I am a big fan of Adele’s previous CDs--19 and 21–so it came as shock to find her new CD, 25, is a dud. “Hello” dominates the local pop music radio stations. 25 is the the biggest selling album in the U.S. right now. But for all of that, there just isn’t much worth listening to on this album. Part of the problem may be that Adela and an army of “partners” wrote all the songs on this disc. Maybe recording some stronger songs would have made this a much better listening experience. Even the BONUS TRACKS are weak. Not worth the extra money I spent. I love Adele and her powerful voice, but 25 sucks. GRADE: C
TRACK LIST:
Hello
Send My Love (To Your New Lover)
I Miss You
When We Were Young
Remedy
Water Under The Bridge
River Lea
Love In The Dark
Million Years Ago
All I Ask
Sweetest Devotion
BONUS TRACKS:
“Can’t Let Go”
“Lay Me Down”
“Why Do You Love Me”

No, this is not one of Max Allan Collins’ Quarry novels. This is a science fiction and private eye mashup tale. Rick Robinson reviewed a John E. Stith novel here. As I result, I picked up Deep Quarry to give it a try. ACE Books published Deep Quarry in 1989. A private eye on an alien planet is hired to look into thefts at an archaeological dig sight. The theft of 10,000 year old antiques is just the tip of the iceberg in a surprising plot. If you’re interested in some off-beat detection, Deep Quarry just might be your cup of tea.

I’m a big fan of Gertrude Himmelfarb who specializes in writing about the Victorian era. This new edition of The Moral Imagination features insightful essays on George Eliot, John Stuart Mill, Lord Acton, Charles Darwin, and others. I find Himmelfarb’s essays clear and concise. Her writing style is lucid. And Himmelfarb puts the ideas she discusses in these essays in historical context. You’re not going to read better historical essays than these gems! Highly recommended! GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction
Adam Smith:Political Economist cum Moral Philosopher
Edmund Burke: Apologist for Judaism?
George Eliot: The Wisdom of Dorothea
Jane Austen: The Education of Emma
Charles Dickens: “A Low Writer”
Benjamin Disraeli: The Tory Imagination
John Stuart Mill: The Other Mill
Walter Bagehot: “A Divided Nature”
Lord Acton: The Historian as Moralist
Alfred Marshall: “The Economics of Chivalry”
John Buchan: An Untimely Appreciation
The Knoxes: A God-Haunted Family
Michael Oakeshott: The Conservative Disposition
Winston Churchill: “Quite Simply, a Great Man”
Lionel Trilling: The Moral Imagination
Notes
Index

Spotlight is the best movie I’ve seen in 2015. It’s almost as good as the best journalism movie ever: All the President’s Men. Based on a true story, Spotlight tells the story of a Boston Globe investigative team who starts looking into what was to become one of the most shocking newspaper series of the past 20 years. What the team uncovered in 2001 about pedophile priests is still having seismic effects around the world. Michael Keaton plays Robby Robinson, the Spotlight team leader. John Slattery is Ben Bradlee, Jr. who remains skeptical about the project until almost the end. Rachel McAdams as Sacha Pfeiffer leads the team in personal interviews with victims. I loved Mark Ruffalo as Michael Rezendes, an emotional reporter who becomes obsessed with the investigation into the conspiracy. I’m not a big Liev Schrieber fan, but he’s powerful in Spotlight as Marty Baron, the Globe’s new Jewish editor-in-chief who refuses to play it safe. Spotlight will be a contender for Best Film at Oscar time. GRADE: A

For that P.G. Wodehouse fan on your holiday buying list, here’s The Complete P.G. Wodehouse series (99 volumes!) from Overlook Press. It’s only $1,378. I own a couple dozen of these Overlook Press books. When BORDERS was going out of business, I loaded up on these wonderful novels that were selling for pennies on the dollar. Part of me would like to buy this set just to support Overlook Press for this wonderful project! But, of course, I suspect Diane would find spending over a thousand dollars on a set books I already own many of (in Penguin editions mostly) a dubious enterprise. But, I’m sure there are Wodehouse fans who are rejoicing to see these books back in print and available to a new audience. If you want to know more about these books, just click Overlook Press.

The Buffalo Bills play the New England Patriots tomorrow night on Monday Night Football but I figured I’d put up the graphic today. The Bills are underdogs to the undefeated Patriots. In their Week Two meeting at Ralph Wilson Stadium, Tom Brady threw for 466 yards in a 40-32 win. I don’t expect the score of tomorrow night’s game to be high but I suspect the result will be the same. How is your favorite NFL team going to do today?

I’ll watch anything with Jennifer Lawence in it, but Mockingjay, Part Two tested my limits. Yes, the action scenes are exciting (like in Spectre) but in between those action scenes there’s a lot of emoting and “heart-felt” conversations. The third book in the Hunger Games series was my least favorite. And this movie is my least favorite of the series. Too many boring scenes slow the movie to a crawl at times. GRADE: C+

The murder in Hercule Poirot’s Christmas (aka, A Holiday for Murder and Murder for Christmas) happens on Christmas Eve in a locked room. The mystery was first published in 1938 in England and Dodd, Mead published it in the U. S. in 1939. Christie was at the height of her powers and this puzzle is clever. A wealthy, dying man calls his sons and their wives together for a “holiday” party. But when the father announces he’s going to change his Will, multiple motives spring up. When the body is found, Hercule Poirot investigates and finds a tangled web of lies. Herclule Poirot’s Christmas is one of the best Poirots I’ve read. If you’re looking for a dandy holiday mystery, you’ll find it here.

The latest book in Akashic Books’ “City Noir” series is Buffalo Noir. Lawrence Block grew up in Buffalo and Joyce Carol Oates grew up nearby so you’re getting stories by writers who really know the area. I’ve enjoyed previous volumes in this series and recommend you check them out. If you’re a fan of Noir writing, you’ll find plenty to enjoy here. And you’ll learn that there’s more to Buffalo than just massive amounts of snow and the Buffalo Bills. GRADE: B+
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction
PART I: BUFFALO UNVEILED
“Dr. Kirkbride’s Moral Treatment Plan” by Christina Milletti
“It’s Only for Forever” by Tom Fontana
“The Ehrengraf Settlement” by Lawrence Block
“The Bubble Man of Allentown” by Dimitri Anastasopoulos
PART II: HEARTS AND MINDS
“Falling on Ice” by Lissa Marie Redmond
“Parkside” by S. J. Rosan
“Chicken Noodle’s Night Out” by John Wray & Brooke Costello
“Peace Bridge” by Connie Porter
PART THREE: BLOODLINES
“Valentine” by Joyce Carol Oates
“The Odd” by Ed Park
“Good Neighbors” by Gary Earl Ross
“Hand” by Kim Chinquee
About the Contributors