After reading all the articles, book reviews, movie reviews, and essays in There Is Simply Too Much to Think About: Collected Non-Fiction I never got the sense that Bellow was enjoying himself writing this stuff. Even the Nobel Prize lecture is dull. There’s just too much “going through the motions” in much of this work. I found out that Bellow’s favorite American writer is Theodore Dreiser. And Bellow once roomed with Ralph Ellison.

Arranged chronologically, the pieces in this collection show the range of interests Bellow is willing to write about. He has mixed feelings about Philip Roth but doesn’t have much to say about other contemporary writers. The only time Bellow shows some emotion is when Gunter Grass attacks him for not being more political. GRADE: B
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
THE FIFTIES AND BEFORE
Spanish Letter
Illinois Journey
The University as Villian
The Sharp Edge of Life
Laughter in the Ghetto:On Sholom Aleichem
Dreiser and the Triumph of Art
Hemingway and the Image of Man
Man Underground: On Ralph Ellison
The 1,001 Afternoons of Ben Hecht
The Swamp of Prosperity: On Philip Roth
The Writer and the Audience
Distractions of a Fiction Writer
Deep Readers of the World, Beware!
A Talk with the Yellow Kid
THE SIXTIES
The Sealed Treasure
On Jewish Storytelling
Up From the Pushcart: On Abraham Cahan
Where Do We Go From Here? The Future of Fiction
At the Movies
On Shakespeare’s Sonnets
The Writer As a Moralist
Beatrice Webb’s America
Recent Fiction: A Tour of Inspection
Barefoot Boy: On Yevgeny Yevtushenko
My Man Bummidge
The Thinking Man’s Waste Land
Cloister Culture
Israel: The Six-Day War
Skepticism and the Depth of Life
THE SEVENTIES
On America: Remarks at the U.S. Cultural Center in Tel Aviv
New York: World-Famous Impossibility
Machines and Storybooks: Literature in the Age of Technology
A World Too Much With Us
An Interview with Myself
The Nobel Lecture
Americans Who Are Also Jews: Upon Receiving the Democratic Legacy Award of the Anti-Defamation League
The Day They Signed the Treaty
THE EIGHTIES
In the Days of Mr Roosevelt
Reflections on Alexis de Tocqueville: A Seminar at the University of Chicago
My Paris
Foreword to The Revolt of the Masses by José Ortega y Gasset
The Civilized Barbarian Reader
A Jewish Writer in America: A Lecture
Chicago: The City That Was, the City That Is
THE NINETIES AND AFTER
There Is Simply Too Much to Think About
Writers, Intellectual, Politics: Mainly Reminiscence
Papuans and Zulus
Alone in Mixed Company
Ralph Ellison in Tivoli
Literature: The Next Chapter
Wit Irony Fun Games
Vermont: The Good Place
Winter in Tuscany
Before I Go Away: A Words and Images Interview with Norman Manea
“I Got a Scheme!”: With Philip Roth

Coda: Why Not?

Acknowledgments and Editors Note

Index

I missed this Guy Ritchie movie back in 2000 but now it’s on Blu-ray and well worth a look. Brad Pitt plays a gypsy boxer. He leads boxing promoter Jason Statham into trouble with a gangster played by Alan Ford. In addition to the boxing plot, Benicio del Toro pulls off a jewel heist and has an 84-carat diamond with him. And, of course, everyone wants the diamond: ex-KGB Boris (Rade Šerbedžija), American gangster “Avi” (Dennis Farina), bounty hunter Bullet-Tooth Tony (Vinnie Jones), and a trio of black toughs. If you’re a fan of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels you’ll enjoy this equally wacky crime film. GRADE: B+

It’s funny how quickly five years can go by. Five years ago, I had a colonoscopy but it seems just like yesterday. By the time you read these words, I’ll be under Happy Drugs. Diane will drive me home and I’ll be sleeping off the Versed. If you haven’t read Dave Barry hilarious story of his colonoscopy, you can enjoy it here. Is it time for your colonoscopy?

Sir Ian McKellen plays an aging Sherlock Holmes determined to solve his last case before his memory fails, Laura Linney plays anxious housekeeper Mrs. Munro, a widow concerned about the future she and her young son face. Milo Parker plays her precocious son, Roger. The 93-year-old Sherlock Holmes struggles to recall the details of his final case, to fit the clues together, all the while his mind begins to deteriorate. McKellen is convincing as the aging Holmes. Laura Linney shows how strong a widow can be. And Milo Parker steals just about every scene he’s in. I found this film moving. GRADE: B+

When I was a kid, I bought the first issue of The Fantastic Four on the news stand. It was 1961 and I was 12 years old. Six years later, while I was at Summer Camp, my Mom threw out all of my comic books while “cleaning” my room while I was gone. Years later, I would show my mother the appreciated prices of the comic books she threw out and say, “Mom, I could have bought you a new house.”

As a result, I have a fondness for The Fantastic Four despite the previous weak movie versions. This newest incarnation of The Fantastic Four features a much younger cast and a new origin story. Reed Richards (played by Miles Teller) discovers a way to “teleport” to another dimension. When Richards, with his friend Ben Grimm (Jamie Bell), Johnny Storm (Michael B. Jordan), and Victor von Doom (Toby Kebbell) actually visit this new dimension, a weird energy transforms them and gives them different powers. Richards becomes elastic, Johnny Storm can fly and throw fireballs, Grimm becomes the rock-hard Thing. And Susan Storm (Kate Mara), also affected by the alien energy, becomes the Invisible Girl. Yes, this is all very strange, but this team of altered teenagers find themselves faced with a threat that could destroy the Earth! If you like this sort of movie, you’ll be entertained. GRADE: B

This compilation from 1988 features the women characters from the classic Ed McBain (aka, Evan Hunter) 87th Precinct series. The selections span the series from 1956’s Cop Hater to 1984’s Lightening. The book starts out, as it should, with a section on Teddy Carella. She’s the deaf-mute wife of Detective Steve Carella. Teddy plays a role in several of the 87th Precinct novels. The next section is on Claire Townsend, the beautiful fiancee of Detective Bert Kling. Her story in Lady, Lady, I Did It (1961) haunted me for years. Cindy Forrest, another girl Friend of Bert Kling, is a student who is studying for a degree in psychology. Her insights in Shotgun, Ten Plus One, and Fuzz impact the plots. Augusta Blair, a gorgeous super-model, marries Bert Kling but their relationship soon turns rocky. Finally, Officer Eileen Burke specializes as a decoy to catch rapists starting in The Mugger (1968) through Lightning (1984). McBain’s Ladies shows that the 87th Precinct from the beginning had strong women characters, a trend that continued to the end of the series.

Trump, Bush, Walker, Rubio, Huckabee, Cruz, Paul, Christie, Carson, and Kasich: these are 12 Republican candidates invited to debate on FOX tonight. “Experts” claim this debate will be the highest rated program ever on the FOX Network. However, I’d like to present a dissenting opinion. I think this event could turn out to resemble your cranky uncle and his friends sitting around and complaining about Obama and Hillary. How many people tuning in can take two hours of that? I’ll be watching, but I’ll have a book in my lap. Will you be watching this Republican Debate? What do you expect will happen?

Alexandra Watkins’ slim little book contains a wealth of information. Watkins worked for ad giant Olilvy & Mather for five years before she started her own product naming company. She’s named products for Proctor & Gamble, Disney, Microsoft, and Wrigley. Coming up with a good name for a product is a key to success. I thought I’d share this book because many of you are writers and coming up with a great title for a mystery or short story parallels the process of coming up with a good product name. The same principles apply. If you want to learn a practical approach to coming up with great names (and avoiding Bad Names) Hello, My Name is Awesome delivers. GRADE: A

Like the Funk Brothers, The Wrecking Crew was the studio group that produced the great music behind the artists. This DVD documentary shows how this super group produced the sound for a dozen groups and singers during the 1960s and 1970s. If you’re a fan of music from this era, you’ll find these stories fascinating. Check out the partial list of the songs The Wrecking Crew played on below. And, check out the trailer below, too.
Selection of Wrecking Crew Hit Recordings

“The Lonely Bull” Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass 1962
“Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” Bob B. Soxx and the Blue Jeans 1962
“He’s a Rebel” The Crystals 1962
“Surfer Girl” The Beach Boys 1963
“Surfin’ USA” The Beach Boys 1963
“Da Doo Ron Ron (When He Walked Me Home)” The Crystals 1963
“Surf City” Jan and Dean 1963
“Be My Baby” The Ronettes 1963
“I Get Around” The Beach Boys 1964
“Dead Man’s Curve” Jan and Dean 1964
“Little Old Lady (from Pasadena)” Jan and Dean 1964
“You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin'” The Righteous Brothers 1964
“Mountain of Love” Johnny Rivers 1964
“Help Me, Rhonda” The Beach Boys 1965
“Mr. Tambourine Man” The Byrds 1965
“This Diamond Ring” Gary Lewis and the Playboys 1965
“California Dreamin'” The Mamas & the Papas 1965
“Eve of Destruction” Barry McGuire 1965
“I Got You Babe” Sonny & Cher 1965
“Good Vibrations” The Beach Boys 1966
“Poor Side of Town” Johnny Rivers 1966
“Monday Monday” The Mamas & the Papas 1966
“(You’re My) Soul and Inspiration” The Righteous Brothers 1966
“I Am a Rock” Simon & Garfunkel 1966
“Strangers in the Night” Frank Sinatra 1966
“These Boots Are Made for Walkin'” Nancy Sinatra 1966
“Never My Love” The Association 1967
“Up, Up and Away” The 5th Dimension 1967
“San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)” Scott McKenzie 1967
“Woman, Woman” Gary Puckett and the Union Gap 1967
“Him or Me (What’s It Gonna Be)” Paul Revere & the Raiders 1967
“The Beat Goes On” Sonny & Cher 1967
“Wichita Lineman” Glen Campbell 1968
“Midnight Confessions” The Grass Roots 1968
“MacArthur Park” Richard Harris 1968
“Mrs. Robinson” Simon & Garfunkel 1968
“Valleri” The Monkees 1968
“Young Girl” Gary Puckett and the Union Gap 1968
“Classical Gas” Mason Williams 1968
“Galveston” Glen Campbell 1969
“Holly Holy” Neil Diamond 1969
“Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” The 5th Dimension 1969
“Dizzy” Tommy Roe 1969
“The Boxer” Simon & Garfunkel 1969
“(They Long to Be) Close to You” The Carpenters 1970
“Cracklin’ Rosie” Neil Diamond 1970
“Arizona” Mark Lindsay 1970
“I Think I Love You” The Partridge Family 1970
“Bridge Over Troubled Water” Simon & Garfunkel 1970
“Rainy Days and Mondays” The Carpenters 1971
“Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves” Cher 1971
“Sooner or Later” The Grass Roots 1971
“Don’t Pull Your Love” Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds 1971
“Indian Reservation” Raiders 1971
“Hurting Each Other” The Carpenters 1972
“(Last Night) I Didn’t Get to Sleep at All” The 5th Dimension 1972
“It Never Rains in Southern California” Albert Hammond 1972
“Rockin’ Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu” Johnny Rivers 1972
“Mother and Child Reunion” Paul Simon 1972
“Yesterday Once More” The Carpenters 1973
“Half-Breed” Cher 1973
“All I Know” Art Garfunkel 1973
“The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia” Vicki Lawrence 1973
“Chevy Van” Sammy Johns 1974
“The Way We Were” Barbra Streisand 1974
“Rhinestone Cowboy” Glen Campbell 1975
“Love Will Keep Us Together” Captain & Tennille 1975

I enjoy genre blending when it’s done well. D. B. Jackson (the pseudonym of David B. Coe who has a Ph.D. in History) sets his mystery in pre-Revolutionary War Boston in 1765. His hero, a thieftaker called Ethan Kaille, is a “conjurer.” He can cast spells. When a wealthy man’s daughter is murdered, Ethan is hired to find her killer. So Thieftaker is an historical urban fantasy. I enjoyed Jackson’s portrayal of Boston as a quaint village with dark secrets. I also enjoyed historical characters like Samuel Adams showing up to move the plot along. If you’re looking for something a little different, you might consider Thieftaker. There are three more volumes in “The Thieftaker Chronicles” series. I’ll be reviewing them soon. GRADE: B