If you haven’t watched PERRY MASON, SEASON 1 on HBO then you’re going to be in for a shock. This version is a far cry from the Perry Mason novels of Erle Stanley Gardner and the TV series featuring Raymond Burr as the defense attorney who never loses.

In Matthew Rhys’s version, Perry Mason starts out as a private investigator with a drinking problem and a failed marriage. He rides a motorcycle. Paul Drake is a black former cop (Chris Chalk). Della Street (Juliet Rylance) is a lesbian. The First Season concerned the kidnapping and death of a baby. In Season Two, it’s 1933 and two young Mexican men are charged with the gruesome murder of a rich, powerful oil baron.

If you’re willing to accept these massive changes from the Perry Masons of the past, there are eight episodes watching for your judgement. Are you a fan of some version of Perry Mason? GRADE: Incomplete

The target audience for Financial Feminist is obviously women. But much of the financial advice Tori Dunlap dispenses is gender-neutral. Tori Dunlap grew up with money smarts. She saved pennies in a Altoids tin to buy theater tickets. She watched her parents balance their checkbook and budget their income. But, as Tori grew older, she noticed many of her female friends didn’t have a clue about how to handle money.

While the boys Tori knew were taught about investing and the dynamics of money, the girls were counseled to restrain their spending and save. Tori addresses this disparity by presenting practical plans to reduce debt and control spending while planning for a solid financial future.

Sure, there are dozens of excellent financial advice books out there, but I found Tori Dunlap’s Financial Feminist feisty and forthright. If you want a breezy, provocative, and smart guide to how to handle your finances, here it is. How’s your financial situation? GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Introduction ix

Chapter 1 The Emotions of Money 2

Chapter 2 Spending 42

Chapter 3 The Financial Game Plan 78

Chapter 4 Debt 116

Chapter 5 Investing 150

Chapter 6 Earning 192

Chapter 7 Living a Financial Feminist Lifestyle 242

Epilogue 281

Acknowledgments 283

Glossary 287

Notes 293

I enjoyed Martin Puchner’s The Written World so much I decided to read his new book, Culture: The Story of US, From Cave Art to K-Pop. Puchner takes the reader around the world in this wide-ranging survey of world cultures.

My favorite chapter is Chapter 13: George Eliot Promotes the Science of the Past. I learned a lot about Mary Ann Evans (aka, “George Eliot”) that I didn’t know. I didn’t know she translated the works of German philosopher Ludwig Feuerbach. I discovered she read Hegel and incorporated some of his ideas about History into Middlemarch (1871). And I learned she wrote an essay entitled “Silly Novels by Lady Novelists” that I will have to track down and read.

If you’re in the mood for a breezy tour of thousands of years of cultural development all over the world, Martin Puchner’s Culture is your ticket. GRADE: B+

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Preface: How culture works — xi

Introduction: Inside the Chauvet Cave, 35,000 BCE — xii

Queen Nefertiti and her faceless god — 1

Plato burns his tragedy and invents a history — 23

King Ashoka sends a message to the future — 36

A south Asian goddess in Pompeii — 53

A Buddhist pilgrim in search of ancient traces — 70

The Pillow Book and some perils of cultural diplomacy — 87

When Baghdad became a storehouse of wisdom — 105

The Queen of Ethiopia welcomes the raiders of the ark — 123

One Christian mystic and the three revivals of Europe — 140

The Aztec capital faces its European enemies and admirers — 164

A Portuguese sailor writes a global epic — 185

Enlightenment in Saint-Domingue and in a Parisian salon — 206

George Eliot promotes the science of the past — 227

A Japanese wave takes the world by storm — 246

The drama of Nigerian independence — 266

Epilogue: Will there be a library in 2114 CE? — 287

Acknowledgements — 305

Notes — 309

Index — 337

I’ve read a few Ward Just novels and none of them made much of an impression. Sure, Ward Just novels have been finalists for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, but they leave me cold.

I decided to give Ward Just one more try, so I picked Forgetfulness (2006). Ward Just’s 15th novel begins in the Pyrenees, with four men carrying the injured Florette DuFour down a treacherous mountain trail in the dark. Florette decided to take a walk while her husband stayed in a restaurant to drink wine with some old friends. But, a miles away from the restaurant, Florette stumbled and fractured her ankle.

Florette’s accident takes place near a mountain shelter equipped with a stretcher. Four men find her, but speak a language Florette doesn’t understand. They place Florette on the stretcher and start to take her down the mountain. At a certain point, the men put the stretcher down to rest. The leader slits Florette’s throat.

At this point, I thought Forgetfulness would turn into a revenge novel. Florette’s American husband, Thomas, has some CIA connections in his past. But, Ward Just decides to explore the treatment of political prisoners.

Once again I came to the end of Ward Just novel with disappointment. Forgetfulness will be the last Ward Just novel I’ll read. But, to be fair, you might want to check out this laudatory review which calls Forgetfulness one of Ward Just’s best novels here. GRADE: C

I’ve been a fan of Justin Marriott’s PAPERBACK FANATIC series for years. This new issue focuses on the paperbacks of Belmont Books and Tower Books (Tower would merge with Belmont in the 1970s). Justin’s method is simple: show the covers and write a paragraph about the book, the author, and the cover artist.

PATERBACK FANTATIC #45 includes about 330 paperback covers. The most famous–or infamous–of these Belmont Books is Harlan Ellison’s Doomsman. Ellison would rip the book apart in front of the shocked owner who wanted Ellison to sign Doomsman at a convention. There are many stories about when Ellison destroyed every copy of Doomsman he came across. I suspect it had something to do with Belmont’s payments (or lack thereof).

If you’d like to google at hundreds of paperback covers and learn obscure facts about them, PAPERBACK FANATIC #45 is just waiting to turn you on! GRADE: A

The last time I watched a concert DVD of The Pretenders, it was almost a year ago (you can read my review here) and they were performing in a sweltering venue. Chrissy Hynde’s make-up and eye shadow dripped down her face like melting ice cream. Fortunately, The Pretenders Loose in L.A. features a live concert at the Wiltern Theatre on February 2003 where the temperature was more moderate.

My favorite performances from this concert are: “Lie to Me,” “Nothing Breaks Like a Heart,” and “Brass in Pocket.” The Pretenders included many of their hits like “Talk of the Town,” “Back On the Chain Gang,” and “I’ll Stand By You.” The audience cheered enthusiastically and the camera crew kept going back to a redhead in the front row again and again. All in all, a very satisfying concert video! Are you a fan of The Pretenders? Or…do you just pretend you are? GRADE: A

SET LIST:

I wasn’t familiar with Holly Black before I read The Poison Eaters and Other Stories (2010). I don’t remember where or when I acquired The Poison Eaters but suspect it was some time ago. But, now that I’ve read some of Holly Black’s work, I want to read more.

One of my favorite stories in this collection is “Paper Cuts Scissors” about a librarian who is hired by a book collector to catalog his library. But, the librarian discovers a secret the collector hides about activities that occur after Midnight.

I also was mesmerized by the title story in this collection, “The Poison Eaters.” Three sisters of a royal family try to negotiate the politics of the Royal Court. Their father is on the outs with the King so recruiting possible suitors challenges the family. Through a series of actions two of the three sisters become ghosts. The lone surviving sister finds a dire future before her.

Holly Black’s The Poison Eaters and Other Stories presents a range of stories, but all of them are well-crafted and some will haunt you long after you finish them. GRADE: B+

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

• The Coldest Girl in Coldtown — 1
• A Reversal of Fortune — 29
• The Boy Who Cried Wolf — 49
• The Night Market — 57
• The Dog King — listen to it on Podcastle — 77
• Virgin — 91
• In Vodka Veritas — 105
• The Coat of Stars — 123
• Paper Cuts Scissors — listen to it on Podcastle — 147
• Going Ironside — 171
• The Land of Heart’s Desire — 175
• The Poison Eaters — 195

If you’re a fan of The Twilight Zone and Night Gallery you’ll enjoy this horror anthology series. There are eight episodes and Guillermo del Toro wrote two of them, “Lot 36” and “The Murmuring,” the first and last episodes.

For fans of Henry Kuttner, “Graveyard Rats” will be a delight as a desperate grave robber finds more than he bargained for. Lovecraft is represented by two classic stories: “Pickman’s Model” and “Dreams in the Witch House.” I was also happy that Michael Shea’s underrated story, “The Autopsy,” fits right into the vibe of this series.

I’m glad I finally caught up with this series on Netflix. If you’re looking for a 21st Century version of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone and Night Gallery, here it is. GRADE: A

I read Matt Ruff’s Lovecraft Country back in 2016 (you can read my review here) and watched the HBO series based on Lovecraft Country (you can read my review of that series here). Now, Ruff returns with a sequel to Lovecraft Country and a promise of several more books chronicling the Turner and Dandridge families in the late 1950s as they confront racism…and Lovecraftian weirdness.

The Destroyer of Worlds opens in 1957 with Chicago’s Turner and Dandridge families once again menaced by alien forces. Atticus Turner and his taciturn father, Montrose, are in Virginia looking for evidence of their Black slave ancestors when they find they’re suddenly under attack by a White Supremacist they faced in Massachusetts in Lovecraft Country. The chase is on!

Hippolyta Berry, Atticus’s aunt and the most scientifically minded family member, is in Las Vegas with her moody 15-year-old son, Horace, and good friend Letitia Dandridge. What is supposed to be a vacation instead turns out to be a delivery of a rare object to sinister pawnbroker who holds the keys to a device able to transport people from Earth to any place in the galaxy.

George Berry, who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer, makes a Faustian bargain with the ghost of Hiram Winthrop, the brilliant, malevolent scientist from Lovecraft Country who promises to provide George with a cure for his cancer…if George can find a cadaver for Winthrop.

Ruby Dandridge, Letitia’s sister, who has the power to turn herself into a redheaded White woman named Hillary Hyde, faces the prospect that her supply of potions enabling her transformation may run out.

These are just a few of the storylines Matt Ruff weaves into The Destroyer of Worlds. I enjoyed this sequel as much as I enjoyed Lovecraft Country. And, I can’t wait for more books in this series to be published. My only minor quibble is that I would like MORE Lovercraft elements in these books. GRADE: B+

I read a lot of books that involve magic. Most fantasy novels include magic and witches and sorcerers. So I decided to read this brief book by Sarah Lyons who explains the history of magic, describes the different types of magic (chaos magic is very hot right now), and the elements of witchcraft.

I particularly liked Lyons’s discussion of Tarot cards and the various decks available.

Do you believe in magic? GRADE: B

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 Why Study Magic? 5

Chapter 2 The Basics 13

Chapter 3 Chaos Magic 37

Chapter 4 Spell Books and Grimoires 57

Chapter 5 Ceremonial Magic 83

Chapter 6 Witchcraft 117

Chapter 7 Paganism, Gods, and History 141

Chapter 8 Where to go from here 161

Acknowledgments 173

Um, Sources for These Claims? Or Selected Bibliography 175

Further Reading 177

Index 179