I’ve been reading the Best American Essays series since it started in 1986. This 2012 edition features some excellent essays. My favorite is Marcia Angell’s brilliant “The Crazy State of Psychiatry” which exposes the drug-culture luring in our mental health system. Ten percent of Americans over the age of six are on anti-depressants. And Angell’s analysis shows many psychotropic drugs increase rather than reduce mental problems. Scary stuff! I also enjoyed Geoffrey Bent’s “Edward Hopper and the Geometry of Despair.” I wanted to drop everything and look at some Hopper paintings. Joseph Epstein’s “Duh, Boring” was a fun read. Malcolm Gladwell’s “Creation Myth” about the inventor of the laser printer fascinated me. David Brooks did a fine job selecting these top-notch essays. GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Foreword: Of Topics by Robert Atwan

Introduction by David Brooks

BENJAMIN ANASTAS. The Foul Reign of “Self-Reliance”
from The New York Times Magazine

MARCIA ANGELL. The Crazy State of Psychiatry
from The New York Review of Books

MIAH ARNOLD. You Owe Me
from Michigan Quarterly Review

GEOFFREY BENT. Edward Hopper and the Geometry of Despair
from Boulevard

ROBERT BOYERS. A Beauty
from Agni

DUDLEY CLENDINEN. The Good Short Life
from The New York Times Sunday Review

PAUL COLLINS. Vanishing Act
from Lapham’s Quarterly

MARK DOTY. Insatiable
from Granta

MARK EDMUNDSON. Who Are You and What Are You Doing Here?
from The Oxford American

JOSEPH EPSTEIN. Duh, Bor-ing
from Commentary

JONATHAN FRANZEN. Farther Away
from The New Yorker

MALCOLM GLADWELL. Creation Myth
from The New Yorker

PETER HESSLER. Dr. Don
from The New Yorker

EWA HRYNIEWICZ-YARBROUGH. Objects of Affection
from Ploughshares

GARRET KEIZER. Getting Schooled
from Harper’s Magazine

DAVID J. LAWLESS. My Father/My Husband
from Prism

ALAN LIGHTMAN. The Accidental Universe
from Harper’s Magazine

SANDRA TSING LOH. The Bitch Is Back
from The Atlantic

KEN MURRAY. How Doctors Die
from Zocalo Public Square

FRANCINE PROSE. Other Women
from Granta

RICHARD SENNETT. Humanism
from The Hedgehog Review

LAUREN SLATER. Killing My Body to Save My Mind
from Elle

JOSE ANTONIO VARGAS. Outlaw
from The New York Times Magazine

WESLEY YANG. Paper Tigers
from New York Magazine

Rick Robinson and a dozen other folks have recommended Agatha H to me. The series is steam-punkish. Agatha H is a “Spark,” a genius who can create amazing technology. But as the series starts, Agatha’s genius has been mysteriously hobbled. A series of unlikely events unshackles her powers and many exciting adventures result. Night Shade Books has published two prose episodes of Agatha H and TOR has published an omnibus edition of the first three graphic novels (there are 11 graphic novels so far). If you’re in the mood for a feisty female Tom Swift adventure, try Agatha H. Plenty of fun! GRADE: B+

Okay, I confess, watching Smash qualifies as a Guilty Pleasure. Smash tells the story of how a potential Broadway play is developed. The play is a musical called Bombshell which presents the life of Marilyn Monroe. The first season focused on the competition of Katharine McPhee and Megan Hilty for the starring role of Marilyn. There is plenty of drama in the subplots. Producer Anjelica Huston constantly struggles to find money to fund the show. My favorite character is talented director Jack Davenport who is both brilliant and a womanizer. My least favorite character is the lyricist played by Debra Messing. Whether it’s the character or Messing herself, the constant high-maintenance of her problems becomes annoying. This second season features Jennifer Hudson in a major role. You could make an argument that Smash is Glee for adults. I enjoy much of the music in this series. I’m hoping my support will encourage other music based TV programs. GRADE: B

Patti Abbott generously sent me a copy of Phil’s insightful Exceptional America. What better way to honor Presidents’ Day than by reviewing a book that explores what it means for America to be “special.” Through the “Declaration of Independence” to “The Federalist Papers,” to “Democracy in America,” to “Walden,” and other classic American political texts, Phil guides the reader like Virgil in Dante’s Inferno. Many Americans are cynical of “American Exceptionalism” today because our place in the world seems declining. China seems poised to take over the top spot while America drifts into mediocrity with failing schools, gun-violence, increasing drug dependency, and a dysfunctional health care system. But, as the Republicans and Tea Party know, voters love to hear stories about how we’re better than everyone else so “American Exceptionalism” remains a potent political tool. I highly recommend Exceptional America. GRADE: A

I confess: I bought Josh Groban’s All That Echoes CD because “The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress” is on it. I’m a big fan of Jim Webb’s classic song (and it’s one of Robert Heinlein’s best novels, too). Some people love Josh Groban (mostly women) and many people dislike Groban’s bombastic singing. I’m on the fence. I like some of Groban’s songs, and quickly skip over others like “Un Alma Mas” and “E Ti Prometterò.” Since I bought the “deluxe” version of All That Echoes at TARGET, I got four “Bonus Tracks” not include on the CD if you buy it elsewhere. Of the Bonus Tracks, “Satellite” is my favorite. GRADE: B+
TRACK LIST:
1 Brave (3:59)
2 False Alarms (4:33)
3 Falling Slowly (4:20)
4 She Moved Through the Fair (4:55)
5 Below the Line (3:28)
6 E Ti Prometterò (3:56)
7 The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress (3:45)
8 Un Alma Mas (4:10)
9 Happy In My Heartache (3:08)
10 Hollow Talk (5:34)
11 Sincera (3:35)
12 I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever) (5:58)

BONUS TRACKS:
1. Changing Colors
2. Satellite
3. Grazie
4. Play Me

I loved Wreck-It Ralph! This animated feature explores video-game characters who are anything but ordinary. Wreck-It Ralph’s life consists of wrecking a video game hotel. Then players get Fix-It Felix (with his magic hammer) to fix the damage Ralph has caused. But, after 30 years, Ralph finds his role unsatisfying. Ralph wants to be a Good Guy not a Bad Guy. Ralph’s quest for an item that might turn his life around creates plenty of laughs and tears. John C. Reilly is the voice of Ralph. Jane Lynch wowed me as Calhoun, the sexy Space Commando from Hero’s Duty. And Sarah Silverman is perfect as “the glitch” character Vanellope. I haven’t had this much fun at an animated feature since UP and The Incredibles! GRADE: A

Matthew Hughes’ 9 Tales of Henghis Hapthorn is the first ebook I’ve reviewed for Friday’s Forgotten Books. Hughes has collected his Henghis Hapthorn mystery stories published in SF magazines, collections, and anthologies and put them in one handy ebook bargain priced at $2.99! Henghis Hapthorn is a Sherlock Holmes clone who operates aeons in the future. I enjoy his rational investigations. And, as I’ve mentioned before, Matthew Hughes channels Jack Vance like no other writer. In The Yellow Cabochon Hughes goes to the Dark Side with his master criminal Luff Imbry involved in another caper. If you’re a fan of creative larceny, you’ll enjoy The Yellow Cabochon. Both books are highly recommended!

While I had to invest weeks in watching DVDs of the plays of Ibsen, Strindberg, and Chekhov to understand what the heck Stella Adler was saying in Stella Adler on Ibsen, Strindberg, Chekhov, I didn’t have to do much viewing to follow Stella Adler’s analysis of American playwrights: Eugene O’Neill, Clifford Odets, Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, Edward Albee, Thorton Wilder, William Saroyan, and William Inge. Once again, Stella Adler approaches the plays writing by these great writers from an actor’s point of view. Stella has plenty to say about how certain roles should be prepared for and how the role should be interpreted. Call it an insider’s view of theater. If you’re a fan of great American theater and American playwrights, there’s plenty to learn in this wonderful book! GRADE: A
Table of Contents

EUGENE O’NEILL(1888-1953)
Overview Beyond the Horizon (1920)
Mourning Becomes Electra (1931)
Long Day’s Journey Into the Night (1956)

THORTON WILDER (1897-1975)
Overview The Skin of Our Teeth (1942)

CLIFFORD ODETS (1906-1963)
Waiting for Lefty (1935)
Golden Boy (1937)
Golden Boy: Text Analysis The Country Girl

WILLIAM SAROYAN Overview
Hello Out There!

TENNESSEE WILLIAMS (1911-1983)
Overview The Lady of Larkspur Lotion (1941)
The Glass Menagerie (1945)
Summer and Smoke (1948)

WILLIAM INGE Overview
Come Back, Little Sheba (1950)

ARTHUR MILLER (1915-2005)
Death of a Salesman (1949)
After the Fall (1964)

EDWARD ALBEE (b. 1928)
The Zoo Story (1959)
The Death of Bessie Smith (1959)

I’ve been a fan of Jennifer Lawrence since her memorable performance in Winter’s Bone. In Silver Linings Playbook the movie revolves around two characters with mental problems. Bradley Cooper plays a bi-polar former teacher who snaps when he returns home early to find his wife in the shower with his hated rival from the History Department. After eight months in a mental institution, Cooper’s character finds himself living in his parents’ attic. Robert De Niro plays Cooper’s gambling-addicted father. Cooper meets another troubled character, Tiffany, played by Jennifer Lawrence. She suffers from depression. After plenty of psychotic mis-bahaviors, Cooper and Lawrence begin to work together on a project. The predictable ending doesn’t detract from two fine performances. GRADE: B+