I remember buying Fit to Kill in the early 1960s because I liked the Robert McGinnis cover. The glitter on the cover hints at the McGuffin in the story.

Fit to Kill is the 31st book in the Mike Shayne series. After 1958, beginning with Fit to Kill, Brett Halliday became a house name used by several authors. Most were written by Robert Terrall (who ghosted Fit to Kill), with some written by Ryerson Johnson and Dennis Lynds.

Timothy Rourke, a Miami crime reporter and long-time friend of private eye Mike Shayne, visits an unnamed country in the Caribbean to investigate a story. In this corrupt country, a student group begs Rourke to report the truth about the dictatorship’s beatings and murders. Rourke meets a beautiful blonde, Carla Adams, who convinces him to help her escape the government thugs who are hunting for her.

When Rourke’s investigations result in his kidnapping, Mike Shayne races to save his friend’s life. Shayne deals with smugglers, kidnappers, revolutionaries, thugs, and gamblers in this noirish novel. If you’re a fan of Mike Shayne, you’ll notice that Robert Terrall’s writing style is very different from the style of “Brett Halliday” (aka, Davis Dresser). All in all, Fit to Kill is a quick, fun read. GRADE: A

I was one of those folks who was blown away by Sinead O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” back in 1990. I rushed to buy her music CD, I do not want what I haven’t got, and listened to it constantly.

Then, while I watching Sinead O’Connor on Saturday Night Live in 1992, Sinead tore a photograph of Pope John Paul II into pieces (in the book we find out that the photo once hung in her mother’s living room). After all the gasps from the audience, Sinead announced: “Fight the real enemy!”

Of course, this incident had consequences: Sinead O’Connor was banned, boycotted, had her CDs destroyed publicly, and was attacked in the Press as a communist whacko.

Sinead O’Connor continued to tour, continued to write songs, continued to record. I bought her CDs and marveled at her wonderful voice and her songwriter talent for years. Now, in Rememberings, we learn of her abuse as a child. Sinead was always in trouble, always shaking things up. We learn about why she shaved her head (Star Trek!) and why she converted to Islam. We find out the details of her suicide attempt and her strategies for survival. Love her or hate her, Sinead O’Connor is a force to be reckoned with. GRADE: A (both book and CD)

TRACKLIST:

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. I picked up this DVD of Macbeth at a local thrift store for a pittance. Unfortunately, I didn’t do any “due diligence” in checking the reviews before I bought it. When I watched this mess, even Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard, two talented actors, couldn’t save this disaster. Yes, the on-site views of Scotland are great eye-candy. But Justin Kurzel, the director, makes some bizarre choices. And, sadly, many of the actors just mumble their lines.

In High School, the three plays by Shakespeare that we studied were Julius Caesar, The Merchant of Venice, and Macbeth. Of the three, I liked Macbeth the best. I’ve seen the play performed live twice. I’ve seen the Orson Wells’ movie, the Polanski movie, and the Patrick Stewart/Masterpiece Theater version. All are much better than this dismal failure!!! Do you like Macbeth? GRADE: F

Sebastian Junger, best known for The Perfect Storm and the documentary Restrepo, presents the reader with an odd little book in Freedom. For much of a year, Junger and three friends—a conflict photographer and two Afghanistan War veterans—walked the railroad lines of the east coast. It was a strange experiment in personal freedom. Dealing with railroad cops, sleeping under bridges, cooking over camp fires, and drinking from creeks and rivers, the four men forged a unique reliance on one another over time.

While doing all that walking for a year, Junger also pondered what freedom consisted of. How did the Apaches defeat the much stronger and numerous Spanish? How did small groups in history keep their freedom when confronted by more powerful forces?

Just glance down at the Table of Contents and you’ll see Junger’s answers. GRADE: B

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

BOOK ONE: RUN — 1

BOOK TWO: FIGHT — 53

BOOK THREE: THINK — 95

SOURCES AND REFERENCES — 135

I knew Jim Butcher wrote some graphic novels but I hadn’t seen one until I was at a Library Sale and there it was: Welcome to the Jungle. I bought this ex-library edition for a dollar (it’s $19.95 brand new). One of the reasons I enjoyed The Dresden Files series was that Jim Butcher included mysteries in the books for Harry Dresden to solve. Dresden is a wizard and a private investigator who sometimes works for the Chicago Police in solving “unusual” crimes.

Welcome to the Jungle opens with a murder at a zoo. Some of the cops want to blame the gorilla for the death, but they can’t explain how the gorilla would have opened his cage, killed the guard, and locked himself back up in the cage again. Enter Harry Dresden who senses supernatural forces at work.

I have never encountered Ardian Syaf’s artwork before, but Syaf is a talented illustrator. I’ll be looking for more of his work!

If you’re a fan of graphic novels, you’ll enjoy this mystery infused with magic. If you’re a Jim Butcher/Harry Dresden fan, you’re going to love Welcome to the Jungle for its mix of humor and action. GRADE: A

I always liked the surreal cover by Dick Shelton on the hardcover edition of The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction, Sixth Series. The ACE cover is a little busy for my taste. This anthology presents one of Poul Anderson’s most famous stories, “The Man Who Came Early,” an accidental Time Travel story. Anthony Boucher also includes Anderson’s Conan-pastiche, “The Barbarian.” “And Now the News…” shows Theodore Sturgeon at his best. C. M. Kornbulth’s “The Cosmic Expense Account” will bend your mind.

The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction, Sixth Series continues to present excellent SF short stories from a changing mix of writers. GRADE: B+

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Introduction / [Anthony Boucher] — i
The cosmic expense account / C.M. Kornbluth — 9
Mr. Sakrison’s halt / Mildred Clingerman — 36
The Asa rule / Jay Williams — 45
King’s evil / Avram Davidson — 67
The census takers / Frederik Pohl — 78
The man who came early / Poul Anderson — 87
Final clearance / Rachel Maddux — 116
The silk and the song / Charles L. Fontenay — 126
The shoddy lands / C.S. Lewis — 158
The last present / Will Stanton — 167
No man pursueth / Ward Moore — 172
I don’t mind / Ron Smith — 213
The barbarian / Poul Anderson — 215
And now the news… / Theodore Sturgeon — 226
Icarus Montgolfier Wright / Ray Bradbury — 250

U218 was released in 2006 and ended up being the seventh best selling music CD of that year. U218 includes 16 songs that were released as singles plus the 17th track is a cover version of The Skids‘ “The Saints Are Coming“, recorded with Green Day to benefit Hurricane Katrina charities. The 18th and closing track was a new song entitled “Window in the Skies“.

Some might consider U218 as a “Best of” CD, but too many of U2’s iconic songs are missing. No “Angel of Harlem” or “All I Want is You.” But, for U2 fans, there are some rarities here, like alternate single versions of songs that differ from the album versions, to make U218 worthwhile. Are you a U2 fan? See any of your favorites here? GRADE: B+

TRACK LIST:

Wonderful Beth Fedyn sent me a copy of Mark Polanzak’s The OK End of Funny Town. The OK End of Funny Town‘s 19 stories feature characters like a giant who sets up camp in the middle of a city (freaking everyone out!) and a complicated and annoying little robot that you don’t know whether you should love or hate. Mark Polanzak plays with magic, surrealism, and whimsy in these stories. If you’re looking for tales out of the realm of the familiar and normal, take a trip to The OK End of Funny Town. Thanks, Beth! GRADE: B

Table of Contents

I. MEET FABULOUS STRANGERS!
1. Giant — 11
2. Complicated and Annoying Little Robot — 16
3. Genie — 25
4. The Mime — 30
5. Unidentified Living Object — 46
II. TRAVEL TO FANTASTIC PLACES!
6. The OK End of Funny Town — 63
7. Our New Community School — 71
8. Camp Redo — 79
9. A Proper Hunger — 83
III. WITNESS MAGICAL THINGS!
10. Porcelain God — 101
11. Gracie — 112
12. An Exact Thing — 116
13. Test — 125

14. How You Wish — 135

IV. EXPERIENCE SURREAL TIMES!
15. Out of Order — 151
16. Ready Set — 160
17. Oral — 169
18. Kind Eyes — 179
19. Used Goods — 187

Acknowledgements — 191

About the Author — 193

Colophon — 196