The Physics of Everyday Things: The Extraordinary Science Behind an Ordinary Day explains how the devices we take for granted–toasters, hairdryers, microwave ovens, TV remotes, etc.–work. James Kakalios takes us through a hypothetical day from morning to night and shows how the devices we use all the time use physics to operate. Now I understand how a laser pointer works (it’s more complicated than you think!). And Kakalios differentiates between LED, LCD, and OLED HDTVs. You’ll be astonished at the principles that keep our tech world operating. Kakalios writes in a clear style with plenty of examples. GRADE: B
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
1. Begin Your Day 1
2. You Drive into the City 29
3. You Go to the Doctor 57
4. You Go to the Airport 87
5. You Take a Flight 115
6. You Give a Business Presentation 141
7. You Go to a Hotel 177
Acknowledgemetns 207
Notes 211
Figure Captions 233
Index 237

I was on the bubble about seeing Baby Driver until Patti Abbott said she liked it. Since this is CAPER/HEIST WEEK for FRIDAY’S FORGOTTEN BOOKS, Baby Driver fits right in with its bank robbery, armored car theft, and post office burglary.

The cast is great: Ansel Elgort, Kevin Spacey, Lily James, Eiza González, Jon Hamm, Jamie Foxx and Jon Bernthal. Edgar Wright wrote the script and directed the movie. If you’re in the mood for action, car chases, and explosions you’ll love Baby Driver. GRADE: B
SOUNDTRACK LIST:
1 Bellbottoms by The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion 5:18
2 Harlem Shuffle by Bob & Earl 2:48
3 Egyptian Reggae by Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers 2:37
4 Smokey Joe’s La La by Googie René 2:55
5 Let’s Go Away For Awhile by The Beach Boys 2:17
6 B-A-B-Y by Carla Thomas 2:54
7 Kashmere by Kashmere Stage Band 4:56
8 Unsquare Dance by The Dave Brubeck Quartet 2:02
9 Neat Neat Neat by The Damned 2:41
10 Easy by The Commodores 4:13
11 Debora by T. Rex 3:07
12 Debra by Beck 5:38
13 Bongolia by Incredible Bongo Band 2:12
14 Baby Let Me Take You (In My Arms) by The Detroit Emeralds 3:50
15 Early in the Morning by Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated 2:56
16 The Edge by David Mccallum 2:52
17 Nowhere To Run (Single Version) by Martha & The Vandellas 2:46
18 Tequila by Button Down Brass 3:30
19 When Something Is Wrong With My Baby by Sam & Dave 3:14
20 Every Little Bit Hurts by Brenda Holloway 2:54
21 Intermission by Blur 2:29
22 Hocus Pocus by Focus 3:12
23 Radar Love by Golden Earring 3:43
24 Never, Never Gonna Give Ya Up by Barry White 4:48
25 Know How by Young MC 4:01
26 Brighton Rock by Queen 5:10
27 Easy (Music From The Motion Picture Baby Driver) by Sky Ferreira 4:27
28 Baby Driver by Simon & Garfunkel 3:16
29 “Was He Slow?” (Music From The Motion Picture Baby Driver) by Kid Koala 1:46
30 Chase Me (Music From The Motion Picture Baby Driver) [Explicit] by Danger Mouse featuring Run The Jewels and Big Boi

Come From Away thrilled us when we saw the Broadway version last month. It’s the true story of what happened on September 11, 2001 when planes were diverted to Newfoundland, Canada when U.S. airspace was closed to incoming planes. Yes, 38 planes landed and over 6.000 passengers were stuck on the jets for hours. Finally, the Canadians decided to host the passengers until the crisis was resolved. Of course, problems abounded!

We enjoyed the story and the music. My favorite song was “Me and the Sky” sung by a female pilot of one of the planes. I liked the music so much, I ordered the soundtrack. Highly recommended! GRADE: A-
TRACK LIST:
1. Welcome to the Rock
2. 38 Planes
3. Blankets and Bedding
4. 28 Hours/Wherever We Are
5. Darkness and Trees
6. On The Bus
7. Darkness and Trees (Reprise)
8. Lead Us Out Of the Night
9. Phoning Home
10. Costume Party
11. I Am Here
12. Prayer
13. On The Edge
14. In The Bar/Heave Away
15. Screech In
16. Me and the Sky
17. The Dover Fault
18. Stop the World
19. 38 Planes (Reprise)/Somewhere in the Middle of Nowhere
20. Something’s Missing
21. Years Later
22. Finale
23. Bonus: Screech Out

I took Diane to dinner at the Webster Bistro, our local restaurant that specializes in French cuisine. It was Diane’s Birthday so I wanted her to enjoy something special. Diane ordered the Mixed Green salad and the Chicken Cordon Bleu. I ordered the Chicken and Corn soup and the New York Strip Steak with rice. For dessert, Diane and I decided to share the restaurant’s signature dessert: the 17-Layer Chocolate Cake. Delicious cake alternating with scintillating Ganache topped with creamy frosting!

Yes, it was as yummy as it looks! What’s your favorite dessert?

Comic actor Kumail Nanjiani plays a struggling stand-up comic (and UBER driver) in Chicago. He meets Zoe Kazan after one of his comedy shows and their relationship begins. But, of course, Life intrudes. Zoe gets sick…really really sick. Kumail has to sign a document that allows the doctors to put Zoe in a medically induced coma.

Yes, I know this doesn’t sound funny, but Zoe’s parents show up: Holly Hunter and Ray Romano. Kumail and Zoe’s parents “bond” because of the crisis. This isn’t your usual romantic comedy. Diane and I enjoyed The Big Sick and you would, too. Clever, funny, and heart-felt. GRADE: B+

Once again STARK HOUSE delivers a fabulous omnibus edition. This time, the treat is three Al Wheeler mysteries by “carter brown” (the pen name of Alan Geoffrey Yates). I started reading “carter brown” books back in the early Sixties (and had numerous cashiers hassle me for buying books they deemed salacious).

This STARK HOUSE edition includes The Wench is Wicked (1955), the first Al Wheeler mystery. It has never been published in the United States. It introduces the wise-cracking Lieutenant who is like no other police detective. Wheeler chases women and murderers with equal enthusiasm. In this case, Wheeler investigates the murder of a writer with ties to a group shooting a Western movie.

Also included is The Blonde (1955), where a missing woman who suddenly comes out of hiding for a scheduled TV interview is murdered before she can tell her secrets.

Blonde Verdict (1956) was published in the U.S. by Signet in 1960 under the title, The Brazen. The U. S. edition was revised. This STARK HOUSE omnibus reprints the original Australian version.

Chris Yates provides a useful introduction to the prolific Alan Geoffrey Yates. There’s a nice Art Scott quote from his article on Carter Brown in Crime and Mystery Writers of the 20th Century. This book has it all!

Several times in my reading of I Was Told To Come Alone I thought, “Souad Mekhen is going to be killed!” She meets with the Talban, ISIS leaders, and other very dangerous people. I could not do her job! Souad is relentless in the pursuit of an interview. This book tells her story growing up in Germany and Morocco. From the earliest years, she displays her fearlessness and independence. As Souad moves her way up the journalistic world, she takes increasing risks. Her imprisonment in Egypt was hair-raising! If you want to understand what’s happening in the shadow world of Jihad, this book explains everything. GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Prologue: Meeting with ISIS Turkey, 2014 1
1. Stranger in a Strange Land Germany and Morocco, 1978-1993 7
2. The Hamburg Cell Germany, 1994-2003 33
3. A Country With a Divided Soul Iraq, 2003-4 58
4. A Call from Khaled el-Masri Germany & Algeria, 2004-6 84
5. Even If I Die Today or Tomorrow Lebannon, 2007 101
6. The Lost Boys of Zarqa Jordan, 2007 123
7. The Value of Life Algeria, 2008 143
8. Guns and Roses Pakistan, 2009 156
9. Mukhabarat Egpypt, 2011 170
10. This Is Not an Arab Spring Germany & Tunisia, 2011 192
11. Threats Bahrain, Iran & Germany, 2011-2013 208
12. Boys for the Caliphate Germany, 2013 230
13. Brides for the Caliphate Germany and France, 2014-15 243
14. The Search for an Islamist Beatle, or Finding Jihadi John Britain, 2014-15 261
15. Terror Comes Home Austria, France & Belgium, 2015-2016 285
Epilogue: The Deepest Cut Germany & Morocco, 2016 305
Notes 321
Acknowledgements 340
Index 343

August Octavio Snow, former Detroit detective, gets unjustly fired, sues the city, and wins a $12 million settlement. But, money doesn’t bring Snow happiness. He finds himself involved in a complex murder investigation that leads to the world of high finance. Yes, August Snow is a mystery, but it has elements of the Executioner, too. This is Stephen Mack Jones’s first novel. It won’t be his last. GRADE: B

In July 2016, Carole King performed her iconic album Tapestry at the BST Hyde Park London to a sold-out stadium. Not only did Carole King perform her album in its entirety for the first time in concert, King also treated the 65,000 plus fans in attendance to a number of classic Goffin/King compositions and an energetic performance of “I Feel The Earth Move” with Cassidy Janson and the London cast of Beautiful The Carole King Musical. DJ Scott Shannon introduces the program and there’s a special interview with Carole King included. Check your local Regal Theaters because this event happens tonight! Diane and I have our tickets! How about you? What’s your favorite Carole King song?
SET LIST:
1. I Feel the Earth Move
2. So Far Away
3. It’s Too Late
4. Home Again
5. Beautiful
6. Way Over Yonder
7. You’ve Got a Friend
8. Where You Lead (with Louise Goffin)
9. Will You Love Me Tomorrow? (with Louise Goffin)
10. Smackwater Jack (with Louise Goffin)
11. Tapestry
12. (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman
Other Hits
13. Take Good Care of My Baby / It Might As Well Rain Until September (without band)
14. Go Away Little Girl / I’m Into Something Good / One Fine Day
(without band)
15. Some Kind of Wonderful
16. Hey Girl
17. Chains
18. Jazzman
Encore:
19. Up on the Roof
20. The Loco-Motion
21. I Feel the Earth Move
Encore 2:
22. You’ve Got a Friend

Submission was a controversial Best Seller in France in 2015. Michel Houellebecq writes about the growing Muslim influence on French society. His narrator, a college professor in the Literature Department, finds himself “retired” when a Muslim faction takes over the French education system. Polygamy becomes standard. Houellebecq’s story of France slipping into an Islamic culture generated plenty of debate a couple years ago. You can’t read Submission without coming away pondering the issues it raises. GRADE: B+