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.

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

Y’all ain’t wrong, but I’m more curious about Germany. Is it much of a thing there? I tried googling and only found this incident.

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.

Hey there, @tiefling@lemmy.blahaj.zone! If you agree with someone else’s comment, please leave an upvote instead of commenting “This.”! By upvoting instead, the original comment will be pushed to the top and be more visible to others, which is even better! Thanks! :)

^I am a bot! If you have any feedback, please send me a message! More info:^ Reddiquette

And that reddit post’s name? Upbert Dootstein

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.

Sounds great, I love color theory

I have so many fucking OCs but I’m playing a dangerous game, I already don’t do nearly enough to hide my identity on here. If anyone who knows me irl saw me talking about my iconic character [REDACTED], I’d be screwed.

But yeah I love dreaming up stories and worlds, even though I’ve never really completed a work of fiction 😅 but I always have new drawing ideas or scenarios to entertain myself during a slow workday, by torturing my handmade blorbo.

ETA what I will say about [REDACTED] is that he was a one-off antagonist from a comic I planned to draw, but I ended up liking him more than the main characters. I hadn’t realized until that point but all my characters were pretty straightforwardly cute or silly. He’s a sleazy, rowdy, unkempt man who likes to cause problems just to feel something. It was so fun to come up with ways for him to be a dick and get himself in danger that I don’t think I’ve created a normal cute protagonist ever since.