Weekend Reads | Links I Love for Week 50 | 12.14.18
Happy Friday everyone! W'e’re edging closer to the holidays (and I’m so thankful I get to have a full week off!) so I’m just trying to hang in there for a little longer. This week’s links include a ton of things I’ve been listening to, reading challenges I likely won’t finish in 2019, and an Instagram scandal. Happy reading!
If you’re an audiobook lover like me, you know a narrator can make or break the experience. (Sorry Busy Phillips- I’m glad so many people are loving your book, but I couldn’t finish it on audio.) This is a list of the best of the best audiobook narrators, according to AudioFile magazine. I had no idea that there were awards for this!
Podcast recommendation of the week: Knox and Jamie at The Popcast break down The Bachelor Colton’s contestants, based on their bios. I must say, these bios are worse than ever. They look like they were written by a robot (“She also he enjoys hiking, reading and spending time with friends” WHAT). I’ve got my eye on Caelynn, Caitlin, Cassie, and Hannah G. Where are my Bachelor fans at?!
You’ve seen those perfectly curated Instagram feeds floating around with beautiful women in exotic locations who seem to be paid to travel? What if there was a class you could take to unlock their secrets? What if… the class was far below your expectations and left you feeling scammed? Here’s one person’s story of being scammed by a celebrity influencer. I don’t know anything about the Instagrammer outside of what I read in the article, but it’s a great reminder to be careful what you pay for, especially online.
Speaking of… triangle shaped things, The Dream podcast is about MLM (Multi Level Marketing). Just started it this week, but I’m hooked. It’s an investigative journalist podcast about the origin of pyramid schemes and present day MLMs. The host, Jane Marie, goes back to her hometown in rural Michigan, where a lot of her friends and families are involved in these, to ask them (direct quote): “what the fuck”. So far she’s telling their stories in a respectful way. She’s not just going in and taking trash- there’s a lot about the psychology of being involved, the history of women in the workforce, and one of the people working on the podcast joins one and tries her hand at being successful. It’s fascinating!
I read Cork Dork this month and really enjoyed learning about what it takes to become a Master Sommelier. It’s truly a remarkable skillset that takes a lot of studying and fair bit of obsession. It inspired me to watch Somm and Somm: Into the Bottle on Netflix. Somm did come off as a bit dated (from 2012). This article gives the update on where the cast of Somm is now- and filled me in on a part three that’s in the works!
How are your bookish challenges going? I always get excited about the prospect of completing them but lose excitement by the end of the year. See how I’m doing. This year I tried The Modern Mrs Darcy Reading Challenge and Book Riot's Read Harder- and they both just put out their challenges for 2019. I really think I can finish the MMD Challenge this year- the topics are very do-able. Book Riot Read Harder’s is going to be tough to do- but that’s the point! And they’re also really good about offering suggestions. There’s also the Pop Sugar Reading Challenge that’s got a lot more categories, but most of them would be easy to fill with my regular reading. What others are out there that I’ve missed?
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