Huh?

The English language must be outgrowing me. I have trouble keeping up with the current usage of certain words and phrases. For example, hardly a day goes by that someone on some TV show asks someone else, "Mind if I join you?" I always think the correct answer should be "No, I don't mind," or just "No," if you would welcome the other person. But lately, the answer, at least on TV, has been, "Yes." The person asking then sits down next to the first person. To me, the answer "Yes," means, "Yes, I mind; please go away."

More and more, when a character in a book means yes, the author writes, "She shook her head yes." Don't you nod your head when you mean yes, and shake your head when the answer is no? When did this change?

And what about the phrase, "I could care less," when the person saying it clearly means, "I could not care less." This can be a bit confusing.

Then there's the double preposition - "From which he fully expected to wake from." What's with that?

I hate to admit to losing concentration when I'm reading, but, no matter how hard I try, when I come across one of these words or phrases, I get distracted thinking about whether it is proper English, and what the author really means. I can almost lose track of the story. Am I the only one this happens to?