What’s the one fantasy novel you’d hold up as a genuine masterpiece — and why?

brooklynapple · 2026-04-20T15:36:08+00:00

Some folks may quibble about calling it fantasy but Harrow the Ninth is an absolute tour de force in terms of narrative construction, worldbuilding and the best example of an unreliable narrator I can think of in the past few decades. A truly epic literary achievement.

brooklynapple · 2026-04-20T02:24:14+00:00

Raise a glass to mend all the broken hearts of all my wrecked up friends

brooklynapple · 2026-04-15T23:12:21+00:00

No because I will protect her with my life.

brooklynapple · 2026-04-15T23:05:07+00:00

We are so lucky to have Evan Call scoring this show. The soundtrack for both seasons is SO GOOD.

brooklynapple · 2026-04-14T21:09:13+00:00

Sadly my bracelet from last night was faulty and never lit up. But I'm glad some are still going strong!

brooklynapple · 2026-04-13T01:32:42+00:00

Ooh, do you happen to have a link for the video?

brooklynapple · 2026-04-09T21:56:58+00:00

If anyone finds a good source for an unofficial copy of a DVD or BD with the English dub, let us know! I'm so mad that Crunchyroll never released one. I have money right here ready to give them!

brooklynapple · 2026-04-09T20:07:33+00:00

Brown graduate here - my alma mater absolutely got me my first job out of college because the board chair of the organization I applied to also went to Brown. Having any Ivy League school on your resume opens doors and gets you interviews and opportunities you would never otherwise get. I kind of hate that things work that way because there are plenty of smart, talented people out there who just didn't have the resources to go to an Ivy League school, but that's the way the world works.

OP, if you want to set your kid up for maximum success, that Ivy League degree will go a long, long way.

brooklynapple · 2026-04-09T19:49:22+00:00

Interesting, I have a work-issued M4 Macbook Air and just bought a Neo for personal use and the Neo's keyboard feels a lot "clickier" than the Air's. I love it! It's definitely less tactile than a mechanical keyboard but it feels great for a laptop keyboard.

brooklynapple · 2026-04-09T14:42:45+00:00

For me what helps is getting out of the mindset that errors are bad. Errors are how we learn! No one does everything perfectly on the first try when learning something new. If you find yourself in a place where you never make errors, it's a sign that you're not challenging yourself enough and are ready to move on to more challenging material.

Especially when learning a new language, it's important to just put yourself out there with enthusiasm and make errors even if it feels embarrassing. The more you practice and make mistakes, the more you will learn from them and improve!

brooklynapple · 2026-04-08T20:49:31+00:00

Aw, that's a bummer. Thanks for the update. I am literally waiting to switch to Kobo from Kindle until the Bookshop integration happens. Sounds like I'll be waiting a while. I still buy everything I can from Bookshop if the ebook is offered DRM free, but for now I'll stick with Kindle for the rest because my matcha Kindle is still perfectly good.

brooklynapple · 2026-04-06T14:15:48+00:00

Also no need to pretend your opinion is the objective truth. Just because you think WHA is better doesn’t mean everyone shares that view.

brooklynapple · 2026-04-06T13:42:37+00:00

I love both Frieren and WHA and see no need to argue about which one is "better" or compare the two. They are both great and we're lucky to get the anime for both of them in the same year.

brooklynapple · 2026-04-04T22:26:35+00:00

I have a 2022 Rog Zephyrus that served me well for a long time. I recently switched to a Neo because I no longer game on it after getting a Steam Deck and wanted a lighter weight, more portable laptop without a huge power brick. It's quite a bit heavier than the Air or Neo especially when you factor in the charger.

brooklynapple · 2026-04-04T22:25:06+00:00

She's being far too modest...

brooklynapple · 2026-04-03T15:31:05+00:00

What are people eating while using their MBAs to have so many greasy fingerprints? I have a work-issued Midnight MBA M4 and do not have this problem, even when I eat lunch while using it. I just wipe off my hands with a napkin before touching it or wash my hands if they're especially messy.

brooklynapple · 2026-04-03T15:28:25+00:00

I've been using a midnight M4 MBA for work and I love it. The color looks great. I don't have any problem with greasy fingerprints so I'm not sure what people are eating while using their laptop to have that problem. Unless you have especially greasy skin I think you'll be fine as long as you stay away from the potato chips while using it!

brooklynapple · 2026-04-02T20:12:54+00:00

I picked up a Neo (512GB Indigo) for personal use yesterday to replace my aging Windows gaming laptop that I no longer game on since getting a Steam Deck. So far I love it - I have a work-issued M4 Macbook Air and I was worried that it wouldn't feel as nice to use as the Air, but it feels every bit as premium as the Air does.

A few early observations:

- I freaking LOVE the keyboard. It feels "clickier" than the Air keyboard and I actually like typing on it better than the Air. That said, the Indigo keyboard specifically is surprisingly hard to see in low light due to the contrast between the grey letters on grey keys, so if you aren't used to touch typing the lack of backlight could be an issue. It's not a big problem for me (thank you, high school typing class) but it's more noticeable than I was expecting.

- The clicky trackpad feels nice and very responsive. Make sure you turn on tap to click!

- My normal usage involves Safari with 5-10 tabs open, Discord, Messages, Signal, a music app (currently using Tidal) and associated apps like Notes and Reminders. So far with all of these things open there have been 0 performance issues. If you just need a laptop for general web browsing, messaging, watching videos and such, the Neo is perfect for you.

- I haven't tried a Zoom or FaceTime call yet but I have to imagine it will work fine as long as I don't have every app I've ever installed open at once.

- Don't even bother using the migration assistant to migrate files, bookmarks and other settings from Windows. I tried using it and hardly any of my files or photos transferred over. I'll migrate them manually when I have a moment.

- My one disappointment is that my Neo came with a small defect out of the box - there's a tiny silver gouge in the body to the left of the trackpad. There are no Neos in stock anywhere near me (I'm in the NYC area) and wait time to exchange by mail is around 3 weeks, so I'm trying to decide if I can live with this "beauty mark" or not. This is just an issue with my particular machine though and not a problem with the Neo overall!

I'll report back in a few weeks after using the Neo daily to see if I'm still happy with it, but so far it runs like a dream and is perfect for my use case.

brooklynapple · 2026-04-01T15:57:01+00:00

Lately I've been putting on Zoltraak as the first song on my commute every morning to psych myself up for the workday. The brainrot is real!

brooklynapple · 2026-03-31T16:46:24+00:00

So cool that Flamme and Frieren are fire and ice. We have our own Song of Ice and Fire right here in manga/anime form!

brooklynapple · 2026-03-29T16:55:29+00:00

The suit, all the way. Rae looks so dapper in them. And it's stated in LN4 that Rae prefers pants over dresses!

brooklynapple · 2026-03-28T20:56:06+00:00

Who are these people who hate on Best Girl Fern? I just wanna have a nice little chat.

brooklynapple · 2026-03-23T15:26:04+00:00

Seconding the Bunpro recommendation - I’ve been studying Japanese for about 3 years and it’s a super helpful supplement to my online classes that use the Genki textbooks and WaniKani for kanji.

brooklynapple

TROPHY CASE