This was my first thought, but then it occurred to me that if I was voting at 16, I’d almost certainly be voting for who my parents told me to. I’m still not against it but I think we’d need specialized education and tons of PSAs aimed at kids about it, because unless you’re already rebellious, “my house my rules” could easily be extended to voting.

The only McCarthy book at my library was The Passenger. The librarian told me I was brave and that last time she checked out a McCarthy book, she needed therapy.

Absolutely not what you recommended but I’m in for a treat.

Thanks for the recs! I’ll look into these, because I could always go for something light and entertaining, but I don’t really think any medium is “for” anything.

Like with movies, most of the time I’m looking for something to laugh at to forget my problems, or at least an exciting adventure to get lost in. But sometimes I find something that just punches me in the gut and makes me think about life, and I see that as a positive experience, even if it’s not strictly “fun”.

I get the backlash, though. I think too many people have held literature up as the only way to be smart, and moreso, held book smarts up as the bare minimum for being treated as a human. I’ve heard it from all sides.

I’ve been on the opposite end of a pretty similar dynamic, too. I enjoy lifting weights, and people treat it like a virtue instead of a hobby. People say shit like “wow, you’re better than me” or start giving me excuses for why they can’t go to the gym, as if I was judging them for having different hobbies.

People are pompous dicks about fitness, but I do it because I really enjoy it. People are also pompous dicks about the classics, but I have to assume that most folks are like me. They just enjoy it.

You know, I was on vacation and saw a newer translation of The Arabian Nights and pondered getting it for a REALLY long time before deciding not to spend all my money on the first day of my trip. Thank you for reminding me, gonna put it on my list!

I’m a week late but I never specified classics! I kept my request vague for a reason, I’m looking for variety. :) So I appreciate the recs.

Lol fair. I got insecure for a second because I used to get mistaken for a snob when I was actually just terrible at wording things.

Lmao, conversation.

I was unschooled and wasn’t allowed to watch anything that wasn’t aimed at actual children. Even when I was an adult living at home. I don’t think my parents wanted me to know what sex and drugs are.

Really depends on the type of wasp. Most of the ones local to me seem chill if stupid. They’ll smack right into you or get in your hair and as long as you don’t swat at them, they’ll eventually fly away.

Not sure about hornets, but I know wasps eat a lot of herbivorous bugs like aphids and caterpillars.

A lot of people see eating caterpillars as one of the “bad” things wasps do, but population control is necessary if we want crops.

I think a lot of the therapy speak we use in casual conversation is going to be embarrassing in hindsight. A lot of it is already verifiably inaccurate, but even the stuff based on real psychology can potentially be disproven as understanding and research methods improve. And people will quietly cringe remembering how they used junk science to justify being a dick in 2024.

This sexy little thing

I still swear online, but I try not to do it aloud anymore because I accidentally dropped an f-bomb in front of a customer. I’m not bothered by them, and I don’t get why other people are, so I don’t think about it and get careless.

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Oh shit, I picked up “per se” from Animal Crossing as a kid and never questioned it.

In my defense, Rover is a fucking weirdo, you’d never use a phrase you learned from him to try to sound smart.

Interesting. I did CBT for a couple of years and it was mostly about reframing extreme thoughts— eg you catch yourself thinking “I’m unlovable” and remind yourself it’s more like “my last two relationships ended poorly”.

It wasn’t exactly what I needed but I didn’t see much potential for harm. Is there more to CBT than what I did, or are there situations where that type of thinking can make things worse?

Maybe that CBT is also harmful to neurodivergent people.

I have a bad habit of ending sentences with “so”, mainly because I get that far before realizing the thong I’m about to explain is redundant.

Maybe I’m your evil twin?

Yooooo I forgot about geocaching!! WikiShootMe also sounds like a cool way to explore.

Thanks for the suggestions! I gotta make a list when I get home. I haven’t heard of a few of these so that should be exciting.

The first two or three on that list might take several fits and starts to get through, YMMV, but they are WELL worth the effort, and you will come out the other side changed by the experience.

I’m anticipating this, not too worried. I have trouble comprehending thick prose, but part of why I’m asking for recs is because I won’t improve if I don’t try.

I loved having LOTR read to me as a kid so maybe it’s time to revisit it.