The One True Me and You by Remi K. England is a queer geeky rom-com that stars my people. I loved it. Kaylee is attending a convention dedicated to the latest entertainment incarnation of Sherlock Holmes. She writes popular Johnlock fic about the characters, and it’s the first time she’s meeting the best friends she’s made online. It’s also the first time she feels safe exploring the idea that she’s non-binary, using they/them pronouns, as her hometown is not queer-friendly. […]

A World of Wisdom: Fun and Unusual Phrases from Around the Globe by James Chapman is a colorful comic guide to idioms that is fun to dive into. Proceeding by topics, each section compares expressions from different cultures. Sayings are grouped by the animal kingdom, aquatic life, facial hair, dancing, love, advice, nature, food, and books. Cats, due to their popularity, have their own chapter, as do dogs. Particularly popular ideas, such as “when the cat’s away, the mice will […]

There are a ton of Sherlock Holmes film and TV projects briefly described in Cut to Baker Street. With the book’s inclusion of web series, video games, and other short pieces, any reader will discover something they weren’t previously aware of. However, the information given for any project is very brief. Most titles have mere plot descriptions, without much information about history, style, quality, or importance. Particularly with those items that weren’t commercial full-length films or TV shows, it’s frustrating […]

I had a brilliant time reading Doctor Who: Whographica. It’s colorful and fun and full of ridiculous detail. It has twelve chapters, one per Doctor. (Published in 2016, the book only covers through 2015, or two-thirds of the way through the Twelfth Doctor’s run, ending with “The Husbands of River Song”.) Each chapter also covers another theme — including TARDIS, Alien Worlds, Technology, and my favorite, “That’s Silly” — and opens with something like this: That lists the episodes for […]

Mixology and Murder: Cocktails Inspired by Infamous Serial Killers, Cold Cases, Cults, and Other Disturbing True Crime Stories is a rather unique bartending cookbook. You can gather how from the subtitle. Kierra Sondereker has assembled a set of variants on classic cocktails themed around famous true crimes. Each of the sixty drink recipes is accompanied by a short (2-4 paragraphs) writeup of the corresponding murders. I’d heard of many of these villains or cases — H.H. Holmes, Ted Bundy, Son […]

Drawn That Way by Elissa Sussman is a young adult novel very of our time. It’s about creativity and industry sexism and who gets to make entertainment and finding (or making) a supportive community. Hayley dreams of nothing but creating animation for genius director Bryan Beckett’s studio. As a high school senior, being selected as one of the 40 summer interns is a dream come true. But there are a number of snags… The director’s estranged son is one of […]

I’ve just finished a rip-roaring adventure/romance trilogy that I loved reading. The Will Darling Adventures by K.J. Charles is set in 1920s London. Will Darling has returned from the War and wound up running a bookshop, inherited from his uncle, as he had few other choices. The first book, Slippery Creatures, introduces him and the trouble he falls into when competing mysterious organizations want something that had been hidden in the shop. Then the charming Lord Arthur “Kim” Secretan shows […]