I loved the concept of Once Upon a Rind in Hollywood: 50 Movie-Themed Cheese Platters and Snack Boards for Film Fanatics, and I loved it even more when I read it. (The photographs, which are glorious, are credited to Rachel Riederman, and I think she wrote the text as well, based on the about page, but the text is copyrighted to the publisher, Ulysses Press, although the recipes are credited to Riederman. Modern books are weird.) For each famous movie, […]

The catalogue for the Sherlock Holmes in 221 Objects exhibit is a worthwhile read for more than just Sherlockians — it provides intriguing insight into some publishing history. The exhibit, featuring items from the collection of Glen S. Miranker and curated by him and Cathy Miranker, has appeared in several key locations for fans of the great detective: the New York Grolier Club from January through April 2022; the Lilly Library in Bloomington, Indiana (where I saw it), from August […]

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 […]

Cartoonist Glenn Dakin has turned his skills to an illustrated set of short, inspirational essays in Sherlock Holmes’ Little Book of Wisdom: How to Deduce What on Earth Is Going On. He aims to show the reader how to apply the detective’s skills to everyday life, with chapters on the topics of observation, deduction, fisticuffs, setting a trap, and others. As Dakin explains in his introduction: “Instead of being dazzled by Sherlock’s genius, as others are, we have taken a […]

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 […]