Diane and I started watching The Chelsea Detective on our local PBS station. Then, for no apparent reason, our local PBS station stopped showing it. What to do?
I checked the North Tonawanda Public Library and sure enough, they had The Chelsea Detective on DVD. Now we’re watching the episodes where we left off.
Detective Inspector Max Arnold (played by Adrian Scarborough) is a dyslexic police detective working with DS Priya Shamsie (played by Sonita Henry). Together, Arnold and Shamsie solve difficult murder cases.
Arnold lives in a houseboat (just like Travis McGee) on the river because he’s separated from his wife, Astrid (Anamaria Marinca).
If you are in the mood for some intelligent and challenging mysteries, I recommend The Chelsea Detective. If your PBS station isn’t offering it, it’s available on AMAZON PRIME video…or your local Library. GRADE: B+
“I started writing sci-fi stories during my senior year of high school and through college I’d been submitting them to journals and magazines. I still read mostly science fiction but my reading had expanded a bit : I left behind Heinlein and Lackey now. I liked Maureen McHugh, Kelly Link, Lucius Shepherd, Michael Swanwick, Navy Kress, John Brunner, and a whole host of other New Wave and humanist sci-fi writers. One of my favorites, Kelly Link, had attended a graduate program in creative writing, so I figured that I belonged in a writing program as well. In between drinking bouts, I applied to eleven programs.” (p. 28)
Naomi Kanakia was rejected by all 11 creative writing programs. Her solution: “I heard Michael Dirda, a Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post book critic, talk about how Fadiman’s Lifetime Reading Plan had taught him how to read the classics. So I went to Barnes and Noble, bought the book’s latest edition, wrote out a list of all 268 works that it mentioned, and started to read.” (p. 29)
What’s So Great About the Great Books (2026) is Naomi Kanakia’s reading journey through Great Books. Her journey starts out in shaky fashion: “When I began college, really the moment I began, I commenced a vigorous self-study program of alcoholic drinking, and I can’t recall ever fully reading an assigned text. I chose classes with large enrollment sizes and a lecture format, and I rarely went to class unless there was a midterm or a final. I enjoyed college quite a bit, particularly the quarter where I dropped LSD every weekend.” (p. 53)
Off to a dubious start, Naomi Kanakia stumbles in a course called INTRODUCTION TO HUMANITIES. “My course syllabus contained Plato’s Republic, Nietzsche’s Ecce Homo, and Dostoyevsky’s Brothers Karamazov, among others–I didn’t read any of thes books, because I was too busy drinking…” (p. 54)
Not a promising college experience so far. But wait, there’s more! “I identified as gay and was sporadically hooking up with men from the internet, but it wasn’t totally satisfying to me, and that activity eventually tailed off.” (p. 206) Not surprisingly, Naomi Kanakia started going to therapy and started taking anti-depressants.
I bring up Naomi Kanakia’s troubles because What’s So Great About the Great Books shows how Great Books helps her get her Life together so she could become a successful writer and blogger. Actually Great Books save her.
What’s So Great About the Great Books includes a list of 250 Great Books and Naomi Kanakia discusses many of the books that changed her Life. Yes, this is an unusual book with an important message. Do you like Great Books? GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Why should I read the Great Books?
pp. 1-14
What do you mean by “The Great Books”?
pp. 15-27
Have people always read the Great Books?
pp. 28-36
Isn’t it true that the Great Books are too difficult to read on your own?
pp. 37-60
Where did your list of Great Books come from?
pp. 61-78
Aren’t the Great Books kinda problematic?
pp. 79-102
Why not read other books that are equally beautiful but have better politics?
pp. 103-115
Does it matter what we read? Isn’t it more important to develop our thinking skills?
pp. 116-134
How do we know whether a book is “Great”?
pp. 135-151
Why do we need a list at all?
pp. 152-173
When we say, “The Great Books are worth reading,” do other people hear, “White men are inherently superior”?
pp. 174-181
Can’t reading the Great Books be psychologically damaging for marginalized people?
pp. 182-197
Weren’t some of the Great Books written by reprehensible people?
pp. 198-203
What if, at the end of the day, I simply prefer to read other books?
Machiavelli continues to fascinate me (and other readers) with his analysis of Government and the behavior of people in power. Patrick Boucheron spent a summer reading Machiavelli and pondering the “lessons” of The Prince. Few books have the power to speak to the Future for hundred of years like The Prince.
Machiavelli died in 1527, yet his ideas live on into the 21st Century. Patrick Boucheron, in a series of short 2-4 page essays, explores Machiavelli’s ideas in clear, accessible prose. Mixed in with the consideration of ideas is a series of conjectures about Machiavelli’s life and how events shaped his thoughts.
I enjoyed Machiavelli: The Art of Teaching People What to Fear after reading dozens of denser, much longer books on Machiavelli. This slim–150 page–book presents a series of inquires into Machiavelli’s writings that make sense. I found Boucheron’s scrutiny and reasoning very revealing. GRADE: A
Translated from the French by Willard Wood TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction — 1 YOUTH
1.The seasons — 15
2. Machiavellianism — 19
3. 1469, time returns — 23
4. A father’s ambition — 27
5. Story of a dangerous book — 31 A TIME FOR ACTION
6. Suddenly savonarola — 39
7. A young man in politics — 43
8. Travel — 47
9. The cutting edge of language — 51
10. Coup d’etat — 55 AFTER DISASTER
11. An exile’s letter — 61
12. How to read The Prince — 65
13. To conquer and preserve — 69
14. Evil in politics — 73
15. State of emergency — 77 POLITICS OF WRTING
16. The comedy of power — 83
17. Machiavelli the joker — 87
18. Politics of obscenity — 91
19. The courage to name — 95
20. The political art of taking a position — 99 REPUBLIC OF DISAGREEMENTS
21.What is a republic? — 105
22. In praise of disagreement — 109
23. We are disarmed — 113
24. Violence in politics — 117
25. The end does not justify the means — 121 NEVER TOO LATE
26. Writing history — 127
27. Is it too late? — 131
28. 1527, end of a world — 135
29. Anatomy of a ghost — 139
30. Philosophizing in a storm — 143 Reading Machiavelli — 147 Image Credits — 155
Tom Holland, fresh off his role as Odysseus’s son, Telemachus, in The Odyssey returns for his fourth movie as a superhero in Spider-Man:: Brand New Day. I’ve seen Holland in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021).
I’m blaming Director Destin Daniel Cretton and his scriptwriters–Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers–for this deadly dull move. Spider-Man is tormented by headaches. One cause is the spider DNA that gives him his Powers is increasing its affect on him. Also, as Peter Parker, he’s friendless because of the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home where he had Doctor Strange wipe his friends’ memories of him.
Cretton, McKenna, and Sommers try to jazz things up with special guest stars like The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and The Punisher (John Bernthal). But the fight scenes are low-energy going-through-the-motions exercises.
What might have saved this movie are the scenes with Peter Parker’s former forgetful friends, MJ (played by Zendaya–Holland’s wife in Real Life) and his pal Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon). But those scenes are few and far between the mind-numbing “Action” escapades.
On top of all this boredom, the 20 minutes of Previews–none of which interested me–foretells that the Fall movie season might be as dreary as the Summer movie season of 2026. The only move I’m looking forward to is Avengers: Doomsday coming in December. GRADE: C-
I’ve had this Young Adult fantasy series on my shelves for years. It seemed like a Good Time to finally read them. The Troubletwisters series follows the adventures of Jaide and Jack whose house has blown up forcing them to move to Portland, a small town with a lot of secrets.
Jaide and Jack move in with their Grandmother, who also withholds a lot of information. At the same time, Jaide and Jack–twins who are both 13 years old–discover they have “Gifts.” Jack has the power to control darkness and shadows. Jaide has the power to control wind.
Jaide and Jack’s father is roaming around in Europe looking for rare antiques. Their mother is an EMT nurse who knows nothing about the changes her children are going though.
The first volume of the series basically introduces the characters and the threats against them by an invading entity called The Evil.
Things get serious in Book Two, The Monster. Jaide and Jack work at mastering their Gifts as the threats against Portland increase.
My favorite book of the series in Book Three, The Mystery. Jack and Jaide Shield must find a hidden magical artifact inside a dead man’s castle before it falls into the hands of The Evil.
The Final Book in the series seemed like an overstuffed sausage to me. So much going on! An inter dimensional rescue mission, Jack and Jaide discovering more Gifts, dealing with Stefano Battaglia–another mysterious troubletwister–whose secrets affect all the plot lines.
All the books are quick reads. This series is aimed at a teenage audience. If you’re looking for a fun experience, look no further. GRADE: B (for all four volumes)
TROUBLETWISTERS SERIES:
The Magic (2011) (aka Troubletwisters)
The Monster (2012)
The Mystery (2013) (aka Mystery of the Golden Card in Australia)
The Missing (2014) (aka Missing, Presumed Evil in Australia and the UK)
Last week I reviewed Flower Power: United We Stand (you can read my review here). I found another volume in the Flower Power compilation series by TIME-LIFE, Flower Power: Age of Aquarius from 2007. Several commentors complained Flower Power: United We Stand didn’t have some of the classic “Flower Power” songs. This set includes Scott McKenzie “San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair) as well as The 5th Dimension’s “Aquarius/Let the Sun Shine In.”
Strawberry Alarm Clock is included with their best known hit, “Incense And Peppermints”. I’m not sure The Byrds’ “Mr. Tambourine Man” qualifies as a “Flower Power” song, but here it is. And who doesn’t like Jefferson Airplane’s “Somebody To Love”?
Do you remember these songs? Any favorites here? GRADE: B+
Last week I review John D. MacDonald’s A Bullet for Cinderella (aka, On the Make)…you can read my review here. Now I’ve read Fred Blosser’s classic A Bullet for Cthulhu and its sequel, Cthulhu Yuletide.
For fans of Cthulhu, the first story blends pulp fiction with cosmic horror. Two Mob enforcers face the dreaded Cthulhu and the dangers of Lovecraft ‘s domain.
Cthulhu Yuletide takes Nicky Ringo into a trap where other gangsters have planned to frame him for the murder of another mobster. But no one counted on the appearance of a deadly entity from Cthulhu’s realm.
If you’re a Cthulhu fan looking for a quick Lovecraft fix, give Fred Blosser’s stories a try! GRADE:B (for both)
I don’t watch a lot of HGTV (aka, The Renovation Network) but Diane is a fan of Leslie Jones. Leslie Jones was on Saturday Night Live for five seasons from 2014 to 2019. Since then, she has had a stand-up act and hosted the ABC game show Supermarket Sweep. She has also been a featured performer at the Just for Laughs festival in Montreal and the Aspen Comedy Festival.
Leslie Jones tells the audience in the first episode of Roast My Rental that she has stayed in plenty of rentals which makes her an expert. Each week, Jones will find a beat-up rental and have Jasmine Roth (of Help, I Wrecked My House) renovate the dump.
Diane will be watching Roast My Rental solo. GRADE: C
While Roger Ebert remains as my favorite movie critic, close behind is David Thomson. His love of movies vastly eclipses mine, but his tastes and my tastes coincide on many films.
“By “the movies”, incidentally, he [Thomson] means Hollywood, with a side order of established European and east Asian arthouse: he takes us from the cine-prehistory of photographer Eadweard Muybridge to Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, DW Griffith’s Birth of a Nation with its sinister Ku Klux Klan hero-worship, Chaplin, Stroheim, Hitchcock, Capra, Renoir, Bogart, Marilyn Monroe in The Seven-Year Itch, Monroe Stahr in The LastTycoon, Scorsese’s GoodFellas, David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive (“Is it drive or dream?”), Kirk Douglas and his alleged rape of Natalie Wood, Barbara Loden’s Wanda, Sean Baker’s Anora, Tracey Emin’s Why I Never Became a Dancer and much more.” (Peter Bradshaw in the Guardian, Mon 20 Jul 2026)
I’ve read several histories of Hollywood, but A Sudden Flicker of Light is a distillation of the 40 books David Thomson has written. Thomson seemingly has seen every movie ever made. And, he has strong opinions about all of them. Some might quibble about Thomson’s fixation on profit and losses in the film industry. Some might bristle at Thomson’s provocative generalizations about classic movies.
Thomson proclaims Steven Spielberg as “the most decisive figure in the history of film, a guy who came upon an art experimenting with difficulty or doubt and talked it in off the ledge”.
While reading A Sudden Flicker of Light I would get a vague sense that this could be David Thomson’s last book–he’s 85 years old. But A Sudden Flicker of Light demonstrates he still has his wits and his critical senses. GRADE: A
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Season 4 got off to a wild start with the first of 10 episodes–“Valles Marineris”–the Enterprise and its crew are assigned an “easy” mission: check out a cosmic storm. But things go sideways as the storm sends them 65 million years into the Past.
