Welcome to Litsy!

I've had a StoryGraph account for years, but back when I initially signed up, I didn't feel that it was as good as Goodreads, and stopped using it. Now, as I am trying to move away from Amazon (after learning how much the company takes from book sales), I've decided to try out StoryGraph again.

You can find me there @ FortifiedByBooks with the pic of 5 year old me sticking her tongue out at the camera. I'll follow back as soon as I get settled.

When all the library holds come in at once.

This is a mix of #Roll100 titles and books I requested to help me figure out my relationship with social media (except Litsy. I know exactly how I feel about Litsy ❤️).

So...My cat bit my phone. His tooth hit the screen just right, and of course it stopped working. I had to ship it out for repairs, and have been without it for almost a week. I'm now frustrated by how many things require a code to be sent to your phone in order to use them.

I've been trying to use the litsy website since I don't have access to the app, but it's been so glitchy I haven't been able to post in a while. Technology hates me.

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The four foundational reforms Haidt proposes in this book are no smartphones before high school, no social media before 16, phone-free schools, and far more unsupervised play and childhood independence. The book itself isn‘t without its flaws, but the subject matter provides great food for thought and is certainly worth our society‘s continued collective consideration.

#tuesdaytunes

I've been finding comfort this week in revisiting 80s/90s country: Doug Stone, Collin Raye, Lonestar, Sawyer Brown, Mary Chapin Carpenter.
Clint Black's D'lectrified was a childhood favorite, and, listening this morning, I couldn't remember for sure whether The Galaxy Song was from Monty Python (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkkjzmuEBbo) or Animaniacs (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BphgKX-DZE), and that made me smile 😊

"This suggests why France played such an important role in the medieval period, in the agricultural and industrial revolutions. Her population was nearly one-third that of the whole of Europe."

⭐️⭐️ As the parent of two sons on the cusp of Gens Z and Alpha, none of this is news. Unfettered access to a smartphone is clearly not ideal, and the parents aware enough to seek out such a book are likely not the true target. Play-based vs phone-based in terms of upbringing needs a happy medium. This research doesn‘t really address gray areas, but incessantly reiterates a this-or-that mentality rather than a compromise.

Very insightful look at the tech oligarchs. An intelligent, creative, but largely an emotionally immature lot. She follows their careers and social rise from the earliest Silicon Valley days to present day. I was left with great respect for some and loathing resignation for others. A valuable read for the time we are in.

Kind of a random book haul today, but I feel like I hit the jackpot with these finds! I especially love finding stories from my childhood that I loved. My mom used to subscribe to indie children's book publishers who would mail us books every month and I also had a lot of hand-me-down books from my sister, so finding any of those titles again is super fun. 🤍