Retirement and Relocation

I don't know if anyone reads this blog anymore, but just in case...

I retired from UH at the end of May and have moved to Missouri to be near my dad. I still have my same phone number (unchanged since 1999!) and email address, though now that I don't have to be on the computer every day I don't check it often, so please be patient. My retirement plan is to read all the books I've been collecting over the decades.  

Some who know me will be surprised that I have moved away from the islands. Hawaiʻi is special and beautiful and will always hold a place in my heart for the great life and friends - and pension! - it provided me. It is also expensive and very far away from everywhere else and getting warmer - with fewer tradewinds - every year.

I've found a nice house and there is an awesome community center in town with multiple pools (and a hot tub!), indoor walking track, and weight / equipment room. 

I'm looking forward to this new chapter!

Book Review: Lone Wolf by Gregg Hurwitz

Disclaimer: I received an advance digital copy of this title thru NetGalley.

This is another favorite series, flawed for me only by the fact that I don’t like the narrator for the audio versions (I know others really do, but I just don’t). While my favorite book is still “Let’s Kill POTUS” (Out of the Dark, book 4) this latest shows the most growth of Evan’s character. I recently saw a short video of Gregg Hurwitz talking about how he was originally going to kill Joey at, I believe, the end of book 3 where she was introduced and I just can’t help but believe that this series would have not been as enjoyable if that had happened, so I’m immensely glad that Joey was allowed to live, thrive, and impact Evan so positively and sassily.

Evan’s relationships with everyone around him seems to grow exponentially in Lone Wolf and it was both touching and hilarious to watch Evan go through all that he does.  It’s been highly entertaining following these missions of Orphan X and meeting the expanding circle of his associates.

While this time I did catch the earlier clue (I don’t always) about the revelation in the last sentence so it wasn’t a surprise to me, I can’t wait to see how it plays out in the next installment.

Book Review: System Collapse by Martha Wells

Disclaimer: I received an advance digital copy of this title thru NetGalley.

I love the Murderbot Diaries! I have all of them as both ebooks and audiobooks and pre-ordered the audio version of System Collapse before I even got to read the advance copy. This is one of the series I re-listen to as a companion when doing chores or running errands or when I feel like I can’t concentrate on something new: it’s the equivalent of comfort food. I can relate so much with SecUnit: I’m awkward around people, even in regular situations; experience anxiety about things other people treat as normal; have my favorite books and favorite movies and favorite episodes of my favorite serials that I re-read and re-watch repeatedly, again, partly as comfort, partly because they’re just really that good.

That being said, System Collapse isn’t my favorite installment in the series. I read it twice to make sure and while there are some interesting things that happen - especially how SecUnit proposes to get a message to the colonists - and while, as with all the Diaries, there are quotes that crack me up and quotes that highlight societal quirks and quotes that hit home emotionally, it just seemed to me like not a lot happens in this one, especially when compared with Network Effect, which was jam-packed with stuff happening.

I’m still a fan and will continue reading the series because SecUnit and those around it are wonderful characters whom I have grown to care about. Yes, I know I care about fictional characters maybe a little too much, but I'm comfortable with that.

Book Review of The Liberating Arts: Why We Need Liberal Arts Education

 Disclaimer: I received an advance digital copy of this title thru NetGalley.

A bit about me: I am a librarian at a state university which requires students to take courses outside their major (“general education”) so they have a wider range of experiences. I have a bachelor’s and two master’s degrees and am a firm believer in lifelong learning.

It would be great if the people who really need to read this book, The Liberating Arts, would do so and actually consider the arguments put forth, but unfortunately the people who most need to be exposed to the messages in these essays have probably already made up their minds and aren’t open to changing them.

The essay by Rachel B. Griffis titled “Forming Better Professionals and Leaders” in Chapter 8 (“Aren’t Liberal Arts Degrees Unmarketable?”) is one that anyone who even thinks about higher education should be required to read. Even as a naive undergraduate back in the late 1980s I knew that college should be about education and being prepared to adapt to changes, not simply about getting a high-paying job.

I enjoyed, and learned from, most of the essays in this book and will be purchasing a copy for my library. Other passages I highlighted were in essays titled: “Amid the Ruins”, “A History of Liberation” (also examining the idea of education being about more than future financial security), “An Expansive Collection”, “Science as a Human Tradition”, “Why Engineers Need the Liberal Arts”, “Why Liberal Arts Matter in Hiring”, and “Liberating the Least of These”.

Book Review: Starter Villain by John Scalzi

Starter Villain by John Scalzi

Disclaimer: I received an advance digital copy of this title thru NetGalley.

I must confess that I didn’t read Kaiju Preservation Society as neither the premise nor beginning grabbed me. But this one I was interested in immediately: a snappy title and a cat dressed in a suit and tie? Count me in! And Starter Villain did not disappoint, delivering what I consider to be Classic Scalzi: fun, funny, (yes, those are separate qualities) snarky, quirky, fast-paced, with timely topical references, some pauses for thought, and plenty of passages to highlight (I love both Scalzi’s fiction and blog writing). Oh, and, of course, one character who says “F*ck” more than even I’m comfortable with (and I cuss more than anyone I know personally), although which character has the potty mouth may surprise you…

Export Kindle Titles into Excel

I have been typing this query into Google every so often for years now, and I finally found not just one, but two! methods for exporting a list of Kindle titles into Excel and I can confirm that both methods work, although I recommend the first, even though it takes longer. 

The easier "using the cache file" method - for me, at least - resulted in some author names being listed Last Name, First Name and some First Name Last Name so not all the Laurie R. King titles were together, and two left off the R. I was having flashbacks to the early 2000s Waldenbooks database that had 17 different spellings for Shakespeare...

The most difficult part with the method that uses the Kindle Cloud Reader was scrolling all the way down to the bottom of the list and then scrolling all the way up again to copy the titles and author names. And then having to do it again after changing from All Titles to Books to avoid Samples, which didn't have an author listed, which messed up the whole process.

For the curious: 1426, although some of those are duplicate freebies, which I'll have to manually delete. But not tonight...

Review: The Last Orphan by Gregg Hurwitz

 Disclaimer: I received an advance copy of this title thru NetGalley.

I love the Orphan X series, although books 6 and 7 (Prodigal Son and Dark Horse respectively) made me wonder if I would keep reading the new ones. But I am so happy that The Last Orphan (book 8) squashed that notion pretty damn quick: it grabbed me right away (well, after the Prologue) and kept me on the edge of my seat just like the early ones.

If you haven’t read any of these, start now with Book 1 and get ready to root for Evan Smoak, who may have been trained as an assassin but who was lucky enough to have a mentor who ingrained him with a strong code of ethics. Evan fled the black ops program that shaped him and now uses his skills to help those in trouble who need someone who can think quickly and creatively and act decisively to give the bad guys the punishment they’ve earned.

In Last Orphan when Evan tells Tommy, “I’m there…In the hurt.” I realized that Evan has a bit in common with another character I love, Martha Wells’ Murderbot. They’re both socially awkward, but dedicated to doing what they believe is right.

I’ve been fortunate to find several series that I enjoy re-reading and often find some new appreciation for the stories even the second or third (or eighth) time through. Orphan X is now one of those series. And book 8 has convinced me to give books 6 and 7 another chance…

As with most series, you technically won’t miss anything by not reading the short stories, but if you become an Orphan X fan, you won’t go wrong by tracking them down. I had to borrow them electronically from my public library - I’m hoping someday there will be more and they will be gathered together as a single volume.

Series Order: Orphan X

 

    Buy a Bullet (short)

Orphan X

Nowhere Man

Hellbent

    Intern (short)

Out of the Dark

Into the Fire

    List (short)

Prodigal Son

Dark Horse

Last Orphan

Series Order: Murderbot Diaries

    "The Future of Work: Compulsory"

All Systems Red

Artificial Condition

Rogue Protocol

Exit Strategy

    "Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory"

Fugitive Telemetry

Network Effect

Series Order: Dresden Files

 

Fistful of Warlocks (BC)

Restoration of Faith (SJ)

Welcome to the Jungle (GN)

Storm Front

Fool Moon

    B is for Bigfoot (BC)

Grave Peril

Summer Knight

Death Masks

    Vignette, a.k.a. Pub. and Adv. (SJ)

Blood Rights

    Something Borrowed (SJ)

Dead Beat

    Teenage Bigfoot (BC)

Proven Guilty

    AAAA Wizardry (BC)

White Night

    It’s My Birthday, Too (SJ)

    Heorot (SJ)

Small Favor

    Day Off (SJ)

    Backup (SJ) - POV: Thomas

    Warrior (SJ)

    Last Call (SJ)

    Curses (BC)

Turn Coat

    Love Hurts (SJ)

    Bigfoot on Campus (BC)

    Even Hand (BC) - POV: Marcone

Changes

    Aftermath (SJ) - POV: Murphy

Ghost Story

    Bombshells (BC) - POV: Molly

Cold Days

    Cold Case (BC)

Skin Game

    Jury Duty (BC)

    Zoo Day (BC)

    Day One (BC)

Peace Talks

Battle Ground

    Law

Series Order: Mary Russell

 

Mary's Christmas - ????

    Mary Russell’s War: 1914 - 1915

The Beekeeper's Apprentice (1994): 1915 - 1919

    Beekeeping for Beginners: Spring 1915

    Mrs. Hudson’s Case: Oct. 1918

A Monstrous Regiment of Women (1995): Dec. 1920 - Feb. 1921

    The Marriage of Mary Russell: Feb. 1921

    A Venomous Death: 1923

A Letter of Mary (1997): Aug. - Sept. 1923

The Moor (1998): Sept. - Nov. 1923

O Jerusalem (1999): Dec. 1918 - Feb. 1919 

Justice Hall (2002): Nov.-Dec. 1923

The Game (2004): Jan.-Mar. 1924

Locked Rooms (2005): 1906, 1914, May - June 1924

    The Marriage of Billie Birdsong: June 1924

The Language of Bees (2009): Aug. 1924

The God of the Hive (2010): Aug. - Sept. 1924

Pirate King (2011): Nov. 1924

Garment of Shadows (2012): Dec. 1924 - Jan. 1925

Dreaming Spies (2015): Spring 1924, Spring 1925

The Murder of Mary Russell (2016): 1855 - 1881, May 1925

Island of the Mad (2018): June 1925

Riviera Gold (2020): Summer 1925

Castle Shade (2021): Summer 1925

    Stately Holmes: Dec. 1925

Grave Reservations

I finally finished Grave Reservations by Cherie Priest. Not 'finally' as in "this was a slog and I had to force myself to finish" but 'finally' as in I made myself stop every so often and wait a day or two before continuing because I didn't want it to end! It was a super fun read which I enjoyed as much as Bloodshot and Hellbent. I hope that she can take this new Booking Agents series as far as she wants, unlike the Cheshire Red Reports, which should have been a trilogy...

Deodorant Dilemma Dispatched

When I take a shower, I want to be squeaky clean from head to foot. But no matter how hard I scrubbed (Ow!) or what soap I used, it always felt like there was still some deodorant remnant left. Then I read about aluminum-free deodorants and thought, "Aha! That must be the answer!" And while it was better, it still wasn't the cleanliness level I wanted. So I went on the hunt again and found Hey Humans. I was skeptical because the ingredients are so unusual and it was a really low price, but I am glad I took a chance! In this case, "you get what you pay for" turned out to be "you get more than what you pay for." I notice when I don't apply this deodorant  (working around the house), but don't notice it when I wear it, which means it is doing its job well. Now when I shower I don't have to rub my pits raw trying to dislodge the deodorant - regular washing and I'm done! And I find that I don't have to rub on much to have great odor protection all day.

Two arms held high with upraised thumbs for Hey Humans Deodorant! Now I'm headed back to Target to see what other products are available...

Athena Scalzi - Like Father, Like Daughter

Athena Scalzi seems to have inherited some of her father's ability to write exactly what I'm thinking. Her post about being overweight is a masterpiece.