Last month I read Nick Petrie’s first Peter Ash thriller, The Drifter (you can read my review here). I enjoyed it so much I found and read the second. book in the series, Burning Bright. Peter Ash is a itinerant veteran with PTSD. He’s prone to physical problems when he’s inside a structure. So Ash lives outside or in his truck.

In Burning Bright Ash travels to Northern California and gets involved in saving the life of investigative journalist, June Cassidy. Cassidy finds herself being tracked down by a shadowy organization who murdered her mother, a world-famous computer scientist. Cassidy’s mother created an Artificial Intelligence that potentially be worth billions of dollars. But only June Cassidy knows where the AI is located.

As in The Drifter, Peter Ash gets to employ his combat skills to protect June Cassidy. In addition, Ash also works on solving who is behind the attempted abductions and attacks on Cassidy.

If you like Lee Child’s Jack Reacher novels, you’ll enjoy these Peter Ash thrillers. Plenty of action! This is a perfect page-turner for these coronavirus shelter-in-place times. GRADE: B+

Elisabeth Moss portrays Shirley Jackson as a confused, troubled, and brilliant writer. Moss’s Jackson drinks too much, sleeps all day, and rarely leaves the house. But, Jackson loves to write and this movie tells the story of the writing of The Hangman, a story of a missing college student.

Director Josephine Decker and screenwriter Sarah Grubbins set up the action through the characters of a young couple–Rose (Odessa Young) and doctoral English student Fred (Logan Lerman). Jackson’s pretentious and philandering professor husband, Stanley (Michael Stuhlbarg), manages to convince Rose and Fred to stay in the house with him and his disturbed wife. Fred helps Stanley with his classes at Bennington College while Rose cooks and cleans.

Shirley Jackson and Rose form a quirky relationship while secrets swirl around both of them. If you have an interest in Shirley Jackson, this biopic will fascinate you. Elisabeth Moss’s performance deserves an Oscar nomination. Are you a Shirley Jackson fan? GRADE: B

I’ve been a fan of James Geary’s books over the years. You can read my review of Geary’s The World In a Phrase here. James Geary’s latest book, Wit’s End (2019) explores the origins of wit and how it works. Trying to unravel comedy challenges the best writers, but Geary handles his subject with a deep dive into the nuts and bolts of humor. I liked Geary’s analysis of puns where he provides many funny examples. After that, Geary presents story after humorous story to illustrate how jokes work featuring Harpo Marx and Buster Keaton and other masters of fun.

This slim book holds a lot of witty wisdom. GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
OFT WAS THOUGHT: An Essay in Sixty-Four Lines 1
ONE BAD APPLE, Or, An Apology for Paranomasia 5
THIRTY-FIVE DAYS IN MAY 17
WATCHERS AT THE GATES OF MIND: Wit and Its Relation to Witzelsucht, Malapropisms, and Bipolar Disorder 35
PERFECT WITTY EXPRESSIONS AND HOW TO MAKE THEM 52
ADVANCED BANTER 62
AN ODE TO WIT 76
TURNING WORDS 79
MY NAME IS WIT 91
SLAPSTICK METAPHYSICS 105
THE CHAINS OF HABIT 113
FINDING MINDS 125
AMBIGUOUS FIGURES 136
WISDOM OF THE SAGES 150
TRUE WIT 163
WIT’S END 166
Wit Thanks 177
Notes and Bibliography 181
Illustration Credits 213
Index 215

I had ordered Seduction: A History from the Enlightenment to the Present (2020) just before the coronavirus closed the Libraries in our area. This week, the City of Tonawanda Library opened (minus most of their furniture to allow safe distancing) and I picked up this RESERVE that had been waiting for me for months. Clement Knox presents the subject of seduction within the cultures and the social changes where it flourished. England was known for its “Rake Culture” where men seduced women, mostly by promising to marry them…and then leaving town.

My favorite chapter revolves around Samuel Richardson and his classic 1000+ page novel, Clarissa. I read Clarissa in one of my doctoral seminars and loved it. Clarissa is a pure woman tormented by a rake and betrayed by her parents who promote the relationship. Clement Knox also explores the wild life of Merry Shelly and her group.

Clement Knox concludes his study with references to James Bond (skilled at seduction) and Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Dracula uses hypnosis to seduce women and suck their blood…and other things. Finally, Knox admits that the Tinder online culture feeds an explosion of seduction on the Internet. If you’re interested in seduction, this is the book for you. GRADE: B+

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

INTRODUCTION — 1

CHAPTER ONE: Rake culture — 13

CHAPTER TWO: The transit of Venus — 80

CHAPTER THREE: An unsentimental education — 143

CHAPTER FOUR: Circling Mary Shelley — 197

CHAPTER FIVE: Of Mann and men — 251

CHAPTER SIX: Blood out — 320

CHAPTER SEVEN: Seduction remains — 374

Afterword — 418

Acknowledgements — 433

Endnotes — 434

Index — 473

My wonderful cousin, Anne, gave us this unabridged audio book–38 discs, 48 hours of listening pleasure–on one of our visits to Boston. Diane and I decided when the coronavirus pandemic hit Western New York, we’d take advantage of the Stay-at-Home order and listen to Ron Chernow’s Grant. So, for the past three months or so, Diane and I have been listening to Mark Bramhall narrate Grant during lunch. Each disc is about 70 minutes in length, so we’d typically listen to a half a disc each day.

I knew a bit about Ulysses S. Grant from some of the history books I’ve read over the years. When I was in ROTC at Marquette University, I studied Grant’s battles in the Civil War in our MILITARY HISTORY class. But listening to this audio book completely filled out the image I had of Grant as a brilliant tactician and strategist, but a man beset by problems.

Grant had no business sense. Time and time again, Grant was hoodwinked by people he trusted. Although Grant had integrity, many of the people he surrounded himself with did not. Grant’s family used the famous man to their own selfish ends, especially Grant’s father.

The recent toppling of a statue of Grant angered me because Grant supported freeing slaves, admired black soldiers, and fought for black voter rights in the South after the Civil War. The reason given for bringing down the statue of Grant was because “he owned slaves.” Grant did not. His wife’s family owned slaves before Grant married her. Grant and his wife never owned slaves.

From the minor military career to the generalship of the Northern forces, Grant’s rise is impressive and surprising. Grant never aspired to higher positions, he was usually pushed into them because of his talents. Grant never wanted to be President, but he did so because he felt it was his duty.

There’s no denying that Grant led a sad life, punctuated by successes and infrequent happiness. Grant was an alcoholic constantly fighting to stay sober. He smoked a dozen cigars a day which resulted in cancer of the mouth and throat. Grant labored in pain and agony as he was dying to finish his memoirs in order to not leave his wife penniless. Ron Chernow’s biography is a classic. GRADE: A

The last new Harry Dresden novel was published in 2015. Jim Butcher announced that not one, but TWO new Harry Dresden novels would be published this Summer. So, of course, I had to get caught up on this Urban Fantasy series. Blood Rites is the 6th book in the series and first appeared in 2004.

Harry Dresden is hired to protect a movie director whose life is being threatened. Two of the director’s staff have already been killed in suspicious “accidents.” Dresden senses danger and Magic on the movie set, but his life is complicated by a group of vampires.

Dresden recruits his Chicago Police friend, Karrin Murphy, and the mysterious hitman, Kincaid, to help him eliminate the vampire threat. This leads to a violent confrontation. But this battle is only a prelude to a much more involved conflagration at the end of the book that portends a new path in the story arc. GRADE: B+

I enjoy the series of Sherlock Holmes pastiches that TITAN BOOKS publishes. Here are two books that feature a mash-up of Holmes and H. G. Wells’ War of the Worlds. The first book, Manly Wade Wellman’s Sherlock Holmes and War of the Worlds, was first published in 1975. TITAN BOOKS reprinted the book in their “The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” series in 2009.

The action in Sherlock Holmes and War of the Worlds begins when Holmes buys a crystal egg in a variety shop in London. He discovers it actually is a communication device that links Earth with…Mars! Holmes shares his discovery with the other famous A. Conan Doyle character, Professor Challenger. Together, Holmes and Challenger determine that the Earth is about to be invaded. And, sure enough, they’re right!

For part of the Invasion, Holmes goes his way and Challenger goes his way. But, eventually, Holmes and Challenger get back together to deal with the devastation and horror of death-rays, poison gas, and giant menacing robots.

Eric Brown’s The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – The Martian Menace (2020) opens with Holmes asked to investigate the death of the Martian Ambassador. The successful resolution of that case leads the Martians to approach Holmes once again when one of their famous philosophers is murdered. Holmes and Watson agree to investigate the case…on Mars! During their departure to Mars, Holmes and Watson discover they share their spaceship with another passenger: Professor Challenger!

I enjoyed Eric Brown’s clever plot and the mysteries about the Martians that Holmes and Challenger manage to penetrate. If you’re in the mood for a couple wonderful Sherlock Holmes pastiches with a Science Fiction flavor, I recommend Sherlock Holmes and War of the Worlds and The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. GRADE: B+ (for both)

It’s hard to believe I’ve posted a 100 FORGOTTEN MUSIC reviews. I thought for this centennial posting, I’d feature a triple CD set of music from the 1970s. This set is unique because “name” groups like The Rolling Stones, Queen, and Fleetwood Mac are represented. And singers like Bob Dylan, John Lennon, and Donna Summer are included, too.

Of course, there are some head-scratchers here like The Undertones’s “Teenage Kicks” and the Buzzcocks’s “Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve).” And the odd inclusion of Country songs. But, all in all, I think this set presents the 1970s fairly accurately. Do you remember these songs? Are any of your favorites here? GRADE: A-

TRACK LIST:

Disc: 1

  1. Queen – Don’t Stop Me Now
  2. Electric Light Orchestra – Mr. Blue Sky
  3. Elton John – Tiny Dancer
  4. Bill Withers – Lovely Day
  5. Earth, Wind & Fire – September
  6. Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons – December, 1963 (Oh What a Night!)
  7. ABBA – Dancing Queen
  8. The Jackson 5 – I Want You Back
  9. Marvin Gaye – Let’s Get It on
  10. Commodores – Easy
  11. Billy Ocean – Love Really Hurts Without You
  12. Hot Chocolate – You Sexy Thing
  13. The O’Jays – Love Train
  14. Barry White – You’re the First, the Last, My Everything
  15. The Temptations – Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone
  16. Wild Cherry – Play That Funky Music
  17. Chic – Le Freak
  18. Gloria Gaynor – I Will Survive

Disc: 2

  1. John Lennon – Imagine
  2. Don McLean – American Pie
  3. The Rolling Stones – It’s Only Rock ‘N’ Roll (But I Like It)
  4. Fleetwood Mac – Go Your Own Way
  5. Simon & Garfunkel – Bridge Over Troubled Water
  6. Bob Dylan – Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door
  7. Billy Joel – Piano Man
  8. The Who – Baba O’Riley
  9. Free – All Right Now
  10. Boston – More Than a Feeling
  11. Mott the Hoople & David Bowie – All the Young Dudes
  12. Rod Stewart – Maggie May
  13. Blue Oyster Cult – (Don’t Fear) the Reaper
  14. Lynyrd Skynyrd – Free Bird
  15. Meat Loaf – Bat Out of Hell
  16. Thin Lizzy – the Boys Are Back in Town
  17. Status Quo – Rockin’ All Over the World
  18. Ram Jam – Black Betty
  19. The Knack – My Sharona

Disc: 3

  1. John Travolta & Olivia Newton – John – The Grease Mega-Mix
  2. Jackson 5 – ABC
  3. Elton John & Kiki Dee – Don’t Go Breaking My Heart
  4. Blondie – Heart of Glass
  5. Donna Summer – I Feel Love
  6. Santana – Oye Como Va
  7. Stealers Wheel – Stuck in the Middle with You
  8. Lou Reed – Walk on the Wild Side
  9. Harry Nilsson – Everybody’s Talkin’
  10. Johnny Nash – I Can See Clearly Now
  11. 10CC – I’m Not in Love
  12. Carole King – It’s Too Late
  13. Kenny Rogers – the Gambler
  14. Dolly Parton – Jolene
  15. John Denver – Take Me Home, Country Roads
  16. Gerry Rafferty – Baker Street
  17. Paul McCartney & Wings – Live and Let Die
  18. Roxy Music – Love Is the Drug
  19. The Undertones – Teenage Kicks
  20. Buzzcocks – Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve)
  21. Buggles – Video Killed the Radio Star

Terry Teachout, the theater reviewer of the WALL STREET JOURAL, wrote a rave review of Act One (you can read his review here) and mentioned that the Lincoln Center Theater was offering the play online for FREE until July 3. So, of course, I dropped everything and watched it.

Back in 2016, I read Moss Hart’s classic Act One (you can read my review here) and loved it. Act One is the most informative and entertaining memoir of a life of writing plays for Broadway that I’ve ever read. Moss Hart, an uneducated yet passionate lover of Broadway plays, stumbles into the play-writing business. His big break-through is when legendary George S. Kaufman becomes interested in Hart’s play, Once in a Lifetime.

This play version of Act One, written brilliantly by James Lapine, shows the grinding poverty that Moss Hart grew up in. Hart’s aunt takes the young Moss Hart to Broadway shows and ignites his passion for theater. As a young man (played by Santino Fontana), Hart finds a clerical job at a theatrical promoter’s office. Hart writes a play that flops in Rochester, New York. But, he keeps writing and produces a rough draft of Once in a Lifetime that spurs the interest of veteran Broadway director and writer, George S. Kaufman (played by Tony Shalhoub). The interaction in the rewriting of Once in a Lifetime–with the quirky Kaufman and the novice Hart–power the key action of the reminder of the play.

If you’re in the mood for a funny, touching, and insightful play–and its FREE!–just click on the YOUTUBE.COM link above, or if you have a smart TV, you can access it there. Highly recommended! GRADE: A

My daughter Katie suggested that we watch a movie each week so we could talk about it when we Facebook PORTAL each Sunday. Since Katie came up with the idea, we decided she should make the first choice. Katie selected a Netflix documentary, 13TH (2016).

Director Ava Duvernay’s documentary explores the affects of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution on American society. Diane and I were shocked by the political strategy that used the 13th Amendment to cause mass incarceration of African-Americans to produce, in effect, slave labor.

Duvernay tells this story through a mixture of video news footage and commentary. Here’s the list of participants:

Netflix reports that viewership of 13TH has gone up 4000% in recent weeks. It’s a powerful documentary that explains why we’re in the social mess we’re in. Highly recommended! GRADE: A