Weekly Recap #120: Week of 9/1 – 9/7

 

It’s time for another weekly recap post of all things happening on and off the blog. This week I’ll be linking to the Sunday Post, which is hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer and to Stacking the Shelves, which is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews.

This has been the week of parental woes.  I feel like I’ve spent most of this week arguing with my son about smart phones.  He’s turning 12 in a couple of weeks and currently has an old iPhone 5.  I thought we were being generous by letting him have a phone at all at his age, but apparently we’re old stick-in-the-mud parents because all of his friends have the latest and greatest phones out there and he wants what they have.  I personally don’t think he needs a new top-of-the-line phone. Hell, I have a full-time job and I’m still using an iPhone 6, but this child thinks he’s entitled to a brand-new iPhone XR, price $749. On top of the fact that he’s not even a teenager yet, he also drops his phone and loses it on a regular basis.  He places no value on taking care of it, so I just refuse to invest the money on a much more expensive phone.  We’ve debated this every night this week and at one point, I even offered to upgrade my own phone and give him my iPhone 6 so that he would at least have a bigger phone with more storage on it, etc. and he turned his nose up at that.  So incredibly frustrating.

Aside from that, it was a pretty uneventful week.  We ended up getting no rain at all from Dorian but did end up with some nice overcast, breezy days, so I spent a lot of time outside reading and working with Winston on his obedience lessons.  He is supposed to graduate from Puppy Level 1 Class today if he is able to do everything that he has been learning.  Fingers crossed!

On the reading front, I finally made it through all of my September 3rd ARCs and am finishing my last September 10th ARC, hopefully this weekend, so I’m feeling pretty good about those.  I also finally managed to squeeze in another book from the backlist, Spinning Silver from Naomi Novik.  I didn’t love that one as much as I had hoped too, but it was still a pretty good read. I doubt I’ll do a full review for it, but it was a solid 3.5 star read for me and probably would have been 4 stars if the POV changes weren’t so confusing at times.  They changed abruptly in the middle of chapters and weren’t clearly labeled as POV changes, and I just wasn’t a fan of that.

Anyway, I think that’s pretty much it for me.  Have a great week, everyone!

 

WHAT I POSTED LAST WEEK

 

 

WHAT I’M READING THIS WEEK

 

 
 
       
 
 

 UPCOMING REVIEWS

 

 

 

 STACKING THE SHELVES

 

 
                       
    
   
 

TOTALLY RANDOM

 

40 replies
  1. Genesis @ Whispering Chapters
    Genesis @ Whispering Chapters says:

    I’m telling you, don’t upgrade the phone. I came from a family that would spoil me rotten, and now that I’m older, I’ve had to go through experiences to show me that I’m not entitled to everything. I mean, sure, my family was on the poor end of the scale and I was always late getting the latest gadgets but as soon as they could, I would get them. And I’m telling you again, don’t do it. Let him learn and see the value of things first.
    Heck, one thing my parents did do when I got a phone was have me pay the monthly fee. I had to do jobs at my grandparents and aunts, like cleaning, to get money to pay for my phone. That taught me to be wise with how I would use my time for calling and texting. (They didn’t give me an unlimited plan, which I’m glad they didn’t because it taught me a lot!)
    Yay for reading those September arcs! I’m almost done with my last September 10th ARC and then it’s onto the 17th arcs.

  2. Molly @ Molly's Book Nook
    Molly @ Molly's Book Nook says:

    Oh goodness, I feel like that was me when I was younger. I got the new phone EVERY time it came out. Like standing in line outside of the door to get it day of release. Now I have an iPhone 6 that has a massive crack on the screen and I just tape it lol. Don’t upgrade the phone, he’ll survive lol

  3. Amber Elise @ Du Livre
    Amber Elise @ Du Livre says:

    Man I can’t keep up with kids and technology. I agree that a 12 year old doesn’t need the newest and flashiest phone, but I know everyone has to keep up with the Jones. When my baby cousins were about 3/4 they had their own ipads and that’s too early for me. I’m happy Dorian was fairly uneventful for you, I just can’t believe how much havoc it wrecked on the islands.

  4. Sophie
    Sophie says:

    Aaah Suzanne, parenting is so frustrating!Nothing we do is good enough once they become teenagers. And I feel like they behave like teenagers way earlier than we did! The good news is that one day he’ll come back from school having heard another story from one of his friends and will tell you that you are not so bad as parents 😉

  5. Angela
    Angela says:

    As someone who doesn’t have kids, I never feel qualified speaking about anything having to do with kids. I feel like technology especially is such a touchy subject. My nieces and nephews all have iPads, and they’re 3 years old – and when to give them real phones?? I just have no clue. I don’t think kids need the newest and best, though. I didn’t have a cell phone until college and I only just got a smartphone for the first time last year, and I’m 35.

  6. Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction says:

    I think you are making good sense about the phone, Suzanne. My kids are aware that we don’t get the latest and greatest—they accept our hand-me-downs when one of us upgrades (and neither my husband or I have the latest). It’s sad that we live in a society where 12-year-olds feel like they HAVE to have such expensive things to keep up with their friends. I know it’s hard not to give in, but you are 100% right for setting limits; otherwise, they just expect the next big thing next year … and the year after …

    Oh, and I LOVE your totally random pie chart!

  7. Tanya @ Girl Plus Books
    Tanya @ Girl Plus Books says:

    Oh boy, the sheer entitlement of teens (or even pre-teens). They deserve it all… without having any concept of the cost or what it takes to earn that money. *sigh* Sorry it’s been a rough week of demands and bargaining. 🙁 Sounds like you’re doing great with your ARCs. Love your random this week. 🙂

    • Suzanne
      Suzanne says:

      Entitlement is exactly what it is. I reminded him how many times he has lost his phone for weeks at a time and he just doesn’t care. It’s like “So what? I want a new one.”

  8. Literary Feline
    Literary Feline says:

    Parenting can be so frustrating sometimes. My daughter is 8 and keeps asking for a cell phone, but she really doesn’t need one yet. As long as I can put it off, I will. Personally, I’m with you. I don’t think your son needs the latest phone, especially if he isn’t able to show responsibility in caring for it without losing it or dropping it (although I tend to drop mine a lot –not that mine’s a newer phone either) frequently.

    I am glad Dorian didn’t hit you too hard. I’ve been thinking of all of you on the East Coast who were in its path.

    I hope you have a wonderful week and enjoy your reading!

    • Suzanne
      Suzanne says:

      Yeah, he drops his all the time and then even worse will lose it for weeks at a time. I want him to have a phone for when we drop him off at practice, etc., but it’s for safety reasons and he does not need a $750 phone for that.

  9. Sam@wlabb
    Sam@wlabb says:

    My daughter always has a better phone than me. Even when she was younger (and she is still on the family plan, got the G10, and I pay the monthly installment). Good luck with that. I have my eye on Meg & Jo. I am curious to see how they modernized those two characters.

    • Suzanne
      Suzanne says:

      If he was more responsible, I’d consider it but this kid loses his phone for weeks at a time and we’ll find it stuffed down between his mattress and bed frame, in the floor behind a bookcase, etc.

  10. Nicci @ Sunny Buzzy Books
    Nicci @ Sunny Buzzy Books says:

    Oh, I am not looking forward to the phone argument when it comes! For what it’s worth, I agree with you. They lose things all the time, they drop things and it’s also so easy for it to be stolen especially when they’re so young! Good luck!

  11. Greg
    Greg says:

    I remember those debates about phones haha, and we still occasionally have them! My daughters are a little older than that but when their phones start glitching and not working as well, they start complaining about new phones too. *sigh* 🙂 I think I need a second job just to afford phones! But we did the same thing- we resisted for a long time before getting them phones, and they don’t have the latest and greatest either. They are of course welcome to get jobs if they want the latest and greatest lol.

    Love that Totally Random!

  12. ShootingStarsMag
    ShootingStarsMag says:

    Oh, sorry about your son! I’ve never been terribly concerned about phones, but I know younger kids that have always had cell phones around care a lot more. I think he should be happy with what he has, or take your old phone because at least it’s upgraded a bit. One of the newer phones are definitely way too expensive, and he seriously has friends with that phone? What even? LOL Sorry you keep debating that all week!

    -Lauren

  13. Lindsi
    Lindsi says:

    I read Spinning Silver recently and had similar quibbles. I wish the POVs had been listed at the beginning of each chapter, and I also wish the pacing had been a little quicker. The story itself was lovely, but it took me forever to get through it.

    I am so happy my children are too young to ask for phones. I have twin girls, so I can only imagine what they’ll be like as teenagers. Goosebumps just popped up on my arms! I’m hesitant to give my kids cell phones at all, knowing what they’d have access to these days. My parents bought one for me when I started traveling for sports, and only then so I could contact them when they couldn’t make out-of-town games. I was just happy for what they gave me! Kids today feel more entitled to have the best of everything — I saw a lot of this while I was teaching. It’s a generational thing that’s incredibly frustrating. A phone’s purpose is to communicate with others, so it shouldn’t really matter how new it is. Sorry you’re dealing with something so stressful!!

    Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear? 💬

    • Suzanne
      Suzanne says:

      It really is frustrating and I agree that it’s a generational thing. I think my parents would have just laughed in my face if I had had the nerve to ask for such an expensive phone.

  14. Shelleyrae @ Book’d Out
    Shelleyrae @ Book’d Out says:

    Lol I still use an iPhone 5, which I only got when my 70+ year old mother upgraded.
    With my kids we have always had the rule that we would buy them their first phone when they started high school ( a reasonably priced smart phone) but after that upgrades are on them. They either work part time for it, or use any Birthday/Christmas money they get. It’s enough that we pay for their plan.

    Have a great reading week

  15. Jade @ Reading with Jade
    Jade @ Reading with Jade says:

    I think you’re doing the right thing with regards to the phone – you have full & valid reasons, plus a comprise was offered and shot down. I think it can be hard debating things like this with kids as we naturally want to give them everything, y’know. There is definitely a line though. I wish I had learned sooner in life that just because someone else (or all my friends) has something, that doesn’t mean I *need* it. Valuable life lessons are learned this way.

    Great collection of books mentioned… I’m off to read your review of Akin now.

    A lovely week to you – bookish & otherwise.

  16. Jinjer
    Jinjer says:

    Oh dear…I can’t imagine being a parent in today’s technology world. When I was a kid the phone debate was about why can’t I have a lovely blue Princess phone (landline) like my best friend instead of this ugly, mustard yellow chunky square phone and why can’t I have my own phone, in my own room, like she does instead of having to use either the phone in Dad’s den or the wall phone in the kitchen????

    Ohmygosh I had forgotten all about being tethered to the wall phone in the kitchen and trying to talk quietly enough that the parents in the livingroom wouldn’t hear.

    Anyway, sorry you are dealing with the ongoing debate. Hang in there!

  17. Di @ Book Reviews by Di
    Di @ Book Reviews by Di says:

    Gosh, it’s frightening how young kids ‘need’ these sorts of things now! And I’m sure when we were young it was our parents lamenting over something else that was so different from ‘back in their day’ 😉

    Love your random pic. Too true! 🤣

  18. La La in the Library
    La La in the Library says:

    I am happy to hear the storm missed you. 🌞

    I bought my son a pay-as-you go flip phone in 6th grade and he kept it all through school and when he graduated he decided to keep it as he went to college because he said he’d rather go out to eat at nice restaurants than pay for a smart phone plan. He didn’t give it up until AT&T didn’t serve 2G phones anymore. He still has pay as you go with a new 3G phone, and two of his friends decided to go with annual cards for $100 because all they really do is text each other. I do the AT&T annual card, too! We have Kindle tablets for the other stuff. 😁

    I am also reading The World That We Knew and I’m loving it. 👍✨

    • Suzanne
      Suzanne says:

      That’s pretty smart about the phones. I’m going to have to figure out some kind of compromise so maybe something prepaid is a good option.

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