New York Times Bestseller List - Fiction 07/01/2012

Here are the Top Ten best selling novels on the NY Times Bestselling Fiction list for the week ending: July 1st 2012

10 - 11th Hour - James Patterson   (6th week on list)
9  -  The Innocent - David Baldacci  (9th)
8  -  A Blaze of Glory - Jeff Shaara  (3rd)
7  -  The Storm - Clive Cussler and Graham Brown  (3rd)
6  -  Canada - Richard Ford    (3rd)
5  -  Porch Lights - Dorothea Benton (Debut)
When the widow of a New York city firefighter returns to her Lowcountry South Carolina home, she connects with her mother and the widower next door.

4  -  The Third Gate - Lincoln Child  (Debut)
Professor Jeremy Logan, an enigmalogist is called to Egypt to help make sense of peculiar happenings at a pharaoh's newly discovered tomb

3  -  Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn  (2nd)
2  -  The Mission To Paris - Alan Furst  (Debut)
In Paris in 1938, an actor stumbles into the clutches of Nazi conspirators who want to exploit his celebrity

1  -  Calico Joe - John Grisham  
(10th week on list and 2nd non consecutive week at #1)

Flashback - Top 50 Billboard Albums January 15, 1977

Gunsmoke - Season 3 - Jesse

We continue our journey through season 3 (1957-58) of Gunsmoke on television.   This was the first of 4 straight season as the #1 show in primetime.  Gunsmoke would hold that record until 1975-76 when All In the Family made it 5 straight seasons as #1.

Season 3 Episode 6 - Jesse

A man named Jesse Pruett comes to Dodge to kill a man he thinks killed his father.  Marshall Dillon of course cannot let this happen.

Guest stars - Edward Binns as Bill Strapp and George Brenlin as Jesse Pruett

Tales Well Calculated to Keep you in.....

Well my friend Buck Benny at buckbenny podcast is at it again and its, as usual, wonderful stuff.  He is doing a summer of adventure while his regular shows are on summer vacation.   We get to hear Suspense from its beginnings as an audition show in 1940 on CBS' Forecast along with Gunsmoke from its first season in 1952, Escape, X Minus One and The Voyage of the Scarlett Queen and the wonderful radio series from 1984 Bradbury 13

So please stop over and listen to some of the best Old Time Radio on the internet with Buck Benny.
Enjoy his latest podcast and I have also included a couple of great episodes from Suspense one of the finest radio dramas ever that ran regular shows from 1942-1962.

Here is the audition episode for Suspense from July 22nd 1940 "The Lodger" 



Bradbury 13 from April 9th 1984 "Night Call Collect" 

  

 The first regular run episode of Suspense "The Burning Court" with Charles Ruggles. June 17th 1942

Episode 2 Suspense - "Wet Saturday" June 24th 1942
 

New York Times Bestseller - Fiction June 23rd 2012

Here at the Top Ten Bestselling Novels on the NY Time Fiction Bestseller list for the week ending June 23rd 2012

10 - Deadlocked - Charlaine Harris  (6 weeks on list)
9  -  A Dance With Dragons - George R.R. Marting  (44)
8  -  The Innocent - David Baldacci  (8)
7  -  Stolen Prey - John Sanford  (4)
6  -  11th Hour - James Patterson  (5)
5  -  Spring Fever - Mary Kay Andrews  (Debut)
Annajane Hudgens must decide whether she wants to reunite with her ex-husband

4  -  The Storm - Clive Cussler and Graham Brown (2)
(last weeks #1)
3  -  Calico Joe - John Grisham
2  -  Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn  (Debut)
A woman disappears on the day of her fifth anniversary; Is her husband a killer?

1  -  Kiss the Dead - Laurell K. Hamilton
(DEBUT)
Investigating a teenager's abduction, Anita Blake, vampire hunter, encounters a group of recently turned vampires

Top Selling Audio Books on Amazon

Here are the current Top 20 best selling audio books from Amazon.com

20 - Mindfulness for Beginners - Jon Kabat-Zinn
19 - The Power of Habit - Charles Duhigg
18 - Wishes Fulfilled - Dr. Wayne Dyer
17 - Calico Joe - John Grisham
16 - Fifty Shades Freed : Book 3 of the Fifty Shades Trilogy - E L James
15 - Fifty Shades Trilogy Audiobook Bundle - E L James
14 - Guided Mindfulness Meditation Series 1 - Jon Kabat-Zinn
13 - Fifty Shades Darker : Book 2 of the Fifty Shades Trilogy - E L James
12 - Latin American Spanish Conversational - Pimsleur
11 - Unbroken - Laura Hillenbrand
10 - The Amateur - Edward Klein
9  -  Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins
8  -  The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
7  -  Cowards - Glenn Beck
6  -  Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
5  -  Wicked Business - Janet Evanovich
4  -  Killing Lincoln - Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
3  -  Fifty Shades of Grey : Book One - E L James
2  -  I Am Wishes Fulfilled Meditation - Dr. Wayne Dyer
1  -  Rick Riordan's The Kane Chronicles
(The Red Pyramid, The Throne of Fire, The Serpent's Shadow)

Gunsmoke Season 3 - Potato Road

Continuing our look at Season 3 of Gunsmoke (1957-58) in which it was the #1 show in prime time television.  This was the first of 4 straight seasons at the #1.

"Potato Road"

aired October 12th 1957

Season 3 episode 5

Golden Age of Radio - The Jack Benny Show 1937

Today's OTR classic episode is from this week in 1937 from the Jell-O Program starring Jack Benny.   This was an episode to promote Jack's upcoming movie "Artist and Models" , but in looking back this now takes a place as a groundbreaking episode.   With no fanfare and no buildup we are introduced to "Rochester", Jack's valet, butler, driver, foil and all around right hand man as played by Eddie Anderson.
Rochester was the creation of Al Bosberg and his last contribution to radio comedy which he wrote before his sudden death the next week and the character thanks to Eddie Anderson and Jack Benny became an icon in radio and popular culture.

Thanks to Buck Benny and a great and insightful podcast discussing the impact of Eddie Anderson
.

New York Times Bestseller List - NonFiction June 16th 2012

Here are the Top Ten Books on the NY Times bestseller list for non fiction for the week ending June 16th 2012

10 - The Presidents Club - Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy  (7 weeks on list)
9  -  Imagine - Jonah Lehrer    (11 weeks)
8  -  My Cross To Bear - Gregg Allman  (5 weeks)
7  -  Fearless - Eric Blehm   (DEBUT)
A tribute to Adam Brown, a member of Navy SEAL Team 6, who was killed in Afghanistan

6  -  Cronkite - Douglas Brinkley (DEBUT)
A biography of the newsman and longtime anchor of the "CBS Evening News".

5  -  The Passage of Power - Robert A Caro  (5 weeks)
4  -  Killing Lincoln - Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard   (36 weeks)
3  -  Unbroken - Laura Hillenbrand   (81 weeks)
2  -  It Worked For Me - Colin Powell  (2 weeks)
1  -  The Amateur - Edward Klein
(3 consecutive weeks at #1)

New York Times Bestseller List - Fiction June 16th 2012

Here are the top ten novels on the NY Times Bestselling list for fiction for the week ending 

June 16th 2012

10 - In One Person - John Irving    (4 weeks on list)
9  -  A Dance with Dragons - George R.R. Martin   (43 weeks)
8  -  The Innocent - David Baldacci   (7 weeks)
7  -  A Blaze of Glory - Jeff Shaara   (Debut)
A re-creation of the Battle of Shiloh in 1862


6  -  Bring Up The Bodies - Hilary Mantel   (4 weeks)
5  -  Deadlocked - Charlaine Harris   (5 weeks)
4  -  Calico Joe - John Grisham    (8 weeks)
3  -  Stolen Prey - John Sanford   (3 weeks)
(2 weeks at #1)
2  -  11th Hour - James Patterson   (4 weeks)
1  -  The Storm - Clive Cussler and Graham Brown
(DEBUT)
In the 10th NUMA Files novel, Kurt Austin and his team battle a plan to change the world's weather

Flashback Billboard Top 50 Country Singles September 2, 1978

Gunsmoke Season 3 (Kitty's Outlaw)

The 3rd season of Gunsmoke on television (1957-58) was the first of 4 straight as the #1 show in 

"Kitty's Outlaw"
Season 3 episode 4
aired October 5th 1957

2012 Belmont Stakes

Today was the running of the 144th edition of the Belmont Stakes and the 3rd and final leg of the US Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Horse Racing.   We didnt have a Triple Crown winner this year even though I'll Have Another won the first 2 legs of the crown, he was scratched due to worries of tendinitis in his front leg.

Union Rags ran the rail to nose out Paynter for the Belmont victory and gave Michael Matz, the trainer of Barbaro, a Belmont victory to add to his illustrious career.

Ray Bradbury 1920-2012 R.I.P.

We lost one of the greatest writers the US has ever produced in Ray Bradbury.  He died yesterday at the age of 91 in California.

Read his obituary in the LA Times.

I became aware of him and also became a big fan when I was a teenager and read "The Illustrated Man".  Those stories were incredible and especially "The Veldt" , With its technology gone wrong plot, this was a prime example of what others called the "Bradbury last sentence twist".  This was adapted for the radio show Dimension X  in 1951.   After reading this story I couldn't put the book down and soon was looking for all the Bradbury collections in my library.



In the mid 80s HBO ran a great show called "Ray Bradbury Theater"  and then it moved to the USA Network from 1988 to 1992.  All episodes were written by Mr. Bradbury with most being adapted from short stories or novels he had written.
One of the stories adapted was "The Small Assassin"  from 1946 that had been back in 1953 for the EC comic book "Shock SuspenStories" issue #7 and then adapted again for television for the second season of "Ray Bradbury Theater".

 

 


The world is a little sadder today without Ray Bradbury churning out fantasy and suspense stories to keep you up at night.

Gunsmoke - Season 3 (Blood Money)

The 3rd season of Gunsmoke on television (1957-58) was the first of 4 straight as the #1 show in prime time.

 Blood Money

Season 3 episode 3

aired September 28th 1957

New York Times Bestseller List (Non Fiction) June 3rd 2012

Here are the Top Ten Bestselling books on the New York Times Non Fiction list for the week ending June 3rd 2012

10 - The Presidents Club - Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy  (5 weeks on list)
9  -  Imagine - Jonah Lehrer   (9 weeks)
8  -  Service - Marcus Luttrell and James Hornfischer   (2 weeks)
7  -  Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake - Anna Quindlen   (4 weeks)
6  -  Killing Lincoln - Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard   (34 weeks)
5  -  Most Talkative - Andy Cohen   (2 weeks)
4  -  My Cross To Bear - Gregg Allman   (3 weeks)
3  - The Art of Intelligence - Henry Crumpton   (Debut)
2  -  The Passage of Power - Robert A Caro  (3 weeks)
(2 weeks at #1)
1  -  The Amateur - Edward Klein
(Debut)

New York Times Bestseller List (Fiction) June 3rd 2012

Here are the Top Ten bestselling novels on the NY Times Book list for the week ending June 3rd 2012

10 - Home -  Toni Morrison   (2 weeks on list)
9  -  The Wind Through the Keyhole - Stephen King   (4 weeks)
8  -  Bring Up The Bodies - Hilary Mantel    (2 weeks)
7  -  In One Person - John Irving    (2 weeks)
6  -  The Innocent - David Baldacci   (5 weeks)
5  -  Calico Joe - John Grisham   (6 weeks)
4  -  The Columbus Affair - Steve Berry   (Debut)
3  -  Deadlocked - Charlaine Harris   (3 weeks)
2  -  11th Hour - James Patterson   (2 weeks) (Last weeks #1)
1  -  Stolen Prey - John Sanford
(Debut)

2012 Epsom Derby

Followup on yesterday's post on England's Triple Crown, today was the day of the annual Epsom Derby.


We now have horses on the verge of winning the Triple Crown in both the  US and England.

England's Triple Crown

In case you missed it the UK Triple Crown of horse racing has also begun with the running of the 2000 Guineas Stakes at Newmarket Race Track, a 1 mile straight sprint.   "Camelot" came away the winner of the 2012 race and is the favorite for the upcoming Epsom Derby.

The second leg of the English Triple Crown is this Saturday June 2nd with the 233rd running of the Epsom Derby, 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 10 yard track, and this will also be the official kick off to the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations for Queen Elizabeth II.

The 3rd and final leg of the English Triple Crown is the St Leger Stakes run at Town Moor in Doncaster, Yorkshire.  This is 1 mile,6 furlongs and 132 yard track.



All of these tracks are considered "Flat Tracks" and are not set up like american tracks with 4 turns and 2 straightaway or "frontstretch" and "backstretch", they are long and winding tracks with no real turns.

These are really courses that test the straightaway speed (Guineas) and stamina (Epsom and St Leger).

The last horse to win the English Triple Crown was Nijinsky II in 1970, and the first since 1935.