Tag / Amazon

by admin

Fitbit Week 1

Week1_FB

With the GlobalFit program now officially shut down, it was time to start a new fitness program.  I ordered the Fitbit Charge the previous Saturday and the good folks at Amazon delivered it on Wednesday.  I managed to get in a whopping 19 steps after setting it up Wednesday night.

Thursday and Friday both came in over 6000 steps, thanks to trips to North Plaza for afternoon coffee.  Saturday even managed to break 5000 steps, due to trips to 2 grocery stores.

My initial feelings are that the Fitbit is a tad bit more generous than the GlobalFit tracker.  Breaking 5000 steps on Saturday was a little suspect, but I also deviated from my normal activities as well.

Weekly total: 18,510

Daily average: 6170

by admin

Book 1 (of 52) – Slaughterhouse-Five

Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut

Slaughterhouse-Five – Kurt Vonnegut

As 2014 was winding down, Amazon had a sale that offered the eBook version of Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five for $1.99.  Having never read any of Vonnegut’s work, and wanting to be able to check him off on those click surveys of important books that you’ve read, I pulled the trigger and made this my first choice of the new year.

For those who haven’t read it, the book is about Billy Pilgrim, an optometrist from upstate New York who believes he is unstuck in time and has been abducted by aliens from the planet Tralfamadore.  Throughout the book, he jumps from timeframe to timeframe, mostly during World War II and the fire bombing of Dresden where he, like Vonnegut, was held as a prisoner of war.

While this is considered one of the best American novels of the 20th century, I can’t say that I would hold it in such great accord.  While I certainly enjoyed it, and can now say that I have read Vonnegut, it wasn’t the be all and end all.  Maybe my tastes just aren’t refined enough.

by admin

Book 21 (of 52) – Yes Please

Yes Please - Amy Poehler

Yes Please – Amy Poehler

Amy Poehler becomes the latest in the recent trend of memoirs from female comedians with Yes Please, a collections of stories about her life and essays imparting some of the life lessons she has picked up along the way.  I have a weird relationship with Poehler, in that I usually enjoy her work, but I don’t normally go out of my way to see any of it.  For example, despite critical acclaim, I have not seen any episodes of Parks and Recreation beyond the pilot.  Following that, I initially had no plans to pick up this book.  Thankfully, events conspired to change my mind.

Around Black Friday, and possibly on Black Friday, Amazon had a deal going on for 30% off any single book.  I looked around and didn’t really see anything that was essential that I get, but, thanks to my previous interest in similar books from Tina Fey and Sarah Silverman, Amazon was suggesting that I go for Amy Poehler’s book.  With the additional discount, this brought the recently published hardcover down to about $10, so I figured why not.  If I enjoyed it half as much as I did Fey’s Bossypants, it would be well worth the cost.

And enjoy it I did.  Poehler is a little older than me, but close enough in age that we shared many of the same pop culture experiences growing up or were in a similar headspace when more current world events were going on.  Plus, she was, for a small time, part of the Chicago comedy scene that I wish I had the courage to either join or enjoy.  She tells tales of her time on SNL, being a mother and the love she has for her children, founding Upright Citizens Brigade in Chicago and moving it to New York, where it grew in to an institution, and much more.  Having finished the book, I was a little sad that I wouldn’t have Amy Poehler in my life anymore.  I wonder if Parks and Rec is streaming on Netflix?

by jim

Book 16 (of 52) – Avatar

Avatar - John Passarella

Avatar – John Passarella

When a demon tries to regain his physical being by literally sucking the life out of humans, Angel and crew need to stop him before the police and a cult trying to control him find him.  Author John Passarella takes us on another trip through the early days of Angel’s adventures in LA, prior to Doyle’s untimely death in the 9th episode of season 1.

Finishing this book was somewhat bittersweet, as it was the last Angel novel left in my drawer of unread books.  It looks like there are some more out there in the world, but I don’t know if the expense is worth tracking them down.  Plus, I should be getting a replenishment of said drawer sometime soon, if I get some of the books on my Amazon Wishlist for my birthday.

 

by admin

Book 11 (of 52) – Exploiting My Baby

Exploiting My Baby - Teresa Strasser

Exploiting My Baby – Teresa Strasser

After having gone the past 5 years without reading any of the books written by the cast of the Adam Carolla podcast, I’ve now gone through 3 in a row, the most recent being former sidekick Teresa Strasser’s pregnancy memoir Exploiting My Baby.  Like the others, I had no intention of reading this book, which was released 3 years ago, until Strasser tweeted that Amazon had the book on sale for the low, low price of $1.67.  At that price point, I will probably buy just about anything, so I figured why not give this whole pregnancy thing a whirl.

At the advanced age of 39, Strasser and her husband decided to try and have a baby and, surprisingly (to them), they conceived within two months, setting off an adventure of worry, worry, and, just for good measure, a little worry.  Despite convincing herself that she would miscarry, be a horrible mother, and was undeserving of a baby, she successfully navigated her way through pregnancy, eventually giving birth to a son.  The book covers the many problems she faced, many of which were simply imagined, and how she faced her fears despite herself.

This should be the end of my Carolla-related reading for the time being, unless I stumble across a good deal for Adam’s first two books or Teresa’s replacement, Alison Rosen, decides to put out something.

by jim

Book 10 (of 52) – Eyes Wide Open

Eyes Wide Open - Andrew Gross

Eyes Wide Open – Andrew Gross

I had never heard of Andrew Gross before reading this book, which I must have picked up for free on Amazon Kindle.  He apparently had done some co-writing with James Patterson before eventually striking out on his own.  This tale, based partially on his own nephew’s death, was somewhat enjoyable and did manage to catch my interest, despite some flaws.

Gross weaves together a story about a young teen who allegedly committed suicide, the uncle who wouldn’t accept the official version of the story, and the ties to a murdering cult leader that seemed an awful lot like Charles Manson.  For the most part, the story was engaging, but there were a few leaps of faith required to make the story keep going.

To be honest, I’m not sure if I would ever search out another entry from Andrew Gross, but, if another special were to pop up like that one that landed this tome in my digital library, I could probably be compelled to give it a shot.

by admin

Book 6 (of 52) – Horns: A Novel

Horns: A Novel - Joe Hill

Horns: A Novel – Joe Hill

While reading other people’s lists of books they’ve read in this elusive challenge, I kept coming across the name Joe Hill, who just so happens to be the middle son of Stephen King.  When Amazon had a special on the Kindle-edition of this, his second novel, for $1.99, I figured what better time to see if the apple had fallen far from the tree.  I must admit that, at first, I wasn’t really feeling it with this book, but eventually I was drawn in and liked it enough to pick up Hill’s first novel when it was available for the low, low price of $1.99.

Horns: A Novel tells the tale of Ig Perrish, who, a year after being blamed for the rape and murder of his girlfriend Merrin Williams, awakes one morning to find a devil’s horns growing out his head and diabolical powers at his command.  He uses those powers to find out who is truly responsible for Merrin’s death and to gain vengeance for it.

Hill’s style, at least the one he used for this book, took a while for me to get in to.  Once I did, though, I ripped through the book, finishing the last half of it in the past 2 days.  I’m looking forward to reading more of his work, with his first novel waiting in my Kindle app and his latest due out next month.

by admin

52 Books in 52 Weeks – 2013 Edition

It’s hard to believe, but it is time to start year four of the goal to read a book a week for the entire year, totaling 52 books in 52 weeks.  In year one, I only made it to 8 books.  Year two doubled that total.  Last year, thanks to the inclusion of graphic novels, I managed to improve again, finishing with 24, which was still short of the ultimate goal.  Judging by my totals thus far, I’m predicting 32 books for this year, since I seem to be going up by 8 every year.

I’m going to give it another shot this year.  I got a few new books for laying around, so I’ve got a pile to start with.  As a reminder, the rules I am using are:

  • You can count a book as read as long as you have completed the book in 2012 and at least 50% of that reading takes place in 2012
  • Any book counts as long as you’re not embarrassed to count it.
  • Poetry collections do indeed count.
  • Re-reading a book is okay as long as it isn’t done this year. (Reading Twilight twice in 2010 only counts as 1 read)
  • Audiobooks also count.

Thanks to my new iPad and the Kindle app, eBooks will be part of the equation this year, and my first book of the year may end up being the Screech autobiography by Dustin Diamond that I picked up electronically for $0.99.  There is also a new Brad Meltzer novel coming out in a few weeks that I’d like to get my hands on.