My husband sometimes chuckles at my book-buying style. I want to go to an actual bookstore and wander through the shelves, picking up this one and that one, adding this one to my pile of purchases and returning that one to the shelf. I want to talk to the clerks and see what they're reading. I often strike up conversations with other browsers about whether such-and-such an author's latest book is a good one or lesser. I don't often buy books second-hand, and I don't sell them once I've...

Two incidents this week in which I conquered technological problems.

Incident One: I switched streaming services. The new one said there was a channel guide, but there wasn't. After running around the website in circles for an hour, I got online and started a chat. The tech said try this. Now try this. Now send me a screenshot. As I did, I felt my blood pressure rising. I know I'm not stupid, but I felt stupid and frustrated and angry. Telling myself it wasn't the tech's fault, I typed a...

Yes, I'm stealing lines from Shakespeare to get your attention, but for authors, the question is real. Every book needs a title, and it's sometimes hard to generate one that's both descriptive and alluring. I probably will never pick up a book that has words like rotting or frenzy in the title, though I know people who love that sort of thing. I also avoid mysteries with too-cute titles, usually puns stretched beyond what my English teacher brain can bear. Murder mystery titles should evoke...