Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood: A Visual History
Hardcover | Kindle Edition
Written by Tim Lybarger, Melissa Wagner, Jenna McGuiggan
Forward by Tom Hanks
Publisher: Clarkson Potter
Publication Date: October 29, 2019

A book on the beloved public television children’s program Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood has just been released, and without question, it is as magical, charming, warm, and sincere as the pioneering man and the program itself.

Entitled Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood: A Visual History, it’s indeed just that, an absolute cornucopia of photos (many rare and never released publicly), original show notes, recaps of great and important moments on the show, and loving interviews from many of the key cast, crew, and special guests involved with the program, which ran for over four decades and spawned almost a thousand episodes.

Salvaged
Paperback | Kindle
Written by Madeleine Roux
Publisher: Ace
Release Date: October 15, 2019

We’ve all heard the old adage “don’t judge a book by its cover.” While this can certainly be true, for me, the cover is typically the first aspect of a novel that sparks my interest. Upon my initial glance at the gorgeous cover for Madeleine Roux Salvaged‘s, I knew that I needed to take the next step and read the synopsis on the back. Well, with a beautiful cover and an intriguing concept, the obvious next step was to read the book, and boy am I glad I did.

Dungeons & Dragons: Tyranny Of Dragons
Hardcover
D&D Accessory
Wizards Of The Coast
Release Date: October 22, 2019

Can you believe it has already been five years since the latest edition of Dungeons & Dragons hit shelves all over the world? Not only has it become the most successful version of the world’s greatest role playing game, but it has become so inclusive that friends that never showed an interest prior are now playing the game. I’m looking at you, Lisa! This newest release, Tyranny Of Dragons, compiles the two original adventures, Hoard Of The Dragon Queen and The Rise Of Tiamat, into a single volume. I remember writing several articles back then about these upcoming releases from Wizards Of The Coast. You can journey back into the past and read one of them here. But there are some additions and changes that make this a worthy purchase; keep reading to find out what those are!

Review by Andre H.

For Your Consideration: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
For Your Consideration (Book 1)
Paperback | Kindle Edition | Audio CD
Written by Tres Dean
Publisher: Quirk Books
Release Date: October 15, 2019

For Your Consideration: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is a short and often hilarious take at how Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson became the cultural icon that we all known and love. Author Tres Dean is clearly a fan of the professional wrestler turned actor and it shows in this part biography but mostly mythology of The Rock. The book isn’t an in-depth analysis that will change the way we think about our beloved cultural icon; it’s a straightforward look at just how awesome The Rock is.

For Your Consideration: Keanu Reeves
For Your Consideration (Book 2)
Paperback | Kindle Edition | Audio CD
Written by Larissa Zageris and Kitty Curran
Interior Illustrations by Ben Mounsey-Wood
Cover illustration by Mercedes deBellard
Publisher: Quirk Books
Release Date: October 15, 2019

He’s a wealthy A-list actor who’s a total babe, but yet is still seemingly approachable; he’s kind and generous, even giving up part of his salary for a film crew; he’s like a regular person riding the NYC subway system, except he actually offers up his seat to others. You know him, he’s the Internet’s boyfriend, Keanu Reeves! And now he’s the subject of For Your Consideration: Keanu Reeves, a new book composed of critical essays and tidbits about this Hollywood superstar and all-around nice guy.

At this year’s New York Comic-Con earlier this month, I got a chance to meet some incredible women who helped shape and capture the world of one of TV’s biggest shows of all time, Game of Thrones. The HBO series just finished its 8-season run earlier this year and the fantastical series based on The Song of Ice & Fire books by George R.R. Martin is probably the largest endeavor in television history. One of the key women behind the scenes was Helen Sloan, principal unit photographer on the series since day one. At the Insight Editions booth on the NYCC show floor, Sloan was signing exclusive copies of her forthcoming book, The Photography of Game of Thrones, co-written by Michael Kogge and licensed by HBO, and available now for pre-order. I got a chance to speak to Sloan about her time working on the show and her upcoming book.

At this year’s New York Comic-Con earlier this month, I got a chance to meet some incredible women who helped shape and capture the world of one of TV’s biggest shows of all time, Game of Thrones. The HBO series finished its 8-season run earlier this year and the fantastical series based on The Song of Ice & Fire books by George R.R. Martin set new standards for production. At the Insight Editions booth on the NYCC show floor, I met with Deborah Riley, production designer on the epic series to discuss what it takes to make Game of Thrones look the way it did, as well as her new book, The Art of Game of Thrones, which is available for pre-order now.

Review by Andre H.

Stan Lee’s Alliances: A Trick of Light
Hardcover | Kindle | Audiobook
By Stan Lee and Kat Rosenfield
Afterword: Ryan Silbert, Luke Lieberman
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Release date: September 17, 2019

A Trick of Light is a self-aware, pop culture snapshot that introduces us to the Stan Lee’s Alliances series. It serves as a love letter to Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z with many references to current trends, technology, internet language and culture, classic and modern gaming, and issues such as misinformation and digital privacy. The book further combines many genres and subjects: science fiction, urban legends, politics, ethics, technological singularity, horror, adventure, and cyberpunk and pays its respect to other books and series like Ghost in The Shell, Ready Player One, Harry Potter, Ender’s Game, Invasion of The Body Snatchers, Bioshock, and more.

The True Bastards
The Lot Lands Book 2
Hardcover | Kindle | Audiobook
By Jonathan French
Publisher: Orbit Books | Crown Publishing
Release Date: October 8, 2019

You may recall last year when I reviewed Jonathan French‘s The Grey Bastards. (If not, you can find it right here.) At the end of the article, I demanded a second novel posthaste. Well, he failed to listen to me, but I am glad he chose not to rush a sequel. Because, without a doubt, The True Bastards is more than a fitting return to the Lot Lands. In fact, this second book expanded the series in directions I could never have imagined. Curious? Well, of course you are! Read on for more reasons why you are going to be rushing to grab your own copy!

Forbidden Knowledge
101 Things No One Should Know How to Do
Hardcover | Kindle
By Owen Brooks
Publisher: Adams Media
Release date: October 8, 2019

Since the beginning of time, humans have had an insatiable thirst for forbidden knowledge, and even though history has shown we’ve gotten into a lot of trouble for it, still our quest to learn more continues. That’s probably why Adams Media has continued to release new installments in their Forbidden Knowledge line of books for over a decade now.

This time around, author Owen Brooks has compiled instructions for 101 Things No One Should Know How to Do, which is basically a simplified survival guide for unlikely and/or preposterous scenarios, several of which are also dangerous and sometimes criminal. Some is stuff you shouldn’t have to know, but just in case, it tells you what to do.