Snoopy Presents: There’s No Place Like Home, Snoopy or simply There’s No Place Like Home, Snoopy is the 53rd Peanuts animated special. It is the eighth Peanuts special released on Apple TV on July 31, 2026. The plot follows Snoopy after his doghouse is accidentally sold during Charlie Brown and Sally’s yard sale. 

Apple TV+ is the exclusive streaming home for the Peanuts franchise through 2030. They control the rights to Camp Snoopy, The Snoopy Show, and Snoopy Presents.

If you’e a fan of Peanuts and/or Snoopy, you can find them on Apple TV+, GRADE: B+

I love spy novels. I got off to a shaky start in the 1960s by reading Matt Helm and James Bond paperbacks. But, eventually, I read “grown up” spy novels by John le Carre (David Cornwell), Frederick Forsyth, Eric Ambler, Martin Cruz Smith, Robert Ludlum, and others. Today my favorites are Mick Heron’s Slow Horses, Mark Greaney’s Gray Man series, and Daniel Silva’s series.

Tradecraft: Writers on John le Carre (2025) takes the reader on a deep dive into the works of John le Carre. Several of le Carre’s spy novels are dissected to reveal plenty of facts of the novel and the author that you didn’t know.

My favorite chapter in Tradecraft is written by David Cornwell’s son, Nicholas Cornwell. Nicholas reveals personal facts about his father, his writing methods, and how working with “John le Carre” made him a better writer.

If you’re a John le Carre fan, Tradecraft is a must-read. If you enjoy spy fiction, you’ll learn a lot about the craft of writing spy novels from this book. GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

FOREWORD Simon Cornwall — vii
PREFACE Le Carré and the Bodleian Richard Ovenden — x
INTRODUCTION Federico Varese — 1

TIMELINE OF DAVID CORNWELL’S LIFE — 26

1. Errol Morris: David Cornwell and the hopeless uncertainties of history — 29
2. Elleke Boehmer & Steven Matthews: John le Carré as world writer — 40
3. Lawrence Osborne: The Honourable Schoolboy: Hong Kong nights and Phnom Penh days — 57
4. Andrea Ruggeri: The world has gone mad: International Relations in the work of John le Carré –72
5. Andrei Soldatov: John le Carré and spying as seen from the KGB — 86
6. Michela Wrong: One week in Bukavu — 103
7. Hossein Amini: Adapting John le Carré: My first screenwriting manual — 122
8. Nicholas Cornwell: Writing with my father: Karla’s Choice by way of Silverview –138

Notes — 152

Further Reading –– 162

Acknowledgements — 164

About the Authors — 166

Picture Credits — 168

Index — 169

I’m back to listening to Greatest Hits collections. Pat Benatar Greatest Hits (2006) includes 20 songs from Pat Benatar’s career, mostly from the 1980s. I remember Pat Benatar music videos in heavy rotation on MTV for that decade. “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” might have a different interpretation today. But “Shadows of the Night” and “Love Is a Battlefield” hold up.

My parents loved Henry Mancini’s music. They had his albums–Peter Gunn, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and The Pink Panther–and played them on our stereo system on a regular basis. Later, I read some books about Mancini and Blake Edwards and discovered how they both worked to make their movies legendary.

Do you remember Pat Benatar and Henry Mancini? Any favorites here? GRADE: A for both

TRACK LIST:

1		Heartbreaker (Single Mix) Drums – Glen Alexander HamiltonWritten-By – C. Wade*, G. Gill*	3:28
2		We Live For Love (Single Edit) Drums – Glen Alexander Hamilton	3:55
3		Hit Me With Your Best Shot Written-By – E. Schwartz*	2:52
4		Hell Is For Children Written-By – R. Capps*	4:51
5		Treat Me Right (Single Edit) Written-By – D. Lubahn*	3:14
6		You Better RunWritten-By – E. Brigati*, F. Cavaliere*	3:04
7		Fire And Ice Tambourine – Keith Olsen Written-By – S. Sheets*, T. Kelly*	3:19
8		Promises In The Dark Piano – Alan Pasqua	4:49
9		Precious Time Written-By – William Steinberg*	6:02
10		Shadows Of The Night (Single Edit) Written-By – D. Byron*	3:43
11		Little Too Late (Single Edit) Written-By – A. Call*	3:26
12		Looking For A Stranger Written-By – F. Golde*, P. McIan*	3:26
13		Love Is A Battlefield (Single Edit) Written-By – H. Knight*, M. Chapman*	4:10
14		We Belong Written-By – D. Navarro*, E. Lowen*	3:42
15		Ooh Ooh Song (Single Edit) Harmonica – Neil Giraldo	4:09
16		Invincible (Theme From The Legend Of Billie Jean) (Single Edit) Producer – Mike Chapman Written-By – H. Knight*, S. Climie*	4:09
17		Sex As A Weapon Written-By – William Steinberg*, T. Kelly*	4:20
18		Le Bel Age Written-By – G. Gaglio*, R. Tepper*	4:19
19		All Fired Up (Single Edit) Bass, Backing Vocals – Frank Linx Producer – Keith Forsey Written-By – K. Tolhurst*, M. Grombacher*	4:11
20		One Love (Single Edit) Backing Vocals – Frank LinxBass – Fernando Saunders Keyboards – Kevin Savigar Written-By – M. G Grombacher

TRACK LIST:

1		Peter Gunn	2:04
2		Mr. Lucky	2:11
3		Breakfast At Tiffany’s	2:46
4		Moon River Written-By – Henry Mancini, Johnny Mercer	2:43
5		Days Of Wine And Roses	2:07
6		The Good Old Days	2:01
7		Experiment In Terror	2:18
8		Soldier In The Rain	2:56
9		The Pink Panther Theme	2:36
10		It Had Better Be Tonight Written-By – Henry Mancini, Johnny Mercer	1:57
11		The Sweetheart Tree Written-By – Henry Mancini, Johnny Mercer	1:56
12		Pie-In-The-Face Polka	2:24
13		In The Arms Of Love Written-By – Henry Mancini, Jay Livingston, Ray Evans	2:36
14		The Swing March	2:07
15		A Quiet Happening	3:07
16		Theme For Sam	3:12
17		Candlelight On Crystal	3:04
18		Nothing To Lose Written-By – Don Black, Henry Mancini	2:23
19		Darling Lili Written-By – Henry Mancini, Johnny Mercer	2:48
20		Whistling Away The Dark Written-By – Henry Mancini, Johnny Mercer	3:43
21		The Inspector Clouseau Theme	2:58
22		It’s Easy To Say Written-By – Henry Mancini, Robert Wells (2)	3:25
23		Medley Victor/Victoria Finale: The Shady Dame From Seville, Crazy World, You And Me, Le Jazz Hot Written-By – Henry Mancini, Leslie Bricusse	4:53

I’ve read James Patrick Kelly’s (no relation) stories since the mid-1970s. I consider Kelly an underrated writer even though he’s won Hugo, Nebula, and LOCUS awards. His new collection, The Book of Bots, collects a dozen of his short stories about robots.

But the two essays Kelly includes in this collection are worth the price of admission alone: “The Comedy of Science” and “Robots on Parade 2026.” “The Comedy of Science” is an engaging history of robots in Science Fiction writing. “Robots on Parade 2026” centers on the state of the art of robotics today. I learned a lot from these two finely crafted, detailed essays.

James Patrick Kelly organizes the dozen short stories in The Book of Bots in chronological order by publishing date. The early stories show robots as helpers. The later stories–mixed with Artificial Intelligence–present a more complicated picture of humans interacting with robots with superior intelligence.

If you’re interested in possible futures of robots and humans, The Book of Bots supplies some possible answers. GRADE: B (for bots)

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Forward — 11

Itsy Bitsy Spider — 15

10 to 1 — 28

Undone — 52

Bernardo’s House — 82

The Comedy of Science — 106

The Best Christmas Ever — 121

Uncanny — 136

Grace’s Family — 140

Yukui! — 174

Robot s on Parade 2026 — 184

Your Boyfriend Experience — 193

What It. Means to Be a a Car — 224

Embot’s Lament — 237

Je Ne Regrette Rien — 253

I started reading comic books in the mid-1950s–Batman and Superman mostly. But by 1960, my favorite DC comic series was The Flash. Not far behind was Green Lantern. We all know about the Ryan Reynolds movie version of Green Lantern that bombed. Now we have a new series, Lanterns, on HBO MAX.

 Kyle Chandler’s Hal Jordan, the first of the intergalactic cops known as Green Lanterns recruited from Earth, is paired with John Stewart (Cairo Cash Lee) into plots that seem more like True Detective than a superhero series.

“Created by crime drama specialist Chris Mundy (True Detective, Ozark), TV eminence Damon Lindelof (Lost, The Leftovers), and Eisner-winning comics writer Tom King, it juggles their different strengths and points of view with mixed success.” Those audiences craving something like Spider-Man are going to be disappointed with this Buddies series with a dash of CGI. GRADE: Incomplete but trending towards a B-

“In his sixty years as a working literary critic, he [Bloom] published nearly fifty original books, two of them later his death in 2019, several of which made the New York Times Best-Seller list. He published hundreds of critical collections, each with an introductory essay of his own. He lectured in countries around the world, and taught thousands of students.” (p. 2)

Heather Cass White, the editor of The Man Who Read Everything (2026), is a former student of Harold Bloom. In 2015, she approached Bloom about publishing a volume of his correspondence with poets and writers. Bloom agreed and this volume is the result. White notes that Harold Bloom could read a book in an hour and could cite passages from it because he had a photographic memory.

Some of Harold Bloom’s best letters can be found in the section on Northrop Frye, the world-famous professor at the University of Toronto that Bloom idolized. Bloom also idolized poets: Alvin Feinman, John Hollander, A.R. Ammons, John Ashbery, James Merrill, and Henri Cole.

Bloom believed John Ashbery was the best poet of the second half of the 20th Century (Yeats being the best poet of the first half). But I agree with Irvin Ehrenpreis’s review of Ashbery’s Self-Portrait (1975), “Mr. Ashbery may hope to surprise us agreeably with the leaps or turns of his mind from image to insight and back again; and he may challenge us to make the brightest of these connections ourselves. But most of his work will tire nearly all his readers.” (p. 138)

The letters and email texts from the Ursula K. Le Guin section were the most fun to read. “Her honors include eight Hugo Awards, and six Nebula Awards.” (p. 187)

Ursula K. Le Guin wrote “23 novels, 12 volumes of short stories, 11 volumes of poetry, 11 children’s books, five essay collections, and four works of translation.” (p. 187) Harold Bloom was an enthusiastic fan of Le Guin’s work and his productivity matches hers.

Reading these letters gives insights into a seminal critic of the 20th Century. GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Introduction — 1

A Note on the Texts — 15

Alvin Feinman — 17

Northrop Frye — 31

John Hollander — 51

A. R. Ammons — 69

John Ashbery — 119

James Merrill — 157

Henri Cole — 179

Ursula K. Le Guin — 187

Works Cited — 215

Acknowledgements — 219

Index –– 221

“Gibbon’s fascination with the dissolution of a world that seemed quite literally set in stone is not surprising–deep within the European psyche lies an anxiety that, if Ancient Rome could fall, so can the proudest of modern civilizations.” (p. 3)

Bryan Ward-Perkins opens his short but insightful book by thanking his editor: “She made me prune many of the subordinate clauses and qualifications that scholars love; and above all forced me to say what I really mean, rather than hint at it through Delphic academic utterances.” (p. v)

As a former professor, I too am prone to Delphic academic utterances from time to time. But Ward-Perkin’s brilliant editor turned The Fall of Rome and the End of Civilization (2005) into something more than Cliff Notes to Edward Gibbon’s classic  Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (a six volume work published between 1776 and 1788). You can read Gibbon’s 3000 page master work…or Ward-Perkin’s 239 page shortcut. I have done both.

Edward Gibbon ran into trouble by suggesting Rome’s fall was caused by Christianity and the spread of monasticism. Gibbon wrote “a large portion of public and private wealth was consecrated to the specious demands of charity and devotion; and the soldiers pay was lavished on the useless multitudes of both sexes, who could only plead the merits of abstinence and chastity.” (p. 40)

Bryan Ward-Perkins suggests another reason for Rome’s fall: “In my opinion, the key internal element of Rome’s success or failure was the economic well-being of its taxpayers. This was because the empire relied for its security on a professional army, with in turn relied on adequate funding.” (p. 41) As the wealth of Rome went to building churches and monasteries, the armies regressed because of lack of funding–and were defeated by barbarians.

The state of the world today shares parallels with the decline and fall of Rome. Civilization could disappear again with a few mushroom clouds… GRADE: B+

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Preface — v

I. Did Rome Ever Fall? — 1

Part I: The Fall of Rome

II. The Horrors of War — 13.

III. The Road to Defeat — 33

IV. Living Under the New Masters — 63

Part II: The End of a Civilization

V. The Disappearance of Comfort — 87

VI. Why the Demise of Comfort? — 123

VII. The Death of a Civilization? — 138

VII. All for the Best in the Best of All Possible Worlds — 169

Appendix: From Potsherds to People — 184

Chronology — 188

Notes — 182

Bibliography –– 216

Picture List — 224

Index — 231

AMAZON PRIME Video dropped the first three episodes of Reacher, Season 4 and I watch them. Reacher, Season 4 is a series of 10 episodes–episodes will drop one at a time on Wednesdays. In the first three episodes, Reacher (Alan Ritchson) takes a lot of punishment. But Reacher deals out a lot of punishment, too!

Reacher, Season 4 is based on Lee Child’s 13th Reacher novel: Gone Tomorrow (2009). You can read my review of Gone Tomorrow here.

While most of Gone Tomorrow is set in New York City, Reacher, Season 4 is set Philadelphia and Washington, D. C. Plenty of alphabet agencies are after Reacher–FBI, CIA, etc. Reacher is on the run, but still managing to investigate crimes in the present and the Past.

There are changes and variations from Gone Tomorrow, but the relentless momentum of Reacher remains in high gear. Are you a Reacher fan? GRADE: Incomplete but trending towards a B+

Alan Ritchson Teases REACHER Season 4 Book

Gone Tomorrow is the 13th book in Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series. Gone Tomorrow was published in 2009 and is the basis of AMAZON PRIME Video’s Reacher, Season 4–I’ll be posting a review of that on Saturday, August 15, 2026.

Gone Tomorrow is a homage to New York City. Over 90% of the action of the novel happens there. If you live in NYC, visit NYC, or have read enough books about NYC, you’ll recognize all the Lee Child’s references to sites in the city, the streets, the subway system, and the people.

The plot gets launched on a subway car a 2 A.M.  Reacher notices a suspicious-looking passenger who matches many of the characteristics of a potential suicide bomber. When he approaches the passenger, an unlikely event triggers a situation that leads Reacher into a series of chases and escapes.

The key to the incident is the mission in Asia years before. Reacher contacts a senatorial candidate who was in Delta Force when key happenings occurred. The FBI and other Federal agencies chase Reacher, trying to discover what he knows about the case.

Meanwhile, Evil Elements are tracking down Reacher because they believe he has information vital to their mission. All of these various forces come together in a Battle Royale at the conclusion of Gone Tomorrow. Some readers might quibble about the slow beginning, but no one will complain about the deadly ending. Are you a Lee Child fan? GRADE: B+

I’ve listened to a number of AM GOLD compilations (you can read my review of 1967 here, 1968 here, 1976 here, and 1977 here. AM GOLD 1965 from 1994 features plenty of hits from the mid-1960s but dodges most of the British Invasion groups from that era: no Beatles, Stones, Kinks, Who, etc.

The first James Bond film I ever saw was Goldfinger. When the soundtrack to Goldfinger came out in 1965, I bought it and wore out the groves!

“Movie producers Albert Broccoli and Harry Saltzman allowed him [John Barry] to write the theme song for Goldfinger in addition to the soundtrack.^[1] Barry created the melody of the song before drafting the lyrics with the help of Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse.^[2] The theme was first sung by Newley at a demo session on 14 May 1964. At the behest of Barry, Shirley Bassey was chosen to sing the track. On Bassey, Barry was quoted saying ‘Nobody could have sung it like her; she had that great dramatic sense.’ The theme was recorded on 20 August 1964 after an all-night session in the recording studio.^[3] The session was produced by EMI in-house producer George Martin, who also was the Beatles‘ producer at the time. Guitarist Vic Flick, who played on the track, recalled at a 2012 Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences salute to the music of James Bond that Bassey was having difficulty getting a proper take. Martin spoke to her and then over the recording baffle her brassiere came flying. She nailed it on the next take.” (Wikipedia]

Peter and Gordon don’t show up on many of the compilation CDs but they’re here with “I Go To Pieces.”

“Do You Believe in Magic” by The Lovin’ Spoonful still gets regular airplay on our local Oldies radio station, as does The Seekers’ “I’ll Never Find Another You.” I remember the Smothers Brothers singing this song as”I’ll Never Find Another Ewe.”

Mix in some Motown classics like The Temptations’ “My Girl” and Smoky Robinson and The Miracles’ “Track of My Tears” and overall this may be the best of the AM GOLD series. Do you remember these songs? Any favorites here? GRADE: A-

TRACK LIST:

1	Sonny And Cher*–	I Got You Babe Music By, Lyrics By – Sonny Bono	3:12
2	Petula Clark–	Downtown Music By, Lyrics By – Tony Hatch	3:05
3	Jackie DeShannon–	What The World Needs Now Is Love Lyrics By – Hal David Music By – Burt Bacharach	3:11
4	The Temptations–	My Girl Music By, Lyrics By – Ronald White, William Robinson*	2:43
5	Peter And Gordon*–	I Go To Pieces Music By, Lyrics By – Del Shannon	2:22
6	Wayne Fontana And The Mindbenders*–	Game Of Love Music By, Lyrics By – Clint Ballard Jr.	2:08
7	Tom Jones–	What’s New Pussycat? Lyrics By – Hal David Music By – Burt Bacharach	2:06
8	The Lovin’ Spoonful–	Do You Believe In Magic Music By, Lyrics By – John Sebastian	2:05
9	The Beach Boys–	California Girls Music By, Lyrics By – Brian Wilson	2:34
10	Barbara Lewis–	Make Me Your Baby Music By, Lyrics By – Helen Miller, Roger Arkins	2:32
11	The Righteous Brothers–	You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ Music By, Lyrics By – Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Phil Spector	3:44
12	The Miracles–	The Tracks Of My Tears Music By, Lyrics By – Marv Tarplin*, William Robinson*, Warren Moore	2:55
13	Gary Lewis And The Playboys*–	This Diamond Ring Music By, Lyrics By – Al Kooper, Bob Brass (2), Irwin Levine	2:14
14	The Fortunes–	You’ve Got Your Troubles Music By, Lyrics By – Roger Cook, Roger Greenaway	3:23
15	The Seekers–	I’ll Never Find Another You Music By, Lyrics By – Dion O’Brien	2:45
16	The Vogues–	You’re The One Music By, Lyrics By – Petula Clark, Tony Hatch	2:22
17	Shirley Bassey–	Goldfinger Lyrics By – Anthony Newley, Leslie BricusseMusic By – John Barry	2:50
18	The Ramsey Lewis Trio–	The “In” Crowd Music By – Billy Page	3:14
19	The Supremes–	Back In My Arms Again Music By, Lyrics By – Brian Holland, Edward Holland, Jr., Lamont Dozier	2:52
20	We Five–	You Were On My MindMusic By, Lyrics By – Sylvia Fricker	2:37
21	Bobby Goldsboro–	Little Things Music By, Lyrics By – Bobby Goldsboro	2:28
22	Roger Miller–	King Of The Road Music By, Lyrics By – Roger Miller	2:27