To Knit a Ghost by Z.B. Asterplume
The cover of To Knit a Ghost (read via an online reader copy, due July 2026) is adorable. Now, I know not to judge a book by its cover, but when you have a cover that has this kind of brightness and color, odds are good you’ll be having some fun and it will be a cute story. Z.B. Asterplume and illustrator Heather Brockman Lee live up to that cover. They made a sweet story that has fun illustrations and makes both knitting and non-holiday […]
Pre-Code Hollywood: Sex, Immorality, and Insurrection in American Cinema; 1930-1934 by Thomas Doherty
Are you looking for a primer on how the enforcement of what became known as the Hayes Code on the movie business in the 1930s impacted what came before and after 1934? I might have the book for you. In 1999 Thomas Doherty published what might be considered the go to book on early 1930s Hollywood, deep diving the various social forces at work and how they effected the creative output of the artists (and businesspeople) in Hollywood. The Code was adopted in 1930 but was without any enforcement measures. By 1934, however, the enforcement was […]
My Friend the Paintbrush: The Colorful World of Marcus Pfister by Marcus Pfister
Cbr17bingo Arts (paintbrushes and an artist are the theme) When I saw the title (via an online reader copy) My Friend the Paintbrush: The Colorful World of Marcus Pfister by Marcus Pfister and translated by David Henry Wilson, I figured it might be cute, but not overwhelmingly WOW. I did see it was due at the end of March/early April 2026 but still thought I’d read it “now” instead of putting it on my TBR list. And I am glad I did. While it might […]
It Rhymes With Takei by George Takei, Harmony Becker, Steven Scott, and Justin Eisinger
Cbr17bingo White It Rhymes With Takei by George Takei, Harmony Becker, Steven Scott, and Justin Eisinger took me over a week to read. This is not because it was a bad graphic novel, but for three main reasons. First, it is actually on the longer side. Second, because it has heavy subjects it deals with. And finally, the pages can be a bit crowded, making images and text blur together and/or making it hard to follow at times, so I just took my time with […]
The One About the Blackbird by Melanie Florence
Bring the tissues when you read The One About the Blackbird by Melanie Florence and illustrator Matt James (read via an online reader copy, due later October 2025). This is a bittersweet story of the love of a grandson and grandfather and how the tables turn as time goes by, but music always pulls them together. The story is about how a young boy is always surrounded by music. One night he tells his grandfather he, too, wants to make music like his favorite song […]
Leap by Simina Popescu
One of my flaws is that I collect links to reader copies, then forget to read them. I have had one of those links for so long I had forgotten that I not only had it, but all about the book, Leap by Simina Popescu. But once I found this graphic novel, I wasn’t sure I wanted to read it. Dancers? Ballet? Another LGBTQ story? Not that I have anything against any of those subjects or themes, but dancing and ballet are not usually my […]
