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Here at Quirk we love video games with all our nerdy hearts, and since National Video Games Day is September 12th and we also love books, we thought we’d combine the two and pair some of our favorite video game soundtracks with your favorite book genres. 

Many of the following scores include tracks with more distracting sound from grand choral movements to light breathing (thank you, horror genre), so you may have to filter out some tracks for a more personalized playlist, depending on your individual tastes. But if you’re looking for some nice background music while you jump into your next adventure, romance—what have you—these soundtracks are a good place to start.

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One never needs an excuse to compile read-alike book lists, but August 31st is National Matchmaker Day, which got us thinking: what non-Quirk reads would be the perfect match for our books?

Like how individuals in a couple can share similar interests and personalities but have their own uniqueness, these book pairings feature titles with thematic and narrative similarities, while managing to separate themselves in their genre. So if you find yourself fond of one of these Quirk titles, try giving their Matchmaker Day buddy a chance for a familiar but fresh read!

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National Picnic Month is coming to a close, but we’ve still got over a month of summer left, which hopefully means we’ve got at least another month of warm weather and perfect picnicking conditions. That got us thinking, like it always does, about some of our favorite literary characters and their optimal picnic spreads and locations. Would they opt for a day in the park or a blanket on the beach? Snackable hors d'oeuvres or full-course meals? Keep reading to find out.

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It’s time to celebrate confidence and fulfillment in oneself, equality for queer people, and visibility for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, asexuals, non-binary, pansexuals, intersex, and all other colors of the LGBTQ+ spectrum. We mean, that’s every day of the year for us, but June is Pride Month, so it’s the time to celebrate even harder.

This past fall, Quirk released author and illustrator M. L. Webb’s debut picture book The GayBCs, a joyful LGBTQ+ vocabulary book for kids of all ages, and it got us thinking about other picture books that help educate families about concepts of gender, identity, and inclusivity. Here’s some picture books that will serve as helpful starting points for discussions surrounding queer identity. Enjoy!

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Ever watch a movie or show and come across a character that just screams your dad? Maybe your father figure is an Uncle Phil type (strict, but encouraging and loving). Maybe he’s more like the Mad Hatter (an avid tea drinker with curious inclinations).

No matter the character your father figure reminds you of, for this Father's Day, we're recommending books based off of the pop figure your dad most resembles.

[source: blog post author Gabrielle Bujak]

Over the years, the Animal Crossing franchise has brought us comfort and joy via adorable animal villagers, ridiculous word play, and rewarding activities from catching that rare coelacanth to terra-forming the perfect waterfall. The irony of Blathers’s entomophobia makes us laugh, the way Timmy and Tommy echo one another makes us aww, and the surprising drama between Redd and Tom Nook build a world we can easily immerse ourselves in.

With the current state of the world, it only makes sense that we turn to the latest Animal Crossing: New Horizons to bring us that much needed sense of control and peace of mind, and because of their ability to delight and comfort us, it’s only fair we pay it forward…with personalized book recommendations! We’ve seen them pulling out books with their down time, and it’s about time they got that right. Here’s some reads they can add to their TBR piles.