Books:
Wolves Eat Dogs by Martin Cruz Smith – Going back to Gorky Park, I’ve liked his style and that of his Russian detective, Arkady Renko. This time there is no crime to investigate, since a suicide, even one that is highly radioactive, does not warrant attention when the powers that be instruct Renko to back off. He backs all the way to Chernobyl, site of an actual murder where wolves do, indeed, eat dogs. The official death toll from the Chernobyl disaster stands today at 41; the unofficial number ranges from half a million to several million, depending on how many future generations will be deformed and deprived of a normal life span due to the “accident”.

Naked and Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris –the back-cover comments provided by reviewers and other authors would have you believe that David Sedaris is our generation’s Dorothy Parker (who must be spinning at the speed of light in her grave at such a comparison). While readable, well-written and amusing, these essays are meringue-light and not exceptionally memorable. Or maybe that’s just my inability to process and store the written word these days.

We Don’t Live Here Anymore by Andre Dubus – I bought this when the movie of the same name was out, figuring that since it wasn’t playing in any local theaters, I’d read the stories upon which it was based before renting the DVD from Netflix. The introduction by Dubus’ son was beautiful, a lovely tribute to his father. The stories, however, did not follow suit. The two couples in the first story were both miserable in their marriages, and inert in terms of ability to change. That was as far as I made it before deciding to take the easy path straight to the DVD.

The Frumious Bandersnatch by Ed McBain – his 87th Precinct novels are the best, set in a large, unnamed east coast city with five boroughs. The names of the boroughs – Isola, Majesta, Riverhead, Calm’s Point, Bethtown – sound creepy to me, and are set at a 90 degree angle to those in New York. The Bandersnatch of the title is indeed from Lewis Carroll, but only in a derivative way. McBain’s books flit from one story line to another, not all of which pertain to the primary plot, but each furthers the sometimes soap opera-esque lives of his characters.

Movies:
Meet the Fockers – Funnier than I had anticipated based on lackluster reviews. Not as funny as Meet the Parents. Sets up another sequel, if the cast and audiences can stomach that.

TV:
Andromeda – late night TV is not something I usually indulge in, trying to keep to a fairly consistent schedule so that I can get up at an insanely early hour on weekdays. While away on vacation in the mouse kingdom I’ve taken to staying up later and later and keeping the Privacy Please sign on the door until embarrassingly late hours in the afternoon. Without the benefit of on-demand movies (Disney must believe that their selection of about 50 of their own channels is sufficient), there isn’t much choice. This show (created by the dead Gene Roddenberry, presumably while he was still alive) stars and is produced by Kevin Sorbo, he of 90’s Hercules semi-fame. In this show he keeps his shirt on, but his sidekick (male) dons only leather sleeves that cover his forearms (above his waist). I had a tough time following this episode (not only because I was trying to finish the Ed McBain book at the same time), because it apparently has a backstory the equivalent length of all the Harry Potter books.