I bought this 3-DVD set in a Goodwill store for a dollar. I’m a sucker for spy novels and movies. This British TV show blends action and intelligence into an entertaining package. If you’re a fan of double-crosses, double-dealing, back-stabbing, and mis-direction, you’ll enjoy MI-5. This clandestine security service takes on all kinds of domestic terrorism and skullduggery. You can also find MI-5 on HULU. Check it out. GRADE: B+

Tom Shippey’s The Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories (2003) and Shippey’s books on J.R.R. Tolkien established this academic as a critic to respect. Reading these collected essays, published over a 30-year span, shows the variety of Shippey’s interests. He’s a big fan of Kingsley Amis’s science fiction novels–The Alteration and Russian Hide and Seek–which I’m going to be reading in 2018 because of the strength of Shippey’s advocacy. Shippey discusses most of the great SF writers: Heinlein, Asimov, Clarke, and Bradbury. But Shippey reserves his greatest praise for Jack Vance (my favorite SF writer!). If you’re interested in Science Fiction and want to learn more about SF and politics, or SF and culture Hard Reading provides intelligent essays that will delight and inform you. Plus, I really like the Gray Morrow cover on this book! GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
List of Figures ix
Note on References x
A Personal Preface xi

What SF Is
1 Coming Out of the Science Fiction Closet 3
‘Learning to Read Science Fiction’ 6
2 Rejecting Gesture Politics 24
‘Literary Gatekeepers and the Fabril Tradition’ 26
3 Getting Away from the Facilior Lectio 47
‘Semiotic Ghosts and Ghostlinesses in the Work of Bruce Sterling’ 50

SF and Change
4 Getting Serious with the Fans 67
‘Science Fiction and the Idea of History’ 70
5 Getting to Grips with the Issue of Cultures … 85
‘Cultural Engineering: A Theme in Science Fiction’ 89
6 … And Not Fudging the Issue! 103
‘“People are Plastic”: Jack Vance and t he Dilemma of Cultural Relativism’ 106
7 SF Authors Really Mean what they Say 121
‘Alternate Historians: Newt, Kingers, Harry and Me’ 124
8 A Revealing Failure by the Critics 141
‘Kingsley Amis’s Science Fiction and the Problems of
Genre’ 144
9 A Glimpse of Structuralist Possibility 160
‘The Golden Bough and the Incorporations of Magic in Science Fiction’ 163
10 Serious Issues, Serious Traumas, Emotional Depth 182
‘The Magic Art and the Evolution of Words: Ursula Le Guin’s “Earthsea” Trilogy’ 185

SF and Politics
11 A First Encounter with Politics 207
‘The Cold War in Science Fiction, 1940–1960’ 209
12 Language Corruption, and Rocking the Boat 229
‘Variations on Newspeak: The Open Question of Nineteen Eighty-Four’ 233
13 Just Before the Disaster 255
‘The Fall of America in Science Fiction’ 258
14 Why Politicians, and Producers, Should Read Science Fiction 274
‘The Critique of America in Contemporary Science Fiction’ 277
15 Saying (When Necessary) the Lamentable Word 293
‘Starship Troopers, Galactic Heroes, Mercenary Princes: The Military and its Discontents in Science Fiction’ 296
References 311
Index 321

I’m a big fan of Shelby Lynne and Allison Moorer so factor that into this review of their latest music CD, Not Dark Yet. This is an album of “covers.” There are plenty of cover CDs, but none have the range of this one. Lynne and Moorer sing “Not Dark Yet,” a Bob Dylan song that’s also title of their album. And “Silver Wings” sounds as good as Merle Haggard’s version with a little more sweetness. If you’re in the mood for some entertaining singing, Lynne and Moorer will delight your ears. Check out the sample below. GRADE: A-
TRACK LIST:
SONG TITLE–WRITER–FIRST PERFORMED BY–TIME
1. “My List” Brandon Flowers The Killers 2:53
2. “Every Time You Leave” C. Louvin, I. Louvin The Louvin Brothers 2:24
3. “Not Dark Yet” B. Dylan Bob Dylan 4:20
4. “I’m Looking For Blue Eyes” J. Colter Jessi Colter 2:58
5. “Lungs” T. Van Zandt Townes Van Zandt 2:55
6. “The Color of a Cloudy Day” J. Isbell, A. Shires Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires 4:04
7. “Silver Wings” M. Haggard Merle Haggard 2:35
8. “Into My Arms” Nick Cave Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds 4:48
9. “Lithium” Kurt Cobain Nirvana 5:39
10. “Is It Too Much” Allison Moorer, Shelby Lynne 4:47

Michelle Kuo decides to leave Harvard University and teach in a ghetto school in Arkansas. Her immigrant parents are appalled. They think Michelle is throwing away a promising career (and a lucrative one, too!) to pursue a fantasy. During her first year of teaching, Michelle starts to think her parents might have been right. The students are rude and disrespectful. They make fun of her. The books Michelle thought would capture their attention are ignored.

But things start to change in Michelle’s second year of teaching. She finds ways to engage the students. They finally realize Michelle is trying to help them. Michelle particularly tries to help a troubled student named Patrick. After two years of teaching, Michelle gives in to her parents’ pressure and goes to Harvard Law School. But, throughout her legal studies, Michelle tries to maintain her connection to the students she taught, especially Patrick. Patrick, in a violent incident, kills a man. He’s in prison awaiting trial. Michelle visits him and tries to provide books and materials to keep his brain active.

Reading With Patrick shows the limits of change. Despite Michelle Kuo’s best efforts, the culture and the upbringing doom many of her students. This is a moving true story that will stay with you long after you finish it. GRADE: B+
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction – xi
Part I:
Chapter – 1: A Raisin in the Sun 3
Chapter – 2: The Free Write 13
Chapter – 3: The Fire Next Time 42
Part II:
Chapter – 4: The Death of Ivan Ilyich 73
Part III:
Chapter – 5: Crime and Punishment 115
Chapter – 6: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe . 134
Chapter – 7: He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven 165
Chapter – 8: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass . 180
Chapter – 9: I Have Read Everything on This Paper (The Guilty Plea) 209
Chapter – 10: To Paula in Late Spring 231
Part IV:
Chapter – 11: Easter Morning 261
Author’s Note 283
Acknowledgements 289

Saoirse Ronan plays a High School Senior growing up in 2002. The story is set mostly in Sacramento, California where Ronan’s family lives “on the wrong side of the tracks.” They’re not exactly poor, but they’re living paycheck to paycheck. Ronan’s mother, played by Laurie Metcalf (who plays Sheldon’s mother on The Big Bang Theory), works double shifts as a nurse at a psychiatric hospital to keep her family afloat. Ronan’s character names herself “Lady Bird” not after LBJ’s wife but because she wants to soar. However, soaring is difficult because of the family’s problems–financial and personal. Lady Bird is a coming-of-age story, but it is also one of the best mother-daughter movies I’ve seen. Movies about teenagers sometimes go off the rails, but Lady Bird keeps the audience guessing as the plot unfolds. And Ronan’s character displays many flaws as she explores boys, sex, and friendship. Greta Gerwig wrote and directed Lady Bird. It’s one of the best movies of 2017. GRADE: A-

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Mark Regnerus argues that interpersonal relationships have been transformed by three technologies: the Pill, high-quality pornography, and online dating services. These factors, according to Regnerus, “slow the development of love, make fidelity more challenging, sexual malleability more common, and have even taken a toll on men’s marriageability.” With sex so cheap and easily available, men tend to behave badly. Marriage suffers. Long-term relationships suffer. Mark Regnerus reviews several large national surveys. He interviewed more than a 100 men and women for this book. Changes in dating patterns, sexual appetites, and sexual behaviors are all explored in this revealing book. If you wonder why dating and relationships and marriages are so difficult for your children and grandchildren, the answers are within these pages. GRADE: A
Acknowledgements ix
Chapter 1: Introduction 1
Chapter 2: Cheap Sex and the Modern Mating Market 22
Chapter 3: Cheaper, Faster, Better, More? Contemporary Sex in America 62
Chapter 4: The Cheapest Sex: Trends in Pornography Use and Masturbation 107
Chapter 5: The Transformation of Men, Marriage, and Monogamy 144
Chapter 6: The Genital Life 193
Appendix A: Regression Models 217
Notes 223
Index 257

With last Sunday’s surprising win over the Kansas City Chiefs, the Buffalo Bills moved to 6-5. But once again the Bills are 9-point underdogs to the 9-2 New England Patriots. The Patriots are on a 7-game win streak. Tom Brady is 28-4 against the Bills. The weather today will look more like October than December: 45 degrees and sunny. No snow. How will your favorite NFL team fare today?

Martin McDonagh wrote and directed Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. You might remember his other movie, In Bruges. Frances McDormand will get an Oscar nomination for her role as Mildred Hayes, an angry mother whose daughter was raped, murdered, and set on fire nearly a year ago. In order to get the Ebbing Police Department “motivated” Mildred puts up three billboards taunting Police Chief Willoughby, played by Woody Harrelson. Mildred is a polarizing figure in Ebbing. When Mildred’s dentist complains about her billboards, Mildred extracts her revenge. Office Jason Dixon, played by Sam Rockwell, comes off as a racist thug but morphs into something more. The story has more twists than a rattlesnake. Three Billboards is one of 2017’s best movies. Don’t miss it! GRADE: A-

Dashiell Hammett’s The Big Book of the Continental Op edited by Richard Layman and Julie M. Rivett collects all 28 Continental Op stories and both Continental Op novels. Rereading these wonderful stories shows how Hammett mastered his craft. The Continental Op is a canny detective with a hard-boiled edge. The stories range from crime in the streets to murder in High Places. Richard Layman and Julie M. Rivett provide insightful and informative introductions to the chronological order of these works. The Big Book of the Continental Op is a must-buy for all mystery fans. AMAZON is selling The Big Book of the Continental Op for a mere $16: a bargain! It doesn’t get much better than than this! GRADE: A+
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Forward: “Through Mud and Blood and Death and Deceit” by Julie M. Rivett ix
SECTION ONE: THE SUTTON YEARS
INTRODUCTION: THE SUTTON YEARS, 1923-1924 By Richard Layman 3
“Arson Plus” (Black Mask, Oct. 1, 1923) (as Peter Collinson) (CS). Suspecting insurance fraud, the Op investigates the burning of an isolated farmhouse and its reclusive inhabitant. 6
“Crooked Souls” (“The Gatewood Caper”) (Black Mask, Oct. 1, 1923) (BK) (CS). A bullying lumber baron has lost a daughter to kidnappers, but the Op isn’t convinced – of anything. 17
“Slippery Fingers” (Black Mask, 15 Oct. 1923) (as Peter Collinson) (CS). The Op and the police search for the owner of the fingerprints strewn over the scene of a gory murder. 27
“It” (“The Black Hat That Wasn’t There”) (Black Mask, Nov. 1, 1923). A reckless businessman plotted theft and elopement, then disappeared. The Op relocates him in a pitch-dark basement. 38
“Bodies Piled Up” (“The House Dick”) (Black Mask, December 1, 1923) (NT). Posing as a killer hunting a killer works too well as the Op gets caught in a crossfire. 47
“The Tenth Clew” (“The Tenth Clue”) (Black Mask, January 1, 1924) (CO) (CS) (RO). A rich man is killed with a typewriter and the Op gets dumped into San Francisco Bay. 56
“Night Shots” (Black Mask, February 1924) (NT). In a lonely country house, the Op investigates pot-shots aimed at a sick old scoundrel. 74
“Zigzags of Treachery” (Black Mask, March 1, 1924) (NT) (CS). When a prominent surgeon commits suicide and an unknown wife shows up, the Op and other agents follow suspect after suspect to untangle a decades-old conspiracy. 85
“One Hour” (Black Mask, April 1924) (NT) (RO). In a busy hour, a hit-and-run leads the Op to a print shop where he’s mobbed. 108
SECTION TWO: THE CODY YEARS
INTRODUCTION: THE CODY YEARS, 1924-1926 By Richard Layman 119
“The House in Turk Street” (Black Mask, April 15, 1924) (CO) (CS). Routine questions on a quiet street tumble the Op into a den of thieves. 122
“The Girl with Silver Eyes” (Black Mask, June 1924) (CO) (CS). Following on “Turk Street”, a dead poet leads the Op to a dark night’s shootout outside a rough-and-tumble roadhouse. 135
“Women, Politics and Murder” (“Death on Pine Street”) (Black Mask, September 1924) (NT) (CS). The Op shuttles between a hysterical wife and a dead-pan mistress, knowing both are liars, to learn who killed a city contractor. 161
“The Golden Horseshoe” (Black Mask, November 1924) (CO) (CS). The Op finds a hophead husband who ran away to Tijuana, but the wife he left behind turns up dead. 177
“Who Killed Bob Teal?” (True Detective Stories, November 1924) (NT). A fellow Continental detective was killed while shadowing a suspect, so the Op and a city cop retrace his steps. 202
“Mike, Alec or Rufus?” (“Tom, Dick or Harry”) (Black Mask, January 1925) (NT). The cops are stumped by a robber who ran into an apartment house and didn’t come out, but not the Op. 213
“The Whosis Kid” (Black Mask, March 1925) (CO) (CS) (RO). On a hunch, the Op trails a stick-up artist and worms his way into a “double-, triple- and septuple-cross.” 222
“The Scorched Face” (Black Mask, May 1925) (BK) (CS). Hunting two missing daughters, the Op uncovers a rash of debutante suicides and disappearances. 247
“Corkscrew” (Black Mask, September 1925) (BK). The Op is appointed Deputy Sheriff of Corkscrew, Arizona, where cowboys keep getting killed. 269
“Dead Yellow Women” (Black Mask, November 1925) (BK) (CS). The Op braves the dark alleys of Chinatown to learn why a seaside mansion was raided by Asian strangers. 301
The Gutting of Couffignal (Black Mask, December 1925) (BK) (CS) (RO). On a wealthy summer island, the Continental Op tries to thwart an invasion when the lights go off and machine guns fire up. 331
“Creeping Siamese” (Black Mask, March 1926) (CS). A man dies in the Continental office without revealing who knifed him. The Op connects the crime with the victim’s decade-old adventures in Asia. 350
SECTION THREE: THE SHAW YEARS
INTRODUCTION: THE SHAW YEARS, 1926-1930 By Richard Layman 361
“The Big Knock-Over” (Black Mask, February 1927) (BK) (CS). An army of imported gangsters raided two banks, and the Op dodges bullets and fists to find the mastermind. 364
“$106,000 Blood Money” (Black Mask, May 1927) (BK) (CS). In the aftermath of “The Big Knockover”, the Op hunts the double-crossing mastermind, as do “half the crooks in the country”. 396
“The Main Death” (Black Mask, June 1927) (CO) (CS). The Op ignores a suicide to get back $20,000 – at gun point. 419
“This King Business” (Mystery Stories, January 1928) (BK) (CS). Seeking a wayward son in the Balkan country of Muravia, the Op learns the boy is funding a kingly coup. 432
“Fly Paper” (Black Mask, August 1929) (BK) (CS). The Op finds a “wandering daughter” who liked rough “yeggs” and ended up dead. 443
The Farewell Murder” (Black Mask, February 1930) (CO) (CS). The Op struggles to prove a vendetta-bent sadist wasn’t nine hours away at the time of a grisly killing. 483
“Death and Company” (Black Mask, November 1930) (RO). Kidnappers collect ransom money from under the noses of the police, then kill their hostage. Death catches the culprit before the Op can. 504
BONUS: THE UNFINISHED OP
COMMENTARY By Julie M. Rivett 513
“Three Dimes” 514
SECTION FOUR: THE CONTINENTAL OP NOVELS
INTRODUCTION: THE CLEANSING OF POISONVILLE By Richard Layman 523
“The Cleansing of Poisonville” (Black Mask, November 1927). Summoned to “Poisonville”, the Op finds his client was murdered. The dead man’s father rules the town, so the Op strikes a deal to clean up the town “with a free hand”. Dodging double-crossing cops and crooks, he exposes the murderer. And refuses to call off the “cleansing”. 527
“Crime Wanted – Male or Female” (Black Mask, December 1927). Stirring up trouble, the Op un-fixes a fight and investigates a year-old “suicide” of the police chief’s brother, just as someone dynamites the City Hall holding cells. “Poisonville was beginning to boil out under the lid.” 555
“Dynamite” (Black Mask, January 1928). A raid on a bootlegger’s roadhouse makes the cops miss a bank robbery. As the mob ruling “Poisonville” gathers for a “peace conference”, the Op tosses “dynamite” that exposes multiple frame-ups and shatters the partnership. 579
“The 19th Murder” (Black Mask, February 1928). Getting “blood simple as the natives”, the Op wakes to find he may have ice-picked his female informer, so runs from the law while steering the mobs into a final battle for control of “Poisonville”. 599
INTRODUCTION : THE DAIN CURSERichard Layman 629
“Black Lives” (Black Mask, November 1928) 631
“The Hollow Temple” (Black Mask, December 1928) 657
“Black Honeymoon” (Black Mask, January 1929) 683
“Black Riddle” (Black Mask, February 1929) 707
ABOUT THE EDITORS 735
PERMISSIONS 737

If you’re a fan of 1990s technopop dance music, you’re probably familiar with La Bouche, an American duo based in Germany. Melanie Thornton and rapper Lane McCray produced a scintillating CD with Sweet Dreams in 1995. The group would go on to release two more dance music CDs, but neither one is as good as Sweat Dreams. Around 2000, Melanie Thornton embarked on a solo career. On November 24, 2001 Melanie Thornton died in a plane crash outside of Zurich. Such a sad fate for such a talented singer! Sweet dreams, Melanie. GRADE: A
TRACK LIST:
1 –La Bouche Be My Lover
Producer – FMP
Written-By – G.A. Saraf*, L. McCray*, M. Thornton*, A. Brenner* 3:58
2 –La Bouche Sweet Dreams
Producer – Brenner/Saraf*, FMP
Written-By – G.A. Saraf*, M. Sönmez*, M. Thornton*, R. Haynes* 3:23
3 –La Bouche Fallin’ In Love
Producer – FMP
Written-By – Ann Marie Hamilton, Dan Hamilton* 3:30
4 –La Bouche Where Do You Go
Producer – FMP
Written-By – G. Mart, J. Walls*, Bischof-Fallenstein* 4:08
5 –La Bouche I’ll Be There
Backing Vocals – Freda Goodlett, Joan Faulkner, Linda Rocco
Producer – Brenner/Saraf*, FMP
Written-By – I. Klarmann-F.Weber* 4:10
6 –La Bouche Do You Still Need Me
Producer – FMP
Written-By – D. Kawohl*, G. Mart, M. Applegate* 3:35
7 –La Bouche I Love To Love
Producer – Brenner/Saraf*
Written-By – G.A. Saraf*, L. McCray*, A. Brenner* 3:59
8 –La Bouche The Heat Is On
Producer – FMP
Written-By – G. Mart, Bischof-Fallenstein* 3:42
9 –La Bouche Poetry In Motion
Backing Vocals – Freda Goodlett, Joan Faulkner, Linda Rocco
Producer – FMP
Written-By – G. Mart, M. Applegate* 3:40
10 –La Bouche Shoo Bee Do Bee Do (I Like It That Way)
Producer – FMP
Written-By – G. Mart, J. Walls*, Bischof-Fallenstein* . 3:58
11 –La Bouche Nice ‘N’ Slow
Producer – Brenner/Saraf*, FMP
Written-By – G.A. Saraf*, L. McCray*, M. Thornton*, A. Brenner* 3:58
12 –La Bouche Fallin’ In Love (Spike Mix)
Engineer – Vaughn Merrick*
Keyboards, Programmed By – Kazuhiko Gomi
Producer – FMP
Remix, Producer [Additional Production] – Darrin Friedman
Written-By – Ann Marie Hamilton, Dan Hamilton* 4:15
13 –La Bouche Be My Lover (House Mix)
Producer – Brenner/Saraf*, FMP
Written-By – G.A. Saraf*, L. McCray*, M. Thornton*, A. Brenner* 3:56
14 –Le Click Tonight Is The Night
Lead Vocals – Melanie Thornton
Producer – Brenner/Saraf*
Vocals [Ragga] – Michael Romero*
Written-By – G.A. Saraf*, M. Thornton*, M. Romeo*, A. Brenner* 3:53