#lookingforshadows

OMG THIS IS THE BEST THING!! <3

@everyone who loves me and hasn’t tried it yet: one day at a time on netflix didn’t get my attention on the app randomly, i only gave it a chance because other people sang its praises first, and i had no reason to expect to like it, let alone have it become one of my absolute faves along with gilmore girls and the west wing??? but it’s so good. 

it’s both funny and heartbreaking, the cast is amazing and even the young actors grow more impressive as they’re given more to do each season, and my GOD the issues it deals with and the nods to politics and the diversity in both casting and characters. 

oh yeah the amount of money higher education costs here is absolutely ridiculous. the state schools are close to 30,000 usd and the private school i was supposed to go to was 60,000 usd. i actually never ended up going to college like i wanted to bc there was no way i could afford it even with the financial aid offered. it sucks lol

Ok, so I’m in my first year of college here in the States and my tuition is $76,937 a year (I live in a city and luckily I go to a school where we have fixed tuition rates that don’t change every year). My college gave me $42,000 in financial aid and a scholarship, I have to do a work study for $2,500, take out my own loans of $5,500 and my parents are paying $26,000 in loans. It’s ridiculous, but that’s really the only way to do something with your life.

(Long time lurker…) I know you’ve said things have been rough lately, so thought I’d provide you a dog pic in case you needed a quick mood booster. This is Callie! She’s basically a cat in a goldendoodle’s body: she wants your attention but not your affection. Despite never paying any attention to me, she is the light of my life, so I hope she can be a spot of brightness in your day!

Submission from @lookingforshadows

Thoughts about Merrily We Roll Along? I just saw Roundabout’s production tonight and would be interested in what you think of the show.

4. What was the last book you added to your tbr?

I actually keep an official list, so I’ll take a look at Ye Olde Google Doc... I have about 5-6 books scheduled out for each week of the year and those have been pretty static for a while, but I also have books that are ready to be added or substituted in if I have extra time or if another book isn’t available and the last to be added to that list was The Moon Within by Aida Salazar.

21. Best winter read?

Like a cozy read? I’m quite fond of rereading old favorites, actually, especially something that I’ve read so many times the story and the characters are like comfy, worn pajamas. The audiobook app that my office has just added the Jim Dale Harry Potter books to the collection and I’ve been listening to them all again and they’re just delightful! Also on the list: Eva Ibbotson, Jenny Han, Maggie Stiefvater, break out the ol’ Gail Carson Levines...

I know there are some people who prefer something a little more atmospheric, like a snowed-in mystery for a snowy day, but I’m on that “sweet books that make me happy” train all day long!

42. Which was the best book you had to read in school?

I’m a terrible person to answer this question because I tend not to connect with or even pretend to like “classic literature.” (There’s a reason I call myself the world’s worst English major.) On the plus side, though, the list of books that I enjoyed enough is significantly shorter than those I didn’t!

From middle and high school, probably To Kill a Mockingbird, though I could get down with Master Harold and the Boys and The Things They Carried and Edith Hamilton’s Mythology, and our weird unit on Rime of the Ancient Mariner has stuck with me. From college, I was okay with Sense and Sensibility and Lady Audley’s Secret and the weird gothic Louisa May Alcott stories, but clearly top of the heap was The Hidden Hand by E.D.E.N. Southworth (if my lit is going to be old, it’s going to be the trash of its day).

I hope Katie knows that she wins All Of The Awards for pet pun names.