#to check back through books I've read I logged into my goodreads for the first time in YEARS (like since 2018)

[bookwyrminspiration]

2 and 16! :]

2. top 5 books of all time?

Oof this is difficult--I'm going to do standalones instead of series to simplify it a little. In no particular order: Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto, The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd Jones, They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera, The Martian by Andy Weir, Pan's Labyrinth by Guillermo del Toro and Cornelia Funke.

(obligatory disclaimer that at any given point in time I've forgotten the majority of the books I've read, so it's entirely possible I'll post this and then go augh!! how could I have forgotten so and so book it rewrote my brain chemistry)

16. how many books have you read this year?

I'm at 31 so far, a bit of a slow year because at the beginning of 2023 I was still working through the books my teacher had lent me and trying to prioritize them, but they're different enough from my normal books that they took more effort to get through and put me in a bit of a slump (I only read 2 books in february). But hopefully now that it's summer and I'm reading my own books again I'll catch up :)

i very much enjoyed being lent books but fact of the matter is they're harder to read sometimes

[addierose444]

Initial Digital Minimalism Experiments 

As mentioned in recent blog posts, I don’t love how much I’ve been using digital technology in my day-to-day life. I’m required to be on a computer all day for work, so limiting my use of technology in my personal life just makes sense. In general, I’m looking to be more intentional about the way I spend my time. Not sure what I’d like to be doing with whatever time I get back, but the current priorities are rebuilding a reading habit, continuing to make time for rock climbing, and getting better about going to sleep on time.

I’m proud to say that I’ve never had a FaceBook, Instagram, or TikTok account. Obviously, I have this Tumblr account, but it’s not a problem for me as I don’t scroll through Tumblr. Even when I don’t have much to say, I benefit from writing blog posts as it allows me to be a creator not just a consumer of content. Content has become a bit of a cringy word, but that’s what it is. I will note, however, that procrastinating these blog posts does impact my sleep. While it would be cool to engage with readers, I’m so glad it’s a one-way interaction. Additionally, I do have a LinkedIn account, but I rarely check it and spend at most ten minutes scrolling through posts when I do.

For me, YouTube is a real-time suck. I genuinely enjoy most of the videos I watch and often just listen to the audio so it’s not always real screen time. Even so, it’s just too much. The changes I’ve implemented thus far are unsubscribing from several YouTube channels, disabling YouTube on my phone, and putting a 0-minute timer on the website itself from the web browser of my phone (via the Digital Wellbeing app). While they weren’t necessarily time sucks, there were several other apps I deleted to further declutter my phone. I’m still working on a full overhaul of my phone’s home screen and various settings but will be sure to keep you all updated. One thing I've done in the short term is add the screen time widget to my home screen for awareness. If you are curious, you can check out the what’s on my phone post I wrote during my sophomore year of college. 

Here’s a sneak peek into some digital technology that plays a positive role in supporting my hobbies and goals. First of all, I get my books through the Libby app to either read on my Kindle or listen to directly. (If you haven’t heard of Libby it’s an amazing app that allows you to borrow ebooks and audiobooks from your local library). I also use Goodreads to keep track of the books I’ve read as well as my want-to-read list. These climbing apps are less critical but fun to share. The KAYA app enables you to log climbs and watch beta videos. I also just downloaded the Kilter Board app which is used to control my gym’s new light-up climbing board and to log attempts/accents. While these climbing apps are cool to have, the most useful one is the simple habit tracker I created in Google Sheets. Speaking of Google Sheets, the other key digital tool is my expense tracking spreadsheet.

In thinking through where/how/when to use my various pieces of technology, the other big change I’ve made is moving my computer and its charger out of my bedroom. The plan is to only use my computer at my dining room table (the only table I have). While I may let myself use it on my couch from time to time, I’m hoping to have that space to be primarily dedicated to reading. Moving my computer is something I should have done a long time ago and I’m hoping sticks.