Book Review: Doctor Who - A Cultural History

From its first airing in the immediate wake of the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Doctor Who has been a fascinating portal through which viewers observe changing times and standards. For over sixty years it has told the story of not just the central protagonist, the Doctor, but also of humanity. To understand the Doctor is to understand ourselves through the eyes of a stranger.

In Doctor Who: A Cultural History, Graham Gibson highlights the incredible impact of the long-running sci-fi series Doctor Who on television by guiding readers through the show’s history and evolution to remain a fixture of popular culture for over six decades. Investigating a range of topics from religion and politics to gender and technology and even the very nature of good and evil, Gibson demonstrates how the show reflects our society, sometimes showing a powerful prescience, sometimes not. Beginning with the first Doctor through to the fifteenth, this book covers everything from fan-favorite Doctors played by David Tennant and Matt Smith to the introduction of the first female and Black Doctors, respectively, as well as iconic lore such as the Tardis’s origins, the Doctor’s essential companions, and key foes from the Daleks to the Master.

Book Review: Didn't You Use to Be Queenie B?

Regina Benuzzi is Queenie B, a culinary goddess with Michelin Star restaurants, a bestselling cookbook empire, and multimillion-dollar TV deals. It doesn’t hurt that she’s gorgeous and curvaceous, with cascading black hair and signature red lips. She had it all. Until she didn’t.

After an epic fall from grace, Queenie B vanishes from the public eye, giving up everything: her husband, her son, and the fame that she’d fought to achieve. Her shows are in rerun, her restaurants still popular, but her disappearance remains a mystery to her legions of fans.

Local line cook Gale Carmichael also knows a thing or two about disaster. Newly sober and struggling, Gale’s future dreams don’t hold space for culinary stardom; only earning enough to get by. Broke at the end of the week, he finds himself at a local soup kitchen in one of the roughest parts of New Haven, Connecticut. But Gale quickly realizes that the food coming out of the kitchen is not your standard free meal; it is delicious and prepared with gourmet flair. Who is this Regina, the soup kitchen's cranky proprietor?

Book Review: Dark Maestro

Curtis Wilson is a cello prodigy, growing up in the Southeast D.C. projects with a drug dealer for a father. But through determination and talent, and the loving support of his father’s girlfriend, Larissa, Curtis claws his way out of his challenging circumstances and rises to unimagined heights in the classical music world—even soloing with the New York Philharmonic.

And then, suddenly, his life disintegrates. His father, Zippy, turns state evidence, implicating his old bosses to the FBI. Now the family, Curtis included, must enter the witness protection program if they want to survive. This means Curtis must give up the very thing he loves most: sharing his extraordinary musical talents with the world. When Zippy’s bosses prove too elusive for law enforcement to convict them, Curtis, Zippy, and Larissa realize that their only chance of survival is to take on the cartel themselves. They must create new identities and draw on their unique talents, including Curtis’s musical ability, to go after the people who want them dead. But will it be enough to keep Curtis and his family alive?

Book Review: The Memory Collectors

Elizabeth aches for one more precious hour with her son who died in a senseless accident. Andy is desperate to find his first love who vanished after a whirlwind romance. Logan craves the rush of surfing and mountain climbing, yearning to reclaim the freedom he lost after a misstep landed him in a wheelchair. Brooke is looking for an hour of relief from the guilt of an unforgivable mistake.

Enter Aeon Expeditions, the groundbreaking time travel invention of Mark Saunders, which allows some lucky clients the chance to spend an hour in their past. Even though Aeon’s technology ensures time travel can’t alter the future, all four clients, including Mark’s ex-wife Elizabeth, yearn to revisit the hour that changed their lives forever.

Book Review: Dearly Beloved

When Prince spoke those words over celestial organ sounds in the opening moments of "Let's Go Crazy," he wasn't just inaugurating yet another Billboard Hot 100 hit--one of forty-seven in his career; he was also giving voice to the deep-seated and richly complex spiritual underpinning of his art. Prince is beloved by millions worldwide, and a true legend of the pop genre. Yet most of his fans don't recognize the spiritual messages coded within his work, nor understand the connections between Prince's own religious devotion--which evolved over time--and the sexualized messages of his music. Prince was beguiling and used his seductive and mysterious charm to draw his fans into his spiritual and cosmic worldviews, often without their knowledge.

Book Review: John and Paul

The Beatles shook the world to its core in the 1960’s and, to this day, new generations continue to fall in love with their songs and their story. At the heart of this phenomenon lies the dynamic between John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Few other musical partnerships have been rooted in such a deep, intense and complicated personal relationship.

John and Paul’s relationship was defined by its complexity: compulsive, tender and tempestuous; full of longing, riven by jealousy. Like the band, their relationship was always in motion, never in equilibrium for long. John & Paul traces its twists and turns and reveals how these shifts manifested themselves in the music. The two of them shared a private language, rooted in the stories, comedy and songs they both loved as teenagers, and later, in the lyrics of Beatles songs.

Book Review: The Only Grammar Book You'll Ever Need

The Only Grammar Book You’ll Ever Need, Updated Edition is a comprehensive guide to mastering English grammar. Whether you’re a business professional looking to polish your communication skills, a student aiming for top grades, or an English language learner seeking to improve your proficiency, this book covers everything from understanding the parts of speech and elements of a sentence to avoiding the most common grammar and punctuation mistakes.

In a world where AI struggles to identify grammar mistakes, this book serves as a reliable tool for ensuring grammatically accurate communication. With English spoken by almost a quarter of the global population, the need for a comprehensive guide is more important than ever. This one offers clear, concise, and grammatically excellent guidance for all.

Book Review: The Ultimate Fantasy Character Creator

In a genre with so much imaginative potential, creating well-rounded and unique characters that speak to the personality and individuality of the creator can be tricky. This guide is an excellent resource, perfect for anyone interested in elevating their fantasy content on social media, preparing for a LARP event, or even writing characters for novels or screenplays.

With the tool in The Ultimate Fantasy Character Creator, fantasy content creators will be able to generate compelling and fully realized backstories, engage in colorful dialogue with other characters, and connect their fantasy characters to the real world in new and interesting ways.

Book Review: Disney Twisted-Wonderland - The Manga: Book of Savanaclaw vol. 1

Stranded in the world of Twisted Wonderland, Yu must brave a magical school filled with ghosts, monsters, and uncooperative students!

Yu finds herself at Night Raven College, a school for magic users, where the staff and students are getting ready for the interdormitory Spelldrive tournament. It sounds fun, but Yu soon learns that intensity, intrigue, and fierce competitiveness abound!

Disney Twisted-Wonderland: The Manga - Book of Savanaclaw vol. 1 will be published April 8, 2025. VIZ Media provided an early galley for review.