You Can Tell a Book by Its Cover, Not

So, after a bad week, I have finally gotten to the final week of this puzzle series.  As mentioned previously, the theme for this week is books.  Unlike last year's puzzle (click here to check it out), this time around I will be focusing on some of last year's  biggest titles.  Furthermore, I have increased the total number of clues, partially due to the fact that I am a book store owner (at least for the next few weeks).  There's also the shear amount of possible title to go through.  During the average week, only three to five movies are opened in wider release, eight to ten new series debut across all platforms, and twenty to twenty-five major artists have new albums, with an average of eight to twelve singles debuting on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.  In contrast, over forty new hardcover books are published each week, fiction and nonfiction.  Add in children's titles, and the numbers increase.  If you include original paperback books, then the totals skyrocket.  New books clearly outpace other media.  Therefore, more clues.  For example, if the clue was Pre-teen Educational Center:  Created for the Performance of Heavy Metal Music, your answer would be Middle School:  Born to Rock, the latest children's title by James Patterson with Chris Tibbets (due out Monday, February 18).  See how many you can identify.  It's a mix of fiction and non-fiction,with a few children's books.  (Hint:  I've read five of them, and reviewed them on the Booknotes Facebook page.). Answers appear at the bottom of the page.

1. Devoid of Light yet from the Absence of Life
2. Ferrous Auric Metal
3. Informed about through Tutoring
4. Non-daylight Passings
5. Unintentional Victorious Ones
6. Offspring Comprised from Plasmic Fluids/Osseous Materials
7. Bramble Fruit Pastry Originally from Vienna Homicide
8. Fractured Reflective Glass Surface
9. Subterranean Location for Petrified Remains
10. Said Person's Ocular Organs Are Trained towards That One
11. Contorted Predator's Mark
12. One Particular Misaligned Ascender Appliance
13. One Greater Loyalty towards Some Value
14. Difficult Problems of Brother of Artemis:  Puzzling Diverting Pathways Aflame
15. Daylight Period of Minor Changes
16. One Not of the Rest of Us
17. Disruption of Fluid Motility
18. Small Home near Large Expanse of Salt Water
19. That Adult Female as Opposed to This One
20. Group Dedicated to Nefarious Purposes, Specifically Calcified Human Remains
21. Herpetological Similarity of the Legless Variety
22. Tenebrous Manifestations the Perambulate
23. Utter Disgust
24. Unlit Oceanic Movements Increasing
25. Chronological Dimension's Newly Installed Being
26. Plasma Dedicated Rite
27. Gloomy Religiously Special Twilight Period
28. Journal Entries from One Young Weakling: Period of Snow Evaporation or Emotional Release
29. Each Particular Inhalation
30. Atlas Entry for Sunlit Hours
31. Period of Defining Moments
32. Left Exposed to the Elements
33. Process of Changing to Present Condition
34. Energetic Expression of Heat with Liquid Associated with Life
35. Obverse Side of a Coin Equates to That Person's Victory
36. Controller for That Male's Future
37. Incredibly Vast Pathway with Redemptive Quality as Destination
38. Worldwide in Scope

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ANSWERS

1. Dark in Death by J. D. Robb
2. Iron Gold by Pierce Brown
3. Educated by Tara Westover
4. Night Moves by Jonathan Kellerman
5. Accidental Heroes by Danielle Steel
6. Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
7. Raspberry Danish Murder by Joanne Fluke
8. Shattered Mirror by Iris Johansen
9. Cave of Bones by Anne Hillerman
10. I've Got My Eyes on You by Mary Higgins Clark
11. Twisted Prey by John Sanford
12. The Crooked Staircase by Dean Koontz
13. A Higher Loyalty by James Commey
14. The Trials of Apollo:  The Burning Maze by Rick Riordan
15. Adjustment Day by Chuck Palahniuk
16. The Outsider by Stephen King
17. Turbulence by Stuart Woods
18. Cottage by the Sea by Debbie Macomber
19. The Other Woman by Daniel Silva
20. A Conspiracy of Bones by Kathy Reichs
21. Serpentine by Laurel K. Hamilton
22. Walking Shadows by Faye Kellerman
23. Contempt by Ken Starr
24. Dark Tide Rising by Anne Perry
25. Time's Convert by Deborah Harkness
26. Blood Communion by Anne Rice
27. Dark Sacred Night by Micheal Connelly
28. Diary of a Wimpy Kid:  The Meltdown by Jeff Kinney
29. Every Breathe by Nicholas Sparks
30. A Map of Days by Ransom Riggs
31. The Reckoning by John Grisham
32. Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver
33. Becoming by Michelle Obama
34. Fire and Blood by George R. R. Martin
35. Heads You Win by Jeffrey Archer
36. Master of His Fate by Barbara Taylor Bradford
37. Long Road to Mercy by David Baldacci
38. Pandemic by Robin Cook

In and Out of Kilter

For those expecting the last in the series of puzzles I have been posting, I'm sorry to say that you are out of luck.  I just ran out of time to come up with the puzzle this week, and still have time to post it.  The research would have taken about an hour, and I just didn't have that sort of time this week.  Actually, I forgot about having to do the research until I ran out of time.  In fact, the last week or so, my entire life has been about 10% off.  That might not seem like much, but the effects are compounded with each little action going of the rails.  I am about a day or two behind on my social media postings, even more so for some for Booknotes.  I am having a difficult time catching up on my school work.  I thought things would be easier only taking two classes this semester, especially since I wouldn't be reading a novel a week, or so.  While there is less reading, there is a lot more writing.  I will just barely finish my first fiction submission sometime tonight, and it will probably be a page or two shorter than I expected.  I find myself having to rework some of my answers for my syntax class.  I just don't have the right equipment to create the necessary diagrams all the time.   My gaming has been off too.  I am usually a 65-70% player in Golf Clash.  This past week, I am under 50%.  Many of my moves are just off enough so that I lose, or I make the wrong decisions against other players, some of them worse than me.  I can't even tell how behind I am on some of my recreational activities.  Although since I don't go out, there really isn't much of an excuse for that.  As an aside, why doesn't anyone ask me to go out with them, you know, just to do something?  I feel clumsier than normal.  I had to cut back on the weight, again, on my exercises.  It's getting hard to progress in anything.  I seem to be backsliding even more than usual.  It isn't just I had a birthday in the past week.  One doesn't expect that much of a falloff that quickly, just after a few days.  I don't know what is happening, but I hope to get out of soon, because this downfall is starting to drive me crazy!  
I just looked over my post, and I noticed that I had unintentionally used every letter of the alphabet.  Weird.

We Won't Be Returning to Regular Programming

Time for the third puzzle in this series.  This time around, the theme is television.  Below is a list of twenty programs.  Unlike last year's puzzle (click here to check it out), this one only features new shows that debuted in 2018, either on network, cable, or streaming services (even though I don't consider streaming "real" television, but that's just me).  Some of the shows were only on for a limited engagement, while others were cancelled quickly.  Some are still going strong, and have already been renewed.  For example, if you saw Sable-Tinged Atmospheric Electrical Discharge your answer would be Black Lightning.  Try to guess what each show's real title is.   As always, the answers appear at the bottom of the page.

1. Psychological Profiler of the Nineteenth Century
2. Almost Fully and Completely Like an Adult
3. Particular Person Staying at a Certain Medical Facility
4. Pertaining to and Considerate of General Citizenry
5. Point of Intersection
6. Medieval Fortification Stony Outcropping
7. Figural Adjustment by Immobile Placement
8. Pointy Things
9. Objective Embodiment
10. Temporary Outdoor Habitation
11. Frigid Exploits for One Ms. Spellman
12. Joyful Glee with One Another
13. Thoroughly of the United States by Encompassing without Exception
14. One Thousand Squared Teensy Unidentified Objects
15. This Individual Has Inadequate Physical Health
16. Inherited Beings Facing Historical Responsibilities
17. Somewhat Lukewarm Younger People
18. Supreme Deity Responded Positively towards This One on Social Media
19. Large and/or Powerful Beings with Beneficial Abilities
20. National Agency Devoted to Data Collection for Legal Action (this one's tricky)

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ANSWERS

1. The Alienist
2. Grown-ish
3. The Resident
4. For the People
5. The Crossing
6. Castle Rock
7. Pose
8. Sharp Objects
9. Manifest
10. Camping
11. Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
12. Happy Together
13. All American
14. A Million Little Pieces
15. I Feel Bad
16. Legacies
17. Cool Kids
18. God Friended Me
19. Titans
20. FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation)

You Ought Not to Be in Pictures

Welcome to the second week of title puzzles.  This time around the theme are 2018 movies, kind of apropos considering that the Oscar nominations were just announced yesterday.  Below are twenty rewritten movie titles.  Your task is to try and figure out the actual titles are.  For example, if you saw Easily Breakable Crystalized Silicon Dioxide Based Substance, your answer would be the recent release Glass.   As always, the answers can be found at the bottom of the page.  If you liked these, click here for last year's edition.

1.  Maniacal Wealthy Inhabitants of the Far East Area of the Eastern Hemisphere
2.  The Creation of the Celebrity Compared to One Celestial Object
3.  Small Land Mass Completely Surrounded by Water Pertaining to Canids
4.  Verdant-Hued Tome
5.  Short Musical Piece for the Culturally Impaired, Associated with Central Region of Germany
6.  Is It Possible for That One to Give Amends to This Personage?
7.  Formic Male Hero with Vespine Heroine
8.  Apologies for the Interruption towards That One's Business
9.  Site without Sound
10.  Premiere Masculine Entity
11.  Secondary, Also in Opposition to Virtue
12.  Quite Handsome Young Male
13.  Group Dedicated to Novels
14.  Band of Two Cubed Possessed by One Named for Large Body of Water
15.  Inquiry to the Proposition of Dwelling Near One Another
16.  An Elderly Male Human with a Particular Handheld Weapon
17.  Solitary Experience without Cost or Extras
18.  Be Prepared First Competitor
19.  Nocturnal Pursuit for Pleasurable Pastime
20.  Spacial Fold Pertaining to the Temporal Dimension

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ANSWERS

1.  Crazy Rich Asians
2.  A Star Is Born
3.  Isle of Dogs
4.  Green Book
5.  Bohemian Rhapsody
6.  Can You Ever Forgive Me?
7.  Ant Man and theWasp
8.  Sorry to Bother You
9.  A Quiet Place
10.  First Man
11.  Vice
12.  Beautiful Boy
13.  Book Club
14.  Ocean's 8
15.  Won't You Be My Neighbor
16.  The Old Man and the Gun
17.  Free Solo
18.  Ready Player One
19.  Game Night
20.  A Wrinkle in Time

The Song Does Not Remain the Same

Last year, specifically March, I started up a series of puzzles based around the titles of various entertainment media.  Well, I decided to do it again this year, albeit a little earlier.  First off are song titles.  The following list are some of the top songs of 2018m, however the titles have been changed using words that mean about the same.  For instance, if you saw "Your Figure Is Reminiscent of an Unpaved Rural Driving Surface" your answer would be "Body Like a Back Road" by Sam Hunt.  This year was a much harder challenge than last year's puzzle, as there were many more short titles, of one- or two-words.  As such, it was more difficult to come up with alternate takes.  Who even knows what "FEFE" means, or why spell check doesn't want to change it?  Anyway, here is the list.  The answers, with artists, are at the bottom of the page.   If you liked these, click here for last year's edition.

1.   "Scheme of the Supreme Deity"
2.   "If an Act Is to Happen, It Will Happen Without Interference"
3.   "La Capital de Cuba"
4.   "This Person Prefers Said Action or Object"
5.   "Young People of the Feminine Persuasion Similar to That One"
6.   "Unconscious Renderings with Vivid Awareness and/or Control while Asleep"
7.    "Lack of Saline Fluid to Express Sadness for Lacrimation"
8.    "Horrible in Romantic Activities"
9.    "Allowed Someone to Descend into a Negative Emotional State"
10.    "Doing Things of Indefinite Nature to Allow a Definite Future to Come into Existence"
11.    "Offer Expressions of Religious Devotion towards Self"
12.    "Particular Location Equals the United States"
13.    "Luminescent Sources Reduced for Less Illumination"
14.    "Utter Any Undefined Utterance"
15.    "Contained Entirely by This One's Circulatory Fluids"
16.    "In a Greater State of Euphoric Overtones"
17.    "At a Point Determined to Be Centrally Located"
18.    "Regulations of Recent Creation"
19.    "Fermented Nectars of Various Succulents Similar to Cacti"
20.    "Inquiry into Duration of a Certain Event"

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ANSWERS

1.    "God's Plan" by Drake
2.    "Meant to Be" by Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line
3.    "Havana" by Camila Cabello
4.    "I Like It" by Cardi B with Bad Bunny and J. Baluin
5.    "Girls Like You" by Maroon 5 with Cardi B
6.    "Lucid Dreams' by Juice WRLD
7.    "No Tears Left to Cry" by Arianna Grande
8.    "Bad at Love" by Halsey
9.    "Let You Down" by NF
10.    "Whatever It Takes" by Imagine Dragons
11.    "Pray for Me" by The WEEKND
12.    "This Is America" by Childish Gambino
13.    "Lights Down Low" by MAX with gnash
14.    "Say Something" by Justin Timberlake and Chris Stapleton
15.    "In My Blood" by Shawn Mendes
16.    "Happier" by Marshmello with Bastille
17.    "The Middle" by Zedd with Moren Morris and Grey
18.    "New Rules" by Dua Lupa
19.    "Tequila" by Dan + Shay
20.    "How Long" by Charlie Puth

A Tale of Retail and Woe

Recently in the news, there have been reports about the demise of Sears.  This American institution has been around for over 120 years, but mis-management and a failure to stay current has led to a probable liquidation at the hands of its creditors, forcing it into bankruptcy.  I for one am saddened by this news.  I like going to stores, physical locations, especially to shop.  When I was growing up, shopping trips were pretty much the only type my mother would tae me on.  Anything more than a day was too much for her.  That is a reason why many of my favorite memories are attached to physical objects as opposes to emotions and experiences.  Sears was one of those places.  While there was, and currently is, a Sears satellite nearby, the nearest full-service Sears were over a hundred miles away, at least the ones we would go to.  The closest regular Sears is just over 120 miles away, but I still go to it at least twice a year.  In fact, either me or my mother has bought something pretty much every time we go.  It is the only store I know of that carries the type of pajamas that I like, the ones without the drawstrings.  I prefer snaps.   It is also one of the few places that has had a great selection of Reebok sneakers.  I still have the black-and-white fashion pair I got about five years ago, although they will need to be updated soon.  For me, I have to go to a physical store for clothes.  Decades ago, my mom would sometimes order me clothes through a catalog, but frequently they would have to be returned due to the strange combination of measurements of my body.  Seriously, finding brands I like and fit can be a hassle.  I even wrote about it a few months ago.  Trying things on in store just makes things easier.  The fact that I didn't have a way to shop online until recently is beside the point.  I even ordered the core of my current weight set, the one to replace the one I lost in a flood, through the local Sears satellite store, although it now only can deal in major appliances and lawn care, maybe some automotive.   I might be even sadder because I am in the retail business myself, at least for now.  Within the month, I might have to close my own store, a great part of that is due to the changing face of business and the problems of keeping up to date.  For a culture that places greater emphasis on having experiences over that of the grind of everyday work, I don't see why more people don't want to shop at a physical store.  Shopping isn't a hassle.  It can be the challenge of the hunt trying to find exactly what you are looking for.  It can be the enjoyment of racking up a bargain or discovering the one thing you didn't know you were looking for.  It can be the thrill of finding something new and unusual.  Yes, lines can be long and other shoppers can be difficult, but even then, something new and different can pop up.  These are experiences that simply sitting at a computer and ordering with a pin and a click cannot duplicate.

Let Me Tell You a Story

Yesterday, while I was finishing up my post for my literary blog, The T. H. Weingarten Miscellany, I realized I had reached the halfway point of my book, working title Dada.  In number of chapters if not actual length.  I know I will have to add some extra details and such, but the main structure and plot points are there.  When I first started writing this book, I didn't own a computer.  I was limited to about thirty minutes or so to type each installment.  Even though I have my own computer now, I still try to limit myself to no more than an hour of typing each time, so that each installment remains about the same length.  This has caused some slip-ups in continuity, but the overall novel remains the way I picture it in my head.  For those of you who haven't checked it out yet, here is a brief recap of what has happened:
 Chris Burton is a twenty-seven single guy who works as an editor/proofreader for a small regional publisher in Lexington, Kentucky.  When we first meet Chris, he is getting chewed out by his boss for his latest prank.  He manages to get out of trouble due to his raw talent and the fact that he is well-liked by the rest of the staff.  His day gets worse when he gets home to find a server informing him that he has to report to a family court judge the following morning.  The next day, Chris goes to the judge's office and see a teenage boy who looks something like him being escorted down the hall.  Chris knows for a fact that he isn't the father, and the judge conforms it.  The boy, Sam, is Chris's half-brother.  Due to a fatal car accident, Chris is the only relative who can be his guardian.  Chris's mother divorced his father the day after Chris was born.  She then fled with Chris, traveling from state to state for the next two years, changing their names multiple times before returning to Kentucky.  Somehow, Chris was found just before the accident, leaving him in the position to take on Sam.  After an awkward encounter at work to schedule some time off, Chris takes Sam shopping for new clothes before returning home (Sam is going through a major growth spurt).  That Friday, they set out for New York, but not before Chris meets up with Rick, a lawyer neighbor who also happens to be a friend of Chris's since high school, to check up a few of the legalities of what would happen if Chris refuses to take Sam in.  Because of an unusual medical condition, Chris can travel in airplanes, so the two set on a road trip.  Chris thought they would make New York by the afternoon to make an appointment with the social worker.  Unfortunately, detours force them to stay the night at a New Jersey hotel.  That night, Chris catches Sam performing an act that most teenage males(and honestly older males too) frequently engage in.  That morning, Chris takes the cheaper route and winds up missing the social worker again.  However, he does meet Carol, the young assistant to the family's lawyers.  She shows Chris into the large family mansion (!?) that's been with the Burtons since the 1930's.  She leaves with Chris still filled with questions.  Why doesn't anyone else seem to be taking Sam's condition as seriously as Chris is?  Why did his mother leave his father and still doesn't want Chris involved with the family?  What happened the night of the car accident?  Sam knows some of the answers, but he's not talking, and not just because his voice is cracking so badly that it hurts Chris's ears.  The action heats up in the next few chapters, which occur over the next twelve hours and rapidly unspool many answers.  Here's a hint of what will occur in Chapter 13:  Chris meets up with a neighbor who invites Chris to a benefit, where Chris will see some of his art professor father's work.  Trust me, this will change everything.