I’m a big fan of Robin Williams’s 1995 movie Jumanji based on the Chris Van Allsburg children’s book of the same name. This new adventure movie, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is not a reboot or retelling of the original story. This version updates the concept and features Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, and Karen Gillian. As you can see from the cast, humor is a High Priority. There’s plenty of action, too. Based on a video game model, our characters have a quest to tackle and “levels” to beat. I loved it! If you’re looking for fun, laughs, and action you’ll find all three in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. GRADE: A-

In 2002, the New England Science Fiction Association Press published this wonderful anthology. Maybe it was supposed to be the beginning of a series, but this was the only volume published so far. I remember 1964 as a seminal year in Science Fiction. Plenty of great stories were appearing in SF digests. SF publishers will bringing out dozens of SF novels, so many I couldn’t keep up! In his “Forward” and “Introduction,” Robert Silverberg discusses the state of the Science Fiction world in 1964. Just looking at the Table of Contents you can see the strength of the genre by the great writers presented in this book. If you’re looking for a snapshot of one of the best year’s in SF history, read Robert Silverberg Presents the Great SF Stories. GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Foreword — Robert Silverberg
Introduction — Robert Silverberg
Norman Spinrad, “Outward Bound”
Jack Vance, “The Kragen”
Poul Anderson, “The Master Key”
Cordwainer Smith, “The Crime and the Glory of Commander Suzdal”
Roger Zelazny, “The Graveyard Heart”
Leigh Brackett, “Purple Priestess of the Mad Moon”
John Brunner, “The Last Lonely Man”
Gordon R. Dickson, “Soldier, Ask Not”
Wyman Guin, “A Man of the Renaissance”
Ursula K. Le Guin, “The Dowry of Angyar”
Fritz Leiber, “When the Change-Winds Blow”
Frederik Pohl, “The Fiend”
Fred Saberhagen, “The Life Hater”
Robert Silverberg, “Neighbor”
Norman Kagan, “Four Brands of Impossible”

TRACK LIST:
DISC ONE:
1-1 –The Angels (3) My Boyfriend’s Back 2:14
1-2 –The Shangri-Las Remember (Walking In The Sand) 2:19
1-3 –Connie Francis My Best Friend Barbara 2:19
1-4 –Diane Renay Navy Blue 2:28
1-5 –The Honey Bees She Don’t Deserve You 2:30
1-6 –Diane Ray Please Don’t Talk To The Lifeguard 1:44
1-7 –Sadina It Comes And Goes 2:32
1-8 –Lesley Gore Maybe I Know 2:33
1-9 –The Royalettes It’s Gonna Take A While 3:11
1-10 –The Secrets (9) The Boy Next Door 1:59
1-11 –Ginny Arnell I Wish I Knew What Dress To Wear 2:45
1-12 –The Pixies Three 442 Glenwood Avenue 2:10
1-13 –Ann D’Andrea Johnny’s Back In Town 2:15
1-14 –Dusty Springfield Stay Awhile 1:55
1-15 –The Nu-Luvs So Soft, So Warm 2:52
1-16 –Lesley Gore Look Of Love 1:59
1-17 –Gigi Parker & The Lonelies Beatles, Please Come Back 2:19
1-18 –The Pixies Three Summertime U.S.A. 2:16
1-19 –Kenni Woods Can’t He Take A Hint? 2:58
1-20 –The Angels (3) Wow Wow Wee (He’s The Boy For Me) 2:00
1-21 –The Paris Sisters Always Waitin’ 2:36
1-22 –Diane Renay Watch Out, Sally! 3:02
1-23 –Lesley Gore Wonder Boy 2:20
1-24 –The Secrets (9) Hey, Big Boy 2:14
1-25 –The Shangri-Las The Sweet Sounds Of Summer 3:18
DISC TWO:
2-1 –The Shangri-Las Leader Of The Pack 2:51
2-2 –Dusty Springfield I Only Wanna Be With You 2:35
2-3 –Ginny Arnell Dumb Head 2:15
2-4 –The Pixies Three Cold, Cold Winter 2:40
2-5 –Connie Francis Don’t Ever Leave Me 2:45
2-6 –The Sham-Ettes You’re Welcome Back 2:14
2-7 –Sadina I Want That Boy 2:16
2-8 –The Angels (3) I Adore Him 2:45
2-9 –The Honey Bees One Wonderful Night 2:19
2-10 –Lesley Gore Sometimes I Wish I Were A Boy 2:05
2-11 –The Paris Sisters Dream Lover 2:39
2-12 –Diane Renay Kiss Me Sailor 2:51
2-13 –Kenni Woods Back With My Baby 2:23
2-14 –The Shangri-Las I Can Never Go Home Anymore 3:12
2-15 –Beverly Washburn Everybody Loves Saturday Night 2:20
2-16 –The Secrets (9) The Other Side Of Town 2:15
2-17 –The Pixies Three Birthday Party 2:06
2-18 –The Royalettes I Want To Meet Him 2:43
2-19 –The Bobbi-Pins Why Did You Go? 2:06
2-20 –Carole Quinn What’s So Sweet About Sweet Sixteen? 2:15
2-21 –The Whyte Boots Nightmare 2:53
2-22 –Lesley Gore That’s The Way Boys Are 2:14
2-23 –The Shangri-Las Footsteps On The Roof 2:23
2-24 –Diane Renay Growin’ Up Too Fast 2:43
2-25 –The Angels (3) Thank You And Goodnight 2:32

Gene Simmons of the rock band KISS talks about his Life and his career in this volume on power. Simmons grew up in poverty and managed to build a flamboyant career as a performer and cable TV star. It would be easy to dismiss Gene Simmons as a knucklehead (albeit, a Rich knucklehead). But On Power shows how Gene Simmons engineered his rise in wealth. He talks about the writers and personalities who inspired him. I found the Gene Simmons’s stories entertaining and enlightening. Are you a fan of KISS? GRADE: B
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
1. WHO AM I? 1
2. A BRIEF KISSTORY 19
3. THE CASE FOR POWER 25
4. POWER TOOLS 41
5. PERSPECTIVE 61
6. THE CLASSICAL-POWER PANTHEON79
Niccolo Machiavelli: The Realist 80
Napoleon Bonaparte: The Conquerer 95
Winston Churchill: The Orator 103
7. MODERN POWER PLAYERS 111
Oprah Winfrey: The Queen 114
Elon Musk: The Thrill-Seeker 118
Dave Grohl: the Rock Star 123
Michael Jordan: The Legend 130
Stan Lee: The Creator 134
Warren Buffett: The Soothsayer 139
Frank Underwood: The Manipulator 144
8. GO FORTH 149

Gary Oldman should win an Oscar for his performance as Winston Churchill. The problem with Darkest Hour revolves around the circumstances: British forces are about to be annihilated at Dunkirk. The German blitzkrieg heads for Paris. Churchill’s enemies are plotting to bring him down despite the threats to the UK. And, in May 1940, the U.S. is still in neutral mode while Europe democracies collapse under Hitler’s forces. Darkest Hour, indeed.

Directed by Joe Wright and written by Anthony McCarten, Darkest Hour tries to capture Churchill’s key moments during the early crisis. However, Churchill is a cranky guy. He’s constantly shouting and raving. This was a movie I wish I had a CLOSED CAPTION option because Churchill mumbles a lot. Kristen Scott Thomas, as Churchill’s wife, tries to humanize her husband who is under crushing stress. Lily James plays Churchill’s secretary. The rest of the cast is solid. But, would I want to see Darkest Hour again? The answer is “No.” The times are grim and we were lucky to survive. GRADE: B

Hillary Chute’s enthusiastic history of comic books and “graphic novels” (Hillary doesn’t like that term) presents all the major players: DC Comics and MARVEL Comics, R. Crumb, Art Spiegelman’s work about the Holocaust and 9/11 to Keiji Nakazawa’s work covering Heroshima to Alison Bechdel’s ground-breaking Fun Home. Hillary Chute explores all the various genres in the contemporary comic book world. Why Comics? provides plenty of artwork to illustrate Hillary Chute’s analysis. She makes some educated guesses about where comics are likely to go next. I found Why Comics? provocative and informative. If you have any interest in comic books and graphic novels, this book will delight you! GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Foreword: One Point of View By Gary Panter xi
Introduction: Comics for Grown-Ups? 1
Why Disaster? 33
Why Superheroes? 69
Why Sex? 103
Why the Suburbs? 141
Why Cities? 175
Why Punk? 207
Why Illness & Disability? 239
Why Girls? 275
Why War? 309
Why Queer? 349
Coda: Why Fans? 389
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 413
BIBLIOGRAPHY 417
INDEX 437

The surprising Jacksonville Jaguars ousted the favored Pittsburgh Steelers to set up this game in New England with the Patriots. The Patriots are favored by 8 1/2 points. Bills fans are rooting for all teams EXCEPT for the New England Patriots. More shocking was the last second play in Minnesota where the New Orleans Saints snatched Defeat from the Jaws of Victory. The Vikings are 3-point favorites against the Eagles. Who do you think will win today?

One of my Favorite Books of 2017 was Will Friedwald’s The Great Jazz and Pop Vocal Albums. You can read my review here. One of Friedwald’s selections was Every Grain of Sand: Barb Jungr Sings Bob Dylan from 2002. I had never heard of Every Grain of Sand so I ordered it from AMAZON. I’ve listen to it a couple times and enjoy the sound of Barb Jungr’s voice. Jungr is a British cabaret singer who clearly loves Bob Dylan songs. If you’re used to the Dylan version of these songs, you’re in for a treat when you listen to Barb Jungr “interpret” them in a stripped-down fashion. Will Friedwald called Every Grain of Sand “a revelation.” I agree. Check out the sample below. GRADE: A
TRACK LIST:
“I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight” (Bob Dylan) – 4:06
Originally from the Bob Dylan album John Wesley Harding (1967)
“If Not For You” (Dylan) – 3:09
Originally from the Bob Dylan album New Morning (1970)
“Things Have Changed” (Dylan) – 4:57
Originally from the soundtrack to the film Wonder Boys (dir Curtis Hanson) (2000), and from the Bob Dylan album The Essential Bob Dylan (2000)
“Ring Them Bells” (Dylan) – 3:14
Originally from the Bob Dylan album Oh Mercy (1989)
“Not Dark Yet” (Dylan) – 4:36
Originally from the Bob Dylan album Time Out of Mind (1997)
“Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” (Dylan) – 4:37
Originally from the Bob Dylan album The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan (1963)
“Is Your Love in Vain?” (Dylan) – 3:29
Originally from the Bob Dylan album Street Legal (1978)
“It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue” (Dylan) – 4:10
Originally from the Bob Dylan album Bringing It All Back Home (1965)
“I Want You” (Dylan) – 3:13
Originally from the Bob Dylan album Blonde on Blonde (1966)
“Sugar Baby” (Dylan) – 7:40
Originally from the Bob Dylan album Love and Theft (2001)
“Born in Time” (Dylan) – 3:10
Originally from the Bob Dylan album Under the Red Sky (1990)
“What Good Am I?” (Dylan) – 3:58
Originally from the Bob Dylan album Oh Mercy (1989)
“Tangled Up in Blue” (Dylan) – 5:33
Originally from the Bob Dylan album Blood on the Tracks (1975)
“Forever Young” (Dylan) – 2:57
Originally from the Bob Dylan album Planet Waves (1974)
“Every Grain of Sand” (Dylan) – 4:22
Originally from the Bob Dylan album Shot of Love (1981)

Back in 2002, TOR Books published this Big Fat volume of American Fantasy stories. I completely missed it. But John O’Neill of BLACK GATE reviewed The American Fantasy Tradition here and I immediately picked up a copy. Over 600 pages of wonderful stories! Yes, you could quibble about including Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” which has been reprinted countless times. The same for Washington Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle” and Henry James’s “The Jolly Corner.” But Brian Thomsen does include plenty of contemporary fantasy stories like Manly Wade Wellman’s “The Valley Was Still” and L. Frank Baum’s “The Enchanted Buffalo.” There’s a lot of value between these covers! Inexpensive copies can be found online. Highly recommended! GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
this changed everything, poem by Gerald Blair
Foreword by Brian M. Thomsen
Introduction: An Approach to an American Fantasy Tradition, by Brian M. Thomsen
“Rip Van Winkle” by Washington Irving (The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent, June 23, 1819)
“Feathertop: A Moralized Legend,” by Nathaniel Hawthorne (The International Magazine, February and March 1852)
“Uncle Remus,” (excerpts) by Joel Chandler Harris (1880)
“The Saga of Pecos Bill,” by Edward O’Reilly (Century Magazine, October, 1923)
“Rosy’s Journey,” by Louisa May Alcott (1886)
“The Yellow Sign,” by Robert W. Chambers (The King in Yellow, 1895)
“The Shadow Over Innsmouth,” by H. P. Lovecraft (1936)
“O Ugly Bird!,” by Manly Wade Wellman (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, December 1951)
“The Fool,” by David Drake (Whispers VI, July 1987)
“Narrow Valley,” by R. A. Lafferty (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, September 1966)
“Jackalope,” by Alan Dean Foster (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, April 1989)
“The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson (The New Yorker, June 26, 1948)
“Children of the Corn,” by Stephen King (Penthouse, March 1977)
“Buffalo Gals, Won’t You Come Out Tonight,” by Ursula K. Le Guin (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, November 1987)
“The Jolly Corner,” by Henry James (The English Review, December 1908)
“A Ghost Story,” by Mark Twain (Mark Twain’s Sketches, New and Old, 1875)
“The Other Lodgers,” by Ambrose Bierce (Cosmopolitan, August 1907)
“Ma’ame Pelagie,” by Kate Chopin (1893)
“The Devil and Daniel Webster,” by Stephen Vincent Benét (The Saturday Evening Post, October 24, 1936)
“The Valley Was Still,” by Manly Wade Wellman (Weird Tales, August 1939)
“The Howling Man,” by Charles Beaumont (Rogue, November 1959)
“Twenty-Three,” by Avram Davidson (Asimov’s Science Fiction, July 1995)
“We Are the Dead,” by Henry Kuttner (Weird Tales, April 1937)
“Where the Summer Ends,” by Karl Edward Wagner (Dark Forces, August 1980)
“Shoeless Joe Jackson Comes to Iowa,” by W. P. Kinsella (Shoeless Joe Jackson Comes to Iowa, 1980)
“Hatrack River,” by Orson Scott Card (Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, August 1986)
“The Hero of the Night,” by Bradley Denton (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, January 1988)
“The Whimper of Whipped Dogs,” by Harlan Ellison (Bad Moon Rising, April 1973)
“The Griffin and the Minor Canon,” by Frank R. Stockton (1885)
“The Enchanted Buffalo,” by L. Frank Baum (The Delineator, May 1905)
“The Yellow Wallpaper,” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (New England Magazine, January 1892)
“The Moving Finger,” by Edith Wharton (Harper’s, March 1901)
“Slow Sculpture,” by Theodore Sturgeon (Galaxy Magazine, February 1970)
“The Coin Collector,” by Jack Finney (The Saturday Evening Post, January 30, 1960)
“Prey,” by Richard Matheson (Playboy, April 1969)
“The Geezenstacks,” by Fredric Brown (Weird Tales, September 1943)
“Paladin of the Lost Hour,” by Harlan Ellison (Universe 15, August 1985)
“The Black Ferris,” by Ray Bradbury (Weird Tales, May 1948)
“Bed & Breakfast,” by Gene Wolfe (Dante’s Disciples, February 1996)
“Dead Run,” by Greg Bear (Omni, April 1985)
“Her Pilgrim Soul,” by Alan Brennert (Her Pilgrim Soul and Other Stories, December 1990)
“Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut,” by Stephen King (Redbook, May 1984)
“Among the Handlers or, The Mark 16 Hands-On Assembly of Jesus Risen, Formerly Snake-O-Rama,” by Michael Bishop (Dante’s Disciples, February 1996)
Select Critical Bibliography, by Brian M. Thomsen

Nadia was 21-years-old in August 15, 2014 when her home in Kocho, a small village in northern Iraq, was overrun by ISIS. Six of Nadia’s brothers were executed. Nadia’s mother was killed. Nadia, and the other younger Yazidi girls, were taken to Mosul and forced to become ISIS sex slaves. This brutal, horrific story tells how Nadia and the other girls were repeatedly raped and beaten. But just when you think things couldn’t get worse, Nadia decides to escape–or die trying. The Last Girl–in the final analysis–is a tale of hope and survival despite barbaric treatment of innocent girls. If you need a story to inspire you, I recommend Nadia’s journey through Hell. GRADE: A