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FREE E-BOOKS: On September 5, hundreds of e-books are totally free on Amazon for Stuff Your Kindle Day. Shop these historical romance books for free today.

Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Free Kindle books on Stuff Your Kindle Day Get Deal

For the voracious reader, there can never be enough books. And while we're big proponents of using your local library, sometimes you want books all your own so you can take your time reading without worrying about due dates. Stuff Your Kindle Day (September 5) is here to refill your library.

Stuff Your Kindle Day is an author-driven event from Amazon when hundreds of e-books drop to $0. You read that right — they're totally free! There are many genres available during Stuff Your Kindle Day, however, romance is at the forefront.

SEE ALSO: Amazon Kindle vs. Kindle Paperwhite: Which one is for you?

And if you are particularly a fan of historical romance, there are plenty of books for you, too. Yes, you can stop rereading (or rewatching) Bridgerton and discover a new story.

Best historical romance to shop during Stuff Your Kindle Day

• A Beguiling Ruse by Laura Beers —$0 $5.99

• A Deal with a Devilish Duke by Tessa Brookman — $0 $0.99

• An Inconvenient Ward by Audrey Harrison — $0 $2.99

• Court of Kisses by Arla Jones — $0 $3.99

• Discerning Grace by Emma Lombard — $0 $0.99

• Don't Judge a Duke By His Cover by Emily EK Murdoch — $0 $0.99

• The Duke's Sword by C.H. Admirand — $0 $0.99

• Highlander Deceived by Jayne Castel — $0 $4.99

• How to Train Your Viscount by Courtney McCaskill — $0 $4.99

• In Want of a Wife by Rebecca Paula — $0 $3.99

• The Man of My Dreams by Daphne Quinn — $0 $0.99

• Midnight Marriage by Lucinda Brant — $0 $5.99

• No Man's Bride by Shana Galen — $0 $0.99

• One Kiss from Ruin by Nancy Yeager — $0 $3.99

• Storm Tossed Rogue by Sandra Sookoo — $0 $2.99

• To Steal a Duke by Maeve Greyson — $0 $0.99

• The Unsinkable Penelope Carnegie by Jorja Rae — $0 $4.49

Amazon's Stuff Your Kindle Day has arrived which means today is the day to download as many titles as you see fit for free. That's right — thousands of ebook titles are free today. Here are some of our top picks if you're interested in contemporary romance reads.

Contemporary romance titles included in Stuff Your Kindle Day Best overall pick 'The Cottage at Hope Cove' by Hannah Ellis $0 at Amazon (save $0.99) Get Deal Best young adult contemporary romance 'If We Say Goodbye' by Jasmine Little $0 at Amazon (Save $4.99) Get Deal Best contemporary romance book in a series 'Engagement Rate: A Billionaire Office Romance' by Annie Dyer $0 at Amazon (save $2.99) Get Deal

It's not everyday we get treated to free stuff. Amazon, however, is offering every bibliophile a special treat today by offering thousands (genuinely thousands) of Kindle books on sale for exactly $0. The author-led event means you can download as many free titles as you'd like. Today's event focuses on romance titles, and we've seen hundreds of noteworthy contemporary romance titles.

While the name implies you need a Kindle, that's not entirely accurate. Sure, Kindles are some of the best e-readers around and we're especially partial to our favorite, the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition, but you don't need to own one to take advantage of these free books.

Anyone is eligible to download these free titles and read them on any e-reader or associated app. That means you can still snag free books if you read on your smartphone or a tablet.

These are some standout contemporary romance titles that are completely free today during the Amazon Stuff Your Kindle event. If you'd like to scan though all included titles, check out the Amazon landing page.

Best overall pick Opens in a new window Credit: Hannah Ellis Our pick: 'The Cottage at Hope Cove' by Hannah Ellis at Amazon
Get Deal Why we like it

The Cottage at Hope Cove introduces us to Lizzie Beaumont, who seems to have her life perfectly in order. A successful career, financial stability, and a fiancé with wedding on the horizon. However, her work-driven fiancé pushes Lizzie to spend a week alone at Hope Cove while he works, and someone special comes into her life during her time at the cottage.

Thanks to the Amazon Stuff Your Kindle event, you can follow Lizzie's story for free. And what's more, the book is title one of eight in the Hope Cove series, so you'll have plenty more to enjoy after you finish the first.

Best young adult contemporary romance Opens in a new window Credit: Jamine Little Our pick: 'If We Say Goodbye' by Jasmine Little at Amazon
Get Deal Why we like it

By author Jasmine Little, If We Say Goodbye takes on the story of tragic loss, life as a high school teenager, and a relentless neighbor. The relatable story follows a journey of life's ups and down, sorting through grief, and finding joy.

The title is also a winner of the Next Generation Indie Book Awards of 2024.

Best contemporary romance title in a series Opens in a new window Credit: Annie Dyer Our pick: 'Engagement Rate: A Billionaire Office Romance' by Annie Dyer at Amazon
Get Deal Why we like it

If your fall season calls for getting wrapped up in a book series, the Callaghan Green series by Annie Dyer could be perfect, and book one, Engagement Rate: A Billionaire Office Romance, is free today.

Set in London, we're off on an adventure with drama, family dynamics, and the story of what happens when someone gets tangled up in inner-office romance. In total, the series spans 10 already-released books, with the 11th title on its way this coming February.

More contemporary romance Kindle titles

• Summer at Conwenna Cove by Darcie Boleyn — $0 $3.99 (save $3.99)

• The House that Alice Built by Chris Penhall — $0 $3.99 (save $3.99)

• Beach House Romance by Cora Seton — $0 $4.99 (save $4.99)

• The Wedding Agreement by Annie Dyer — $0 $4.99 (save $4.99)

As the tech landscape evolves, and the public's awareness of digital attacks grows, scammers are harnessing every tool at their disposal — including Google Maps.

A new sextortion scam (a form of financial coercion in which bad actors threaten to release personal, explicit images to the public) leverages publicly accessible geomapping data (read: images of your home) to make the threat even more serious.

SEE ALSO: How Big Tech is approaching explicit, nonconsensual deepfakes

As 404 Media reports, the scam begins with an email personally addressed to the target, filled with threatening lines insinuating the scammer has "proof" that the individual has been visiting illegal dark web sites or that they've been collecting illicit nude images, and capped off with images of the target's home address (most likely scrubbed from updated Google Maps street view images or similar databases).

The emails allege the installation of controversial spyware program Pegasus — a fake claim by scammers to up the legitimacy of their sextortion threats — and ask specifically for a ransom in Bitcoin.

Scammers frequently wave around personal information that appears to be hard to get in order to convince targets their threats are real, including previously used passwords and addresses. But this data is actually much easier to steal than the average person may assume, especially if their information has been recently compromised in a site breach. Instead, scammers are betting that people aren't privy to such data breaches, or hoping they're unaware that much of their personal information is easily obtained.

SEE ALSO: National Public Data breach: Do this to find out if your Social Security number has been leaked

Safety and privacy advocates warn that sextortion is still a pressing online issue, especially among young people. According to child safety nonprofit Thorn, an average of 812 reports of sextortion are sent to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) each week in the United States, and platforms for such abusive tactics include social media sites (like Instagram and Snapchat), encrypted messaging apps, and money transfer sites like Cash App.

If you receive a similar email attempting to blackmail you for Bitcoin, the FBI recommends reaching out and reporting the attempt to their office (1-800-CALL-FBI). Security experts urge individuals to never send personal images or money transfers, or click on suspicious links sent to you online. Covering your webcam is never a bad idea, either.

And you may want to just go ahead and blur your house on Google Maps while you're at it.

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 Aura Edition is packed with the new Intel Core Ultra 200V series processors set to contend with the show-stopping Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite chips.

(The Snapdragon X Elite chip is inside our best Windows laptop of 2024: Microsoft Surface Laptop 7.)

It's not just the new chips, though, that caught my eye with the new ThinkPad X1 Carbon 13. Lenovo calls it "groundbreaking" — and I can't agree more. The Hong Kong-based company unveiled one of the most incredible laptop features I've seen in 2024: Smart Share.

At a recent IFA 2024 showcase, Lenovo showed off how the new ThinkPad can easily receive data from your phone by simply tapping it against the side of the display — and it blew my mind.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 Aura Edition

If there's any time to snatch a Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon series laptop, it's now. As mentioned at the outset, it houses the new Core Ultra 200V series processors, which Intel says can deliver up to 20 hours of battery life (among other things).

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 Aura Edition on a table Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable

Of course, we'll have to test this ourselves when we get the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 in for review. But that's not the star of the show here. Let's talk about Smart Share.

Smart Share

It doesn't matter whether you own an Android or an iPhone, the AI-powered Smart Share lets you send photos to the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 with your device.

How does it work? There's an Elliptic Labs AI Virtual Sensor placed on the side of the laptop. After you tap your phone against it, the laptop will launch the Smart Share window. Next, you'll be able to drag-and-drop recent photos from your phone to the laptop — and vice versa.

This is huge, particularly for Android users. While sharing between devices is easy when they're from the same ecosystem (e.g., an iPhone and MacBook or a Google Pixel and Chromebook), it can get tricky if you like to mix and match your devices.

Although you can use the likes of Phone Link on Windows, with Smart Share, you can simply tap your phone on the side, and voila, you'll have the opportunity to share photos in a flash.

Smart Modes

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 Aura Edition also features four versatile Smart Modes. You can access them with a simple press of a button on the keyboard.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 Aura Edition Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable

Here are the modes and what they can do for you:

• Shield Mode: Automatically fires up your preferred VPN when you connect to a public Wi-Fi network, keeping your data safe no matter where you are.

• Attention Mode: Cuts down on distractions with the ability to set timers and mute notifications, helping you focus on your work

• Collaboration Mode: Enhances video calls with options to blur your background or adjust lighting, ensuring you always look your best during virtual meetings.

• Wellness Mode: Get posture reminders and eye fatigue alerts that encourage regular breaks.

• Power Mode: Make quick adjustments to your power settings

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 will support Microsoft's Copilot+ PC features and will reportedly offer up to 18 hours of battery life on a single charge.

The new ThinkPad costs $1,999 and will hit store shelves on Nov. 2024.

At an IFA 2024 showcase, Lenovo unveiled a gaggle of new laptops that feature the shiny new Intel Core Ultra 200V series chips.

The hyped-up Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite chips, found inside some of the best laptops of 2024 (e.g., Microsoft Surface Laptop 7), are all the rage, but there's a new sheriff in town.

Intel claims that its Core Ultra 200V series processors can deliver up to 20 hours of battery life. We'll have to test this bold proclamation for ourselves, but these processors can be found inside Lenovo's brand-spankin' new ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 Aura Edition (among other new Lenovo laptops.)

While checking out the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 Aura Edition, however, Lenovo surprised me with a new voice-activated concept laptop called "Lenovo Auto Twist AI PC."

Lenovo Auto Twist AI PC: What can it do?

The Lenovo Auto Twist can respond to the following commands, with "Hi Twist" being the wake word.

"Hi Twist, Close Laptop" The Lenovo Auto Twist in its "closed" state. Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable "Hi Twist, Open Laptop" The Lenovo Auto Twist's display. Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable

Hi Twist, Open Tablet Mode Lenovo Auto Twist on its journey to tablet mode. Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable "Hi Twist, Dancing Mode" Lenovo's laptop can do a twisty dance to show off the range of its capabiltiies. Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable

The most jaw-dropping commands were "Hi Twist, Open Tablet Mode" and "Hi Twist, Dancing Mode." From a clamshell state, I watched the Lenovo laptop swivel its display 360-degrees — like The Exorcist — and bend backward into a tablet mode posture. Creepy, but fascinating.

The "Hi Twist, Dancing Mode" command showed off the Lenovo Auto Twist's full range of motion. With a ballerina on the screen, I saw the laptop do 180-degree turns before placing the display in an awkward, unnatural position. (Hey, not every laptop has rhythm; give this one a break.)

The mission behind the Lenovo Auto Twist is accessibility. Some users may benefit from a voice-activated laptop that doesn't require certain handsy maneuvers.

Again, the Lenovo Auto Twist is just a proof-of-concept, so you won't find it on the market anytime soon. But it gives us a peek into the future, giving us insight into what may come our way down the line.

Created by Vertical Meadows, the pilot project aims to bring biodiversity to busy urban areas, while also reimagining how development sites could look.

The second and final season of "Arcane" premieres November on Netflix. Watch the trailer.

A small but vocal group is forming new funds and taking new approaches to counter the swell of money into venture capital in recent years.

Though it is unquestionably a horror movie, A24's The Front Room doesn't feature any blood until late in its second act.

Instead, practically every other bodily fluid appears on screen in copious amounts and numerous hues, with more than one instance evoking actual gagging noises from an entirely grossed-out audience. When regular ol' blood appeared, I’ve never been so happy to see that red liquid flow as a respite from everything else. In fact, The Front Room should come with a warning: Do not grab anything more than popcorn at the concession stand. This is not the movie for loaded nachos. 

SEE ALSO: Brandy's mother-in-law is pure horror in A24's 'The Front Room' trailer

Beyond the juices, those who recognize the last name of twin writer-directors Max and Sam Eggers alongside the imprimatur of the A24 logo may think they're in for a film along the lines of their brother Robert’s The Witch. But they will be disappointed.The Front Room is a wild, nausea-inducing ride that is not so much good as it is effective. The Eggers are capable enough directors, but other than a sickly hue and some fun canted-angle shots, there’s not a lot of style here. Instead, they get to coast on the work of the talented Kathryn Hunter (Poor Things), whose performance and physicality threatens to upstage the whole film.

What is The Front Room about? Credit: A24

The Front Room begins benignly enough. Belinda (Brandy Norwood) is a Black professor married to Norman (Andrew Burnap), a white public defender with a complicated family history unbeknownst to his wife. She is nearing full term with her pregnancy and stressing about money when his estranged, ultra-religious stepmother Solange (Hunter) promises them all her wealth — if they will take her into their home. 

Norman hesitates given the trauma he experienced with Solange and her personal Christian religious practices as a child. Belinda is willing to turn the other cheek and give her mother-in-law a chance, especially with the baby coming. But Solange's moving in serves as a warning for anyone who would try to do anything out of the goodness of their heart — or the desire to pay their mortgage more quickly. It is never worth it.

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For an R-rated horror film, The Front Room is relatively light on physical violence and is far more freighted with its emotional counterpart. It all begins with microaggressions (Solange constantly mispronounces Belinda's name) and the types of insults daughters-in-law often have to shrug off (Solange insults Belinda's cooking). But soon (way too soon), the insults escalate into unquestionable racism and shocking cruelty, and Belinda struggles to endure indignity after indignity from Solange, who seems to want to make their home her own. Belinda exists in white spaces; for most of the running time, she is the only Black person on screen and she lacks an ally, even in her husband, to help defend herself from Solange’s diabolical behavior. 

As the mother-in-law from hell, Kathryn Hunter is devilishly good Credit: A24

The role of Solange is a challenging one, requiring a bonkers level of physicality and an utter lack of vanity. Hunter is a longtime theater actress who caught broader attention with her critically lauded role as the witches in Joel Coen's The Tragedy of Macbeth. However, in The Front Room, she's somehow even more haunting, contorting her body into a hunch, laughing a terrifying cackle, and saying some truly messed-up shit. The aforementioned bodily fluids are disturbing, but her dialogue causes actual distress — especially when it’s said with an impish twinkle. The Front Room barely works, but it owes it all to Hunter who is simply everything as she smirks, snarls, and simpers.

Burnap is fine as the non-entity white husband. Meanwhile, Norwood is good and pretty funny at times in her relatable frustration, she’s not working at the same level as Hunter. (Though who is?) 

The Front Room refuses to go more than skin-deep with its social commentary  Credit: A24

The Eggers' movie hinges on that wonderfully unhinged performance from Hunter, and The Front Room is extremely, admirably gross with a hefty dose of camp. Unfortunately, that’s all there is here. That result would be fine, but the Eggers are aiming higher by their attempts to address more serious themes amidst all the effluvia. Adapted from Susan Hill’s short story, The Front Room deals with race, religion, and gender, but always on a surface level; it never delves too deeply into ideas about any of these topics or offers any cogent thoughts beyond "racism bad" and "Pentecostalism scary."

After watching The Front Room, a lot of viewers are going to have to unpack the shit their in-laws make them go through with their therapists, but something is validating in the idea that your experience probably isn’t going to be as traumatic as what Belinda goes through. Yet the movie itself often feels like a grueling ordeal, as you wonder exactly what shade and type of ooze will show up next or what terrible thing is going to come out of Solange’s mouth — and the answer is always somehow worse than you thought it would be. It’s a good enough bad time, worth it for Hunter's performance alone if you can stomach the rest. 

How to watch: The Front Room hits cinemas Sept. 6.

It's official: Tom Bombadil has finally made it to an onscreen adaptation of The Lord of the Rings. And it only took, what, 70 years?

Season 2, episode 4 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power introduces the somewhat polarizing character of Tom (Rory Kinnear), a merry, ancient being who, in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring, hosts Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin on the early stages of their quest to destroy the One Ring. Opinions on Tom range from "what a lovely, helpful man" to "why is this guy even in the story again?" The latter may explain why both Peter Jackson and Ralph Bakshi cut Tom from their film adaptations entirely. But will Tom Bombadil have a larger impact on the narrative of The Rings of Power? Based on his introduction, it certainly seems like it.

SEE ALSO: 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' Season 2 drops a major Shire lore bomb in episode 4

Like the character we meet in the novel, The Rings of Power's Tom Bombadil is a merry fellow who's prone to singing, helping people in need, and telling stories. Of course, this version of Tom is also a tad different from Fellowship of the Ring's, just by virtue to the series taking place in the Second Age of Middle-earth as opposed to the Third Age. The show's Tom lives out in Rhûn, instead of on the edge of the Old Forest near the Shire. He also doesn't appear to live with his wife Goldberry — although we do hear a smidge of her voice (courtesy of Raya Yarbrough) in his house. Finally, and most importantly, he doesn't take in any Hobbits. Instead, he hosts the Stranger (Daniel Weyman), providing him with a preview of the hospitality Frodo and his friends will experience thousands of years in the future.

SEE ALSO: 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' cast on the return of Sauron in Season 2

In some cases, though, it's less of a "preview" and more of a carbon copy. That's because many aspects of the Stranger's initial encounter with Tom Bombadil are lifted directly from The Fellowship of the Ring itself.

Take the moment right after the two meet, when the Stranger's map of Rhûn flies off onto a tree branch. When the Stranger tries to take said branch to make a staff, the indignant tree swallows him whole — exactly how Old Man Willow traps Merry and Pippin in his trunk in "The Old Forest" chapter of The Fellowship of the Ring. And, just like in Fellowship, who should come along to save him but Old Tom?

Both the novel and the show's Tom tame the offending tree by repeating the same phrases, word for word: "You should not be waking. Eat earth! Dig deep! Go to sleep!" In both cases, it works like a charm. (Later, we learn that the tree that swallowed the Stranger is named "Old Man Ironrod." A cousin of Old Man Willow, perhaps?)

Rory Kinnear in "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power." Credit: Ben Rothstein / Prime Video

This isn't the first time The Rings of Power has directly quoted a prior version of The Lord of the Rings. Heck, a direct quote from Jackson's The Fellowship of the Ring all but confirmed the Stranger was Gandalf in the Season 1 finale. But Tom's exact wording here doesn't feel like a mere callback, or a fan theory-confirming quote. Instead, it establishes a connection between the Tom of the Second Age and the Tom of the Third Age, showing that he has been speaking to and calming trees for millennia. There's a sense of routine here, one only possible thanks to a deep-seeded knowledge of Middle-earth.

As The Rings of Power's Tom tells the Stranger, that knowledge comes from the fact that he is "Eldest" of all things in Middle-earth. "Tom was here before the river and the trees; Tom remembers the first raindrop and the first acorn," he tells the Stranger. "He knew the dark under the stars when it was fearless."

And wouldn't you know it, these lines also come right from The Fellowship of the Ring! There are a few other lines in Tom's speech in the book, which raises the question: Does Tom have an introductory speech he's rehearsed over the centuries, just so he can perform it to the people passing through his bed and breakfast?

SEE ALSO: 5 fantasy TV adaptations we'd rather see than a 'Harry Potter' reboot

In all seriousness, these direct quotations appearing in various takes on Lord of the Rings add an interesting depth to Tom Bombadil as a historical figure. His repetition of various lines and actions across time — such as saving both Merry and Pippin and the Stranger from various trees — creates a kind of cyclicality, one that rhymes with the rise of Sauron (Charlies Vickers) in both the Second and Third Age. Both times we've seen Tom, he's helping people who may just save Middle-earth from the spreading darkness, making him the guiding figure for heroes in multiple Ages. That the Stranger is most likely Gandalf makes the connection even more powerful, as the Hobbit-loving wizard is unknowingly going through the same experience that his friends will down the line.

Notably, Tom is also a greater lover of stories and storytelling. So while he might not always participate directly in the grand narrative of Middle-earth — seeming more at ease observing the rise of darkness than stopping it outright — he's still nudging people in the right direction, and likely recognizing the same types of stories as they reappear across time.

But the love for Tom Bombadil in this episode doesn't just stop with his appearance. Instead, we also get the first onscreen adaptation of Middle-earth's nightmarish Barrow-wights, who face off with Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and Elrond's (Robert Aramayo) Elven company. Tom's not actually in this scene, so what's the connection here?

Well, in The Fellowship of the Ring, Frodo and his companions are captured by Barrow-wights not long after leaving Tom's house. Frodo calls upon Tom to save them, and he does — with the power of song! Sure, Galadriel and her crew don't do any singing in their fight against the Barrow-wights, but the fact that we get their introduction in the same episode as Tom Bombadil's is no coincidence.

Like Tom and Old Man Willow, the Barrow-wights were omitted from Jackson and Bakshi's adaptations of The Lord of the Rings. Putting them and Tom (and the Old Man Ironrod scene) in the same episode creates a conversation between the characters, reminding us of their roles in The Fellowship of the Ring, and the fact that they were cut from subsequent film adaptations. Now, these elements of Middle-earth finally get their day in the sun in a Tolkien adaptation. Thanks to their inclusion, The Rings of Power Season 2, episode 4 becomes a nonstop love letter to The Fellowship of the Ring — and a portion of Tolkien's work that has never really been seen onscreen until now.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 is now streaming on Prime Video, with a new episode every Thursday.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power's first season introduced us to the nomadic Hobbit ancestors known as the Harfoots. But in Season 2, episode 4, a new group of Hobbit ancestors join the party — and they're bringing some major Hobbit lore with them.

These new ancestors are the Stoors, and unlike the nomadic Harfoots, they live in a village. Harfoots Nori Brandyfoot (Markella Kavenagh) and Poppy Proudfellow (Megan Richards) meet them after getting separated from the Stranger (Daniel Weyman) in the land of Rhûn.

SEE ALSO: Tom Bombadil's introduction in 'The Rings of Power' is right out of 'Fellowship of the Ring'

Their first moments in the Stoor village get off to a rough start. Not only are Nori and Poppy confused by the very idea of Harfoots living in holes — "It doesn't seem natural," Poppy remarks — but Nori also makes the mistake of talking back to Stoor headwoman Gundabale Earthauler (Tanya Moodie). Luckily, though, it's not long before the Harfoots and Stoors realize they have a lot in common.

The realization comes when Nori mentions Sadoc Burrows (Lenny Henry), the late Harfoot Trailfinder. Gundabale recognizes the name Burrows. Turns out, there's an ancient legend about a Stoor named Burrows, who dreamed of "a place with endless streams of cold water, and rolling hills so soft, a family could dig a hole and live in it in less than a month."

Sadoc's ancestor called this paradise the Sûza-t — a word that will go on to quite literally mean the world for Hobbits.

SEE ALSO: Did you catch this hint at the Stranger's real name in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' Season 2? What does Sûza-t mean in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power? Tanya Moodie in "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power." Credit: Ross Ferguson / Prime Video

Sûza-t means "the Shire" in Westron, the Common Speech of Middle-earth during the Third Age. If we're splitting hairs, "Sûza" by itself means "Shire," while the "t" at the end creates the definite form.

If we're splitting more hairs, Westron in the form it takes in J.R.R. Tolkien's legendarium likely wouldn't be around by this point in The Rings of Power's timeline, as it developed when Númenoreans began trading with the Men of Middle-earth. The interactions between the Númenoreans and Middle-earth Men have only just started in the show, so there's quite a bit of time for Westron to grow. Still, The Rings of Power is operating with its own timeline and its own version of a common language, so we can just assume it's a kind of proto-Westron (or Adûnaic, a precursor to Westron).

Language tangent aside — and I think language nerd Tolkien would excuse any language-related tangent — the appearance of the word Sûza-t in The Rings of Power means that, by the show's canon, a Hobbit ancestor was dreaming of the Shire thousands of years before the Hobbits actually settled it. In fact, Burrows' dream prompted him to lead an expedition out into the world to find the Sûza-t. No one has heard from him, or his mission, since. It's likely, then, that the expedition gradually morphed into the Harfoots' traveling group.

Gundabale wonders whether Nori and Poppy were sent from the Harfoots to lead them to the Sûza-t, to which Nori sadly replies, "We don't have a home."

And it seems like the Stoors' home doesn't have much staying power left. The Dark Wizard (Ciarán Hinds) and his Gaudrim are just a few muscle cars away from turning Rhûn into a Mad Max-style wasteland. And while the land may once have been green, as Tom Bombadil (Rory Kinnear) tells the Stranger this episode, it's only grown more inhospitable and dry — perhaps not just because of time, but also because of the rising darkness in Middle-earth. How long until the Stoors are forced to leave their home and strike out for greener pastures? Will they be joining up with the Harfoots in future seasons of The Rings of Power?

And maybe most pressingly: Will The Rings of Power show us the Hobbits settling the Shire? In Tolkien's work, this doesn't happen until later in the Third Age, and there's quite a bit of Hobbit history between Nori's storyline and now. However, since The Rings of Power is seriously condensing Tolkien's timeline, I wouldn't rule it out.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 is now streaming on Prime Video, with a new episode every Thursday.

On Thursday, Sept. 5, Shark Ninja officially revealed two new vacuums in its PowerDetect line: the PowerDetect 2-in-1 robot vacuum and mop with NeverTouch Pro base and the Clean & Empty cordless vacuum. The robot vacuum will retail for $999.99, while the cordless stick vacuum will retail for $499.99.

Both vacuums are available to order now at Shark's online store, and will be available at retailers including Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart soon.

Opens in a new window Credit: SharkNinja Shark Cordless PowerDetect Clean & Empty System $499.99 at SharkNinja
Shop Now Opens in a new window Credit: SharkNinja Shark PowerDetect 2-in-1 Robot Vacuum and Mop with NeverTouch Pro Base $999.99 at SharkNinja
Shop Now

With these new launches, Shark is targeting the premium end of the vacuum marketplace, where certain bells and whistles have become standard. In the robovac world, the best hybrid robot vacuums and mops (or, at least, the most expensive ones) now feature a cleaning dock that combines self-emptying with self-washing and drying of the mopping pads. And for their premium cordless stick vacs, more brands are introducing docking stations that automatically empty the dustbin.

Both of these new vacuums bring Shark up to date with the competition in these respects, but with a lower price of entry.

Meet the new Shark hybrid robot vacuum and mop. Credit: Timothy Beck Werth / Mashable

Mashable got the chance to preview both vacuums at a recent press event, and our resident robot vacuum expert Leah Stodart is in the process of testing. Ahead of a full review, we've got photos, first impressions, and a few other tidbits to share.

Shark now offers a self-washing 2-in-1

A premium hybrid robot vacuum with self-cleaning features can run you up to $1,500, which is bordering on absurd for a vacuum. For consumers who are skeptical of paying $200 more for self-emptying, all these extra features can feel more gimmicky than boundary-pushing.

And despite lacking these features, Shark's simpler (and older) Matrix 2-in-1 robot vacuum and mop has been a Mashable favorite for years, precisely because of its no-nonsense approach. However, with a retail price of $999.99, the new PowerDetect NeverTouch Pro 2-in-1 robot vacuum and mop will cost considerably less than similar offerings from iRobot, Roborock, Ecovacs, and Narwhal.

Credit: Timothy Beck Werth / Mashable Credit: Timothy Beck Werth / Mashable

Shark previously released an upright PowerDetect vacuum, and with these new launches, Shark says PowerDetect and Matrix will be its core vacuum lines moving forward.

The new robot vacuum's best feature

The premium hybrid robovac space is definitely getting crowded, and Julian Levesque, Shark Ninja's senior vice president of product development, told Mashable that with this launch the company is focused on expanding its global footprint. He specifically pointed to markets like France and Germany.

"To me, the coolest part is how the robot lifts up when it goes over a carpet," Levesque told Mashable. "There are others in the space that have various solutions for that, but we lift up the highest.”

When I saw this vacuum at work, it noticeably lifted its mopping pads when approaching carpet. This is a standard feature in premium hybrids, but the vac seemed to lift higher than normal. It was satisfying to watch the vacuum lift its little butt off the carpet, and you can see this lift-up in our pictures from the demo.

Credit: Timothy Beck Werth / Mashable Credit: Timothy Beck Werth / Mashable Shark now offers a cordless stick vacuum with self-emptying

More brands are bringing self-emptying to cordless stick vacuums. These docks typically use a bag system and HEPA filter to ensure that users never have to deal with allergens and dust. The dock sucks out all the debris when the cleaning is done.

The downside of these stations? You can't shove the vacuum in a closet. For that reason, it's hard to compete with Samsung's Bespoke Jet, which features a modern and attractive emptying station you wouldn't mind putting on display.

SEE ALSO: LG's All-in-One cordless stick vacuum makes cleaning less of a drag, then empties itself

But once again, Shark's version of this technology will cost consumers considerably less. Compare the $499.99 price tag of the PowerDetect Clean & Empty Cordless Vacuum to the $999.99 price tag of the new Samsung Bespoke Jet AI stick vacuum. (Pro tip: Go with the previous-gen Bespoke Jet, which has 99 percent of the features and only costs $549 on sale.)

In a demo, the new PowerDetect vacuum easily sucked up hair. Credit: Shark Ninja

And it goes without saying that Shark's premium vacuum is much cheaper than Dyson's premium vacuum offerings.

This is becoming a trend for Shark: offering lower-priced but still impressive alternatives to premium products like the Dyson Supersonic.

An impressive stick vacuum, less impressive design

So far, no vacuum brand has been able to match the visual appeal of the Samsung Bespoke Jet vacuums. And while Dyson's designs can be a bit clunky, the brand's vacuums have also become something of a status symbol.

To be honest, I just don't love the aesthetics of the Shark Clean & Empty vacuum. At least, not enough to give it permanent real estate in my home.

Credit: Timothy Beck Werth / Mashable Credit: Timothy Beck Werth / Mashable

However, in terms of cleaning abilities, it seems impressive so far. The stick vac bends in the middle to reach below furniture. It also detects floor type to increase/decrease suction, while also sensing edges to get hard-to-reach debris. It seemed to pick up hair really effectively, but we're still in the process of testing for ourselves.

We'll withhold judgment on the robot vacuum until we've tested it.

For now, you can head to Shark to order these new vacuums, which are available now.

You mean to tell me PlayStation could’ve been making games like this the entire time instead of 9,000 photorealistic sad dad simulators?

Astro Bot, which is the third platformer starring Sony’s new unofficial robot mascot — but somehow the first one to be a regular full-priced non-VR game — is a breath of fresh air compared to most of the last decade of PlayStation. It’s not a competent prestige TV knock-off like God of War, or misanthropic edgelord misery like The Last of Us, or a bloated open-world mess like Horizon. 

Rather, this is a colorful, whimsical, mechanically tight, and overall delightful 3D platformer that’s also packed full of references to PlayStation history. While Astro Bot’s reverence for the PlayStation brand occasionally feels forced, and probably can’t sustain itself beyond this game, it’s such a goddamn thrill for the 10 or so hours it takes to finish that I think it’s a must-play for any PS5 owner.

Astro Bot premise What's up, Ratchet? You good? Credit: PlayStation

Astro Bot, from the developers at Team Asobi, isn’t really a game about plot. A PS5-shaped mothership full of little robots encounters some trouble in outer space — and it’s up to one heroic Astro Bot to rebuild the mothership and save all the bots.

While narrative isn’t really something that moves the needle in Astro Bot, it does feed into the game’s main aesthetic gimmick: constant references to PlayStation. Many of the hundreds of stranded bots you need to collect throughout the game’s levels to progress through the game are dressed like classic PlayStation characters, which is carried on from a similar idea in Astro’s Playroom.

When you collect a referential bot, they go back to your hub world and hang out doing little animations related to whatever game they’re from. It’s cute! I got a big kick out of seeing Kazuma Kiryu from Yakuza and Teddie from Persona 4 in there. 

However, turning references into necessary collectibles for progress does drive home the point that this is the point of Astro Bot. While it’s a great 3D platformer with beautiful visuals and catchy tunes (as we’ll get to in a bit), Astro Bot is a game about basking in all things PlayStation. And at times, it can feel like an incomplete or flawed history of the brand.

For instance, there are a few allusions to things that I either don’t associate with PlayStation at all or are maybe best left in the dustbin of history. There is also at least one major franchise that I extremely associate with PlayStation that isn't represented at all, for what have to be boring rights reasons.

It’s not the norm, thankfully, but a small handful of the references also feel like they were mandated by Sony corporate. I know Detroit: Become Human was a PlayStation exclusive, but we can pretend like it wasn’t. It’ll be fine. 

Astro Bot’s referential nature, despite its occasional missed swings and inconsistencies, is a positive overall. 2024 is the 30th anniversary of the launch of the PlayStation, and if Sony itself as a broader corporate entity isn’t going to do a very good job of celebrating such a historic legacy, I’m glad this game is doing it, at least.

Astro Bot mechanics The dog backpack rules. Credit: PlayStation

If you played Astro’s Playroom (and anyone who owns a PS5 should because it’s free), you know the deal here. Astro Bot is a mechanically simple and straightforward 3D platformer with remarkably tight movement and a generally punchy, chipper feel to its mechanics. You can run, jump, do a little hover move in mid-air, punch enemies, and that’s about it. What more do you need?

Well, there is a little more. Many levels revolve around a series of wearable gadgets that give Astro unique abilities. One of them causes him to absorb bodies of water and become huge, while another gives him a pair of springy, extending boxing gloves. These are a good deal more fun than the vehicles that sucked up so much of Astro’s Playroom runtime, and while a couple of them are motion-controlled, you can thankfully turn that stuff off.

The basic mechanics of Astro Bot are lifted so thoroughly from Playroom that the overall design structure stood out to me more than the moment-to-moment action. This is the most Super Mario Galaxy-ass game that isn’t actually Super Mario Galaxy. Aside from the fact that the levels are literally spread across little solar systems, it also permeates how the levels are designed.

More like God of Snore. Just kidding, those games are fine. Credit: PlayStation

Most of Astro Bot is spent moving linearly from one little floating platformer island to another. Each one will have some tiny challenge to complete — and then you’ll move onto the next, having fun along the way. All of it is paced so tightly, it's remarkable. Astro Bot leaves almost no room for boredom at any point in the process. Astro Bot is a constant firehose of pleasant brain chemicals.

Special mention needs to go to a handful of bigger levels that are themed to specific PlayStation games, giving Astro special costumes and unique abilities sourced from said games. There are distressingly few of these, and too many of them pull from the PS4 era, but one of them made me smile so much that I’m willing to forgive that transgression. 

It almost feels reductive to say “Well, they made a longer version of the great pack-in game, so it’s automatically great.” But that’s pretty much what happened! That said, I’m very glad Astro Bot is as brief as it is. Getting 100 percent completion can be achieved in a weekend, which is hugely refreshing compared to the endless array of live-service forever games and 100-hour RPGs that have flooded the market in 2024. 

Astro Bot graphics You gotta have a casino level in your platformer. Credit: PlayStation

Team Asobi’s penchant for colorful whimsy shines through in Astro Bot, which is one of the prettiest games on PS5. It’s got a relatively simple art style that pulls from a lot of inspirations; some levels straight up look like Mario, while the robotic animals that you fight harken back to classic Sonic. But, at least to me, it never feels like a rip-off. I think this game was just made by people with good taste.

Astro Bot is visually resplendent, but also fully readable, unlike so many modern games that sacrifice legibility for visual density. It’s exactly what a modern 3D platformer should look like.

Astro Bot music and audio

Astro Bot’s music was composed by Kenneth C.M. Young, who did the previous Astro games for Team Asobi, too. Put simply, each tune is eminently hummable and nearly perfect for whatever scenario it was written for. I especially appreciate the constant use of vocoders to produce robotic-sounding vocals. 

The aforementioned themed levels also have fun remixes of songs from the games the levels are based on. Sorry for spoiling one of them (skip to the next section if you really don’t wanna know), but it turns out I’m the exact kind of person who would mark out at a dance remix of the Uncharted 2 title screen music.

Astro Bot difficulty

This isn’t one of those overly masochistic platformers by any means, but Astro Bot’s level of challenge is fair. Astro dies in one hit (except for in the excellent boss fights, where you can take three hits), so careful play is not only rewarded, but necessary.

There are times when enemy numbers can be a little overwhelming and deaths can feel slightly unfair, but checkpoints are frequent and load times are instant, so who cares?

I will say Astro Bot becomes an appreciably and enjoyably more difficult game if you try to 100 percent it. I recommend doing so if you want the full experience.

Astro Bot performance

I did not think the technical performance of Astro Bot would be a source of disappointment, but here we are.

While the game looks amazing visually and runs at a solid 60 frames per second (as far as I can tell without an on-screen frame counter), it’s got this constant, every-few-seconds stutter that I noticed right away. It lasted throughout my entire time with the game, and I was playing on the latest patch. I was able to quickly get used to it and enjoy the game regardless, but it can be seriously distracting if you think about it too much.

I assume this is something that can and will be patched out of the game, but for now, Astro Bot’s gotta lose some points. 

Is Astro Bot worth getting? Sucks for that guy. Credit: PlayStation

Hell yeah, Astro Bot is worth getting! 

While I assume some folks will not feel great about spending $60 for a game you can wipe out in a few days, the experience itself is more than worth it. Team Asobi has made what might be the most purely fun PS5 exclusive yet — and it’s easily one of the best games on that saddeningly short list. 

Its referential nature works overall, even with some slight misgivings. I don’t think Asobi can keep that aspect of these games up if Sony commissions more Astro platformers, but for one game, it’s cool. Between that, its gorgeous visuals, catchy music, and excellent platforming mechanics, Astro Bot is one of the best games on the PS5.

Opens in a new window Credit: PlayStation Astro Bot $59.99 at Amazon
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