Fans of puny humans scurrying around like ants as giant monsters battle, rejoyce! Godzilla features several epic scenes of mass urban destruction. I would have liked to see more of David Strathairn and Byran Cranston. The talented Juliette Binoche isn’t given much to do. This is not an actors’ movie, it’s a monster movie. Spectacle, explosions, and action are at the forefront of this movie. Movies like Godzilla are metaphors for our fears: global warming turning Miami into Atlantis, climate change that will render much of the southern U.S. unlivable, antibiotic-resistant diseases, terrorists with nukes, etc. But I just ate my popcorn and enjoyed an entertaining Summer Movie. GRADE: B

For this Friday’s Forgotten Books, I decided to go with the Library of America’s volume of American Noir of the 1950s. Jim Thompson’s The Killer Inside Me (1952), Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley (1955), Charles Willeford’sPick-Up (1957), David Goodis’ Down There (1956), and Chester Himes’ The Real Cool Killers (1959) surveys the noir crime novels of the Fifties. Jim Thompson’s The Killer Inside Me is a chilling psychological novel. The Talented Mr. Ripley features the amoral Tom Ripley who doesn’t hesitate to kill for things he wants. Charles Williford’s Pick-Up explores the limits of love in San Francisco. David Goodis’ Down There inspired Truffaut’s Shoot the Piano Players. Coffin Ed Johnson and Grave Digger Jones, Harlem detectives, bring their own special brand of nihilistic humor to The Real Cool Killers. There’s a broad range of styles in these noir classics. They are all highly recommended! This is a terrific collection.

Jonah Berger’s insightful book into the secrets of marketing holds plenty of astute advice for anyone wanting to sell their books, ideas, and products. Berger’s analysis of social media uses to sell products and services makes a lot of sense. Contagious is a book you can dip into and find plenty of information on how to build an audience and provide what they need and want. Jonah Berger supplies plenty of examples of how each technique and approach works. If you want to sell something, start a small business, or entice people to buy more of your “stuff” this book will tell you how to do it. GRADE: B+
TABLE OF CONTENTS
i. Introduction/Synopsis

1. An Introduction to Contagiousness
◾a. If You Want Your Message to Spread, You Need to Get People Talking, and Imitating
◾b. The STEPPS
2. Social Currency
◾a. On the Importance of Appearances
◾b. The Appeal of the Remarkable
◾c. Manufactured Remarkability
i. Snapple
ii. Blendtec
◾d. On the Importance of Status
i. Our Accomplishments
ii. What Distinguishes Us
3. Triggers
◾a. Top of Mind, Tip of Tongue
◾b. Indirect Triggers
◾c. Natural and Artificial Triggers
i. Wassup?
◾d. When Triggers Influence Behavior
i. Mars Bars, and the Planet Mars
ii. The Effect of Music on Wine Sales
iii. Kit Kat and Coffee
◾e. Diluted Triggers
4. Emotion
◾a. Awe
◾b. Sadness
◾c. Positive and Negative Emotions
◾d. Low Arousal and High Arousal Emotions
◾e. Focusing on Emotions
i. The ‘Three Whys’
5. Public
◾a. Monkey See, Monkey Do
◾b. Solving Binge-Drinking at American Universities
◾c. The Movember Movement
◾d. Livestrong and the Yellow Wrist-Band Campaign
6. Practical Value
◾a. What’s Useful Gets Spread
◾b. Giving Advice
7. Stories
◾a. People Love Stories
◾b. Stories in Advertising: Subway
◾c. Valuable Virality
8. Conclusion

Once again, Stark House deserves praise for returning Nude On Thin Ice and Memory of Passion to print. There’s been a bit of a Gil Brewer revival the past couple of years. I’ve also reviewed Gil Brewer’s short story collection, Redheads Die Quickly here. Nude On Thin Ice is the first Gil Brewer novel I’d ever read (see the original cover artwork below) back in the 1960s. I’ve read many more of Brewer’s novels, some very good and others not so much. Nude On Thin Ice is one of Gil Brewer’s better noir novels. Memory of Passion has a twisty plot and a serial killer. I found David Rachels’ useful Introduction informative. If you’re looking for your noir fix, you’ll find it here. GRADE: B+

Hill Street Blues, first broadcast in 1981 on NBC, was not an instant hit. The drama had an ensemble cast, it used hand-held cameras that gave the episodes a documentary feel, and the dialogue had a natural flow that was unusual for TV dramas at that time. Most episodic crime dramas were self-contained. Hill Street Blues featured “long-form” storylines that extended over several episodes, another unusual feature at that time. But after a couple of seasons and several Emmy Awards, the TV audience found Hill Street Blues and stayed with it for seven seasons. This box set of the complete series includes all 144 episodes. Special features include:
THE HISTORY OF HILL STREET: Steven Bocho and others talk about the creation of the show; INTERVIEWS WITH THE OFFICERS: Featuring cast members James B. Sikking, Dennis Franz, Bruce Weitz, Charles Haid and Dennis Dugan.
WRITERS ON THE HILL:A Discussion with Steven Bochco, Robert Crais, Jeffrey Lewis and Alan Rachins about writing for the show.
ROLL CALL: Looking back on HILL STREET BLUES
GAG REEL
FOUR EPISODE COMMENTARIES: Including Creator Steven Bochco, Actors James B. Sikking, Joe Spano, Bruce Weitz, Charles Haid and Dennis Dugan, Writer Jeffrey Lewis and Story Consultant Robert Crais.
Commemorative 24-page book.
GRADE: A+

Megan McArdle’s practical and entertaining book is full of great stories of people who fail initially, but then succeed spectacularly. McArdle also shows why we fail. Many times, it’s because we’re trying to accomplish complicated tasks where one wrong move can ruin everything. McArdle uses her own life as an example in a couple of cases. McArdle’s mother complained of an upset stomach. McArdle and her sister mishandled the mother’s distress until they were forced to take her to the ER. More went wrong: a botched CT scan, an X-ray misread, and a plugged drain that was supposed to remove infected fluids. But then some things went right. The surgeon correctly diagnosed AcArdle’s mother’s burst appendix. And, fortunately, a special antibiotic was available that saved her life.

McArdle’s other personal story was about her breakup with a boyfriend. Plenty went wrong, but McArdle was prone to misunderstanding the concept of “sunk costs” in trying to solve her problems. There are some great tips about reducing failures and coping with failures. McArdle’s breezy writing style and comprehensive research makes The Up Side of Down a practical book. GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Preface
1 Failure Is Fundamental
How a Brain Scientist and a Psychologist Helped Me Stop Procrastinating
2 The Virtuous Society
What Two Economists and an Anthropologist Can Teach Us about Free Markets
3 The Experimenters
Why There Are No Guarantees in Hollywood or Silicon Valley
4 Accidents, Mistakes, Failures, And Disasters
What the Hospital System Can Teach Us about the Mistakes We Make
5 Crisis
What a Bad Breakup Can Tell Us about the GM Bailout
6 Admitting You Have A Problem
What Gamblers Anonymous Could Have Taught Dan Rather
7 Getting Unstuck
Adopting the Way of the Shark
8 Blame
Blamestorming and the Moral of the Financial Crisis
9 Punishment
Why Consistency Is the Secret to Breaking Bad Behavior
10 Forgiveness
How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Embrace Easy Bankruptcy (Though Not Personally)

Coda
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index

I’ve been a fan of Sarah McLachlan’s for decades. I own all her CDs. I’ve seen her in concert three times (all great performances!) and may see her a fourth time this summer When Sarah McLachlan shows up at Artpark. All that being said, you might guess this review of Shine On might be a wee bit biased. Shine On is not one of Sarah McLachlan’s better albums. Yes, the songs are pleasant, but there’s nothing compelling here. If you really want the best of Sarah McLachlan, I recommend THE ESSENTIAL SARAH MCLACHLAN which came out last year. Two CDs full of great music for $10 on AMAZON. More music, better music for less money. Shine One will only appeal to hard-core fans. GRADE: C
TRACK LIST:
1 In Your Shoes (3:53)
2 Flesh and Blood (4:19)
3 Monsters (3:13)
4 Broken Heart (3:18)
5 Surrender and Certainty (4:47)
6 Song For My Father (3:17)
7 Turn The Lights Down Low (3:56)
8 Love Beside Me (4:37)
9 Brink of Destruction (3:58)
10 Beautiful Girl (3:34)
11 The Sound That Love Makes (2:15)

TRACK LIST:
Track Listings
Disc: 1
1. Vox
2. Steaming
3. Ben’s Song
4. The Path of Thorns
5. Into the Fire
6. Drawn to the Rhythm (Live)
7. Back Door Man (Live)
8. Possession
9. Good Enough
10. Elsewhere
11. Fear
12. Ice Cream
13. Hold On
14. Dear God
15. I Will Remember You (Theme from “The Brothers McMullen”)
16. Building a Mystery
17. Sweet Surrender
Disc: 2
1. Adia
2. Angel
3. Silence (Radio Edit)
4. When She Loved Me
5. Blackbird
6. The Rainbow Connection
7. Fallen (Album Mix)
8. Stupid
9. World on Fire
10. Push
11. Witness
12. Time After Time
13. Ordinary Miracle
14. Don’t Give up on Us
15. U Want Me 2
16. Loving You Is Easy
17. Forgiveness
18. Illusions of Bliss

Stark House has just published two of Clifton Adams’ noir classics: Death’s Sweet Song and Whom Gods Destroy. Cullen Gallagher’s informative Introduction traces Clifton Adams’ prolific writing career. Cullen gives credit to Bill Crider and Ed Gorman for their writing on Clifton Adams. Adams wrote over 50 novels mostly in the crime and western genres. This new Stark House omnibus volume includes two of Clifton Adams’ best novels. Very noirsh and very readable! Don’t miss this one!

I’m a big fan of Alastair Reynolds so I immediately bought this BBC DOCTOR WHO novel. Although Harvest of Time was published in 2013, Reynolds features the flamboyant Jon Pertwee verson of The Doctor. In addition, The Master is up to his usual dastardly schemes, UNIT is constantly blowing things up, and there’s a sinister alien invasion. Reynolds juggles several plotlines as this complicated story comes together in a shattering conclusion. If you’re a fan of Alastair Reynolds’ work, you’ll want to read Harvest of Time. If you’re a Doctor Who fan, you’ll enjoy this book, too. GRADE: B+