I’ve been a Sherlockian since I was 9 years old. My dad brought home a thick, red book with tiny text and little did I know, I was about to fall madly in love. In the pages of that book I discovered my hero, Sherlock Holmes. I devoured the entire book, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (which actually starts with the second story A Scandal in Bohemia) and then the rest of “the canon” (as the collection of Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle are called). Ever after that, I was obsessed (as my parents can attest to).

I’m not sure what exactly attracted me to Holmes at such a young age. The language was difficult, the setting foreign (Victorian and post-Victorian England), and the character was cold and distant. Perhaps it was the fact that I felt rather odd myself. The transition into a double digit age, the desire to be smart, coupled with feeling a bit like an outsider amongst my peers made reading about Sherlock Holmes a solace. I tackled the whole series within a couple months and, for years after, books about Sherlock Holmes, copies of the stories, videos, toys, and other paraphernalia peppered the story of my life. Sherlock Holmes was always my first love. I watched every movie and TV show I could get my hands on. I even recorded episodes of my favorite cartoons that parodied the great detective. When Basil of Baker Street was rereleased I watched it with gusto. The first person I ever met who was “a friend on the internet” was Leslie Klinger when I was 16. Les went on to write the ultimate annotated Sherlock Holmes. Our trip to Minnesota one summer as a family wasn’t complete without a trip to the University of Minnesota’s Sherlock Holmes Collections. One Halloween I begged for (and helped pay for) a Sherlock Holmes costume that still hangs in my closet (I wore it about six Halloweens after that).

But, my love of Sherlock Holmes did not stop there. Shortly after reading through the canon I realized there was a whole scholarly aspect to the stories. The Baker Street Irregulars, a society for serious minded study, was formed in the 1930s and counted SciFi legend Isaac Asimov among it’s members. There were journals, newsletters, and papers from all corners of the globe. When I was 11 and 12 I wrote extensively myself and submitted to some of those publications and even began my own email newsletter via my newly minted AOL account – Sherlockian Snippets. In undergrad I squeezed Sherlock Holmes into every paper I could (I even wrote a sociology paper on the Sherlock Holmes fandom).

Recently, Stephen Moffat, who I’ve admired for years for his work on Doctor Who, has made the great detective famous again with his modern Sherlock for the BBC. Sherlock Holmes has also hit the pulp hero status with Guy Davis’ Sherlock Holmes. I myself am working on a novel that has touches of Sherlock Holmes. It’s been a couple years since I’ve read through the canon and I thought now would be a great time to brush off the series and read it again. I’ll be blogging my way through the read through (for those ubernerds, I’ll be doing it according to publication date, not chronologically) and you’re invited to read along and share your own insights (fair warning “A Study in Scarlet,” the first story is actually a novella so it’s a bit long).

Come blog people, the game is most definitely afoot!

Have you ever wanted to make your own Pumpkin Juice? How about a Treacle Tart like Harry Potter eats in the Great Hall? With The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook, you can do just that!

This cookbook goes through all the times in the Harry Potter books when food is involved, and includes many of the recipes involved in each event. Some of the chapters are titles things like: Treats from the Train, Recipes from a Giant and an Elf, and Holiday Fare. Before each recipe, a description is given of where the recipe was mentioned in the books. Many of the recipes from the books are authentic English dishes. We Americans might wonder what Mince Pies or Bath Buns are, but in England they are just another dish.

I am really looking forward to trying the Shepherd’s Pie recipe. I had Shepherd’s Pie at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando, and it was delicious. I hope this recipe lives up to that. There are recipes for all different levels of cooking abilities in this book. Some of the candy looks pretty complicated. There is a section at the beginning of the book telling you what to substitute for some of the English ingredients, and some directions that might be different. The measurements are in cups and teaspoons though.

There was only one thing that disappointed me a little. When I went to Honeydukes at The Wizarding World, I had a Chocolate Cauldron that was one of the best things I’ve ever tasted. It was a little chocolate cake in the shape of a cauldron. It had some sort of chocolate filling, and was just yummy. In this book they have Cauldron Cakes, which is probably more accurate, and are a sort of pancake.

The author, Dinah Bucholz, is a pie baker known for her fine desserts, so I’m sure the desserts in this book are fabulous.

Any Harry Potter fan would enjoy this book. Who doesn’t want to have a Harry Potter themed party and actually eat food from the books? You can purchase this book on Amazon or other major book stores. I’ve seen them at Barnes and Noble. I also came across a Kindle ebook called The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook Presents: 10 Summertime Treats, and it’s only around $1.

Buy The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook on Amazon.

It’s safe to say that I’m an uber geek girl. I cut my teeth on Star Trek and met Riker at my first Star Trek convention when I was like 8 years old. My dad watched the original Star Trek (ST:TOS as it’s referred to by fans) when it first aired, but he also watched the Star Wars movies as they were released. Geekdom, it runs in my blood.

So when I got the chance to read and review Matt Forbeck’s “Star Wars vs. Star Trek” I jumped at it. Long has there been a stalemate in which future franchise reigns supreme. Is it Star Trek with it’s “wagon train to the stars,” optimistic vibe of explorers and tusslers or Star Wars, with it’s small flame of hope against an oppressive regime? Both are near to my heart, so I read the book with gusto.

If you’re looking for a very serious, in-depth look at the cultural, political, social implications of two fictional world mega-franchises — this is not the book for you. And kudos to Matt for not making it another academic discussion. Instead Matt pits similar characters against each other based on their roles in a head to head combat that’s heavily influenced by both stories. My favorite parts are the show downs themselves that are written in semi-fictional prose (want to see Obi Wan and Picard battle? It’s here). Long time fans of both series will enjoy the depth of information and the (sometimes surprising) mashups. At the end of each meeting there’s a decision – who wins? Sometimes clear, sometimes a draw, the characters themselves will determine the winning franchise at the end.

Great fun to read and it often had me giggling like crazy. I highly recommend Star Wars vs. Star Trek to any uber geeky fan who just needs to know who wins.

Buy it now on Amazon:  http://t.co/8ZLyWRF

PAINMAN is a “superhero” in Los Angeles who takes the pain that has been caused to the victim of a crime, and transfers it onto the villain. He is in pain all the time, due to his Fibromyalgia, but he uses this pain to make him stronger.

In this issue, PAINMAN comes to the rescue of some women being abducted for human trafficking. He must push through his own pain in order to scale the building and defeat the bad guys. Only then can he inflict the pain of the victims onto the villains. Not all pain is physical either.

PAINMAN is a great concept. There are some deep themes that I’m sure could be explored through a series of issues. Our hero makes judgment calls just like any superhero about what punishment the villain deserves. He also has the ability to take away others’ pain and keep it as his own. He must show mercy and also justice, but there has to be a balance.

The artwork is really amazing! I enjoyed always being able to see the scarring on PAINMAN’s face. He’s never just a faceless character like in some books. The illustrations are very detailed, and I’d love to have a couple of the shots as posters.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good superhero comic story, and I look forward to continuing to read this series myself.

To learn more about PAINMAN visit the official site at PAINMAN.com where you can read issue #2 and buy issue #1 (plus other merchandise) or on their Facebook page.

When I was in undergrad at Moody Bible Institute I met Christopher Yuan. I was pretty active on campus and worked in the library, so there were very few people I didn’t see on a daily basis. He was a couple years behind me, but always well-dressed, excited, and bursting with excitement. It wasn’t until the school paper gave me an assignment to interview Christopher that I really began to know him and he changed my world from that moment on.

So I was very excited to see that he had written a memoir, “Out of a Far Country,” which was released today. Written by Christopher and his mother, Angela, it is brash, bold, and intimately revealing. If you want that same world-changing experience that I had when I met Christopher this book is the way to get it.

“Out of a Far Country” is best described in it’s included study guide when it says “The story that is told in ‘Out of a Far Country’ is a true account of God’s seeking and saving two people who were lost (seek Lucke 19:10): a mother who was so distraught she had decided to kill herself, and a son whose pursuit of pleasure, money, and success led to arrest, prison, and a life-threatening illness. Both mother and son hit bottom, and at different times they both turned to God. The changes in their lives are nothing short of miraculous.”

The story that Christopher and Angela shared kept me turning the pages, I did not want to put it down. The similarities in their struggles even though they were at two very different places in their lives was compelling. Ultimately it’s a story of hope. Hope that there is something bigger than our problems, hope that we can change who we are (down to our very core) and be better people, hope that all of this is possible not in our own strength, but God’s.

I’d highly recommend this book to Christians, small groups, and those struggling with their depression, anxiety, struggling with their sexuality, or feeling like they are in a hope-less situation. Brutally honest, but ultimately healing this book is not to be missed.