The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars was the first David Bowie album I ever bought. It was 1972 and the Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main Street was my favorite album that year, but David Bowie’s wonderful songs received heavy rotation on my turntable. In later years, I bought and enjoyed Let’s Dance. And, what might be the theme song for the Age of Coronavirus, I loved “Under Pressure” by David Bowie and Queen.

Best of Bowie was released in 2002 and although Bowie continued to release songs and CDs, this 2-CD collection includes most of Bowie’s best work. Are you a David Bowie fan? Do you have a favorite song? GRADE: A

TRACK LIST:

CD 1

CD 2

The marketing for Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London urban fantasy series says to imagine if Harry Potter grew up and joined the London Police. Fair enough. The Harry Potter character in Aaronovitch’s books is a young man named Peter Grant. Grant is a tyro Policeman who sees a ghost while guarding a crime scene (a man has been decapitated). The ghost talks with Grant and supplies some information about the crime that later leads Grant to enter into an apprenticeship with a Metropolitan Police Detective, Thomas Nightingale, who specializes in supernatural crime cases. Together, Grant and Nightingale investigate a series of murders that have links to the distant past.

Rivers of London takes the reader on a rollicking joy-ride around the City of London and the suburbs. Vampire eradication, mystical creatures, and the politics of the gods (and goddesses) of the Rivers of London all contribute to the involving mystery. If you’re looking for a satisfying Young Adult novel, Rivers of London will provide a fun adventure. I’ll be reading more of these engaging fantasy novels in the months ahead. GRADE: B

Rivers of London series:

Rivers of London (known as Midnight Riot in the US) (2011)^[11] ISBN 9781782761877

Moon Over Soho (2011) ISBN 9780345524591

Whispers Under Ground (2012) ISBN 9780345524614

Broken Homes (2013) ISBN 9780575132467

Foxglove Summer (2014) ISBN 9780575132504

The Hanging Tree (3 November 2016)^[12] ISBN 9780575132559

The Furthest Station (28 September 2017) ISBN 9781473222427—novella, set between Foxglove Summer and The Hanging Tree^[13]

Lies Sleeping (6 November 2018)^[14] ISBN 9781473207813

The October Man (novella) (31 May 2019) – novella, set after Lies Sleeping in Germany, with Tobias Winter as the main character^[15]

False Value (20 February 2020) ISBN 9781473207851 (Hardback); ISBN 9781473207868 (Export Trade Paperback); ISBN 9781473207882 (eBook)

COUNTDOWN TO PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION 2020

Early voting has begin in several states. Absentee and mail-in ballots arrive in mailboxes soon. The Election “season” is upon us. But, as All In: The Fight for Democracy shows, voter suppression and voter disenfranchisement lurks just about everywhere.

All In: The Fight for Democracy takes an historical approach to how politicians have manipulated the voting process to exclude groups. Gerrymandering, voter ID, closing polling places to produce long lines (in the hopes potential voters will tire of waiting and go home), and voter intimidation are just a few of the techniques used to manipulate the voting process.

We already know Trump will declare the November Presidential Election is “rigged” if he loses. But, Trump’s assertion is correct in many states: the vote is rigged to deprive targeted groups of their right to choose. All In: The Fight for Democracy is a moving documentary that provides a preview of the post-Election fight ahead. What is your plan to vote? GRADE: A

I’m a sucker for books like The Writer’s Library: The Authors You Love on the Books That Changed Their Lives. Nancy Pearl and Jeff Schwager interview 22 writers about their favorite books. Of all the writers in The Writer’s Library, Jonathan Lethem comes closest to my reading tastes. Lethem grew up reading Philip K. Dick and A. E. Van Vogt and Clifford Simak just like me. He moved on to detective fiction–Hammett, Chandler, Macdonald, Parker–and started writing his own unique books that blend many of these influences.

I’m a big fan of Madeline Miller’s Circe so I was interested to discover her love of classical mythology began when her mother would take her to the library on a regular basis. Miller learned Latin and her teacher offered to teach her Greek, too!

You’ll really get a sense of each of these writers as they talk about the books that influenced them most. Nancy Pearl and Jeff Schwager provide a handy list of the books referred to at the end of each interview. Highly recommended! GRADE: A

Foreword by Susan Orlean — ix

Introduction — 1

Jonathan Lethem — 5

Laila Lalami — 22

Luis Alberto Urrea — 38

Jennifer Egan — 54

T.C. Boyle — 72

Susan Choi — 87

Andrew Sean Greer — 104

Madeline Miller — 122

Michael Chabon & Ayelet Waldman — 133

Maaza Mengiste — 154

Amor Towles — 170

Louise Erdrich — 187

Dave Eggers — 200

Laurie Frankel — 215

Viet Thanh Nguyen — 227

Jane Hirshfield — 243

Richard Ford — 261

Siri Hustvedt — 279

Charles Johnson — 295

Vendela Vida — 310

Donna Tartt — 325

Russell Banks –335

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS — 349

The Buffalo Bills (2-0) and the LA Rams (2-0) will play in 80 degree temperatures today–not your normal late September weather in Western New York! The Bills are 2 1/2 point favorites despite injuries to their two starting linebackers. Of course, all NFL teams are experiencing higher rates of injuries because of the lack of Preseason games and OTAs. How will your favorite NFL team do today?

I’m a big fan of Andrew Cartmel’s The Vinyl Detective series which features a record collector who finds rare and valuable vinyl records and manages to eke out a living doing something that he loves. But, each book in the series generally includes crimes and murders as part of the plots.

In The Vinyl Detective: Flip Back, the fourth book in the series, the Vinyl Detective and his girl friend Nevada are hired by their friend Tinkler to find a rare copy of the first album by an English group called Black Dog. The group gained notoriety by setting a million dollars on fire!

I’ve enjoyed Andrew Cartmel’s clever story-telling. You’ll learn a lot about collecting vinyl records as a by-product of follow the search for rare albums. You can read my reviews of the first three Vinyl Detective novels here, here, and here. GRADE: B+

I’ve been reading Robert Silverberg’s science fiction stories for 50 years. Alien Archives collects stories from all decades of Silverberg’s long writing career. “Sunrise on Mercury” was a very early Silverberg SF story from the 1950s but it holds up with its suspense. I also enjoyed one of Silverberg’s Majipoor tales: “The Soul-Painter and the Shapeshifter.” “Gorgon Planet” was one of first Silverberg stories I ever read as a kid.

Another feature of Alien Archives that I enjoyed was Robert Silverberg’s detailed introductions to all of these stories. Silverberg discusses the editors he worked with at the time, the state of the publishing industry, and the tastes of SF readers. Very enlightening!

If you’re looking for a first-rate Science Fiction collection from one of the best writers in the genre, Alien Archives delivers. Are you a Robert Silverberg fan? Do you recognize any of these stories? GRADE: A

Table of Contents

Introduction: A Plurality of Worlds by Robert Sliverberg — i

The Silent Colony — 1

En Route to Earth — 7

The Way to Spook City — 17

Amanda and the Alien — 74

One-Way Journey — 94

Gorgon Planet — 117

The Shadow of Wings — 128

Flies — 141

Sundance — 154

Bride 91 — 172

Something Wild Is Loose — 187

Schwartz Between the Galaxies — 222

Diana of the Hundred Breasts — 246

Sunrise on Mercury — 275

Alaree — 292

The Soul-Painter and the Shapeshifter — 307

To the Dark Star — 330

Beauty in the Night — 343

When I heard that Tommy DeVito, co-founder of The Four Seasons and inspiration for the 2005 musical Jersey Boys, had died of complications from COVID-19 I found this CD on my shelf. I was an early fan of The Four Seasons and bought their albums.  With Frankie Valli as the lead singer, Bob Gaudio (formerly of the Royal Teens) on keyboards and tenor vocals, Tommy DeVito on lead guitar and baritone vocals, and Nick Massi on electric bass and bass vocals the band created a unique sound. That lead to a string of hits in the Sixties.

I also enjoyed the musical Jersey Boys (you can read my review here) with the story of how The Four Seasons came together. And I loved hearing the songs that I grew up listening to. Are you a fan of The Four Seasons? Do you have a favorite song? GRADE: A (for both the CD and the musical)

Track List:

I’ve read Daphne Merkin’s essays over the years especially her book on dealing with her depression (you can read my review here). Merkin’s new novel, 22 Minutes of Unconditional Love, chronicles the sexual relationship of a woman named Judith Stone who falls for a lawyer, Howard Ross, who manipulates Judith’s erotic obsessions. As the relationship develops, Howard becomes more domineering and controlling.

The result is “Escaping Howard’s grasp–and her own perverse enjoyment of being under his control–will test the limits of Judith’s capacity to resist the siren call of submission.”

22 Minutes of Unconditional Love is not The Story of O but sexual dominance and submission obsess this couple. Fortunately, this book is only 238 pages. GRADE: C

This new version of Nicholas Freeling’s Van Der Valk takes more of a crime team approach than the novels did. Marc Warren plays his Commisaris Piet Van Der Falk as as an aloof, clever, and chilly detective in charge of a group of useful minions. His chief assistant is lesbian Lucienne Hassell (Maimie McCoy) who manages to stand up to her boss while contributing a human touch to the investigations. Always hungry officer Brad de Vries (Luke Allen-Gale) does a lot of the investigative scut work while a new member of the team–a brilliant, bemused and black–Job Cloovers (Elliot Barnes-Worrell) is the resident genius. Their go-to pathologist, Hendrik Davie (Darrell D’Silva), handles forensics like he handles his liquor and his chess games.

“Love in Amsterdam” has almost nothing to do with Freeling’s first novel other than it’s set in Amsterdam. A botched kidnapping leads to two murders with political implications. Van Der Valk and his team follows the evidence and untangles a web of menace. My favorite scene in “Love in Amsterdam” is Van Der Valk’s blind date where the woman asks him what he does for a living. Van Der Valk lies and claims he’s a “quantum physicist.” Of course, the woman turns out to be a devotee of String Theory.

The second episode, “Only in Amsterdam,” involves religious erotica and identical twins. Not as humorous as “Love in Amsterdam, the story revolves around a dysfunctional family and a sexual predator. GRADE: B (for both)