I put Hans Fallada's "Everyman Dies Alone" on hold last summer, while I did Infinite Summer, but it wasn't until last week that I finished the novel about civilian life under Nazi Germany. My husband noticed that I finished "Everyman Dies Alone" almost immediately after reading "Nothing to Envy", a non-fiction account of the lives of North Korea defectors, before their new life in the south.

The lives of ordinary people under a police state horrify me, but I keep reading. I keep thinking it can get this bad, anywhere. I don't believe any country is immune, although I do believe the US is many steps away from anything like what I read. But still, not immune.

Living where one has to be careful all the time, where being paranoid is a must, and everything one has been brought up to believe by the State turns out to be a lie, but where people still need to live their day to day lives like they do believe. Romances and bad marriages, promotions at work, worrying about fitting in and pleasing those you care about. Yeah, shudder worthy but compelling reading for me.

I've caught up on S3 Chuck and I can see the differences that a cut in the budget have made. There was one whole episode without a single scene in the Buy More, which was disturbing. It was kind of boring, but at least the next episode was recognizable as the old Chuck.

I like the Buy More characters and miss those that are gone because of what I assume where budget concerns. Although, I have to say I'm confused by the guest starts they're lining up so far. They seem on the expensive side, but maybe they're perceived as attracting people beyond the regular viewers. But I miss those who are gone :(