Harry Bosch...and Booxter

One reason I am not blogging as much is that I have acquired the program Booxter. I wanted to catalog (in a very simple way) my ebooks. After using Books, which is free, I have wanted to get a program that would allow simple easy listings alpha by author, title and sort for years, etc. Booxter is the one program that fills all my needs. It is well worth the fee. I paid up and have listed all my ebooks, except the contents of a large CD I have of Classics. Theses have two indices already - author and title, so I didn't see a reason to duplicate that work. The program is able to give me the simple listing I want - much in the format of an Excel printout, and if I feel the need Booxter can also take images of book jackets, get info from several online sites - AMAZON, several international library databases, and take ISBN info by scanning. So it is quite flexible. I have no need for all the information Booxter can handle, and if I wanted to catalog long lists of other books I would rather there were an LCMARC format for home use out there. I do find the NOTES field most useful; you print only the fields you want.

At the same time I have purchased a few more books, and have been immersed in the Harry Bosch series by Michael Connelly. My goodness...what a good writer Mr. Connelly is. The books follow a certain formula, as is the norm in a genre series. We are not disappointed in Harry. I like the character, I like his introverted personality and I cannot believe there hasn't been a series of movies from these books.

Another electronic toy...

I ordered a serger. I have never touched a serger. I certainly hope I can use the thing when it comes. It was a really good price (OH HOW AMAZON MAKES THINGS APPEAL), and it purports to be a handy gadget. After using sewing machines for over four decades, I just wanted a new sewing toy. Perhaps now a knit top won't be out of the question. Knits are not impossible to sew on my trusty old Pfaff 1222E, but they are always a bit of a challenge. A serger should provide fast and durable seaming with a variety of interesting fabrics. So I will update my blog audience on that development as time passes.

An Ice Cream War...

William Boyd got labeled serio-comic with "A Good Man in Africa." Why does each subsequent novel bear that label? "An Ice Cream War" is much more serio than comic I'm afraid. It is beautifully written and quite effective in branding WWI the nightmare that it was, and in pointing out the futility of colonial extensions of war. German and English colonists getting caught up in a poorly run, outstandingly heinous and barbaric slaughter are joined by Britons and American caught in African locales with African peoples and random human flotsam and jetsom whose lives become entwined, and ultimately end in sadness and agony. I took the book traveling, thinking it would provide comic relief, knowing it would be ironic, but not prepared for the wrenching sadness which is the main feeling of the book.

For serious reading, not comic, though irony plays a part, it is the cruelest irony possible.

Extraneous note: Back from North Carolina, back to summer in New England. Why is it so hot this year?

Cable musings...

We get silver tier digital television, and last night there was nothing better on than old "Seinfeld" reruns. I sat there convulsed with laughter, watching "Seinfeld" and "King of Queens." The movie package is what I prefer to watch, thus squeezing max payback out of the cable bill, and of course high-speed internet is always great, so I shouldn't complain. But lately I have seen the movies I wanted to see, and they just keep rotating around.

O.K...you're thinking I should be reading all those books I have piled up, but why is it that summer encourages sloth? I am reading. Slowly. One eBook and one hard cover. Next week, "Harry Potter 6" is coming, and I want to leave reading space for that. That's my excuse. I need to watch "Blind Date" and leave reading space for Harry.

Summer reading seems to consist of lighter fare. Right now I am finishing Robert Ludlum's "Matarese Countdown." Sequel to "Matarese Circle." It isn't as bad as most reviewers said, but then the first book was not as great as many felt it to be. I like Ludlum for light reading. His style grows on you, but he tends to not have a knack for bringing the reader up to speed when the book is a sequel. Rather cumbersome boilerplate informs you of who what and why at every turn. In the case of "The Matarese Countdown" there is also the feeling that he wrote it in installments and had feared the reader could easily forget the characters. For instance, the reader is constantly reminded of the nickname of the main character, Beowolf Agate, being a code for Brandon Alan. Sigh. Really, we had that drilled into our skulls in the first book. I don't need every page to say "Beowolf Agate...the alias for Scofield, ace agent..." or words to that effect.

Ludlum had an awkward way with the women in his books. The women seemed to be very stereotyped, no matter what their role, from agent to computer whiz to business ace, yet in a sort of a good way. Always "motherly" or "she beamed in an indulgent way," or "as women will do" sort of thing. Dated, but not insufferably so.