The New Bedside, Bathtub and Armchair Companion to Agatha Christie by Dick Riley

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


This is an odd book. Let me begin by comparing it to another. Growing up, one of my favorite reference books was The Twilight Zone Companion by Marc Scott Zicree. Once I discovered the Twilight Zone, I couldn't get enough and this book was a great guide in learning about the series, but also letting me know which season each episode aired. I loved the short descriptions which included Serling's opening and closing narration. It gave you everything you needed to know.

Now this book makes it a great point in saying that they won't give away any of the murderers. So you have hundreds of pages (the vast majority of the book is summary of the novels and stories) that ultimately lead nowhere. If the description is supposed to entice you into reading the novel, well, it gives nearly everything away. Everything but the murderer. As a reference book, I feel it therefore fails. (Granted, the reveal would probably be best if it were on a different page or revealed in a section in the back, but it could have been done.)

I've owned this book for many years and the reason I picked it up was after reading a Christie book a few months ago, it reignited my desire to refresh my memory on those books I read in my youth. Alas, these descriptions really didn't do it for me. Nevertheless, I did kind of enjoy going through the book. Hence, my two stars. However, it is for hardcore purists only as the other articles aren't really that interesting. Ultimately, in the age of Wikipedia, there's really no need for this book.



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Siberia 56 by Christophe Bec

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


This was like reading the comic book version of a cheesy B movie. What makes B movies fun, however, is that even though they don't make sense, they have fun action and cheesy dialogue. On the printed page, none of that works. Like in B movies, characters do things that make no sense. For example, they've been at this station for SIX YEARS and one day a team of scientists decide to walk out into the arctic wasteland to explore an area just outside their base that they've never been to... in six years!? And why are they walking? They have ships, they even have drones, but no, a walk into the wild where, of course, they're attacked by an invisible monster. See, the stuff of good B movies, but what's fun on film falls flat on these pages.



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Miles: The Autobiography by Miles Davis

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I first read this book in 1993 (25 years ago!) when I borrowed it from my friend Dave. I remembered really enjoying it and from time to time would think about rereading it, but it wasn't until last month when I read the enthralling "Kind Of Blue: The Making Of The Miles Davis Masterpiece" by Ashley Kahn that I decided it was time to revisit it.

First, it is an amazing book, filled with all kinds of outrageous stories and anecdotes. And it's ridiculously funny, especially if you read it with Miles' raspy voice in your head. However, Miles was a very flawed man and he treated women horribly. He was misogynistic, abusive, and, as he would say, one bad motherfucker.

Despite all of this, the book is still incredibly fun to read and I would recommend it to any fan of his or jazz in general since he really takes you on a tour of jazz history.




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