“Every time I read Pride and Prejudice I want to dig her up and beat her over the skull with her own shin-bone”. — Mark Twain

Some people–like Devoney Looser–love Jane Austen, other people can’t stand her–like Twain. I’m more in the Love Austen camp. I’ve read all her books. I’ve read a couple biographies of Austen. And, of course, in the process of taking courses in a doctoral program to earn my Ph.D., I read a lot of literary criticism of Jane Austen.

If you’re wild for Austen, you’ll enjoy Devoney Looser’s Wild for Austen. Looser’s book is a fan’s take on her favorite writer. Explorations of family life, romance, and women’s limited freedom all get a good airing in these enthusiastic pages.

Looser takes a chronological approach to Jane Austen’s works and devotes entire chapters to her major works. But there’s plenty of Austen background information and a useful insights in how our regard for Jane Austen has changed over the centuries. If you’re a big fan of Jane Austen, this book is for you! GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

PART 1: WILD WRITINGS

1. Introduction: Austen gone wild — 3
2. Fierce, wild, and ruthless : Austen’s juvenilia — 16
3. The controversial case of Sophia Sentiment — 25
4. Running wild : the winning immorality of Lady Susan — 35
5. Wildest : Sense and Sensibility (1811) — 46
6. Almost wild : Pride and Prejudice (1813) — 58
7. Bewildering Mansfield Park (1814) — 65
8. Wild speculation : Emma (1816) — 77
9. Wild to know : Northanger Abbey (1818)
10. The young people were all wild : Persuasion (1818) — 100
11. Wild-goose chase : unfinished Sanditon — 111
12. Oh, subjects rebellious : The Watsons and Last words — 122
13. Jane, the wild beast, and the progressive Burdetts — 127
14. Cousin Eliza’s statesman, singer, and spy — 148
15. The Leighs as learned literary ladies — 161
16. The sensational shoplifting trial of Aunt Jane Leigh Perrot –173
17. Three Austen brothers and the abolition of slavery — 189
18. The Austen family legacy, suffrage, and anti-suffrage — 201
19. Seeing Jane Austen’s ghost — 215
20. Sense and Sensibility goes to court — 225
21. Jane’s imaginary lover in Switzerland — 233
22. Almost Pride and Prejudice : the wild films that never were — 241
23. Wild and wanton : the rise of Austen erotica — 254
24. Loving (and hating) Jane Austen — 262
25. Coda: Austen after 250 — 274

Acknowledgments –279

Notes –281

My friend Johanna gave me a bag of Lindt Lindor Carrot Cake candy. “I know you love Carrot Cake so I’m sure you’ll love these.” And, she was right!

Lindt is highly praised for accurately capturing the flavor of carrot cake, featuring a white chocolate shell with a spiced, smooth, melt-in-the-mouth filling. These Carrot Cake candies are a popular seasonal Easter item, with distinct cinnamon and nutmeg notes similar to cream cheese frosting. 

I’m normally not a big candy guy (Snickers and Peanut M&Ms are my favorites) but these Lindt Lindor Carrot Cake candies are mighty tasty! What’s your favorite candy? GRADE: A

Key Nutrition Facts (3 Balls, 36g):

Fiber: 0g [1, 2]

Calories: 230

Total Fat: 18g (\(23\%\) DV)

Saturated Fat: 13g (\(65\%\) DV)

Sodium: 30mg (\(1\%\) DV)

Total Carbohydrate: 15g (\(5\%\) DV)

Total Sugars: 15g

Added Sugars: 12g (\(24\%\) DV)

Protein: 2g

Cholesterol: 5mg (\(2\%\) DV)

STARK HOUSE’S new line of “”Whipcrack Westerns” launches with a powerful Marvin H. Albert novel, Apache Rising. I’ve been a big Marvin H. Albert fan since I first read his work back in the 1960s. Albert is one of those rare writers who can write great fiction in more than one genre. Albert’s mysteries and crime fiction, especially his Stone Angel series, are top-notch…but so are his westerns.

In Apache Rising, Jess Remsberg is seeking vengeance on the man who raped, killed, and scalped his Indian wife. Meanwhile, Ellie Graff, once captive of the Apaches, is trying to steal back the son that was born to her while she was in captivity. These two storylines intersect. But wait, there’s more.

Lieutenant Scotty McAlister is trying to get a few wagons to Fort Duell and to defeat a band of Apaches under the leadership of a war chief named Chata. But the Apaches have different ideas. There’s plenty of tough, gritty action as the Apaches attack numerous times,

Apache Rising was published originally by Gold Medal in 1957 and later reprinted by Gold Medal under the title DUEL AT DIABLO, the title of the movie based on this novel. The story is action-packed and intense. Apache Rising brings suspense to the maximum in this harrowing tale of conflict and revenge. Don’t miss this one! GRADE: A

It’s hard to believe Long Long Road (2026) is Ringo Starr’s 22nd album. Paul McCartney has released 27 albums since the Beatles broke up–with Wings and his solo work.

Ringo Starr, with assistance from T Bone Burnett (as producer, player, and songwriter) on 2025’s Look Up album resulted in an unexpected critical and commercial hit for the ex-Beatle. Although Ringo had been recording well-received albums in a pop/rock genre for the decades, the success of Look Up practically guaranteed that a follow-up album was inevitable.

Long Long Road continues Ringo’s country-infused sound. T Bone Burnett brought along many of the same hand-picked backing players and guests (Molly Tuttle and Billy Strings) from his past albums. That explains why the sound of Starr’s Long Long Road is scintillating. The ten dynamic performances were mostly written or co-composed by Burnett (Ringo is co-credited with three).

It’s hard to believe that at 85, Ringo sounds just like he did warbling “Don’t Pass Me By,” “This Boy,” “Octopus’s Garden” and a handful of other Beatle tunes a half-century ago. Ringo’s affable, easygoing, pleasant vocals are genial, upbeat, and fun to listen to.

My favorite tunes on Long Long Road are “It’s Been Too Long” and “Returning Without Tears”–a duet with Molly Tuttle. But all the songs are very listenable with great sound.

I’ve always considered Ringo Starr an underrated performer. Long Long Road shows that Ringo is better than you thought. Are you a Ringo fan? GRADE: B+

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TRACK LIST:

Returning Without Tears
Baby Don’t Go
I Don’t See Me In Your Eyes Anymore
It’s Been Too Long
Why
You and I (Wave of Love)
My Baby Don’t Want Nothing
Choose Love
She’s Gone
Long Long Road

I have a weakness for Lovecraft pastiches. And I also have a weakness for Sherlock Holmes pastiches. Those two come together in The Necromonicon of Sherlock Holmes, Volume 1 (2026). Brian and Derrick managed to edit an anthology full of fun stories that mix the Mythos with Holmes successfully.

My favorite story is Will Murray’s “The Doom of the Gordian Nightmare.” Holmes and Watson encounter a Lovecrafean threat from the Beyond. I also enjoyed “The Jermyn Inheritance” where Holmes and Watson confront a menacing mystery. I think this sentence opens the door to a sequel: “…he [Holmes] said simply, ‘It is my opinion that we have skimmed across deep waters, Watson, and barely dipped our toes in.'” Sounds like a promise of more Lovecraft horrors ahead!

If you’re in the mood for a mix of Lovecraft and Holmes, The Necromonicon of Sherlock Holmes, Volume 1 will supply several stories that will keep you up at night.

I was so satisfied with this volume, I ordered The Necromonicon of Sherlock Holmes, Volume 2! GRADE: B

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

“INTRODUCTION: Doyle, Lovecraft, and the Great Detective” by Derrick Belanger, BSI — 1

“INTRODUCTION: Valleys of Fear” by Brian Belanger — 7

THE DOOM OF THE GORDIAN NIGHTMARE – Will Murray — 11
THE FLOWERING HAND OF EZRA BOONE – Derrick Belanger, BSI — 43
THE ADVENTURE OF THE GOLDEN LOTUS – Sonya Kudei — 67
THE FAMILY – Brian Belanger — 95
THE JERMYN INHERITANCE – Josh Reynolds — 115
THE SHADOW OVER KENSINGTON – Kai R. Hastur — 133
THE NEW MOON OVER BATH – Gustavo Bondoni — 161
THE ADVENTURE OF THE FALSE IDOL – Naching T. Kassa — 189
THE CASE OF THE SILVER RING – J. Edward Tremlett — 209
THE BARON OF BERWICK – Paul Sheldon — 237
THE CHILDREN OF DARKNESS – Mike Adamson — 265

Acknowledgements — 323

Diane and I drove down to Kleinhan’s Music Hall to hear Imani Perry talk about the color Blue. Imani Perry, who won a National Book Award for South To America and is a Professor at Harvard University, brought her illuminating insights to Buffalo. In 2023, Imani Perry was named a MacArthur Fellow.

First off, Imani Perry is a gifted speaker. Her half-hour presentation was spell-binding. Most of it was based on her latest book, Black in Blues: How a Color Tells the Story of My People (2025). Here’s a sample of the facts she shared with the 1000 people in attendance: “After the war, those Union uniforms were repurposed. Soon they attired police forces. It was the color of emancipation and became the color of law and order. (p. 99)

Imani Perry also idolizes George Washington Carver. Carver was a polymath who used his genius to help the people of the South. Because of misuse and greed, the land in the South which suffered from the pursuit of cotton wealth, was damaged. “And so Carve introduced the practice of crop rotation. That where his famous peanuts came in. He instructed the people to grow cotton one year, then peanuts the next. And so on. Carved believed that if you loved anything enough, it would tell you its secrets. He loved the Alabama soil and it was his teacher.” (p. 118)

In addition to Imani Perry’s brilliant presentation and Q&A, Barbara Cole of the Just Buffalo Literary Center also announced the 2026-2027 BABEL series. Check out the authors below. Of course, Diane and I will subscribe. GRADE: A

“Dune was a box-office bomb. It was also, as Lynch himself later put it, both a ‘failure’ and a ‘huge gigantic sadness’ in his life. It wasn’t just that Lynch had made a mistake in signing a contract that explicitly states he would not have Final Cut on the film. It’s that he knew–even as he signed it–that he was making a mistake.” (p. 45)

Scott Maslow analyzes the quirky reality of the 1990s seasons of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks on ABC. Lynch, fresh from his successes with Eraserhead and The Elephant Man, together with his partner Mark Frost, approached ABC with a project where a young girl is murdered and the investigation reveals the secrets of a small town. Twin Peaks  premiered on ABC on April 8, 1990, and ran for two seasons until its cancellation in 1991. The show returned in 2017 for a third season on Showtime.

Lynch found out that making episodes for a TV Network was NOT like making a movie. Meddling by TV executives and censors caused problems. Lynch, who was also filming a movie, Wild at Heart, had to depend on other writers and directors to produce the Twin Peaks episodes. And, like Dune, Lynch slowly lost control of his original conception of Twin Peaks.

Scott Maslow follows the arc of initial success with Twin Peaks and the slow build-up of factors that doomed it. Twin Peaks–famous for its music–still has a loyal following decades after ABC cancelled it. Are you a fan of Twin Peaks? GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Foreword / Harley Peyton — viii

A woman in trouble — 1

Welcome to Twin Peaks — 19

A whole damn town — 45

Filled with secrets — 65

I promise, I will kill again — 83

When you see me again, it won’t be me — 99

And now, an ending — 121

The last seven days of Laura Palmer — 139

Is it happening again? — 167

It is happening again — 185

Gotta light? — 205

People are under a lot of stress — 219

What year is this? — 235

Acknowledgements — 251

Bibliography — 253

Index — 255

We must live on the lowest part of our block because when it rains, our sump pump runs all the time. Lately, during our rainy season, the sump pump started to emit a grinding sound. Not good.

Since we had Joe the Plumber installing new bathroom faucets, Diane and I decided to ask him to replace our 12-year-old Zoeller submergible sump pump. Joe’s face lit up when I mentioned Zoeller. “That’s the sump pump brand I recommend to all my clients,” Joe said.

After Joe returned from a trip to the plumbing supply store, the sound of a drill and some hammer began. Within an hour, Joe was pouring a bucket of water into the sump and wah-lah!

The new Zoeller sump pump worked flawlessly and much more quietly. Do you have a sump pump?

We use our bathroom faucets every day. And use means wear and tear over time. Diane noticed our bathroom faucets were showing their age: loose handles and parts starting to separate. Time to call Joe the Plumber.

We first met Joe the Plumber years ago when we converted out downstairs bathroom tub to a walk-in shower. While we were at it, we had Joe replace our upstairs bath tub with a new tub. I’ll never forget Joe carrying the new tub up the stairs on his shoulder. That tub was HEAVY! But Joe handled it like it was a feather!

Diane told Joe that she wanted a chrome faucet in the upstairs bathroom and a brushed metal faucet in the downstairs bathroom. Joe recommended we go with MOEN and we agreed. A few hours later, Diane and I were delighted by brand new faucets replacing our worn out ones. Have you had any plumbing problems lately?