Ed Gorman once mentioned to me that he was reading Harry Whittington and really enjoying his writing. But Ed admitted didn’t have any of Whittington’s westerns. The next day, I shipped a dozen duplicates of Harry Whittington’s western paperbacks to Ed Gorman’s address. Ed was delighted by the Whittington package and bestowed on me a “Lifetime” subscription to Myestery Scene. That’s the kind of guy Ed Gorman was. I’m sure on “Ed Gorman Day” you’ll read a lot of stories like this one featuring Ed’s generosity and helpfulness. He was a class guy, an excellent writer, and an inspiration to many.

A Man Called Ove is based on a worldwide bestseller by Fredrik Backman about a curmudgeon who feels his life is empty after the death of his wife. There’s a running joke in the book and film about Ove and his lack of success in this matter (no spoiler). Ove is played by Rolf Lassgård who played Wallander in the Swedish version of Hemming kelton’s mystery series. Ida Engvoll plays Ove’s wonderful wife, Sonja. In a series of flashbacks, we discover Ove has been dogged by tragedy. Yet, when a new family moves in next door, things begin to change. The arrival of new neighbors Parvaneh (Bahar Pars), her husband Patrik (Tobias Almborg), and their two daughters alters Ove’s plans and the gloom begins to lift. It takes a crafty movie and book to both make you laugh and make you cry. A Man Called Ove manages to achieve both. GRADE: A-

Just a few short weeks ago, the Bills defeated the Patriots 16-0. But now Tom Brady is back and the Patriots yearn for payback. The Bills are still reeling from the 28-25 lost in Miami last Sunday. The weather tomorrow should be full of wind and rain. LeSean McCoy, the Bills best player, is unlikely to see action because of a sore hamstring. Things do not look promising for the Bills. How will your favorite NFL team fare today?

Like the previous Dan Brown novels and previous movies starring Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon, intrepid Harvard professor, Inferno presents a number of puzzles that lead to more puzzles. Tom Hanks wakes up in a hospital with amnesia. Before too long, Hanks is being shot at and hunted. Following the template of the previous hit movies and best selling books, Inferno resembles a series of chase scenes. I love Sidse Babett Knudsen as Director of the World Health Organization. She starred in the Danish political drama, BORGON. Irrfan Khan steals every scene he’s in. And, who doesn’t like Felicity Jones? Sure, the plot doesn’t make a lot of sense and one reviewer has written “In one month Tom Hanks has gone from Sully to silly.” But if you’re in the mood to look at great Italian artwork and watch people running around, Inferno has plenty of that. GRADE: B-

In his excellent Introduction to Cornered!/The Long Ride, Bill Crider draws the parallels between John D. MacDonald and James McKimmey. Both writers knew how to generate suspense and narrative tension. I read Cornered! in the late 1960s when I lucked out with big paperback buy of a used bookstore in Buffalo that was closing (soon to be a common though tragic event). Reading my first James McKimmey novel and loving it led me to searching for more. I found The Long Ride in a used bookstore in Madison, Wisconsin. I dropped everything and read The Long Ride in one sitting. The cinematic aspects of McKimmey’s novels that Bill refers to are very evident in The Long Ride. If you’re looking for top-notch suspense, this wonderful STARK HOUSE double-feature has exactly what you crave. GRADE: A

I bought this 2-CD set at a Library Sale for a dollar. Great music! Whoever assembled this collection of 40 Motown hits cleverly included both the Gladys Knight & The Pips and the Marvin Gaye versions of “I Heard It Through the Grapevine.” I give the edge to Marvin Gaye, but I love both versions. “Do You Love Me” by The Contours is another one of my favorites that I didn’t have on any of my other Motown anthologies. Are any of your Motown favorites on these CD? GRADE: A
TRACK LIST:
DISC ONE:
1 Money (That’s What I Want) (Single Version / Mono) by Barrett Strong 2:36
2 Shop Around (Single Version / Mono) by The Miracles 2:48  
3 Please Mr. Postman (Single Version) by The Marvelettes 2:28  
4 Do You Love Me by The Contours 2:52  
5 You Beat Me To The Punch (Single Version / Mono) by Mary Wells 2:43  
6 Fingertips, Part 2 (Live At The Regal Theater/1963/ Single Version) by Stevie Wonder 3:10
7 (Love Is Like A) Heat Wave (Single Version) by Martha Reeves & The Vandellas 2:43  
8 My Guy (Single Version) by Mary Wells 2:51  
9 Where Did Our Love Go (Stereo Version) by The Supremes 2:29  
10 Dancing In The Street by Martha Reeves & The Vandellas 2:37  
11 How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) (Single Version (Mono)) by Marvin Gaye 2:58  
12 My Girl (Single Version) by The Temptations 2:55  
13 Shotgun by Jr. Walker And The All Stars 3:04  
14 Stop! In The Name Of Love by The Supremes 2:53  
15 I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch) by The Four Tops 2:43  
16 The Tracks Of My Tears (Single Version / Mono) by Smokey Robinson 2:55  
17 Uptight (Everything’s Alright) by Stevie Wonder 2:52  
18 Going To A Go-Go (Album Version / Stereo) by Smokey Robinson 2:45
19 Ain’t Too Proud To Beg by The Temptations 2:31  
20 What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted by Jimmy Ruffin 2:59
DISC TWO: 
1 You Can’t Hurry Love by The Supremes 2:45  
2 Reach Out, I’ll Be There by The Four Tops 3:00  
3 Jimmy Mack by Martha & The Vandellas 2:52
4 Your Precious Love (Stereo Version) by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell 3:02  
5 I Heard It Through The Grapevine (Single Version) by Gladys Knight & The Pips 2:45  
6 I Heard It Through The Grapevine by Marvin Gaye 3:14  
7 My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me) by David Ruffin 3:28  
8 I Can’t Get Next To You (Single Version / Mono) by The Temptations 2:51  
9 I Want You Back by Jackson 5 2:59  
10 Someday We’ll Be Together by Diana Ross & The Supremes 3:32  
11 Up The Ladder To The Roof (Single Version) by The Supremes 3:11  
12 Ball Of Confusion (That’s What The World Is Today) (Single Version / Mono) by The Temptations 4:04  
13 Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours) by Stevie Wonder 2:38
14 It’s A Shame by Spinners 3:07  
15 War (Single Version) by Edwin Starr 3:19
16 The Tears Of A Clown (Album Version / Mono) by Smokey Robinson 3:00
17 What’s Going On (Single Version / Stereo) by Marvin Gaye 3:51  
18 Smiling Faces Sometimes (Album Version) by The Undisputed Truth 3:16  
19 Papa Was A Rolling Stone (Single Version) by The Temptations 6:58  
20 Neither One Of Us (Wants To Be The First To Say Goodbye) by Gladys Knight & The Pips 4:20

Katie gets bogged down in Massachusetts!

Last week I reviewed the chess movie, Queen of Katwe.. Roy Hovey commented that he liked another chess movie, Queen to Play (2011), a French movie starring Kevin Kline and Sandrine Bonnaire. I hadn’t seen (or heard of) Queen to Play so I tracked down a copy and watched it. Sandrine Bonnaire plays a cleaning lady whose life is mundane. One day, she watches one of the guests at the hotel where she works play chess with her lover. Suddenly, Bonnaire finds herself obsessed with chess. Bonnaire also cleans the house of a reclusive scholar played by Kevin Kline. Kline is grumpy and distant. Bonnaire manages to convince Kevin Kline into playing chess with her. And, before too long, Bonnaire is beating Kevin Kline at chess. There’s the inevitable Chess Tournament. And, predictable as the plot is, Sandrine Bonnaire manages to liven up every scene she’s in. Well worth a look! GRADE: B+

Charles Sykes makes his case that today’s College Experience is too expensive and, for many students, a waste of time. He shows how many students end up with huge College debts after four short years of sometimes dubious education. I’ve spoken about this subject several times. My College is an “Open Admissions” school which means there is no filter: anyone with a pulse and a tuition check (or loan money) is accepted. Many of these students end up taking the Algebra, Biology, and English classes they should have taken in High School. Fail U exposes the myth that a College Education leads to high paying jobs and a successful career. Too often, students graduate to find their degree doesn’t lead to a job at all. But before too long, those same students need to start paying back their student loans. Fail U explores the flaws in our College system and warns future students and parents of potential downfalls in their Higher Education plans. GRADE: B+
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Acknowledgments
PART I: I TOLD YOU SO
Introduction: Scenes from a Graduation
1. Bursting the College Bubble
2. Deja Vu: ProfScam Twenty-Eight Years Later
PART II: THE COLLEGE BUBBLE
3. The (Escalating) Flight from Teaching
4. The Reality of Academic Research
5. What Do Students Learn (and Does Anybody Care?)
6. The College for All Delusion
PART III: BLOAT
7. Our Bloated Colleges
8. Academia’s Edifice Bloat
PART IV: JUNK SCHOLARSHIP, HOAXES, AND SCANDALS
9. Does the Emperor Have Any Clothes?
10. A Scandal Reconsidered
PART V: VICTIM U (TRIGGER WARNING)
11. Grievance U
12. Rape U
PART VI: IS THIS TIME DIFFERENT?
13. Time for a Bailout?
14. Netflix U
15. Smaller, Fewer, Less
Notes
Index