Month: September 2019

My Amazon Prime experiment lasted barely two weeks. The one order I placed during that time is still days away from arriving. Upon placing a second order and seeing the expected delivery date I broke down and signed up again. I need to find another way to check my Amazon consumption while still being able to get things I need in a reasonable timeframe.

📚 Finished reading: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith, ISBN: 9781594744495

Clever idea. I’m glad they sold a zillion copies of this book. I didn’t like it as much as the original. Most of the additions/modifications matched the original style and tone very well, with the notable exception of all the added sexual innuendo (too many jokes about “balls”). I’m glad this book exists.

I checked out the Audiobook on CDs from public library, converted to mp3, and listened in Overcast.

This appears to be a case where real world data didn’t really line up with what the programmers expected. And so I get shamed for only running 9 miles a day.

📚 Finished reading: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, ISBN: 9781853260001

Wow. I’ve never enjoyed a book so much I assumed I would find so incredibly boring. I doubt I could have gotten through it by reading, but in audiobook form (which I got free on Apple Books) it was fantastic.

I just canceled my Amazon Prime membership, hoping that will dissuade me from buying as much junk. I had to confirm the membership cancelation 4 times before it took effect. At least I didn’t have to do it over the phone…

📚 Well, that was most of the books I’ve read in the last 2-3 weeks. I cut back a bit on the podcasts I listen to, which freed up some listening time for audiobooks. I’ve been enjoying this.

📚 Finished reading: Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam, ISBN: 9780385333214

How could I not love non-fiction about winning the national science fair by blowing shit up? We watched October Sky many years ago. Apparently I liked it enough my wife bought me this (hardcover) book that was the basis for the movie. I never read it. A couple years ago I donated it to the public library. I came across the audiobook on Hoopla and finally read (listened to) it. Good stuff.

📚 Finished reading: Goodbye, Things: The New Japanese Minimalism by Fumio Sasaki, ISBN: 9780393609042

This is more of a personal journey than a how-to. Mildly interesting. Short read.

Audiobook available free on Hoopla.

📚 Finished reading: Let It Go by Peter Walsh, ISBN: 9781623367800

Fine, I guess. This is clearly aimed more at people who are dealing with parents’ estates than with downsizing their own stuff. The author is far more lenient with recommendations on what to keep and what to discard, so this might appeal to some people more than others.

Available available free on Hoopla.

📚 Finished reading: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo, ISBN: 9781607747314

Not for everyone. Quick read. I wanted to like this more than I did. There are some good nuggets in here, but there’s also staggering hubris (e.g. “None of my clients have ever relapsed”… bullshit). I also could have done without all the anthropomorphising (the things and the home don’t have feelings). The nuggets can be summed up easily:

  1. Decide what to keep.

  2. Decide where to keep it.

Audiobook available for free on Hoopla.

📚 Finished reading: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, ISBN: 9780486784755

Great book, not at all what I expected based on film and TV depictions. I got the audiobook free from Apple Books a while back.