I’ve chosen Ed McBain’s Downtown because this is one of the few novels I know of that takes place on Christmas Eve. Michael Barnes, a Florida orange grower who finds himself in a Manhattan bar with a couple of hours to kill, is swindled, robbed, framed for murder. With the help of a sexy cab driver, Barnes figures out why all this adversity happened to him. If you like screwball comedies with a dark side, give Downtown a try. GRADE: B+

Tom Payne explores the world of Paris Hilton, Madonna, Lady Gaga, and the Rich & Famous. From Greek mythology and Roman history, to the stories of the Christian martyrs and the French Revolution, Payne shows how celebrity and fame have followed predictable patterns. I learned that Mae West originally said “No” to being on the cover of Sargent Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band until the Beatles wrote her a personal letter. That letter changed her mind and opened the door to more Fame. Of course, Fame is fleeting for most people, mostly Andy Warhol’s iconic “15 minutes of fame.” If you’re interested in cults of personality and the vagaries of Fame, this is the go-to book. GRADE: B+

Just in time for the holidays comes John Mortimer’s delightful A Rumpole Christmas. This slim collection contains “Rumpole and Father Christmas,” “Rumpole’s Slimmed-Down Christmas,” “Rumplole and the Boy,” “Rumpole and the Old Familiar Face,” and “Rumpole and the Christmas Break.” My favorite among this group was “Rumpole’s Slimmed-Down Christmas” where Rumpole’s wife Hilda (aka, She Who Must Be Obeyed) arranges for a stay at a health resort for the holidays. Of course, a murder changes everyone’s Christmas plans. If you haven’t read any Rumpole stories, this is a good place to start. If you’re a Rumpole fan, you’ll enjoy the holiday spirit in these wonderful stories. GRADE: B+
(This completes the final month of my 2010 Short Story Reading Challenge. I read and reviewed one short story collection per month in 2010. To find out more about the Short Story Reading Challenge, be sure to click: “http://theshortstorychallenge.blogspot.com/”>Short Story Reading Challenge.

Our allergist told us that we needed to replace any carpeting, stuffed furniture, and mattresses that were 10 years old. So we replaced our carpeting in the living room and went to Ethan Allen for the furniture. We’d heard good things about Ethan Allen quality and after going through their selection process, we’re believers. The new furniture (built in North Carolina) was delivered last week. After trying the chairs and the sofa for a few days, we found we loved the comfort. Yes, the cushions might be too firm for some people, but that’s the way we like our furniture. We don’t like to sink down and struggle to escape. This Ethan Allen furniture is also the HEAVIEST furniture we’ve ever owned. If you judge quality by weight, this is Good Stuff.

Avi Steinberg, recent Harvard graduate, decides to apply for a job as a prison librarian. Although he doesn’t know anything about libraries and doesn’t have a library degree, Avi gets the job. He learns quickly that working in a prison library means he’s surrounded by con men (and women), pimps, prostitutes, thugs, gangsters, and thieves. Avi teaches “creative writing” classes, both to women inmates and later, to male inmates. It’s through the stories, essays, and memoirs the inmates write that Avi learns about their brutal lives and why they’re in prison. I found Running the Books: The Adventures of an Accidental Prison Librarian one of the most unusual books I’ve read in 2010. GRADE: B+

I’m a big fan of James L. Brooks’ movies. I cried when I watched Terms of Endearment and laughed at Broadcast News. So my expectations were high for How Do You Know, a romantic comedy starring the fetching Reese Witherspoon and Owen Wilson and Paul Rudd. Yes, Jack Nicholson shows up, too. But this is mostly a love triangle with Reese, Owen and Paul. Unfortunately, we know who Reese is going to choose from the beginning of the movie. How Do You Know telegraphs (or should I say “tweets”) its intentions. Many of the “love” scenes are painfully lame. You can safely skip watching this stinker. GRADE: D (for DULL).

Great special effects, clunky dialogue, predictable plot. That’s my opinion of Tron Legacy, the sequel to the cult classic, Tron from 1982. Of course, the special effects in the original Tron were crude by today’s standards. You can see where most of the budget for Tron Legacy went: it’s right up there on the screen. Those 3D special effects must have cost a fortune! But between the action scenes, the movie bogs down in momentum killing dialogues. “What is a sunrise like?” asks Olivia Wilde (who plays “13” on House). “Radiant,” answers Garrett Hedlund (who plays Sam Flynn, Jeff Bridges’ son). Later in the film, poor Olivia is made to say, “Hang on, this is going to be a rough landing!” There are about a dozen howlers like these in this movie. Yet, when the dialogue stops and the 3D action picks up, the movie becomes amazing. GRADE: B