I have, until recently, been doing a pretty good job eating healthily. Then, Halloween brought two large bags of candy to our living room. I don’t buy candy, but if there’s a seemingly endless supply, you better believe I’ll be eating too much of it (and I stand by my rankings).
I thought it would be smooth sailing until Thanksgiving, and then a certain former President turned into our President-Elect, and I sought refuge in candy.
Now, when I stop eating healthily, I go all the way, brothers and sisters.
That’s how I discovered the wonder of the cannoli crumb cake in the bakery section of ShopRite.
When I laid eyes upon it, I knew it had to be mine. I popped it into the cart and wished I could skip over the rest of the day so I could gorge myself.
And, lo, gorge, I did. Man, this thing is flipping good. It’s a nice piece of crumb cake with that thick crumb that you can hardly get your fork through. Then a layer of cannoli cream and a splorge of cream and chocolate chips on top.
This thing is tasty. I will admit that I’m not a sophisticated dessert person. I like my desserts sweet (I’m far too enlightened to use the “like I like my women” joke these days, so please feel free to provide your own) and this thing fits the bill.
Highly recommended if you find yourself in the Cherry Hill, NJ ShopRite.
I bought a Kindle Colorsoft (as I said I would), and you know what that means: I’m going to review it right now!
First off, I think it is important for any reviewer to share how they use a product so you can have a bit of context. Here’s what you need to know:
I’m a long-time Kindle user.
I almost exclusively read fiction.
I almost never read graphic novels (or comic books as I called them when I was growing up).
Given that knowledge, it may seem odd that I bothered to buy a Kindle Colorsoft, which is the first e-ink Kindle to sport a color display. This model represents the biggest change in the Kindle for a long time, so how could I resist?
Color me softly, with this screen.
The most obvious question is: how is the color?
Whoever came up with the name “Kindle Colorsoft” deserves a raise because the color really is soft. If you’re looking for pop-off-the-page colors, you can skip the Kindle Colorsoft (and all color e-ink devices for the moment).
However, I am surprised at how much I actually like having color on a Kindle. It is fun to see a full color cover displayed when the device is locked, and I thought that comics looked pretty good (I downloaded a few to see what it would look like).
The Colorsoft offers two “color style” settings: standard and vivid.
Tip: Tap the upper left and the lower right corner of your Kindle to take a screenshot.
I couldn’t really tell the difference between the two if I’m being honest, but I also have pretty poor to middling color vision, so your mileage may vary.
Here’s what a comic cover looks like with the brightness set all the way up:
Looks pretty good to me! And you can, of course, pinch to zoom in if you like. The resolution drops as you’re zooming and then snaps back to 150PPI:
The Kindle interface is now in color as well, which is nice, and you can even highlight text using four different colors (this is a screenshot, not a picture):
All in all, I was pleasantly surprised by the color on the Colorsoft. I wasn’t expecting “slap your face colors,” and the colors I got are pretty nice (I like that my face remains unslapped).
Reading on the darn thing
I got the Kindle Colorsoft at the start of the month, so you might wonder why it took me so long to write this little review. Well, I like to read an entire book on a Kindle before I share my thoughts, and the book that was next in my queue just happened to be 908 pages long (Exodus: The Archimedes Engine).
Having read those 900 pages on this Kindle I can say that it is a fantastic ereader. It is light, feels good in the hand, and is very fast at turning pages.
It doesn’t have page-turn buttons, but I don’t care. I mostly read with my Kindle resting on a table, so I’m moving my hand to turn the page even if there are buttons.
The construction is solid. No cheap feeling flex unlike on some other ereaders I’ve tried. And the soft plastic material it is made of just feels nice to hold.
The screen, as you might expect, is great. I should point out that many (all?) Colorsofts have an issue with a slight yellow bar at bottom of the screen. Mine probably has it, but I can’t really tell. You might be more sensitive than I am, so you should be aware.
I still find having the power button on the bottom of the device to be annoying, but such is life. USB-C is great, and having the option of wireless charging is nice (I used my iPhone charger to just see if it would work, and it did!).
Writing on the wall for the Scribe?
Before I got the Colorsoft my daily Kindle was a Kindle Scribe, which I love. Amazon did update the Scribe, but there were minor revisions, and it didn’t make sense for me to upgrade.
But has the Colorsoft replaced my Scribe as my go to Kindle?
No, and this picture sums it up:
The Scribe’s superpower is that it is flippin’ huge. The screen on the Scribe is larger than the entire Colorsoft device. I can’t go back to a smaller Kindle at this point, but I know I am not representative of the ereader public in this regard.
The Scribe is large and can be a little awkward to hold. It was very nice to pop the Colorsoft into my back pocket when I was walking about.
Should you buy one?
You should probably just get the updated Kindle Paperwhite Signature edition if you’re in the market for a Kindle and have reading habits like me. The Signature Edition is basically the Colorsoft without the color, and the color in the Colorsoft is nice, but it’s not worth the extra money at this point.
It is worth the extra money, however, if you read lots of graphic novels or you love color-coded highlighting.
The Colorsoft is a great product and represents a big change for the Kindle lineup.
I will say that I’m ordering a color Kindle Scribe when they become available, and I wasn’t expecting to like the color that much. I’ll miss it when I read my next book on the Scribe, but then I’ll gaze lovingly at the Scribe’s HUGE screen, and thoughts of soft colors will be banished.
Bonus Change
One change in all the 2024 Kindles that Mac users should be aware of is that you can no longer just plug your Kindle into your Mac and have it show up as an external drive. You need to download the latest version of the Send to Kindle Mac app, which includes a USB File Manager app. Once you have that installed you can sideload books and get screenshots off your Kindle as always. The old way still works for you Windows users out there.
I’m hopeful that the arc of history is still going in the right direction but worried that most people in the country’s “right direction” is very different than mine.
Recent vintage iPhones have the “Dynamic Island,” one of the best examples of taking lemons and making lemonade in mobile tech. Apple wanted to crow about the amount of screen on their phones, but also needed a place to cram a bunch of sensors. Most phone makers solve this by having this black blob at the top of the screen, which doesn’t do much.
Apple did the same thing, but also thought, “why not put some notifications in there as well?” And the Dynamic Island was born!
The Washington Post (I have access via my employer, so please don’t tell me to cancel my subscription or take this as support for their recent boneheaded move) said, “Gee, that’s a nice Dynamic Island you have there. Let’s make it a stressful hellscape by using it to post live Electoral College tallies in there so you can see them no matter what you’re doing on your phone to distract you from the possibility of another Trump administration.”
Neato.
I do like the illustrations of the candidates they include:
I set a reading goal of 60 books this year, and I’m at 75. I’m thinking I might be able to hit 100 by the end of the year (though I just started reading a 900 page book, so probably not).
Last month I read 9 books and I liked all of them!
Echo of Worlds (Pandominion, #2) by M.R. Carey ★★★★★ (Read on October 30, 2024) – I didn’t even realize this was out until Jason mentioned it somewhere. I then devoured it as quickly as possible (and I also smooshed a banana onto it by accident. Sorry, Free Library of Philadelphia!). So good, and the whole series is only two books, which is unusual in this day and age. Read them both if you haven’t!
Purgatory (Jack Taylor, #10) by Ken Bruen ★★★★☆ (Read on October 27, 2024) – A tech billionaire comes to Galway, and you know that’s not good news for Jack! I can’t stop reading these.
Wordhunter by Stella Sands ★★★☆☆ (Read on October 26, 2024) – Did you know that they no longer teach kids how to diagram sentences? I was shocked. However, the protagonist in this book is a sentence-diagraming fool! The book is a pretty standard modern cop/not-a-cop story with the twist of the sentence diagramming.
The Stardust Grail by Yume Kitasei ★★★★☆ (Read on October 24, 2024) – This is a quick, fun read about a heist set in the backdrop of space opera.
Those Beyond the Wall (The Space Between Worlds, #2) by Micaiah Johnson ★★★★☆ (Read on October 20, 2024) – Another sequel I didn’t know about! I wasn’t feeling the first 1/3 of this, but based on the strength of the first book I kept reading and I’m glad I did.
The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton ★★★☆☆ (Read on October 11, 2024) – Turton sure likes high-concept idea! This one mostly worked, but it wasn’t as mindblowing as I think he wanted it to be.
Green Hell (Jack Taylor, #11) by Ken Bruen ★★★★☆ (Read on October 07, 2024) – I told you I couldn’t stop reading these. This book introduces a character who also appears in the next book (and includes a cameo by the author). You think bad things happen to Jack Taylor and then you read the next book on this list and you think back to the fun times he had in this book.
The Emerald Lie (Jack Taylor, #12) by Ken Bruen ★★★★☆ (Read on October 06, 2024) – Life is tough for Jack, and in this book, it just keeps getting tougher. But these things are like candy to me!
This week, Apple announced lots of new Mac stuff, which is always fun. The new Mac minis look great, and are just cute as a button. I mean, look at that darn thing! Don’t you just want to pinch it?
Lots of Apple nerds are talking about the new Macs, as you might expect, but the Mac mini’s power button, in particular, has been a topic of conversation, which is slightly unusual. Almost as unusual as the placement of the button itself: on the bottom of the device.
This is the bottom of the new Mac mini, and that’s the power button.
Let me preface the rest of this post with a few things:
I haven’t used one of the new Mac minis, but I’m sure they are fantastic Macs (it is the Mac I’d probably buy for myself if I were in the market for a new Mac).
In the grand scheme of things, the placement of this power button isn’t a big deal.
Most people don’t turn off their Macs that often, so who cares?
Furthermore, the Mac mini itself isn’t a big deal in the grand scheme of things.
With that out of the way, I hope I’ve saved you the effort of sharing those thoughts in response to this post and me the effort of not caring.
Comcastic
Most Apple products do not make me think about my time as an employee of Comcast (they’re a local company that provides telecommunication services to folks and owns NBC Universal), which is probably a good thing.
One of the most surprising things that I encountered while working at Comcast was how happy the people working at Comcast are to be working at Comcast. I, too, was generally happy to be a Comcaster for most of my tenure.
I mention this because it explains an odd thing that happened in a meeting I found myself in during my Comcast years. I was working in the Corporate Communications group (PR), and a PR person said, with a straight face, “I don’t get why people don’t like Comcast.”
I was certain they were making a joke and chuckled. Reader, they were not joking.
Now, you and I know there are many reasons that might lead one to not be the biggest fan of Comcast. Several popped into my mind during that meeting, but I felt it really boiled down to the kinds of interactions people most often had with Comcast.
Most interactions with Comcast, at that time, were some variation of:
Using the Guide to find something to watch. This was the time of the really bad blue-and-white guide that felt like a DOS prompt. It wasn’t pleasant.
A monthly bill that was seemingly ever-increasing and included any strange “fees.”
A phone call or tech visit because something wasn’t working.
None of those are what I would call “positive interactions.” Sure, when the service worked, that was a positive, but you don’t thank your cable company when you can successfully watch Bravo. You pay for it to work.
All of these little unpleasant interactions accumulate and result in people not feeling all warm and fuzzy about their cable company.
Sanding down the edges
That’s what bothers me about the placement of the power button on the Mac mini. Apple does many things well, and its greatest advancements grind down the sharp edges of annoyance and make things “just work.”
Chances are you’ll only reach for the power button on your Mac mini when something it isn’t “just working,” but stuff has gone really wrong. You’re already annoyed at your computer, and now you have to flip it over like a turtle to remember which dang corner has the power button so you can hold it down for 10 seconds just so you get attempt to pick up where you were before you were so rudely interrupted.
Trust me, that fumbling only adds to the annoyance one feels towards their Mac at that moment.
How do I know this since I’ve not used one of these new machines? Because that’s what happens when I need to use the power button on my Mac Studio (a computer I love).
The Mac Studio’s power button is on the back of the computer. No need to poke its bottom, and yet someone at Apple thought it would make sense to have the power button be flush and feel like the rest of the back of the computer.
No matter how often I graze my Mac Studio’s backside with my finger I can never feel the dang button. I always end up doing that thing where you press your head against the wall in the hopes of getting just the right angle so you can see behind an object and catch a glimpse of the button. This works about 50% of the time.
Unslightly face acne
Some may suggest that the Mac mini is just so dang tiny that they couldn’t put the button anywhere other than where it is. This, of course, ignores that fact that Apple employs a rather impressive number of very smart people who create things like the Vision Pro. The Vision Pro is another Apple product no one seems to want, but everyone agrees that it is a technological marvel. I’m sure, if they really wanted to, the people who created glasses that allow you to open a spreadsheet on the moon could have put the power button somewhere else on the Mac mini. They decided that the Mac mini looks cooler without that button in a place where you can see it.
I’ll tell you where I would have put that button: on the front. That sound you just heard was an industrial designer hovering in a white void in Cupertino fainting. Yes, I know, that’s crazy! A button in a place where it is easy to see and use? Madness.
The Mac Pro (which no one buys but is still a product in Apple’s lineup) has its power button on top. That seems to be a much better place for it, so I know Apple is capable of such things.
Placing the power button on the bottom of the computer seems emblematic of that other side of Apple: form over function. It is an informed decision to make turning on and off the computer slightly worse because someone thinks a power button is unsightly. Certainly, Apple has more experience making computers than I do, but these tiny bits of annoyance erode goodwill over time.
Power Buttons I have known
I thought it would be fun to end this post talking about the best Mac power button I’ve ever experienced and the worst. Let’s start off with the good stuff:
This was a bad Mac. The coating flaked off and the case on my ended up slightly warped (also, I had to install an AirPort card in mine so I could use WiFi, as you do. I purchased the laptop and the card at the same time. When I got them both in my hot little hands I went about installing the card. The installation required taking a cable from the laptop and plugging into one end of the card. The cable had a little give and it just about fit, so I pulled it a little harder and ripped the cable right off the machine. That PowerBook never knew the joys of wireless networking).
The rest of this computer was crap, but the power button on this thing was a work of art. I often idly stroked it as I read something on the laptop screen. It was shiny and finely etched, and the action when you pressed it was pretty satisfying.
Did the G4 Cube even really have a power button? It had a glowy touch area on the top of the machine that serviced as the power button. It looked super cool, and would pulsate when your Cube was asleep. It would also put your Mac to sleep whenever anything got vaguely near it. Thumbs down (though the Cube is a work of art and I have mine on display because that’s the kind of nerd I am).
’Tis the season for little children (and some not-so-little children) to go door to door begging for candy. As such, I find myself in a house bursting with candy, and we haven’t even gone “real” trick or treating yet!
As I looked upon the bounty my boys have already claimed, it made me think about just how often in life you’re in a situation that includes a bowl full of candy from which you may choose a treat. This made me think about which treats my boys gathered I would choose from a bowl.
I now present the definitive ranking of Scott’s Random Candy Bowl Preferences. This is the order in which I’d pick that particular candy from a bowl listed least likely to most likely. The higher on the list, the less interested I am in that piece of candy (yes, at least one piece of each of these items has been gathered by my children):
Double Bubble gum – I don’t chew gum, so I’ll never take any.
Lifesavers Big Gummies – I think gummy anything is gross.
Now & Later (Cherry) – When I was a kid I’d get the odd Now & Later and then remember why I didn’t want them. They stick to your teeth so much! Does anyone actually like these things?
Ring Pop Bites – A lollipop that you put on your finger? I’ll pass.
Reese’s White Peanut Butter Cup – There are people who like white chocolate; those people are sick.
Dum Dum lollipops – Oh, a Dum Dum! They aren’t good, but they’ll do.
Lifesavers Hard Candy – I can’t remember the last time I had a Lifesaver, but I do enjoy a cherry one.
Butterfinger Fun Size – I’ve never loved a Butterfinger, but if I need some candy and it is there (and nothing higher on the list is available) I’ll take it!
Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar – I’m an American, so I like the taste of Hershey’s chocolate. Furthermore, as a resident of the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania it is my duty to support this local company.
Crunch Bar Fun Size – Adding crispy rice to chocolate was such a good idea.
Smarties – This might surprise some people, but I like these odd little things. And I would never buy them, so if they were in a bowl, I’d grab some.
Snickers Fun Size – Snickers are tasty.
Reese’s Fast Break – I admit I had to look this up, but it seems like I’d enjoy it.
Snickers Peanut Butter – The only thing better than a regular Snickers (aside from lots of other candy)? A peanut butter one.
Twix Minis – Cookies, chocolate, and caramel? Yum.
Kit Kat Fun Size – Marisa tells me that Kit Kats are insipid, but I really like them (and when you see my top pick, you’ll probably think I’m just an insipid candy fan!).
M&M’s – They melt in your mouth, not in your hands.
Reese’s Take 5 – The Take 5 is a relative newcomer to my candy scene, but those mad Reese’s food scientists know what they’re up to.
Skittles – I’ve always loved Skittles. My mom really didn’t enjoy how many Skittles I could eat. Looking back on it, she was right.
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup – No need to explain this one.
Starburst – In my mind, Starburst and Skittles are cut from the same cloth, but I love Starbursts just a little bit more.
Tootsie Roll – I really do love a Tootsie Roll (and a vanilla Tootsie Roll as well). Am I saying that the Tootsie Roll is the best candy in the world? I am not. It just has such deep nostalgia for me that I can’t resist! I get them for Christmas and my birthday; they delight me every time. If that’s wrong, then I don’t want to be right!
A proponent of in vitro fertilization, Mr. Musk believes strongly in increasing the world’s population. He has even offered his own sperm to friends and acquaintances, including the former independent vice-presidential candidate Nicole Shanahan, according to two people familiar with his offer. Ms. Shanahan turned him down.
Having 11 kids is odd, though, if you’re super rich and you have 11 kids creating a compound makes sense to me. Offering your sperm to friends and acquaintances tips this to odd again.
Today marks the release of Apple’s foray into generative AI that all the kids are talking about.
Now, I’m not exactly an Gen AI booster, but I do see how it can be valuable for certain tasks (I’ve used it for a few things myself, it is true!). And Apple’s spin on it seems interesting if not fully baked (though full disclosure: While I’ve used other GenAI tools I haven’t used Apple Intelligence yet).
Today also marks the first time I’ve seen Apple’s “Memory movies” commercial and my initial reaction to it is was revulsion.
If you haven’t seen it, the premise is well worn sitcom territory with a dash of soulcrushing technology thrown in: it is dad’s birthday. The kids come downstairs with some meaningful gifts, but oh no! Mom forgot. She whips out her iPhone and uses Apple Intelligence to create a memory movie with no effort and shows up her childrens’ gifts thereby winning the “who loves dad more competition” that every birthday turns out to be. Best of all? All she had to do was leverage Apple Intelligence with a few taps on her phone. She didn’t even have to leave the house, or put in any effort.
Isn’t that what we all want?
Now, you might be thinking, “What’s the big deal, Scott? I like those little movies my phone makes from my photos.”
So do I! The functionality isn’t my main issue, but rather the framing around its use. Apple is a company that has long wrapped itself in the mantle of being for the “creative” and wanting to amplify human connection. This ad seems to suggest that AI can relieve you of the heavy burden of thinking about your loved ones needs and desires. Just ask Siri to whip up some maudlin movie and sit back as the algorithmic tearjerker does its work and you use the time you saved… staring at your iPhone I guess?
This seems a far cry from the company that claimed to be at the intersection of Liberal Arts and Technology. This feels more like the intersection of Technology and Your Liberal Arts Program has been replaced with a new online “Prompt Engineering” certification course.
Am I an old man yelling at clouds? A knight-errant tilting at windmills? Am I totally King Canute-ing this AI tide?
Maybe. But that doesn’t mean I’m wrong. I want my tools to amplify my humanity, not replace it with quick little pellets of “creative product.”
Amazon is having a sale on a bunch of science fiction books (which means they are probably available for cheap in other places… and I must remind you that they are all almost certainly available in your local public library. The library is like Amazon only it doesn’t make its employees pee in bottles), so I thought I’d share some of the ones I’d recommend!
Keep in mind that this is a list of the books I’ve read and enjoyed that are on sale. I’m not saying they are the best books on the list (but they probably are):
A Game of Thrones ($3) – George R.R. Martin hasn’t finished his saga yet, but man this is a good book. If you don’t know what happens at the end I suggest you just read the book without knowing.
Children of Time ($3) – This series is finished (I think?) and it is fantastic. You might struggle a bit if you don’t like spiders.
Pandora’s Star ($2) – I always think that Peter F. Hamilton isn’t as well known in the US as he should be. I don’t know if that’s true, but he writes doorstopper space operas that are lots of fun. This one is 992 pages! That’s a great per page price.
Altered Carbon ($2) – I read this book a million years ago and remember that I liked it. Plus, Netflix made a series based on it that was canceled. It must be good!
The Last Policeman, Countdown City, World of Trouble ($2 each) – Each book in this series is on sale, and you’ll want to read the next after you finish the first. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t end well.
Even Though I Knew the End ($3) – This is a good story, but it is rather short. I’d recommend the library for this one, but if you have $3 bucks and want it now you won’t regret it.
Blackfish City ($4) – This book is a little bonkers and that’s why I like it. Throw lots of ideas out there and see what works!
The Caledonian Gambit ($2) – Sure, Dan is a friend but this book is good! And to prove it I’ll let you know that whilst I’ve purchased all of Dan’s books this is the only one I’ve read. Why? I dunno! I really liked this one but there are, like, so many books to read, man. Get off my back! And while you’re getting off my back buy Dan’s book. You’ll like it.
Bridge ($3) – Beukes has a way of writing high concept thrillers that feel very grounded (in the best way). Plus she’s a great writer.
And that’s the list! Buy them all (or borrow them from the library).
We recently found out that Sammy has strep throat. While at the doc’s they ran a panel of tests and McNultys like to pass tests! Seems Sammy’s lungs didn’t want to impact the curve, so they contributed walking pneumonia to the party.
Declan has just started coughing, so that’s fun! He has an appointment for the doctor tomorrow. Who knows what is lurking inside of him!
Halloween is next week, but Rittenhouse Row hosted their annual “Trick or Treat Trail” today.
You go store to participating store and the kids get candy and other goodies (depending on the store). We’ve done for the lastfew years and it is good fun. It helps make our part of the city feel like a neighborhood.
The only complaint I have is this year Rittenhouse Row only provided an alphabetical list of participating stores. A map or a list broken out by street would have been much more helpful.
That minor issue aside a good time was had by all. The boys got a good haul (including Vans stickers and a cookie from Chip City) and it afforded Marisa and I the opportunity (and reason) to visit several stores we’ve passed numerous times but never thought to pop into.
It was also pretty fun because we are still practicing more COVID precautions than most, but given COVID levels are low in our area, we all had COVID a few months ago, and the stores were empty and our visits were brief so we didn’t mask. I haven’t been maskless in as many stores as I visited today in years!
Framebridge, a framing business I’d never heard of, was celebrating their opening at the same time and cleverly decided to lure us in with candy. Then the shop clerk said, “we have a portrait artist doing watercolors if you’d be interested!” And we were (see the image above).
It came out great! Though for some reason I thought it would take 2 minutes. It took a bit longer, but the boys were very patient and the artist did an amazing job in not a lot of time (she said she did it very quickly for us).
Amazon has announced a stack of new Kindles today, and that’s always fun for me! I’ve been a Kindle fan since the very first weird Kindle (I still kind of miss the shape of that Kindle. It was odd, but it felt good to hold!).
There was a time, not so long ago, when I would buy whatever new Kindle was announced and be done with it. However, Amazon no longer offers just one Kindle but rather there’s a whole family of Kindles. And there’s a new family on the Kindle block today. Which means I’m not just going to buy them all. But will I be buying any of them?
I am not a child. I will not be purchasing one of these.
Also, my children can’t read so they don’t need one. I suppose the 6 months of Amazon Kids+ is nice, as is the 2 year worry free coverage. Overall, if you have a kid who likes to read this might be a good device for them. Though, I’d say get them a library card first (if you’re within an easy trip to the library, of course!).
This is the cheap Kindle ($110) but I have to say I really like the look of the green one. Oh, sorry, I mean “matcha.”
That being said, I won’t be getting one of these. The screen is just as good as any of the others but it isn’t flush which means stuff gets caught in the rim there and that’s gross. Plus having the display flush just looks nicer and makes it easier to tap.
Speaking of colors, if you pay more you can get the same colors in “metallic.” You also get wireless charging, auto-adjusting front light, and more storage (though why anyone would need that I don’t know).
If you can afford it and want a Paperwhite, why not get this one?
Oh, more colors! I like the look of that green on the new Kindle Scribe. And I really do love my Kindle Scribe. It is the best Kindle I’ve ever used, so when I saw there was a new version I was totally ready to buy one.
But I’m not going to for a few reasons:
The screen is the same as my current Scribe
The only physical changes are the “uniform edge” and a more paper-like texture
Plus a bunch of neat notetaking software updates
I only use my Scribe to read, so the notetaking stuff doesn’t matter to me. I’m skipping this version.
After looking over the new Kindle lineup I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to get one. The most interesting one, the Colorsoft, pretty much just adds color to the Kindle. Most of the reading I do doesn’t require color and so I never really saw the need.
A funny thing happened: I ordered one. This is probably the biggest change in the Kindle in a long time, so I couldn’t resist. Plus, Amazon is a very clever company. If I traded in an old Kindle Fire (of which I have many) they’d knock 20% off the price AND give me a $5 gift card. I buckled.
I’ve been trying to find a way to automate creating this list of books, and failing. However, I have turned to ChatGPT, which did a very good job formatting this list that I copied from Goodreads. I’m still not a huge fan of AI (which isn’t really AI but that’s another story), but I can admit that the tech is useful from time to time (here’s hoping they make it much more power efficient).
As an upshot, I’ve included the date that I finished reading each book. Why? Why not! The date isn’t 100% accurate, but it doesn’t really matter.
Onto the books:
I’m Afraid You’ve Got Dragons by Peter S. Beagle ★★★★★ (Read on Sep 04, 2024) – I really enjoyed this story about a dragon slayer (but not in the way you think) who helps a prince (who would really rather not) win the heart of a princess (who doesn’t really need either of them).
The Old Fox Deceiv’d (Richard Jury, #2) by Martha Grimes ★★★★☆ (Read on Sep 08, 2024) – Melrose Plant is the star of this series for me, despite not being the actual star of the series. A very satisfying entry.
The Mercy of Gods (The Captive’s War, #1) by James S.A. Corey ★★★★★ (Read on Sep 13, 2024) – I stopped reading the Expanse Series at some point, not out of lack of interest but I just sort of lost track of it. This book starts a new series and I think it is way better than any of the Expanse books I’ve read (and I liked them!).
The Devil (Jack Taylor, #8) by Ken Bruen ★★★★★ (Read on Sep 15, 2024) – We all know I’m a sucker for the Jack Taylor books. And it is clear that Bruen wants to play with the format. I mean, one of the characters in this book is the actual Devil. And he makes Jack’s life even worse… which is impressive even for the Devil.
The Noh Mask Murder by Akimitsu Takagi ★★☆☆☆ (Read on Sep 15, 2024) – I’m not an expert on Japanese mysteries, but I’ve read a few. This one didn’t work for me. I knew going into it that the book would mostly be a puzzle (locked room murder and all that), but I found it to be pretty boring.
The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore by Evan Friss ★★★★☆ (Read on Sep 23, 2024) – A book about bookstores? Could I be more of a cliche? That being said, this is a very good book if you like bookstores (if you don’t like bookstores what is wrong with you?). The most interesting thing I learned from the book was that bookstores from the very start were always looking for ways to make more money since the book biz isn’t very lucrative (though I still kind of want to open a bookstore).
Headstone (Jack Taylor, #9) by Ken Bruen ★★★★☆ (Read on Sep 25, 2024) – So many bad things happen to Jack Taylor. This book starts off with him having met a lovely lady and I knew that nothing good to come from that (and it sure as heck didn’t).
The Anodyne Necklace by Martha Grimes ★★★★☆ (Read on Sep 30, 2024) – I still have trouble figuring out when these books are set. Sure, I could look it up but that’s no fun. This book features maps of a very particular kind which I was 100% certain weren’t what I thought they were… and they totally turned out to be what I thought they were (the reveal was a delightful surprise and I don’t want to ruin it for you if you want to read it).
We have applied some modern medicine and after another (smaller) exodus from Declan’s stomach things are looking up!
And Sammy enjoyed the walk to Walgreens with me (when you have kids I recommend vacationing near pharmacies).
Sammy did suggest they should knock the next door house down and build a 100 story Walgreens there so we would have a shorter walk. Not sure the Ventor City Council would agree.
Also, I’ve decided to try blogging regularly again. Which, as anyone with a blog knows, is why you have a blog: to feel guilty about not writing enough for it.
Apparently, my mind could not hold more than one extreme weather event at a time. So I write this from a hotel that could experience loss of electricity, high winds and flooding when Helene arrives. But to drive further would be dangerous, so I’m hunkering down, the window for decision making closed. I wonder sometimes if I should go back to Florida at all, which may feel like betrayal but also a relief.
