#not only (physical) books but also GAMES and MOVIES and AUDIOBOOKS

[wuffgang-ameowdeus-moozart]

Hi! I was wondering, what is your opinion on libraries?

what is a capybara's opinion on rivers? what is an astronaut's opinion on the stars? what is a SAD-haver's opinion on the sun? what is a gothic romance's opinion on old castles?

could they exist without it? maybe. but why should they? and at what cost?

[fallloverfic]

"Nimona" fandom informational rundown

New to the fandom and a bit confused about things? Hopefully this will help!

Nimona was a webcomic by Nate Diana Stevenson/ND Stevenson that was first shown on tumblr on December 14, 2011, and Nate later launched it as an official webcomic on its own website on June 19, 2012. It was contracted for publication post-completion as a graphic novel sometime before November 1, 2012. The webcomic finished online publication on September 30, 2014. Shortly afterward, most of the webcomic was taken down as part of the contractual agreement for publication as a physical graphic novel, leaving only a short bit of the opening as a preview. The website for the webcomic later went down entirely, and is no longer accessible.

The comic was published in entirety as a single graphic novel on May 12, 2015. The movie adaptation rights were sold to Fox in 2015, as well, and the project was given to Blue Sky Studios. The comic was later adapted into a full cast audiobook on October 4, 2016. The graphic novel is available for purchase in paperback, hardcover, and as an ebook, and the audiobook is also available for purchase. (The link has international seller links). The graphic novel has been translated into 16 languages. It is also available in a special edition English hardcover via Illumicrate. They only ship from the UK, but ship internationally, and you don't need a subscription to buy the book. As the standard graphic novel and audiobook are ~7+ years old now, if you have a local library, you can see if either of them are available that way.

Disney bought 20th Century Fox Animation (later 20th Century Animation, the purchase completed in 2019), but later shut down Blue Sky Studios in 2021, cancelling the still-in-production movie. Crew worked on shopping the movie around for a new home after talks with Disney. The movie was later picked up and completed by Annapurna, DNEG, and Netflix, premiered June 14, 2023 in France, showed in select theaters starting principally on June 23, 2023, and released to general audiences on Netflix for streaming on June 30, 2023. I have more info on this here.

In English, Nimona is voiced by Chloë Grace Moretz, Ballister Boldheart is voiced by Riz Ahmed, and Ambrosius Goldenloin is voiced by Eugene Lee Yang.

If you're looking for official merch, the movie soundtrack is up on multiple platforms, including YouTube, iOS, Spotify, and Amazon, and a vinyl version of the soundtrack was sold by iam8bit. There is an official humanoid Nimona plushie, a whale Nimona plushie, and a shark Nimona plushie, available via Gee and Hot Topic, as well as a variety of official shirts available via Hot Topic and Amazon (just search Brand: Nimona). Nate also still sells "Nimona" comic art on his INPRNT store.

Netflix released a free-to-read digital-only multimedia 358-page artbook for the movie (but took it down in March 2024). (It's also been released at least for crew/friends of crew(?) in physical release, so maybe it'll get mass release as a hardcover). Outside of this, a lot of the crew for the movie from both Blue Sky and DNEG have been releasing a ton of concept art and development stuff, and the cast and crew have been doing a lot of promotional interviews and videos going back through like April 2023, so there's a lot of material to look through on YouTube, tiktok, tumblr, twitter, Instagram, Facebook/Meta, and Vimeo, as well as various news and media sites. Nate is active on tumblr, his personal blog, twitter, and Instagram. Annapurna, DNEG, and Netflix also have multiple accounts on many platforms, including their own websites, YouTube, Facebook/Meta, and Twitter, and have been sharing clips and behind the scenes stuff.

Nimona actually has been added to a video game: Nimona was included as an event companion in SharkBite 2, a Roblox game.

If you're looking for fanworks, the fandom is active on most platforms, and has been ever since Nate started posting early art of the characters. Nate's talked at length in multiple places about how big the fandom was during the webcomic's publication. Mostly back then folks were very active in the Disqus comments on pages, which are a bit harder to find these days. There's a lot of the older comic fanart still circulating in different places (particularly tumblr, where the fandom was most active), some of which Nate reblogged. There is crossover between the comic and movie fandoms, as many fans of the comic love the movie and vice versa, and both fandoms are quite active. There is at least one active subreddit and fanwiki (and many others on assorted fantasy, comic, movie, and non-English language sites), as well as TV Tropes pages for both the comic and movie adaptation and a number of Discord servers.

For fanfiction, there are a ton of fics on Archive of Our Own in the comic tag and in the movie adaptation tag. There are also a number of fics on tumblr, some fics on fanfiction.net, and some on Wattpad. There are fanvids on tiktok, Instagram, and YouTube. There is fanart on tumblr, twitter, deviantart, instagram, and pixiv. There are cosplayers, meta analysts, roleplayers, music makers, and many other fanworkers

Some tags to use/browse for posts on tumblr and other sites:

Nimona

Nimona fanart

Nimona comic

Nimona movie

Ballister Blackheart

Ballister Boldheart

Ambrosius Goldenloin

Gloreth

Meredith Blitzmeyer

Ballister x Ambrosius / Goldenheart / Boldloin / Boldenloin / Blackenloin / Blackloin / Goldheart

Will update this post as I come across new things.

[poststealer]

some tips for working out your brain

hydrate it by drinking lots of water/water based liquids. if you are someone who cant stand drinking still/unflavored water, thats fine! dont believe the lie that "drinking juice/soda/other non water drink is worse than not drinking anything", the only drink that will actively dehydrate you is alcohol. its better to drink water, but drink what you can drink, your body will get the liquid from it either way

eat foods high in antioxidants; dark chocolate and blueberries and walnuts and salmon are common ones but there are many many others

play little brain games on your phone; wordconnect, water sort puzzle, i love hue, etc. anything that makes you think!

read books. It’s simple but necessary. join a book club (in person or online), read with a friend, post about the book in its fandom tags etc, so you can have discussions about it after. reading fanfic counts too! if you have trouble reading, try finding audiobooks online or finding a text to speech program that will read the books to you. this will improve your reading and media comprehension.

do puzzles - it doesnt have to be sudoku; you can play rhythm games like project sekai or piano tiles on mobile and OSU! or geometry dash on the computer, you can play tetris or pac man, you can do an actual physical puzzle on your coffee table, etc. anything that makes you think and use strategy is a puzzle, and theres a puzzle out there for everyone!

learn a new dance - even a tiktok trend dance. learning new dance moves are proven to strengthen synapses

go bird watching, foraging, hiking, anything outdoors that requires you to explore pattern recognition and visual searching. even if you're just identifying bugs and flowers in your back yard!

watch a movie with the intent of analysis. this is best done with a cinephile friend. talk about tropes and symbolism and character growth

cross stitch, knit, sew, or do anything that gets your hands moving and your brain thinking. if you don't have the dexterity for sewing you can also draw or paint, do coloring or color-by-number pages, connect-the-dots, gem painting, etc.

play or learn an instrument! if you don't have access to a physical instrument, try recreating songs you like (or make your own songs!) in a digital music program, like beepbox

develop a consistent sleep schedule, or as close to consistent as you can get

when eating, try to identify the ingredients and individual flavors you’re perceiving. pretend you're a wine sommelier, or that ice cream taster guy

i hope this helps you take care of your brain 💖

[alpaca-clouds]

Media in a Solarpunk world

Yeah, there is a reason I spoke about Indie games yesterday. Because I want to speak about this one thing that I have never ever seen discussed within the solarpunk sphere.

If we established a Solarpunk world, how would it change our media landscape?

Confused? Well, let me break it down.

Solarpunk is only possible without capitalism. It is simply as it is. We will not established the "sustainable living" under capitalism. We can now discuss on whether to go socialism or communism, but... yeah. No more capitalism.

But here is where the media comes in: Most media we consume right now is released through big coorporate media outlets. This is especially true for stuff like games and movies. AAA games and blockbuster movies with their budgets of hundreds of millions and teams of thousands working behind them getting distributed through other big companies at times making billions of dollars... Even most books or comics or audiobooks or even podcasts get published and distributed through companies being valued in the hundreds of millions at least. Because the attention economy is set up in the way that you have no chance if you do not have your books on amazon and your podcasts not on spotify or itunes.

And without capitalism all of that will fall away.

This will be of course most noticable with movies and games. Again, the most popular of those will have hundreds of millions in budget and are dependent on the crunch work of thousands of people on every way of the step. And of course there is this big studio system right now deciding on what gets created.

But without capitalism... You will probably not motivate thousands of people to crunch the hell out of something. Hundreds of people? Sure. Thousands? No. Not even without the crunch. Because the current system of creating this media is not sustainable. Not from a human perspective - and not from an environmental perspective.

What I am saying is... There will probably no longer be high fidelity blockbusters or the kind of huge TV productions we have seen since Game of Thrones.

And I am here to tell you... that is actually a good thing.

See, in the gaming sphere we actually see it already. There are Indie Games that are at times created on a shoestring budget of a couple of thousand dollars. And because we have some great platforms to distribute them easily with steam and itch.io, people will actually see those games and play them. Might actually end up prefering them to the big ass million dollar games.

Now, the system is not perfect, given that yes, with the exception of itch.io the shops behind it all still run under capitalism. But if you compare it to stuff like movies... It is actually already fairly democratized.

Which is also something that I would then love to see for movies. An easy way to just access indie movies. Be it the "exactly one million dollar indie movies", which are still the majority given that making movies is expensive, or actually those project done by students in their freetime.

Big cities might actually already have their "indie movie festivals" right now. But it is something I want to see more off. With a higher appreciation for movies that do not get a theatrical release, because physical big screens are limited, even if we start democratizing them. (I will talk tomorrow about what it means to democratize media.)

The internet in the end will be a big part of a solarpunk world, because it actually allows us to not only participate in society, but also will give us access to both knowledge and media.

And yes, in a smaller degree this will also impact the other forms of media. Already it is pretty possible to self-publish books or comics, but usually you will often barely get back the investment, let alone being paid for the work that went into the creation of the book from your own end.

Because chances are, that you just will not reach too many people with it. Because the big publishers will usually easily outmarket you, because they have a marketing budget that you will simply lack.

But without those central publishers existing - and work in general being differently compensated than under the capitalist system... It should be easier. Fairer. Allowing for more different ideas, for more different voices to be heard through media.

Yeah, there probably will no longer be much in terms of high fidelity special effects, because there will no longer be hundreds or thousands of SFX guys slaving away for this one big movie. But... That is okay.

Like, I will rather have a movie with a great story, than amazing big explosions, don't you agree?

[natsuki-bakery]

⁎˚ ఎ Sonny agere headcanons ໒ ˚⁎

Can I request Sonny Featherland headcannons of any kind? Thank you and I understand if you’re unable to do so <3

•Sonny might have a collection of plushies representing different animals, especially birds like chickens, ducks, and other feathered friends. These plushies provide him with comfort and companionship during times of stress or anxiety

•His little age are from 4-6 yo

•When regressed, Sonny might enjoy playing classic video games from his childhood, like platformers or puzzle games. The nostalgia factor helps him feel connected to happier times and allows him to escape from the complexities of adult life

•Sonny finds peace in coloring books, using vibrant colors to bring life to the pages and express his creativity !

•Building blanket forts is a favorite pastime for Sonny when he regresses. He enjoys creating cozy hideaways where he can retreat from the world and indulge in his inner child, perhaps even inviting close friends like Marty to join him for a movie night inside the fort

•Sonny finds comfort in bedtime stories, either reading them to himself or listening to audiobooks narrated by soothing voices. Stories about adventure, friendship, and overcoming challenges resonate deeply with him and help him relax before drifting off to sleep

•Sonny has a special stuffed animal sidekick, like a wise old owl or a quirky rooster, that he confides in and carries with him everywhere. This plush companion offers him reassurance and encouragement, especially during tough times

•He may have a journal where he doodles his thoughts and feelings or writes imaginative stories inspired by his adventures as a detective

•Cuddle Time: Sonny craves physical affection when regressed and seeks out hugs, cuddles, and snuggles from his closest friends. He finds comfort in the warmth and closeness of physical touch, helping him feel safe and loved

•His babysitters might be :

•Marty MacChicken: Marty acts as Sonny's primary babysitter and caregiver when he regresses. As his loyal friend and partner in crime-solving, Marty knows just how to care for Sonny during his little age moments. He's patient, understanding, and always ready to join in on the fun, whether it's building blanket forts or playing pretend detective games !

•Natasha Catzenko: Natasha, with her no-nonsense attitude and motherly instincts, also takes on the role of Sonny's babysitter from time to time. She might not always understand Sonny's regression, but she respects his need for care and support. Natasha keeps a watchful eye on Sonny, making sure he stays out of trouble while still allowing him the freedom to explore his little age interests

•Sfw interactions only | read my dni ! •Don't repost and claim as yours ! Reblogs are okay but not reposts !

[lacunasbalustrade]

made by @utterchaios and I thought it’d be a fun tag game! (I’m so sorry if you didn’t want it to be a tag game.)

also, I love open curtains.

tag game, bold what applies, italicise what sometimes does, cross out what never ever applies

types of people - places

library dank chemistry memes, coffee, has a gigantic purse with enough stationery to start a store, "pls stop breathing im trying to study", eats a LOT of candy, curses you in a dead language, carries textbooks literally EVERYWHERE, dark academia, watches harry potter bc nostalgia, takes showers at 3 am while listening to audiobooks. why have pillows when you can have books?, "who folded the corner of this page?, im gonna commit homicide" , the encyclopedia of the group, has like 25 sweaters and one pair of chuck taylors, short hair, most likely the valedictorian. Stranger Things.

art gallery mysterious eyes, leather jackets, hands stained with paints and pigments, " if you open the curtains, i swear to God i will obliterate you", may or may not be a soul-sucking vampire, changes clothes every 2 hours bc" its icky ok?", stares at a painting for hours unless you physically carry them away, would always rush to help you, DIY Michelangelo Plaster sculptures, lost count of their pinterest boards, wants to eat mac and cheese but its 12 am and the fridge is empty,"i have crippling depression", doesnt remember their birthday or anyone elses, likes blueberry cheese cake, reads Dan Brown, owns a reptile. buys you coffee without asking.

the park flower pressings, "i only consume caffeine when i need to", doodles on their shoes just because, wants to have a swing in their backyard, most likely cottage core, plays minecraft on creative mode only, makes pies for everyone, loves sunny days, the optimistic one in the squad, " im made you this flower crown, here!!" , prefers milkshakes, home-cooked meals, has cool colored hair, "i will only come over if we can watch "spirited away" again", you really wanna be their friend, looks like a softie, but will sucker-punch someone to mars if they had to, watches nature documentaries, hand-woven journals, names their plants, likes green tea.

planetarium shiny eyes, sleep is for the weak, the most motivated one, usually quiet in their own thoughts, probably neurodivergent, has a cat or cats, " free food WOOOOOOOOOO" day-1 organization guru, day-2 "where IS my wallet???", wears different socks on each feet, pizza pizza PIZZA, doodles little planets on your arm, productivity who?, will eat anything, f.r.i.e.n.d.s, unlimited vine references, solves a complex equation within 2 minutes, but can't figure out the directions for the nearest fast food, looks at the sky like its their first time, forgets to study, but aces the exam anyway, "why can't movies follow the laws of physics? im calling the cops bc this breach is UNNACCEPTABLE!!!", never sleeps on time bc vsauce rabbithole, the kindest person you'll know.

@melting-morning-blues @thehistorynut19

[niennawept]

get to know me

tagged by my lovely friend @dwarveslikeshinythings <3; Sorry for the delay - I'm still catching up on my tag games.

PART ONE

are you named after anyone? Yes. I am named after a character in movie, but not because my parents liked either the character or the actress (they hated both). I'm named after this character because they wanted to be like her parents. Needless to say, I am not fond of my name.

when was the last time you cried?: genuinely don't remember, but it was probably either a) writing because sometimes I get overwhelmed by character's emotions or b) something reminded me fiercely of my late father and I just lost it for a minute.

do you have kids?:  Not unless you count dogs. I have two shelter pups.

do you use sarcasm a lot?: Mostly when asked to do something very simple. I will sarcastically refuse whilst doing the thing.

what’s the first thing you notice about people?: Vibes. I have a very vibes-based nervous system (thanks trauma).

what’s your eye colour?: This is complicated. I have central heterochromia, which means my eyes are two different colors within the same iris. So brown on the inside, mossy green on the outside, but you can't tell unless you get close so I say hazel even though it's not technically correct.

scary movies or happy endings?: Scary movies. I typically fall asleep with one on. After you've seen it a hundred times, even the sounds of screaming can become their own kind of comforting because it's always the same.

any special talents?: I don't know what to put here. I have a lot of hobbies, but I'm not sure I'd say I'm particularly talented at any of them. I can tie a cherry stem into a knot inside my mouth? Does that count as a talent?

where were you born?: The United States.

what are your hobbies?: Oh geez, uh. Sewing, cosplay, writing, baking, drawing, reading, singing, playing the ukulele, video games, DnD and other tabletop games, mead making, crocheting, gardening, painting, ... I think that's it. But I'm thinking of picking up book binding and tambour embroidery for elf reasons.

have any pets?: see above answer about kids. 

what sports do you play/have played?: Played basketball for years, not because I was good, but because I was tall for my age, but I stopped once the other kids caught up in height. I really loved track in Middle School, and I was a pretty strong sprinter, but I gave it up in HS to focus on my schoolwork.

how tall are you?: Five foot seven. I'm actually the shortest of all my cousins, lol.

favourite subject in school?: It changed a lot depending on my interest in what we were learning about. I have an abiding love of science and history. I'm also partial to poetry, despite being beyond awful at making it.

dream job?: living in the Star Trek future with a universal basic income, lol. People in Star Trek just do what they want to do for work and it all seems to work out fine.

PART TWO

first ship: I've mentioned this before and I'll mention it again probably but Kagome x Sesshomaru from Inuyasha (SessKag). Can't help it, my 14 year old brain latched on REALLY hard.

three ships: Been reading some Bagginshield lately and that's growing on me. Adar x Palariel (my OFC, super normal about this one, lol). Been thinking some Galadriel x Luthien (pre-Beren) thoughts lately - might heck around and write a one-shot someday. Can you tell I'm only thinking about Tolkien things these days?

last (current) song: "The Devil is a Gentleman" by Merci Raines.

last movie: House on Haunted Hill (1958) with Vincent Price. Featuring my favorite line from any movie: "Darling, the only ghoul in the house is you."

currently reading: I am listening to "Oathbringer" by Brandon Sanderson in audiobook form, reading "The Haunting of Hill House" by Shirley Jackson, "The Fall of Numenor" and "The Fall of Gondolin" (thanks people who voted in the poll) in physical form, and reading an epic-length Bagginshield fanfic digitally.

currently watching: uh... I'm partway through season two of Succession. And I watched the first episode of Picard, season three. I'm very bad at watching television lately. It requires too much energy.

currently consuming: orange spice tea, no sugar.

currently craving: I don't really have cravings very often. So nothing?

tagging: @somebirdortheother, @lady-of-imladris, @coraleethroughthelookingglass and anyone to whom this looks fun!

[opisasodomite]

"#do you read a video game?#read a TV show?#that makes no sense" um.....yes? video games usually have written dialogue that is not always voiced, or only voiced for key lines, or it's a visual novel and only character's statements are voiced without a narrator for the rest. in fact, a game having absolutely nothing written at all, being free of language entirely (or at least within gameplay) is something to be advertised as the game's key feature because of how unusual it is, and the entire gameplay loop will be designed around that, as most game tasks will need to give some amount of written instructions to teach the player the mechanics.

TV shows, while having voice acting, can still have subtitles that many need to understand the show, be it bc it's not in their language or they're deaf/hard of hearing/have an audio processing disorder and need the subs to fully understand what's being said.

I fully realize this is very pedantic and very much a Tumbler Moment of splitting hairs, but if the point is "physically reading is a cognitive function in the brain that is not present in other forms of story consumption and therefor doesn't count as reading" then every single individual word counts, be it a book or news article or social media post or restaurant menu, and you absolutely do, or at least can, read a video game and TV show/movie.

if you disagree though I'd love to hear your reasoning.

Hi anon I can’t really say I disagree with the literal truth of what you’re saying. Really what I meant by the comment is that reading is not the integral means by which story is conveyed in those media, in general, on average, with a very specific platonic ideal of how those media are constructed in mind.

I recognize that has some loaded assumptions about how those media exist and how individuals interact with them, but I also recognize that in my intentionally flippant tags I don’t have time to account for everything lol. Anyways I think I cede my point on games a bit more than on TV, where reading is genuinely an optional choice OR necessitated by disability that fundamentally alters one’s relationship to media in general and needs to be accounted for separately. Story is conveyed primarily through physical action, emotional expression, and verbal dialog far more than it is through text in television. Reading in a video game often occupies a much more prominent place - though not always!

I think my point overall was more on the central verb to how one consumes each medium, even if there are secondary verbs at play. One plays a video game to experience it, one watches a TV show, listens to an audiobook, reads a physical or electronic book. There are secondary verbs involved in those processes - one watches cutscenes in a game or reads an in-game lore book. One listens to music and reads on-screen text in shows and movies. But why I brought that up in the tags at all was because those are sublimated to the primary verb set. I wouldn’t say you *read* a video game, you read *while* playing a video game etc.

Ultimately this is as you say pedantic lol, and I was absolutely being pedantic in my own way when I brought up those examples haha.

[fortunatelybeardedcheesecake]

Cracking the Code: Excelling in IIT-JEE with Audiobook Assistance

Download the App

The Indian Institutes of Technology Joint Entrance Examination (IIT-JEE) is renowned as one of the most challenging and prestigious engineering entrance exams in India. Every year, lakhs of students aspire to secure a coveted seat in the prestigious IITs and other top engineering colleges across the country. Given the intensity and competitiveness of the examination, aspirants are constantly seeking effective study tools and resources to enhance their preparation. In this quest for success, audiobooks have emerged as a valuable asset, offering a unique and dynamic approach to mastering the complexities of IIT-JEE.

Understanding the Significance of IIT-JEE Preparation

The IIT-JEE examination comprises two stages: JEE Main and JEE Advanced. JEE Main serves as the preliminary stage, while JEE Advanced is the gateway to admission into the esteemed IITs. The syllabus for both stages encompasses subjects like Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics, covering a vast array of topics with varying degrees of complexity. Success in IIT-JEE requires not only a deep understanding of fundamental concepts but also strong problem-solving skills, time management, and strategic preparation.

Audiobooks: A Game-Changer in IIT-JEE Preparation

Audiobooks offer a dynamic and convenient means of supplementing traditional study materials, catering to the diverse learning preferences and lifestyles of IIT-JEE aspirants. Here are some ways audiobooks can significantly benefit students preparing for IIT-JEE:

Accessibility: Audiobooks provide unparalleled accessibility, allowing students to study anytime, anywhere. Whether commuting to coaching classes, engaging in physical activities, or relaxing at home, students can maximize their study time by listening to audiobooks.

Efficient Utilization of Time: IIT-JEE preparation demands extensive coverage of topics, often leaving students with limited time for leisure activities. Audiobooks enable students to utilize their time more efficiently by immersing themselves in study material while engaging in other activities, thereby optimizing their study routine.

Reinforcement of Concepts: Listening to audiobooks can reinforce understanding and retention of concepts, particularly for auditory learners. Hearing explanations and examples can complement traditional studying methods, offering a fresh perspective and enhancing comprehension.

Flexibility: Audiobooks offer flexibility in study methods, accommodating different learning styles and preferences. Students can choose from a variety of audiobooks covering diverse subjects and topics, tailoring their study approach to suit their individual needs.

Engagement: Audiobooks can make studying more engaging and enjoyable, providing an interactive learning experience. Engaging narrators, clear explanations, and interactive content can capture students' attention, making complex topics more accessible and relatable.

Exploring Audiobook Resources on Audicate

Audicate, a leading platform for audiobooks and educational content, offers a plethora of resources tailored to IIT-JEE preparation. Here are some notable audiobooks available on Audicate that can complement your IIT-JEE study journey:

"Physics for IIT-JEE: Concepts and Practice" by Prof. H.C. Verma: This audiobook offers a comprehensive review of physics concepts relevant to IIT-JEE, providing clear explanations and practice problems to reinforce understanding.

"Chemistry Essentials for IIT-JEE" by Dr. P. Bahadur: Dive into the intricacies of chemistry with this audiobook, covering essential topics and problem-solving techniques crucial for success in IIT-JEE.

"Mathematics Masterclass for IIT-JEE" by Prof. R.D. Sharma: Sharpen your mathematical skills with this audiobook, featuring in-depth explanations, solved examples, and practice exercises to excel in the mathematics section of IIT-JEE.

"IIT-JEE Mock Tests and Practice Papers" by Exam Experts: Put your knowledge to the test with this audiobook series, featuring a collection of mock tests and practice papers designed to simulate the IIT-JEE examination environment and assess your preparedness.

"IIT-JEE Success Strategies: Tips and Tricks to Ace the Exam" by Exam Gurus: Gain valuable insights into effective study strategies, time management techniques, and exam tips tailored specifically to IIT-JEE aspirants, guiding you towards success in the examination.

Conclusion

Aspirants preparing for the IIT-JEE examination embark on a challenging yet rewarding journey towards realizing their engineering aspirations. In this pursuit, leveraging innovative tools such as audiobooks can provide a distinct advantage, offering flexibility, accessibility, and enhanced learning experiences. With platforms like Audicate offering a diverse range of audiobook resources tailored to IIT-JEE preparation, aspirants have unprecedented access to valuable study materials to augment their journey towards success. By incorporating audiobooks into their study regimen, IIT-JEE aspirants can navigate the complexities of the examination with confidence and proficiency, paving the way for a bright future in the field of engineering.

[goombasa]

Library Propoganda Post

Go to your local library.

I'm always a bit surprised to hear about people who don't know about everything that you can find there. Then again, libraries aren't nearly as advertised as they used to be, and yet there is so much that you can do there.

And y'all should go and experience it.

First and foremost, to make sure everyone knows, public libraries are free. There's generally no fee to get yourself a card and start checking things out. Literally no excuse not to go in and grab one.

Most obviously, you can check out books, of pretty much any subject or genre. If they don't have what you're looking for, bring it up with the librarian on duty, ask what their process is for making requests. Most libraries will have an interlibrary loan system, where you can request a book and they'll borrow it from another library for you to read. Note that some libraries do ask for postage for this service, but others will just eat the cost for you.

But what if you live a good, long way from the library and are worried you won't be able to get the books back before the due date? Well, libraries generally have phone numbers or some will have an online system where you can request the books be renewed. Again, it differs from library to library, but in general you'll be able to renew a book up to two times before it has to be returned, provided there's not a wait list for it. Almost every library will also have a drop box available as well, where you can drop off books after hours if you can't get back before they close.

And it's not just books either! A library exists to make media and information of all kinds available to everyone for as cheap as possible. To this end, libraries nowadays will offer DVDs, Blurays, audiobooks, periodicals, and even video games for rent. Some of the larger libraries I've been too will even have older tech available, with means to use it, like VHS or cassette tapes, or even game consoles to rent, though they're usually very particular about those, or they're only for use within the facility.

But what if you don't have the physical means to watch movies or listen to audiobooks anymore? No CD player, no DVD or bluray player? Well, apart from watching in the facility itself, most libraries will also have digital services as well that you can sign up for with your library card number. My library has services like the cloud library, allowing you to check out electronic and audio books like they were physical. You check them out, and then when the time expires, it's returned and you can check out another one without having to worry about late fees at all. We have Kanopy, a free streaming service with a focus on documentaries, foreign films, and blockbusters from a few years ago. We have the comics archive, which is full of comic books and graphic novels from all eras and countries.

But that's just stuff you can check out. Public libraries are also a great sour of news, as they often have local, regional, or national newspapers available to read, along with various periodicals and magazines too. Heck, some libraries will even host an archive (physical or digital) of back issues of local news sources or articles associated with the local area. Depending on the nature of your library, you might also be able to find a lot of genealogical information there as well. Local yearbooks, graveyard records, local histories, libraries often have that stuff available for public perusal. 

Ask about technology while you're at it, as many libraries might not necessarily have a lot of tech that you can take off premises, but there's a lot there that you can still use, whether it's computers and printers for basic web browsing and computing uses, conversion equipment to get your videos and audio off of aging formats and back them up digitally, and even programs that might help you get cheap or free devices that you might not be able to afford on your own. This is usually done in association with third parties.

If you're looking for things to do with your time off or want to learn a new skill but prefer the motivation of being taught in person or being around other people who are trying to learn the same thing as you are, or just looking to join a club or organization that enjoys a similar hobby, the library often hosts local talks, informative classes, or is just a meeting place for folks who want to have a group discussion about whatever they wish to talk about.

I'm sure I've missed a few things, as there are some differences from one library to the next, depending on who is funding it (I'm fortunate in that the town government funds my library and gives it a very generous yearly budget for basically everything, as well as a local fund that helps us equip it with whatever technology, repairs, and upgrades it needs), but most of these options are available (FOR FREE) at your local library, and even if you can't make frequent trips there, just getting a library card and using their digital services helps to keep them funded and functional, you have no idea what it means to a librarian to have new people come in and take a look around for stuff. And most library staff is more than happy to help you find what you're looking for. Even if they don't have it in the building, they'll help you find out where and how you can find it.

This concludes your local library propaganda post.

Go to your local library.

[lacefuneral]

God I also just like wanna watch a fucking movie or a TV show or something like. I've mostly been listening to podcasts or listening to the audio of TV shows whether it has audio description or not. And watching very brief YouTube videos with barely any motion or editing in them that are very quiet with my screen almost completely dark

Like I have such a long list of movies that I want to watch and I could be watching them if not on account of the brain hurt

Also I have like six or seven different books to read in my room right now and I cannot look at them. And I don't do audiobooks either they put me the fuck to sleep and the only method of reading that I am comfortable with is a physical book and not because I'm a snob or anything like that it's that it has the least amount of ice strain for me focus on it and it lets me stay present and also like I have a very physical kind of indication of how far along I am and like anytime I've tried to read it on like a fucking kindle or anything else like it's it's been a nightmare for me I can't do it I have tons of PDF on my laptop of like like full books and I do not touch them I do not open them because I have like a mental block about it because it's not like I can just go in and like stick in like a bookmark and then like you know go back to my bookmark and you know I just it's not how my brain works and it's just it's stressfu

God and I'd love to play a fucking video game like I have Pickman four and the three  previous Pickman games and I started one and two at around the same time and have not completed them.  and then obviously I have tears the kingdom too I haven't been paying attention to the community for the last couple of months so I don't know if there's been any new like technological advancements but you know there were a lot of very impressive things that people were doing for a long time and you know if new stuff has been discovered like I'd like to experiment with that I mean I'm not super good at building things in tears of the kingdom more of like a house design Person but you know it's cool to have that sort of sandbox environment where you can just sort of dick around and make shitty vehicles and see what happens

also I didn't even think of this before but I guess I could make like a second profile on my switch in order to like start a new game of tears of the kingdom if I wanted to because I don't wanna lose my current progress I wanna be able to go back to it but maybe that's a lol anyway I can't worry about that now anyway I physically can't do that



[halflingkima]

March TBR

I am not a TBR person but I do have books out from the library – that i've had out for the majority of february – that i need to get around to. And most of them I've been wanting to read for a while.

Never Whistle at Night ed. Shane Hawk & Theodore C. Van Alst: An Indigenous dark fiction anthology. [read ✓]

Let us begin with the one I've already started. storygraph says i'm 62% through it and it is due back tomorrow. I was very much looking forward to this one, but I always find anthologies challenging – it's so hard to simply go into a new story straight after one has ended. I've also not found any so far that really sparked anything in me yet. But I've got David Heski Wambley Widen, Darci Little Badger, and Tommy Orange stories left, so I'm holding out hope.

Physical Library Items

Crossbones by Kimberly Vale: The pirate king has died, and the Trials begin: a cuthroat life or death competition for the Bone Crown and island throne. [read ✓]

This one I nearly zipbooked (if you're in california, ask me about your library's zipbook program!!) until I actually went to do so and surprise! the library finally had it. Spooky. Anyway. I've been excited for this one for ages but I only got my hands on it when I was feeling slumpy. Luckily, it seems no one else has heard of it, so I've got another six weeks with it. I believe it's a trilogy. It sounds a little like pirate-flavored hunger games.

A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows: Velasin of Ralia is set to marry a girl from Tithenia to unite the kingdoms, but is outed; instead, Tithenia offers the girl's brother to maintain the political union, and despite same sex relationships being unheard of in Ralia, they marry. [read ✓]

Another one I've been trying to read for a while; it was on my list of Big Boys for last year and my audiobook loan expired probably three times before I got around to it, so I got my hands on the physical. I think once I get familiar with the world & writing style, I can switch to the audiobook & it'll go fast, but fantasy is always challenging to wrap my head around in the beginning.

Libby Audiobooks

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness: Diana, a witch and a scholar, accidentally uncovers an ancient alchemical manuscript, waking demons, witches, and all manner of creatures. [read ✓]

Another one from my Big Boy hopefuls last year; a friend was starting the series and I'd heard some whispers about the tv show (?) so I thought I'd check it out. One of the ones where the premise wasn't inspiring enough to commit me for the vast length of the first installment of a series. But maybe now is the time?

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion: R is a zombie, whose daily life is a grey blur – until he meets a girl. [read ✓]

It's about an hour one-way to see my new lil niece, and I've been visiting roughly every other weekend, so I thumbed through some audiobooks and noticed this one. I didn't even know it was a book! I remembered liking the movie, but it was long enough ago that I don't remember the plot. The sample was engaging enough, so I thought why not. And then instead of listening to it on the drive, I spaced out and Thought About Life. So I've still got this one in my pocket.

Libby eBooks

The City & The City by China Mieville: A detective investigates a woman's murder, complicated by two cities existing in the same space. [read ✓]

My litfic-lover friend read this and found it really engaging. I tried out the audiobook, but given the heavy concept, I thought ebook would be best. I was also looking for an ebook, since I don't have one on the go and it's the format I use when i want to read in the dark. I had no clue it was a murder mystery, which has upped my interest.

Hoopla Audiobooks

In My Dreams I Hold a Knife by Ashley Winstead: A group of friends reunites for a ten year high school reunion, but someone wants to revisit – and solve? – the murder that split them apart back then. [read ✓]

I know nothing about this except it was rather a popular dark academia title last year? year prior? Basically, I've been in a reading slump and got the itch that a thriller (+audiobook) would fix me. It was also near the end of the month so this was a sorta panic-checkout (cuz you get a number of hoopla checkouts per month so i try to use them all if i haven't yet). I've not read an Ashley Winstead yet, but I had a great experience with If We Were Villains, so maybe this'll do the same.

Hoopla Ebooks

The Killing Moon by NK Jemisin: Peace is kept by dream priests, who harvest sleep magic to heal – and kill the corrupt; a dream priest discovers that someone is killing innocent dreamers [due ✗]

This ended up on my (eternal and endless) TBR last year when I was supposed to read a book set in the desert for the Magical Readathon. I didn't get to it, but I've been wanting to read Jemisin's lesser known novels for a while. Impulse checked this one out in an attempt to break my reading slump but have yet to start it.

Keeping Casey by Amy Aislin: When Ethan complains of his hockey coach's annoyances, his best friend Casey impulsively offers to be his fake boyfriend to put issues to rest. [read ✓]

After my "thrillers will fix me" moment, I got to a "I need a kissing book" phase, which coincidentally aligned with the end of the month – i may have pavlov'd myself. when it nears the end of the month & i've got hoopla loans left, i always go for gay romances, bc they're like. my hoopla candy. it's like the library version of KU. there's such good shit in there. (there is also Trash.) i've been on a hockey kick with these, not least bc ik hockey rpf writers know what it's ABOUT. This wasn't my first choice, but hoopla didn't have the first in the series and i'm very much a romance-series-in-order reader, for better or for worse. but this author feels promising and i rly wanna see if their writing in general is worth it, so i went for another series that hoopla did have the first volume of.

Fire Season by KD Casey: Professional ball player Charlie's life is shiny on the outside and falling apart below the surface; his pitcher Girodano is struggling with his sobriety and keeping his roster spot; the two find themselves as roommates for the season. [read ✓]

this is one i've checked out a couple of times, but when it's my end-of-the-month checkouts, i don't always get to them. this is the second in a baseball m/m romance series, and i quite liked the first. this one doesn't have any tropes i'm particularly interested in (e.g. bi leads, single parents, best friends) but i'm sure i'll enjoy it. basically a free checkout/gay romance if i run out of other things to read in three weeks.

[cherokeegal1975]

Thought about the internet

Maintaining contact with friends and family is a real benefit. Being able to talk to anyone from anywhere is a lot of fun.

But I think the best thing about the internet is shopping, all kinds of entertainments like movies, books, games and TV and of course, fun and sometimes useful information.

In spite of people being dicks at home, especially one of them, I'm in a decent mood. I experimented with a couple of Kindle books I've been wanting to buy for quite some time. I got a Fire tablet as a gift a while ago and only recently had just enough money to buy a couple of bargain books in the kindle format. I had already read them in the printed books, but my eyes have decided to become farsighted so just about anything within arm's reach is blurry, especially text.

I love kindle books! I still need glasses to read, but I can blow up the text enough that it's easier on my eyes. Instant access to my books, love that. Cheap, can't complain about that at all. I like my Fire tablet, but it's too nice to take with me and it needs internet access to work. I'm not sure about downloading anything directly into it. So, I'm still interested in a Kindle device to take with me to work or wherever while the Fire tablet stays home. Fire tablet has some advantages I like for reading, like color for illustrations and it's other functions as well. I'm also curious what using a Kindle will be like for me. I hear much praise for the device and the black and white screen isn't going to be much of a problem for me if all I'm doing is either listening to a book or reading text, which is black and white anyway. I also hear that Kindles are not very good with surfing the net, but I can work around that by surfing the net on other devices, then accessing my accounts for my eBooks and Audible on my Kindle device.

Anyway, I like reading my kindle books. My only concern is that if I can go through with my plan to trade off my bulky and damaged books for eBooks and audiobooks, I may not always have access to the internet and then I won't have my physical books anymore. So, I'll see what happens financially before I fully commit to donating the bulk of my physical copies. Some are damaged with age or cat pee or by dog claws. But also, I just hate clutter. I do still like books, some books should be physical copies because they are works of art. But, mostly, I'm not attached to the books themselves. I embrace this new...newish tech and would gladly donate bulk of my library in trade for audiobooks and eBooks online. Less clutter, less to catch dust. Possibly better for the environment? Less paper, less trees cut down and all that. Don't hound me on that one, I'm sure there's some facts I'm missing on that point. Nothing I can do about it.

I bought Enemy Mine by...I forgot his name. And I bought People of the Sky by Claire Bell. Both are very good books and I haven't read People of the Sky in years. So this should be fun. I highly recommend both, they're good sci-fi.

[memento-morri-writes]

20. what is your go-to bookmark?

21. do you prefer to read or listen?

22. would you want your favorite book to be a movie?

Hi Anna!! Thanks for the ask!!!!!!!

20. what is your go-to bookmark?

I have a very nice, well-made one that says "whovian" in the (old) Doctor Who logo font, but the O have been replaced with the TARDIS. It also has a black tassel handing off of it. It's the nicest bookmark I own, and the only one I ever use. (Though I do have a watercolor one made by the amazing @ashen-crest from Stray Spirit pre-order, as well as an ARMV one. Those ones I just keep for decoration, though.)

21. do you prefer to read or listen?

Because of my ADHD, I am physically incapable of paying attention to any audio thing that doesn't also at least have a visual component. (I struggle even with a visual component, which is why I played astronomical amounts of temple run while watching Critical Role...) So I don't ever listen to audiobooks. Plus, reading a real, physical book is just so much more fun and satisfying!!! And when you own them, you get to see them all on your shelf!!

22. would you want your favorite book to be a movie?

Honestly, no. Some of my favorite books have already been made into TV shows or movies, and most of them disappointed me. I'm a MASSIVE stickler for keeping things true to the book, and very rarely do I like changes that are made. (I know that changes have to be made when making adaptations, but oftentimes key parts of the original book are forgotten or brushed aside in favor of making the movie more mass-marketeable. (See the Hunger Games, for example.)) So yeah. I'd honestly rather not have my favorite books or movies be given adaptations at all, rather than them receive ones that feel hollow. (Nimona is a rare exception to how I feel about changes from books to movies, but that's because both stories are fucking phenomenal in their own right, and each was written at a very different point in the author's life.) (I gave up on watching the Shadow and Bone tv show, and I also never finished the Station Eleven miniseries, despite SoC and SE being two of my favorite books of all time. I just couldn't get over the changes that were made. (Though that was not the only reason I stopped watching. There were other factors.)) (I do think that The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd Jones (another 5-start book) would make a PHENOMENAL movie, but I don't trust anyone to make it into one.)

Thanks for asking!! And if anyone wants to give me more excuses to ramble about books, this is the ask game I'm doing!

[mypanicface]

What is your favourite scene from The House of mirth movie and book?

Aw thanks so much, dear! I took some time to think about it and also listen to a HoM audiobook atm.

It's hard to name a favourite scene because there are some i adore for the imagery, others for lilys and seldens chemistry through the pages and others for how painfully real and raw they are. The romantic scenes always seem to be interlaced with sadness and yearning - i feel it physically every time i read it despite occasionally struggling with the old english.

Somehow my favourite scenes from the book aren't even the most anticipated or famous ones, like the kiss after the Tableau Vivant. It's more the descriptions of their feelings for each other, the yearning. It's both so sweet and painful 😢 like the scene when Lily wakes up the next morning after the kiss and feels as if it was a dream. There are so many of those little parts about their feelings but this answer would get even longer if i added them all 😁

Another scene i very much like is the one with Gerty comforting Lily in the middle of the night, especially the morning after. I felt so bad for Gerty, she was super jealous, but that scene is just so much like fanfic 😅 with only one bed and awkwardness the morning after.

Something i can relate to is the effect of Lily's sleep medication - it's quite surprising how well the descriptions of a medicine from the early 1900s fit the side effects of antidepressants i took nowadays. (That's not really a fave scene, i just adore Wharton's writing and how timeless some parts are)

As for the movie... i watched it before reading the book and watched it for exactly two reasons: i am gay and wanted to spend 1.5 hours salivating over gillian in historical costumes. And in that aspect, the movie did not disappoint. My fave scenes are easily the two kiss scenes. No intellectual explanation, just gillian being an amazing kisser and eric stoltz getting paid to kiss her. Incredible.

This kiss is way longer in the movie than in the book (and i won't complain!). But we don't get to see their innermost feelings about it in the movie.

As for the first one at Bellomont in the movie, it's not in the book, but it fits in well imo. Also the quote "why is it that when we meet, we always play this elaborate game" - it sums up their relationship perfectly, as well as probably the societal context it takes place in.

Sorry for this super long answer!

[steven-universe-au-prompts]

Media AU

Kind of a meta AU that just came to my head randomly. The Gems are actually the physical embodiment of different types of media and get their power from them. Some ideas I came up with (which anyone can feel free to change if they actually decide to write something for this) are: Garnet representing audiovisual media, such as movies or TV, as a result of fusing Ruby (who represents audio) and Sapphire (who represents video), and incredibly powerful and respected type of media. Amethyst representing the internet, a relatively younger type of storytelling when compared to the others, but that quickly proved itself to be just as powerful. Pearl representing theater, one of the oldest and most classical types of art, yet even after all of this time, it is still quite a spectacle to behold. Steven representing video games, a young type of storytelling that is still not respected by many, but can prove itself to be just as valuable to the team as all of the others. Peridot represents comic books, a type of storytelling that is seen as mostly childish and cheap, but can prove to be very respectful when the situation calls for it. Lapis represent literature, a type of storytelling that is very important, however most people seem to have forgotten about it, with most of her stories only getting attention when they're adapted into other types of media, but she is still one of the most influential types of storytelling out there. Jasper represents radio, a type of storytelling that is very old and came close to collapse many times before as newer types of media appeared to replace her, yep she managed to adapt and overcome all difficulty. I feel like this AU could be used to make some commentary on how all different types of media are different and have their own advantages and disadvantages, and how they're all equality valuable by the end of the day. I also think the fights in this AU could be very well choreographed when in the hands of a creative writer, since it gives the opportunity to give the Gems all kind of crazy powers, like having Garnet being able to rewind or fast forward time like she was controlling a movie, or having Peridot be able to stop time because comics don't move, or having Lapis being able to literally change the plot of the story by rewriting it, or having Steven come back to life after he dies like he had a video game continue. Another idea I think could be cool would be to have the fusions be literally a combination of the different types of media. For example, Sardonyx would represent movies that are based on theater plays, Smoky Quartz would represent online video games, Sugilite would represent YouTube videos, Sunstone would represent movie tie in video games, Malachite would represent audiobooks, etc.