With the advent of BookTok and the continued rise of Amazon’s Kindle e-readers, a subscription service like Kindle Unlimited might seem like a home run. After all, it gives you unlimited access to over 4 million digital titles for just a small monthly price. But is it really worth it?

How much does Kindle Unlimited cost?

Kindle Unlimited is available for a monthly subscription of $11.99 USD. However, you can often find deals available for the service. (Some users who subscribe right now may find themselves eligible for a 3-month deal that only costs $.99, though it isn’t clear how widely available this deal is.)

At $11.99 a month, access to over 4 million books, audiobooks, magazines, and more sounds like a great deal. And honestly, for some people it will be. However, there are some caveats to take into account before you sign up for Kindle Unlimited, most notably the limit to how many books you can check out at a time.

It’s unlimited… but with limits

One of the biggest caveats you will find with Kindle Unlimited is that you can only check out a total of 20 books at one time. This means you’ll need to return books anytime you’re done with them. This isn’t that big of a deal, but if you often find new books you might want to read and like to add them to your library, you may find yourself resorting to noting them down in your phone or a notebook instead. I have at least 50 books on my Kindle right now that I plan to read at some point, but other books have come up that have grabbed me instead. With Kindle Unlimited, you can’t endlessly add books to your library, so that’s something to keep in mind.

Do you read enough for it to be worth it?

Another question to ask yourself if you’re thinking about picking up Kindle Unlimited is whether you actually read enough to justify that $11.99 price tag. Many books on Kindle are already heavily discounted, costing anywhere from $5 to $9.99. If you only read one book a month, then paying for a monthly subscription might not be worth it.

However, if you’re someone that often reads three to four titles a month, then paying $11.99 instead of purchasing each book individually can be a great way to take advantage of Amazon’s subscription service. Before subscribing, think about how much you’re likely to read each month and then decide if the subscription is really worth it for you.

Kindle Unlimited is a mess to navigate

As a person that loves to just browse through the books that are available, Kindle Unlimited can be quite a mess to navigate. Sure, you can search books specifically to see if they are available in Kindle Unlimited. But if you enjoy just going through and browsing the digital shelves like you would at a library, then you’re likely to find yourself a bit lost with all the options thrown at you.

Furthermore, there’s a lot of genres on Kindle Unlimited that might not be exactly what you’re into. The subscription service is chock full of adult romance books, so if that isn’t something you enjoy, it’s probably best to browse for books in a different way. This isn’t necessarily a reason to forego the service altogether (after all, the Kindle Store experience has always left something to be desired) but it is important to keep that in mind going into a Kindle Unlimited subscription.

If you think the price fits what you’re looking for, though, you can find a lot of great books on Kindle Unlimited, including some really heavy hitters from famous authors. There are also a ton of lesser known hits on the digital shelves that are available on Kindle Unlimited, making it a really cool way to check out new authors you might not have heard of before without having to justify buying the book outright.

No music streaming service is perfect, and most of Apple Music’s biggest weaknesses center around sharing and collaboration. Sure, you can send your playlists to others, but until now, there was no way to create a collaborative playlist on the service. That all changed with the iOS 17.2 beta, which first introduced the feature. Unfortunately, Apple nixed it just before 17.2’s launch—but luckily, the feature lives on in testing as part of the iOS 17.3 beta.

If you want to try creating a shared playlist today, you can install the iOS 17.3 developer beta. Otherwise, you’ll need to wait for Apple to drop the update. Either way, once you have it installed, you’ll find the option to create Apple Music playlists that you are your friends can perfect together. Here’s how it works.

How to create and use collaborative playlists in Apple Music

Once you’ve updated to iOS 17.3, open any of the playlists you’ve previously created in the app. You’ll notice an icon above the playlist search bar featuring two people. Tap the icon and you’ll see a popover menu with the title ‘Invite Friends to Join.’ This is where you can start inviting people to join your existing playlists.

By default, Apple allows anyone with your playlist link to add or remove songs, and to reorder them. To limit this, enable the Approve Collaborators option. That way, you can check who wants to join your collaborative playlists and approve the people you’d actually like to share music with. You also have an option to edit your name and photo that will appear when working on a playlist. Tap the Edit button next to your name to change this to your liking. Once you’re ready, tap Start Collaboration.

This will open the share sheet allowing you to send an invite link to your friends or family. From there, they’ll be able to tap the link and join your playlist. To manage your playlist in the future (or invite more people), you can hit the people icon up top once again. Here you’ll see the name of your playlist and two options to share an invite—via an invite link (valid for seven days from the time you send it) as well as a QR code that others can scan to quickly join your playlist as a collaborator.

From the same menu, you also have the ability to stop collaboration at any point, and to add or remove collaborators. Apple Music allows you to disable manually approving collaborators as well, if you’re sure only people you know and trust will obtain the link (and thus the ability to join your collaborative playlist).

Once all of this is done, you’ll notice a few changes to your playlist. A profile picture will appear next to all the songs to help identify who added which one. And at the end of the playlist, you’ll see a list of all the collaborators, so you’ll know exactly who to thank for their contributions (assuming they have good taste, of course).

Snapchat’s first foray into AI wasn’t exactly a success. It started with “My AI,” an AI chatbot that lives at the top of your Snapchat chats, back in April, and people weren’t happy. For one, you couldn’t get rid of it, so you had to deal with the chatbot in your app whether you were interested in it or not. Plus, there was a concern that the bot was lying about having access to your location. That wasn’t exactly the case, but the damage was done.

Eight months later, and My AI lives on. Not only that, Snapchat is doubling down on its AI efforts. The company announced on Tuesday that it would be rolling out a dedicated AI image generator for Snapchat+ subscribers. If you’ve used one of these before, such as Meta’s recently released generator, you know the drill: When you tap the new AI button on Snapchat, you can prompt the bot to generate whatever image comes to mind. Give it a simple prompt, or something complex, and the bot will try its best to replicate it. You can send these AI images like regular snaps, too: Your friends might open your snap assuming to see your face, only to be met by an AI abomination. Snapchat+ users previously had the option to generate AI images for their My AI chat wallpaper, but this is a full-fledge image generator.

But it isn’t just image generation that’s getting an AI boost in Snapchat+. When you take a snap, you’ll now see a new “Extend” option. Use this button when you think you’ve taken a photo too close to your subject, and Snapchat will use AI to “zoom” out, filling in the space with generative images. Dreams, Snapchat’s AI selfie feature, is now collaborative. You can add your friends to your AI selfies, and you’ll receive an eight-pack for free once a month.

These features are all exclusive to Snapchat+, Snap’s paid tier. You can subscribe for $3.99 per month, or $29.99 per year. But will these features be enough to convince you to actually pay for Snapchat? Personally, I’m about this close to deleting the app because their notifications are so spammy lately; thank goodness for notification settings.

It might seem contrary to gift-giving norms to present someone with tools meant for housework, but there are simply some neat freaks out there who love cleaning and would be thrilled to get a vacuum or something. Whether or not you understand them, you can get them what they want this year. TikTok is full of recommendations for awesome cleaning supplies, so let’s look at some of the trending tools to make their floors sparkle and their hearts sing. 

Best cleaning tools for the kitchen and bathroom

These tools are getting hyped on TikTok for their ability to clean the dirtiest spots in a home. They’re time- and energy-saving, too, so they make relatively relaxing and considerate gifts.

• Electric scrub brushes are very trendy among influencers and CleanTokkers. Your best option is one that does a lot of different things, like this one from Voweek ($42.29). It has four different heads, plus it’s extendable, so they can clean near and far without ever having to bend over. 

• The O-Cedar EasyWring Mop ($24.49) is the reigning cleaning gadget of TikTok and is also the #1 best selling mop on Amazon. If your gift recipient doesn’t have one yet, you’re about to become the hero of the holidays. 

• Another solid mop option is the Scratch self-cleaning mop, but it’s sold out on Amazon, probably because it’s super popular on social media. Don’t worry! There are dupes, like the Joymoop mop and bucket ($37.90), which comes with a wringer set and three washable pads. 

• The Broombi silicone broom is kind of like a squeegee that you can use on both hard flooring and carpet to easily corral dirt, pet hair, crumbs, or whatever else. Plus, it’s satisfying to watch, which is why there are so many videos of people using it.

Cleaning tools for the living room

The kitchen and bathroom always get the most press when it comes to cleaning since they’re dirty in the unhygienic, germ-y way. But you know what? Cleaning a living room is still important, and any true neat freak cares very deeply about how their common spaces look. 

• If your giftee has a pet, try this bone-shaped sponge from Casabella ($11.25), which removes pet hair from surfaces, looks way cuter than those scary hair rakes, and is—you guessed it—big on TikTok.

• The Bissell SteamShot ($36.04) is a standard steam cleaner, which is great, but also has a jet nozzle that can coax dirt out of hard-to-reach spots like windowsills, as seen here. 

• Splurge on your giftee with a Shark StainStriker ($109), which does wonders for upholstery and can occupy them for hours on end. Here’s the little beast in action.

Random cleaning tools

Some cleaning tools don’t fit neatly into categories but are very useful for specific things. Neat freaks can be particular, so if you’re worried about getting the wrong big cleaning tool, why not try a small, fun one? 

• SneakErasers ($11.99) remove scuffs and dirt from shoes, plus they come in a 10-pack and are trending right now. Bonus: The cylinder shape of the packaging makes them easy to wrap or stuff in a stocking. 

• Duster sponges ($6.99 for eight) are also really popular for their ability to clean crumbs and dirt off of basically anything. People love sharing videos of themselves using the ridges to trap crumbs that, frankly, never stood a chance.

• Multifunction tech cleaning tools are big online because they help tidy up the devices we use every day. This one from Crysfiy ($9.99) has everything you need to clean under your keyboard keys, inside the crevices of your phone, and the exterior of all your tech. Best of all, it’s not likely your intended gift recipient will already have one. Watch a demonstration here. 

WASHINGTON, Dec. 12, 2023 – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Agriculture Future of America (AFA), formalizing a partnership to promote the common goals of strengthening the future competitiveness and sustainability of the U.S. agriculture industry by preparing more young people for careers in agriculture.

If you’re looking for the Wordle answer for December 12, 2023 read on. We’ll share some clues, tips, and strategies, and finally the solution. Today’s puzzle is on the easier side; I got it in 3. Wordlebot scores the average as 3.4. Beware, there are spoilers below for December 12, Wordle #906! Keep scrolling if you want some hints (and then the answer) to today’s Wordle game.

How to play Wordle

Wordle lives here on the New York Times website. A new puzzle goes live every day at midnight, your local time.

Start by guessing a five-letter word. The letters of the word will turn green if they’re correct, yellow if you have the right letter in the wrong place, or gray if the letter isn’t in the day’s secret word at all. For more, check out our guide to playing Wordle here, and my strategy guide here for more advanced tips. (We also have more information at the bottom of this post, after the hints and answers.)

Ready for the hints? Let’s go!

Does today’s Wordle have any unusual letters?

We’ll define common letters as those that appear in the old typesetters’ phrase ETAOIN SHRDLU. (Memorize this! Pronounce it “Edwin Shirdloo,” like a name, and pretend he’s a friend of yours.)

We have 100% common letters in today’s word!

Can you give me a hint for today’s Wordle?

It’s a demonstrative pronoun, that is, a word we use to indicate a specific thing or group of things without naming them. 

Does today’s Wordle have any double or repeated letters?

Yes, there is a letter that’s in there twice.

How many vowels are in today’s Wordle?

Just one, but it’s used in two different places.

What letter does today’s Wordle start with?

Today’s word starts with T.

What letter does today’s Wordle end with?

Today’s word ends with E.

What is the solution to today’s Wordle?

Ready? Today’s word is THESE.

How I solved today’s Wordle

ARISE got me the S and the E; TOUCH got me the T and told me to find a place for an H. THESE and THOSE would both fit, but I already knew there was no O–so a second E would have to be the middle letter.

Wordle 906 3/6

⬜⬜⬜🟩🟩
🟩⬜⬜⬜🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

A primer on Wordle basics

The idea of Wordle is to guess the day’s secret word. When you first open the Wordle game, you’ll see an empty grid of letters. It’s up to you to make the first move: type in any five-letter word. 

Now, you can use the colors that are revealed to get clues about the word: 

• Green means you correctly guessed a letter, and it’s in the correct position. (For example, if you guess PARTY, and the word is actually PURSE, the P and R will be green.)

• Yellow means the letter is somewhere in the word, but not in the position you guessed it. (For example, if you guessed PARTY, but the word is actually ROAST, the R, A and T will all be yellow.)

• Gray means the letter is not in the solution word at all. (If you guessed PARTY and everything is gray, then the solution cannot be PURSE or ROAST.)

With all that in mind, guess another word, and then another, trying to land on the correct word before you run out of chances. You get six guesses, and then it’s game over.

The best starter words for Wordle

What should you play for that first guess? The best starters tend to contain common letters, to increase the chances of getting yellow and green squares to guide your guessing. (And if you get all grays when guessing common letters, that’s still excellent information to help you rule out possibilities.) There isn’t a single “best” starting word, but the New York Times’s Wordle analysis bot has suggested starting with one of these:

• CRANE

• TRACE

• SLANT

• CRATE

• CARTE

Meanwhile, an MIT analysis found that you’ll eliminate the most possibilities in the first round by starting with one of these:

• SALET

• REAST

• TRACE

• CRATE

• SLATE

Other good picks might be ARISE or ROUND. Words like ADIEU and AUDIO get more vowels in play, but you could argue that it’s better to start with an emphasis on consonants, using a starter like RENTS or CLAMP. Choose your strategy, and see how it plays out.

How to win at Wordle

We have a few guides to Wordle strategy, which you might like to read over if you’re a serious student of the game. This one covers how to use consonants to your advantage, while this one focuses on a strategy that uses the most common letters. In this advanced guide, we detail a three-pronged approach for fishing for hints while maximizing your chances of winning quickly.

The biggest thing that separates Wordle winners from Wordle losers is that winners use their guesses to gather information about what letters are in the word. If you know that the word must end in -OUND, don’t waste four guesses on MOUND, ROUND, SOUND, and HOUND; combine those consonants and guess MARSH. If the H lights up in yellow, you know the solution.

One more note on strategy: the original Wordle used a list of about 2,300 solution words, but after the game was bought by the NYT, the game now has an editor who hand-picks the solutions. Sometimes they are slightly tricky words that wouldn’t have made the original list, and sometimes they are topical. For example, FEAST was the solution one Thanksgiving. So keep in mind that there may be a theme.

Wordle alternatives

If you can’t get enough of five-letter guessing games and their kin, the best Wordle alternatives, ranked by difficulty, include:

• Wheeldle, which lets you play one puzzle after another

• Dordle and Quordle, which ask you to play two (Dordle) or four (Quordle) puzzles at the same time, with the same guesses. There is also Octordle, with eight puzzles, and Sedecordle, with 16.

• Waffle, which shows you several five-letter words, scrambled in a grid; you play by swapping the letters around until you solve.

• Absurdle, which changes the solution after each guess, but needs to stay consistent with its previous feedback. You have to strategically back it into a corner until there is only one possible word left; then you guess it, and win.

• Squabble, in which you play Wordle against other people with a timer running. You take damage if you spend too much time between guesses; winner is the last one standing.

• Antiwordle, in which you are trying not to guess the day’s solution. You’re required to reuse any letters that you (oops) guessed correctly, so the longer it takes you, the better you are at the game.

There is plenty of discussion about the risks of kids participating in league sports, but if parents handle things thoughtfully, these leagues can be a great way to keep kids physically active. League sports can also help kids develop social skills by working cooperatively with their peers. 

“You might be able to spark some interest in something they really enjoy,” says Catherine Butz, Ph.D., the Senior Associate Chief for Pediatric Psychology at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, who often works with student athletes.

Of course, the flip-side is that pressuring kids into activities at a young age might backfire. Pushing our children to participate in sports can have negative impacts, such as decreased self-esteem, increased stress, and potential burnout, so it’s important to recognize the signs that they may not be enjoying their sport of choice as much as you might hope.

Let them feel things out

When my boys started becoming interested in playing sports, I was concerned about the financial investment. The cost of gloves, bats, skates, cleats, rackets, and other items can add up fast, and if they become disinterested in a couple of weeks, that’s a lot of money collecting dust in the garage. 

Instead of blindly investing in a bunch of sports equipment, try to find somewhere that will let your kids try things out first. City parks and recreation departments offer low-cost practice sessions that help kids learn the basics of a sport, allowing them to find something they like instead of having us find one for them. For my boys, it’s a fun, low-pressure situation that gives them the basics without worrying about wins and losses. However, I have one rule: They must finish all the practices for the season.

“Parents are there to mold their child and to provide opportunity, but to also give feedback that is often long-lasting,” says Butz. “If you’re letting them stop sports prematurely, then that’s messaging they might take on.”

Let your kids know what they’re getting into

There are some inherent risks to playing contact sports. If your child wants to play tackle football, there’s a higher chance that they could get a concussion than if they were playing volleyball, for example. If they’re concerned about some hazards of playing a sport, it’s important to be transparent, but don’t get carried away.

“I wouldn’t want to scare them because, for some kids, that might never happen, especially given the position they play,” says Butz.

Play with them, even if you’re bad

I’m a horrendous soccer player, but if my son wants to play it outside, I’ll drop everything and join him. He doesn’t care that I’m bad at it; he just likes being outside and doing something he loves. 

“We kept playing tennis as a family even though we’re horrible, and [my son is] obsessed with tennis now,” says Butz. “I think you can really encourage kids by participating with them.”

Stay on the sidelines

Despite what the movies Varsity Blues and Friday Night Lights would have you believe, parents likely won’t force their kids to play sports solely to revisit their glory days or vicariously live through their children’s accomplishments. However, according to Butz, while parental involvement and feedback might come from a good place, they can create an unintended expectation and pressure for kids. It’s a fine line to walk, so try choosing a moment when they’ll be most receptive to what you have to say.

“Allowing the coaches to coach and asking your child if they want feedback from you is key,” says Butz.

Look for the signals

Butz is typically called to intervene when parents see some resistance from student athletes attending practices or games. But those are just some of the signs a child might exhibit that indicate they are uninterested in playing a sport. 

“I think any kind of behavioral disregulation, acting out, changes in their behavior that you don’t typically see, their sleep is disrupted, or they’re not eating as much can be signs that something’s up,” she says.

It might not even have to do with a lack of interest in what they’re playing. Academics and sports are often tied together, and a child could be stressed about their workload. Butz says you know your kids best, so if something seems off, it’s time to open up a line of communication with them and get to the bottom of things.

Make sure they’re having fun

Sports are supposed to be fun, but sometimes the league aspect can get very intense, even in elementary and middle school leagues, leading kids to get burnt out early. Check-in regularly with your child to make sure they’re not overwhelmed. 

“It’s pretty pivotal [to check in regularly], not only to ensure their longevity in the sport but just to see how they’re doing mental health-wise,” says Butz.

Find an alternative

If it seems like your kid is striking out (pun intended) trying to find a sport they like, don’t stress. There are other non-league activities that kids can try to give them the physical activity and social skills they’ll need to carry them into adulthood, such as the sports skills practices mentioned previously. If the team-based aspect is what’s causing your kid difficulty, there are plenty of sports that kids can do solo, like running, or finding a skill or talent that engages them. 

“I think the key is to encourage kids to explore a lot of different interests and see you where they land,” says Butz.