For all of 2019, I’ve been on a waiting list at my local Rite-Aid pharmacy for the new Shingles shot. Diane and I got the old shingles shot years ago. But the commercials for this new Shingles shot on TV have been horrific enough to motivate us to sign up. Plus, one of Diane’s friends just called to say she’s stricken with Shingles for the THIRD TIME!

A guy at the pool where I frolic every day told me he had Shingles a couple months ago. Shingles spread to his face and his doctor was concerned that he might lose sight in his right eye. The pool guy also reported Shingles hurts like hell. Neither Diane or I have had Shingles, but we’ve heard nothing but Bad News about every case our friends and relatives reported to us.

Finally, when I was picking up some prescriptions at Rite-Aid over the weekend, the clerk said, “Dr. Kelley, the Shingles vaccine arrived this week. Would you like your shot today?” I, of course, answered an enthusiastic, “Yes!” Diane managed to get her first Shingles shot a few weeks ago at a Walgreens. This new Shingles shot is a 2-step process. We’ll have to get the second shot in two to six months. Have you gotten this new Shingles shot? Are you planning to get one? Have you suffered with Shingles?

Diane and I like to support local theater companies so we bought tickets to this O’Connell and Company musical that featured an all female cast. The founding fathers, who declared that all men were created equal–but didn’t give the slightest thought to women’s suffrage–are all played by women. The result is ironic and fun. I appreciated the energy and singing of the women who played John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson. The musical shows how difficult it was to reach unimity on the Declaration of Independence. Each of the 13 colonies protected their own agenda. It’s amazing this country ever got established!

Sherman Edwards provided the lyrics and music to 1776 and Peter Stone provided the book. 1776 premiered on Broadway in 1969 and ran for 1,217 performances. The production was nominated for five Tony Awards and won three, including the Tony Award for Best Musical. In 1972, a movie version of 1776, starring William Daniels, Howard Da Silva, Donald Madden, John Cullum, Ken Howard and Blythe Danner, hit the big screens around the country. 1776 was revived on Broadway in 1997. Have you seen 1776? Did you like it? GRADE: B+
SONG LIST:
Act I
Overture
“Sit Down, John” – Adams and Congress
“Piddle, Twiddle and Resolve” – Adams
“Till Then” – Adams and Abigail
“The Lees of Old Virginia” – Lee, Franklin and Adams
“But, Mr. Adams” – Adams, Franklin, Jefferson, Sherman and Livingston
“Yours, Yours, Yours” – Adams and Abigail
“He Plays the Violin” – Martha, Franklin, and Adams
“Cool, Cool, Considerate Men” – Dickinson and The Conservatives
“Mama Look Sharp” – Courier, McNair and Leather Apron
Act II
“The Egg” – Franklin, Adams, Jefferson, and Congress
“Molasses to Rum” – Rutledge
“Compliments” – Abigail Adams
“Is Anybody There?” – Adams and Thomson
“Finale”

Tim Major’s new science fiction conspiracy novel, Snakeskins, is set in a Britain that has a lot more problems than Brexit. A freak meteorite storm hit Britain and caused some people to become Charmers (aka, Snakeskins) who have the power to regenerate themselves, heal quickly, and not age. In the process, a clone is created. Some clones only exist briefly and turn to dust, but as young Caitlin Next learns, some clones survive. Caitlin investigates what happens to the clones.

Caitlin isn’t the only one searching for answers. Journalist Gerry Chafik and government aide Russell Handler probe the secrets of the Great British Prosperity Party. There are enough loose ends to suggest a sequel. If you’re in the mood for a SF novel with plenty of twists and turns, Snakeskins delivers. GRADE: B+

I’ve been a New Balance sneaker guy for over a decade. So I blame those Tony Romo commercials praising Skechers footwear for this purchase. I wanted to escape the tyranny of shoe laces with a comfortable slip on. I knew Diane found her Skechers fashionable and comfy. So I tried on a pair of Skechers After Burn Slip On Walking Shoes and enjoyed the fit and comfort. Plus, Diane had a $20 off coupon at DSW (Diane ALWAYS has a coupon!) so the new Skechers only cost me $41.53. The shoe box raves about “memory foam” in Skechers’s products. What kind of footwear do you prefer?

Imagine you just spent billions of dollars to build a space ship that would go 97% the speed of light. Who would you choose to be your crew on this critical mission? The folks in High Life picked criminals and death-row inmates as their crew. What could go wrong?

In the first hour of High Life there are fights, a rape, murders, and suicide. Director Claire Denis stumbles in this science fiction movie. The space ship looks like a shoe box. The rooms look like they are borrowed from a minimum security prison. Everyone is climbing ladders (this is not a design for those with physical impairments). The “hero” is Monte (played by Robert Pattinson) who killed someone over a dog. Monte is shown raising a baby in a series of flashbacks. The crew is being monitored by Dr. Dibs (Juliette Binoche) and manipulated. And, of course, there’s the obligatory Black Hole.

I found the pace of High Life glacial. The plot seemed pointless to me. Claire Denis should have stayed in the realm of her great movie, Beau Travail (1999) instead of tackling a genre where she ends up lost in space. GRADE: C

Back in 2001, this Anniversary anthology was published to celebrate 25 years of the Mysterious Press. Sara Ann Freed and William Malloy, who worked for Mysterious Press for 16 of those 25 years, provide an enlightening Introduction. Otto Penzler, who started Mysterious Press in 1975, shares the stories of the ups and downs of publishing. Mysterious Press almost went out of business in the early 1980s, but Penzler managed to find resources to keep it afloat. When Penzler sold Mysterious Press to Warner Books in 1989, it was successful publishing the novels of writers like Ruth Rendell, P.D. James, Len Deighton, James Crumbly, Donald E. Westlake, Ross Thomas, Ellis Peters, Aaron Elkins, Joe Gores, Marcia Muller, Eric Ambler, Patricia Highsmith, and Kingsley Amis. This is a fun anthology with wonderful stories like Westlake’s “Come Again,” Estleman’s “The Anniversary Waltz,” Beaton’s “Handle With Care,” and Joe R. Lansdale’s “The Mule Rustlers.” Are you a fan of the Mysterious Press? Do you have a favorite Mysterious Press author? GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
INTRODUCTION by Sara Ann Freed & William Malloy xi
Foreword by Otto Penzler xii
Come again? / Donald E. Westlake — 1
The anniversary waltz / Loren D. Estleman — 28
Inscrutable / Joe Gores — 45
The usual table / Peter Lovesey — 65
Them! / William Marshall — 79
The imposter / Marcia Muller —
Activity in the flood plain / Ed McBain — 122
Sometimes something goes wrong / Stuart M. Kaminsky — 151
Countess Kathleen / Jerome Charyn — 172
Instinct / Archer Mayor — 184
What’s in a name / Margaret Maron — 205
Coming around the mountain / James Crumley — 211
Handle with care / M.C. Beaton — 234
The mule rustlers / Joe R. Lansdale — 251
Body zone / Lindsey Davis — 276
Revision / Robert Greer — 301
Birdbath / Charlotte Carter — 312
High maintenance / Beth Saulnier –324

Forty-seven years ago, Marvin Gaye recorded You’re the Man, but he got into a disagreement with Barry Gordy at Motown Records and the album was never released. Now, 47 years later, You’re the Man was finally released. Marvin Gaye was at the top of his game in 1971 and this CD shows it. Do you have a favorite Marvin Gaye song? GRADE: A
TRACK LIST:
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. “You’re the Man” Marvin Gaye, Kenneth Stover 5:46
2. “The World Is Rated X” (alternate mix) Ezra Bolton, Marilyn McLeod, Mel Bolton and Robert Gordy 3:52
3. “Piece of Clay” Gloria Jones, Pamela Sawyer 5:11
4. “Where Are We Going?” (alternate mix 2) Larry Mizell, Larry Gordon 3:51
5. “I’m Gonna Give You Respect” Willie Hutch 2:56
6. “Try It, You’ll Like It” Willie Hutch, Kathy Wakefield 3:57
7. “You Are That Special One” Willie Hutch 3:38
8. “We Can Make It Baby” Willie Hutch 3:24
9. “My Last Chance” (Salaam Remi remix) Marvin Gaye 3:40
10. “Symphony” (Salaam Remi LP mix) Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson 2:53
11. “I’d Give My Life for You” (Salaam Remi LP mix) Marvin Gaye 3:31
12. “Woman of the World” Larry Mizell, Larry Gordon 3:30
13. “Christmas in the City” Marvin Gaye 3:48
14. “You’re the Man” (alternate version) Marvin Gaye, Kenneth Stover 4:41
15. “I Want to Come Home for Christmas” Marvin Gaye, Forest Hairston 4:46
16. “I’m Going Home” Marvin Gaye 4:42
17. “Checking Out (Double Clutch)” Marvin Gaye 4:53

I’ve enjoyed reading J. M. Coetzee’s two other essay collections–Stranger Shores: Literary Essays 1986-1999 and Inner Workings: Literary Essays 2000-2005. You can read my reviews here and here. This recently published volume, Late Essays: 2006-2017 explores the same mix of familiar and unfamiliar writers as the previous collections did. I enjoyed reading about Daniel Defoe, Hawthorne, Ford Madox Ford, and Philip Roth. I was less enthralled with “Translating Holderlin” and Heinrich von Kleist. Coetzee has some keen insights about Flaubert’s Madame Bovary and the writings of Leo Tolstoy.

The strength of Late Essays is the four essays on Samuel Beckett. I learned Beckett was stabbed on the streets of Paris. While he was recovering from his wounds in a hospital, Beckett learned another language (German, because he was infatuated by a German girl). Beckett eventually wrote only in French. And Becket helped James Joyce edit the manuscript that would become Finnegans Wake. If you’re in the mood for some very readable literary essays, I recommend Coetzee. GRADE: A-
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
1. Daniel Defoe, Roxana 1
2. Nathaniel Hawthorne, The scarlet letter 12
3. Ford Madox Ford, The good soldier 23
4. Philip Roth’s tale of the plague 35
5. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, The sorrows of young Werther 59
6. Translating Hölderlin 62
7. Heinrich von Kleist : two stories 85
8. Robert Walser, The assistant 95
9. Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary 104
10. Irène Némirovsky, Jewish writer 113
11. Juan Ramón Jiménez, Platero and I 130
12. Antonio Di Benedetto, Zama 134
13. Leo Tolstoy, The death of Ivan Ilyich 152
14. On Zbigniew Herbert 159
15. The young Samuel Beckett 169
16. Samuel Beckett, Watt 185
17. Samuel Beckett, Molloy 192
18. Eight ways of looking at Samuel Beckett 202
19. Late Patrick White 218
20. Patrick White, The solid mandala 234
21. The poetry of Les Murray 243
22. Reading Gerald Murnane 259
23. The diary of Hendrik Witbooi 273
Notes and References 283
Acknowledgements 295

Back in 1972, 29-year old Aretha Franklin decided she wanted to record a live gospel album at the New Temple Baptist Missionary Church in Watts, California. After two evenings of singing and recording, Franklin produced the best selling gospel album in history: Amazing Grace. What most people did not know was that these two evenings were filmed by a young, up-and-coming director named Sydney Pollack with a small crew armed with 16mm cameras. But Pollack and his crew neglected to slate the shots so they had hours of film and hours of sound, but no way to sync them up. Warner Brothers shelved the project and nothing happened for years.

Finally, producer Alan Elliott bought the footage and brought in film editor Alan Elliot to use digital technology to bring the film and sound together. But, then another problem rose up: Aretha Franklin sued Elliott in 2011 for using her likeness without her permission. Then in 2015, Franklin blocked the film from being screened at the Telluride and Toronto film festivals. After Aretha Franklin’s death in 2018, Elliot showed the documentary to Franklin’s family and got their permission to show the film.

Amazing Grace shows Aretha Franklin at the height of her powers. The record that came out of these live recording sessions became Franklin’s best selling album. If you’re a fan of Aretha Franklin this film is a must-see. What is your favorite Aretha Franklin song? GRADE: A
AMAZING GRACE TRACK LIST:
Disc 1
Mary, Don’t You Weep
Precious Lord, Take My Hand/You’ve Got a Friend
Old Landmark
Give Yourself To Jesus
How I Got Over
What a Friend We Have In Jesus
Amazing Grace
Disc 2
Precious Memories
Climbing Higher Mountains
[Remarks By Reverend C. L. Franklin]
God Will Take Care of You
Wholy Holy
You’ll Never Walk Alone
Never Grow Old

Theodore Geisel was born in 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts. Geisel was the son of a German-American brewer whose prosperous life came to an end with Prohibition. Geisel’s father managed to send his son to Dartmouth where Geisel worked on the college’s humor magazine. Geisel then went to Oxford University to pursue a graduate degree, but never completed the program. Geisel did meet fellow American student, Helen Palmer, who would become his first wife and invaluable collaborator.

When Geisel and his wife returned to America, Geisel worked in advertising by drawing humorous ads for products like motor oil, insect repellent, and other consumer necessities. But, surprisingly, Geisel really wanted to write and illustrate children’s books. From his first book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street (1937), Geisel’s work possessed a unique look and feel. Each book sold more than the one before it as the audience for Dr. Seuss books grew. If you’re a fan of Dr. Seuss books, you’ll find plenty of background on all the key titles. Do you have a favorite Dr. Seuss book? GRADE: B+