on YT:

Joshua Eze (he’s got a book called Unplugged, great motivational preacher)

Transformation Church (Pastor Michael Todd)

Elevation Church (Pastor Steven Furtick)

Elevation Worship (love their music)

Sadie Robertson (this girl’s spirit and energy is just awesome)

Positively Britt (love her guided scripture reading w/ instrumental, great for meditation)

Psalm (worship playlists, great to get you filled up with the right kind of energy in the morning)

The Good Christian Music (nice chill music)

Study Music Project (study, relax, chill)

Best Music Compilation (study relax, work out)

Top books/ebooks I recommend:

My Utmost for His Highest - Oswald Chambers

Purpose Driven Life - Rick Warren

Supplements that I am very grateful for :)

Sports Research L-Theanine w/ Suntheanine (for anxiety, focus, relaxation, sleep) https://amzn.to/2DnSdYT

Bulk Supplements L-Theanine (for anxiety, focus, relaxation, sleep) https://amzn.to/2F2ZPSw

Do your own research, this supplement is effective for anger, irritation, impatience, stress.

Disclaimer: I’m not a dietitian or nutritionist. 

By His Grace, Sheela (Via godfirstgodalways)

[keenregine]

My correct posture still won't fix my goddamn backache, try as I might “I only write when I’m in the mood,” is an overrated statement. Fuck it, I’m gonna write whatever mood I’m into. This laptop is too cold considering the scorching weather outside of searing 45 degrees C. Who cares, you’re in an air conditioned room. To start off, since I got my Kindle, I’ve been reading a great deal amount of books per week, I’m not even on a holiday. I was in great disbelief at first but heck it’s true. In the beginning I’m one of those pretentious-like people who says ‘Oh, I prefer physical books over e-readers, I like the smell, feel and the traditional transcendence it gives.’ I had a whole week to think about if I really should get one. My turning point? The portability and convenience. I was in the middle of reading For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway, I had an errand that day and I was expecting a long queue to where I was going. I decided to bring my book along which I recklessly put on my tote bag. Mind you, I’m highly particular with handling books, I believe I said this a million times. I don’t want any scratches, corner folds or traces of writing in the covers, saying all of this right now already gives me the cringe. After surpassing that errand, straight I went to a bookstore and to a coffee shop just nearby. The moment I took out my book and saw the corners, I had to take a deep breath and been wanting to scold myself for being such a big lummox. But I couldn’t do it for I was in public. Glad I had a valid excuse. So I had to think, little by little, each and everyday I was slowly convincing myself to get an e-reader. The most accessible I could purchase is of course a Kindle. But not yet. . Maybe there’s plenty of other options for me to choose from. Or perhaps, other ways I could make my life more conducive to reading regardless of the situation, affordability and patience. Lots of it. Never would I sleep alone in a room with all the lights off, I always keep a single lamp on, so that my imagination would stop playing tricks on me. Since we’re talking about lights, let me enlighten you further with the set-up of my room. My vanity mirror bears four sepia tone bulb lights, too bright and disturbing, but perfect for getting ready kind of mood, located on the lower right foot of my bed. On my top left corner is a dim light lamp, which is I keep on forever while sleeping. I tried reading with it, my eyes were strained. I thought, maybe I should buy a new lamp then, I searched online and they’re all too expensive. No way. I told myself, ‘If only I had a kindle, this would be easier.’ Uh oh. I was kidding when I said I gave myself a whole week to think about it. Took me about three days tops, but the universe was conspiring against me, I got the kindle after 2-3 weeks, no kidding. Here’s another turn of events. It was my first purchase in Amazon, as I heard from others' story, any orders come after 3 days maximum, and this is not even the prime ones, prime orders arrives the next day. Great. I need to wait three days, But. It. Didn’t. There I was clicking proceed to check out. As claimed, the infamous kindle will be in my hands after the next 5 days. Holy crap, can’t wait that long. During those dreadful waiting days, I dived myself into tutorial videos, websites to download free books because I’m such a cheapskate, I even downloaded books for total readiness. As if I was expecting a child, painting the nursery and all. Fifth day came, I was ecstatic. I was two days off, earlier that day, my friend asked me if I could accompany her to the hospital for a major surgery, I was sincerely touched because I was the first person she considered. Immediately I prepared my things. I was expecting the delivery to come that same day, but until later that night not even a single call I received. Bollocks. I keep stealing glances on my phone for updates, any messages notifying why it didn’t arrive on the promised date. Nothing. The next morning came, I was beginning to be upset. Thinking about countless reasons why it was delayed, maybe it disappeared out in the open, mistakenly brought to a wrong person, many of my anxious doubts keep pouring. You might say I don’t have patience for such a small matter, until three days later. . .jinx! Of course, still nothing. I couldn’t contain myself and write a formal complain to Amazon, side by side with the local courier. I feel sorry for whoever received that complain, probably he’s used to reading these things. It was dramatic all over, I began. . .I can’t fight this feeling any longer, I wish I have the strength to let it show. Lol. Seriously. I can’t remember the exact words I wrote, and I don’t think there’s any way I can access it again. To summarize, ‘my order was ridiculously late, I followed up many times, no updates blah blah blah’, my take away line was, ‘This is my first purchase and it’s already a bad experience, Unacceptable, and not a satisfying experience.’ I could have add ‘I will not recommend this to my friends’ or ‘I will not order from Amazon ever again’, but that’s too savage, they might put me on their blacklist, Karen-ish. The customer services responded promptly with an apology, saying they’ll be happy to give me a full refund, and if the order comes, consider it as a gift. That kinda made my day, along with another great news I receive the following day, which I will share in the nearest future. I would also want to add the solid proof that I have zero tolerance in waiting. During those ridiculous times I have to endure, I asked one of my work mates who consistently buy things in Amazon to place an order for me of the same Kindle, she’s a prime customer. The next day, it arrived. I was happy and very much satisfied, contrary to what I initially experienced. I think that concludes my entire super not entertaining Kindle story. Any questions? Oh, the other one came for at least another week, now I have two Kindles. The most practical but douchey thing for me to do is to sell it. Now to who? I’m having another dilemma, why you do this to me Amazon, no actually it’s the couriers mishap. I tried to ask few people I know who also reads. I’m not quite skilled when it comes to convincing people, but I think that part of me forcibly came out of my system. (Maybe some people reading this might be convinced too, if there is really someone out there. lol) I was astonished with what many things a Kindle could do, therefore I would sell to them the same features I was impressed about. If not the terms of affordability, the other two reasoned out the same one I had before, the likeliness of feeling a physical book and smelling it. Hmm, quite challenging since I was in that same situation as before and I understood that. It’s not about being a hefty tech savvy to get around kindle, basic knowledge is enough. There are tons of resources for free ebooks, that later on I figured out myself. It’s very far from being a usual tablet, the only thing you can do is to read in a black and white screen (exact same interface of a physical book), although the glitch is quite disturbing but fairly tolerable, especially with turning one page to another, no apps can be applied nor any games, hence less distractions. My favorite feature is the instant pop-up definition of a word if you press it for few seconds, no need to pause your reading and search for that certain word in a dictionary of your phone. It’s already there! Awesome. The battery life is also incredible, it could last for a whole week even if you read many times a day. In my case, it lasted about 3-4 days maximum. My main reason above all is the portability, I’m still purchasing books once in a while, heck if that’s really once in a while. But I won’t have to worry about corner pages being folded, or carrying too many books in one single occasion, saves me a good damn space. Physical books I can read in the comfort of my own home or bed, but of course I still prefer Kindle especially when I’m in bed. I could toss and turn, shroud myself in a blanket and still be reading because the freaking backlight is adjustable to your needs. I wouldn’t read in a moving vehicle because it gives me instant dizziness, but if somehow someday, I needed a larger font, I could do that too. Oh Kindle, what did I do to deserve you, why won’t people see how good you are. That’s when I came with a conclusion, reading IS reading. In whatever form or genre you prefer, as long as it entertains you, gives you a whole other sense of dimension or universe. Most important of all, if it makes you happy then go ahead pursue it. Hope I didn’t bore you with all my non sense. Although my next journey will be for sure an exciting one, crossed-fingers, I can’t elaborate as much yet unless I’m in that exact place already or maybe right after that.

[theonyxpath]

Enemy Action illustration by Avery Butterworth

    Let’s hope the power stays on as I write this, as opposed to last week!

Had a great time at the strangely yet memorably named GameHoleCon in Madison, Wisconsin this last weekend. There, the preferred dice to roll are the 20-sided and other solids that are classically used for D&D, and that makes sense as they are very much coming from that tradition.

So why did Onyx Path attend when most of our games use 10-sided dice pools?

Well, we are publishing the second edition of the d20 classic Scarred Lands in both Pathfinder and 5th Edition D&D compatible rules versions. Scarred Lands‘ aftermath of a gods-war setting has always been very compelling to me, and I’m glad myself and developer Scott Holden had a chance to review where the line can go as we shared a room at the con.

Plus, we have Pugmire, which uses a simplified d20 system that we thing really makes it easy to get started playing your canine adventurers.

So we figure it is good to get out and both let folks know we have these great games available, and talk with the “d20” crowd a bit about the sorts of things they’re looking for. Adventures, cool new settings, stuff for online gaming venues – I heard interest in all of those this weekend.

Which reminds me: if you or someone you know currently creates, or wants to create, “d20” material, please do reach out to us. We have a good group of folks we’re already working with but can always use more, especially if you have focused on “d20” stuff. Thanks!

In terms of which systems are my preference, I don’t mind new or different systems if they let me play the game that I sat down to play. If they get in the way of the experience I’m expecting based on reading the rest of the core book, then I’m less happy about it. The d20 type games, percentile-based games, our beloved dice-pools, and any games that start with those sorts of rolls and then build out the rest of the systems; I’ve played all sorts, and some worked great and others not so much. So that’s my criteria for our use of systems with our game lines. YMMV.

      Beckett’s Jyhad Diary illustration by Ken Meyer, Jr.

    Speaking of 10-sided dice pools, I have two things to mention. One, I spent much time waiting in airports on either side of attending the con, and used that time to read the manuscript for Scion: Origin. I’m transcribing my notes for human consumption, or at least Neall’s, and they are mostly about information organization and fixing where the text seemed confusing.

But the StoryPath System that is at the heart of Scion 2nd Edition has almost no notes on it. Neall and the gang did a fantastic job on it, and how Scion builds upon it, and I think you’re going to love how it works!

Also, as we try and find ways to enable our community to more easily play our games, the Onyx Dice Rolling App is now live! Here are the links for the Apple and Android versions:

http://ift.tt/2zjnD0c

http://ift.tt/2hhT5Fk

The base app, with a couple of dice choices and board choices, is free and fully functional with pre-sets and manual controls so that every version of the dice-pool system used by any of the games we publish can be configured. Then, there are a selection of game line specific dice for a small charge, and “special” versions for a little bit more. For example, the special Wraith20 dice have numbers that begin to glow brightly, while each EX3 special Lunar die is surrounded by a soft silver nimbus.

We’re really thrilled to have launched this first of what we intend as many electronic game aids. Combined with putting more projects and parts of projects up for our game lines in places like Roll20 and Fantasy Grounds, as well as our initiatives to put books onto Amazon and B&N‘s marketplaces, this is part of the start of our efforts to enable players to obtain and use our projects in the ways they are currently gaming and reading.

    Enemy Action illustration by Shen Fei

    When I was at GameHoleCon, somebody asked me about whether a dice rolling app gives the same satisfaction as tossing a physical die, or handful of dice. I’ve had a couple of the apps over the last couple of years, and once they added in the ability to shake the phone and roll the dice that way, like our Onyx Dice Rolling App does, it does get you close to that feeling.

Of course, if what you really want is to roll using that certain special mojo that gives you that impossible success, like rolling four six-sided dice and getting a 6 on each to prove your stat roll like I once did, or like just about every roll I’ve seen former White Wolf CEO Mike Tinney ever make, then I think you’ve got to have the physical dice. But maybe, you just need to attune to our Onyx Dice Rolling App and it’ll happen.

I haven’t tried that yet myself, but I’ll let you know!

    Sample Arms of the Chosen page

    Finally, to switch from a roll to a role, I just want to point out that we’re planning on starting the Kickstarter for Changeling: The Lost 2nd Edition next week on Tuesday the 14th at 12 noon EST. We are pretty excited to be able to present this to all of you, we think it’ll be fun, and know that there are a lot of people waiting for this. Even so, tell your friends!

And now, I’m going to succumb to the ConCrud giving me chills as I write this, and I’ll leave you with my last non-feverish thought:

Many Worlds. One Path.

  BLURBS!

KICKSTARTER:

Right now, Tuesday the 14th at noon EST is looking good! If things get weird, we’ll fall back to Thursday the 16th. See you there!

Next, our Trinity Continuum Kickstarter will start in early January – since it makes no sense to start a KS mid-December!

  ON SALE NOW:

As we try and find ways to enable our community to more easily play our games, the Onyx Dice Rolling App is now live! Here are the links for the Apple and Android versions:

http://ift.tt/2zjnD0c

http://ift.tt/2hhT5Fk

  ON AMAZON AND BARNES & NOBLE:

We’re delighted to announce the opening of our ebook stores on Amazon and Barnes & Noble! You can now read our fiction from the comfort and convenience of your Kindle (from Amazon) and Nook (from Barnes & Noble). Our initial selection includes these fiction anthologies:

Vampire: The Masquerade: The Endless Ages Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Werewolf: The Apocalypse: Rites of Renown: When Will You Rage II (Kindle, Nook)

Mage: The Ascension: Truth Beyond Paradox (Kindle, Nook)

Chronicles of Darkness: The God-Machine Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Mummy: The Curse: Curse of the Blue Nile (Kindle, Nook)

Beast: The Primordial: The Primordial Feast Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

  And here are six more fiction books:

Vampire: The Masquerade: Of Predators and Prey: The Hunters Hunted II Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Werewolf: The Apocalypse: The Poison Tree (Kindle, Nook)

Werewolf: The Apocalypse: Songs of the Sun and Moon: Tales of the Changing Breeds (Kindle, Nook)

Vampire: The Requiem: The Strix Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Werewolf: The Forsaken: The Idigam Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Mage: The Awakening: The Fallen World Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

  Andand six more more:

Vampire: The Masquerade: The Beast Within Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Werewolf: The Apocalypse: W20 Cookbook (Kindle, Nook)

Exalted: Tales from the Age of Sorrows (Kindle, Nook)

Chronicles of Darkness: Tales of the Dark Eras (Kindle, Nook)

Promethean: The Created: The Firestorm Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Demon: The Descent: Demon: Interface (Kindle, Nook)

  And even more books are now on Amazon and the Nook store!:

Scarred Lands: Death in the Walled Warren (Kindle, Nook)

V20 Dark Ages: Cainite Conspiracies (Kindle, Nook)

Chronicles of Darkness: Strangeness in the Proportion (Kindle, Nook)

Vampire: The Requiem: Silent Knife (Kindle, Nook)

Mummy: The Curse: Dawn of Heresies (Kindle, Nook)

    OUR SALES PARTNERS:

We’re working with Studio2 to get Pugmire out into stores, as well as to individuals through their online store. You can pick up the traditionally printed main book, the Screen, and the official Pugmire dice through our friends there!

http://ift.tt/2w0aaEW

    Looking for our Deluxe or Prestige Edition books? Here’s the link to the press release we put out about how Onyx Path is now selling through Indie Press Revolution: http://ift.tt/1ZlTT6z

You can now order wave 2 of our Deluxe and Prestige print overrun books, including Deluxe Mage 20th Anniversary, and Deluxe V20 Dark Ages! And Screens…so many Screens!

And you can now order Pugmire: the book, the screen, and the dice! http://ift.tt/1pOsnTb

    DRIVETHRURPG.COM:

Coming this Wednesday on DriveThruCards, the Pugmire Card Set One (Trick, Condition, and Initiative Cards) are helpful visual aids for your Pugmire gaming fun! Lay them out next to your sheet for ease of reference during play, and to keep track of what you can do, what affects your character, and when they get to act.

      What dark secrets do the eldest vampires hold? Find out in Thousand Years of Night for Vampire: The Requiem! PDF and physical book PoD versions available on DriveThruRPG.com. http://ift.tt/2sV8lZR

You may think that with a multitude of people coming, going, dying and running away, we’d be tired, done, or ready to give up. Instead, I find myself restless, looking for the next thing.  There’s always a next thing, and I for one am not yet ready to die.

– Elder Kincaid, Daeva Crone

This book includes:

• Detailed instructions on creating elder vampires, including how to base chronicles around them

• A look into the lives of elders, how they spend their nights, who they work with, and why including their roles in both their clans and covenants

• New Devotions, Merits, and Rituals for elder vampires

• The kinds of creatures that pose a threat to elder vampires, including Inamorata, Lamia, Sons of Phobos, a new elder conspiracy, and more!

      Is a life of running and hiding a life worth living? We say yes. There’s always something between the running and the hiding, and those moments of grace make it all worthwhile.

The Huntsmen Chronicle Anthology is a perfect companion piece to Changeling: The Lost, 2nd Edition. These stories spin tales of the Lost, of those abducted and enslaved by fairies. Those who escaped, but whose captors will stop at nothing to find them. These fairies summon forth the Huntsmen, primordial hunters who understand nothing but pursuit and capture. The Huntsmen are unstoppable monsters, and the Lost can only look to each other for respite, rare comfort, and rarer trust.

The Hedge has parted and you can get the Advance PDF of The Huntsmen Chronicle Fiction Anthology for Changeling: The Lost 2nd Edition at DTRPG.com! http://ift.tt/2z4uZnU

        For over 20 years, the artists of Mage: The Ascension have conjured spirits and constructed hypertech that can transform reality on a whim.

Within this retrospective, those artists and images depict the ever-changing face of magick. From the debut edition to the twenty-first century, this book explores the people behind the pictures, the process of putting such books together, the story behind Mage’s Tarot iconography, and more.

Featuring the artwork of Echo Chernik, Joshua Gabriel Timbrook, Michael Gaydos, Mark Jackson, Leif Jones, Michael Kaluta, Steve Prescott, Alex Sheikman, Christopher Shy…and many, many more.

The Art of Mage: 20 Years and More has manifested on DTRPG in PDF and physical book PoD versions! Here: http://ift.tt/2iwP1Rr

      A Land Where Legends Walk

Drawing enthusiastically on Greek mythology, the revised and re-imagined Scarred Lands nonetheless retains its place as a modern fantasy RPG setting. This is a world shaped by gods and monsters, and only the greatest of heroes can expect to be counted among them. The most populous continent of Scarn, Ghelspad, plays host to vast unexplored regions, hides unsolved riddles from ancient cultures, and taunts adventures with the promise of undiscovered riches hidden among the ruins of older civilizations.

Yet the myths of the Scarred Lands are relatively recent events. The effects of the Titanswar still ripple through the world, and the heroines and villains of many of these stories are part of living memory, if not still living.

The Award-Winning Fantasy Setting Returns

Scarred Lands has been a favorite fantasy setting since the release of the Creature Collection for the d20 System in 2000. In subsequent years, over 40 titles were published for Scarred Lands, making it one of the most fully supported fantasy RPG settings ever and the premiere product line of Sword & Sorcery Studios.

Available in both 5th Edition and Pathfinder compatible versions! PDF and PoD formats available NOW!

http://ift.tt/2fEO9YJ

http://ift.tt/2fELqyx

  Heroes, Villains, and Others in Between! 

This tome is a revision of the original book by the same title, originally published for use with 3rd edition rules for the world’s most popular roleplaying game. In this revised edition of The Wise & the Wicked, all the same characters have returned (and we’ve added some new ones, too!), for use with the Scarred Lands Player’s Guide. 

Champions of Gods and Titans 

The Wise & the Wicked introduces a rogue’s gallery of the Scarred Lands’ movers and shakers, characters who carry out the will of the gods or the fallen titans. These non-player characters can be friends, enemies, or simply convenient resources for the player characters in your game.

Inside, find villains such as King Virduk of Calastia, the Black Dragon, along with his wife, the beautiful (and black-hearted) Queen Geleeda; the Grand Vizier to King Virduk, the wicked warrior-mage Anteas; and the sinister general of Virduk’s northern armies, Archduke Traviak the Steel-Fisted. At the other end of the spectrum, meet the gracious Lady Ariniel, the Swan Knight, champion of Madriel; Kimer the Shatterer, bearer of the Earth Sword of Scarn and tenacious foe of the titanspawn of the north; and King Thain the Just, the Aleking, ruler of Burok Torn. And many others beside!

Here you’ll find a fascinating compendium of characters from the Scarred Lands, but easily transported into campaigns set elsewhere. In addition, find multiple appendices full of new magic items and artifacts, class archetypes and prestige classes, new feats, new creatures and races, and more.

Available in Pathfinder and 5th Edition versions! PDF and PoD formats available NOW!

http://ift.tt/2zdVHXS

http://ift.tt/2zeEpd8

          From out of the Dreaming, the C20 Jumpstart: Yours To Keep PDF and PoD are now live on DTRPG.com: http://ift.tt/2fmlF3s

There is magic hiding everywhere. You just need to know where to look.

You are a changeling, a faerie soul hiding in a mortal body, fighting the chill of Nightmares and the oppressive weight of Banality with the pure creative power of Glamour. You have lived many lives, but the story of this one? It outshines them all.

In this hidden world, knights in steel and leather clash sword to sword outside the homecoming dance, dragons fly between skyscrapers, and fantastic castles rise from suburban lawns. A world of magic, intrigue, and adventure, and now that your fae side has awakened, it’s your world too.

“Yours to Keep” includes a rules and setting overview, as well as pre-generated characters and a complete introductory scenario for Changeling: The Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition. It’s perfect for jumpstarting a new Changeling chronicle!

    The PDF and PoD versions of C20 are now on DriveThruRPG.com: http://ift.tt/2w4Eq2m

Twenty years ago, White Wolf published Changeling: the Dreaming, the fifth of their promised five game-lines that together comprised the World of Darkness. Seen by some as a lighter, more fantasy-based setting in the modern-day, and by others as the darkest game White Wolf had yet created, players had to face the question of what happens once creativity and magic fades from their world.

This 20th Anniversary Edition of Changeling: the Dreaming returns to that deceptively bright yet terrifying world and both compiles and completes the concepts of the previous two editions. Led by veteran White Wolf and Onyx Path developer “Blackhat” Matt McFarland, our writing team consists of longtime Changeling creators like Ian Lemke, Jackie Cassada, Nicky Rea, and Peter Woodworth, as well as familiar names such as John Snead, Maggie Carrol, Matthew Dawkins, and Krister Michl. One and all are dedicated to making Changeling: the Dreaming Twentieth Anniversary Edition the most playable edition yet – while not losing the wonder, awe, and majesty that Changeling is known for.

A revised and up to date look at the World of Darkness through the eyes of the Kithain – what has happened to the Dreaming in the last 20 years, and what is the state of Glamour and dreams?

Rules for all of the kiths including in 2nd ed, plus fan favorites from other books: selkies, piskies, clurichaun, and both Arcadian and Concordian sidhe.

Rules for the Gallain: The inanimae, the hsien, the Nunnehi, and others!

An overhauled and reimagined system for fae magic, including new Arts and the powerful but dangerous practice of Unleashing!

New full-color beautiful artwork as well as classic Changeling illustrations including remastered full page pieces of the kiths by Tony Diterlizzi.

          Calling all Good Dogs! The Pugmire Core Rulebook PDF is now available on DTRPG.com!

http://ift.tt/2wAaAp3

And the actual physical book, screen, and dice, are available to order on the IPR and Studio2 websites!

Studio2: http://ift.tt/2w0aaEW

        CONVENTIONS!

  This month, the Onyx Path crew including Rich, Matt, Lisa, Neall, Dixie, and Meghan will be at the first ever PAX Unplugged in Philadelphia, November 17-19. http://ift.tt/2kBzmfv

  In December, Matthew Dawkins, Dave Brookshaw, and Eddy Webb are going to be at Dragonmeet in London. https://www.dragonmeet.co.uk/ Expect plenty of playful class warfare as these three mix it up, represent Onyx Path, and generally redefine the term “hooligans”.

  Planning ahead for 2018, we’re heading back to Midwinter Game Convention in Milwaukee, January 11-14, where we’re going to be bringing a big crew of many of your favorite Onyx Path designers and we’ll be running demos and making some special announcements at the show!  http://midwintergamingconvention.com

    And now, the new project status updates!

DEVELOPMENT STATUS FROM ROLLICKING ROSE (projects in bold have changed status since last week):

First Draft (The first phase of a project that is about the work being done by writers, not dev prep)

M20 Gods and Monsters (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

M20 Book of the Fallen (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

C20 Novel (Jackie Cassada) (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)

Deviant: The Renegades (Deviant: The Renegades)

  Redlines

Hunter: the Vigil 2e core (Hunter: the Vigil 2nd Edition)

They Came From Beneath the Sea! Rulebook (TCFBtS!)

  Second Draft

WoD Ghost Hunters (World of Darkness)

Tales of Good Dogs – Pugmire Fiction Anthology (Pugmire)

Exalted 3rd Novel by Matt Forbeck (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Night Horrors: The Tormented (Promethean: The Created 2nd Edition)

Monarchies of Mau (Monarchies of Mau)

  Development

Signs of Sorcery (Mage: the Awakening Second Edition)

SL Ring of Spiragos (Pathfinder – Scarred Lands 2nd Edition)

Ring of Spiragos (5e – Scarred Lands 2nd Edition)

Scion: Origin (Scion 2nd Edition) – With Rich for approval prior to Editing

Scion: Hero (Scion 2nd Edition)

Trinity Continuum Core Rulebook (The Trinity Continuum)

Trinity Continuum: Aeon Rulebook (The Trinity Continuum)

GtS Geist 2e core (Geist: the Sin-Eaters Second Edition)

  WW Manuscript Approval:

  Editing:

Ex Novel 2 (Aaron Rosenberg) (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Pugmire Pan’s Guide for New Pioneers (Pugmire)

Dragon-Blooded (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Kithbook Boggans (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)

The Realm (Exalted 3rd Edition)

  Post-Editing Development:

Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition, featuring the Huntsmen Chronicle (Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition)

  Indexing:

    ART DIRECTION FROM MIRTHFUL MIKE:

In Art Direction

Cavaliers of Mars – Art meeting this week for sure!

Ex3 Monthly Stuff

Scion Origins

Ring of Spiragos

Book of Freeholds

DtD Enemy Action

Changeling: the Lost 2 – Art coming in for Kickstarter, going to WW for approval.

Trinity Continuum – Splats for core book with Mr Jones, sending multi-cover single piece of artwork to illustrator.

Pugmire – Vinsen’s Tomb

Ex3 Dragon Blooded 

  Marketing Stuff

  In Layout

Beast PG

Pugmire/Scarred Lands Community Content

Pugmire Artisan Cards

W20 Changing Ways

  Proofing

Ex 3 Arms of the Chosen – Getting it over to WW for approvals.

Wraith 20 – Second layout proof being worked on by designer.

Pentex Indoctrination Manual – With Stew Wilson.

VtR Half Damned – First proof with Danielle.

  At Press

Beckett Screen – Shipped to shipper.

Scarred Land PGs & Wise and the Wicked PF & 5e – At US customs. PDF and PoD physical book versions on sale at DTRPG.

Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition) – Deluxe Edition cover and Screen in the works. Waiting for Deluxe cover proofs.

Pugmire Trick, Condition, and Initiative Cards – On sale this Wednesday on DriveThruCards.

V20DA Jumpstart – PoD files uploaded.

Prince’s Gambit – Print and Play version updated. Getting specs from printer.

M20 Cookbook – Backer PDF errata done gathering.

CtL Huntsmen Chronicle Anthology  – Advance PDF errata gathering.

V20 Beckett’s Jyhad Diary– Backer PDF errata gathering.

C20 Ready Made Characters – Backer PDF going to backers.

  TODAY’S REASON TO CELEBRATE: Yesterday was the 5th of November, and well worth wearing your Guy Fawkes mask. From history, to custom, to art (V for Vendetta), to protesting in modern life. Quite the path.

[bettydgunter90]

Simple Real Estate Postcard Templates That Work

Succeeding with direct mail can be a very complex task.

Understanding what makes a mail piece do well (or poorly) can be a bit mysterious.

What I’ve found is that there are MANY aspects of a direct mail campaign that need to be executed flawlessly in order to get a good response rate.

One of the most crucial aspects is the message that you are trying to deliver to your recipients.

As obvious as this should be – I consistently encounter a lot of cheesy, poorly written, and generally thoughtless messages in the ads, letters, and websites that people are using in their attempts to find motivated sellers.

Maybe it’s a lack of creativity. Maybe these people just don’t understand the psychology behind written communication. I’m honestly not sure…  but it’s hurting them.

For example, it’s not enough to blast out a message like this:

WE BUY HOUSES!

555-555-5555

CALL NOW!

Will people respond to this kind of message?

Some probably will…  but not many.

Why isn’t this kind of message sufficient?

Because EVERYBODY else in your market is saying the exact same thing. There is absolutely nothing unique about this kind of mail solicitation.

If you want people to take notice of the mail you’re sending them, you need to look different. If you want to grab someone’s attention, you need to stand out from the crowd.

Bonus: Get a FREE copy of the INVESTOR HACKS ebook when you subscribe!

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Think about it – when you get a mail solicitation in your mailbox, what kinds of things stand out to you?

When you only have a split second to grab your recipient’s attention, you need to INSTANTLY show them why you’re worth paying attention to and ultimately, you need to move them to action.

I’ll admit – it’s not always naturally intuitive to look different. So how on earth do you do this? 

Luckily, there are a lot of ways to pull it off.

I’ve experimented with a number of different messages and mail formats over the years. After trying dozens of different approaches (some of which succeeded, and some of which FAILED miserably), these are my Top 3 postcard formats that have consistently produced the best results for me.

RELATED: A Closer Look At My “Blind Offer” Template

(Note: To avoid stifling your own creativity, the examples below don’t contain the exact verbiage of my postcards. If you want more information on the precise words that I use in my letters, you can order them at the bottom of this blog post)

Template #1 – The Personal Letter

Why Does This Get Noticed?

This postcard takes the approach of “I took the time to write you this personal letter, so you should pay attention to what I’m saying.”

Think about it for a second – if you received a postcard like this in the mail, would you take the time to read it? My theory behind why this postcard has worked so well for me is that it doesn’t look like all the other junk mail that people get.

The goal with this postcard isn’t to be flashy. The goal is to be real. When a mail piece comes blasting out of the gate with “SELL! SELL! SELL!”, people don’t pay attention to it because that’s what everybody else does. As odd as it may sound, being down-to-earth is different, and people take notice of that.

Template #2 – THE FINAL NOTICE

Why Does This Get Noticed?

This postcard takes the approach of “You need ME more than I need you.” This can definitely strike a chord with some people (especially if it’s true – and they know it).

While this postcard has been slightly less effective than Template #1 in my rounds of testing (for reasons I can’t completely pinpoint), it still pulls in a lot of responses for me on a consistent basis.

Obviously, this template instills a sense of urgency and is likely to catch more attention than the generic, “WE BUY HOUSES” message that everybody else can’t seem to think outside of.

Template #3 – The Double-Sided Message

Back Side:Front Side:

Why Does This Get Noticed?

This postcard takes the approach of asking questions and getting the recipient to think a little. “What is your situation? Perhaps I can help you?”

One look and you will see that this is the flashiest postcard I have. The benefit of using this card is partially in the choice of words, partially in the hand-drawn graphics, and also in the fact that it’s double-sided (which means we’ve got two chances to make a first impression).

Side one is your big, bold, attention-grabbing statement.

Side two is the personal message (a similar approach to Template #1).

One thing that probably stood out to you when you first saw this postcard is the hand-drawn star, lines, and arrow…

Am I right?

Well, they work. In terms of “attention-grabbing”, I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re more powerful than the actual headline and letter on the postcard. These graphics tend to do the trick.

Do QR Codes Ever Make Sense on Postcards?

It’s also worth noting, QR codes, while still a relatively underutilized and largely misunderstood technology in North America, may make sense in some contexts.

Why bother with a QR code? Because these can be used to minimize the action required by the recipient.

For example, when a QR code is scanned (which will happen automatically with the camera app on every iPhone), it can do any of the following things:

Send the user directly to a specific website URL

Automatically dial any phone number

Automatically send an SMS text message

Add contact information to the user’s phone

Play a YouTube video

Download a pdf

Generate a Calendar Invite

Give directions to any location

If you want your recipients to visit your website, call you, email you or any other number of things, you can potentially make this happen faster and easier if you give them the option of using a QR code.

The biggest trick is making sure people understand what to do with it (because many people won’t).

If you want to make it obvious, be sure to put some instructions directly beneath or beside the QR code on your postcard, like this…

QR codes are definitely NOT a necessity to a successful mail piece or campaign (and if they aren’t used carefully, they can detract from the central message more than they contribute), so if you decide to use one, make sure you’re using it for the right purpose and make it very clear to your recipients how they can use it.

RELATED: QR Code Ideas for Realtors and Real Estate Investors

What Gets the Best Response Rate?

It’s difficult to know why some mail campaigns do well and others don’t.

The first time I tackled a direct mail campaign, I had no idea what I was doing. I got a list from a nearby county treasurer’s office, threw together a very basic postcard (similar to Template #1), and did a trial run, blasting out 106 postcards via Click2Mail.

To my shock, I had a whopping 6% response rate (which, in the eyes of most direct mail marketers, is pretty darn good).

Figuring it must have been a fluke, I tried another campaign two weeks later with 300 postcards. My response rate was 14%.

After trying this again and again and repeatedly getting a response rate of anywhere from 5% – 18% (and usually in the lower half of that range), I figured I must be onto something.

RELATED: How I Find Motivated Sellers (And Get Them Calling Me)

After toying with a lot of different variables and sending out MANY direct mail campaigns since 2008, I’ve really started to hone in on why some of my efforts produced great results, and why others were far less effective.

I’ll be completely honest, I don’t think anybody really knows all the reasons why some direct mail efforts yield huge results, and why others are deeply disappointing – but there is absolutely some very strong evidence that we can learn from when we analyze our ongoing response rates.

My theories above are just that. Theories. I don’t know why they work, but they do. My conclusions are based on what I have seen and tried for a number of years.

The Message Isn’t Everything

As I mentioned earlier, the message of your mail is only one of many aspects that need to be mastered in your direct mail campaigns.

There are other, even more important variables that need to be fine-tuned too. That being said, this whole process isn’t even worth going through if you’re not going to pack a solid punch with your message.

Remember the importance of looking different. Be real and you won’t have any problems standing out from the crowd.

Want To See The Exact Postcards I Use?

As you can see, the examples above are meant to show you the format of my postcards, but not the exact wording. I do this because I don’t want to dictate what you do with your letters.

You may very well be a better writer than me, so I don’t want to imply that my postcards are the best letters ever written.

On the same coin, I have spent thousands of dollars and years of my life testing, re-testing, and RE-re-testing these templates to come up with the final product that I use today.

There is nothing particularly “magical” about the wording I use, I’ve just invested a lot of my time and resources to refine this type of written communication – to the point where I have a pretty solid grasp on how to get responses out of the right people.

You can do the same thing. If you want to spend years of your life and invest thousands of dollars into “testing the waters”, I am 100% sure you can come up with some postcard templates of your own that are just as effective…

…or you can save yourself a lot of time and frustration, and use the exact same templates I do (and just for kicks, I’ll throw in a couple of extra bonus templates, eye-catching graphics, and a video tutorial to help you along the way as well).

Note: When you sign up as an REtipster Email Subscriber, I’ll send you an instant $20 off “Discount Code” for this item, and if you enroll in either the Land Investing Masterclass or The Beginner’s Deal Finding Guide, you’ll get access to this item for FREE.

There’s no pressure of course – just want to make sure you’re aware.

The post Simple Real Estate Postcard Templates That Work appeared first on REtipster.

from Real Estate Tips https://retipster.com/postcard-templates-that-work/

[kristablogs]

Eight ways to cut down on your monthly subscriptions

How much are infinite skips anyway? ( Omid Armin / Unsplash/)

It’s amazing how quickly a few subscriptions can add up. $16 for Netflix here, $10 for Spotify there, $10 more for that new platform everyone’s talking about, and before you know it, you’ve racked up $100 or more in monthly costs. If that portion of your budget has gone a little out of control, it may be time to take a strategic look at what you actually use.

1. Pay for the essentials up front

If you know you just can’t live without a certain subscription—that space in the cloud to back-up your computer comes to mind—you might be able to save some money by paying for a year (or more) up front, rather than on a monthly basis. Backblaze, for example, costs $6 a month, or $60 for a year up front. You can even pay for two years up front for $100, which is a total of $34 in savings. It’s small, no doubt, but the more subscriptions you can pay up front, the more you’ll save. And this is not only for digital services—some insurance companies may even offer similar incentives, so check with yours if you have the option.

2. Scale back your services

In other cases, you may want the subscription itself, but you can lower your cost by scaling back the features you use. Netflix in 4K is nice, but unless you have a high-end TV, Netflix’s cheaper Standard HD plan may be more than good enough. Again, that $3 savings may seem like small potatoes, but repeat the process for other bills and you’ll be looking at significant monthly savings. Start by making a list of your subscriptions and see what can you dial back: maybe you don’t need five whole gigs of data on your cellphone plan—especially if you’re spending most of your time connected to WiFi—and maybe you don’t need the fastest internet speeds money can buy—actually, you probably don’t.

3. Rotate subscriptions as you need them

You might have grabbed that HBO Now subscription to watch Game of Thrones, but HBO is banking on you forgetting to unsubscribe, or keeping it around just in case—even if you already have dozens of hours of TV waiting for you in your other streaming queues.

But as we’ve already mentioned, there’s nothing wrong with unsubscribing, re-subscribing, and then un-subscribing as you need a given service. Grab Netflix for a month when the new Stranger Things comes out, cancel it and switch to Disney+ for The Mandalorian; then cancel that and move to HBO for the latest season of Watchmen. It might seem like a lot of effort, but unsubscribing is easy, and that way you’d only be spending $10 a month rather than $30 or $40 for all those shows you “might” watch down the line.

4. Negotiate your rates

You probably know that you can negotiate your cable and internet bills, but have you actually taken the time to do it? It’s super easy, and it works for plenty of other subscriptions too. We’ve got your step-by-step guide right here, but here’s the gist—do your research and ask what you need.

Dive into Google to see if anyone else has successfully negotiated their bill down and how low. Then find out how your company’s prices compared to the competition’s so you’ll know what fee is worth quitting for. Then call the company (or, if you’re nervous on the phone, bring up their online chat), and tell them your bill is too expensive and you’re hoping they can find you a better rate. If they don’t meet your number, ask to cancel. Every time I’ve done this, they’ve come back with a better number, sometimes even going through this process two or three times until they reach my goal.

They usually lower their prices for a limited amount of time, so you may have to repeat this process every few months when your bill goes back to normal. But once you do it once or twice, it becomes second nature.

5. Share your account

This is not what we mean with going halfsies, but if it works for you, sure, why not. ( Wesley Tingey /Unsplash/)

In certain scenarios, you may be paying full price for a subscription, but only using part of it. Maybe you’ve only registered three out of the five devices a service qualifies for, or you’ve only used a few gigabytes of cloud storage space and you have plenty of extra to spare. If that is your case, then you might be able to get a friend or family member to go halfsies with you. My brother in law and I did this with my old cloud backup service, and we both got a good deal as a result—just be sure to read the terms of service, since some products may specifically forbid this practice.

6. Buy instead of subscribing

Take a look at your subscriptions and ask yourself a simple question: which of these are costing me money, and which are saving me money? A Costco membership, for example, pays for itself as soon as you replace the tires on your car. In other cases, buying individual items a la carte may be better for your wallet. Do you really need an Amazon Prime membership if you only require two-day shipping for a few items every year? Do you really need that YMCA membership when you only go once or twice a month and can pay for individual visits instead? Tally up the totals and see what shakes out—you might be surprised. Even if you want to visit the gym four times a month, canceling your subscription and paying per-visit is a good idea until you actually build that habit.

7. Find free alternatives

You might be surprised at how much free stuff is out there if you look in the right places. Got too many streaming services? There are lots of free ones with rotating catalogs. Kindle Unlimited weighing down your wallet? Check out the Kindle Lending Library instead. Or maybe check out an actual library—yes, they still exist both physically and online. With a library card you can often access an enormous library of ebooks, movies, music, magazines, and a whole lot more.

8. Kill what you don’t need

I know you don’t want to hear it, but some things just aren’t necessary to your daily life. Once you’ve done the above, make a point to track all your subscriptions in one place. Apps like Truebill and Trim (which can even handle some of the aforementioned negotiation) will do this for you, but I just use a separate page of my budget spreadsheet.

If, after some time, you find that one of your subscriptions isn’t getting used, cut it ruthlessly. Remember you can always resubscribe later if you happen to miss it. If you’re having trouble quantifying how much you use your services, calculate an hourly rate for the relevant ones—if you spend 20 hours a month watching Netflix and only a couple hours listening to Spotify, then that music plan is a lot more expensive, even though they both cost $10 a month.

[scootoaster]

Eight ways to cut down on your monthly subscriptions

How much are infinite skips anyway? ( Omid Armin / Unsplash/)

It’s amazing how quickly a few subscriptions can add up. $16 for Netflix here, $10 for Spotify there, $10 more for that new platform everyone’s talking about, and before you know it, you’ve racked up $100 or more in monthly costs. If that portion of your budget has gone a little out of control, it may be time to take a strategic look at what you actually use.

1. Pay for the essentials up front

If you know you just can’t live without a certain subscription—that space in the cloud to back-up your computer comes to mind—you might be able to save some money by paying for a year (or more) up front, rather than on a monthly basis. Backblaze, for example, costs $6 a month, or $60 for a year up front. You can even pay for two years up front for $100, which is a total of $34 in savings. It’s small, no doubt, but the more subscriptions you can pay up front, the more you’ll save. And this is not only for digital services—some insurance companies may even offer similar incentives, so check with yours if you have the option.

2. Scale back your services

In other cases, you may want the subscription itself, but you can lower your cost by scaling back the features you use. Netflix in 4K is nice, but unless you have a high-end TV, Netflix’s cheaper Standard HD plan may be more than good enough. Again, that $3 savings may seem like small potatoes, but repeat the process for other bills and you’ll be looking at significant monthly savings. Start by making a list of your subscriptions and see what can you dial back: maybe you don’t need five whole gigs of data on your cellphone plan—especially if you’re spending most of your time connected to WiFi—and maybe you don’t need the fastest internet speeds money can buy—actually, you probably don’t.

3. Rotate subscriptions as you need them

You might have grabbed that HBO Now subscription to watch Game of Thrones, but HBO is banking on you forgetting to unsubscribe, or keeping it around just in case—even if you already have dozens of hours of TV waiting for you in your other streaming queues.

But as we’ve already mentioned, there’s nothing wrong with unsubscribing, re-subscribing, and then un-subscribing as you need a given service. Grab Netflix for a month when the new Stranger Things comes out, cancel it and switch to Disney+ for The Mandalorian; then cancel that and move to HBO for the latest season of Watchmen. It might seem like a lot of effort, but unsubscribing is easy, and that way you’d only be spending $10 a month rather than $30 or $40 for all those shows you “might” watch down the line.

4. Negotiate your rates

You probably know that you can negotiate your cable and internet bills, but have you actually taken the time to do it? It’s super easy, and it works for plenty of other subscriptions too. We’ve got your step-by-step guide right here, but here’s the gist—do your research and ask what you need.

Dive into Google to see if anyone else has successfully negotiated their bill down and how low. Then find out how your company’s prices compared to the competition’s so you’ll know what fee is worth quitting for. Then call the company (or, if you’re nervous on the phone, bring up their online chat), and tell them your bill is too expensive and you’re hoping they can find you a better rate. If they don’t meet your number, ask to cancel. Every time I’ve done this, they’ve come back with a better number, sometimes even going through this process two or three times until they reach my goal.

They usually lower their prices for a limited amount of time, so you may have to repeat this process every few months when your bill goes back to normal. But once you do it once or twice, it becomes second nature.

5. Share your account

This is not what we mean with going halfsies, but if it works for you, sure, why not. ( Wesley Tingey /Unsplash/)

In certain scenarios, you may be paying full price for a subscription, but only using part of it. Maybe you’ve only registered three out of the five devices a service qualifies for, or you’ve only used a few gigabytes of cloud storage space and you have plenty of extra to spare. If that is your case, then you might be able to get a friend or family member to go halfsies with you. My brother in law and I did this with my old cloud backup service, and we both got a good deal as a result—just be sure to read the terms of service, since some products may specifically forbid this practice.

6. Buy instead of subscribing

Take a look at your subscriptions and ask yourself a simple question: which of these are costing me money, and which are saving me money? A Costco membership, for example, pays for itself as soon as you replace the tires on your car. In other cases, buying individual items a la carte may be better for your wallet. Do you really need an Amazon Prime membership if you only require two-day shipping for a few items every year? Do you really need that YMCA membership when you only go once or twice a month and can pay for individual visits instead? Tally up the totals and see what shakes out—you might be surprised. Even if you want to visit the gym four times a month, canceling your subscription and paying per-visit is a good idea until you actually build that habit.

7. Find free alternatives

You might be surprised at how much free stuff is out there if you look in the right places. Got too many streaming services? There are lots of free ones with rotating catalogs. Kindle Unlimited weighing down your wallet? Check out the Kindle Lending Library instead. Or maybe check out an actual library—yes, they still exist both physically and online. With a library card you can often access an enormous library of ebooks, movies, music, magazines, and a whole lot more.

8. Kill what you don’t need

I know you don’t want to hear it, but some things just aren’t necessary to your daily life. Once you’ve done the above, make a point to track all your subscriptions in one place. Apps like Truebill and Trim (which can even handle some of the aforementioned negotiation) will do this for you, but I just use a separate page of my budget spreadsheet.

If, after some time, you find that one of your subscriptions isn’t getting used, cut it ruthlessly. Remember you can always resubscribe later if you happen to miss it. If you’re having trouble quantifying how much you use your services, calculate an hourly rate for the relevant ones—if you spend 20 hours a month watching Netflix and only a couple hours listening to Spotify, then that music plan is a lot more expensive, even though they both cost $10 a month.

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Highest Paying Passive Income Apps 2020

It seems like everyone has a smartphone these days. so we will discuss some Highest paying passive income apps 2020. While there are some definite downsides to a culture that’s always connected, these phones have many benefits. One benefit is the sheer number of apps that are available. You no longer need to carry a separate calculator, PDA, MP3 device, or any number of items. Your smartphone takes care of that. There’s pretty much an app for everything, including apps to help you make passive income from your phone.

Each app below is legit. You won’t find any scams here. Additionally, you won’t find Highest paying Passive income app that rarely has opportunities available. You don’t want to waste your time sitting and refreshing an app a dozen times, just hoping that something appears.

You will find a variety of apps below. Since everyone is different, my goal was to have this list include at least one that would be a good match for you. With this list, you’re bound to find something of interest, whether you enjoy snapping pictures inside of stores or earning the best passive income through investing. There’s definitely a lot of earning potential here, so dive in and see what will work for you.

To help you earn more, here are tips for increasing your earnings, plus my favorite 14 highest passive income apps that pay you money.

Related Article: Best Passive Income Apps To Make Money In The USA

Swagbucks Passive income app:

Have you heard of Swagbucks? It’s another one of my personal best passive income apps. With this one, you earn points called Swagbucks (SB) for doing a variety of things. You can take surveys, search the web through their search engine, play online games, or go shopping.

Many of my readers love that they can earn SB by simply watching videos when they are folding laundry or have another few minutes to spare. Once you reach a certain number of SB, you can cash them out as gift cards to hundreds of merchants, or you can request cash through PayPal.

UberEATS Passive income app:

Do you love the concept of rideshares, but hate the thought of letting strangers get inside your car? No problem! With UberEATS, you can earn money through the Uber passive income app by doing deliveries. Best of all, it’s super flexible. You set your own schedule and earn when it’s convenient. You may not even need a car. In some cities, you can make deliveries with your bike or scooter. If you are required to use a vehicle, Uber allows 2-door and 4-door models, as long as they are a 1997 or newer.

To qualify as a delivery driver with Uber, you must be over 19, have a valid driver’s license and insurance, and pass a background screen. After you’ve been approved, you can deliver packages, flowers, or food.

According to Uber, most deliveries are door-to-door, meaning you’ll walk into the restaurant or other business, pick up the items for delivery, and then take that delivery right up to the customer’s door. The best time to make money is during peak times. That’s currently lunchtime (between 11 AM- 2 PM), dinnertime (5-9 PM) and late-night (after midnight).

Inbox Dollars Passive income app:

Everyone’s got opinions, so why not earn rewards for them? Sign up for Inbox Dollars and you’ll immediately start earning by taking their surveys about products you use and places you visit in your everyday life.

Inbox dollars is another best passive income app You can register at the site with your email address. It’s free to join, and you can take the service mobile by installing their app on your phone. (It’s available for both Apple and Android devices.) Once you’re in, you can earn in six different ways! You can:

Take online surveys

Watch videos

Play games

Get cash back from online shopping

Read specific emails and take action on bonus offers

Use coupons

When you sign up, you’ll be asked to take a “getting to know you” survey. This helps them better match offers and surveys that will be a good fit for you. Once you’ve earned $30, you can start redeeming your earnings in the form of a check, prepaid Visa or Inbox Dollars eCard which you can use at online retailers like Target and AMC.

Ibotta Passive income app:

Do you ever go grocery shopping? Almost everyone does! Everyone needs to eat. That’s what I love about Ibotta. You get money for doing something you’re already doing. This app is phenomenal. I’ve been using it for years, and have earned over $1,200 in a calendar year. That’s not bad money for doing something as simple as scanning your receipts.

Ibotta is similar to using coupons, except you don’t have to subscribe to the newspaper or remember to bring your cut out bits of paper to the store with you. Instead, you do the following:

Download the app and register for a free account

Log in and select your favorite stores from the list of available options

Browse the offers and add some that correspond to the items you want to purchase

Complete optional tasks to unlock even more offers

Read the details for each offer to make sure you know exclusions that may apply

Head to the stores and go buy the things on your list (and remember to pick up the things from your offers!)

Redeem your offer in one of three ways:

Scan your receipt

Connect your loyalty card (you must do this before you go shopping!)

Allow online shopping retailers to submit your receipt on your behalf (you can read more about this on the iBotta website here.)

Earn money. It’s deposited into your account within 48 hours. You can request cash through PayPal or Venmo, or a gift card.

There is a $20 threshold before you can withdraw cash, and some gift cards require $25.

It’s a straightforward way to get some cash for the things you were planning on buying anyway, so sign up today.

Shopkick Passive income app:

Are you looking for some unique ways to earn some cash with your phone? Download Shopkick and give it a try! With Shopkick you can earn “kicks” and redeem them for gift cards or other rewards. This app lets you earn “kicks” in six different ways:

Walking into specified stores (no purchase necessary)

Scanning barcodes on specific items (no purchase necessary)

Scanning a receipt after purchasing a certain item

Making a purchase with a linked card

Making online purchases

Watching videos (no purchase necessary)

When you earn kicks, you can redeem them for gift cards and other rewards. It’s definitely a fun app, as you never know what you will earn kicks for doing.

Many of my readers indicate they’ve been able to earn at least one gift card each week, just by doing these simple tasks and collecting kicks.

StepBet Passive income app:

News flash! When you work from home, it’s hard to get up and get moving. I sit in front of a computer for a good portion of each day, and exercise isn’t high on my priority list during this season of life. In fact, when I pulled my Fitbit out of the drawer and started tracking, I discovered I was only putting in around 1,600 to 3,000 steps per day. Yikes! That’s not nearly enough physical movement in a day.

I wanted to find a motivating way to get some more steps in. So I started researching and stumbled upon StepBet. It’s a step challenge app created by the folks behind DietBet. The premise is that you bet a certain amount of money that you will meet your step goal. If you make your goal, you get to split the pot with the others. If you didn’t you just lost the money you bet.

So, if you aren’t motivated to get the steps and win the bet, this isn’t going to be a good app for you. But, if you’re looking for a fun way to earn a few bucks profit and meet your physical activity goals, definitely give it a try!

Airbnb Passive income app:

Do you have any spare rooms in your home? Or a rustic cabin the woods that sit vacant most of the year? Turn your extra space into cash with Airbnb. I know some people who have even turned hosting people into a full-time gig. Others just use it to bring in extra cash for Christmas, or whatever.

That’s the beauty of Airbnb. You get to choose when and how often you host. You can share a spare room in your apartment, host your whole home the next time you’re out of town, or create a listing for a vacation house if you have one.

Airbnb makes it simple to earn extra money by putting your extra space to work for you.

BookScouter Passive income app:

Clothes aren’t the only things that can clutter up your house. Chances are that you have accumulated quite a library over the years. If you have books that you’ve already read and don’t want to read again or books that are just sitting and getting dusty, you can sell them. After all, there’s no reason to hold on to so many novels when libraries and eBooks have you covered. Why not free up some space and get some cash instead?

BookScouter allows you to scan barcode numbers and look at buyback prices from retailers.

Plenty of bookstores are looking to stock their collection and need your help to do so.

I did this recently and found over $40 of unwanted books I have been dusting. Off they go!

Rover Passive income app:

Rover connects walkers and sitters with dog owners. Most dogs need at least half an hour of exercise a day. Bigger breeds like German shepherds and huskies need at least an hour or two each day. Puppies are especially energetic and need to be walked to let some of it loose. However, not everyone has the time or energy to walk their dogs.

That’s where Rover comes in.

You can offer your services simply by clicking a few buttons.

Payment arrives about two days after the service is completed.

Acorns Passive income app:

You can make a fortune off the stock market these days. Just ask Warren Buffett. But how do you start investing when you don’t understand how the market works?

Take a look at the Acorns app.

Link to your bank account and it will round up your purchases and put the spare change in stocks.

Additionally, the app will give you an extra $10 just for signing up.

Poshmark Passive income app:

Ready to turn some outgrown or outdated clothes into cash? You can use an app like Poshmark to get rid of clutter, clear your closets, and make some money.

Once you’ve downloaded the app, it’s simple to get started.

You need to take a picture of the item you want to sell, write a description, and add a price.

Then you can wait for someone to purchase it.

Adding a listing takes only a minute or two once you get the hang of it.

Stockpile Passive income app:

Stockpile is the best Passive income app I have been using for a little over a year. It allows you to buy fractional shares of your favorite stocks. You can invest as little as $5 to start. There are no monthly fees. They charge 99 cents per buy or sell. Moving money to and from your bank is free. You can also reinvest your dividends at no charge.

As an added perk, you can even open a custodial account for your kids.

HealthyWage Passive income app:

Are you trying to lose weight? If so, the HealthyWage app could be a great motivator. You have the potential to earn little bits of money for meeting your goals.

Like StepBet, you place a bet on your weight loss. Except, this time it’s a monthly bet.

You can earn up to $10,000 for meeting your goals in your allotted time frame. But, once again if you don’t lose weight, you will be out of the money.

So if having money on the line will encourage you to eat better and get some exercise, this could be a good fit.

Additional prizes are available for keeping those pounds off long-term.

EyeEm Passive income app:

Want to earn money by selling photos? Download the EyeEm app and get started today. There are some definite perks to this app:

You keep the copyright

You earn 50% commission each time the photo is sold

They’re partnered with GettyImages, which increases the customer base

There’s an in-app magazine to help you improve your craft

If you have a flair for photography, definitely give this app a try. You never know – your image may sell like hotcakes, making you a lot of money!

Today’s phones aren’t just for calling. Or even just texting. They can be money earning tools. So, download a couple of your favorites and fill up your free time with the best Passive income app.

Get some extra money to pay your bills. You might not get rich off these apps, but you’ll certainly have fun getting a bit of money.