The Cozy Mystery List Blog

I have been busy trying to bring some order to my husband’s audible.com mystery book queue. He cannot seem to keep his list of books in the correct order. When he finishes listening to a Colin Dexter mystery and is ready to listen to his next Reginald Hill mystery, he usually comes to me and complains that he doesn’t know which book is the next in his sequence. 

Don’t get me wrong! He uses my site to see the correct chronological order, he just doesn’t annotate anything…anywhere… there is no method to his madness! It would really drive me crazy to be that (should I say?) unorganized.

If I didn’t keep a written log of the books I listen to, I would probably end up listening to the same books over and over… not catching on until the last half of the mystery book >>> “Hey, that sounds like a very familiar plot!” This would probably happen right as started listening to the fourth hour of an eight hour mystery book. 

So, I am printing lists of his favorite authors’ books so that he won’t be quite so confused when it comes to picking his next book. I know that this method (the same method I use for myself) will work, since I will be the one who will mark off the books as he reads them.

Man, Oh Man! (That should be your clue that this is another “rant & rave” entry…)

A few years ago, we got a brand new local post office for our area of town. It has been a real treat to have! It is absolutely unbelievable how long the waiting lines are on regular, non-holiday times of the year. The main counter has four windows that are supposed to be open for business. I have NEVER seen all four of those windows open!

I think that it’s sort of weird that we have this new state of the art post office right at the same time that the post office is having to cut down on the amount of employees. I guess that the work model the USPS used was the old “if you build more, they will come…” Unfortunately, with Fed Ex and UPS giving the USPS a run for their money by providing a consumer choice thrown into the business of sending things in the mail, it seems like all of these new state of the art buildings aren’t quite what the USPS should have been counting on to increase their revenue. It seems a shame that they have to lay off employees, but at the same time have (recently) built these beautiful facilities!

(Can you tell that I was NOT a business major in college… or an economics whiz, either?!?)

The point of this rather long entry is this: I just finished writing my Christmas letter to send out, and rather than go spend close to (at least!) a half hour in line trying to listen to my audio book, surrounded by people complaining (rather loudly!) about standing in the line, I just purchased my holiday stamps from the USPS website. Yippee for me! I feel like now I can devote my time to… cleaning bathrooms (a task which I look forward to just as eagerly as standing in the post office line!) (I did have to pay an extra dollar for the USPS to ship the 44¢ stamps to me, but I figure my time is worth that…)

Oh, and the reason I know about the long lines at the post office is that I have sent several boxes to my daughter at school. Lucky for me, I choose to use the “Click & Ship” option online… which I absolutely love. Whenever I have a box to send, I  just whip up to the front of the line and place my box in one of the empty three windows. It seems a shame that the USPS can only afford to man one of the four windows at the post office, but it does make it convenient for those of us who use the “Click and Ship” method of  mailing.

And, as an extra bonus for me, I usually get a great feeling of accomplishment when I simply go to “the head of the class,” drop off my pre-paid, pre-labeled box, and continue with my day… (I think it’s called a “simple pleasure” of life…)

What a SHAME! I am so disappointed The Bonnie Hunt Show has been cancelled. I do not watch talk shows… any of them… except this show. I always feel good after watching it…

I just don’t get it!

I guess the ratings show that viewers would rather see shows that are titillating. I know that when Bonnie Hunt interviews her guests, she doesn’t use her talk show seat as a reason to be rude to her guests… She doesn’t let the guest know that she doesn’t agree with his/her politics or choices in life. (I really don’t know whether Bonnie votes Democratic, Republican, or simply votes for who she thinks is the best, qualified person for the job, rather than “straight ticket.” Lucky for me, since I don’t want to know what political party a talk show host believes in! I’ll watch a political forum/show with politically educated/informed people when I want that!)

What I do know about her (no, I’m not a personal friend! >>> this is based upon my daily taping of her show) is that her talk show places an emphasis on being kind to all people, giving people the benefit of the doubt, and she clearly sees just how wonderful, fun, and therapeutic both children and animals are.

I am a devoted fan of her show, and from its beginning, I wondered if it would make it… The major channels in my area do not (I guess that should by “did not”…) air The Bonnie Hunt Show. In our area, she is on a channel that I am completely unfamiliar with.  The major networks in the San Antonio area opt to show extended hours of the national day-talk shows… I think that The Today Show gets four hours of network time every weekday.

And, don’t even get me started on dancing, singing, travelling, or scripted reality shows… with or without “stars”… I was way too spoiled by variety shows (with the dancing and singing included) like The Carol Burnett Show to enjoy the current fare!

The Bonny Hunt Show is simply …  “kind spirited” … and very funny. Bonnie has an incredibly quick wit… She is always on her toes… And, if you have seen Alice (her mother) on the show, it is easy to see where Bonnie gets her quick sense of humor!

It says something about our society when a “Feel-Good” show like this doesn’t make it. But, since Bonnie Hunt appears to be one of the rare people in Hollywood who keeps her friends close… perhaps we will see ALL of them in another format… hopefully soon. (She reportedly works with the same crew in all of her projects.)

The Bonnie Hunt Show will be missed! But the good news is: It looks like reality “star” Kate Gosselin might just be on a new The View-type of panel talk show, which will be replacing The Bonnie Hunt Show… And, if you’re anything like me, you are probably sitting on pins and needles with anticipation of getting “parenting and life-choice tips and talk” from Kate, and perhaps her nannies. (Yikes, I’m bad!)

So, I will end this entry the same way I started it: What a SHAME!

PS >>> I guess I should have mentioned that this isn’t mystery book related, just another one of my rants!