Bookish social media

I love detailed, aesthetically-pleasing stats, probably as much as – or sometimes even more than – actually doing things. So, it comes with no surprise that this month, I've been testing a new book tracker I found called Fable. Everyone knows Goodreads or its Russian analog LiveLib, but these two didn’t really click with me well because of many things, one of them being their outdated design. Meanwhile, Fable is different; I love how super appealing it looks, plus it comes with a bunch of enjoyable features such as a personalized feed, quarter-star ratings, and book clubs.

There are, of course, some drawbacks, too: I feel like the platform fell short in terms of its book collection, especially if you’re reading in a language other than English. A great alternative may also be Bookmory (iOS, Android) – a long-trusted pal of mine – if none of those are working for you for some reason. – Marina

Sleeping routine

I used to fall asleep the second my head hit the pillow, and, of course, I took it for granted. That was until recently, when early birds chirping outside paired up with my cortisol spikes had me waking up at 4 am daily. To be honest, my sleeping routine was far from perfect, but I never gave it much thought since it worked.

Trying to get my favorite part of the day dack, I decided to start off with reviewing our team’s wisdom and some online tips. Spoiler alert: these basics aren’t just fluff after all! I cut out screens before bed, went for a walk after work, got proper earplugs and a better sleep mask. Surprisingly, switching from an orthopedic pillow to a regular one also helped. It didn’t happen overnight, but little by little, I started to feel the difference. I still wake up, but now I fall back asleep easily – and even see non-creepy dreams! – Elizaveta

Green rewards

Recently, I stumbled upon a cool way to contribute to St. Petersburg's sustainability, thanks to my colleagues who introduced me to Ecoplatform, a local recycling initiative. The concept is really cool – you get some points on the platform’s app when you give them your old goods, bottles, etc. You can later redeem these points for discounts and perks from their partner brands like Ostrovok, Rostic’s, Samokat, and the like.

This month, I dropped off over 2.5kg of my old clothes and 20 PET bottles of different sizes at one of their reverse vending machines (click here to locate the machine nearest to you). This way, I not only prevented old stuff from piling up, but also gave them away for a better cause (either recycling or donation) while earning some cool reward points. It’s awesome how small habits like this can actually make a difference! – Subhrajit

Hand-pulled noodles

Hot take: if you don’t love noodles, you don’t love life. Not too long ago, I had the luck to attend a workshop on noodle-making and I kid you not, it changed my life. Not in a major way, but still! Sure, there’s loads of awesome noodle joints around St. Petersburg, but there’s something special in making your own. And as it turns out, the trendy hand-pulled kind is, in fact, extremely simple to make. 

All you need is water, flour, and salt; what could be easier? Of course, there’s still a bit of science to it – and, as seen in this highly comprehensive guide on Reddit, you can write a whole monograph on it! But the core principle remains very straightforward. And they’re highly versatile, too: you can throw them in a stir fry, steep them in broth, or use them cold in a salad. Bon appetit! – Vadim