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Temperatures are dropping, and for me that always marks a change in my reading habits. In the summer months I want to dive into something slick and scandalous, something that can keep my attention as the sun pummels down and broils the very air. Namely, murder mysteries. Bring me your Hercule Poirots, your Flavia de Luces, your Philip Marlowes, your Sherlock Holmeses. Michael Connelly spins a good summer month yarn. Christopher Fowler, Sue Grafton, Stephen King, Charlaine Harris, Georges Simenon, Dorothy Sayers, Wilkie Collins – these are the authors of sun and surf!

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When you want to refer to more than one of a particular noun, you add an s and BINGO, you have a plural noun. Easy, peezy. Right? Of course not! English is one of the most irregular languages; every so-called rule of grammar, spelling, or pronunciation seems destined to be broken.

In the English language, there are lots of ways to get it wrong, so here’s a refresher on 10 things you should know about plurals. And pay attention because the rules here are iffy.

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Readers have probably coupled books with hot drinks since the first bible came off the Gutenberg press in the 1450’s. The two things just go together. For a long time, drinks were prohibited from libraries, and that was a fussy mistake. Rules like that simply ask for deliberate disobedience, which is why patrons would check the books out, take them home, and return them full of coffee rings and dessert crumbs. Libraries were asking for it.

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This month, Joe Wright’s adaptation of Leo Tolstoy’s novel Anna Karenina hits theaters and has already begun to collect divisive reviews on the film festival circuit. Much like Wright’s 2005 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, critics argue that Wright’s lush visual style is at odds with a fair and respectful adaptation of such beloved source material.

My brother is texting me from Colorado about the election. There are approximately 800 more pressing things I should be doing, but I go back and forth with him about the vote on whether to legalize weed in his state. Between texts, I try to respond to an email but my keyboard has decided that it hates the letters G, T, B, and N, making it impossible for me to tell anyone “no” or even “maybe.”