Kindle, Kindle Burning Bright

       When all it does is rain and there's nothing on TV but reruns, that's a good time to read.  When you haven't exerted yourself all day because you were lounging around reading, you might have trouble dropping off to sleep at night.  That's also a good time to read.  Ah, heck, it's always a good time to read.  When you have a Kindle in your purse or back pocket, you can take advantage of all those little opportunities to plow through a few more pages - waiting at the dentist's office, standing in a really long line at the store, or chillin' at the DMV.
     Here are the mini-reviews of my latest reads -

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell -  A book about the adaptive unconscious; how we make decisions, pass judgement, and read what other people's minds are thinking based on very little information.  Going with your first impression works most of the time, but take heed as the author explains some of the times that going on autopilot lead to disastrous consequences.

What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures also by Malcolm Gladwell -  A collection of Gladwell's articles written for The New Yorker.  My favorite was the one about Ron Popeil.

The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry by Jon Ronson -  Who's crazier at the institute?  The patients or their doctors?  Is someone sane, crazy, or just a little eccentric?  What about conspiracy theorists and Scientologists?  Jon Ronson also wrote The Men Who Stare at Goats.  

When You are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris -  This is the third book by Sedaris that I have read.  I just love what he has to say.  The book gets its title from Sedaris' successful last attempt to quit smoking.

The Invisible Woman: The Story of Nelly Ternan and Charles Dickens by Claire Tomalin -  Nelly Ternan was Dickens' mistress.  Their lives and times are interesting, but what I found most thought provoking was all the lying, denial, revisionist thinking, and anguish.

The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss -  A book about Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, the bi-racial French General who served during the French Revolution.  This book was a slow read.  I gave up about half way through.

Sh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern - Funny stuff.  Halpern started a Twitter feed to record his father's off colored pearls of wisdom.  It caught on and became a book.  It was also the basis for a TV show starring William Shatner.

Everything is Perfect When You Are a Liar by Kelly Oxford - A collection of the many lies told by this Canadian housewife.  She used her lies, her sense of humor, her writing skills, and (you guessed it) Twitter to become a success in Hollywood.

Elsewhere: A Memoir by Richard Russo - Richard Russo is a writer and a teacher.  One of his other books, Nobody's Fool, was made into a movie starring Paul Newman.  Elsewhere is about Russo's relationship with his obsessive-compulsive mother.  Richard Russo might be the world's best son, and his wife is deserving of sainthood.

     I read just one work of fiction, The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon, the fourteenth installment in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series written by Alexander McCall Smith.  It was as delightful as the other thirteen books in the series.