The Weekly Write-Up #26
Last week, I discussed my big project that I’ve been working on for a while, so be sure to check that out if you haven’t already! Without further ado, enjoy The Weekly Write-Up #26!
In this newsletter…
4 Different Hardy Boys Series!
This show may rival the original National Treasuremovies!
An app that can help you manage just about anything!
Fun activities that you can do even in this cold spring!
Literary Picks
HARDY BOYS
Today I’m talking about The Hardy Boys series, written by Franklin W. Dixon. Well, not really. That whole sentence was a partial truth because 1) I’m talking about 4 Hardy Boys series and 2) Franklin W. Dixon is just a pen name used by the multiple different authors of The Hardy Boysbooks. Anyway, I have really enjoyed The Hardy Boysbooks and series for a long time, and I used to read them a lot as a kid! All the Hardy Boys books follow Frank and Joe Hardy as they seek to solve mysteries before time runs out! I actually have 4 Hardy Boys series: The Hardy Boys, Hardy Boys Adventures, The Hardy Boys: Secret Files, and Hardy Boys Clue Book:
The Hardy Boys: Secret Files: This is a Hardy Boys series targeted at younger kids (probably ages 7-10) and is written at a younger age level. There isn’t as much conflict and violence, as they are usually just solving little mysteries like a bike stolen (rather than a murder). I read them a long time ago, but from what I remember they are pretty good books. You can purchase books 1-5 by going here.
Hardy Boys Clue Book: These books are written similarly to The Hardy Boys: Secret Files, but with a little twist! The Hardy Boys Clue Book has the readersolve the mystery! It gives you all the evidence in story form and asks you what you think the answer to the mystery is! Again, this is a pretty easy read, so I would recommend it for ages 7-10. Buy books 1-4 by going here.
The Hardy Boys: I believe that these are the original The Hardy Boys books, written by the original Franklin W. Dixon. In my opinion, these are probably the best of all the Hardy Boys books discussed in this newsletter. This series is likely the most appropriate for 9+ since there is murder, kidnapping, etc. There are hundreds of books in The Hardy Boys series that you can find almost anywhere! You can buy books 1-5 on Amazon by clicking here.
Hardy Boys Adventures: These are some newer Hardy Boys books, and I really enjoyed reading these a few years ago. They are a bit more intense and have some language and more violence than the original books, so I would recommend to tweens (they aren’t a hard read). These books were definitely cliffhangers and ones that I really enjoyed and recommend. They may be as good as the originals. You can purchase the box set of 10 books (which I have) by going here.
Even though I didn’t read all the books from these series, I really enjoyed reading many of these Hardy Boys books. You don’t have to read these in any order, so you can just pick up one and start reading. I hope you get to enjoy these fascinating and interesting page-turners for yourself!
Watchlist Wonders
NATIONAL TREASURE: EDGE OF HISTORY
In a previous newsletter, I shared how much I love the National Treasure movies and how they are some of my favorite movies of all time! Recently, I finished watching National Treasure: Edge of History, which is a Disney+ original series. National Treasure: Edge of History is about Jess Valenzuela and her friends Tasha, Oren, and Ethan as they stumble upon a mysterious clue about a treasure. They aren’t the only ones looking for it though, as Billie Pearce also wants to find the treasure and is going to let nothing, including Jess and her friends, stop her in her hunt for the treasure! Jess and her friends must avoid Billie and get to the treasure before she does, as well as handle other conflicts, like friendships and the mysterious death of Peter Sadusky.
Being honest, I had low expectations for this series. Even though I loved the original National Treasuremovies, I knew that nothing would come even close to the original, but I was wrong! While this series wasn’t as good as the original movies, it definitely came close and was at the same level as the original movies. While the characters are all different (besides a small part for Riley Poole and Peter Sadusky), the show is still very intriguing and captivating! I was truly interested in the adventure that the young adults were embarking on, and I remained on the edge of my seat for much of the show. I watched this show along with my mom and brother, and let’s just say that we finished all 10 episodes in just a few days (including staying up until 11pm Friday night to finish the final episode)! This shows you just how great this show really was and how captivated my family was while watching it. I thoroughly enjoyed watching it, and I will admit that I was very surprised by what happened in many parts of the series!
This show was rated TV-14, and while the first few episodes seem very clean, the show gets much closer to this rating toward the end of the series. The main issue is violence; multiple people get shot, someone gets stabbed straight through with a sword, and in all of these cases the creators aren’t afraid to show blood. There is also alcohol, implied sex, and some language (although it isn’t very frequent). I would say that this show probably shouldn’t be viewed by those who are under the age of 12, but for anyone older, it is fine. National Treasure: Edge of History is a great show that I would strongly recommend! The plot, suspense, and action all made it a well-done show. It is certainly the best show Disney has come out with in a while! If you have a Disney+ subscription, I definitely recommend this fantastic adventure to you. While not as amazing as the original movies, I was thoroughly impressed by the plot and how this show was put together as a whole. I hope they create a season 2 because season 1 was fantastic!
Tech Thoughts
TICKTICK
Something essential for me in my life as a high school student is the ability to manage assignments and keep them in order, so I get everything completed and turned in on time. For over a year now, I have been using a certain app to do this, but recently, the app has been laggy and very buggy, which is quite annoying since I need an efficient app. So, I revisited an app I had used before: TickTick. This is different from TikTok, as it is a task-managing app rather than a social media platform. I have been using TickTick for the past week and have found that I really like this app, and it will be the app I use from now on for managing my assignments.
TickTick is a great app, and one of the main reasons for this is just how much it has to offer. TickTick is, at its very core, a task manager. You can add folders, create tasks, assign these tasks to specific dates, prioritize tasks over others, and so much more! TickTick has even more to offer, though, besides just task management. It can also serve as your calendar, and you can connect your current calendar to the app to see all of your events. You can also see all of your tasks with the calendar view as well. In addition, TickTick also has a habit tracker. I don’t use this because I use an app that I talked about a few weeks ago. Nonetheless, TickTick has a great habit tracker, and it allows you to track up to 5 habits without premium. TickTick has even more to offer, including a pomodoro timer for time management, widgets for viewing your tasks and events on the Home Screen, customizability for making the app your own, an Eisenhower Matrix for effectively managing tasks, and so much more! All of this syncs between your phone, iPad, and Apple Watch, so you can view your tasks on every device!
As with many of the apps that I’ve talked about, TickTick has a premium plan with additional features. Although the regular app has loads of features, premium adds even more to this app. You get more calendar views, additional widgets, filters, reminders, statistics, premium colors/themes, and so much more! Premium is $2.99 per month or $27.99 per year, which is a pretty big price, but if you are going to use this as a calendar, task-manager, habit tracker, pomodoro timer, etc. and track much of your life in this app, then that price is entirely worth it. Learn more about the premium plan here.
I really like the TickTick app, even though I don’t even use everything it has to offer (even with the free plan). I intend to use it from now on to plan my assignments for each week of the school year. You can basically manage your life in this app because of the remarkable tools it has to offer, and with premium, this is even easier and even more powerful! You can download TickTick for free on the App Store or on Google Play.
Tech Deal: Last week, Apple announced that the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus (not the iPhone 14 Pro or the iPhone 14 Pro Max) can come in a new color: yellow. So, if yellow is your thing, you can now purchase the iPhone 14 or iPhone 14 Plus in yellow by going here!
Wild Card
FUN ACTIVITIES VOL. 1
The Wild Card section has always been a very versatile section in this newsletter, and today I’m going to be talking about a category that I haven’t really talked about much in this newsletter. I will share 3 fun indoor activities that you can do with friends and family (outdoor activities will be coming once it gets warmer)!
Bowling: Last night, I went bowling with a lot of my friends, and I had a blast! Bowling is a great activity to do with family and friends of almost any age. Bowling is very fun because, although it can be tricky to get a good score, it is straightforward to learn (since there are almost no rules). Bowling is really fun and a great time to socialize with friends and family, while showing off your competitive side.
Escape Rooms: I love doing escape rooms! Basically, the goal is to solve clues to escape a room before the time runs out. I really enjoy these because they test my problem-solving skills and my ability to work together with other people. That is one of the best parts of escape rooms because you get to work together with other people to get out. I wouldn’t recommend this for younger kids, but it is great for teens (12+) and adults! Breakout and Escape the Room are two great escape rooms in Indianapolis area (as well as other locations).
Skating: I’m actually talking about two types of skating here: ice skating and roller skating (or rollerblading). While these are hard at first, they aren’t too hard to learn, and you can learn pretty quickly! I really enjoyed both of these activities. If you want to get out of the cold, roller skating is a good choice, or you can embrace the cold and ice skate. Either way, you can have a great time!
There you have it, three great indoor activities that you can do with your friends, family, spouse, kids, and anyone else who you enjoy spending time with. I hope that you take advantage of this list and enjoy some time doing these fun activities!