I hesitate to recommend a bimonthly magazine that sets me back about $300 an issue. No, the American Record Guide doesn’t cost $300 (it’s actually a reasonable $7.99 per issue) but as I read the 500 or so classical CD reviews, I find a dozen or more that I just NEED to own. Art Scott recommended ARG to me about 15 years ago and I’ve read every issue since. The reviewers vary in their tastes, but I’ve found a few whose tastes coincide with mine. In addition to the classical CD reviews, there are occasional “Overview” articles that review the best recordings of a composer or a genre. The current September/October 2009 issue has an article on Mahler recordings. ARG has little advertising so most of the expenses are paid by subscriptions or sales of individual copies of the zine. If you’re interested in classical music, I highly recommend American Record Guide. There may be glitzier magazines, but ARG gives you honest, straight-forward reviews. It’s been my selection tool of choice for buying classical recordings.

“First, it is hard to beat the market. If you have money to invest, the only sensible place to start is with the asumption that the market is smarter than you.” Justin Fox’s The Myth of the Rational Market: A History of Risk, Reward, and Delusion on Wall Street brings enlightenment to the dismal science of economics. Fox is a journalist, but he understands the theories behind the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) and “efficient markets.” His clear writing and penetrating analysis shows how Warren Buffett made his billions and how lesser investors lost their shirts. If you have any interest in stocks, bonds, and investments this is a “must-read” book. The Myth of the Rational Market tells the financial history of the past 50 years with great insight and energy. It’s one of the best books on business that I’ve ever read. GRADE: A

Our society is not kind to women when it comes to body image. Most women feel there’s something “wrong” with their bodies: too thin or too chubby, lips not alluring enough, too short or too tall, the curse of “combination skin.” As you can imagine, the whole issue of ideal beauty is infinitely more difficult for a fashion model. Crystal Renn’s story begins with starvation. In order to become a model at 14, she lost 70 pounds. Crystal moves to New York City and develops anorexia and exercise bulimia to keep her body within modeling tolerances. But Crystal’s health suffers: her hair starts falling out and she experiences heart palpitations. HUNGRY is a true story of the balance between ambition and health. As someone who has a love affair with food, I could relate to Crystal’s situation and her eventual solution to her problems. This is a surprisingly insightful book. GRADE: B+

Have you ever watched THE WEATHER CHANNEL and during one of their local weather forecasts you heard some great Smooth Jazz in the background? Well, that great Smooth Jazz was probably played by The Rippingtons. The Rippingtons have been around for about 25 years, led by guitarist Russ Freeman. They started out as a jazz-rock fusion group, but gradually gravitated to Smooth Jazz. The Rippingtons’ mascot is a smiling, sunglasses-wearing, jazzy “hep cat” which appears in the artwork of all the band’s releases and on the official THE RIPPINGTONS website. This is not profound music, but it’s fun to listen to especially if you’re cruising around in your car. Great driving music! Give it a try. GRADE: B+

About a month ago, I reviewed the first book in Neal Asher’s POLITY series, Prador Moon. Neal Asher writes Space Opera with plenty of action and intrigue. In Prador Moon Asher introduced the evil aliens that looked like giant crabs: the Prador. They have a star empire and sophisticated skills with metals. Asher also introduced the Polity: a human and Artificial Intelligence union that tries to defend itself against the brutal Prador attacks. In Shadow of the Scorpion Asher shows how his lead character, Ian Cormac, became an Agent of the Polity. There are plenty of battle scenes. Thrown into this galactic war is another wild card: the Separatists. The Separatists are a secret movement who hate the Artificial Intelligences so much they’re willing to work with the Prador to destroy the Polity. That’s where all the intrigue comes into play: who’s a Polity Agent and who’s a secret Separatist? If you enjoy Space Opera written with intelligence and verve, I urge you to try Neal Asher’s work. GRADE: B

Ramble House should be lauded for publishing Anthony Boucher’s reviews and commentary from the Forties. And the editor of this fine volume is the renown Francis M. Nevins. Boucher was the finest critic of mystery fiction in the United States and for too long his early work has been unavailable. This volume remedies part of that problem. These pieces from the San Francisco Chronicle supply a unique look at the Golden Age of mysteries through the prism of Boucher’s mastery commentary. If you have the faintest interest in the history of the mystery, you need to read this book.

Hoist the Jolly Roger, pirate fans (and you know who you are!). I watched The Buccaneers as a kid and loved the characters, especially Robert Shaw as Captain Dan Tempest (he was later to find fame in another sea adventure, JAWS). I’m a sucker for swashbuckling action and these episodes are full of it. Yes, the series is 50 years old. Yes, there are occasional “quality” problems as you might expect from TV programs of this vintage. But, for the bargain price of $12.99 at AMAZON ($12.94 at Sam’s Club for a slightly different set), you can own three DVDs of pure enjoyment. Jack Sparrow, watch out!

During Art Scott’s recent visit to the Kelley Hotel, he mention that the Piano Pieces of Brahms Opp. 117-119 would be one of his “Desert Island Discs.” Desert Island Discs is an old BBC radio program where guests discussed the eight records (later, CDs) they would want to have if they were castaway on a desert island. Art’s comment about Brahams Opp. 117-119 sparked a quick search of AMAZON for the perfect performances of these pieces. It quickly became apparent there weren’t any perfect performances. People complained about Idil Biret’s performances on Naxos. Others found fault with Radu Lupu’s disc (“The recording quality is completely unacceptable, though. It sounds like the piano is wrapped in blankets and the microphone placed in a coffee can.”). Still others found Julius Katchen’s playing “dull.” Although he didn’t record all of Opp. 117-119, Van Cliburn recorded much of it and it can be heard on MY FAVORITE BRAHMS. I’ve always liked Cliburn’s playing because it is artful without being pretentious. After you listen to Cliburn playing Brahms, you might make this CD one of your “Desert Island Discs.” GRADE: A

Classes start at my College tomorrow, another academic year begins. A ritual I’ve continued for many years is to read a book about teaching and/or teachers just before I return to the classroom. The book I picked this year is Pat Conroy’s The Water is Wide. It’s the story of Conroy’s teaching experience on the desolate island of Yamacraw (Daufuskie Island, South Carolina). The African-American children of the island can scarcely read, barely speak, and are wretchedly poor. They can’t pronounce Conroy’s name so they call him “Conrack” which is the title of the 1974 movie version of the book starring Jon Voight. A second movie was made in 2006 starring Jeff Hephner and Alfre Woodard. Great teachers can inspire students and Pat Conroy was a great teacher. His story of how he organized a “field trip” for the students who had never left their island to “trick-or-treat” on Halloween at a South Carolina city is a joy to read. Of course, Conroy’s unconventional methods run afoul of the school’s Principal and the educational bureaucracy. As you read this story, you’ll see flashes of the novelist Conroy would develop into with novels like South of Broad, Beach Music, Prince of Tides, and The Lords of Discipline. GRADE: B+