Blame me. I’ve tried reading Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s “Retrieval Artist” series and abandoned it. Now, I slogged my way through Rusch’s Diving Into the Wreck and I’m not going to be reading any more books in this series either. Something about Rusch’s style just rubs me the wrong way. Maybe it’s characters with the names Squishy and Turtle. Maybe it’s the love-hate relationship between the narrator and her father. Maybe I wasn’t convinced by Rusch’s descriptions of diving into space wrecks. When I was a kid, I remember loving a Frank Crisp adventure novel called The Java Wreckmen about divers finding treasure in sunken ships. Very memorable after 50 years! But nothing much about Diving Into the Wreck is going to stay with me. For a different take, check out Bill Crider’s review of Diving Into the Wreck here. GRADE: C

After reading Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking, a memoir about the death of her husband and its aftermath, I was hesitant to take on Blue Nights, the story of the death of Didion’s daughter. How much grief can one reader bear? But I’ve been reading Joan Didion since Slouching Towards Bethlehem. Didion captures the essence of her daughter, Quintana Roo, and manages to celebrate her life. The death of a child is terrible to experience in Didion detail. Didion’s health nose-dives in the wake of these deaths so she shares her own physical problems with the reader. The fact that she gathered the courage to write about them, despite the pain and despair, moved me. I’ve included Joan Didion’s revealing interview with Terri Gross on Fresh Air below. GRADE: A-

When PBS first broadcast Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy in 1979, I was floored. Alec Guinness plays a British intelligence agent who investigates “The Circus” for a possible mole. Twists and turns abound in this carefully crafted Cold War spy drama. Finally, this DVD set (but no Blu-ray) is available in the U.S. I also ordered the sequel, Smiley’s People, so I’m just yearning for some free time to watch Alec Guinness work his magic again. If you haven’t seen these classic BBC dramas, you’re missing some of the best suspense ever shown on television. The trailer to the new movie version of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (release date is December 9) is available to you below. I can’t wait to see it! GRADE: A

I’m Feeling Lucky is the most detailed case study of how GOOGLE got started that I’ve seen. Douglas Edwards leaves his newspaper job and takes a chance with a new start-up company, GOOGLE, in 1999. Edwards has plenty of stories about the quirky founders of GOOGLE, Larry Page and Sergey Brin. He also provides a sharp picture of GOOGLE in its early days when it was just one of many search engines. But this amount of detail is also the book’s fatal flaw. How many readers are going to last for 400 pages of tales of GOOGLE’s war against spam or the perils of Gmail? The infighting between marketing and engineering gets stale after the first dozen stories. Edwards leaves GOOGLE in 2005 so we don’t get any insights into GOOGLE’s dealings with China or the increasing concern about the privacy of users. I enjoyed I’m Feeling Lucky, but I’m not sure most readers are going to feel as lucky reading this detailed book. GRADE: B

I’m a big fan of David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding’s Eat This, Not That series. This is the latest volume, full of suggestions to help you eat smart. The authors compare the food at a variety of restaurants and make suggestions about which is the lower calorie, lower fat yet tasty food. This 2012 Edition contains over 400 color photographs and plenty of detail on how to make your food choices count! GRADE: A

While rooting around in a Goodwill Thrift store, I found a copy of Full Moon and the Shrine, a Keiko Matsu CD from 1998. I had several Keiko Matsui CDs, but not this one. I bought it for a buck and for the next hour listened to the wonderful music. If you haven’t heard Keiko Matsui, you’re missing a lot. If you’re a fan of THE WEATHER CHANNEL, you may have heard her music playing in the background of some of their weather forecasts. Sometimes Keiko Matsui is labeled as a Smooth Jazz artist, sometimes as a New Age pianist. No matter. Her music is great! Check it out below. GRADE: A

In the aftermath of a galactic civil war, the planet of Poictesme finds itself stocked with military hardware, but not much else. However, rumors abound that a super computer could be hidden among the scrap. Conn Maxwell is sent to Terra to find out about the super computer and return with proof of its existence. Maxwell finds hints about a Project Merlin, but can’t verify the super computer is on Poictesme. While the government gives up the search for the super computer, Maxwell continues alone. Of course there are some surprises amid the twist and turns of the plot. I loved H. Beam Piper’s works–SPACE VIKING, LITTLE FUZZY–when I was a kid. I’ve had THE COSMIC COMPUTER for decades and only got around to reading it this week. It’s fun space opera if you’re in the mood for that genre.

The Million Dollar Quartet consists of Elvis, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Johnny Cash. We have tickets tonight at Sheas Performing Arts Center to see the traveling version of this hit Broadway play. Based on a Sun Records recording session, the music in this musical should be great!
Musical numbers
Blue Suede Shoes (Music and Lyrics By Carl L. Perkins) – Company
Real Wild Child (Music and Lyrics By John O’Keefe, John Greenan and Dave Owens) – Jerry Lee Lewis
Matchbox (Music and Lyrics By Carl L. Perkins) – Carl Perkins
Who Do You Love? (Music and Lyrics By Ellas McDaniel) – Carl Perkins
Folsom Prison Blues (Music and Lyrics By John R. Cash) – Johnny Cash
Fever (Music and Lyrics By Eddie Cooley and Johnny Davenport) – Dyanne
Memories Are Made of This (Music and Lyrics By Terry Gilkyson,Richard Dehr and Frank Miller) – Elvis Presley
That’s All Right (Music and Lyrics By Arthur Crudup) – Elvis Presley
Brown Eyed Handsome Man (Music and Lyrics By Chuck Berry) – Company
Down by the Riverside – Company
Sixteen Tons (Music and Lyrics By Merle Travis) – Johnny Cash
My Babe (Music and Lyrics By Willie Dixon) – Carl Perkins
Long Tall Sally (Music and Lyrics By Robert Blackwell, Enotris Johnson and Richard Penniman) – Elvis Presley
Peace in the Valley (Music and Lyrics By Thomas A. Dorsey) – Company
I Walk the Line (Music and Lyrics By John R. Cash) – Johnny Cash
I Hear You Knockin (Music and Lyrics By Dave Bartholomew and Pearl King) – Dyanne
Party (Music and Lyrics By Jessie Mae Robinson) – Carl Perkins and Company
Great Balls of Fire (Music and Lyrics By Otis Blackwell and Jack Hammer) – Jerry Lee Lewis
Down by the Riverside (Reprise) – Company
Hound Dog (Music and Lyrics By Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller) – Elvis Presley
Ghost Riders (Music and Lyrics By Stan Jones) – Johnny Cash
See You Later Alligator (Music and Lyrics By Robert Guidry) – Carl Perkins
Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On (Music and Lyrics By Curly Williams) – Jerry Lee Lewis

Identity theft, Ponzi schemes, mail fraud, email scams, phishing, swindles, investment rip-offs, and more are explored in The Con. We’re all vulnerable to this kind of activity. I’ve had my identity ripped-off twice, forcing me to cancel my credit cards and hassle with credit charges the thieves ran up (how about two First Class tickets to Thailand!). The authors show how real estate fraud bilks thousands of people out of their money each month. Forewarned is forearmed! The Con shows how all these schemes work and how to protect yourself and your family from being victims. GRADE: B+

Lisa Randall gives us an update on the Large Hardon Collider, dark matter, string theory, and all the latest news from the world of physics. Randall has a gift of making difficult concepts intelligible. She describes how classical physics and quantum physics differ, yet scientists think they might be able to reconcile them as new theories of atomic particles emerge. If you’re interested in where contemporary physics is going, Knocking on Heaven’s Door delivers an understandable, detailed picture. GRADE: A-