The Best of the Rest of 2024 [Teaser]

Summary

Book Riot - The Podcast: Episode Summary Episode: The Best of the Rest of 2024 [Teaser] | Release Date: December 27, 2024

In the teaser episode of "The Best of the Rest of 2024," hosts Jeff O'Neal and Rebecca Schinsky delve into their personal favorites from the year, offering listeners a glimpse into their curated selections and unique approaches to gift-giving. This summary captures the key discussions, insights, and conclusions shared between the hosts.

---

1. Reflecting on the Year's End

The episode begins with Jeff and Rebecca contemplating the conclusion of the year, emphasizing the importance of curating their "Best of the Rest" selections. Jeff humorously remarks on the significance of finalizing their picks before the year's end:

Jeff O'Neal [00:24]: "This is really the end of the year for me, Rebecca. Our best when it comes to our what we make. We still got some of this in the can, but this is the spiritual end of the year."

Rebecca adds to the sentiment, highlighting the finality of their selections:

Rebecca Schinsky [00:41]: "The Best of the Rest."

Their conversation underscores the reflective nature of year-end evaluations, setting the stage for the personal favorites they share subsequently.

---

2. Rebecca's Favorite: Embracing the Caftan

Rebecca introduces her favorite item of the year—a caftan—gifted to her by a friend. She elaborates on the versatility and comfort the caftan brings to her daily life, especially during work-from-home days:

Rebecca Schinsky [02:43]: "I wanted to get into the caftan life. It seems like a thing to do in your 40s. ... It has pockets in my climate in Virginia. It doesn't get that cold here in the winter. So like on a pretty average winter day, I can put on a caftan and like big cozy socks and I'm golden."

She highlights the practicality of the caftan for virtual work environments:

Rebecca Schinsky [02:43]: "I can wear a caftan and not look like I'm wearing a caftan on a work call. ... It's just like spiritually, I wanted to be in a moomoo and now I am physically basically in a moomoo."

Rebecca's endorsement showcases the caftan as a blend of comfort and functionality, making it a standout item in her 2024 favorites.

---

3. Jeff's Favorite: The Canary Box Cutter

Jeff shares his top pick of the year—a compact and user-friendly box cutter named "The Canary." He discusses its practicality for everyday use, especially for unboxing books and packages:

Jeff O'Neal [04:01]: "It's called the canary. Oh. And it's just a little box cutter. It's for all those box. But it's not sharp like you can run it against your thing. It's like little tiny serrations."

Jeff appreciates the design that minimizes safety risks:

Jeff O'Neal [04:23]: "It's perfect for cutting open the boxes that come into your house. ... I really have to do some work to hurt myself with this. And it just works."

Priced at an affordable $7, "The Canary" stands out as a practical and safe tool, earning Jeff's recommendation for its efficiency and user-friendly features.

---

4. Innovative Gift-Giving: Leveraging Friends' Expertise

Rebecca introduces a creative approach to gift-giving by engaging friends to utilize their expertise in selecting presents. She recounts her positive experiences with this method, which has streamlined her gift choices and ensured thoughtful selections:

Rebecca Schinsky [05:05]: "Asking friends to extend their expertise to you as a gift. ... I wanted like one fancy something. ... it was super helpful. It like would have been an hours long Internet rabbit hole for me."

She shares an example involving handbags, where a friend's expertise provided her with a curated list of designers tailored to her preferences:

Rebecca Schinsky [05:51]: "These are the different designers that I think that you would like. Here are the ones that are like if you wish to be perceived. And here are the bags that if you do not wish to be perceived."

Rebecca emphasizes the benefits of this approach, highlighting how it saves time and ensures that gifts are both meaningful and aligned with her tastes:

Rebecca Schinsky [06:20]: "So I kind of started looking around at the other people in my life ... next time you ask me what I want for my birthday, I'm probably going to ask you to, like, give me an idea or something that you are particularly great at."

This strategy not only fosters deeper connections but also ensures that gifts are personalized and appreciated.

---

Conclusion

While this episode serves as a teaser, Jeff and Rebecca effectively share their top picks and innovative ideas, providing valuable insights for listeners looking to enhance their own gift-giving strategies and discover practical favorites. Their authentic discussions offer a relatable and engaging glimpse into their curated "Best of the Rest of 2024."

For the full episode and access to premium content, listeners are encouraged to join their Patreon community.

---

Notable Quotes:

• Jeff O'Neal [00:24]: "This is really the end of the year for me, Rebecca. ... the spiritual end of the year."

• Rebecca Schinsky [02:43]: "I can wear a caftan and not look like I'm wearing a caftan on a work call."

• Jeff O'Neal [04:23]: "I really have to do some work to hurt myself with this. And it just works."

• Rebecca Schinsky [06:20]: "Next time you ask me what I want for my birthday, I'm probably going to ask you to, like, give me an idea or something that you are particularly great at."

---

This summary encapsulates the essence of the teaser episode, highlighting the hosts' personal favorites and creative approaches to making the most of their resources and relationships in 2024.

Transcript

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Foreign. You're listening to a teaser for Book Riot Podcast premium content. If you want to hear the rest, join [e-mail] bookriotpodcast for just $10 a month, get access to our full library of premium content in addition to receiving early ad free access to the regular episodes you hear in the show. Here we go.

[Jeff O'Neal]

This is really the end of the year for me, Rebecca. Our best when it comes to our what we make. We still got some of this in the can, but this is the spiritual end of the year. Anything that happens, anything good that happens between now and December 31st May as well never happen because it's therefore not a candidate for next year's best.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

The Best of the Rest.

[Jeff O'Neal]

So it's all the mid place. That's all it's going to be. I'm only going to keep it to the mid place for the rest of the year.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

The first thing on my list actually is something that I received as a birthday gift last ineligible after we did Best of the Rest for last year. But I've continued to use it in 2024. So I'm talking about it. But yeah, this is, it's our final bonus episode of the year. So first off, thank you to everybody who has joined us here on Patreon this year and over the last couple of years. When we started it at the beginning of 2023, we were not sure how many of you would jump in, how sustainable it would be. We knew that we would have no shortage of ideas. But we've had so much fun having this sandbox to play in and that you all have come along with us. So thank you for that. Yeah, this is this. It does feel like the spiritual end of the podcasting year, even though just before we started recording, we were saying, like, we've got a couple more to get in the can this week. We have one more that we have to record on Monday the 23rd. That will be an early January episode. We're trying to just like get everything set so that we can take some time over the holidays. But you know, if I, if I want to talk to somebody for a million hours in December, I'm going to.

[Jeff O'Neal]

Pick you and we'll and, and we'll indulge my list of things that this is a real. This is a real. Wait, this is a real look in the mirror here, Rebecca. And it's not any one thing. It's just the. It's just this is what my life. This is just.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

I'm a little suspicious that you're like really underselling here so that, you know, it'll be more exciting.

[Jeff O'Neal]

Let me tell unto you, oh, Bethlehem. I'm not underselling anything here.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Okay.

[Jeff O'Neal]

I like. There's stuff I like, but it's, you know, I'm not going to change anyone's life with a reco today is what I'm saying.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

You never know.

[Jeff O'Neal]

Well, that's true. Or mine are. I've been keeping a list on my phone so I don't have a docs. They're not organized. So let's just. Let's just pickleball it back and forth.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Okay.

[Jeff O'Neal]

First that you serve. I serve. That was to you. I don't know what.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

That was great.

[Jeff O'Neal]

Yeah.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

I've never played pickleball, so you'll just have to forgive me for not being that one. Okay.

[Jeff O'Neal]

Tennis.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

So my first one is caftans as a category of clothing. See last week's episode where I talked about perimenopause. One of my dear friends is like a great collector of caftans and I asked her for my birthday last year to pick one out for me and send me one. I wanted to get into the caftan life. It seems like a thing to do in your 40s. And she sent me a great one that has. For my purposes, it's perfect for work days as well. Like you can run around the house in it, but it has a collar, it has like sleeves that I can roll up and so on a. That I've gotta be on screen from like the shoulders up. I can wear a caftan and not look like I'm wearing a caftan on a work call. It has pockets in my climate in Virginia. It doesn't get that cold here in the winter. So like on a pretty average winter day, I can put on a caftan and like big cozy socks and I'm golden. It's just like spiritually, I wanted to be in a moomoo and now I am physically basically in a moomoo. Just like everything is comfortable there. There's not a waistband to mess with me. Like every. I'm just relaxed. It's. I'm all about the caftan life.

[Jeff O'Neal]

Okay. I've got no segue from that. I don't have any clothing items on here this year. Okay, so there we go. The best $7 I spent this year. It's this guy right here. It's called the canary. Oh. And it's just a little box cutter. It's for all those box. But it's not sharp like you can run it against your thing. It's like. Yeah, little tiny serrations.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

It looks less scary than like an X acto knife.

[Jeff O'Neal]

Yeah. You can't see this because we're not doing video, but it's kind of the size and shape of a butter knife with a plastic handle and a metal, I guess a metal body. But it's just, it's perfect for cutting open the boxes that come into your house. You know, books and clothes and there's just a lot of coming in for work and otherwise. And I've always just kind of used a knife or a boxer, whatever around, but always felt a little weird, like especially with little kids with a box cutter leaving that. And frankly I myself with a box cutter, like I really have to do some work to hurt myself with this. And it just works. It stays sharps seven bucks. The canary. There you go.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

How did you discover this item?

[Jeff O'Neal]

No idea.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Okay. The canary just made its way to you.

[Jeff O'Neal]

Yeah, I saw it somewhere.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

When the student is ready.

[Jeff O'Neal]

Yeah, that's right. Mine like water. So you're up next.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Okay. Asking friends to extend their expertise to you as a gift. I did this with the caftans. I was like, I would like a caftan and I don't want to comb the Internet. And that went so well that then when I decided that I wanted to treat myself to like one nice handbag and I like, I don't know why I decided I wanted to do this. I know nothing about handbags, but I wanted like one fancy something. And so my birthday gift from a different friend last year, the product of it was a spreadsheet that she sent me that was like, these are the different designers that I think that you would like. Here are the ones that are like if you wish to be perceived. And here are the bags that if you do not wish to be perceived.

[Jeff O'Neal]

Here's your invisibility cloak.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

If you do not wish to be perceived. And it was super helpful. It like would have been an hours long Internet rabbit hole for me. I wouldn't have really known where to start because I'm just out of my depth with something like I want one nice handbag. And it was really fun and it made me think about like how much I like to be asked to help with, you know, something that I'm good at. I think everybody likes this sharp tool.

[Jeff O'Neal]

Is an interesting problems.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Yeah. So I kind of started looking around at the other people in my life of like, you know, next time you ask me what I want for my birthday, I'm probably going to ask you to, like, give me an idea or something that you are particularly great at. It's been really fun, so I just wanted to share that idea with folks.

[Jeff O'Neal]

That's wonderful. I like that idea.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Thanks so much for listening. Join [e-mail] bookriotpodcast to hear the rest of this episode and get access to our full back catalog of premium content. That's patreon.com bookriotpodcast.