Ed's Blog

Writer Max Allan Collins has completed yet another unfinished manuscript left to him by the late Mickey Spillane, this one titled Lady, Go Die! (Click here to reserve it from us.)  Dating from around 1945, just after Spillane submitted his first novel, I, The Jury, to the publishers, Lady, Go Die! is actually the belated original sequel to Jury, finally available to readers.  And as with last year's Spillane/Collins collaborations, Kiss Her Goodbye and The Consummata, Lady, Go Die! was worth the wait.

The fifth book in Edgar Rice Burroughs' "Barsoom" series, 1922's The Chessmen of Mars, (click here to reserve a copy) trods some by-now familar narrative ground yet still has some great sequences and bizarre characters to keep the reader involved.  This time around, the protagonists are John Carter's daughter Tara of Helium and her would-be suitor, Gahan of Gathol, who "meet cute" at a reception at the beginning of the novel. 

Before I begin, be sure to check my Twitter page to find out when my review of Edgar Rice Burroughs' The Chessmen of Mars will be posted.  Meanwhile, this current blog entry is the first in a series of reviews of books that are currently out-of-print and not available from Greenwich Library other than through our Interlibrary Loan service.  (Click here to access the ILL page.)  

In previous posts, I've expressed my extreme unhappiness with the critical reaction to Disney's terrific John Carter film.  Aside from the fact that most of the critics who panned the film have the combined intellectual capability of a tree trunk, the Disney studio did almost ziltch when it came to marketing and promoting the film properly.  (People have told me they were surprised that the movie was based on a series by "that Tarzan guy", Edgar Rice Burroughs, a fact an extensive advertising campaign would've promoted to the hilt.) 

The third installment of Edgar Rice Burroughs' "Barsoom" series, The Warlord of Mars (click here to reserve a copy) picks up where the previous book The Gods of Mars left off.  There, John Carter, already having returned to Mars ("Barsoom" to the natives) after a decade, had to deal with religious zealots, meeting his son Carthoris for the first time, and many other situations and adventures before making his way back to his wife Dejah Thoris. 

Yes, job search expenses, which can include employment agency fees, resumes and travel costs, are deductible.  About.com outlines what job seekers filing taxes this year can deduct here.  And you can download the appropriate IRS filing form 529 here.

April 17th is the deadline to file your returns.  Click here to find out about filing an extension.  Good luck!

FYI:  Previous posts on tax tips this month have included the following:

10 Tax Benefits For The Self-Employed

Tax Tips For Job Hunters

Possible Benefits For Taxpayers With Disabilities

How To Claim The Disability Tax Credit

The Top Five Tax Resources For People with Disabilities