Isaac Asimov is best known as an iconic Science Fiction writer, best known for his Foundation trilogy. But Asimov also wrote SF novels with mysteries in them like Caves of Steel and The Naked Sun.

Asimov also wrote traditional mysteries. Starting in 1972, Asimov wrote more than a 100 mystery stories. His most popular mysteries involved the Black Widowers, a fictional men-only dining club for a series of sixty-six mystery stories.

Asimov uses the Black Widower stories to delve into aspects of science, history, culture and his other interests: for example, Goldbach’s conjecture in “Sixty Million Trillion Combinations“; Gilbert and Sullivan in “The Year of the Action”; and the origins of the name “Susan” in “The Intrusion”.

Isaac Asimov’s other mystery series, Union Club, features stories set at a club known as the Union Club, in which a conversation between three members prompts a fourth member, Griswold, to tell about a mystery he has solved. These are often tall stories, and often based on his time in US intelligence. The format is based on that utilized by P. G. Wodehouse in recounting his golf stories. Asimov wrote 55 Union Club stories.

If you’re a fan of Isaac Asimov, you might be familiar with some of these stories. Some of these stories were published for the first time in this collection. I found these stories clever and intelligent. GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

• Black Widowers
  • “The Obvious Factor” — 3
  • “The Pointing Finger” — 20
  • “Out of Sight” — 36
  • “Yankee Doodle Went to Town” — 55
  • “Quicker Than the Eye” — 73
  • “The Three Numbers” — 90
  • “The One and Only East” — 109
  • “The Cross of Lorraine” — 126
  • “The Next Day” — 144
  • “What Time Is It?” — 162
  • “Middle Name” — 180
  • “Sixty Million Trillion Combinations” — 197
  • “The Good Samaritan” — 213
  • “Can You Prove It?” — 230
  • “The Redhead” — 247
• Union Club
  • “He Wasn’t There” — 267
  • “Hide and Seek” — 274
  • “Dollars and Cents” — 281
  • “The Sign” — 288
  • “Getting the Combination” — 295
  • “The Library Book” — 302
  • “Never Out of Sight” — 309
  • “The Magic Umbrella” — 316
  • “The Speck” — 323
• Other
  • “The Key” — 333
  • “A Problem of Numbers” — 366
  • “The Little Things” — 372
  • “Halloween” — 376
  • “The Thirteenth Day of Christmas” — 381
  • “The Key Word” — 386
  • “Nothing Might Happen” — 391

Partrick, Katie, and Diane knew how much I enjoyed Bob Dylan’s music so for Father’s Day weekend, they arranged an impromptu visit to New York City which included tickets to Girl From the North Country, a musical based on Bob Dylan songs.

The setting is Duluth, Minnesota in 1934. It’s winter and a band of desperate people stay at a boarding house on its last legs. Everyone has problems, everyone seems doomed. Music seems to be the only thing that can raise their spirits.

I found the Dylan music in Girl From the North Country an eclectic mix of songs that jump around from the Seventies and Eighties back to the Sixties. There are more songs in the Second Half of Girl From the North Country than in the First Half. And, the musical ends with “Pressing On,” a gospel song from Dylan’s 1980 album, Saved. You can listen to my favorite version of “Pressing On” here.

If you like Bob Dylan’s songs, you’ll enjoy this musical which celebrates his diversity of tunes. I’m sure touring companies of Girl From the North Country will be traveling around the U.S. in 2023. Are you a Dylan fan? GRADE: A

Jeremy Denk, a professional musician, writes a memoir about how he became a concert pianist. Denk tells us about his alcoholic mother and his workaholic father. Although Denk is a piano prodigy, he admits he has faults. Plenty of faults.

Denk routinely makes the same mistakes over and over again. Denk, both insecure and arrogant, admits he didn’t study or rehearse or prepare for key recitals. Most of the time when Denk does this, his performances crash and burn. You would think he would learn from this…but a chapter later, the same thing happens.

Jeremy Denk loves music, but he struggles with instruction. Denk’s teachers try to advise him, help him, show him how to improve his playing…but it’s an uphill journey with this guy.

I’ve known many gifted but wayward students like Jeremy Denk. They’re talented, clever, even brilliant. But, some of them become resistant to change believing they know more than their teachers.

Allowing the reader to see deep personal flaws borders on bravery. Denk didn’t have to share his failures in romance, various performances, and personal relationships but he does in Every Good Boy Does Fine. Those of you that have more musical knowledge–and maybe even play the piano–will get plenty of insights into the classical music Denk plays as he expounds on them.

If you’re interested in how someone from a dysfunctional background manages to overcome his situation to rise to stardom, Every Good Boy Does Fine shows how. Do you like classical music? GRADE: A

Looking like an aged Robert Redford, conservative Roger Scruton reveled in controversy and notoriety. Scruton died in 2020. This volume collects some of Scruton’s ephemeral writings.

“We live in troubling times for the conservative conscience. The West is adrift without leadership, anarchy is spreading through Asia and Africa, and the political process in Europe has been absorbed by the fantasy of European Union. Almost everywhere in the civilized world we encounter social decay: the decline in religious observance and local customs; the rise of crime and violence; the pornocratic culture of mass media; the description of love and marriage; the collapse of education and the retreat of the individual into his private pleasure dome.” (p. 31)

While Roger Scruton’s analysis is right on the money, his “solutions”–like those of most contemporary conservatives–are wide of the mark. Reducing the size of government and blaming the government for making problems worse are top strategies in the Conservative Playbook.

I enjoyed Scruton’s writings on music. Here’s a section that will delight Art Scott who used to attend the Proms every year! “The best thing about summer is the Proms, and this year especially on account of Daniel Barenboim’s wonderful performance of Wagner’s Ring Cycle. I have studied that stupendous work for most of my adult life, ever more convinced of its greatness and the truth of its underlying vision.” (p. 24)

If you’re in the mood for short articles on a variety of topics from an intelligent–if wrong–conservative point of view, Against the Tide certainly holds its water. GRADE: B

Table of Contents:

Preface: The Work That Must Be Done — viii
Part One: Who Am I? — 1
My Life Beyond the Pale — 3
Roger Scruton Says ‘Put a Cork in It’ — 8
My Week: July 2005 — 10
My Week: January 2006 — 13
My Week: April 2006 — 16
The Flame That Was Snuffed Out by Freedom — 19
Finding Scrutopia in the Czech Republic — 23
Diary – August 2016 — 26

Part Two: Who Are We? — 29
The Conservative Conscience — 31
The Blair Legacy — 34
A Question of Temperament — 37
The Meaning of Margaret Thatcher — 42
Identity, Marriage, Family: Our Core Conservative Values Have Been Betrayed — 50
What Trump Doesn’t Get About Conservatism — 54

Part Three: Why The Left Is Never Right — 57
The Ideology of Human Rights — 59
Who is a Fascist? — 66
In Praise of Privilege — 69
A Hominist Homily — 72
In Loco Parentis — 75
McCarthy Was Right on the Red Menace — 79
A Focus of Loyalty Higher than the State — 82
The Art of Taking Offence — 85

Part Four: Intimations of Infinity — 89
De Anima — 91
A Matter of Life and Deathlessness — 94
Dawkins Is Wrong about God — 97
Altruism and Selfishness — 101
Memo to Hawking: There’s Still Room for God — 106
Humans Hunger for the Sacred: Why Can’t the New Atheists Understand That? — 109

Part Five: The End of Education — 113
The Virtue of Irrelevance — 115
The Open University and the Closed Mind — 118
The End of Education — 121
The Plague of Sociology — 124
Know Your Place — 128
Universities’ War against the Truth — 133

Part Six: Fraudulent Philosophy — 117
A Note on Foucault — 139
The Triumph of Nothingness — 143
Freud and Fraud — 146
If Only Chomsky Had Stuck to Syntax — 149

Part Seven: The West and the Rest — 153
In Memory of Iran — 155
The Lesson of Lebanon — 158
Decent Debate Mustn’t Be the Victim — 162
The Wrong Way to Treat President Putin — 165
Why Iraq Is a Write-Off — 168

Part Eight: Cultural Corruption — 173
The Art of Motor-Cycle Maintenance — 175
Temples of Anxiety — 178
The Modern Cult of Ugliness — 181
High Culture Is Being Corrupted by a Culture of Fakes — 185

Part Nine: Animal Rights, Pulpit Politics and Sex — 191
Male Domination — 193
The Pestilence of Pulpit Politics — 196
On the Eating of Fish — 199
Obligations of the Flesh — 202
Eat Animals! It’s for Their Own Good — 205
Sextants and Sexting — 208
Tally Ho! Let the Hunt Remind Us of Who We Are — 211

Part Ten: Annus Horribilis and Last Words — 215
Diary — 217
After My Own Dark Night — 220
My 2019 — 224

Index — 233

Back in the 1970s, our local PBS station started broadcasting Doctor Who episodes on Saturday. At that time, Doctor Who was played by Tom Baker (aka, The Fourth Doctor) who jazzed up the character with a lot of weird antics for 179 episodes from 1974 to 1981.

So it should come as no surprise that Philip Reeve’s “Root of Evil” story about the Fourth Doctor would resonate with me. The Doctor and his companion Leela face a puzzle and a threat. The TARDIS takes The Doctor and Leela to a bizarre satellite where a humongous tree provides the air and food to a colony of humans. And, of course, the humans–who have been stranded on the satellite for 900 years–plan to kill The Doctor.

I also loved Neil Gaiman’s clever tale about The Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith), “Nothing O’Clock” about a dangerous alien called The Kin who the Time Lords trapped in a bizarre prison. But, The Kin, released by the death of the Time Lords, are intent on killing the last Time Lord: Doctor Who!

If you’re a Doctor Who fan, you’ll love DOCTOR WHO: 12 Doctors 12 Stories. If you like innovative Science Fiction, you’ll enjoy this volume, too! GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

The first Doctor: A big hand for the Doctor / Eoin Colfer — 1

The second Doctor: The nameless city / Michael Scott — 39

The third Doctor: The spear of destiny / Marcus Sedgwick — 89

The fourth Doctor: The root of evil / Philip Reeve — 145

The fifth Doctor: Tip of the tongue / Patrick Ness — 185

The sixth Doctor: Something borrowed / Richell Mead — 221

The seventh Doctor: The ripple effect / Malorie Blackman — 267

The eighth Doctor: Spore / Alex Scarrow — 317

The ninth Doctor: The beast of Babylon / Charlie Higson — 355

The tenth Doctor: The mystery of the haunted cottage / Derek Landy — 407

The eleventh Doctor: Nothing o’clock / Neil Gaiman — 461

The twelfth Doctor: Lights out / Holly Black — 503

About the Authors — 537

Once in a while I’m in the mood to listen to live musical performances. I’ve had these three concert CDs for years so I finally got around to listening to them.

Patti Austin Live at The Bottom Line was first recorded in 1978. I have the 1991 Remastered CD on Columbia Jazz. I own several Patti Austin albums and have enjoyed them all.

Patti Austin Live at The Bottom Line is a mixed bag. The songs are not the usual Patti Austin selections. I’m wondering if some of these songs were “suggested” for inclusion for this live concert. For example, “You Fooled Me,” a country western song, seems an awkward fit. My favorite song on Patti Austin Live at The Bottom Line is “Let’s All Live and Give Together.” Prime Patti Austin singing! GRADE: B

Track listing:

1. “Jump for Joy” (Cynthia Biggs, Dexter Wansel) – 5:11
2. “Let It Ride” (Jermaine Jackson, Michael McGloiry, Gregory Williams) – 4:08
3. “One More Night” (Stephen Bishop) – 5:10
4. “Wait a Little While” (Eva Ein, Kenny Loggins) – 4:27
5. “Rider in the Rain” (Randy Newman) – 6:09
6. “You’re the One That I Want” (John Farrar) – 3:27 Bonus track on CD reissue
7. “Love Me by Name” (Lesley Gore, Ellen Weston) – 5:16
8. “You Fooled Me” (Zane Grey, Len Ron Hanks) – 3:10
9. Spoken Introductions – 7:09 Bonus track on CD reissue
10. “Let’s All Live and Give Together” (Billy Osborne, Jeffrey Osborne) – 6:41

• Recorded at the Bottom Line in Greenwich Village, New York City on August 19, 1978

I’ve enjoyed Chicago’s music for decades and Peter Cetera was the lead singer for the group for much of that time. Cetera then went on to a solo career and scored a number of hits. Much of Peter Cetera Live in Salt Lake City from 2004 are Chicago songs. And they sound great with a symphony orchestra backing up Cetera!

Sometimes live concert CDs sound distorted or muddy, but the sound engineers for Peter Cetera Live in Salt Lake City capture the music brilliantly! What’s your favorite song in this 72-minute concert? GRADE: A

TRACK LIST:

Diane and I have seen Luther Vandross twice in concert. Both performances burst with energy, excitement, and fun! Vandross’s singing on Luther Vandross Live at Radio City Music Hall from 2003 sounds just as good as the concerts Diane and I attended. Vandross sings some of his hit songs like “Stop to Love” and “Here and Now.” But there are some surprises like “Love Won’t Let Me Wait”–a cover of the Major Harris 1975 hit.

The crowd’s enthusiasm is evident throughout the concert. My only quibble is that some of these songs go on a little too long, like the 12:49 version of “Superstar.” Do you like live concert CDs? GRADE: A-

Track listing:

In her Introduction to Simply the Best Mysteries (1998), Janet Hitchings gives a short history of the Edgar Awards and talks about the winners in the short story category. And, no surprise, many of those Edgar winners are represented by the stories in this excellent anthology.

I have many favorites here. “The Blessington Method” by Stanley Ellin shows how a solution to one problem creates another problem. One of my favorite writers, Donald E. Westlake, presents the reader with a ghost…and a series of surprises. Clark Howard blends music and murder in “Horn Man.” Jack Ritchie uses diversion in “The Absence of Emily” to the narrator’s benefit.

Many of these Edgar Award winning stories have appeared in other anthologies, but Simply the Best Mysteries brings them all together in one wonderful volume. Do you see any of your favorite writers here? GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Introduction by Janet Hutchings — ix

The house party / Stanley Ellin — 1
Dream no more / Philip MacDonald — 21
The Blessington method / Stanley Ellin — 47
And already lost / Charlotte Armstrong — 61
The affair at Lahore Cantonment / Avram Davidson — 77
The terrapin / Patricia Highsmith — 91
H as in homicide / Lawrence Treat — 105
Goodbye, Pops / Joe Gores — 119
The purple shroud / Joyce Harrington — 127
The fallen curtain / Ruth Rendell — 141
Like a terrible scream / Etta Revesz — 153
Chance after chance / Thomas Walsh — 163
The cloud beneath the eaves / Barbara Owens — 177
This is death / Donald E. Westlake — 191
Horn man / Clark Howard — 205
The absence of Emily / Jack Ritchie — 219
The new girl friend / Ruth Rendell — 231
The Anderson boy / Joseph Hansen — 243
Elvis lives / Lynne Barrett — 272
Candles in the rain / Doug Allyn — 287
When your breath freezes / Kathleen Dougherty — 319
The judge’s boy / Jean B. Cooper–  337

The Oxford Murders (Spanish: Crímenes imperceptibles; Imperceptible Crimes) is a novel by the Argentine author Guillermo Martínez, first published in 2003. It was translated into English in 2005 by Sonia Soto. The story tells about a professor of logic, Arthur Seldom, who, along with a graduate student, investigates a series of bizarre, mathematically-based murders in Oxford, England.

In 2008, a movie version of The Oxford Murders set in 1993, centers around Martin (Elijah Wood), a US student at the University of Oxford, who wants Arthur Seldom (John Hurt) as his thesis supervisor.

Martin idolizes Arthur Seldom–a brilliant mathematician and curmudgeon. Martin takes accommodation in Oxford at the house of Mrs. Eagleton (Anna Massey), an old friend of Seldom. Also in the house is her daughter, Beth (Julie Cox), who is her full-time caregiver – which she resents bitterly – and a musician by occupation. Seldom receives a note that Mrs. Eagleton will be murdered that afternoon. Seldom dismisses the note as nonsense. But Seldom and Martin together discover Mrs. Eagleton’s body and together work to solve the crime. More murders, based on mathematical symbols, occur after warning notes arrive.

The Oxford Brotherhood (2022), Martinez’s outstanding sequel to 2005’s The Oxford Murders, G, who’s studying mathematical logic at Oxford University in 1994, is developing a computer program to analyze handwriting.

Meanwhile, word of a discovery has upset the world of Oxford scholars working on a definitive annotated edition of Lewis Carroll’s diaries. Intern Kristen Hill, who’s been going through Carroll’s papers, claims to have found a lost diary page with a sentence written by the author’s elder grandniece that she believes “can answer the question that hangs over Lewis Carroll,” whether his contacts with little girls like Alice Liddell were inappropriate, “but in a totally unexpected way.”

Kristen won’t show G the page, which he gathers she’s removed from the collection, until she’s confident she’ll be credited for the discovery. G’s program could help authenticate the handwriting, but before Kristen can present her findings, she’s seriously injured by a hit-and-run driver who apparently targeted her. G teams up again with Oxford professor Arthur Seldom to investigate.  As in The Oxford Murders more deaths occur.

If you’re interested a twisty couple of academic mysteries where mathematics plays a critical part, The Oxford Murders and The Oxford Brotherhood will delight you. GRADE: B+ (for both)

“The Old Order Amish is a large rural group descended from the Amish Mennonites who self-impose severe restrictions on dress and use of modern technology. As such, they are not exposed to light from televisions or computers. This lack of LAN (light at night) may help explain why the Amish have greatly reduced rates of cancer, depression, and other psychiatric disorders compared with the general population.” (p. 55)

Sara Mednick, a sleep researcher, presents evidence that our lives and health would improve with better sleep. Since Edison invented the light bulb, various health problems like cancer, depression, and other psychiatric disorders have increased. Mednick shows it could be because we’re exposed to light at night when we should be sleeping.

“The long-term consequence of betraying Nature’s rhythms are abysmal. Living life out of sync increases the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, depression, obesity, Alzheimer’s disease, and more. Shift workers are especially at risk, facing abnormally high rates of these conditions as they ask their bodies and brains to constantly battle Nature’s will.” (p. 53)

Mednick advances a number of suggestions to improve your sleep. She’s a big advocate of melatonin. Mednick suggests taking a low dose (1 mg) one hour before you head for bed may result in more restful and restorative sleep (p. 117-118).

Mednick is NOT a fan of alcohol in any form. She cites evidence that shows alcohol can disrupt sleep patterns and impact memory. Her other recommendations involve regular exercise and a healthy diet. Following these suggestions, Mednick claims, will result in more energy, better health, and a longer Life. How’s your sleep? GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Author’s Note xi

Introduction 1

Part 1 Getting in the Right Ratio 13

1 Everything You Know About Balance Needs an Upgrade 15

2 Get in Sync with Your Inherent Rhythm 37

Part 2 Activating the Downstate 63

3 Replenish, Revitalize, Rebuild, Restore! 65

4 Join the Rest-o-lution, Deepen Your Sleep 91

5 Exercise Your Right to Recovery 128

6 You Are What and When You Eat 161

7 Guess What? You Are Aging Now! 190

Part 3 Hitting the Reset Button 213

8 The Downstate RecoveryPlus Plan 215

9 Everything You Always Wanted to Know About the Future of the Downstate (but Were Afraid to Ask) 242

10 Becoming a Downstate Maven 257

Epilogue 267

Domains of Action Items 271

RecoveryPlus Daily Journal 273

Acknowledgments 275

Notes 277

Index 321