No, this is not the best-selling James Patterson. This James J. Patterson writes thoughtful essays on Myth, Life, and Literature. This slim book collects some of Patterson’s thoughts on Moby Dick, Henry Miller, and Philip K. Dick.

“Do Conservative Dream of an Electric Jesus?” is a snarky take-off on Philip K. Dick’s classic Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep which later inspired the cult movie, Blade Runner. Harrison Ford plays Rick Deckar, a cop assigned to hunting down rogue replicants and killing them. Like all PKD works, the reality of the Future warps and spins in unpredictable directions.

I confess I’m not a big Henry Miller fan. I read some of his books because they were supposed to be “hot” but the sex scenes were tame and all the verbiage around them made the book tedious to me.

I’m a huge fan of Moby Dick, the real Great American novel. There’s nothing like it in the Canon. Patterson writes about Nathaniel Philbrick’s Why Read Moby Dick (2011) in a way that makes me want to reread both Melville’s great novel and then read Philbrick’s book on it.

If you’re in the mood for unconventional essays on a variety of subjects, Junk Shop Window provides clever takes on a wide range of topics. GRADE: B

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Introduction by Nathan Leslie — 1

Part I: The Memory of Tomorrow

Hermes and the Bathtub — 7

The Memory of Tomorrow — 13

A St. Patrick’s Day Schmazzle — 21

The I Behind the I — 31

Do Conservatives Dream of an Electric Jesus? — 39

Digby at the Swan — 49

The Band That Time Forgot — 87

Part II: The World of Yesterday

Who’s a Good Boy? — 79

Hermes at the Spouter Inn — 87

While Writing Roughnecks and Reading Moby Dick — 103

The World of Yesterday — 113

Stirring the Pot on Henry Miller — 133

Hermes at the Kakistocracy Hotel — 151

I’m the Guy Who (Almost) Killed the Guy Who (Almost) Killed Albert Einstein — 161

Acknowledgments — 167

Works Cited — 170

It’s hot, humid, and buggy here in Western New York so it’s officially Summer. Here are two compilation CDs you’re unlikely to find because they were issued by Warner Brothers Canada in 2002. Somehow, these copies made their way over the International Border to the United States.

You might wonder how songs became “Summer Songs.” I’m guessing that most of these songs were hits during the Summer. But, I have to question some of the choices. Why include “Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?” instead of “Summer In the City”? A least “Help Me Rhonda” by The Beach Boys is included. What would Summer be without Beach Boys music?

Summer Fun 2 has some odd choices:

Sea of Love — The Honeydrippers

Every Time You Go Away — Paul Young

Chuck E’s In Love — Rickie Lee Jones

Is She Really Gone Out With Him? — Joe Jackson

None of these songs strike me as “Summer Songs” although I like them. Do you have a favorite Summer Song? How is your Summer going? GRADE: B- (for both)

TRACK LIST for Summer Fun 1:

1	Van Morrison–	Brown Eyed Girl Written-By – Van Morrison	3:03
2	Tommy James & The Shondells–	Mony Mony Written-By – Gentry*, Bloom*, Cordell*, James*	2:55
3	Sonny & Cher–	The Beat Goes On Written-By – Sonny Bono	3:25
4	The Turtles–	Happy Together Written-By – Gordon*, Bonner*	2:55
5	The Rascals–	How Can I Be Sure Written-By – Brigati*, Cavaliere*	2:50
6	Classics IV*–	Spooky Written-By – Buie*, Middlebrooks*, Cobb*, Shapiro*	2:47
7	The Four Seasons–	Sherry Written-By – Gaudio*	2:07
8	Dion (3)–	Runaround Sue Written-By – Dion De Mucci*, Ernest Maresca*	2:50
9	Donovan–	Mellow Yellow Written-By – Donovan Leitch*	3:39
10	The Lovin’ Spoonful–	Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind? Written-By – John Sebastian	1:57
11	The Beach Boys–	Help Me Rhonda Written-By – Brian Wilson	2:44
12	Spiral Starecase–	More Today Than Yesterday Written-By – Patrick Upton	2:48
13	The Searchers–	Love Potion #9 Written-By – Leiber / Stoller*	2:08
14	The Happenings–	See You In September Written-By – Edwards*, Wayne*	2:31

TRACK LIST FOR SUMMER FUN 2:

1. Listen to the Music — The Doobie Brothers
2. Come and Get Your Love — Redbone
3. It Ain’t Enough — Cory Hart
4. Dancing in the Moonlight — King Harvest
5. Still the One — Orleans
6. Fly Like an Eagle — Steve Miller Band
7. Sea of Love — The Honeydrippers
8. Moonlight Feels Right — Starbuck
9. Every Time You Go Away — Paul Young
10. Chuck E’s In Love — Rickie Lee Jones
11. Is She Really Gone Out With Him? — Joe Jackson
12. On the Beach — Chris Rea

Samantha Irby is American comedian, essayist, blogger, and television writer. Irby announces her bisexual nature in several of her articles and Life stories in We Are Never Meeting in Real Life and Quietly Hostile. My favorite article in both volumes is “Dave Matthew’s Greatest Romantic Hits.” Yes, Samantha is a Superfan of Dave Matthews music and presents her choices of Matthew’s 14 best romantic songs. Here’s a sample of Samantha’s unfiltered sensibilities and writing style (WARNING: R-Rated!):

#8: “Say Goodbye”

(might be too depressing to bone to, not for me though)

most romantic lyric, to me: “Lovers for a night, lovers for tonight”

“This song is so horny, and that’s hilarious because dude is literately saying, over and over again, ‘Hey, friend. I would love to bone you, I’m feeling wild, sexy sex sex, but just for tonight because tomorrow we’re saying goodbye.” Tonight? Lovers. 😉 Tomorrow? FRIENDS. 🙁

It’s so funny and honest and literally the way dirtbag men are in real life, which is a rare thing to find in a pop song as it is when some dude is unbuckling his belt on your couch. He will have his tongue buried in your asshole up to your fucking pancreas saying, ‘We’re just friends, right?’ He’ll be flipping you on the mattress like a pancake and pause with you in midair like, ‘I don’t want to be tied down in a relationship, this is just for fun, okay?’ It’s infuriating in practice but hilarious in song form, a man crooning about smoking you down and loving you up in his sweetest coo and then at the end being like…tonight only, though.” (p. 24)

Both books reveal Samantha’s fears and battles with depression and anxiety. Yes, there’s plenty of uncensored humor in these articles and Samantha tells the reader plenty about her Life in intimate detail. Some of you may find Samantha’s analysis of Sex and the City episodes (similar in format to the Dave Matthews romantic song article…and just as funny) hilarious and insightful.

Samantha doesn’t shy away from being outrageous about aspects of her Life. But if you’re in the mood for tales into a very different lifestyle and sensibility, I recommend reading We Are Never Meeting in Real Life and Quietly Hostile. They are very different from most tell-all books. GRADE: B+ (for both)

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
My Bachelorette application 3
A blues for Fred 18
The miracle porker 31
Do you guys pay your fucking bills or what? 40
You don’t have to be grateful for sex 53
A Christmas carol 65
Happy birthday 76
A case for remaining indoors 93
A total attack of the heart 104
A civil union 117
Mavis 128
Fuck it, bitch, stay fat 142
Nashville hot chicken 171
I’m in love and it’s boring 185
A bomb, probably 196
The real housewife of Kalamazoo 206
Thirteen questions to ask before getting married 220
Yo, I need a job 237
Feelings are a mistake 250
We are never meeting in real life. 262
ACKNOLWLEDGEMENTS 273

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

I like it! — 3

The last normal day — 9

David Matthew’s greatest romantic hits — 22

Club Street diet — 36

My firstborn dog — 50

Body horror! — 64

Two old nuns having amzing [sic] lesbian sex — 78

QVC, ILYSM — 100

Superman!!!!!!! — 117

I like to get high at night and think about whales — 150

Oh, so you actually don’t wanna make a show about a horny fat bitch with diarrhea? Okay! — 152

What if I died like Elvis — 189

Shit happens — 214

Food fight — 229

O brother, where art thou? — 235

How to look cool in front of teens? — 248

We used to get dressed up to go to Red Lobster — 266

Please invite me to your party — 282

Acknowledgments — 289

Netflix brings the South Korean  Extraordinary Attorney Woo to a wide audience so viewers can follow the life of a young autistic attorney, Woo Young Woo. Woo lives in Seoul with her father who worries about his brilliant but very different daughter.

We see Woo struggle to deal with her mental health and the challenges of working with her fellow attorneys. Extraordinary Attorney Woo effectively shows how Woo adjusts to adulthood as an autistic person who just wants to fit in. But the series also demonstrates the inner mind of Woo–who loves whales–and how she struggles to overcome the cruelty some people display toward people with autism.

Woo struggles with interpersonal relationships. She often finds herself hyper-focused on particular topics like the fine points of the law which leads to overlooking how other people feel when she only has her goal in mind. This series portrays Woo’s flaws as natural flowing from her autism. But Extraordinary Attorney Woo celebrates her quirks and mannerisms that make Woo…extraordinary! If you’re in the mood for a heart-felt and dramatic legal series out of the ordinary, check out Extraordinary Attorney Woo! GRADE: A

“As a student, I realized that I had no aptitude for science, that foreign languages did not come easily to me, and that the study of economics turned my eyeballs to isinglass…. In literature, I adored much poetry but felt I could not draw intellectual breath for long on its high plateau; the drama…was for me a form that always felt a touch artificial. But, the novel, the novel from the very beginning…lit my fire and continues to light it today. The novel took me to places I hadn’t known existed, but in which I was delighted to find myself; it expanded my world like nothing else I had known, or, for that matter, still know.” (p. 19)

Joseph Epstein waxing poetic about his love of novels parallels my own love affair with books. Sure, I read some poetry and plays from time to time. But, my go-to delight is to sit down in a comfortable chair and read a wonderful novel.

Epstein examines dozens of novels in this slim volume. He notes that: “The novels of Norman Mailer, Philip Roth, and John Updike, so popular and widely written about in their day have already begun to lose interest. ” (p. 70). In the following chapters, Epstein adds Thomas Pynchon, Saul Bellow, and Vladimir Nabokov to that list. Then he turns to: “Here are six novelists and short-story writers whom I feel I do not need to read again:

• Graham Greene, whose combination of leftwing politics and Catholicism has never worked for me.
• Alice Munro, whose stories of infidelity in provincial Canada have always seem to me of limited interest.
• George Orwell, whose great work was in the essay, and whose novels, apart form the famous and politically useful Nineteen Eighty-Four, fail to come alvie
• Toni Morrison, with whose novels I have never had any luck, and have concluded are more for teaching than reading
• Jonathan Franzen, who seems in his fiction to write about people to whom he can feel superior
• S. Y. Agnon, four of whose novels I’ve read, always with high expectation, never with satisfaction, though I am told he is a writer who must be read in Hebrew in which he wrote. (p. 116)

As you can see from these examples from The Novel, Who Needs It? Epstein has some strong views on various writers. It might not come as a complete surprise to learn that Epstein considers Leo Tolstoy the greatest novelist (I disagree).

Reading a novel is a subjective experience. The huge variation in novels makes it practically impossible to generate a list of the Best Novels. Instead, we all have a list of our Favorite Novels, books that speak to us (but probably not everybody). The Novel, Who Needs It? has a simple answer: I do. And, I’m guessing…you do, too! Do you have a favorite novel? GRADE: B+

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

The Novel, Who Needs It? — 1

Acknowledgements — 127

Bibliography — 129

Index — 133

I was diagnosed with Sleep Apnea in 1995. Since that time I’ve used 5 different Continuous Positive Air Pressure (CPAP) machines. About every 5 years, my health insurance company would tell me: “It’s time for a new CPAP machine.” And, I got to keep my old CPAP machines which were all in working condition. This was an annoyance to Diane who hates clutter. But, when the Pandemic hit and ventilators were in short supply, I called the Respiratory Unit at Memorial Hospital in Niagara Falls and asked if I could donate four working CPAP machines. They enthusiastically accepted my old, faithful CPAP machines.

A few months later a nurse from the Respiratory Unit called me to say those CPAP machines saved lives.

Sorry for the digression. On July 5, 2023 I got my 6th CPAP machine: the new Resmed Airsense 11. For the past 5 years I’ve used the Resmed Airsense 10–the best CPAP I’ve ever used. But now, after using the Airsense 11 for nearly a month, I have to say this new model is superior to the Airsense 10.

My first CPAP machine weighed over 20 pounds and the size of an old Macintosh computer. It was No Fun traveling around lugging such a heavy and awkward unit. It was also noisy: it had a vacuum cleaner motor. But, every CPAP machine since then grew lighter and smaller. The Airsense 11 is only 2 pounds, the size of a loaf of bread, and is whisper quiet. I love it!

My other sleep problem over the years was leaky CPAP masks. I’ve tried over a dozen different masks. The only one that didn’t leak (much) was the ADAM System nasal pillows by Puritan. Puritan was acquired years ago and doesn’t exist any more. I could still find parts online, but another problem attacked me: dry mouth. Even though I used a chin strap to keep my mouth closed, I’d wake up in the morning with my mouth feeling like the Sahara Desert!!

According to my CPAP advisor, Marcie, the answer to that problem was a full face mask. I’d used full face masks in the past, but they were heavy and uncomfortable. But, Fisher & Paykel just brought out a new full CPAP mask called the Evora. Once I got used to it, I found my dry mouth was a thing of the past and I had few leaks. I highly recommend the Resmed Airsense 11 and the Fisher & Paykel Evora Full CPAP Mask! There are few things more wonderful than a Good Night’s Sleep and now Airsense 11 and Evora are making that happen for me. How’s your sleep? GRADE: A+

The movie starts out, logically, with Barbie, played by Margot Robbie as “Stereotypical Barbie”—the gorgeous but feckless basic version of the doll who exists mainly to look pretty–which she does. When the Stereotypical Barbie starts experiencing thoughts of Death and cellulite, Greta Gerwig’s movie turns into a reverse of the Wizard of Oz. Barbie journeys to the Real World from the perfect pink Barbie Land and ends up at the Mattel headquarters in Los Angeles trying to solve her problems. Barbie is joined by her uninvited boyfriend, Ken (Ryan Gosling), to investigate a tear in the fabric between Fantasy and Reality. Critiques of capitalism and gender roles follow. I’m sure Gerwig’s references to 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Matrix will go over the heads of the younger members of the movie audience.

Barbie discovers the girl (America Ferrara) who played with her as a child–now grown up and working for Mattel. Meanwhile, Ken returns to Barbie Land with knowledge of male Patriarchy and transforms Barbie Land to Kendom where the Kens now rule. Despite the wackiness of Will Ferrell as the CEO of Mattel, and Kate McKinnon as Weird Barbie, the sluggish plot and insider references fail to make this a Fun Barbie movie. GRADE: B-

On this milestone of my 750th FFB post, I want to express my thanks to two people–no longer with us–who helped me in my quest for a doctorate.

Leslie Fiedler graciously accepted my request that he join my doctoral committee in the early 1990s. Five years later, he signed off on my dissertation: Smart Money: Business in American Literature, 1860-1929 and I was officially Dr. Kelley. Many of my fellow PhD. candidates were shocked that Fiedler agreed to join my committee. But, I told them, Fiedler was always interested in money in American Literature–just check out “Literature and Lucre” in What Was Literature? below.

Bill Crider also agreed to join my doctoral committee. Both Bill and I regard Leslie Fiedler as one of the premier literary critics ever. And…we both love Fiedler’s opus: Love and Death in the American Novel. Unlike most academic criticism written today, Love and Death in the American Novel can be read by the average reader. The same can be said for the dozens of essays Fiedler wrote over the years. They’re clever, incisive, and funny!

I’m taking this opportunity to express my thanks to Leslie Fiedler and Bill Crider for helping me achieve another milestone in my Life. After my Graduation Ceremony, I gave Leslie Fiedler a signed copy of Norman Spinrad’s The Iron Dream . “Leslie Fiedler proposed that Spinrad be considered for the National Book Award in 1973, but apparently won no support from his fellow award judges.” And I sent Bill Crider a signed copy of Love and Death in the American Novel. Bill told me he prominently displayed his signed copy of Love and Death in the American Novel to the envy of his colleagues! I highly recommend these wonderful books! And, of course, I want to thank Patti Abbott for inviting me to join her Friday’s Forgotten Books group in January 2009! GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

INTRODUCTION — Charles B. Harris — v

Preface to the Second Edition — 7

Preface to the First Edition — 9

PART ONE: PROTOTYPES AND EARLY ADAPTATIONS

The novel and America — 23

The novel’s audience and the sentimental love religion — 39

Richardson and the tragedy of seduction — 62

The bourgeois senitmental novel and the female audience — 74

The beginnings of the anti-bourgeois sentimental novel in America — 102

Charles Brockden Brown and the invention of the American gothic — 126

James Fenimore Cooper and the historical romance — 162

PART TWO: ACHIEVEMENT AND FRUSTRATION

Clarissa in America: Toward Marjorie Morningstar — 217

Good good girls and good bad boys: Clarissa as a juvenile — 259

The revenge on woman: From Lucy to Lolita — 291

The failure of sentiment and the evasion of love — 337

The blackness of darkness: Edgar Allan Poe and the development of the gothic — 391

The power of blackness: Faustian man and the cult of violence — 430

INDEX — 506

AA

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

The death of old men — 9

War, exile, and the death of honor — 20

The beginning of the Thirties: depression, return, and rebirth — 32

The end of the Thirties: artificial paradises and real hells — 51

Zion as Main Street — 65

Jewish-Americans, go home! — 89

Indian or Injun? — 104

The jig is up! — 118

The war against the academy — 138

The alteration of consciousness — 155

The end of the novel — 170

Traitor or Laureate: the two trials of the poet — 179

The unbroken tradition — 192

Toward the suburbs: the fear of madness, and the death of the “I” — 216

Into the cafés: a kind of solution — 233

index — 250

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

PART ONE: Subverting the standards — 11

Who was Leslie A. Fiedler? — 13

Literature and lucre — 23

Toward Pop criticism — 34

How did it all start? — 38

What was the novel? — 53

 Literature as an institution — 57

What was the art novel? — 64

What was the death of the novel? — 73

What happened to poetry? — 83

Why was criticism? — 96

Is there a counter-tradition? — 108

What is to be done? — 115

From ethics and aesthetics to ecstatics — 126

PART TWO: Opening up the canon — 143

Home as heaven, home as hell — 145

The many mothers of Uncle Tom’s Cabin — 158

The anti-Tom novel and the coming of the first great war: from Thomas Dixon, Jr., to D.W. Griffith — 179

Gone with the wind: the feminization of the anti-Tom novel — 196

Alex Haley’s Roots: Uncle Tom rewrites Uncle Tom’s Cabin — 213

Afterword: “A backward glance o’er travelled roads” — 232

Index — 246

From young Michael Padgett and his girl friend sharing a soda at the Malt Shop on the cover of The Fabulous Fifties: Great Moments (2000) to Elvis singing one of his great songs, “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” this compilation CD presents some of the hits that makes the Fifties one of Michael’s favorite musical decades.

I started listening to music on a radio on a regular basis around 1956 (I was 7 years old). And watching musical acts on the Ed Sullivan Show. But it would be years before I bought my first vinyl album.

To me, the best song on this CD is Nat King Cole’s iconic “Unforgettable.” I always liked Paul Anna’s “Diana.” I prefer the Righteous Brothers version of “Unchained Melody” to Al Hibbler’s.

50’s Sock Hop from 1991 features one of my favorite songs by the Everyly Brothers: “Wake Up Little Susie.” Other classics include the Dell-Vikings’s “Come Go With Me” and “To Know Him Is To Love Him.” “”To Know Him Is to Love Him” is a song written by Phil Spector, inspired by words on his father’s tombstone, “To Know Him Was to Love Him.” It was first recorded by the only vocal group of which he was a member, the Teddy Bears. Their recording spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1958,^[4] while reaching No. 2 on the UK’s New Musical Express chart.  Peter & Gordon and Bobby Vinton later had hits with the song, with its title and lyrics changed to “To Know You Is to Love You”. In 1987, the song was resurrected by Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and Emmylou Harris, whose Trio recording topped the U.S. country singles chart. The song is in 12/8 time.” How many of these songs do you remember? Any favorites? GRADE: B+ (for both)

TRACK LIST for The Fabulous Fifties: Great Memories

1	Andy Williams–	Butterfly
2	Pat Boone–	April Love
3	Nat King Cole–	Unforgetttable
4	Elvis Presley–	Are You Lonesome Tonight?
5	Morris Stoloff–	Moonglow And Theme From “Picnic”
6	Al Hibbler–	Unchained Melody
7	Eddy Arnold–	Make The World Go Away
8	Paul Anka–	Diana
9	Perry Como–	Juke Box Baby
10	Eddie Fisher–	Dungaree Doll
11	Georgia Gibbs–	Dance With Me Henry (The Wallflower)
12	Lou Monte–	Lazy Mary (Luna Mezz ‘O Mare)
13	The Ames Brothers–	The Naughty Lady Of Shady Lane
14	Jaye P. Morgan–	That’s All I Want From You
15	Jim Reeves–	Four Walls

TRACK LIST for 50’s Sock Hop:

1	The Everly Brothers*–	Wake Up Little Susie	1:59
2	Buddy Holly–	Peggy Sue	2:28
3	Big Bopper–	Chantilly Lace	2:22
4	Danny & The Juniors–	At The Hop	2:31
5	Frankie Avalon–	Venus	2:21
6	Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers–	Why Do Fools Fall In Love	2:17
7	Brenda Lee–	Sweet Nothin’s	2:21
8	The Dell-Vikings–	Come Go With Me	2:15
9	The Teddy Bears–	To Know Him Is To Love Him	2:18
10	Fats Domino–	I’m Walkin’	2:12

Izumi Suzuki, who died in 1986, wrote stories full of black comedy. In Hit Parade of Tears, just published by Verso Press, Suzuki delivers a series of mind-bending stories. I loved “Trial Witch” where a woman is given powers to transform people and things into radically different objects. I also liked “Full of Malice” which explores the possibility of a woman falling in love with an extraterrestrial.

That theme gets more play in “The Covenant,” a story about adolescent girls whose lack of emotions leads them to believe they may be extraterrestrial rather than human. The male characters in these stories are typically drones who cheat on their girlfriends and wives.

Suzuki’s misanthropic view of human relationships powers these narratives of women whose placid lives are impacted, sometimes comicly, sometimes disastrously, by weird or supernatural incidents. If you’re looking for something different, you’ll find it in Hit Parade of Tears. GRADE: B

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

My Guy 137	1
Trial Witch	25
Full of Malice	47
After Everything	113
THE COVENANT	117

The Walker	157
Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise	163
Memory of Water	191
I’ll Never Forget	219
Hit Parade of Tears	255