The Blue Lotus – Hergé, 1936 [Revised 1946] ★★½

Tintin Goes Long

When Tintin fans talk about the greatness of the comic series, one oft-cited exhibit is The Blue Lotus, an ambitious tale set before World War II that sets the intrepid Belgian reporter against the international drug trade and Japan’s conquest of China.

For me, it’s a meh experience. I see what admirers mean when they talk about Hergé’s emerging artistry and storycraft. But I have never really taken to the work the way I have to other, less-touted installments of the series.

Coriolanus – William Shakespeare, c. 1609 ★★★

John Galt in a Toga

Any Shakespeare play that leaves people with totally different interpretations regarding the nature of the lead character can’t be all bad.

The first time I read Coriolanus was in college. A kindly professor laid out the case for seeing Coriolanus as a kind of fascist strongman brought down by his contempt for the people. I went away comforted in my small-L liberalism. The next time I read it, it was hard not to see Coriolanus as something else entirely, a deserving member of the meritocracy brought down by an envious, parasitic mob moved by envy, not need. In short, John Galt in a toga.

Target Blue: An Insider's View Of The NYPD – Robert Daley, 1973 ★★★½

Walking the Thin Blue Line

You are the new liberal police commissioner of the biggest, toughest city in America, and want a fresh look for your scandal-ridden department. So you give a local reporter a gun and a badge and tell him he’s now your deputy commissioner. What do you think happens next?

The Story Of American Golf: Its Champions And Its Championships – Herbert Warren Wind, 1956 ★★★★

Before Arnie Came

Golf’s elitist tag is long out of date; it was back in 1980 when Caddyshack came out but lingers still. Yes, the sport can be expensive and there are clubs for rich golfers only, but so what? They have clubs like that for other sports like tennis and swimming; no one considers those pastimes “exclusive.”

Another ugly word may have more merit in its application: Stodgy. People associate golf with tradition, with a sense of personal honor bordering on rectitude, and with boring stories told by a crusty old-timer who rounds his vowels like John Houseman. If you were to imagine a book written by such a fellow, it might well resemble something like what’s before us today.

Different Seasons – Stephen King, 1982 ★★★★

Reclaiming the Lost Art of the Novella

During his first seven years as America’s biggest-selling author, Stephen King took readers into all kinds of forbidden, frightening territory. Haunted hotels, apocalyptic ruins, teenage hormones, he ran the gamut. In 1982, King ventured into a dead zone of a different kind: Novellas.