The Weekly Write-Up #1

Welcome to the first publication of The Weekly Write-Up! Let’s get into it!

In this newsletter…

• What are my favorite book series of all time?

•  What YouTube Channels am I subscribed to?

•  IOS16 and WatchOS9!

•  ‘Parks’ Board Game

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Something I Read- Some of My Favorite Book Series!

I am a huge fan of books (a real bookworm). I love writing and reading books. I thought that it would be a good idea to share 4 of my favorite book series (not books in general) with you. The first two are series that you have probably heard of, and the other two of them you probably haven’t heard of. Please don’t get mad at me if I didn’t include your favorite book series. Keep in mind that I haven’t read every book series (shocker, I know!) and that it was very hard to choose only 4!!!

•  Harry Potter- I don’t think that I would be alone in saying that the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling is one of the best book series ever written. Others would disagree and say it was too long or they just didn’t like it. I think that it is probably my favorite book series ever! It is so well written, and I was so captivated by it when I read it a few years ago. I literally could not put the books down. I read all 4,224 pages in just 6 months, which is pretty fast! If you have not read Harry Potter, you should definitely read it! (The movies are also pretty good!)

•  Hunger Games- This is another series that you have probably heard of. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is a great series, but beware it is pretty heart-breaking. That is what I think makes this series so good! If a book or book series makes you rejoice and cry with the characters, it is a good book! That is what this series did. There were times when I was actually angry or upset about what happened to a certain character. I had to literally remind myself that it was not real and it was ‘just’ a book! That is why I rank this book series among my favorites! (The movies for the Hunger Games are also really good!)

•  Conspiracy 365- Now to a series that you probably haven’t heard of. This is a twelve book series (I know, stay with me), but it does not drag AT ALL! Every second is packed with action and will keep you on the edge of your seat. I loved how action-packed and exhilarating this series was. I will warn you that the book is written in a different style than most books. It is something that you will have to get used to, but once you get used to it, the books are great. I actually appreciate that Gabrielle Lord used this unique writing style since it is something that most authors don’t do! I also just got a sequel book to the series which I’m excited to read!

•  Redwall- This series has 22 books, but you don’t have to read all of them! I would recommend reading them in the intended order (even though that is not the chronological order). I have not actually read all 22 books, but I have read almost 10 of them. I can tell you from those 10, that this is a great series. I will warn you that the books can get kind of long, but they are still really good! Brian Jacques did a great job of world-building! When I read it, I was enveloped in a whole different universe! I would definitely recommend at least reading the first book!

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Something I Watched- YouTube Channels I’m Subscribed To (Part 1)

A lot of what I’m going to talk about in this section is going to be about YouTube videos, so I thought that it would be fitting if I told you about 10 of the YouTube channels that my family and I watch the most. So here is my list of 5 channels and a little description about each. I will post the other 5 in a later newsletter, so be looking out for that one! Note: These are not in any specific order.

•  DailyTekk- This is a great YouTube channel for tech reviews, tech updates, and other Apple content. I watch this channel a lot and will definitely use some of the information I learn there for my newsletter! DailyTekk also has a newsletter which is linked up on my website.

•  Dude Perfect- I’m sure that you have heard of Dude Perfect, which is a group of 5 guys who have a YouTube channel that combines sports and comedy. They do trick shots, battles, stereotypes videos, ‘Overtime’ videos, and tons more!

•  Kara and Nate- Kara and Nate are a couple who travels all around the world and do all sorts of crazy things! Their videos are very fun to watch, but be warned: After you watch the video, you will most likely want to travel where they traveled to!

•  Let’s Make Art- Let’s Make Art is an art tutorial channel. This channel is great because they do all sorts of different kinds of art and lead you step by step. Even if you aren’t great at art (like me), you will love this channel.

•  Mark Rober- Mark Rober used to work at NASA and Apple, but now he does YouTube, among other things. He makes a lot of videos about science and inventions that he has built! His videos are entertaining while at the same time educational!

So there you go! My list of some of my favorite YouTube channels. I do watch other YouTube channels, but these are the ones I watch the most or watch pretty regularly. I will certainly talk more about these in future newsletters! Also, if any of these interest you, be sure to check them out!

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Tech Thoughts- IOS16 and WatchOS9

Both IOS 16 and WatchOS9 are ready to be downloaded, and they bring great new features to help you get more out of your tech. Let’s take a look at some of the best features from both of these new software updates!

The biggest new thing with IOS16 is the ability to customize your lock screen. Although Apple has let you customize your Home Screen in a previous update, you haven’t been able to do anything with the Lock Screen. Now you can add widgets, change the font of the clock, create multiple home screens to easily switch, and notifications now come from the bottom so they don’t cover up your Home Screen. Another big deal is the updates to both Messages and Mail. With the ability to edit and delete messages in the Messages app and do so much more in mail, communication just got so much easier! Focus also got an upgrade because now it can do even more, and it is much easier to set up! There are so many other things that came in this update, but these are just the biggest new things. If you want to see everything else that is new, you can go to Apple’s website.

WatchOS9 also brought a ton of new capabilities to the Apple Watch. First off, there is a brand new app that came to the watch (and iPhone) called Medications. This app is designed to help you remember to take your meds and vitamins every day exactly when you are supposed to. The workout app also got a big update, now allowing you to customize your workouts and get different metrics. Although this update did come with 4 new watch faces, I don’t really like or have any use for them (but you might). Something I do like though is the option to change the background color of certain watch faces. The calendar app and sleep app also got updates to the interface and design.  Notifications also appear in a new way which is good but different.

So there you go! Those are the biggest updates in IOS16 and WatchOS9! Make sure to check both of those updates out if you have a compatible device!

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Wild Card- ‘Parks’ Board Game

Welcome to the first wild card section of my newsletter. For this first one I want to talk about a board game. You will probably see board games featured  in here a lot! First, I should tell you a little bit about what kind of board games I usually like to play. I like games that are fairly complex, so not Candy Land, Bingo, or UNO. Don’t get me wrong, those games are fine and there are times when I’ve had a blast playing them, but I prefer games that have deck-building, worker placement, etc. Games like Terraforming Mars, Wingspan, and Agricola are among my favorites!

The first board game I’m talking about, though, is a game called ‘Parks.’

I recently got this new board game, and I feel like it is worthy enough to talk about here. This game is centered around 59 of the National Parks found in the United States. Your goal is to earn points by visiting parks, taking pictures, and completing goals. I have played this game 3 times so far, and it is incredibly fun! As someone who loves board games, I can confidently say that this is one of my favorites! It isn’t only fun to play, but the game is BEAUTIFUL!!! The board, every card, and piece is splendid and designed very well!

It says that it is for 1-5 players. I’ve only tried it with 2 players so far, so I don’t know if it would be fun with more or less players. I feel like 3 players would probably be the best, since 5 players would be too many and 1 player games just aren’t as fun in general. I think that age 10+ is a good age rating. The game isn’t super difficult, but it is fairly complex. As for time to play the game, the box says 40-70min. I think that it really just depends on how many players you are playing with.

In conclusion, if you are someone who likes board games, then I’m sure you will love this game! It is definitely one of my new favorites and is in at least my top 10 board games list (maybe even top 5). If you would like to check it out, you can click here

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Thanks for reading my first ever newsletter! Be sure to check next week because I will have another one coming out! If you enjoyed this newsletter, could you please share it with a few friends? It would really help me out! Thank you for reading!