iPad for Seniors

iPad for Seniors

published 2016

rated 2/10: unreadably bad

The book starts with what reads like excerpts from an Apple glossy brochure. Oh gosh how terrific is this device.

The book brags about the simplicity of "instantly on". Really? Once the device times out you need to (1) tap to wake up(*) (2)rotate to get the white bar at the bottom (3)swipe up (4)fingerprint ID (5) and sometimes type a PIN.

Whatever happened to an on/off switch?

(*) Okay, I may have switched off the way that the device wants to turn on when you look at it. I don't want the bloody thing turning on just because I looked at it. I do not want to be trained like one of Pavlov's dogs.

Then the book describes functions of the Home button and the App Switcher window. It seems that the Home button has been removed since 2016.

That useful window? Open it with a double-tap of the now-missing Home button, no other explanation.

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This out-of-date information is followed by more excerpts from Apple glossies: models, memory and so on.

The book can't help that the devices have changed.

But it gets worse.

The book is full of jargon. "for Seniors" ?!

Lightning connector (is that a USB or charging cable?) SIM-card tray? widgets? Retina display screens?

Okay, there are lots of simple explanations. Unfortunately I own an iPad and I find it to be annoyingly unusable and steeped in apple-jargon. Do it the Apple way or... forget it. Apple does it *this* way -- with no explanation.

So I don't like the device. Telling me how simple it is... is not going to work. Repeating text from glossies... helps even less.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

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"Yesterday I knew nothing. Today I know that." ... per Ginger Meggs

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Fools Quest, Robin Hobb

Fools Quest

(Fitz and the Fool #2 of many)

by Robin Hobb

fantasy

rated 2/10: unreadably bad

I picked up this book, did not realise it is book two.

With a good author, book two can encourage the reader to look for book one...

I read a few pages -- it is awful. Slaughtered animals. Tortured humans. No explanation No incentive to read on. It is unreadably bad.

Worse yet... This "Fool" trilogy is the end of a series of 17 books.

Good grief. There's 17 books and one author to be avoided.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

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"Yesterday I knew nothing. Today I know that." ... per Ginger Meggs

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Skyward Flight, Brandon Sanderson

Skyward Flight

by Brandon Sanderson, Janci Patterson

(Skyward #3)

young adult, science fiction, fansonly

rated 6/10: read to pass the time

When an author publishes a novel I expect that the novel will include a start, a middle and an end.

This is a book of middles.

Sanderson has written two quite good novels. Both of which failed to finish. This book is three novellas which fit somewhere in the middle. Each story has a standard plot: a threat appears, young heroes go off to form an alliance with aliens, they fight the enemy, wait to the last chapter, save the alien world, return home, lovers are separated... and a new threat appears.

Okay it's all good fun... but it will never end. The planned trilogy of novels is now four. With readers asking if a fifth is planned (probably yes). A never-ending soap opera.

These novellas introduce a new author The first books did question the need for war. This author has characters wondering if they are right to fight. It becomes somewhat preachy, definitely tedious.

This book could be read alone and still enjoyed. For fans it fills in some gaps -- gaps that did not need explicit filling.

It's easy reading. It's enjoyable. It's definitely young adult:

Main characters are young adult. Couples are separated -- to avoid the difficulties of sex. The science is simplified -- embarrassingly so, the travel is almost fantasy. The aliens are either decent or evil. The characters are "nice". I miss M-Bot, the only character with real depth and complexity.

Read to pass the time. Or not.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

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"Yesterday I knew nothing. Today I know that." ... per Ginger Meggs

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Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas

First published 1844

read in February 2023

fiction (classic)

rated 8/10: really quite good

I like to review before I get other people's opinions. but this time... 

while i was reading this book... and muttering about how very long it is... my wife went to a popular book review site.

The longest book I've ever read, says one review. honest but pointless.

describes the joy of revenge, says another.

joy?! that's what you get when a reviewer had not bothered to read the book.

The Count discovers that revenge, in a modern idiom, is like a shotgun. aim at one person and you are likely to injure many others.

there is revenge. there is also reward. then there is some restitution for unintended damage. it's a complex book.

is an enjoyable book but hard to follow. so many characters. identified sometimes by name, sometimes by title. plus a dependence on facts and ideas that were well known when the book was written.

First, i read up on popes and French Kings... not exactly the good, old days.

half way through the book i checked Wikipedia. it has an excellent plot summary, i was able to get a clearer idea of who was who, the rest of my reading was a lot easier.

the actions and knowledge of the Count verge on fantasy, barely believable. though the underlying idea is still valid. Someone with infinite money can do and control whatever they want.

then the ending... no surprises, the final reward is clearly signalled.

but it seems to be a bit rushed. as though the author just wanted to be done with it.

and then... are the last words a hint that he plans to write, Count 2?

give yourself time. take early notes of characters. settle down for a good, long, enjoyable read.

Carrion Comfort / Dan Simmons

Carrion Comfort

by Dan Simmons

horror

copyright 1989

read in January 2023

rated 2/10: unreadably bad

Don't get me wrong. If you enjoy reading about evil, cruelty and lovingly detailed gore then this book is for you.

The book begins in a Nazi death camp. Sickening violence is described in detail. One inmate is witness to a mysterious power which would allow the Nazis to rule the world. The inmate survives.

Forty years later that survivor is the only person who can stop the Nazis from using that power to rule the world.

At that point I realise that I have already read this book. Several times. All that changes is the mysterious power. In one less horrible book it was flying saucers. This time it is vampires.

From then on the only point is, can the author make the book even more sickening. Unfortunately the answer is yes.

I was sickened. I jumped to the end, to see if anyone survived. Then I went back to see why the two definitely dead villains were still alive. A few more murdered children and I stopped again.

My rating: "bad" because it is violent in a nasty way. And for me, it is unreadable.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

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"Yesterday I knew nothing. Today I know that." ... per Ginger Meggs

Dying for you to read my blog, at https://notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com/ :-)