Relaaaax ... everything will be alright

 This book censoring and author cancelling thing is getting tiresome. It's being done by both sides of the political aisle while each hypocritically complains about the other.

I think individual communities and schools have the right to decide what is age appropriate for their youth. Beyond that, just mind your own business, read or don't read what you want, and chill out.

Per usual, I continue to boycott boycotts and think the world would be a better place if everyone adhered to my not-so-original advice of: Mind your own beeswax.

Here are a couple stories about the hypocrites among us:

Goodreaders are doing it:

As with everything else, Goodreads is being ruined by cancel culture and wokeness. It’s now a regular occurrence for authors to become the target of review-bombing campaigns, often targeting books that haven’t even been published yet. 

And so are librarians:

It is blindingly obvious that libraries, like public schools, have absolutely no interest in actually ensuring that people have access to a wide range of literature and information from various religious and ideological perspectives.

From CrimeReads.com:

 Here's a fun story about conscientious art thieves ...

Instead of an art thief, he preferred to be thought of as an art collector with a radical acquisition style.

... and book thieves.

Alois Pichler, a Catholic priest from Germany stationed in Saint Petersburg, Russia, modified his winter jacket with a special inside sack and took more than 4,000 books from the Russian Imperial Library, from 1869 to 1871, before he was finally caught and exiled to Siberia for life.

Reupping for you procrastinators or forgetful ones

  I have good news for you devotees of Bags Morton and the Bags series of novellas. The fourth installment is now available as an e-book on Amazon.

For just $1.99, basically the cost of a chicken egg, you can read "Bags of Shots." If you are a Prime member, you can download it for free. You won't be any smarter when you're done reading it, but you will have chuckled several times, rolled your eyes a couple more, and perhaps snorted once or twice.

In this one, the latest worldwide pandemic has finally reached southwest South Dakota, but Bags is largely oblivious to it. Reality hits him between the eyes, though, when his babe, Bobbi Jo, starts getting hot, and not the good kind of hot. The Tehran Fever has hit and there's no cure, except hospitalization to help with the symptoms and help patients hopefully ride out the storm. You can't be admitted until the fever hits 103 and Bags can't find a thermometer anywhere to even measure it.

While searching for one in the unlikeliest of places, FEMA trucks with medical supplies are being hijacked, and the state epidemiologist is kidnapped. That triggers a call from Bags' former boss and buddy, the governor, enlisting Bags and his unconventional (some would say illegal) methods in finding the doctor. If he can find her, Bags hopes to put her expertise to use on Bobbi Jo.

But the clock is ticking and the fever is rising.

***

Do you need to catch up or start at the beginning (not necessary, but fun):

Book #1: Bags of Bodies

Book #2: Bags of Rock

Book #3: Bags of Stone

Finished: John Sanford's 'Dark Angel'

 Dark Angel is the second book of the Letty Davenport series. She is the daughter of Lucas Davenport from Sandford's "Prey" series of books.

I wasn't blown away by the first Letty book, The Investigator, but felt this one was much better. In the first one she was more of the cliched bad-ass girl with gun. In this one her character is more well-rounded and set in the middle of the start of the Russia-Ukraine war. How Sandford got this book turned around so quickly in that relatively short timeframe is beyond me.

Letty Davenport’s days working a desk job at are behind her. Her previous actions at a gunfight in Texas — and her incredible skills with firearms—draw the attention of several branches of the US government, and make her a perfect fit for even more dangerous work. The Department of Homeland Security and the NSA have tasked her with infiltrating a hacker group, known only as Ordinary People, that is intent on wreaking havoc. Letty and her reluctant partner from the NSA pose as free-spirited programmers for hire and embark on a cross country road trip to the group’s California headquarters.

While the two work to make inroads with Ordinary People and uncover their plans, they begin to suspect that the hackers are not their only enemy. Someone within their own circle may have betrayed them, and has ulterior motives that place their mission—and their lives—in grave danger.

I gave it a 7 of 10. Amazonians liked it even better with a 4.5 of 5. Still, I prefer the Lucas Davenport or Virgil Flowers series.

** I'm a third of the way in on a novel - "Five Decembers" by James Kestrel - and it has the makings of doozy. Stay tuned.

A couple stories that made me chuckle

 This writer is flabbergasted as to Why Is Everyone Watching TV With the Subtitles On?

First off, I take issue with the word "everyone." I'm sure there is somebody out there who isn't, probably millions. None-the-less, I get what he's saying.

I seldom purposefully turn the subtitles on. Seems they're either on or not when I flip on Netflix or Prime. I will make the effort if it's some foreign movie, not even foreign language, just foreign accent. 

He makes the point that he loses all the nuances of the cinematic efforts of the movie when drawn to the words at the bottom of the screen. Seems to me, to avoid that, directors should include more nudity in their movies to draw the eyes elsewhere. Just a thought. 

I'm a problem-solver.

The other update is that we really only have a couple weeks left to let subtitles ruin our nights, as Greta Thunberg pointed out years ago that the world is ending this month. I'm guessing she's wrong and it's not the first time this girl genius has been wrong.

Despite her sparkling personality, I've never really been taken in by her charm and intellect. While I am generally an optimist, I am also a cynic and skeptic when it comes to the "experts" and the child spokespeople held up as such.

This story really does a number on correcting the experts, of which the media are not.

Finished: 'Iguana Love' by Vicki Hendricks

 Don't read it.