Pulp Fiction Art won the 2006 “Best Documentary” award at both the Dragon*Con Film Festival and The Internation Horror and Sci-Fi Film Festival. Jamie McDonald based his film on the pulp art collection of Robert Lesser. I’m sure many of you have already seen this documentary, but it was new to me. My only quibble is that it’s only 57 minutes long. I could have easily been entertained by another hour of great pulp fiction artwork! GRADE: B+

In an age of texting and Tweets, letters are completely archaic. Yet, in these pages, letters to John Cheever, Philip Roth, Martin Amis, Ralph Ellison, Cynthia Ozick, William Faulkner, his five wives, his sons, and his friends is where you’ll find plenty of the unguarded Saul Bellow that you won’t see in his novels, stories, or essays. Just read Bellow’s letter to a dying John Cheever. If your eyes don’t get misty, you have a heart of stone. Even in his letters to his editors, the Bellow eloquence and wit shine through. Bellow, inexplicably, isn’t taught at most colleges or universities any more. Despite his three National Book Awards, despite winning the Nobel Prize, Bellow is on his way to being forgotten. If you love wonderful writing, you’ll find it in these 700 letters!

Thanks to Drongo for recommending Cee Lo Green! The Lady Killer captures the essence of 1960s soul music. Cee Lo Green even throws in some James Bond music riffs in the John Barry tradition. You might remember Cee Lo Green as one of the duo in Gnarls Barkley who scored with the hit, “Crazy.” If you’re a fan of soul music, you have to listen to Cee Lo Green’s unique style. I’m going to wear this CD out! GRADE: A-
SET LIST
1 The Lady Killer Theme (Intro) 1:37
2 Bright Lights Bigger City 3:38
3 F**k You 3:42
4 Wildflower 4:03
5 Bodies 3:43
6 Love Gun 3:20
7 Satisfied 3:26
8 I Want You 3:36
9 Cry Baby 3:27
10 Fool For You 3:40
11 It’s OK 3:46
12 Old Fashioned 3:24
13 No One’s Gonne Love You 3:29
14 The Lady Killer Theme (Outro)

I’m a huge fan of Harold McGee’s classic On Food and Cooking : The Science and Lore of the Kitchen so I was excited when I heard Harold McGee was bringing out a new book. Keys to Good Cooking presents modern scientific understanding of cooking. McGee takes you step-by-step from market to table, teaching, for example, how to spot the most delectable asparagus (choose thick spears); how to best prepare asparagus: peel, don’t snap, the fibrous ends; broiling is one effective cooking method for asparagus and other flat-lying vegetables; and how to present it: coat with butter or oil after cooking to avoid a wrinkled surface. Rather than just a collection of recipes, Keys to Good Cooking shows you how to be a better cook and how to prepare more delicious meals. If you know someone who loves to cook, give them this book for the holidays and they’ll thank you year after year! GRADE: A

Andy Warhol’s “Rorschach” on the Decoded front cover to the eclectic interior artwork, Jay-Z’s book is full of wonder. Part memoir, part instruction guide to rap, part oral history of urban life, part business guide, Decoded captures Jay-Z’s genius. Jay-Z talks about growing up in Brooklyn, dealing drugs, getting into fights, and finding a way to escape the ghetto life. There’s analysis of 36 of Jay-Z’s lyrics which ends up producing a “How-to” guide to creating a hit. I found this book fascinating. If you want to sample more of Jay-Z before you decide whether you want to read his book, I’m including Jay-Z’s interview with Terri Gross from Fresh Air below. GRADE: A

Featuring…Norah Jones is a mixed bag. The CD is a compilation of duets Norah Jones did with several artists from 2001 to 2010. Norah sings with Ray Charles, Willie Nelson, Herbie Hancock, Foo Fighters, Ryan Adams, Belle and Sebastian, OutKast, Q-Tip, and Talib Kweli just to name a few of her collaborators. Some songs work, others don’t. Willie Nelson sounds totally disinterested in singing with Norah on “Baby It’s Cold Outside.” However, I enjoyed Norah’s work on “Ruler Of My Heart” with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, a group I’d never heard of. Flawed as Featuring…Norah Jones is, it is vastly superior to Norah Jone’s last CD, The Fall which I find unlistenable. GRADE: B
SET LIST
1. Love Me – The Little Willies
2. Virginia Moon – Foo Fighters featuring Norah Jones
3. Turn Them – Sean Bones featuring Norah Jones
4. Baby It’s Cold Outside – Willie Nelson featuring Norah Jones
5. Bull Rider – Norah Jones and Sasha Dobson
6. Ruler Of My Heart – Dirty Dozen Brass Band featuring Norah Jones
7. The Best Part – El Madmo
8. Take Off Your Cool – Outkast featuring Norah Jones
9. Life Is Better – Q-Tip featuring Norah Jones
10. Soon The New Day – Talib Kweli featuring Norah Jones
11. Little Lou, Prophet Jack, Ugly John – Belle & Sebastian featuring Norah Jones
12. Here We Go Again – Ray Charles featuring Norah Jones
13. Loretta – Norah Jones featuring Gillian Welch and David Rawlings
14. Dear John – Ryan Adams featuring Norah Jones
15. Creepin’ In – Norah Jones featuring Dolly Parton
16. Court & Spark – Herbie Hancock featuring Norah Jones
17. More Than This – Charlie Hunter featuring Norah Jones
18. Blue Bayou – Norah Jones featuring M. Ward

Harry, Ron, and Hermione chased by Death Eaters! The Dark Lord and his minions taking over the Ministry of Magic! Muggles killed! Mixed blood citizens (“mud-bloods) persecuted! There’s no doubt that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is the darkest of the Harry Potter movies. The movie does nothing to bring newbies up to speed, so if you’re new to the Harry Potter series, this is NOT the place to start. And, even though I read the book, I confess I didn’t remember large swatches of the plot. The movie sags in the middle while Harry, Ron, and Hermione are in the wilderness. But when there’s action, and the action comes suddenly, the special effects are first-rate. When Harry opens the Horcrux and releases its evil, I nearly jumped out of my seat! Of course, the movie ends in a cliffhanger and we’ll have to wait until July 2011 to see the conclusion. GRADE: B

The Last Hieroglyph is the fifth and final volume in Night Shade Books’ brilliant collection of Clark Ashton Smith’s short fiction. I’ve enjoyed all four previous volumes and have looked forward to this last book with a mixture of anticipation and regret. Some of Clark Ashton’s Smith’s best stories are included here: “The Death of Malygris,” “The Last Hieroglyph,” and “Strange Shadows.” These are amazing stories! Dick Lupoff provides an insightful “Introduction.” If you haven’t read Clark Ashton Smith, this is the perfect place to start.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
* The Dark Age
* The Death of Malygris
* The Tomb-Spawn
* The Witchcraft of Ulua
* The Coming of the White Worm
* The Seven Geases
* The Chain of Aforgomon
* The Primal City
* Xeethra
* The Last Hieroglyph
* Necromancy in Naat
* The Treader of the Dust
* The Black Abbott of Puthuum
* The Death of Ilalotha
* Mother of Toads
* The Garden of Adompha
* The Great God Awto
* Strange Shadows
* The Enchantress of Sylaire
* Double Cosmos
* Nemesis of the Unfinished
* The Master of the Crabs
* Morthylla
* Schizoid Creator
* Monsters in the Night
* Phoenix
* The Theft of the Thirty-Nine Girdles
* Symposium of the Gorgon
* The Dart of Rasasfa
(This completes the November 2010 portion of my Short Story Reading Challenge. I will read and review 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.

Huey Lewis & The News picked some of the more obscure songs from the STAX RECORDS vault and the result is this cover CD. Plenty of brass, great backup singers, and Huey Lewis & The News sounding better than they have in years. If you love soul music, you’re going to want this album: 14 songs that bring back the Sixties. The most recognizable song is “Respect Yourself,” the old Staple Singers hit. My favorite song is “Just One More Day,” the Otis Redding hit. I love this music so I’m obviously giving this CD: GRADE: A
TRACK LIST
Don’t Fight It
Got To Get You Off My Mind
Free
Respect Yourself
Cry To Me
Just One More Day
Never Found a Girl
Soulsville
Little Sally Walker
I Want To (Do Everything For You)
Just The One (I’ve Been Looking For)
Don’t Let The Green Grass Fool You
Never Like This Before
Grab This Thing