Managing subscriptions, audiobook recs plus how far would you go to support your child
Influencer culture, Korean beauty, college bribes
I cancelled my Spotify Subscription two months ago because I felt I didn’t use it enough. I could listen to music with ads on YouTube, but then I realised that ads weren’t my cup of tea. So, after three weeks, I renewed my Spotify subscription. It made me realise that I don't own any films or music and must keep paying for subscriptions if I want to listen to music or watch TV without ads.
This year, I started listening to audiobooks but couldn’t bring myself to add Audible to the list of subscriptions that I pay for. So, I used my library’s free audiobook app. It doesn’t have the widest selection, but it was manageable. Spotify introduced 15 hours of audiobook listening on their premium plan, and I’ve been listening to more audiobooks since renewing my plan.
I just listened to Swipe Up for More!: Inside the Unfiltered Lives of Influencers by Stephanie McNeal. As someone who consumes a lot of influencer content, I find influencer culture interesting. I loved how Stephanie McNeal followed four influencers in detail and shared how the influencer industry has changed since it started.
I’m listening to Flawless: Lessons in Looks and Culture from the K-Beauty Capital by Elise Hu. I like skincare, and I’ve often wondered how Korean beauty products have dominated this space. I know much more about Korean history and why K-pop and K-dramas are so popular from listening to Flawless.
I’ve never watched a K-drama, but I want to check one out now. Do you have any recommendations on where to start? Let me know!
I’m also reading One Little Lie by Lauren Weisberger, a novel about a female TV host who pays a bribe for her daughter to get into an Ivy League college. Her daughter wanted to attend a different school, but her mum was desperate to get into one of the more prestigious universities.
The story is set in a period after the college admissions scandal story from a few years ago, and the mum feels like what she did is nothing compared to what other parents who were involved in the admissions scandal did.
I like a book that touches on family relationships and secrets, and One Little Lie has these, so I like it so far.
With podcasts, I’ve enjoyed listening to Good Bad Billionaire, where the hosts talk about different billionaires each week, how they made their money and whether they are good or bad billionaires or just wealthy. I would recommend their episodes on Oprah Winfrey and Rihanna.
What’s New on the Podcast
I spoke with a fellow toddler mum - Adebusola Ekoko, about why we need to discuss the challenges mums face. Adebusola was a previous guest on the podcast, where she talked about being a fashion entrepreneur in Lagos. She’s a mum to two boys, and we ended up talking about motherhood during our conversation, so I decided to create a separate episode on our motherhood conversation. (Listening time, 05:55)
Thank you for reading! Have you enjoyed reading, watching or listening to anything interesting lately? I would love to hear about it.
Take care,
Motunrayo