On my mind

Here are five things that have been making each day a little brighter lately:

1) Eli Wallach's sensitive yet exciting narration in the new audiobook production of Stephen King's epic-length but fast-moving '90s thriller Insomnia. Check it out at Audible.com.

2) Knowing that Peter Jackson's two-film adaptation of The Hobbit is now finally moving forward.

3) Moving between my five or six favorite channels on my new Sirius/XM satellite radio subscription, which actually makes my afternoon commute home fun.

4) The danger, humor, and mystery in Robert B. Parker's Painted Ladies, which I'm now reading on Kindle.

5) Looking forward to the Halloween night premiere of the new horror series The Walking Dead on AMC. The show may actually be as good as the comic book series on which it's based.

It's the little things that make life worth living, don't you think?