1935 (published 2010) / Audiobook / 39 pages / UK
***
A nice little phantasmagoric walking tour of Londons, though I don't see the point of extracting a story from readily-available collections, beyond helping out readers with their alphabetical odysseys. (Did he write X at any point?)
1981 (collected 1983) / Ecomics / 95 pages / UK
***
This Gothic dystopian sci-fantasy saga of an ambiguously benevolent omnipotent armoured goat mage and his space speedboat was eerily familiar. Possibly a preincarnation memory from towards the end of my previous life, or I could just be thinking of Warhammer 40,000, which is a complete rip-off.
Phil Farrand, The Nitpicker's Guide for Classic Trekkers
1994 / Ebook / 393 pages / USA****
The dodgier Next Generation episodes proved the most enjoyable to rip apart in his previous book, so I coveted this fabled prequel volume in my youth. My apologetic admiration for the silly sixties series has grown over the years, so it was good to be reminded how ridiculous it often was, and an entertaining way to make that voyage again without having to actually sit through it all. I especially enjoyed the running headcanon that the events of 'Spock's Brain' justify the science officer's inconsistent behaviour thereafter. I got about 2% of the trivia questions right.
2009 / Ebook / 114 pages / USA
***
The harsh context to and poetic appreciation of what's apparently a defining hip hop album, before that was spoiled. It's good to get some grounding in genres I don't normally like, or I'd end up like that pathetic TIME review for nervous honkies, calling it "leisurely paced, with amiable melodies."
Nicole Fenton and Kate Kiefer Lee, Nicely Said: Writing for the Web with Style and Purpose
****
Writing guides are mainly going to be retreading ground when you're in the double digits, but this is another useful and fairly comprehensive step-by-step one that should have come higher in the pile, even if, like most of them, it assumes you don't have deadlines or other hobbies to be getting on with. Plutchik's wheel of emotions was a new one on me.
