Agent Palmer

Have you ever found a piece of media that works so perfectly in the way it’s presented that you feel like maybe everyone else should stop trying?

Ok, so perhaps it is just me, but “Storm,” the animated short from Tim Minchin on YouTube, is what the medium should be. It’s not clickbait or the start of a rabbit hole. It is a single piece of art. But first, let me explain the animated short and we’ll get to why I feel that way.

In order to discuss paring down one’s own personal library of books, it is important to recognize two important facts, especially for the avid reader. One: there is no such thing as a complete library; and two: having too many books is a binary experience. You either have too few or too many. There is no in between.

So with that in mind, why am I writing a post about purging books? Because I found that I had too many, and so I went searching for ways to decide how to shrink my personal library.

The email subject line stated, “Kindle Notice – Devices no longer supported,” and it went to pretty much anyone with an older registered device, at least if my social networks are to be believed.

“Starting May 20, 2026 — 14 to 18 years after their initial launches — we are discontinuing support for Kindle devices released in 2012 or earlier.”

I can snack with the best of them. Movie marathons, binging television series, autumn weekends with lots of football, or a long evening gaming session all go better with lots of snacks.

If I had druthers for one specific snack, my favorite would be Andy Capp’s Salsa Fries. But as they don’t exist anymore, I will give a pass to Andy Capp’s Hot Fries and the many other kinds of chips and pretzels. But they are not a replacement for Salsa Fries.

Enough with the trilogies!

I recently read a pretty good book. But it was published at the height of publishing’s trilogy mania and while I enjoyed it, I didn’t quite enjoy it enough to continue with the trilogy. And that’s kind of a shame, because about two-thirds the way through the book, I knew there wouldn’t be any answers when I finished it.

Now, that’s not the case for all trilogies.