I’ve been a fan of Lionel Richie since his early days as co-singer with The Commodores. The members of the Commodores met as mostly freshmen at Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) in 1968, and signed with Motown in November 1972, having first caught the public eye opening for the Jackson 5 while on tour.

The Commodores had a string of hits in the 1970s like “Easy“, “Sail On“, “Three Times a Lady“, and “Still“. In 1980, Richie wrote and produced the US Billboard Hot 100 number one single “Lady” for Kenny Rogers. Shortly after that success, Richie left The Commodores to pursue a solo career.

In 1981, Richie wrote and produced the single “Endless Love“, which he recorded as a duet with Diana Ross; it remains among the top 20 bestselling singles of all time, and the biggest career hit for both artists. In 1982, Richie officially launched his solo career with the album Lionel Richie, which sold over four million copies and spawned the singles “You Are“, “My Love“, and the number one single “Truly“.

Truly (2025), Richie’s autobiography, takes the reader from his beginnings in Alabama to his rise through the music industry over the decades. Richie grew up on the campus of Tuskegee Institute. Surprisingly, Richie decided to pursue his musical career despite not knowing how to read or write music.

Richie’s work with The Commodores prepared him for what would be a successful career. His 1983 album, Can’t Slow Down, sold over twice as many copies as his 1982 debut solo album–8 million copies–Lionel Richie, and won two Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year. That propelled Richie into the first rank of international music superstars.

My favorite Lionel Richie song is his 1981 hit, “Oh No.” Richie writes and sings about unrequited love in a fashion that really moves me. Are you a Lionel Richie fan? Do you have a favorite Lionel Richie song? GRADE: A (for both the book and the CD)

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Author’s note — ix

Zoom — xi

Origin story (1949-1970)

Tuskegee — 3

Escape artist — 22

Saxophone holder — 39

1968 — 62

Smalls paradise — 74

On the road — 91

Liftoff (1970-1982)

Jackson 5 — 117

What are you gonna do? — 140

Motown University — 155

Easy — 181

Flying high — 211

Endless love — 232

Sail on — 245

Flying solo (1982-1999)

Truly — 259

Happy people — 280

All night long — 302

We are the world — 322

Out of body — 341

Blue period — 360

Wandering stranger — 375

Reinvention (1999-present)

Citizen of the world — 401

Coming home — 426

The gardener — 444

Acknowledgments — 461

Credits — 465

TRACKLIST:

	Lionel Richie–	My Destiny	4:50
	Lionel Richie With Diana Ross–	Endless Love	4:26
	Lionel Richie With The Commodores*–	Three Times A Lady	3:36
	Lionel Richie–	Don’t Wanna Lose You	5:01
	Lionel Richie–	Hello	4:08
	Lionel Richie With The Commodores*–	Sail On	3:58
	Lionel Richie With The Commodores*–	Easy	4:14
	Lionel Richie–	Say You Say Me	4:05
	Lionel Richie–	Do It To Me	6:02
	Lionel Richie–	Penny Lover	3:50
	Lionel Richie–	Truly	3:16
	Lionel Richie With The Commodores*–	Still	3:46
	Lionel Richie–	Love Will Conquer All	4:20
	Lionel Richie With The Commodores*–	Sweet Love	3:22
	Lionel Richie–	Ballerina Girl	3:40
	Lionel Richie–	Still In Love	4:33
	Lionel Richie With The Commodores*–	Oh No	3:00
	Lionel Richie With The Commodores*–	Just To Be Close To You	3:30
	Lionel Richie–	Stuck On You	3:17

“No word is wasted, and many words serve more than one purpose… Ritchie can write a long short story that is virtually the equivalent of a full suspense novel; and his very short stories sparkle as lapidary art.” –Anthony Boucher

A couple weeks ago, I reviewed. STARK HOUSE’s Jack Ritchie collection: The Best of Manhunt 4: The Jack Ritchie Stories (you can read my review here). Now we have Crippen & Landru’s Cardula and the Locked Rooms (2026). This collection brings together all nine Cardula stories plus some of Ritchie’s best impossible crime stories.

As you can tell from the cover artwork, Cardula is a vampire. In “Kid Cardula” Cardula uses his super strength as a boxer to earn money. It seems Cardula had run through his wealth over the years and now had to resort to winning fights. But in “The Cardula Detective Agency” Jack Richie decided to make his character a private detective who only works at night.

The Cardula stories feature plenty of cleverness and wit. Cardula solves problems using his unusual skills and intellect.

My favorite story in Cardula and the Locked Rooms is “The Crime Machine.” A professional hit man is blackmailed by a man who claims he witnessed “hits” with the help of a Time Machine. The hit man realizes he could make millions if he had a Time Machine, too. But…Ritchie makes sure it’s not that simple.

With The Best of Manhunt 4: The Jack Ritchie Stories and now Cardula and the Locked Rooms, fans of Jack Ritchie stories have plenty to enjoy. GRADE: A (for both books)

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

INTRODUCTION By Brian Supine — 7

CARDULA

Kid Cardula — 15

The Cardula Detective Agency — 27

The Canvas Caper — 41

Cardula to the Rescue — 53

Cardula and the Kleptomaniac — 63

Cardula’s Revenge — 79

The Return of Cardula — 87

Cardula and the Locked Rooms — 95

Cardula and the Briefcase — 103

THE LOCKED ROOMS

Upside-Down World — 113

Swing High — 131

Pearls Before Wine — 143

Play a Game of Cyanide — 147

Box in a Box — 155

The Crime Machine — 163

Checklist of the Cardula Stories — 184

Crippen & Landry Lost Classics –187

If you’re in the mood for some laughs you might give “Can You Keep a Secret?” a try. It’s a comedy series that premiered on Paramount+ on February 12, 2026.

It follows Debbie Fendon, who hides her husband, William, in the loft to commit life insurance fraud after he is mistakenly declared dead. The plot revolves around the chaos caused by this secret and further secrets that threaten the family.

“Can You Keep a Secret” is based the a real life The John Darwin disappearance case which involved the faked death of the British former teacher and prison officer John Darwin. Darwin turned up alive in December 2007, five and a half years after he was believed to have died in a canoeing accident.

 The main cast includes Dawn French as Debbie Fendon, Mark Heap as William Fendon, Craig Roberts as Harry Fendon, and Mandip Gill as PC Neha Fendon. 

I’ve only watched 2 of the 6 episodes but I intend to watch them all. GRADE: Incomplete but trending towards a B+

I was returning a book to the North Tonawanda Library when I noticed a book cart near the Circulation Desk. It was loaded with boxes of music CDs. I asked the Circulation Librarian, “What’s up with the music CDs?” He answered, “A patron donated 500 music CDs to us. We have no shelf space so we’re selling them.”

I immediately stared rummaging through the boxes of CDs and ended up with 50. Guess how much those 50 music CDs cost me? I’ll give you a hint: the Library priced them at 10 CDs for a dollar. Yes, I bought 50 wonderful music CDs for $5.00! Bargain of the Year!

Check out a few of my choices below.

I’m not an ardent fan of winter sports but Diane and I have been tuning in to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina. Diane loves the ice skating. I enjoy the hockey games–both women’s and men’s.

Ilia Malinin (aka, “The Quad God) amazes us each time he steps out on the ice and performs stunts no other skater can. But not this time. Two falls in his routine doomed Malinin’s quest for a Gold Medal. He ended up in 8th place.

The most unexpected and surprising incident was when, in an emotional interview after he earned the bronze medal in the men’s 20 km. biathlon at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games on Tuesday, Sturla Holm Lægreid surprised audiences with an unprompted personal confession.

Three months ago, Starla Holm Laegreid said, he cheated on “the love of [his] life, the most beautiful and kindest person.” Which leads me to the question: If this woman was “the Love of your Life,” why did you cheat on her?

Are you watching the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina? What do you like to watch?

“In 1953 at a Bard College Symposium dinner attended by foreign celebrities, Georges Simenon, who sat at our table, asked Ellison how many novels he had written, and when he learned that there was only one he said, ‘To be a novelist one must produce many novels. Ergo, you are not a novelist.'” (p. v)

Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man was first published in Horizon magazine in 1947. It was published in hardcover in 1952 and Invisible Man won the U.S. National Book Award for Fiction in 1953, making Ellison the first African-American writer to win the award.

I first read Invisible Man in the mid-1980s. I had multiple paperback and hardcover copies on my shelf for years–every time I saw an inexpensive copy in a used bookstore or Library Book Sale, I bought it. In the 1990s, several of my students would ask me about Invisible Man and I’d reply with: “Would you like a copy?” And, of course, they said, “Yes!” and my shelf grew more empty. I’m down to just a couple of copies of Invisible Man today…right next to my Harlan Ellison books.

While I would quibble with Simenon’s dismissal of Ralph Ellison as novelist, there’s no doubt Ralph Ellison is a writer. In 1998, the Modern Library ranked Invisible Man 19th on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. Its reputation has only grown over the years. But Ellison also wrote a whole lot of other stuff, most of which appear in THE COLLECTED ESSAYS OF RALPH ELLISON (2024). This 775 page volume includes all of Ellison’s important non-fiction works.

“I practiced writing and studied Joyce, Dostoevsky, Stein, and Hemingway. Especially Hemingway; I read him to learn his sentence structure and how to organized a story.” (p. 181). In “The Art of Fiction: An Interview” (1955) in The Paris Review, Ellison discusses his writing method and the writers who most influenced him.

“Stephen Crane and the Mainstream of American Fiction” also impressed me with Ellison’s analysis of Crane’s writings and their impact on American Fiction then and now. “Remembering Richard Wright” also shows how other Black writers influenced Ellison’s writing.

Ralph Ellison also loved music–at one time considered becoming a musician–so you’ll find essays like “Homage to Duke Ellington on His Birthday,” “Flamenco,” and “Living with Music.” Jazz, Blues, and Big Bands show up in several of Ellison’s essays.

If you’re interesting in an excellent essay writer and writings on fiction, race, national identity, music, and American History, THE COLLECTED ESSAYS OF RALPH ELLISON covers it all. GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Preface / by Saul Bellow — v

Editor’s note — xiii

Introduction / by John F. Callahan — xv

Postscript to the introduction (2023) / by John F. Callahan — xxvii

February — 3

A congress Jim Crow didn’t attend — 5

Flamenco — 15

“Tell it like it is, baby” — 20

And I have no other identity — 36

Shadow and Act

Introduction: 45

I. The seer and the seen — 55

II. Sound and the mainstream — 193

III. The shadow and the act — 251

Working notes for Invisible Man — 285

A special message to subscribers — 297

Testimony to the Senate Subcommittee on Harlem and Urban America — 307

Indivisible man — 334

James Armistead Lafayette — 368

Commencement address at the College of William and Mary — 372

Address to the Harvard College Alumni, class of 1949 — 378

Haverford statement — 386

Homage to William L. Dawson — 390

Alain Locke — 394

Roscoe Dunee and the American language — 401

The discipline of American humor — 410

Presentation to Bernard Malamud of the Gold Medal for Fiction — 419

Introduction to the Thirtieth-Anniversary Edition of Invisible Man — 424

Going to the Territory

The Little Man at Chehaw Station — 439

On Initiation Rites and Power: Ralph Ellison Speaks at West Point — 465

What These Children Are Like — 483

The Myth of the Flawed White Southerner — 492

If the Twain Shall Meet — 501

What America Would Be Like Without Blacks — 513

Portrait of Inman Page: A Dedication Speech — 520

Going to the Territory — 525

An Extravagance of Laughter — 543

Remembering Richard Wright — 581

Homage to Duke Ellington on His Birthday — 595

The Art of Romare Bearden — 602

Society, Morality, and the Novel — 611

“A Very Stern Discipline” — 637

The Novel as a Function of American Democracy — 661

Perspective of Literature — 670

“A completion of personality” : a talk with Ralph Ellison — 683

On being the target of discrimination — 711

Bearden — 719

Notes for class day talk at Columbia University — 724

Foreword to The Beer Can by the Highway — 727

Address at the Whiting Foundation — 731

Acknowledgements — 737

Index — 739

Deb mentioned The Best of Sade when commenting on last week’s FIRST LOVE and Ultimate Love Songs Collection: The Power Of Love post (you can read it here). There’s no doubt Sade sang lovely love songs: “Your Love Is King,” “Hang On to Your Love,” “Please Send Me Someone to Love,” and “Love Is Stronger Than Pride.” The Best of Sade is the perfect Valentine’s Day album! GRADE: A

The Best Love Songs Album In The World…Ever! Here’s 62 of the “best” love songs from across 5 decades–allegedly. Included on this 3-CD compilation are songs that you will love–or hate. There’s something here for just about every musical taste. The assemblers of this Love album cast a wide net in terms of the variety of songs, the range of artists and groups, and the many musical eras they’ve pulled songs from.

From Elvis, Andy Williams, Julie London, and Johnny Mathis to Tina Turner, Anita Baker, and Foreigner these CDs offer a mixed bag of love songs. Two of my favorites–Joan Armatrading’s “Love & Affection” and Jackie DeShannon’s “What the World Needs Now Is Love”–show up to celebrate the occasion.

Do you remember these love songs? Any favorites here? GRADE: B

TRACK LIST:

A1		Your Love Is King Written-By – Adu*, Matthewman*	3:41
A2		Hang On To Your Love Written-By – Adu*, Matthewman*	4:29
A3		Smooth Operator Written-By – St John*, Adu*	4:16
A4		Jezebel Written-By – Adu*, Matthewman*	5:23
B5		The Sweetest Taboo Written-By – Ditcham*, Adu*	4:25
B6		Is It A Crime Written-By – Hale*, Adu*, Matthewman*	6:16
B7		Never As Good As The First Time Producer – Rogan*, Pela*, Millar*Vocals – Jake Jacas Written-By – Adu*, Matthewman*	3:58
B8		Love Is Stronger Than Pride Written-By – Hale*, Adu*, Matthewman*	4:17
C9		ParadiseGuitar – Gordon Hunte Written-By – Hale*, Denman*, Adu*, Matthewman*	3:36
C10		Nothing Can Come Between Us Written-By – Hale*, Adu*, Matthewman*	3:52
C11		No Ordinary Love Written-By – Adu*, Matthewman*	7:19
C12		Like A TattooWritten-By – Hale*, Adu*, Matthewman*	3:36
D13		Kiss Of Life Arranged By [String Arrangements] – Nick Ingman Written-By – Hale*, Denman*, Adu*, Matthewman*	4:10
D14		Please Send Me Someone To Love Drums – Trevor Murrell Guitar – Gordon Hunte Percussion – Karl Vanden Bossche* Producer, Mixed By – Hein Hoven Written-By – Percy Mayfield	3:40
D15		Cherish The Day Written-By – Hale*, Adu*, Matthewman*	6:17
D16		Pearls Arranged By [String Arrangements] – Nick IngmanCello, Soloist – Tony Pleeth *Written-By – Hale*, Adu*	4:35

TRACK LIST:

Track Listing:

Disc 1
1: Angels – Robbie Williams
2: What’s Love Got to Do With It – Tina Turner
3: Without You – Harry Nilsson
4: You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me – Dusty Springfield
5: I’ll Never Fall in Love Again – Deacon Blue
6: I Go to Sleep – The Pretenders
7: Save a Prayer – Duran Duran
8: All of My Heart – ABC
9: Head Over Heels – Tears for Fears
10: Waiting for a Girl Like You – Foreigner
11: She’s Like the Wind (Feat. Wendy Fraser) – Patrick Swayze
12: Right Here Waiting – Richard Marx
13: Slave to Love – Bryan Ferry
14: Sweet Love – Anita Baker
15: My Cherie Amour – Stevie Wonder
16: Suddenly – Billy Ocean
17: Endless Love – Lionel Richie & Diana Ross
18: Up Where We Belong – Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes
19: Every Time You Go Away – Paul Young
20: The Power of Love – Frankie Goes to Hollywood

Disc 2
1: Still – Commodores
2: One Day I’ll Fly Away – Randy Crawford
3: Wishing On a Star – Rose Royce
4: Thinking of You – Sister Sledge
5: I Want Your Love – Chic
6: Reunited – Peaches & Herb
7: Lovin’ You – Minnie Riperton
8: With You I’m Born Again – Billy Preston & Syreeta
9: Let’s Get It On – Marvin Gaye
10: If You Don’t Know Me By Now (Feat. Teddy Pendergrass) – Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes
11: Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me – Gladys Knight and The Pips
12: Woman in Love – The Three Degrees
13: Never Let Her Slip Away – Andrew Gold
14: Laughter in the Rain – Neil Sedaka
15: The Things We Do for Love – 10cc
16: Make It With You – Bread
17: Love and Affection – Joan Armatrading
18: My Eyes Adored You – Frankie Valli
19: Always On My Mind – Elvis Presley
20: A Little Bit More – Dr. Hook
21: Annie’s Song – John Denver

Disc 3
1: I Say a Little Prayer – Aretha Franklin
2: The Tracks of My Tears – Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
3: Unchained Melody – The Righteous Brothers
4: Dedicated to the One I Love – The Mamas and The Papas
5: Eternal Flame – The Bangles & Susanna Hoffs
6: Love Is All Around – Wet Wet Wet
7: Kiss from a Rose – Seal
8: Un-break My Heart – Toni Braxton
9: In All the Right Places – Lisa Stansfield
10: Anything for You – Gloria Estefan & The Miami Sound Machine
11: Lost in Your Eyes – Debbie Gibson
12: Give Me Back My Heart – Dollar
13: Can’t Take My Eyes Off You – Andy Williams
14: What the World Needs Now Is Love – Jackie DeShannon
15: This Girl’s in Love With You – Dionne Warwick
16: Cry Me a River – Julie London
17: The Twelfth of Never – Johnny Mathis
18: When a Man Loves a Woman – Percy Sledge
19: When You Say Nothing at All – Ronan Keating
20: Save the Best for Last – Vanessa Williams
21: A Million Love Songs – Take That

After I discovered (and bought and read) The Batman Annuals, Volume One (you can read my review here), I did a little research and learned that a second The Batman Annuals had been published in 2010 and luckily, I found it available online for a reasonable price and ordered it.

DC Comics Classics Library: The Batman Annuals Vol. 2 is a hardcover edition collecting Batman Annual #4, #5, #6 and #7 from 1962, 1963 and 1964. These annuals were giant-sized issues reprinting various Golden Age and Silver Age Batman stories. All stories in this collection were originally published between 1953 and 1961.

I read many of these Batman adventures as a kid in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Who could forget the story of “The Marriage of Batman and Batwoman”? or “Batman the Giant” or “The Murder at Mystery Castle”? Some memories never fade!

The Batman Annuals Vol. 2 was the last volume the DC Comics Classics Library published. Other reprints of Batman comics have been published, but these two volumes of The Batman Annuals resonated the most with me! If you’re a Batman fan, check these out! GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

[Cover Reprint]

Batman Annual #4   ·   Nov 1962   ·   Cover Gallery   ·   1 page

The First Batman

Detective Comics #235   ·   Jul 1956   ·   Story   ·   10 pages

1

Am I Really Batman?

Batman #112   ·   Oct 1957   ·   Story   ·   8 pages

2

The Batwoman

Detective Comics #233   ·   May 1956   ·   Story   ·   12 pages

3

The Vanished Batman

Batman #101   ·   Jun 1956   ·   Story   ·   8 pages

4

The Phantom of the Bat-Cave!

Batman #99   ·   Feb 1956   ·   Story   ·   8 pages

5

Batman’s College Days

Batman #96   ·   Oct 1955   ·   Story   ·   8 pages

6

The Marriage of Batman and Batwoman

Batman #122   ·   Jan 1959   ·   Story   ·   8 pages

7

The Second Boy Wonder!

Batman #105   ·   Dec 1956   ·   Story   ·   6 pages

8

The Man Who Ended Batman’s Career

Detective Comics #247   ·   Jul 1957   ·   Story   ·   12 pages

9

[Cover Reprint]

Batman Annual #5   ·   May 1963   ·   Cover Gallery   ·   1 page

The Power That Doomed Batman

Detective Comics #268   ·   Apr 1959   ·   Story   ·   12 pages

10

The Merman Batman

Batman #118   ·   Jul 1958   ·   Story   ·   8 pages

11

Rip Van Batman

Batman #119   ·   Aug 1958   ·   Story   ·   8 pages

12

The Zebra Batman

Detective Comics #275   ·   Nov 1959   ·   Story   ·   12 pages

13

The Grown-Up Boy Wonder

Batman #107   ·   Feb 1957   ·   Story   ·   8 pages

14

The Bewitched Batman

World’s Finest Comics #109   ·   Mar 1960   ·   Story   ·   12 pages

15

The Phantom Batman

Batman #110   ·   Jul 1957   ·   Story   ·   8 pages

16

Batman the Giant!

Detective Comics #243   ·   Mar 1957   ·   Story   ·   12 pages

17

[Cover Reprint]

Batman Annual #6   ·   Nov 1963   ·   Cover Gallery   ·   1 page

Murder at Mystery Castle

Detective Comics #246   ·   Jun 1957   ·   Story   ·   12 pages

18

The Gotham City Safari

Batman #111   ·   Aug 1957   ·   Story   ·   8 pages

19

Mystery of the Sky Museum!

Batman #94   ·   Jul 1955   ·   Story   ·   8 pages

20

The Mystery of the Four Batmen!

Batman #88   ·   Oct 1954   ·   Story   ·   8 pages

21

The Creature from the Green Lagoon

Detective Comics #252   ·   Dec 1957   ·   Story   ·   12 pages

22

The Map of Mystery!

Batman #91   ·   Feb 1955   ·   Story   ·   8 pages

23

The Danger Club

Batman #76   ·   Feb 1953   ·   Story   ·   10 pages

24

Death in Dinosaur Hall!

Detective Comics #255   ·   Mar 1958   ·   Story   ·   12 pages

25

[Cover Reprint]

Batman Annual #7   ·   May 1964   ·   Cover Gallery   ·   1 page

Batman Meets Bat-Mite

Detective Comics #267   ·   Mar 1959   ·   Story   ·   12 pages

26

The Secret Life of Bat-Hound

Batman #125   ·   Jun 1959   ·   Story   ·   8 pages

27

Bat-Girl!

Batman #139   ·   Feb 1961   ·   Story   ·   8 pages

28

The Dynamic Trio

Detective Comics #245   ·   May 1957   ·   Story   ·   12 pages

29

The Secret of Batman’s Butler

Batman #110   ·   Jul 1957   ·   Story   ·   8 pages

30

Superman and Robin!

World’s Finest Comics #75   ·   Jan 1955   ·   Story   ·   12 pages

31

Batwoman’s Publicity Agent

Batman #133   ·   Jun 1960   ·   Story   ·   9 pages

32

The Second Batman and Robin Team

Batman #131   ·   Feb 1960   ·   Story   ·   9 pages

33

Greetings from the Batman Family

Batman Annual #2   ·   Nov 1961   ·   Illustration   ·   1 page

Biographies

 

Bookish is a British crime drama television series created by and starring Mark Gatiss. I enjoyed Mark Gatiss when he portrayed Mycroft Holmes in the BBC series Sherlock (2010–2017). Now Gatiss is back on PBS with a role of an antiquarian bookseller…with a lot of secrets.

An unconventional book shop owner, Gabriel Book, helps police solve crimes in 1946 London. Book is married to Trottie Book (Polly Walker), a seller of wall paper who has a number of secrets herself. The couple takes in a young man who has just been released from prison. Connor Finch plays Jack, a troubled orphan who is searching for clues about his past.

I like the setting of post World War II London. I’ve watched four of the six episodes. Bookish was renewed for a second series prior to the broadcast of the first series. GRADE: Incomplete but trending towards a B.