William Giraldi’s American Audacity begins with a couple audacious statements: Giraldi says Emily Dickinson is the best American poet and no one other than an American could have written Moby Dick. American Audacity explores dozens of literary topics and a gaggle of writers.

I enjoyed the essays on Cynthia Ozick, David Denby, Lionel Trilling, and Joseph Epstein–all critics whose books I’ve read faithfully over the years. Giraldi’s essay on Moby Dick is thought-provoking. “Darkness There: Edgar Allan Poe” forced me to go to my Library of America Poe volume and reread some stories. And after reading Giraldi on Daniel Woodrell, I wanted to drop everything and read some Woodrell. If you’re hungering for some intelligent, well written literary essays, you’ll find what you’re looking for in William Giraldi’s American Audacity. GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
INTRODUCTION: American Audacity xi
AMERICAN MOMENTS
Creative destruction — 3
Problem of the Catholic novelist — 15
Bibliophile — 31
Art of hate mail — 46
Writer’s immortality — 60
American bestsellers — 73
Single shade of grey — 83
Memoir now — 91
Terms of terror — 102
Promise of happiness — 108
AMERICAN CRITICS
Thinking Things Anew: Cynthia Ozick — 117
School of Fish: Stanley Fish –125
Death and the Sun: Katie Roiphe –140
Clearer Air: David Denby — 146
Ideal Critic: Lionel Trilling — 160
Why to Read: Wendy Lesser — 165
Living Labyrinth: Harold Bloom — 170
The Tomahawk: James Wolcott — 185
Against Dullness: Joseph Epstein — 192
Unmaking It: Norman Podhoretz — 206
On Literature and Love. 219
AMERICAN STORIES
The Magican: Allan Gurganus — 233
Mockingbird, Incorporated: Harper Lee — 267
The Devil and James Baldwin –292
Satan is a Whaler: Moby Dick. — 308
Darkness There: Edgar Allan Poe — 321
The Hedonist: Carl Van Vechten — 340
Fabled Beyond: Daniel Woodrell — 355
Sick in God: Christian Wiman — 362
What We Share: Elizabeth Spencer — 370
Only the Mess: Padgett Powell — 377
Thrill Me: Barry Hannah — 387
Truth to Spirit: Lauren Slater — 400
Far from God: Denis Johnson — 410
On Influence: Cormac McCarthy — 420
Fabled Waste: Child of God — 426
The Monkey’s Business: Francine Prose — 433
The Ballad of Mom and Dad: Richard Ford — 438
Acknowledgements — 443
Index — 445

I’m a fan of Charles Stross’s THE LAUNDRY series about a secret British agency who defends the planet from threats from other dimensions. Things have gone from Bad to Worse as The Labyrinth Index opens with the American President on the run from a takeover of a cabal intent on waking Cthulhu. The cabal has cast a geas that makes everyone in the U.S. forget there is a President! A team of British agents is sent to the United States to help restore sanity (and memory). It takes too many pages for Stross to set up his huge climatic ending, but there’s action and fireworks to burn in the final section of The Labyrinth Index. Good, but not great. GRADE: B
THE LAUNDRY FILES SERIES:
The Atrocity Archives (2004)
The Jennifer Morgue (2006)
Down on the Farm (2008 novelette)
Overtime (2009 novelette)
The Fuller Memorandum (2010)
The Apocalypse Codex (2012)
Equoid (2013 novelette)
The Rhesus Chart (2014)
The Annihilation Score (2015)
The Nightmare Stacks (2016)
The Delirium Brief (2017)
The Labyrinth Index (2018)

I’m a big fan of the Justice League animated series. For my money, Justice League Unlimited is the best of all the various versions. The graphics are great, the storylines are compelling. Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, the Martian Man-hunter, Green Lantern, and Hawkgirl–the Original Seven Justice Leaguers–are joined by Green Arrow, Supergirl, and Black Canary. I enjoyed the unusual superhero pairings and the variety of plots. Lex Luthor and the Legion of Doom menace the planet so the story arc over several episodes keeps the suspense high. With this package, you get 3 Blu-ray Discs with 897 minutes of action and thrills. If you’re a fan of the Justice League, you’ll love this! GRADE: A

With a Recession looming in 2019, P. J. O’Rourke’s None of My Business arrives to explain the U. S. Economy and the dangers ahead. When the 2018 Republican Tax Cut gave a trillion dollar windfall to the One Percent, it gave the Economy a “sugar high.” Billions of dollars poured into the Stock Market (where else would you park your money?). And, of course, the Stock Market went up. The Rich got Richer.

But now that stimulus is starting to fade. The Stock Market has become more volatile. Down days, blamed on Trump’s tariffs, drag the indexes down. I believe we’re seeing the beginning of a Bear Market for the next two years (at least!). P. J. O’Rourke provides some additional evidence to support the case for an upcoming Recession. Time to start preparing for some Rough Times ahead! GRADE: A-
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Foreword: Why I’m not rich and you aren’t either 1
Section I: How I learned economics by watching people try to kill each other
Introduction — 9
Lesson One: The power of the economic impulse — 12
Lesson Two: The real secret behind all investment scams — 17
Lesson Three: (Topic for discussion) If you want hard money, how hard do you have to be to get it? — 22
Section II: Money and banking
Introduction — 29
The strange, shape-shifting symbol of value — 32
My own personal central bank — 38
Negative interest rates: not only wrong but evil — 44
Debt jubilee — 48
Section III: Mutant capitalism
Introduction: The mutants — 57
One good thing about mutant capitalists: they aren’t playing Monopoly — 69
What are corporations for? — 75
Section IV: The transition
Introduction: The digital age and which digit it’s giving us — 81
A brief history of economic transitions — 87
A blockhead confronts the blockchain — 92
What’s the connection? — 100
What has the digital revolution done to print media? — 106
Five lessons about the digital economy from a member of the digital generation — 112
Innovation: it’s all in your head — 118
Innovations that get no respect — 125
Unnovations — 131
Six geniuses (plus some cartoon animators) try to see into the future — 135
A ray of hope in the contest between man and machine — 144
Section V: Consumption
Introduction: Some thoughts on the history of trade — 151
The price of being middle class — 157
Armchair predictions about consumer trends — 164
Consumer trends among the “grumpies” — 169
Consumer trends among the “grumpies,” part 2 — 173
Summing up American consumer trends — 178
All the money in the world — 182
Section VI: Random walk
Introduction — 193
Five things I know about China — 195
Doubts about Asia — 202
Thoughts while cleaning the chicken coop — 209
Six lessons from a man on horseback — 214
Sympathy for the devil — 219
Reform or deform? — 223
Free-for-all! — 231
Acknowledgements — 239

Claire Foy is brilliant as vengeful hacker, Lisbeth Salander. She’s the reason to watch The Girl in the Spider’s Web: A New Dragon Tattoo Story despite its predictable plot. Claire Foy’s Lisbeth Salander is 180 degrees from her role as The Queen on Netflix’s The Crown. I really liked Rooney Mara in David Fincher’s The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (and wish Mara and Fincher had filmed the other two books in the Millennium series). Noomi Rapace’s Lisbeth Salander presents a strong, intense justice seeker in her trilogy of Swedish films. Claire Foy’s Salander, more caring and vulnerable (she takes a lot of punishment in this movie!), still projects her character’s relentless strength and cunning.

Part of the problems with The Girl in the Spider’s Web result from director and co-writer Fede Alvarez decisions. Alavarez is best known for his suspense film, Don’t Breathe, where a blind man stalks a trio of teenagers who broke into his house. In The Girl in the Spider’s Web, Lisbeth Salander finds herself being stalked by a mysterious gang who wants a computer program that cracks nuclear weapons’s security. This movie has a little bit of a Mission Impossible feel to it with the fight scenes and elaborate stunts. I wish Claire Foy’s Salander spent more time beating up Bad Guys. You can read my review of the book version of The Girl in the Spider’s Web here. GRADE: B+

I’m a fan of the STARK HOUSE “Black Gat” series of reprints. The latest book in the series is Bert and Dolores Hitchens End of the Line, one of the railway detective mysteries from the 1950s. The Lobo Tunnel disaster, a deliberate “accident” where the train hit an obstruction in the Tunnel, remains an unsolved case. Two unlikely railway cops, John Farrel–a veteran detective with a drinking problem–and Calvin Saunders–a talented but inexperienced investigator–are assigned to the Lobo Tunnel cold case six years after the incident. Farrel and Saunders focus on the conductor, Parmenter, who has just served a five year sentence in a Mexican prison.

I enjoyed the detailed description of Peg Parmenter, the conductor’s troubled teen-age daughter. Peg wants to reconnect with her father, but senses that he is withholding information from her. As Farrel and Saunders unravel the sabotage scheme, the suspense ratchets up. From Page One End of the Line stays on track to take the reader on a wild ride. GRADE: B+
RAILWAY MYSTERY SERIES:
F.O.B. Murder (Doubleday CC, 1955); UK: 1957, American Bloodhound no. 154
One-Way Ticket (Doubleday CC, 1956); UK: 1958, American Bloodhound no. 193
End of Line (Doubleday CC, 1957); UK: 1958, American Bloodhound. no. 216
The Man Who Followed Women (Doubleday CC, 1959); UK: 1960, American Bloodhound no. 332
The Grudge (Doubleday, 1963); UK: 1964, American Bloodhound. no. 466

Just in time for that Beatles fan on your Holiday Gift list, this new package offers plenty of New Stuff. For 50 years, The White Album has invited its listeners to venture forth and explore the breadth and ambition of its music, delighting and inspiring each new generation of listeners. The Beatles have now released a suite of lavishly presented White Album packages, including an expanded 6CD + Blu-ray package. The album’s 30 tracks are newly mixed by producer Giles Martin and mix engineer Sam Okell in stereo and 5.1 surround audio, joined by 27 early acoustic demos and 50 session takes, most of which are previously unreleased in any form. GRADE: B+
Track Listings
Disc: 1
1. Back In The U.S.S.R.
2. Dear Prudence
3. Glass Onion
4. Ob – La
5. Wild Honey Pie
6. The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill
7. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
8. Happiness Is A Warm Gun
9. Martha My Dear
10. I’m So Tired
11. Blackbird
12. Piggies
13. Rocky Racoon
14. Don’t Pass Me By
15. Why Don’t We Do It In The Road?
16. I Will
17. Julia
Disc: 2
1. Birthday
2. Yer Blues
3. Mother Nature’s Son
4. Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey
5. Sexy Sadie
6. Helter Skelter
7. Long, Long, Long
8. Revolution 1
9. Honey Pie
10. Savoy Truffle
11. Cry Baby Cry
12. Revolution 9
13. Good Night
Disc: 3
1. Back In The U.S.S.R. (Esher Demo)
2. Dear Prudence (Esher Demo)
3. Glass Onion (Esher Demo)
4. Ob – La
5. The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill (Esher Demo)
6. While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Esher Demo)
7. Happiness Is A Warm Gun (Esher Demo)
8. I’m So Tired (Esher Demo)
9. Blackbird (Esher Demo)
10. Piggies (Esher Demo)
11. Rocky Raccoon (Esher Demo)
12. Julia (Esher Demo)
13. Yer Blues (Esher Demo)
14. Mother Nature’s Son (Esher Demo)
15. Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey (Esher Demo)
16. Sexy Sadie (Esher Demo)
17. Revolution (Esher Demo)
18. Honey Pie (Esher Demo)
19. Cry Baby Cry (Esher Demo)
20. Sour Milk Sea (Esher Demo)
21. Junk (Esher Demo)
22. Child Of Nature (Esher Demo)
23. Circles (Esher Demo)
24. Mean Mr Mustard (Esher Demo)
25. Polythene Pam (Esher Demo)
26. Not Guilty (Esher Demo)
27. What’s The New Mary Jane (Esher Demo)
Disc: 4
1. Revolution 1 (Take 18)
2. A Beginning (Take 4)/Don’t Pass Me By (Take 7)
3. Blackbird (Take 28)
4. Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey (Unnumbered Rehearsal)
5. Good Night (Unnumbered Rehearsal)
6. Good Night (Take 10 With A Guitar Part From Take 7)
7. Good Night (Take 22)
8. Ob – La
9. Revolution (Unnumbered Rehearsal)
10. Revolution (Take 14 Instrumental Backing Track)
11. Cry Baby Cry (Unnumbered Rehearsal)
12. Helter Skelter (First Version Take 2)
Disc: 5
1. Sexy Sadie (Take 3)
2. While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Acoustic Version Take 2)
3. Hey Jude (Take 1)
4. St Louis Blues (Studio Jam)
5. Not Guilty (Take 102)
6. Mother Nature’s Son (Take 15)
7. Yer Blues (Take 5 With Guide Vocal)
8. What’s The New Mary Jane (Take 1)
9. Rocky Raccoon (Take 8)
10. Back In The U.S.S.R. (Take 5 Instrumental Backing Track)
11. Dear Prudence (Vocal, Guitar & Drums)
12. Let It Be (Unnumbered Rehearsal)
13. While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Third Version Take 27)
14. (You’re So Square) Baby I Don’t Care (Studio Jam)
15. Helter Skelter (Second Version Take 17)
16. Glass Onion (Take 10)
Disc: 6
1. I Will (Take 13)
2. Blue Moon (Studio Jam)
3. I Will (Take 29)
4. Step Inside Love (Studio Jam)
5. Los Paranoias (Studio Jam)
6. Can You Take Me Back (Take 1)
7. Birthday (Take 2 Instrumental Backing Track)
8. Piggies (Take 12 Instrumental Backing Track)
9. Happiness Is A Warm Gun (Take 19)
10. Honey Pie (Instrumental Backing Track)
11. Savoy Truffle (Instrumental Backing Track)
12. Martha My Dear (Without Brass And Strings)
13. Long Long Long (Take 44)
14. I’m So Tired (Take 7)
15. I’m So Tired (Take 14)
16. The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill (Take 2)
17. Why Don’t We Do It In The Road? (Take 5)
18. Julia (Two Rehearsals)
19. The Inner Light (Take 6 Instrumental Backing Track)
20. Lady Madonna (Take 2 Piano & Drums)
21. Lady Madonna (Backing Vocals Take 3)
22. Across The Universe (Take 6)”

“Let us consider a different murder,” said Hamza. “The scene changes. Look again at the faces of the victims. There is no recent passion in their expressions, no flushed cheek, no kiss-swollen lips. It was not love that drew them to that room, but silver and secrets. And it was not jealous fury that tore their lives from them. The spectral husband fades, and is replace by a colder shadow.” (p. 161)

Former Imperial Librarian Li Du returns to 18th Century Beijing in the capacity of a humble assistant to Inspector Sun of the North Borough Office. Li Du took the position to secretly access records about his former mentor, Shu. Shu was executed years ago as part of a plot against the Emperor. Since Li Du was Shu’s friend, Li Du was exiled. The Emperor later lifted that exile which allowed Li Du to return to Beijing.

But, before Li Du can solve the mystery of Shu, he’s confronted by a double murder at the Black Tile Factory. The wife of the owner and a government official were found stabbed to death. Li Du resists the obvious conclusion that this a crime of passion. Instead, Li Du finds himself drawn into a web of corruption and conspiracy in the imperial capital.

I’ve read the first two Li Du mysteries. You can read my review of Jade Dragon Mountain here and The White Mirror here. You don’t have to read the previous two books to enjoy City of Ink. I enjoyed these different historical mysteries. GRADE: A

I’ve seen Fiddler on the Roof five times and this version at the Shea’s Performing Arts Center is the best of the bunch. The story of Tevye, a Jewish milkman in the small Russian town of Anatevka in 1905, and his wife Golde and their five daughters lights up the stage in this updated musical. Director Barlett Sher’s staging for this touring company reflects his innovations for the Broadway production. Things are changing in Russia and those changes are reaching Tevye’s family. The musical starts with a song of “Tradition” which introduces one of the themes of this play. Tevye would like to stick with Tradition, but the marriages of his daughters test his resolve. Yehezkel Lazarov, who plays Tevye brilliantly in this touring version of Fiddler on the Roof, finds his ideals and religion tested as his daughters marry…untraditionally. I really enjoyed the performances of Mel Weyn as Tzeitel, Ruthy Froch as Hodel, and Natalie Powers as Chava. They sing the classic “Matchmaker, Matchmaker” in their innocence ignorant of the fates that await them. (My favorite is the bookish Chava!)

The dance sequences burst with energy, especially the fabulous Bottle Dance. Classic songs like “Sunrise, Sunset” and “If I Were a Rich Man” sound great! If this wonderful touring musical shows up in your neighborhood, I highly recommend it! GRADE: A
SONG LIST:
Act I
“Prologue: Tradition” – Tevye and Company
“Matchmaker, Matchmaker” – Tzeitel, Hodel and Chava
“If I Were a Rich Man” – Tevye
“Sabbath Prayer” – Tevye, Golde, Company
“To Life” – Tevye, Lazar Wolf, Russian soloist and Men
“Tevye’s Monologue” – Tevye
“Miracle of Miracles” – Motel
“Tevye’s Dream” – Tevye, Golde, Grandma Tzeitel, Rabbi, Fruma-Sarah and Company
“Sunrise, Sunset” – Tevye, Golde, Perchik, Hodel and Company
“The Bottle Dance” – Instrumental
Act II
“Entr’acte” – Orchestra
“Now I Have Everything” – Perchik and Hodel
“Tevye’s Rebuttal” – Tevye
“Do You Love Me?” – Tevye and Golde
“The Rumor/I Just Heard” – Yente and Villagers §
“Far From the Home I Love” – Hodel
“Chavaleh (Little Bird)” – Tevye
“Anatevka” – The Company