Have you noticed the "5 Videos for 5 Days for 5 Dollars" special deal that many video stores are offering? I don't know about you, but for me this deal works thus: I'll be reminded of a great film which I haven't seen for a while and/or a friend will recommend a film I should see. So I head on down to the video store to rent said video. When I arrive I have the choice of renting this single film at the cost of $2 for 2 days or I could rent five films for five days at the cost of five dollars. I decide to take the deal. Then I spend the next several hours looking for something, anything, from which to assemble required five videos. It's not even a question of finding four other films I want to see. It's mostly a question of finding four which I wouldn't mind seeing. This is not the way to run a life.

Apart from the obvious solution of not being such a nimrod and just renting the one film I want to see, there is another solution -- "Killer B's". This book, subtitled "The 237 Best Movies On Video You've (Probably) Never Seen," can give one the required background necessary for making an intelligent selection of "off-new-release" videos.

This book is packed with excellent video recommendations. Admittedly you won't find blockbusters between its covers. But, hey, that's the point. If a film is a block buster then you've probably already seen it, or at least you're well aware of the title. This book is for those overlooked gems of the "B" film variety. I happen to believe that many of the videos recommended in this book are really "A" films in quality. But, then again, my tastes run toward "B" movies. I truly enjoy a movie that has not been made to a rigid industry formula. Spend a $100 million or more on a film and committees of accountants, marketing agents, merchandising executives, actuaries, and focus groups run the project. Spend less and the director has a chance to do something creative.

If you've ever tried skimming the shelves for hidden treasures in the off-new-release section you know the problems you are facing -- thousands of titles with nothing but a title, short list of actors, brief description, and picture to go by. Since a video jacket is more often than not totally unrelated to the contents, this is no way to find that hidden gem.

The proper approach is "Killer B's". Here you'll find tons of videos with excellent plot summaries, discussion of the movies' merits and "If you liked this, you'll like that" recommendations.

We recommend this book for your library. Just be sure you shelve it somewhere handy because you'll want to refer to it over and over again.

Killer B's at Impermanent Press.