Ruth Bader Ginzburg fought for women’s rights before the Supreme Court (she won five of six cases) before Bill Clinton surprised everyone by picking RBG for an empty Supreme Court seat in 1993. Julie Cohen and Betsy West try to capture RBG’s eventful life in 96 minutes. I did not know RBG fought cancer twice. RBG’s husband gave up his lucrative law practice in New York City to support RBG when she was named to the Washington, D.C. District Court of Appeals by Jimmy Carter. This film celebrates their marriage. But the best part of RBG is hearing the audio of Ruth Bader Ginzburg arguing her cases before the Supreme Court. I got chills hearing Ginzburg spar with nine men who had no clue about discrimination of women. RBG is one of the best films of 2018! Don’t miss it! GRADE: A

Substitute Creature is the fourth and final volume in Charles Gilman’s Tales From Lovecraft Middle School series. As in the previous three adventures, Dark Forces threaten the students and teachers at Lovecraft Middle School. This time, it’s a creepy substitute teacher with eldritch powers. I’m sorry to see this Young Adult series end. And, I’ll really miss the cool hologram covers! GRADE: B

Gaudy patter and plenty of mayhem. That’s the formula in Deadpool 2. Ryan Reynolds’s unkillable character assembles a team of goofy superheroes (X-FORCE!) to take on Cable (Josh Brolin), a soldier from the Future. A teenage mutant named Russell (Julian Dennison) is about to kill his school’s Principal which will turn him into a mass murderer who kills Cable’s wife and daughter in the Future. Cable has time travelled to our era to eliminate Russell. Deadpool decides he can “save” Russell before he kills. Along the way, there are explosions, decapitations, and lots of blood. My favorite character is Domino (Zazie Beetz) whose superpower, Luck, comes in handy. If you’re in the mood for a silly–but gory–Summer Movie, Deadpool 2 will punch your ticket. GRADE: B+

Art Scott once attended a mystery convention and wore a Name Tag that read: ORRIE HITT. Orrie Hitt was a prolific writer–150+ books!–whose work in the 1950s and 1960s reached a mass audience. In his informative Introduction, Brian Greene says that Orrie Hitt once banged out a complete novel in two weeks! Orrie Hitt wrote about people we would consider “working class” today. Hitt’s characters struggled with work and life and “making it.” Wayward Girl crackles with steamy sex and broken dreams. The Widow shows what happens when people make Bad Decisions. Orrie Hitt’s books were “hot stuff” back in the Fifties and Sixties. But the suspense and surprises of these books mixed with sexual desire and betrayal still hold a certain fascination. GRADE: B+

I’ve had Just After Sunset (2008) in my Read Real Soon stack of books for about a decade. Some new book would always push Just After Sunset lower in the stack. But finally, Just After Sunset floated to the top of the stack and I read this Big Fat Book in two days. I’ve found Stephen King short story collections like eating potato chips: you can’t stop at one. My favorite story in Just After Sunset is “N.” A psychiatrist treats a man with Obsessive-Compulsive-Disorder. The man claims he visited a site where Reality is “thin.” Monsters from another dimension are close to bursting through. Only his careful OCD routines are keeping the monsters at bay. I found “N.” to be a very chilling story. Some of the stories are a bit over-the-top. “The Cat From Hell” is an early Stephen King story from his men’s magazine days. “Rest Stop” deals with abuse of a woman. “Ayana” is another of King’s ruminations on miracles and Death. “Willa” is a ghost story. “A Very Tight Place” is another of King’s claustrophobic tales. As you can see, Just After Sunset has a wide variety of stories. Are you a Stephen King fan? Do you have a favorite Stephen King work? GRADE: B+
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction 1
Willa 7
The gingerbread girl 42
Harvey’s dream 126
Rest stop 141
Stationary bike 167
The things they left behind 218
Graduation afternoon 262
N. 272
The cat from hell 352
The New York Times at special bargain rates 375
Mute 388
Ayana 422
A very tight place 447
Sunset notes 529

I’m always interested in reading about writers discussing their craft. Elizabeth George has written best selling British mysteries even though she’s an American and lives in California. In 2004, Elizabeth George wrote this writing manual. She believes writing can be taught (many writers think it can’t be taught). I was captivated by George’s thoughts on how Agatha Christie would plant a clue in a scene (Christie would also plant a red herring in the same scene–I never realized this). I found George’s thoughts on dialogue refreshing. George’s taste in writers is also eclectic. If you’re as enthralled by the writing process as I am, you’ll find a lot of Elizabeth George’s notions about writing worth pondering. Are you a fan of Elizabeth George’s mysteries? GRADE: A-
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Preface ix
Part I An Overview of the Craft
1 Story Is Character 3
2 Setting Is Story 17
3 Nothing Without Landscape 29
4 Plotting: “It Is the Cause, My Soul” 39
Part II The Basics
5 Yes, There’s More About Plot. But First… 47
6 Onward from Idea 53
7 The Start: Decisions, Decisions 65
8 As There Is Viewpoint, So Is There Voice 76
9 Voice: You Gotta Have ‘Tude 97
10 Dialogue: Speak the Speech, If You Will 106
11 Tricks of the Dialogue Trade 119
12 The Scene: Okay, So It Is Rocket Science 129
Part III Technique
13 Knowledge Is Power, Technique Is Glory 157
14 Loose Ends 167
Part IV Process
15 Baby Steps First 177
16 The Value of Bum Glue 190
17 Tidbits from Q & A 198
Part V Examples and Guides
18 Gimme a Map, Please 207
19 All About Character 216
20 Turning Places into Settings 230
21 Final Words 253
22 The Process in a Nutshell 255
Notes 258
Index 261

The Justice League animated series ran on the Cartoon Network and this 2-DVD set was released in 2017. I’ve always liked the Justice League–both the comic books and the TV series–for the shifting mix of characters and the unique storylines. Kevin Conroy voices Batman. Mark Hamill is Joker, James Woods is Lex Luthor, Diedrich Bader is Booster Gold. Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman form the core of the Justice League. But unusual characters like Swamp Thing and John Constantine show up to keep things edgy. If you’re a fan of the Justice League, there are 290 minutes of fun on these DVDs! GRADE: A
DISK ONE:
Classic Rock
Power Outage
Night of the Bat
Abate and Switch
Follow That Space Cab!
Nuclear Family Values
Zombie King
Time Share
Under a Red Sun
Play Date
Repulse!
Trick or Treat
DISK TWO:
Speed Demon
Hat Trick
Field Trip
Luthor in Paradise
Plastic Man Saves the World
Rage of the Red Lanterns
Freezer Burn
The Trouble With Truth
Inside Job
Double Cross
Battle of the Bottled City
Garden of Evil
All Aboard the Space Train

Danielle Town was a typical Millennial who was working hard at her law office, but not really making ends meet. Danielle’s father, Phil Town, had written a couple books on financial advice. Phil Town had tried to get his daughter to practice smart money management, but she resisted…until now. Together, Danielle and Phil try to restructure Danielle’s financial life. Along the way, Danielle learns the basics of value investing practiced by Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger. If you’ve been confused by investing terminology and concepts, Invested is the perfect place to find clarity. Danielle slowly works her way through the steps of investing and along the way makes a tidy sum with the help of her Dad. Invested covers most of the key knowledge of investing with plenty of examples. It demystifies a complicated process. If someone asked to recommend an investment book, I’d go with Invested. GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:Chapter 1 January-Becoming Brave p. 5
Warren Buffett and Value Investing
Rule #1 Investing
Hoard Or Abdicate
Inflation
My Investing Practice
January Practice
Chapter 2 February-Knowing Your Number p. 37
Primer on the Stock Market
Flavors of Abdication
Calculating My Number
Investment Options Outside of the Stock Market
Maro-Thankfulness
Components of Financial Freedom
Four Levels of Mastery
February Practice
Chapter 3 March-Voting For A Mission With My Money p. 65
Creating My Investing Office
Primer on Corporations
Asymmetry of Information Between Companies and Shareholders
Voting for a Mission with My Money
Finding Missions
Story of a Company
March Practice
Chapter 4 April-The First Principle of Value Investing p. 85
Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH)
Lucky Monkeys
Events
Market-Wide Indicators of Events
Shiller P/E
Buffett Indicator
Charlie Munger
Four Principles of Investing
First Principle: Understanding the Business
Circle of Competence and the Three-Circles Exercise
Primer on Annual Reports
Gurus
Investing Intensive and the Buffett Bible
April Practice
Chapter 5 May-Charlie’s Moat and Management p. 119
Second Principle: Moat
The Five (And a Half) Moats
Moat Case Study: Coca-Cola
Moat Case Study: Apple
Primer on Financial Statements
Big Four Numbers and Growth Rates
Windage Growth Rate
Third Principle: Management
Management Numbers
Checklist For Charlie’s First Three Principles
May Practice
Chapter 6 June-Circling Competence p. 147
Facing Feelings About Money
Investing in What You Know
Annual Reports
Wishlist
Fantasy Investing
Brokerage Account Basics
Family Tradition with Money
Steps to Face Preconceptions Around Money
June Practice
Chapter 7 July-Charlie’s Fourth Principle: Pricing p. 177
Fourth Principle: Price that Makes Sense
Three Methods of Pricing/Valuation
Pricing Using Whole-Company Numbers
Ten Cap Pricing Method
Owner Earnings
Formula for Owner Earnings
Payback Time Pricing Method
Formula for Free Cash Flow
July Practice
Chapter 8 August-Charlie’s Fourth Principle: Value p. 209
Pricing Using Per-Share Company Numbers
Margin of Safety Valuation Method
Formula For Margin of Safety
Opening a Brokerage Account
August Practice
Chapter 9 September-Inverting the Story p. 229
Checklist of Expensive Errors
Writing the Story
Inverting the Story
Investing Research Organization
Practice Shares
September Practice
Chapter 10 October-Compiling an Antifragile Portfolio p. 253
Antifragile Portfolio
Passive-Aggressive Strategy
Buying Plan
Tranches
Prepare to Manage Emotions During Events
October Practice
Chapter 11 November-When to Sell p. 269
Buying A Company
Sell Whew the Story Changes
Reducing Basis
Dividends
Buybacks
Determining When to Sell
November Practice
Chapter 12 December-Living Thankfulness p. 291
Checklist for Ongoing Investing Practice
Maro-Thankfulness
December Practice
Epilogue p. 303
Afterword p. 307
Resources for Your Investing Practice p. 310
Appendix p. 313
Acknowledgments p. 321

More fun and mayhem from Lovecraft Middle School as the students find themselves attacked by bugs. Not just a few bugs. Millions of bugs! It’s all a menacing plot of Lovecraftean horror. Once again, the cool hologram cover that alternates between a middle school student and a giant bug gives you a flavor of what’s between these covers. There’s only one more volume in the “Tales From Lovecraft Middle School” series. I’ll be sorry to see these clever stories end. GRADE: B+