This has been the Summer of Repairs for us. First, it was our Sears Craftsman lawn mower (10-years-old) that needed a new wheel. Then our garage door opener died (18-years-old). We decided to replace the garage door (28-years-old) with a new, insulated garage door. Now, we’re dealing with a broken dryer. Our Maytag dryer (13=years-old) started making squeaking noises. Diane told me she sensed a “burning smell,” too. So we had the dryer fix-it guy come out. He said the motor needed replacing. We said, okay.

The next day, the dryer guy showed up and after about 5 minutes he announced, “They sent me the wrong dryer motor.” So now we’re playing the Waiting Game. Have you had any repairs done this Summer? What kind of experience did you have?

DC Comics is attempting to attract a younger audience with these animated features. Batman Unlimited: Monster Mayhem is the sequel to Batman Unlimited: Animal Instincts that I reviewed here. In this episode, the Joker with the help of Scarecrow, Clayface, Silver Banshee and Solomon Grundy terrorize Gotham City. I’m convinced that these animated films “orientate” new audience to the DC Universe and introduce characters (mostly villains) to the new viewers. If you’re a fan of Batman, you’ll enjoy this. GRADE: B

I’m a sucker for a book like Michael Dirda’s BROWSINGS: A YEAR OF READING, COLLECTING, AND LIVING WITH BOOKS . The America Scholar invited Dirda to submit a short post on books to their website on a weekly basis. So Browsings collects all those posts, 600 to 1800 words, in a compact volume. Dirda writes about his favorite books, his success at finding books at Library Sales, the changes in modern publishing, and praises small presses. This is a perfect book to dip into for wonderful writing and suggestions on what to read next. Highly recommended! GRADE: A
Table of Contents
1. Mr. Zinsser, I presume
2. Style is the man
3. Armchair adventures
4. Bookish pets
5. Paper
6. This is a column
7. Scribble, scribble
8. Books on books
9. Text mess
10. Twilight of an author
11. Spring book sales
12. Memories of Marseille
13. Hail to thee, blithe spirit!
14. Synonym toast
15. Cowboys and clubmen
16. Grades
17. Anglophilia
18. After the golden age
19. Anthologies and collections
20. Rocky Mountain low
21. The fugitive
22. Hot enough for you?
23. Wonder books
24. Readercon
25. Aurora
26. Out of print
27. Thrift stories
28. Musical chairs
29. The evidence in the (book) case
30. Charlottesville
31. Then and now
32. Mencken day
33. New and old
34. Dirty pictures
35. Going, going, gone
36. Castles in space
37. Waving, not drowning
38. Oberlin
39. Jacques Barzun, and others
40. What’s in a name?
41. Language matters
42. “I’m done”
43. Poe and Baudelaire
44. In praise of small presses
45. Christmas reading
46. Books for the holidays
47. Let us now praise Dover Books
48. A dreamer’s tale
49. Money
50. Book projects
51. Ending up
52. A positively, final appearance
53. Afterword.

The website SF SIGNAL had a list of “favorite” SF mystery stories. You can check out the list here. The only book on the list I hadn’t read was Warren Hammond’s KOP. The action is set on an earth-like planet called Lagarto. The planet used to make money exporting a unique brandy. But tastes change and the brandy no longer generates the great wealth it used to. The planet slips into poverty and corruption. Juno is a corrupt cop but he is loyal to his friend who runs the KOP police department. There’s a series murders, some double-dealing, and a not very surprising ending. I was not impressed by KOP. GRADE: C

The ever generous Beth Fedyn sent me this copy of Rochester Knockings: A Novel of the Fox Sisters written by Hubert Haddad and translated by Jennifer Grotz. The Fox Sisters grew up in a “haunted” house just outside Rochester, New York. The younger daughter challenged the ghost haunting the house and established communication with the Dead. News of this spread and the Fox Sisters became famous for communicating with the Spirit World. In fact, the Fox Sisters launched the Spiritualist Movement. As their fame grew, the Fox Sisters moved from Rochester to New York City where they conducted hundreds of seances. The Fox Sisters became the most famous mediums of their time. Of course, this all unraveled, but that’s part of the suspense in this historically accurate novel. Thanks, Beth! This was a compelling reading experience!

Altus Press just published The Sinister Shadow but this mash-up of Doc Savage and The Shadow is sure to be a hit for Readers of a Certain Age. Based on a fragment left by Lester Dent, the talented Will Murray expanded the storyline to include two giants of the Pulp Age. I’ve read Will Murray’s previous pastiches of Doc Savage and The Sinister Shadow delivers all of the thrills you would expect from a classic Lester Dent adventure. If you’re a fan of Doc Savage and The Shadow you probably already own this. But, if you’re curious about the continuation of these Pulp Age adventures, I recommend you pick up a copy of The Sinister Shadow and enjoy the action!

What if you were diagnosed with incurable leukemia. What books would you read in the time you had left? That’s the question Clive James faces in what will be one of his last books, Latest Readings because that’s the situation he found himself in when diagnosed with the fatal disease in 2010. James, one of my favorite reviewers and literary critics, finds himself rereading some favorites–Conrad, Hemingway, Anthony Powell–yet finding new writers to get excited about, chiefly Olivia Manning’s two trilogies that I simply must read now (of course, they’ve be on my shelves for years). In his last days, Clive James pursues his life-long interests in World War II and Hollywood. These short essays are full of Clive James’s wit and graceful prose. James doesn’t give in to any sense of doom. He just goes on reading. GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Hemingway in the Beginning
Revisiting Conrad
Novels in Sequence
Patrick O’Brian and His Salty Hero
War Leader
Sebald and the Battle in the Air
Phantom Flying Saucer
Under Western Eyes
Treasuring Osbert Lancaster
American Power
Kipling and the Widow-Maker
Speer in Spandau
Shakespeare and Johnson
Naipaul’s Nastiness
Movie Books
Women in Hollywood
Extra Shelves
Always Philip Larkin
Villa America
Angles on Hitler
Stephen Edgar, Australian Ace
John Howard Extends His Reign
Hemingway at the End
On Wit
Richard Wilbur’s Precept
When Creation is Perverse
Conrad’s Greatest Victory
Coda

Sam’s Club had this box of Skinny Pop marked down to practically nothing so we decided to try it. You get 20 Individual Snack Packs, 100 Calories Per Pack, 0g Trans Fat, Cholesterol Free, Non GMO, Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Nut Free popcorn. Here’s the nutrition information:
Serving Size 1 package (3 g)
Per Serving % Daily Value*
Calories 100
Calories from Fat 54
Total Fat 6g 9%
Saturated Fat 0.5g 3%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 60mg 3%
Potassium 7.33mg 0%
Carbohydrates 10g 3%
Dietary Fiber 2g 8%
Sugars 0g
Protein 2g
Vitamin A 0% · Vitamin C 0%
Calcium 0% · Iron 11%

We liked the taste of Skinny Pop popcorn. We tried the White Cheddar variety, but didn’t like that much. If you’re looking for a quick, low-carb snack you might want to give Skinny Pop a try.

If you’re looking to watch something very different, I’d recommend this new release: Justice League: Gods and Monsters. The movie is set in an alternate universe where the Justice League is a brutal force that maintains order on Earth. This universe has its own versions of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman completely different from the standard “good” versions of these super-heroes that we’re used to. In addition to this compelling animated movie, the Special Features include a sneak peek at the next DC Universe animated movie, Calculated Risks: The Making of Gods and Monsters, and from the DC Comics Vault–two bonus cartoons. If you’re a fan of the DC Universe, you’ll find a lot here to enjoy. If you’re curious about the DC Universe, Justice League: Gods and Monsters would be a good place to start your investigation.

John Scalzi reminds me of Robert Heinlein. His stories have a beginning, a middle, and an exciting end. Scalzi’s characters are believable and interesting. And, the future Scalzi invents is full of that sense of wonder that Heinlein’s best stories have. The End of All Things features a neat John Harris cover. It’s the sixth book in the Old Man’s War series. Earth and the Colonial Union are feuding. The End of All Things explores the reason for the bad relations and the efforts to repair them. I’ve read the previous five books in this series–The Old Man’s War, The Ghost Brigades, The Lost Colony, Zoe’s Tale, and The Human Division–and enjoyed them all. You don’t have to read the previous books to enjoy The End of All Things, but it would help understand the story arc. GRADE: B+
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
The Life of the Mind 9
This Hollow Union 117
Can Long Endure 205
To Stand Or Fall 269
An Alternate “The Life of the Mind” 351
Acknowledgements 379