A. S. Byatt wrote one of my favorite novels: Possession. Possession went on to win the 1990 Booker Prize. It’s the story of a pair of academics trying to solve a literary mystery.

Byatt’s Medusa’s Ankles: Selected Stories presents a cross-section of her work. From realistic stories like “Raw Material”–a story about a creative writing teacher who actually finds a student whose writing is genuinely creative–to “A Stone Woman” where a woman is literally turning to stone, these tales tantalize and surprise.

The two stories I enjoyed the most would probably fall into the category of Fantasy. “The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye” is the longest story in Medusa’s Ankles; it’s almost 100 pages. The story involves a professor of narratology, Gillian Perholdt, who attends an academic conference in Turkey after her husband leaves her and says good-bye through a fax. Gillian Perholt buys a beautiful bottle and guess what? Yes, a djinn (aka, genie) appears and grants her three wishes. Plenty of humor and pathos follow. “The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye” is a master class in story telling and narratology.

My second favorite story is “Cold.” In a kingdom long ago, the Queen–after giving birth to 12 boys–finally gives birth to a girl. The girl is “fragile” and wan. But, her tutor starts to formulate a theory of her health. When he spies the Princess dancing in the snow, he realizes her true nature. But, when the Princess marries, she’s confronted by the consequences of her true nature.

A. S. Byatt is a marvelous writer. Her stories, whether realistic or fantastic, will sweep you away! GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

INTRODUCTION By David Mitchell — vii

The July ghost — 3

Sugar — 21

Precipice-encurled — 55

Racine and the tablecloth — 85

Medusa’s ankles — 117

The Chinese lobster — 131

Dragons’ breath — 155

The Djinn in the nightingale’s eye — 165

A Lamia in the Cévennes — 263

Christ in the house of Martha and Mary — 281

Cold — 289

Heavenly bodies — 325

Raw material — 335

A stone woman — 359

The narrow jet — 391

Dolls’ eyes — 415

The lucid dreamer — 429

Sea story — 437

Encanto is a Disney animated mystery. Featuring the voices of Stephanie Beatriz, María Cecilia Botero, John Leguizamo, Mauro Castillo, Jessica Darrow, Angie Cepeda, Carolina Gaitán, Diane Guerrero, and Wilmer Valderrama, the film follows a multigenerational Colombian family, the Madrigals, led by a matriarch whose children and grandchildren—except for Mirabel Madrigal (Beatriz)—receive magical gifts from a “miracle” candle that helps them serve the people in their rural community called “the Encanto”.

When Mirabel learns that the family is losing their magic, she sets out to find out what is happening, and save her family and their magical house. Mirabel follows the clues that lead to the Past and a missing family member, Bruno, whose Gift was that he could see the Future.

Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote the music for Encanto. I liked the plot and the silly characters. Mirabel–pitied because she has no “Gift”–shows she has investigative powers and leadership skills. Encanto, like many Disney movies, is inspiring. GRADE: B

The headline in the sport section of Saturday’s WALL STREET JOURNAL read: MY HEAD SAYS RAMS, BUT MY HEART SAYS BENGALS. That’s pretty much the way I feel. The Rams are favored by 4 points, but many of the ESPN “experts” are predicting a Rams romp over the Bengals. I like Joe Burrow, but Aaron Donald will be chasing him all game long. I would love to see the Bengals pull the upset, but I’m going with the Rams: 27-24. Who do you think will win the Super Bowl?

Diane and I use our freezer quite a bit. There’s always pizza ready to be warmed up and devoured! Diane freezes plenty of chicken and turkey for use in her various recipes. But Ashley Christensen and Kaitlyn Goalen take freezing to a whole new level!

Christensen and Goalen believe the freezer is an underutilized appliance and with proper planning, meals can be more delicious and prep time can be reduced drastically.

This cookbook starts out with the basics: how to use your freezer, what to freeze and what NOT to freeze, and other important issues. Then the recipes start with attractive photos of the wonderful food that results from using the freezing strategy. YUMMY!

I liked the variety of recipes in this book: some for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. These cooks accentuate the simplifying of food preparation as well as the value of quality ingredients to enhance the taste. If you want to learn how to make your cooking life easier, and prepare more delicious food, It’s Always Freezer Season will show you how. What’s in your freezer? GRADE: A

Table of Contents:

Introduction: Why the freezer? 1

How to use this book 5

Recipes Organized By Course 6

Part 1 How to Use Your Freezer 9

1 What to freeze and what not to freeze 11

2 How long can I freeze it? 21

Frozen Food Lifespan 24

3 How to freeze 27

4 How to unfreeze 39

Part 2 The Freeze Pantry 47

5 Grains 49

6 Proteins 81

7 Dairy 111

8 Vegetables 133

Part 3 Freezer-Friendly Dishes 165

9 Breakfast and brunch dishes 167

10 Snacks and bites 181

11 Soups and saucy things 189

12 Casseroles and bakes 209

13 Sweets 223

14 Beverages 237

Resources 253

Acknowledgments 255

About the authors 257

Index 258

I’ve been a fan of prolific Simon R. Green’s Science Fiction (Deathstalker series) and Fantasy (Nightside series). Green’s Ishmael Jones series falls somewhere between. Ishmael Jones is an agent for a shadowy entity called The Organization. Jones is invited by his boss, The Colonel, to elegant but isolated Belcourt Manor for Christmas. Jones arrives in the middle of a blizzard which shuts down roads in the area. And, like an Agatha Christie novel, the characters at Belcourt Manor start to be murdered, one by one. Ishmael Jones mentions he operates on the dark side of the road. He certainly proves it in this novel. Solving the mystery is just part of the plot. Stopping the murderer is another. If you’re looking for a suspenseful Christmas mystery with a twisty plot, give The Dark Side of the Street a try. GRADE: B
THE ISHMAEL JONES MYSTERY SERIES:
The Dark Side of the Road (May 2015)
Dead Man Walking (May 2016)
Very Important Corpses: An Ishmael Jones mystery (March 2017)
Death Shall Come (September 2017)
Into the Thinnest of Air (March 2018)

Murder in the Dark (August 2018)

Till Sudden Death Do Us Part (August 2019)

Night Train to Murder (January 2020)

The House on Widows Hill (July 2020)

Buried Memories (October 2021)

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, I thought Reflections of Love might be an appropriate 2-CD set to listen to. I preferred CD2 to CD1.

CD2 includes classics like Willie Nelson’s “You Were Always on My Mind,” “You Got It,” by Roy Orbison, “Black Velvet” by Alannah Myles, and “Unchained Melody” by The Righteous Brothers.

Do you remember these love songs? Any favorites? GRADE: B

TRACK LIST:

CD1:

1. Longer – Dan Fogelberg
2. Hold on to the Nights – Richard Marx
3. It Might Be You – Stephen Bishop
4. I’ll Never Get Over You, Getting Over Me – Expose
5. Because I Love You – Stevie B.
6. Tonight I Celebrate My Love – Peabo Bryson/Roberta Flack
7. You Are My Lady – Freddie Jackson
8. Love is Forever – Billy Ocean
9. I’ll Be Over You – Toto
10. All My Life – Linda Ronstadt & Aaron Neville
11. (I Just) Died in Your Arms – Cutting Crew
12. Angel Eyes – Jeff Healey
13. Key Largo – Bertie Higgins
14. Emotion – Samantha Sang
15. Even the Nights Are Better – Air Supply
16. Never Knew Love Like This Before – Stephanie Mills
17. Yes I’m Ready – Teri DeSario & K.C.
18. Always – Atlantic Starr

CD2:

1. To be With You – Mr. Big
2. Alone – Heart
3. Make it Real – Jets
4. I Miss You – Klymaxx
5. Emotion in Motion – Ric Ocasek
6. You’re Only Lonely – J.D. Souther
7. Hopelessly (Falling in Love With You) – Rick Astley
8. You & I – Eddie Rabbitt/Crystal Gayle
9. Always on My Mind – Willie Nelson
10. You Got it – Roy Orbison
11. Black Velvet – Alannah Myles
12. The Next Time I Fall in Love – Peter Cetera With Amy Grant
13. Make Me Lose Control – Eric Carmen
14. Falling – LeBlanc & Carr
15. We’re All Alone – Rita Coolidge
16. How ‘Bout Us – Champaign
17. Kiss & Say Goodbye – Manhattans
18. Unchained Melody – Righteous Brothers

Robert Aickman writes strange stories. For example, my favorite story in Painted Devils: Strange Stories (1979), “Larger Than Oneself,” is set in a mansion on a night with thunder and rain. A confused woman, invited by wealthy publisher Vincent Cover, arrives at the mansion to find a conference of philosophers discussing the spirit and powers. My favorite character is the sexy Sister Nuper who is followed everywhere by her dozen handsome admirers.

Aickman’s stories take the reader to strange realms. In “The Houses of Russians,” a young boy finds an island in Finland with abandoned houses of the Russians. Odd events occur. In “Ringing the Changes” a couple on their honeymoon arrive at Holihaven where an unseen sea emits an overpowering smell and incessant bells ring and echo all night to awaken the dead.

“The Waiting Room” tells the story of Pendlebury, a man who misses his train, and is forced to spend the night alone in the Waiting Room of the train station. He falls asleep, but when he wakes up he finds he’s not alone anymore: the ghosts that haunt that Waiting Room are waiting for him.

Aickman includes some bizarre stories of affairs. In “The View” a gentleman is invited by a mysterious woman to spend some time in her ancient house. The man is disturbed by the fact the view from his window changes every day. The woman seduces him to keep him with her. In “Marriage,” a young man meets two women who love the theater as much as he does. The older woman, Helen, introduces the young man to Ellen. On a walk in a park, Ellen lures the young man to an isolated area where they have sex. The young man thinks he saw Helen watching from the bushes. The young man and Ellen continue their affair, but the sexual aspects become more extreme.

Robert Aickman’s stories aren’t going to appeal to everyone. Sometimes I’ve finished an Aickman story and asked myself, “What was that all about?” But, if you want eerie, different, and even haunting stories, Aickman is the writer for you. And, I really like Edward Gorey cover! GRADE: B+

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Ravissante — 1

The Houses of the Russians — 27

The View — 57

Ringing the Changes — 87

The School Friend — 117

The Waiting Room — 141

Marriage — 153

Larger Than Oneself — 183

My Poor Friend — 211

Diane and I donned our N95 masks and joined an audience of about 200 people–mostly youngsters and their parents–at the Smith Theater in downtown Buffalo. Everyone was masked and had to prove they were vaccinated.

Puffs, or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic is a 2015 original Off-Broadway play by New York-based playwright Matt Cox. The play is a comedic retelling of the Harry Potter book series by J. K. Rowling, but from the perspective of the “Puffs”. If you’re into parodies, Puffs is a lot of fun!

The story of Harry Potter seen from the point of view of the lower status and less regarded group of fledgling wizards shows the class structure in this School of Magic and Magic. My favorite character is the brooding and difficult Megan (played by Kris Bartolomeo) who initially resists being a Puff and who has a “complicated” relationship with her mother who’s involved with the Dark Lord.

Both Potterheads and muggles enjoyed this performance by a local theater company. What some of the young actors in the large ensemble cast lacked in experience they more than made up for it in enthusiasm! If Puffs shows up in your neighborhood, you might consider this entertaining experience of laughter and magic. Are you a Harry Potter fan? GRADE: B

P. S. Puffs is not authorized, sanctioned, licensed, or endorsed by J.K Rowling, Warner Bros., or any person or company associated with the Harry Potter books, films or plays.

I’ve been a fan of Allison Moorer’s wonderful singing for decades. When I learned Moorer had written I Dream He Talks to Me: A Memoir of Learning How to Listen about her autistic son, John Henry, I had to read it.

Moorer starts off her story with her joy at the birth of her son. But soon afterward, Moorer started to notice some disturbing developmental changes in John Henry. He stopped saying words. When Moorer took John Henry to specialists, they assured her that John Henry was not autistic. Moorer did her own research–“I read every book written on autism”–and concluded John Henry was autistic.

Moorer sought out doctors specializing in autism and learned more about the changes John Henry was undergoing. Moorer doesn’t pull any punches. She describes John Henry’s tantrums. She talks about her lack of sleep (John Henry wakes up in the middle of the night and starts roaming around in her house). The account of Moorer trying to take a shower while John Henry attempts to escape the bathroom is gut-wrenching. John Henry cannot be left alone or chaos results.

What comes through I Dream He Talks to Me is Allison Moorer’s unconditional love for her son. No matter how difficult the situation–and Moorer contends with dozens of difficult situations in this book–Moorer finds the strength and determination to deal with it and to help her son.

If you’re in the mood for an inspiring and powerful chronicle of a mother facing problem after problem, but never giving up on her son, I highly recommend I Dream He Talks to Me. GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Dear John Henry — 1
Below the belt — 3
The feeling foot — 9
A guide to getting through — 15
When you stare — 25
Fine — 31
Dream #1 — 42
Sick — 43
The wormhole — 49
Grace note — 55
Snow day — 61
Dream #2 — 68
Awe — 69
Ho ho hum — 71
The breath — 88
Functional behavior assessment — 105
Promises — 117
Ten minutes — 129
The line — 133
Shift change — 145
The day we went to the moon — 161
Dream #3 — 180
This part is the worst part — 181
The tender thread — 187
Mornings — 197
Water pressure — 199
St. Jude lives in the garden now — 205
Dream #4 — 208
Terms of surrender — 211

Acknowledgements — 225