Some Things I've Come Across Recently
Today’s links cover travel, reading, photography, and a great podcast.
Travel
I’m not a big traveler (understatement) but many of my friends are. I found three HIGHLY recommended pieces of travel gear and thought I’d share.
1. Lily & Drew Lightweight Crossbody Carry On
This bag was recommended by so many women in the Lazy Genius Facebook group as their go-to for travel. It holds a laptop up to 15.6”, fits under the seat, has multiple pockets, a place for a water bottle, and includes a trolley sleeve. And at $50 (at the time of this writing), doesn’t break the bank.
2. CUBETASTIC Clear Makeup Bag
The makeup brush compartment and clear sides made this a winner. Easy to see what’s inside and brush storage keeps them from rolling around with the rest of your stuff. And the price is A+.
3. The Charger to Replace Them All. Anker Prime 100W GaN 3-Port (2 USB C, 1 USB A) Compact Fast Charger
It’s small, but powerful enough to charge a Macbook Pro or Air, iPad, tablets, plus the newest phones & watches. Several frequent travelers recommended it to cut down on the number of large, heavy chargers in their bags.
Reading
As most of you know, I love to read. So much so that my TBR pile has become a tower. Last week I learned about the (free!) website Bookpecker (yes, lol, the name). They have over 14,000 bullet-point nonfiction book summaries. It’s doubtful you’ll come away with a full understanding of these books based on a few bullet points, but there’s enough there to let you know if the book is one you want to read.
Categories include: Business & Finance Personal Development Health & Fitness Computers & Technology History & Biographies Science & Math Relationships & Dating Parenting & Pregnancy Politics & Social Sciences Philosophy Religion & Spirituality Travel Guides Hobbies & Home.
Note: The summaries are free because they earn money through Amazon’s affiliate program if you happen to buy books through their links.
I think this is a great resource. Maybe add it to your bookmarks bar & check it out the next time you’re looking for something to read or want to know more about a recommended title.
Photography
I love taking photos, but I’m hardly a pro and because my phone is always with me, it’s become my default camera. Scott Kelby’s 44-minute video, Using Your iPhone As Your Second Camera for Travel Photography, has great tips for improving your iPhone photography skills, whether you’re traveling or not.
Podcast
The True Story of America's Supremely Messed-Up Immigration System
“The U.S. immigration system is a massively complicated machine, with a lot of worn-out parts. How to fix it? Step one: Get hold of some actual facts and evidence. (We did this step for you.)” — Freakonomics Radio
So many things are a mess right now, but I appreciate the thoughtful 3-part series on immigration from the folks at Freakonomics. I’m learning a lot about a subject that gets loads of media attention, but that I don’t fully understand. This series is helping with that. It’s well-researched with quality sources (that they also cite).
Parts 1 & 2, plus a bonus episode about Madeline Albright, are available now. Part 3 will be released soon.
I’d encourage everyone to give it a listen (or a read — I love it that these have transcripts available. Just click the link for each episode and the transcript is at the bottom of the page).
That’s it for today. I hope there are surprising moments of joy in store for you this week.
xo,
Beth