John O’Neill of BLACK GATE loves to flaunt his incredible acquisitions from eBay and other sources. Check out John’s scores here and some BLACK GATE goodies here. I decided to do an imitation of John’s book presentations displaying the books I bought at the American Association of University Women’s Annual Book Sale this week. How do you think I did?

Here are Five Fun Facts about Gal Gadot, the actress who plays Wonder Woman:
1. Gal Gadot served as a combat instructor for two years in the Israel Defense Forces.
2. Gal Gadot, as Miss Israel, represented her country in the 2004 Miss Universe pageant.
3. Gal Gadot performed all her own stunts as Gisele in Fast & Furious #6.
4. Gal Gadot is the third actress and first non-American to play Wonder Woman, following Cathy Lee Crosby and Lynda Carter.
5. Gal Gadot added 17 pounds of muscle for her role as Wonder Woman by practicing kung fu, kickboxing, sword fighting, and jujitsu.

Gal Gadot carries Wonder Woman. Yes, Chris Pine, as Steve Trevor (an American spy helping British Intelligence), is a perfect foil for Gadot’s superhero character. Pine’s plane crashes near the island of the Amazons and Wonder Woman saves him. Pine is the first man Wonder Woman has ever seen. Plenty of humor ensues. The scenes of World War I battle fields suggest the horrors of war. Despite all the pyrotechnics of war, it’s the beauty of Gal Gadot that keeps our eyes glued to the Big Screen. I can’t wait to see Gal Gadot in the Justice League movie in November. GRADE: A-

In selections ranging from Bruce Springsteen on his experience of backing up Chuck Berry, to Joan Didion sitting in on a Doors recording session, to Henry Rollins on Madonna, to Roddy Doyle’s The Commitments. Tom Wolfe, Patti Smith, Don DeLillo, John Lennon, Frank Zappa, Nick Hornby, and dozens of other Rock & Roll celebrities record their reactions to the music of our generation. This 672-page compendium presents hours of fascinating writing. Published in 2000, this was one of the best collections of great writing on the music, artists, and personalities we grew up listening to. All the key players are here. Who is your favorite Rock & Roll group or artist? GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
I. DEFINITION OF TERMS
“What we talk about when we talk about rock and roll.”
Bob Dylan  Bringing it all Back Home
Irvine Welsh  In Me Around Me and Everywhere
Pete Townshend  Meaty, Beaty, Big and Bouncy
Nick Hornby  Looter
Salman Rushdie  A World Worthy of Our Yearning
Levon Helm, Martin Scorsese and Robbie Robertson  And if it Dances

II. ANCESTORS
“Jerry Lee … beat the boogie so hard that there was nothing left of the rhythm, nothing but the sounds of the Holy Ghost.”

Charlie  Gillett  From the introduction to The Sound of the City
Robert Johnson  Me and the Devil
Alan Lomax  The Land Where the Blues Began
Bob Dylan  Blind Willie McTell
Robert Palmer  From the Delta to Chicago
Greil Marcus  The Myth of Staggerlee
James Miller  King of the Delta Blues
Nick Tosches  Jerry Lee Sees the Bright Lights of Dallas
Grace Lichtenstein and Laura Dankner  Fats
Bumps Blackwell  Up Against the Wall with Little Richard
Colin Escott and Martin Hawkins  706 Union Avenue
Charlie  Gillett  The Fives Styles of Rock and Roll

III. SUPERSTARDOM
“We sing the guitar electric.”
Brian Wilson  Do You Remember?
Peter Guralnick  Elvis, Scotty and Bill
Chuck Berry  Got to Be Rock and Roll Music
Nelson George  The Godfather of Soul
Philip Norman  A Good Stomping Band
Tom Wolfe  Words to the Wild
Patti Smith  dog dream
Charles Shaar Murray  Hendrix in Black and White
Joel Selvin  These are the Good Old Days
Richard Goldstein  Next Year in San Francisco
Peter Guralnick  Return of the King
Terry Southern  Riding the Lapping Tongue
Jaan Uhelszki   I Dreamed I Was Onstage with Kiss in my Maidenform Bra
Bob Marley with Timothy White  Worth Dying For
Anthony DeCurtis  A Life at the Crossroads
Dave Marsh   I Wanna Know if Love is Real
Joyce Millman  Primadonna
Jon Pareles  Precious Oddball
Gavin Martin  Articulate Speech of the Heart

IV. WEIRDNESS
“Fame requires every kind of excess.”
Mae Boren Axton  Testimony in the Payola Hearing
Unknown  The Plane Crash
Tina Turner with Kurt Loder  A Fool in Love
Dave Marsh  Merchants of Filth
Maureen Cleave  More Popular than Jesus
Ronnie Spector with Vince Waldron  Inflatable Phil
Stanley Booth  Altamont
Richard Goldstein  Gear
Pamela des Barres  Every Inch of My Love
Don DeLillo  Free of Old Saints and Martyrs
John Lennon  The Ballad of John and Yoko
Jon Savage  Ruined for Life
Robert McG. Thomas, Jr.  Rock and Roll Tragedy
William S. Burroughs and Devo  Fed by Things we Hate
Frank Zappa  Statement to the Senate Commerce Committee
Lynn Hirschberg  Strangelove
Jeffrey Rotter  Our Little Satan

V. PRESENT AT THE CREATION
“The tape is going and that is Bob fucking Dylan over there singing, so this had better be me sitting here playing something.”
Doc Pomus  Treatise on the Blues
James Brown with Bruce Tucker  The T.A.M.I. Show
Patti Smith  Rise of the Sacred Monsters
Al Kooper with Ben Edmonds  How Does it Feel?
Jules Siegel  A Teen-age Hymn to God
Joan Didion  Waiting for Morrison
Bill Graham and Robert Greenfield  Woodstock Notion
Michael Lindsay-Hogg  Video Pioneer
Jackson Browne  The Load Out
Nik Cohn  Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night
Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain  Punk Apostles
Tom McGrath  Integrating MTV
Jason Gross  Licensed to Download

VI. SOUL
“Unless my body reaches a certain temperature, starts to liquefy, I just don’t feel right.”
Lucy O’Brien  Girl Groups
Daniel Wolff  A Change is Gonna Come
Patricia Smith  Life According to Motown
Jon Landau  Otis Redding, the King of Them All
Robert Gordon  Dan and Spooner
Jerry Wexler with David Ritz  The Queen of Soul
Gerri Hershey  Soul Men
Roddy Doyle  From The Commitments
David Ritz  What’s Going On
Rickey Vincent  The Mothership Connection
Michael Gonzales  My Father Named Me Prince
Greg Tate  Hip-Hop Defined

VII. CRITICS
“In the twentieth century, that’s all there is: jazz and rock and roll.”
Joe McEwen  Little Willie John
Robert Christgau  Rock Lyrics are Poetry (Maybe)
Paul Williams  All Along the Watchtower
J.R. Young  Reviews of After the Goldrush and Live Dead
Contra Wilson  Of Cock Rock Kings and Other Dinosaurs
Ellen Sander  Inside the Cages of the Zoo
Dave Hickey  The Delicacy of Rock and Roll
Jeff Gomez  Fanzine
Lester Bangs  Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung

VIII. TRIBUTES
“Because when he was alive he could not walk, but now he is walking with God.”
Lewis Shiner  Saving Jimi
Lester Bangs  Where Were You When Elvis Died?
Yoko Ono  Statement to the Press
Joel Selvin  More than `the Piano Player’
Mikel Gilmore  Kurt Cobain’s Road from Nowhere
Phil Spector   Save the Last Dance for Me

In the run-up to the opening of the Wonder Woman movie, I thought you’d enjoy this compendium of other women superheroes. As you can see, there were a lot of them…not just Wonder Woman. Hope Nicholson does a great job putting these superwoman characters in historical context. This book includes plenty of artwork. I learned a lot about the very early characters in comics history that I wasn’t aware of. I have a few quibbles like where is Tank Girl, Barb Wire, and Elektra? But other than a few missing superwomen, The Spectacular Sisterhood of Superwomen presents a fairly comprehensive history of comic book superwomen over the decades. How many of these superwomen do you recognize? GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
1. The 1930s: Birth of an Industry 12
The Magician from Mars 14
Olga Mesmer 15
Sally the Sleuth 17
Torch Brown 20
Icon of the Decade: Little Lulu 22
2. The 1940s: The Golden Age 26
Black Cat 28
Gail Porter: Girl Photographer 30
Gale Allen and the Girl Squadron 31
Katy Keene 33
Madame Strange 34
Miss Fury 37
Senorita Rio 39
Star Flag, Undercover Girl 40
Ultra Violet 43
The Wing 44
Icon of the Decade: Wonder Woman 46
3. The 1950s: Comics Code Crackdown 50
Black Phantom 52
G.I. Jane 54
Gale Ford, Girl Friday 55
Jetta Raye 57
Lucy the Real Gone Gal 58
Man Huntin’ Minnie of Delta Pu 59
Nurse Helen Grant 62
The Old Witch 63
Starlight 65
Tomboy 67
Wendy the Good Little Witch 68
Icon of the Decade: Supergirl 70
4. The 1960s: Superheroes Return 74
Angel O’Day 76
Barbarella 77
Bikini Luv 79
Bunny Ball 81
Mystra and Dragonella 83
Nurse Betsy Crane 85
Pussycat 86
‘Scot 88
Sue and Sally Smith, Flying Nurses 89
Tiffany Sinn 90
Vampirella 92
Icon of the Decade: Batgirl 96
5. The 1970s: Underground Comix Rise 100
Friday Foser 102
Frieda Phelps 104
Laura Chandler 105
Leetah 107
Page Peterson 109
Pauline Peril 110
Pudge, Girl Blimp 113
Starfire 116
Superbitch 118
Survivalwoman 119
Zelda the Witch 121
Icon of the Decade: Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers) 124
6. 1980s: Black-and-White Boom (and Bust) 128
Amanda Waller 130
Cutey Bunny 132
Dakota North 133
Dazzler 135
Fashion in Action 138
Ginger Fox 139
Maggie Chascarillo 141
Ms. Tree 143
Sindi Shade 145
Sunflower 147
Vanity 149
Icon of the Decade: Silk Spectre 152
7. The 1990s: “Comics Aren’t Just for Kids” 156
American Woman 158
Bitchy Bitch (and Bitchy Butch) 160
The Girl 161
The Jaguar 163
Jain 164
Jink 166
Liliane 169
Martha Washington 170
Scary Godmother 173
Simone Cundy 174
Squirrel Girl 175
Icon of the Decade: Witchblade 178
8. The 2000s: Webcomics and ComicCons 182
Annabelle 184
Didi (Desiree Chastel) 185
Empowered 186
Jalisco 188
Jamie McJack 190
Jessica Jones 191
Nibbil 195
Rose Harvestar 197
The Saucy Mermaid 198
Street Angel 200
Xavin 202
Icon of the Decade: Ramona Flowers 204
9. The 2010s: Digital and Diverse 208
Bandette 210
Beth Ross 212
Blaze 214
Bold Riley 216
Callie 218
Deathface Ginny 219
Gwen Dylan 221
Kath, Raven, and Angie 224
Keegan 224
Maika Halfwolf 225
Penny Rolle 228
Icon of the Decade: Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan 230
Index 232
Art Credits 238
Acknowledgements 240

I enjoyed Andrew Cartmel’s first mystery featuring The Vinyl Detective. You can read my review here. This new second adventure, The Vinyl Detective: The Run-Out Groove, has our hero and his girl friend, Nevada, hired to find a rare 45 record (which may have a secret message hidden on it) of “Britain’s answer to Janis Joplin.” Valerian, a troubled girl, was the lead singer in a 1960s rock band. Valerian died–the coroner ruled suicide–and the band broke up. Now, decades later, Valerian’s brother hires The Vinyl Detective and Nevada to find the child Valerian gave birth to before her death. Like the first book in the series, the “thrill of the hunt” for rare records and untangling the stories behind the music generate the excitement. Of course, the Dark Forces try to kill The Vinyl Detective and Nevada, but they interpret this as: “We’re getting close to the answers.” The Vinyl Detective: The Run Out Groove is the perfect Beach Book. Light and frothy, it will amuse you as you work on your tan. GRADE: B+

Just in time for the opening of the Wonder Woman live action feature later this week, this animated movie provides the background to Wonder Woman’s origins. “On the mystical island of Themyscira, a proud warrior race of Amazon women thrives, shielded from the corrupt world of man. But a betrayal leads to the escape of Ares, the God of War, and Amazon Princess Diana must capture him before he unleashes global chaos and destruction. With the aid of cocky fighter pilot Steve Trevor, Diana tracks Ares to the United States for a battle unlike any humankind has ever faced in this epic tale.” That’s a little pompous, but it’s a fair description of what happens in this 113-minute animated adventure. First released in 2009, this edition was directed by Lauren Montgomery and stars the voices of Keri Russell (Diana), Nathan Fillion ((Steve Trevor), Alfred Molina (Ares), Rosario Dawson (Artemis), and Oliver Platt (Hades). If you need a little something extra to get you excited about the Wonder Woman movie, this little tidbit will fire you up! GRADE: B+

Have you noticed that household items seem to break down in pairs? Our fan died and needed replacement (yesterday’s post) and then our ironing board fell apart after years of use. Diane had a coupon at Bed, Bath, and Beyond so she checked out the available ironing boards. Diane decided on the Real Simple Ironing Board (the choice might be influenced by Diane’s subscription to Real Simple magazine). The model Diane purchased was Board Grey 54″ x 15″ RS‑1554. With her coupon, the Real Simple ironing board cost less than $30! A bargain! How much ironing do you do?

Our bedroom upstairs gets warm in the Summer even with the air conditioning. Diane and I have used a fan to help cool the room over the years. But, last Fall, our fan died. Now that warmer temperatures have arrived in Western New York it was time to buy a replacement. We decided on the Costway 18‘’ Pedestal Fan with 3-Speed Oscillating Manual Control (including a Timer and a Swing Head). Even though I’m not “handy,” I ordered the Costway Pedestal Fan from AMAZON (only $36!). It arrived in a few days. With Diane’s help, I was able to assemble the fan. I only needed a Phillips screwdriver. Now, after a week of use, I can report the Costway Pedestal Fan is the quietest fan I’ve ever bought! GRADE: A

When I went to College in the 1960s, there were no Science Fiction courses. Fast forward a few decades and you’ll find colleges and universities started offering courses in Popular Culture: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mysteries, TV shows, movies, etc. By chance, I came into possession of Garyn G. Robert’s “textbook” for college SF courses, The Prentice Hall Anthology of Science Fiction and Fatnasy. It was published in 2001 and became the Gold Standard for SF textbooks for years. Like most textbooks, The Prentice Hall Anthology of Science Fiction and Fantasy takes an historical approach. There are plenty of good stories in this 1000+ page volume. There’s also a lot of clutter. But copies are available online for a pittance. If you’re looking for an comprehensive survey of SF and fantasy, this textbook presents a lot of material. GRADE: B+

TABLE OF CONTENTS
“Foreward” by Jack Williamson
Preface
Introduction: “Stories for the Millennium: Science Fiction and Fantasy as Contemporary Mythology.”
I. TWO ARCHETYPAL STORIES.
Enduring Traditions of Mary Shelley and Edgar Allan Poe.
The Mortal Immortal: A Tale, Mary W. Shelley
The Fall of the House of Usher, Edgar Allan Poe.

II. FANTASY.
Stories of the Fantastique, Tales of the Quest.
Dark Fantasy.
Edgar Allan Poe, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, and Stephen King—and Traditions Before, Between, and Since.
Young Goodman Brown, Nathaniel Hawthorne. The Old Nurse’s Story, Elizabeth (Cleghorn) Gaskell. No. 1 Branch Line: The Signalman, Charles (John Huffam) Dickens. The Ghost in the Cap’n Brown House, Harriet Beecher Stowe. The Body Snatcher, Robert Louis Stevenson. The Damned Thing, Ambrose Bierce. Dracula’s Guest, Abraham (“Bram”) Stoker. The Monkey’s Paw, W(illiam) W(ymark) Jacobs. The Colour Out of Space, H(oward) P(hillips) Lovecraft. The Three Marked Pennies, M(ary) E(lizabeth) Counselman. Catnip, Robert Bloch. The Lottery, Shirley Jackson. To Serve Man, Damon (Francis) Knight. The Third Level, Jack Finney. The Howling Man, Charles Beaumont. Duel, Richard (Burton) Matheson. The Raft, Stephen (Edwin) King. Nightcrawlers, Robert R(ichard) McCammon.

High Fantasy.
Ancestorsand Disciples of Robert E. Howard and J.R.R. Tolkien.
The Gray Wolf, George MacDonald. The People of the Pit, A(braham) Merritt. Friend Island, Francis Stevens. The City of Singing Flame, Clark Ashton Smith. The Tower of the Elephant, Robert E(rvin) Howard. Riddles in the Dark, J(ohn) R(onald) R(uel) Tolkien. Smoke Ghost, Fritz (Reuter) Leiber, Jr. The Strange Drug of Doctor Caber, Lord Dunsany. The Anything Box, Zenna (Chlarson) Henderson. The Drowned Giant, J(ames) G(raham) Ballard. Red as Blood, Tanith Lee (Kaiine). The Malaysian Mer, Jane (Hyatt) Yolen. Troll Bridge, Neil (Richard) Gaiman. Thirteen Phantasms, James P(aul) Blaylock.

III. SCIENCE FICTION.

Jules Verne, Herbert George Wells, Hugo Gernsback, and the Early Days of Modern Scientifiction.
The Diamond Lens, Fitz-James O’Brien. The Clock That Went Backward, Edward Page Mitchell. An Express of the Future, Jules (Gabriel) Verne. The Star, H(erbert) G(eorge) Wells. The Ray of Displacement, Harriet Elizabeth Prescott Spofford. A Princess of Mars, Edgar Rice Burroughs. The Eggs from Lake Tanganyika, Curt Siodmak. The Fate of Poseidonia, Clare Winger Harris. The Conquest of Gola, Leslie F(rancis) Stone. Shambleau, C(atherine) L(ucille) Moore. Robot Nemesis, E(dward) E(lmer) “Doc” Smith. A Martian Odyssey, Stanley G(rauman) Weinbaum. Robbie, Isaac Asimov. Jay Score, Eric Frank Russell. The Weapons Shop, A(lfred) E(lton) van Vogt. Arena, Frederic (William) Brown. Thunder and Roses, Theodore Sturgeon. That Only a Mother, Judith Merril. The Enchantress of Venus, Leigh (Douglass) Brackett. The Long Watch, Robert A(nson) Heinlein. There Will Come Soft Rains, Ray(mond Douglas) Bradbury. Invasion, Frank Belknap Long. The Harpers of Titan, Edmond (Moore) Hamilton. The Sentinel, Arthur C(harles) Clarke. Pictures Don’t Lie, Katherine (Anne) MacLean. The Lovers, Philip José Farmer. Mousetrap, Andre Norton. Fondly Fahrenheit, Alfred Bester. Exiles of Tomorrow, Marion Zimmer Bradley. Dust Rag, Hal Clement. Or All the Sea With Oysters, Avram (James) Davidson. The Store of the Worlds, Robert Sheckley. Harrison Bergeron, Kurt Vonnegut (Jr.). Without a Thought, Fred(erick Thomas) Saberhagen. The Fiend, Frederik Pohl. We Can Remember It for You Wholesale, P(hilip) K(indred) Dick. Driftglass, Samuel R(ay) (“Chip”) Delany. The Jigsaw Man, Larry Niven. The Last Flight of Dr. Ain, James Tiptree, Jr. Seed Stock, Frank )Patrick) Herbert. Roommates, Harry Harrison. When It Changed, Joanna Russ. The Undercity, Dean R(ay) Koontz. Opening Fire, Barry N(orman) Malzberg. The Engine at Heartspring’s Center, Roger (Joseph) Zelazny. Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card. Melancholy Elephants, Spider (Paul) Robinson. Burning Chrome, William (Ford) Gibson. Blood Music, Greg(ory Dale) Bear. Bloodchild, Octavia (Estelle) Butler. The Plague Star, George R(aymond) R(ichard) Martin. Remaking History, Kim Stanley Robinson. The Purchase of Earth, Jack Williamson.
IV. AN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE.
How Science Fiction Got Its Name, Sam Moskowitz.
V. LISTS AND BIBLIOGRAPHIES.
Fantasy and Science Fiction Film and Television.
Fantasy and Science Fiction Radio Series.
Fantasy and Science Fiction Comic Strips and Comic Books.
Fantasy and Science Fiction on the Internet.
Fantasy and Science Fiction Themes, Motifs, and Settings.
Cornerstone Studies and Anthologies of Fantasy and Science Fiction in Print Media.
Cornerstone Studies and Anthologies of Fantasy and Science Fiction in Nonprint Media.
Index.
Credits.