With March Madness in full swing, I thought I’d celebrate today’s FFB with a quirky mystery collection: Murder at the Foul Line. Mixing basketball and murder, these stories deliver a variety of thrills. I liked Lawrence Block’s “Keller’s Double Dribble,” a story about Block’s lethal hit-man. George Pelecanos’ “String Music” captures the essence of the sport. If you’re a basketball fan who likes mysteries or a mystery fan who likes basketball, Murder at the Foul Line has a line-up that can’t be beat.
Table of Contents:
Introduction / Otto Penzler
Keller’s double dribble / Lawrence Block
Nothing but net / Jeffery Deaver
Bank shots / Sue DeNymme
The taste of silver / Brendan DuBois
Fear of failure / Parnell Hall
Cat’s paw / Laurie B. King
Mrs. Cash / Mike Lupica
White trash noir / Michael Malone
Galahad, inc. / Joan H. Parker and Robert B. Parker
String music / George Pelecanos
Mamzer / R. D. Rosen
Shots / S.J. Rozen
In the zone / Justin Scott
Bubba / Stephen Solomita.

I picked up this animated video because I saw Neil Gaiman’s name on it. Gaiman wrote the scripts, John Romita, Jr. provides the artwork. The premise is that Earth was visited by super-aliens. They left the Eternals to protect their planet. However, the Eternals find themselves hunted by their ancient enemies. Fans of the Marvel Universe will enjoy this. And, of course, Neil Gaiman fans will want to see this. I’m hoping for a sequel. GRADE: B+

Believe it or not, the Wall Street Journal has a Book Club (who doesn’t? Oprah has a lot to answer for). Next month’s WSJ Book Club book is Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon. I immediately reread The Maltese Falcon. Plenty of smoking and drinking. Plenty of double-dealing. I came away with a strange urge to reread Raymond Chandler. If you want to see the WSJ Book Club in action, just click here.

I’ve read all of Joseph Epstein’s essay collections over the years. I consider Epstein one of the best essayists alive. Since March Madness begins this week, I thought this would be the perfect time to celebrate Masters of the Games, Joseph Epstein’s new collection of his sports essays. Cast your eye on the range of subjects below. Not all of them deal with basketball, but that sport is well represented (and I like the cover). If you need an intelligent sports fix, I highly recommend Masters of the Games. GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduciton: Obsessed with Sport
ESSAYS:
A Boy’s Favorite Author
This Sporting Life
Confession of a Low Roller
Balls-Up
Ep, the Bills Are Six-Pont Dogs
The Thrill of Defeat
Open Another Can of Quarterback
The Old Ball Game
Wrigley Field
Red Smith
JOCKS
Joe DiMaggio: Where’d He Go?
Michael Jordan: He Flies Through the Air
Hank Greenberg: Designated Mensch
Bob Love: The Unknown Superstar
STORIES
The Goldin Boys
Danny Montoya
Out of Action
SHORT TAKES
Hats Off
A Sartorial Double fault
The Running of the Bulls

I ordered Meghan Trainor’s Title CD after reading a story about doo wop in the Wall Street Journal. You can read that doo wop article here. I listened to Meghan Trainor’s album and enjoyed the Fifties feel to it. Yes, some of the songs have doo wop elements. If you’re looking for an entertaining retro album, I recommend Meghan Trainor’s Title. Take a listen below. GRADE: A
SET LIST:
1 The Best Part (Interlude) (0:24)
2 All About That Bass (3:11)
3 Dear Future Husband (3:04)
4 Close Your Eyes (3:41)
5 3 A.M. (3:06)
6 Like I’m Gonna Lose You (3:45)
7 Bang Dem Sticks (3:00)
8 Walkashame (2:59)
9 Title (2:55)
10 What If I (3:20)
11 Lips Are Movin’ (3:01)
12 No Good For You (3:36)
13 Mr. Almost (3:16)
14 My Selfish Heart (3:47)
15 Credit (2:51)

I’ve read all of Gertrude Himmelfarb’s books and am in awe of her range. Take The Moral Imagination as an example. Himmelfarb’s essays span Edmund Burke, Jane Austen, George Eliot, Disraeli, Winston Churchill, Dickens, Fielding, John Stuart Mill, Walter Bagehot, Michael Oakeshott, and Lionel Trilling. Clarity sparkles in Himmelfarb’s essays. That which was once obscure becomes understandable. She has a wonderful sense of history. If you’re in the mood for some insightful essays on political writing, The Moral Imagination will reward your efforts. GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Edmund Burke : apologist for Judaism? —
George Eliot : the wisdom of Dorothea —
Jane Austen : the education of Emma —
Charles Dickens : “a low writer” —
Benjamin Disraeli : the Tory imagination —
John Stuart Mill : the other Mill —
Walter Bagehot : “a divided nature” —
John Buchan : an untimely appreciation —
The Knoxes : a God-haunted family —
Michael Oakeshott : the conservative disposition —
Winston Churchill : “quite simply, a great man” —
Lionel Trilling : the moral imagination

Last year a dozen faux-Lovecraft anthologies were published. But it all started in 1990 with Lovecraft’s Legacy edited by Robert E. Weinberg and Martin H. Greenberg. Robert Block’s informative Introduction puts Lovecraft into perspective. Each of the writers in this collection includes a short note at the end of their stories where they tell how they first encountered Lovecraft’s work and which story most affected them. My favorite story in Lovecraft’s Legacy is F. Paul Wilson’s “The Barrens.” If you’re a fan of Lovecraft, you’ll really enjoy these stories.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction: An Open Letter to H. P. Lovecraft By Robert Bloch
A Secret of the Heart By Mort Castle 1
The Other Man By Ray Carton 33
Will By Graham Masterton 53
Big C By Brian Lumley 71
Ugly By Gary Brandner 97
The Blade and the Claw By Hugh B Cave 109
Soul Keeper By Joseph A Citro 142
From the Papers of Helmut Hecker By Chet Williamson 159
Meryphillia By Brian McNaughton 173
Lord of the Land By Gene Wolfe 190
H P L By Gahan Wilson 211
The Order of Things Unknown By Ed Gorman 251
The Barrens By F Paul Wilson 269

If you put 24 and The Di Vinci Code in a blender, you’d get something like Dig. I watched the first episode last week and like most critics I wondered, “What the hell is going on?” Several plots are swirling around. FBI agent Peter Connelly, played by a wooden Jason Isaacs (he played Lucius Malfoy in the HARRY POTTER movies with more energy) , is sleeping with his boss (Ann Heche–what does she see in him?), and almost has sex with a redheaded college student who is subsequently murdered (what did she see in him?). There seems to be a plot by a Jewish cult that involves a young boy who must be “pure” in order to bring about…something. I’m guessing the Apocalypse. Dig was created by Homeland executive producer Gideon Raff and Heroes creator Tim Kring. Hopefully the confusion clears up or Dig will lose a lot of its audience fast.

John Casey has plenty to say about the “Art of Fiction.” In the essays included in Beyond the First Draft Casey writes about how he became a writer, what he found useful, what he found useless, and who helped him succeed. And, succeed Casey did. In 1989, John Casey won a National Book Award for Spartina, a story about a struggling fisherman in Rhode Island who’s trying to build a boat. I had Spartina on my shelf for 25 years so I finally read it. There’s plenty of nautical information in this book, nearly as much as in a Patrick O’Brian novel. The struggles of the fisherman are compelling. Much of what John Casey talks about in Beyond the First Draft can be found practiced in Spartina. If you’re interested in the writing process, both books are worth a look. GRADE: B+ (for both)
Table of Contents:
Preamble
Dogma and anti-dogma
If I were a flower, what kind of flower would I be?
Justice
What’s funny
Aristotle
Things
Sex and violence
Me me gab
Meanwhile back at the ranch
So alert a language
In other words
Neighborhoods
Childhood reading
Mentors in general, Peter Taylor in particular