This 1996 compilation CD features several women singers who were at the top of their game in the Nineties. Gloria Estefan had just recovered from a near-death experience and sings about it in “Coming Out of the Dark.” My favorite song on this celebration of women in music is Sade’s “Smooth Operator.” Do you remember these songs? Do you remember these women singers? GRADE: B+
TRACK LIST:
1. If You Asked Me To – Celine Dion
2. Feel So High – Des’ree
3. Sally’s Pigeons – Cyndi Lauper
4. Colouring Blue – Nicky Holland
5. Holding On – Beverley Craven
6. Smooth Operator – Sade
7. Time And Tide – Basia
8. Closer To Fine – Indigo Girls
9. Coming Out Of The Dark – Gloria Estefan
10. Power Of Love – Jennifer Rush

Half-way through the first essay in Sunshine State, “BFF,” I started to think “Is Sarah Gerard making this up?” Did all that sex, drugs, alcohol, heavy smoking actually happen? More bizarre behavior shows up in “Mother-Father God” where Gerard explains the religious upbringing she endured. My favorite essay in this collection is “Going Diamond” where Sarah’s mother and father get caught up in selling Amway products in cult-like fashion. “The Mayor of Williams Park” is a tragic story of a homeless man. “Sunshine State” is about birds. “Rabbit” is another tragic story, this time about Gerard’s grandmother’s declining health. I wasn’t moved by these essays. I felt like Sarah Gerard was putting on performances instead of exploring topics. And I found the Sunshine State to be a dark and dreary place. GRADE: C
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
BFF 1
Mother-Father God 17
Going Diamond 73
Records 123
The Mayor of Williams Park 173
Sunshine State 225
Rabbit 281
Before: An Inventory 297
Acknowledgments 307
Bibliography 309
Endnotes 327

Ruth Bader Ginzburg fought for women’s rights before the Supreme Court (she won five of six cases) before Bill Clinton surprised everyone by picking RBG for an empty Supreme Court seat in 1993. Julie Cohen and Betsy West try to capture RBG’s eventful life in 96 minutes. I did not know RBG fought cancer twice. RBG’s husband gave up his lucrative law practice in New York City to support RBG when she was named to the Washington, D.C. District Court of Appeals by Jimmy Carter. This film celebrates their marriage. But the best part of RBG is hearing the audio of Ruth Bader Ginzburg arguing her cases before the Supreme Court. I got chills hearing Ginzburg spar with nine men who had no clue about discrimination of women. RBG is one of the best films of 2018! Don’t miss it! GRADE: A

Substitute Creature is the fourth and final volume in Charles Gilman’s Tales From Lovecraft Middle School series. As in the previous three adventures, Dark Forces threaten the students and teachers at Lovecraft Middle School. This time, it’s a creepy substitute teacher with eldritch powers. I’m sorry to see this Young Adult series end. And, I’ll really miss the cool hologram covers! GRADE: B

Gaudy patter and plenty of mayhem. That’s the formula in Deadpool 2. Ryan Reynolds’s unkillable character assembles a team of goofy superheroes (X-FORCE!) to take on Cable (Josh Brolin), a soldier from the Future. A teenage mutant named Russell (Julian Dennison) is about to kill his school’s Principal which will turn him into a mass murderer who kills Cable’s wife and daughter in the Future. Cable has time travelled to our era to eliminate Russell. Deadpool decides he can “save” Russell before he kills. Along the way, there are explosions, decapitations, and lots of blood. My favorite character is Domino (Zazie Beetz) whose superpower, Luck, comes in handy. If you’re in the mood for a silly–but gory–Summer Movie, Deadpool 2 will punch your ticket. GRADE: B+

Art Scott once attended a mystery convention and wore a Name Tag that read: ORRIE HITT. Orrie Hitt was a prolific writer–150+ books!–whose work in the 1950s and 1960s reached a mass audience. In his informative Introduction, Brian Greene says that Orrie Hitt once banged out a complete novel in two weeks! Orrie Hitt wrote about people we would consider “working class” today. Hitt’s characters struggled with work and life and “making it.” Wayward Girl crackles with steamy sex and broken dreams. The Widow shows what happens when people make Bad Decisions. Orrie Hitt’s books were “hot stuff” back in the Fifties and Sixties. But the suspense and surprises of these books mixed with sexual desire and betrayal still hold a certain fascination. GRADE: B+

I’ve had Just After Sunset (2008) in my Read Real Soon stack of books for about a decade. Some new book would always push Just After Sunset lower in the stack. But finally, Just After Sunset floated to the top of the stack and I read this Big Fat Book in two days. I’ve found Stephen King short story collections like eating potato chips: you can’t stop at one. My favorite story in Just After Sunset is “N.” A psychiatrist treats a man with Obsessive-Compulsive-Disorder. The man claims he visited a site where Reality is “thin.” Monsters from another dimension are close to bursting through. Only his careful OCD routines are keeping the monsters at bay. I found “N.” to be a very chilling story. Some of the stories are a bit over-the-top. “The Cat From Hell” is an early Stephen King story from his men’s magazine days. “Rest Stop” deals with abuse of a woman. “Ayana” is another of King’s ruminations on miracles and Death. “Willa” is a ghost story. “A Very Tight Place” is another of King’s claustrophobic tales. As you can see, Just After Sunset has a wide variety of stories. Are you a Stephen King fan? Do you have a favorite Stephen King work? GRADE: B+
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction 1
Willa 7
The gingerbread girl 42
Harvey’s dream 126
Rest stop 141
Stationary bike 167
The things they left behind 218
Graduation afternoon 262
N. 272
The cat from hell 352
The New York Times at special bargain rates 375
Mute 388
Ayana 422
A very tight place 447
Sunset notes 529

I’m always interested in reading about writers discussing their craft. Elizabeth George has written best selling British mysteries even though she’s an American and lives in California. In 2004, Elizabeth George wrote this writing manual. She believes writing can be taught (many writers think it can’t be taught). I was captivated by George’s thoughts on how Agatha Christie would plant a clue in a scene (Christie would also plant a red herring in the same scene–I never realized this). I found George’s thoughts on dialogue refreshing. George’s taste in writers is also eclectic. If you’re as enthralled by the writing process as I am, you’ll find a lot of Elizabeth George’s notions about writing worth pondering. Are you a fan of Elizabeth George’s mysteries? GRADE: A-
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Preface ix
Part I An Overview of the Craft
1 Story Is Character 3
2 Setting Is Story 17
3 Nothing Without Landscape 29
4 Plotting: “It Is the Cause, My Soul” 39
Part II The Basics
5 Yes, There’s More About Plot. But First… 47
6 Onward from Idea 53
7 The Start: Decisions, Decisions 65
8 As There Is Viewpoint, So Is There Voice 76
9 Voice: You Gotta Have ‘Tude 97
10 Dialogue: Speak the Speech, If You Will 106
11 Tricks of the Dialogue Trade 119
12 The Scene: Okay, So It Is Rocket Science 129
Part III Technique
13 Knowledge Is Power, Technique Is Glory 157
14 Loose Ends 167
Part IV Process
15 Baby Steps First 177
16 The Value of Bum Glue 190
17 Tidbits from Q & A 198
Part V Examples and Guides
18 Gimme a Map, Please 207
19 All About Character 216
20 Turning Places into Settings 230
21 Final Words 253
22 The Process in a Nutshell 255
Notes 258
Index 261

The Justice League animated series ran on the Cartoon Network and this 2-DVD set was released in 2017. I’ve always liked the Justice League–both the comic books and the TV series–for the shifting mix of characters and the unique storylines. Kevin Conroy voices Batman. Mark Hamill is Joker, James Woods is Lex Luthor, Diedrich Bader is Booster Gold. Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman form the core of the Justice League. But unusual characters like Swamp Thing and John Constantine show up to keep things edgy. If you’re a fan of the Justice League, there are 290 minutes of fun on these DVDs! GRADE: A
DISK ONE:
Classic Rock
Power Outage
Night of the Bat
Abate and Switch
Follow That Space Cab!
Nuclear Family Values
Zombie King
Time Share
Under a Red Sun
Play Date
Repulse!
Trick or Treat
DISK TWO:
Speed Demon
Hat Trick
Field Trip
Luthor in Paradise
Plastic Man Saves the World
Rage of the Red Lanterns
Freezer Burn
The Trouble With Truth
Inside Job
Double Cross
Battle of the Bottled City
Garden of Evil
All Aboard the Space Train