For something completely different for FFB, you might want to try FANTASTIC FOUR: BEHOLD…GALACTUS!. This oversized book weighs 12.6 pounds! Its dimensions are 14.5 x 2 x 22 inches! And, yes, it costs $50! Worth every penny!

In this classic series of MARVEL comics, the Fantastic Four take on Galactus in a supersized volume.! Stan Lee and illustrator Jack Kirby introduced the Galactic World-Eater and his enigmatic herald, the Silver Surfer back in 1966 (in The Fantastic Four #48). This sequence of Galactus and the Silver Surfer about to consume the Earth is one of the greatest comic book sagas ever told! In addition to that iconic story, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby brought Galacus back, but what does Galactus want this time? As the advertising for this book says; “The answer lies in the Microverse! John Buscema’s powerful pencils illustrate the arrival of new herald, Gabriel the Air-Walker, signaling doom for the human race! Then, John Byrne takes over as Terrax leads the Devourer back to Earth – and the entire Marvel Universe pitches in to help the FF save the planet from becoming his next meal! With Kirby, Buscema, and Byrne art showcased on enormous pages, Galactus has never looked bigger – or better!”

I’ve read plenty of Big Fat Books, but Fantastic Four: Behold…Galactus! is the Biggest Big Book I’ve encountered! Highly recommended! GRADE: A+

What were your Favorite Books of 2018?

What were your Favorite Films of 2018?

When you arrive at my age (69) doctor appointments abound. There’s an old saying that “After 50, it’s all maintenance.” So true! Two weeks ago, I had my yearly urology appointment. Everything is good. My PSA was 1.0. I just had my bi-annual physical with my internist. By blood pressure was 124/72. Pulse: 72. Respiration: 18. A1C: 6.1. And, I lost a few pounds since my last appointment in June! My internist complemented me on my outstanding kidney function!

This past year has seen too many of our friends going to the ER, to the hospital, to Rehab. My Christmas Eve wish for all of you is a healthy and happy 2019!

Despite the fact that the New England Patriots enter this game having lost two games in a row (at Miami on that crazy play at the end of the game and at Pittsburgh a week ago), the Patriots are 13 and 1/2 point favorites over the Buffalo Bills. The Bills started six rookies last week in their one-point win over the Detroit Lions. Clearly, the Bills are auditioning players for 2019. How will your favorite NFL do today?

I heard a lot of Oscar buzz about Roma, a black & white film on Netflix, so I watched it. Roma tells the story of writer-director Alfonso Cuaron’s youth in Mexico in the 1970s. The story is seen through the eyes of Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio), a maid who works for an upper-class family in a posh suburb of Mexico City. Cleo is shown doing the laundry, washing the floors, and taking care of the children. Her employers, a rich couple who operate on different levels, contrast with the poor families in the surrounding neighborhoods.

In one big historical scene, the Corpus Christi massacre–where student protestors were gunned down by Government soldiers–we see the clash of class interests in Mexico. In a more domestic scene, Cleo is shown at a beach with her employers and their family. Cleo’s dedication to her job and the children provides a very moving moment. Alfonso Cuaron won the Best Director Oscar for Gravity, a much different film. This film has an almost documentary feel to it. You may like it more than I did. GRADE: C+

Ngaio Marsh sets Tied Up In Tinsel (1972) at Christmastime at a luxurious, restored manor house located just near a British prison. The owner of the manor, Hilary Bill-Tasman, is an eccentric, prideful man with plenty of problems. But Hilary is also clever and very wealthy. With his massive funds, Hilary is restoring his family’s ancient estate with pompous luxury items. One of Hilary’s eccentricities is that he has hired ex-cons, one-time murderers, as his servants in order to give them “a second chance.” Into this setting, artist Troy Alleyn arrives to paint Hilary’s portrait. Also in the mix is Hilary’s erratic family and his sexy young fiancee. Of course, there’s a murder. Troy’s husband, Superintendent Roderick Alleyn, shows up to solve the baffling mystery. If you’re in the mood for a clever and snarky Christmas mystery, Tied Up In Tinsel delivers. Are you a Ngaio Marsh fan? GRADE: B+

Editor Henry Hitchings sets the tone of Browse: The World in Bookshops with his antics in bookshops while growing up in London. Hitchings first experience results in his buying the sequel to Frank Herbert’s DUNE, Dune Messiah. Years later, Hitchings is ousted from a used bookshop because the suspicious bookshop owner accuses Hitchings–with his big overcoat–of being a shoplifter! The essays in Browse all celebrate books and bookstores. My favorite is Michael Dirda’s “Snow Day.” A monster snowstorm is about to hit the Washington, D. C. area, but Dirda decides to risk a quick trip to Second Story Books in Rockland, Maryland. What he finds there is impressive! This is a booking adventure I have experienced with slightly different results! Do you have a favorite bookstore? What’s you’re biggest bookstore score? GRADE: B+
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction: A Place to Pause — Henry Hitchings p. 7
Bookshop Time — Ali Smith p. 27
Something that Doesn’t Exist — Andrey Kurkov p. 39
The Pillars of Hercules — Ian Sansom p. 53
A Tale of Two Bookshops — Juan Gabriel Vasquez p. 67
Leitner and I —Sasa Stanisic p. 81
All that Offers a Happy Finding Is a Fairy Tale — Yiyun Li p. 95
If You Wound a Snake… — Alaa Al Aswany p. 109
Desiderium: The Accidental Bookshop of Nairobi — Yvonne Adhiambo Our p. 121
Snow Day — Michael Dirda p. 145
Dussmann: A Conversation — Daniel Kehlmann p. 161
La Palmaverde — Stefano Benni p. 173
A Bookshop in the Age of Progress — Pankaj Mishra p. 183
Intimacy — Dorthe Nors p. 197
Bohemia Road — Iain Sinclair p. 211
My Homeland Is Storyland — Elif Shafak p. 231
Writers’ Biographies p. 243
Translators’ Biographies p. 251

Radio stations have been banning “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” so I decided to go back to the source, Neptune’s Daughter (1949), where the song was performed by Esther Williams and Ricardo Montalban–and Betty Garrett and Red Skelton. Yes, TWO couples sing “Baby, It’s Cold Outside in this movie. More on that in an upcoming paragraph.

Prolific song-writer, Frank Loesser, wrote “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” in 1944 as a song for him and his wife, Lynn Garland, to perform at parties. According to the Loessers’ daughter, Susan Loesser, the song is flirty. She said the reference to what is in the woman’s drink–interpreted today as a “date rape” drug–signified only that having an alcoholic beverage was cool. The female singer’s repeated insistence that she needed to go is halfhearted, as she too wanted to stay, Ms. Loesser asserted.

In Neptune’s Daughter, “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” starts in Ricardo Montalban’s apartment. Esther went to the apartment mistakenly looking for her sister (Betty Garrett). Esther searches the apartment, but her sister isn’t there. Embarrassed, Esther accepts a drink from Montalban and he starts singing “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” despite the fact that it’s SUMMER! Meanwhile, in another apartment, Betty Garrett as Esther’s aggressive sister, sings the “male” lines to Red Skelton, who she is trying to seduce! Skelton then sings the “female” lines of “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” as he tries to escape.

My opinion about “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” is that it is NOT a “rape” song. “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” won an Oscar as Best Original Song. It’s been a standard for almost 70 years. Yes, Neptune’s Daughter is a silly movie with too much Xavier Cugat and His Orchestra, but watching Esther Williams frolic in the pool makes it all worth it! What do you think about the “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” controversy? GRADE: C+