You can download Hibernal, my recent literary suspense novel after Shakespeare’s classic A Winter’s Tale, for your Kindle for $2.99. If you like intrigue, the trials and triumphs of love, humor, and fascinating characters, it’s worth a click at the Kindle store.

 Go to:  http://www.amazon.com/Hibernal-ebook/dp/B006VZ175U/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1377633229&sr=1-1&keywords=kurt+haberl

The paperback is available as well through Amazon. 

TMI – This is a problem/solution entry; one I think is part a growing pandemic. Picture this. There is a character in Great Expectations named Matthew Pocket, an educated and kindly father completely incapable of dealing with the little household crises that arise in his family, and his usual reaction is one of overwhelming desperation in which he grabs his own hair and lifts himself six inches out of his chair. It’s a wonderful image that catches a character with remarkable accuracy.

We are all Matthew Pocket. If you haven’t felt overwhelmed lately, either by news (nearly all bad), economic forecasts (nearly all inaccurate), or advertising (buy this new scented shampoo, better yet, buy this “must read” book), just Google “cold remedies” and see what happens. Yes, the result you see in the upper left hand corner is correct – 19,100,000 hits. All of them certainly are accurate because they’re published on the internet, right? The Google staff removes all inaccurate posts, right? I might be sensitive about this topic of Too Much Information because of the amount of paper coming into our house (The Capital Times, New Yorker, New York Times, two Waterloo hometown papers, not to mention AARP, fishing magazines, The Isthmus, and my favorite The Onion). We have stacks of books (currently The Pickwick Papers, You are a Badass, a good self-help book for artists, Montaigne’s Essays – the never ending collection of essays, actually – Rachel Maddow’s Drift, my worn Jerusalem Bible) and whatever else our teacher/professor neighbors send over. When driving to Evanston to play with our grandson, I listen to a 75 CD series on the history of Western Literature (not for everyone), Harry Potter, more self-help readings, and anything else Ann brings home from the library. Self-induced TMI overdose. I’m not a TV addict because most of the weekly shows are worse than junk food, but I do watch Masterpiece Theater (currently airing Poirot mysteries) and whatever sports season is in.

You get the idea.

I, and I suspect everyone, is drowning in information, entertainment, viewing choices, and an onslaught of advertising, “Look at This!” OMG, breaking news, the market is up, the market is down, can you believe what that politician just said/did/questioned/voted for/voted against? TOO MUCH INFORMATION If you have a full-time job, and after retiring from teaching, I don’t, you might be helped a little by the limits on your time not at work, but even then, if you’re ever on vacation or sick for a day, it’s surprising how much email can pile up, and that’s assuming you have a decent spam filter. What can a thinking, reading, semi-informed person do?

I have seven suggestions. They have preserved the little sanity I still possessed when I left home.

1. My friends are my Angie’s List. I highly recommend Goodreads, the site much like a Facebook for readers. It’s a link to my friends’ recommendations and it allows me to rate books as well. With the bothersome exception of political emails friends pass on without checking them at all (and there are some emails from friends and relatives I simply delete without opening), I read/buy/watch/listen to very little that does not have a friend’s recommendation. Whether it’s Youtube, TED talks, music, books, concerts, or audiotapes, I waste my time on almost nothing unless it comes with a recommendation. I don’t surf the web much anymore; I fish. If you have the good sense or luck to marry someone who reads a lot, gathers friends like lint, and will watch anything that moves on TV, you have your own Angie”s List available every day. In return, I make the best hot, buttered popcorn in Madison and have learned to concoct a really good carbonated water and lemonade drink to go with it. I follow the Mafia rule: We don’t let in nobody wit’ out nobody’s recommendation.

2. Watch TV consciously. I focus on what I know will be good. My wife accuses me of watching only “happy TV,” and that is mostly true. I’ve seen enough cars and buildings blowing up and innocent people killed to last a lifetime, so most adventure/killer/action/suspense films and the news in general are usually like sour milk to me. Even some movies and shows that have won awards I may watch for ten minutes and then leave the room, saying only, “I don’t like any of these people.” How do I fish? I will watch almost any Turner Classic Movie, almost any romantic comedy (a weakness, I know), and anything with Meryl Streep, Cary Grant, Woody Allen, or Matt Damon. It’s not because they are the best actors; it’s because they are the best readers, and what they do is interesting. Your list will certainly be different but what matters is that you have a list. Anything by Bill Murray is reliably goofy. Steve Martin is both funny and poignant. Jane Austen knows emotions. The point is to know what you like.

3. Take breaks from all input. A bike ride, a canoe ride, trout fishing in a stream, daily meditation, are all silence breaks that halt the assault on my psyche and wallet. A crossword puzzle is a break from TMI because it forces me to focus, think, and search my little grey brain cells that haven’t been searched in a long time. Will Shortz, who edits the NY Times puzzles, may have done more to stave off Alzheimers than anyone or anything.

4. If I have a question about a movie, I check out the site by a former student who knows more about movies than anyone else I know: Brian Welk. He’s at brianwelk.com. I highly recommend adding him to your “Angie’s List.”

5. I avoid anything with “Dumb,” “Fail,” “Redneck,” or “America’s Funniest” in the title. I avoid Jennifer Aniston, with the exception of the cult classic Office Space. I avoid murder and violence unless it is offstage, usually the case with Poirot, Miss Marple, and Hitchcock. I avoid drug movies, fast cars, crashing cars, flying cars, burning cars and exploding cars. I no longer watch war films, hostage films, or genocide films. To me, the Age of Glorious War is over, and probably never was. And finally, I avoid any contest that is not really a sport, including dancing, survival, obstacle courses made out of sponges, and who gets fired this week by the insufferable Donald Trump. I don’t recommend you do what I do on this one; do what works for you.

6. Take a reality check. Most of the information thrown at you is not true. Since I’ve been involved in publishing, I’ve learned that the space in the surviving bookstores is rented, and the tables by the entrance with stacks of books and a giant cutout of some vampire/movie star/politician/waif or mockingjay are prime real estate rented in a bookstore at a very high price. Pay no attention to advertising that sounds too good to be true or includes the words “Save, for a limited time only, you don’t want to miss, you gotta’ have,” or “Blowout Sale.” I try to follow my own rules: Here’s my book; here’s what it’s about; here’s what it costs; here’s what readers say about it; here’s where you can get it.

7. Use every mute button available. My car radio has six well-used preset buttons. The “mute” letters on our TV clicker is worn off. Better yet, tape or DVR Jon Stewart and fast-forward through the commercials. I really like the 30-second jump ahead button on some controllers that means I can hit the skip button six times and automatically go the the next part of the program. I’ve learned to digest newspapers by reading every headline and then one or two articles.  For my own peace of mind and for the greater good of my country, I now avoid all “attack” programs which have shown themselves to be mostly inflammatory rather than accurate.

Eventually, I believe we will all figure out this “internets” thing and will vote with our computers, attention, and dollars. Something that goes viral will be a good thing.