“A History of the World Through Body Parts” by Kathryn Petras & Ross Petras
c.2022, Chronicle Books $22.95 255 pages

Give the gentleman a hand.

He did a good job, and he deserves it. Seriously, someone gave him a leg-up, he jumped in with both feet, and shortly after he put his nose to the grindstone, he found himself rubbing elbows with influential people. He shouldered some responsibility, kept his ear to the ground, and look where he’s been – so give him a hand, and read “A History of the World Through Body Parts” by Kathryn Petras & Ross Petras.

It all begins with Cleopatra’s nose.

Mathematician Blase Pascal seemed fascinated by it, not because it stood out (though it did), but because Julius Caesar and Marc Antony were both smitten with it and their obsessions changed the world. That got Petras and Petras thinking how other bodily bits might have affected history. Can “zeroing in on a body part” help make sense of our world?

You’ve moved – how many times already?

A couple times as a child, a few times in college and a lot more boxes, once or twice in truckloads since then, the average American moves more than 11 times in a lifetime. And then one day, you won’t. As you’ll see in “Over My Dead Body” by Greg Melville, then you’ll have your real, true Forever Home.

Everybody, they say, needs a hobby and Greg Melville’s just happens to be visiting cemeteries. His family knows that every vacation will be wrapped around gravesites, every chance for a run happens to circle around tombstones. While the family complains, Melville studies the grounds upon which so many rest and he thinks about those who are interred.

By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Bookworm Sez

Halloween Books for Kids and Adults
c.2022, various publishers $16.95-$29.99
various page counts

The leaves are crunchy beneath your feet.

There’s a chill in the air, too, and darkness creeps into the day earlier and earlier. It’s the perfect time to get terrified, isn’t it? These three books will do it to you…

Let’s start with something for everybody over the age of 8 in your haunted house: “Tales to Keep You Up at Night” by Dan Poblocki (Penguin Workshop, $17.99). In it, young Amelia’s grandma has disappeared and it’s natural that Amelia would look for her, right? But grandma’s not in the attic. What is there is a book, one that sure looks like a library book but the library says it’s not. Nope, it’s a book of stories and as Amelia begins to read them, they start to look a lot like real-life, making her wonder exactly what’s merely story and what’s not.

This book is written in chapters that are the perfect length for reading aloud every evening. Start a tradition: turn off the lights, bring a spooky candle, but do it well before bedtime.

By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Bookworm Sez

The Book of Phobias & Manias: A History of Obsession,’ by Kate Summerscale
c.2022, Penguin  $20,00 256 pages

You don’t know whether to run or scream in fear.

Or maybe both. When you see whatever it is that scares you to the point that you’re a babbling puddle of mess, well, it’s no longer a fight-or-flight thing – it’s just plain flight. Funny, you’re normally big and brave, fearless to the end, so read “The Book of Phobias & Manias” by Kate Summerscale. See what other scary things are out there…

By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Bookworm Sez

From Gay to Z: A Queer Compendium, by Justin Elizabeth Sayre, illustrations by Fredy Ralda
c.2022, Chronicle Books  $24.95   312 pages

Little things mean a lot.

A tiny kiss, a love note written on a scrap of paper, you know how you cherish those things. If you can keep them in your pocket, on a keychain, or tucked in a satchel, all the better because importance isn’t measured by volume. Little things mean a lot, and in the new book “From Gay to Z” by Justin Elizabeth Sayre, they all add up perfectly.

For most of your life, you’ve been fed a steady died of history, but what do you know about gay history, pop culture, and stand-out activists?  Everything you don’t know about your GayBCs is in tiny entries in this book.

Take, for instance, drag, or a method of performance that Sayre thinks “queer people have always participated in…” Drag is performance, but it’s also campy theatre, “empowerment,” and “a chance to… get to be the person you always wanted to be.” Check out this entry, and the one for RuPaul.

By Terri Schlicheneyer
The Bookworm Sez

LGBTQ Memoirs by various authors
c.2022, various publishers $14.99 – $27.99
Various page counts

Another Pride Month is in the can.

All that planning, preparation and execution of events is done, and now you find yourself with lots of time on your hands. So why not reach for one of these great memoirs to read….?

A little bit of memoir, a little bit of sympathy, advice, and several biographies are at the heart of “Here and Queer: A Queer Girl’s Guide to Life” by Rowan Ellis, illustrated by Jacky Sheridan (Quarto, $14.99). This book leans mostly on the serious-but-lighter side, with plenty of colorful artwork and suggestions for teen girls on figuring out who they are and what it means. There are fun activities, quizzes, essays, and tips inside; readers will find plenty of one-liners to take away, a comprehensive timeline of LGBTQ history, and biographies that reflect women of many ages and races. That all makes this a book that even adult women and, perhaps, some questioning boys will appreciate.

By Terri Schlihenmeyer
The Bookworm Sez

Dorothy “Dot” Greenbaum and Rafaela “Ralfie” Santopietro have been together for thirty years, but as they age, their stable lives begin to show cracks. Rife with Hoffman’s characteristic wit, Dot & Ralfie takes a hard, sometimes painful look at LGBTQ+ elder care and the unique struggles that come with aging outside of heteronormative structures. Can they get through it all and stay together? (Amazon)

“Dot & Ralfie: A Novel” by Amy Hoffman
c.2022, University of Wisconsin Press $16.95 147 pages

There is one alternative to growing older.

Never mind, though, it’s not on your radar. You’re more focused these days on not groaning when you get up each morning, and keeping your joints oiled enough to work. Years don’t really mean much when you’ve got places to go and people to see before that alternative happens but in the new novel “Dot & Ralfie” by Amy Hoffman, keep one eye on that calendar…

By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Bookworm Sez

Keep the Memories, Lose the Stuff” by Matt Paxton with Jordan Michael Smith
c.2022, Penguin Portfolio $24.00 310 pages

The carpet in your living room is brown.

At least that’s the way you remember it. You haven’t actually seen it in a few years because you’ve got stuff from corner to corner, held down by furniture you don’t sit on, anchored by things you don’t use. Time for a major clean-up, and it can start with “Keep the Memories, Lose the Stuff” by Matt Paxton with Jordan Michael Smith.

By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Bookworm Sez

Personal Effects: What Recovering the Dead Teaches Me about Caring for the Living, by Robert A. Jensen
c.2021, St. Martin’s Press  $28.99 / $38.50 Canada
294 pages

Pick up eggs. Milk. Macaroni. Bread.

If you don’t jot down a list of things you need to find, you’ll forget something. Apples. Light bulbs. Flour. Putting things on paper helps you to remember what you need and what’s missing. But in the new book, “Personal Effects” by Robert A. Jensen, the pick-up is more personal; the items, more heart-wrenching…

By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Bookworm Sez

There’s still a lot of winter left.

That’s the fact staring you in the face. Once the holiday decorations are down, the toys are all put away, and you’ve rediscovered your gift certificates… what do you do with them?

You buy books, of course. And to get you started, here are a few sure-fire picks for the Best of 2021:

FICTION

What would you do if life throws you a curve-ball? In “The Guncle” by Steven Rowley (Putnam, $27.00), gay man, former TV star, Palm Springs fixture, no-responsibilities Patrick is asked to take care of his niece and nephew for the long-term. He never wanted kids at all. He never wanted to fall in love with them, either. Cute, sweet, funny, heartfelt – what more could you want?

By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Bookworm Sez

Capote’s Women: A True Story of Love, Betrayal, and a Swan Song for An Era by, Laurence Leamer
c.2021, Putnam  $28.00 / $37.00 Canada  356 pages,

Her lips are locked tight.

Your best friend knows all your secrets, and she’s keeping them; you told her things you had to tell somebody, and she’s telling nobody. You always knew you could trust her; if you couldn’t, she wouldn’t be your BFF. But as in the new book “Capote’s Women” by Laurence Leamer, what kind of a friend are you?