Have you ever read some positive reviews of a book and then after you read the book, you came away with less than positive feelings about the book? This happened to me two books in a row.

I tend to enjoy mysteries about books and libraries so I was predisposed to like Eva Jurczyk’s first novel, The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections. Book Page, the magazine hyping new books that our Library gives away free, gave Eva Jurczyk’s book a positive review so I ordered it.

Jurczyk’s librarian, Liesl Weiss, is called upon to fill in after her boss, the Acquisitions Librarian of a large (unnamed) university, suffers a stroke. Liesl, content to work as an assistant to an internationally renown Rare Books expert, finds herself thrust into a mystery: the Library’s most prized (and expensive!) manuscript is missing!

You would think this situation would make for a riveting mystery…but you would be wrong. I figured out who stole the manuscript within a few pages and then had to slog through 300 more pages to find out I was right. Jurczyk, who is a librarian, gets the operation of an academic Library right, but she needs to work on her Setting Up a Mystery skills. GRADE: C

Tade Thompson’s Far From the Light of Heaven is a Science Fiction mystery. I like the mashup of SF and Mystery…when it works. Thompson creates a situation where a colony starship named Ragtime with 1000 sleeping people on it reaches the Lago system. When Michelle Campion, the First Mate, wakes from her sleep, she finds 31 dead colonists on her ship…and her AI Captain uncooperative–and possibly hostile.

You might think that was a pretty powerful setup for a SF mystery (a bit of Christie’s And Then There Were None)…but once again you (like me) would be wrong. Campion sends out a distress signal and the planet Ragtime is orbiting, Bloodroot, sends up an investigator, Rasheed Fin and an android named Salvo. Fin and Salvo start by sorting out the body parts of the 31 dead colonists who have been butchered.

Fin and Salvo discover some of the body parts are missing. But Far From the Light of Heaven then veers into politics and corporate matters. You would think the suspense of a group of people fighting for their lives as their starship dies would be enough. But no. There are too many complications, too many flashbacks, too many random characters. And, no surprises. GRADE: C

Avram Davidson ends his editing of The Best From Fantasy and Science Fiction series with this 14th volume. One of the most famous stories in this volume is J. G. Ballard’s haunting “The Illuminated Man” where the crystalizing of the world spells disaster (the Brits write the best End of the World SF!). Roger Zelazny’s “A Rose for Ecclesiastes” sends a poet to Mars to translate the story of the dying race and reveals a centuries old secret.

I also enjoyed Ron Goulart’s snarky “Into the Shop” where technology reveals its Dark Side. This 14th volume is another solid anthology in this successful series. GRADE: B+

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

• 3 •  Time and Again (title page) • (1963) • interior artwork by Jack Gaughan
• 6 • Introduction (The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction: 14th Series) • (1965) • essay by Avram Davidson
• 8 • Sacheverell • (1964) • short story by Avram Davidson
• 15 • Trade-In • (1964) • short story by Jack Sharkey
• 30 • The Illuminated Man • (1964) • novelette by J. G. Ballard
• 62 • A Bulletin from the Trustees of the Institute for Advanced Research at Marmouth, Mass. • (1964) • short story by Wilma Shore
• 71 • Automatic Tiger • (1964) • short story by Kit Reed
• 86 • The Court of Tartary • (1963) • short story by T. P. Caravan
• 94 • Touchstone • (1964) • short story by Terry Carr
• 108 • Thaw and Serve • (1964) • short story by Allen Kim Lang
• 118 • Nada • (1964) • short story by Thomas M. Disch
• 140 • Into the Shop • (1964) • short story by Ron Goulart
• 151 • A Rose for Ecclesiastes • (1963) • novelette by Roger Zelazny
• 190 • Olsen and the Gull • (1964) • short story by Eric St. Clair
• 197 • Dark Conception • (1964) • short story by Joe L. Hensley and Alexei Panshin [as by Louis J. A. Adams]
• 206 • The Compleat Consummators • (1964) • short story by Alan E. Nourse (variant of The Compleat Consumators)
• 211 • The House by the Crab Apple Tree • (1964) • novelette by S. S. Johnson
• 238 • The Girl with the Hundred Proof Eyes • (1964) • short story by Sharon Webb (variant of The Girl with the 100 Proof Eyes) [as by Ron Webb]
• 244 • Fred One • (1964) • short story by James Ransom

I bought Neil Young’s Harvest in 1972 even though Young was far from my favorite singer. As Young himself said about his voice, “It’s an acquired taste.”

This is the 50th Anniversary of the release of Harvest. Harvest went on to become the best selling album of the year. “Heart of Gold” went to Number One on the Billboard chart–Neil Young’s only Number One song.

Harvest is only 37 minutes long. Short even for albums from the early Seventies. Yet, in all the Neil Young discography, Harvest stands out for capturing the Zeitgeist of the time. Are you a Neil Young fan. What do you think of Harvest? GRADE: A

TRACK LIST:

All tracks are written by Neil Young. Track timings are from the original 1972 vinyl release, catalogue number MS 2032.

A. S. Byatt wrote one of my favorite novels: Possession. Possession went on to win the 1990 Booker Prize. It’s the story of a pair of academics trying to solve a literary mystery.

Byatt’s Medusa’s Ankles: Selected Stories presents a cross-section of her work. From realistic stories like “Raw Material”–a story about a creative writing teacher who actually finds a student whose writing is genuinely creative–to “A Stone Woman” where a woman is literally turning to stone, these tales tantalize and surprise.

The two stories I enjoyed the most would probably fall into the category of Fantasy. “The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye” is the longest story in Medusa’s Ankles; it’s almost 100 pages. The story involves a professor of narratology, Gillian Perholdt, who attends an academic conference in Turkey after her husband leaves her and says good-bye through a fax. Gillian Perholt buys a beautiful bottle and guess what? Yes, a djinn (aka, genie) appears and grants her three wishes. Plenty of humor and pathos follow. “The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye” is a master class in story telling and narratology.

My second favorite story is “Cold.” In a kingdom long ago, the Queen–after giving birth to 12 boys–finally gives birth to a girl. The girl is “fragile” and wan. But, her tutor starts to formulate a theory of her health. When he spies the Princess dancing in the snow, he realizes her true nature. But, when the Princess marries, she’s confronted by the consequences of her true nature.

A. S. Byatt is a marvelous writer. Her stories, whether realistic or fantastic, will sweep you away! GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

INTRODUCTION By David Mitchell — vii

The July ghost — 3

Sugar — 21

Precipice-encurled — 55

Racine and the tablecloth — 85

Medusa’s ankles — 117

The Chinese lobster — 131

Dragons’ breath — 155

The Djinn in the nightingale’s eye — 165

A Lamia in the Cévennes — 263

Christ in the house of Martha and Mary — 281

Cold — 289

Heavenly bodies — 325

Raw material — 335

A stone woman — 359

The narrow jet — 391

Dolls’ eyes — 415

The lucid dreamer — 429

Sea story — 437

Encanto is a Disney animated mystery. Featuring the voices of Stephanie Beatriz, María Cecilia Botero, John Leguizamo, Mauro Castillo, Jessica Darrow, Angie Cepeda, Carolina Gaitán, Diane Guerrero, and Wilmer Valderrama, the film follows a multigenerational Colombian family, the Madrigals, led by a matriarch whose children and grandchildren—except for Mirabel Madrigal (Beatriz)—receive magical gifts from a “miracle” candle that helps them serve the people in their rural community called “the Encanto”.

When Mirabel learns that the family is losing their magic, she sets out to find out what is happening, and save her family and their magical house. Mirabel follows the clues that lead to the Past and a missing family member, Bruno, whose Gift was that he could see the Future.

Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote the music for Encanto. I liked the plot and the silly characters. Mirabel–pitied because she has no “Gift”–shows she has investigative powers and leadership skills. Encanto, like many Disney movies, is inspiring. GRADE: B

The headline in the sport section of Saturday’s WALL STREET JOURNAL read: MY HEAD SAYS RAMS, BUT MY HEART SAYS BENGALS. That’s pretty much the way I feel. The Rams are favored by 4 points, but many of the ESPN “experts” are predicting a Rams romp over the Bengals. I like Joe Burrow, but Aaron Donald will be chasing him all game long. I would love to see the Bengals pull the upset, but I’m going with the Rams: 27-24. Who do you think will win the Super Bowl?

Diane and I use our freezer quite a bit. There’s always pizza ready to be warmed up and devoured! Diane freezes plenty of chicken and turkey for use in her various recipes. But Ashley Christensen and Kaitlyn Goalen take freezing to a whole new level!

Christensen and Goalen believe the freezer is an underutilized appliance and with proper planning, meals can be more delicious and prep time can be reduced drastically.

This cookbook starts out with the basics: how to use your freezer, what to freeze and what NOT to freeze, and other important issues. Then the recipes start with attractive photos of the wonderful food that results from using the freezing strategy. YUMMY!

I liked the variety of recipes in this book: some for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. These cooks accentuate the simplifying of food preparation as well as the value of quality ingredients to enhance the taste. If you want to learn how to make your cooking life easier, and prepare more delicious food, It’s Always Freezer Season will show you how. What’s in your freezer? GRADE: A

Table of Contents:

Introduction: Why the freezer? 1

How to use this book 5

Recipes Organized By Course 6

Part 1 How to Use Your Freezer 9

1 What to freeze and what not to freeze 11

2 How long can I freeze it? 21

Frozen Food Lifespan 24

3 How to freeze 27

4 How to unfreeze 39

Part 2 The Freeze Pantry 47

5 Grains 49

6 Proteins 81

7 Dairy 111

8 Vegetables 133

Part 3 Freezer-Friendly Dishes 165

9 Breakfast and brunch dishes 167

10 Snacks and bites 181

11 Soups and saucy things 189

12 Casseroles and bakes 209

13 Sweets 223

14 Beverages 237

Resources 253

Acknowledgments 255

About the authors 257

Index 258

I’ve been a fan of prolific Simon R. Green’s Science Fiction (Deathstalker series) and Fantasy (Nightside series). Green’s Ishmael Jones series falls somewhere between. Ishmael Jones is an agent for a shadowy entity called The Organization. Jones is invited by his boss, The Colonel, to elegant but isolated Belcourt Manor for Christmas. Jones arrives in the middle of a blizzard which shuts down roads in the area. And, like an Agatha Christie novel, the characters at Belcourt Manor start to be murdered, one by one. Ishmael Jones mentions he operates on the dark side of the road. He certainly proves it in this novel. Solving the mystery is just part of the plot. Stopping the murderer is another. If you’re looking for a suspenseful Christmas mystery with a twisty plot, give The Dark Side of the Street a try. GRADE: B
THE ISHMAEL JONES MYSTERY SERIES:
The Dark Side of the Road (May 2015)
Dead Man Walking (May 2016)
Very Important Corpses: An Ishmael Jones mystery (March 2017)
Death Shall Come (September 2017)
Into the Thinnest of Air (March 2018)

Murder in the Dark (August 2018)

Till Sudden Death Do Us Part (August 2019)

Night Train to Murder (January 2020)

The House on Widows Hill (July 2020)

Buried Memories (October 2021)