As many of you know I eschew the outdoors. I loathe yard work. My allergies make me a virtual prisoner during the late Spring and Early Summer. But, fortunately, Diane doesn’t share my outdoor attitudes or allergies. And Diane decided this was going to be the year to rip out the old shrubbery in front of our house and replace it with new, more deer-resistant shrubbery.

So Diane contacted a local nursery and negotiated the terms of our new landscaping. A crew came out with a cool mini-backhoe and removed the old, overgrown shrubs. The guys also trimmed our trees, added new soil and mulch, and planted the new shrubs. Above, you’ll see the “before” and “after” photos. I still think AstroTurf is the answer.

Snowpiercer is set on a train that circumnavigates the Earth. Civilization crashed when a New Ice covers the planet in ice and snow. But the remnants of humanity ride on a bullet train where the 1% resides in the luxurious front of the train while the 99% fight for survival in the back of the train. So, as you can see, there’s some serious social criticism going here. Chris Evans, looking nothing like Captain America, leads the rabble in an uprising. The battle from train car to train car explodes with violence. Surprises lurk in the convoluted plot. If you’re in the mood for an unconventional dystopian science fiction movie, give Snowpiercer a try. GRADE: B+

The Cairo Affair is a clever title because at the heart of this twisty plot a romantic affair lurks. Sophie Kohl is the wife of an American Embassy analyst in Cairo. Sophie embarks on a love affair with one of the Embassy’s CIA personnel. When Sophie’s husband transfers to Budapest, the affair ends. But while eating a dinner in a Budapest restaurant, an assassin shots Sophie’s husband dead. Instead of returning to the United States with her husband’s body, Sophie secretly returns to Cairo to learn why her husband was murdered. The plot of The Cairo Affair has many strands leading to many countries and many incidents in the past. One aspect The Cairo Affair shares with 24 is that you never know when a major character will suddenly die. If you’re looking for an entertaining Summer spy novel, I recommend The Cairo Affair. GRADE: B+

Just in time for the 4th of July Holiday come this very smooth blend. Jim Beam Honey is made by infusing four-year-old Jim Beam bourbon with honey. As you might suspect, this is a sweet drink. My brother introduced me to Jim Beam Honey a few weeks ago. I’m not a big bourbon fan, but this blend tickled my fancy. I drink it on the rocks. If you’re looking for a smooth, tasty drink for a hot holiday, I recommend Jim Beam Honey. Try it, you’ll like it!

AMAZON had this 4-disc set on sale for $19.95 (that’s 57% off the $49.99 retail price) so how could I resist? All 26 episodes are here featuring some of my favorite Super Villains: Rhino, Dr. Octopus, Sandman, Electro, and Venom. I had one or two of the DVD sets (usually cheap at BIG LOTS) but these Blu-ray discs are way better. AMAZON still has this set on sale. If you’re a Spider-Man fan and like animated series, this set is a bargain!

Readers of The New Yorker will instantly recognize Ros Chast’s cartoons. They’re edgy and funny. Roz Chast’s memoir, Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? centers on her parents. When the memoir starts, her parents are 78 and still living in their original apartment in Brooklyn. But as the years go by, Roz Chast (an only child) has to contend with the ups and downs of her aging parents. Her mother falls, her father suffers from dementia. You would think this would make for some grim reading, but Roz Chast’s clever cartoons and brutally honest commentary blend to make this a very moving story. I could recommend this wonderful book to anyone dealing with aging parents. And, if you are an aging parent, Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? shows where you’re headed. This is one of the best books of 2014! GRADE: A

I’ve read John Sutherland’s books (my favorite is Henry V, War Criminal? & Other Shakespeare Puzzles) and I scooped up this gem despite the incredibly bland cover. Sutherland defines the literary terms and provides examples of how they could enlighten a reader. What I liked about this approach is Sutherland’s lack of pretension. I emerged from reading How Literature Works with a clearer understanding of some of the more obscure literary concepts (like Heteroglossia). If you’re looking for clarity and insight into current literary theory, this is the best place to start. GRADE: A
Table of Contents
Introduction

SOME BASICS
1. Mimesis
2. Ambiguity
3. Hermeneutics
4. The Classic
5. Intentionalism
6. The Affective Fallacy
7. Narrative / Story
8. Epic
9. Lyric / Prosody
10. Gothic
11. The Translation Paradox

MACHINERY: HOW IT WORKS
12. Culture
13. Milieu
14. Base / Superstructure
15. The Canon
16. Genre
17. Closure
18. Paradigm Shift
19. Ownership
20. Critical Authority
21. Style

LITERATURE’S DEVICES
22. Allegory
23. Irony
24. Imagery
25. Allusion
26. Defamiliarization
27. Bricolage
28. Metafiction
29. Solidity of Specification

NEW IDEAS
30. Structuralism
31. Deconstruction
32. Textuality
33. Double Bind
34. Postmodernism
35. Heteroglossia
36. New Historicism
37. Post-Colonialism
38. Semiology
39. Reception Theory
40. Sexual Politics

WORD CRIMES
41. Plagiarism
42. Obscenity
43. Libel
44. Blasphemy
45. Permissiveness
46. Literary Lies
47. Ghost-Writers

LITERARY FUTURES
48. Fanfic
49. The e-book
50. Literary Inundation

Answers to Quizzes
Glossary

I’ve enjoyed Sharan Newman’s previous Catherine LeVendeur medieval mystery novels so I binged on three more. In The Wandering Arm, Catherine and her husband Edgar solve the mystery of the missing saint’s relics. Strong As Death features Catherine and Edgar on a pilgrimage. All of the pilgrims in their party possess secrets. As the pilgrimage continues, suspicious deaths occur. Catherine untangles the sinister plots. In Cursed in the Blood the murder of Edgar’s brothers brings Edgar and Catherine from Paris to Scotland. Religious and political fractions battle for power and property. Cursed in the Blood won the Herodotus Award for “Best US Historical Mystery.” If you enjoy mysteries from the 12th Century, I highly recommend Sharan Newman’s Catherine LeVendeur series. GRADE: B+ (for all three books)

Back in the 1960s, I was transitioning from comic books to paperbacks. At that time, my favorite publisher was ACE Books because they seemingly brought out cool books every month. Warrior of Llarn caught my eye because the author was Gardner F. Fox. Could this be the same Gardner F. Fox that wrote for DC Comics? Yes, it was. Fox’s story of Alan Morgan, an Earthman transported to a planet light-years away, had many of the story elements I loved when Fox was writing stories for DC Comics about Adam Strange. Alan Morgan encounters an ancient world on Llarn; a world ruined by a nuclear war. The survivors mutated in different ways. Morgan found himself serving a being who sent him on quests to find rare artifacts. Morgan also falls in love and joins a revolution to unseat a corrupt warrior. In the sequel to Warrior of Llarn, Fox transforms Alan Morgan into a master thief who has to steal a rare gem with incredible powers. Secret technologies amid the ruins of fabulous cities, cunning adversaries, and a clever conclusion make Thief of Llarn one of the best “Sword & Planet” stories ever. If you haven’t read these entertaining adventures, you’re missing a lot of fun.