Still Gushing

about my clever new device, that is!

I've been downloading sample chapters of books on my Amazon wish list.  Free!  Of course, the books that I'd be most likely to actually buy, the ones that have been out long enough that you can buy them for 1 cent (I only just noticed that there is no "cent" symbol on my keyboard!) plus shipping, don't have free chapters, but the sort of book that I might ask for as a birthday or Christmas present often do. And now I can try these out and see if I actually would like them.  For instance, St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves has an intriguing title but turned out to be, not to put too fine a point on it, really icky.  The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction, on the other hand, seemed quite good.  Maybe a little too similar to some books by Michael Dirda I've read lately to want to read it right away, but a good choice for next year.  Next up as samples I have The Quiche of Death, Jesus Wars, A Short History of Nearly Everything, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, The Idea of America, and The Ladies of Grace Adieu,.  This is better than having a good bookstore (or library, given my bad library book habits!) nearby, and out of all that list I'm sure there will be some winners! (Not that I'm actually short on reading matter, but one likes to be prepared!)  Who knows?  Maybe our little library will even have a few (ha ha!).