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How to Tuesday: How to Make a Library Safe DIY Beaded Thread Bookmark

Do you have trouble misplacing bookmarks?

 

Ever yearn for old-fashioned hardcover books with a ribbon or thread bookmark built right into the spine?

With this DIY you can add your own luxurious handmade bookmark to any hardcover book – even library books – without fearing the wrath of an angry librarian!

Posted by Margaret Dunham

How-to Tuesday: Fantastic Trees to Read Under and Where to Find Them

 
Now it's (finally) summer, it's a great time to think about going outside more often. And I don't mean to get a sun tan. More like, time to go outside to enjoy some beautiful scenery and cool fruity drinks (or some ice cold beers) while guzzling down your latest read. In order to do that though, you'll need some shade, or at the very least a sturdy friend to lean on. 
 
Here's a list of trees to look for the next time you're out somewhere with a book and in need of a spot to park your butt. 
 

Posted by Kristina Pino

How to be Awesome at Giving Book Recommendations In Four Simple Steps

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It can be really hard to get friends to want to read your favorite book. With these 4 steps, you’ll not only learn how to spin your favorite book, but also how to make genuine recommendations your friends will love!

Posted by Margaret Dunham

Some of Monty Python’s Best Literary Sketches

I remember one of my high school English teachers being horrified that only two of us had heard of John Cleese, and with the greatness known as Monty Python, who can blame her?

Known primarily for Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and probably just for being funny and British in general, the legendary sketch troupe is responsible for popularizing many comedic styles and creating groundbreaking sketches, including several for the bookish, grammar-appreciating, literature enthusiasts among us.

And now, for something completely different, head to YouTube and sit back and enjoy five of Monty Python’s best literature- and English- related sketches.

1. Agatha Christie: You know this one will be good because Inspector Tiger (“Tiger?” “Where?!”) spends the first minute of the sketch trying to figure out the correct way to say that nobody can leave the room. The rest of the sketch unravels into police officers and inspectors with weird names trying to solve a murder that might not have even happened. There’s no specific mention of Agatha in the sketch, but the whodunit premise is definitely a tip of the hat to one of the queens of mystery.

2. Literary Football: Basically a football (the British version, so, soccer) postgame show that’s described with the most intricate language ever, this sketch features an interviewer who makes every move in a football game sound like it’s coming straight from a grad student’s thesis paper…to go along with the slightly less highbrow responses he receives from the player he’s talking to.

3. The Man Who Talks in Anagrams and The Man Who Speaks Only the Ends of Words: I listed these two together because they’re each less than two minutes, but they both show just how awesome the members of Monty Python are at wordplay, enunciation, and twisting language around to get a pretty hysterical result.

4. A Book at Bedtime: In a matter of two and a half minutes, several members of Monty Python show how even though it can be challenging at first, it’s ultimately really fun to spend some time reading before bed, especially if you’re reading with friends.

5. Romanes Eunt Domus: This one’s my personal favorite out of this list, and also one of my favorite Python bits in general. From Monty Python’s Life of Brian, this scene shows what happens when a centurion catches Brian defacing Pontius Pilate’s palace with an anti-Roman phrase. And without giving anything away, it’s probably the last thing someone would expect, but also the most excellent.

Posted by Allison Racicot

How to Tuesday: The Many Tan Lines of Beach Reading and How to Avoid Them

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It's about that time to hit the beach, and is there anything better than sitting near the ocean, listening to the waves roll in and drinking something cold while you read under the warm sun? 
 
Alright, don't answer that. I realize many readers are the "read while listening to the rain with a warm cuppa" type, and that's alright. But we're not talking about rain clouds – it's summer! Bring on the sun! BBQ! Picnics! Sun burns! 
 
Readers face some unique and specific challenges when it comes to enjoying a book in the sun. It's a question of how to do it while avoiding the scenarios I'll describe below, all to which I've personally fallen victim to at least once. If you're headed to the beach with a book sometime this summer, be sure to change up your reading position often in order to avoid these sun burn patterns (a.k.a. Reader Tan Lines):

Posted by Kristina Pino

Seven Intoxicating Drinking Games for Your Favorite Books

 
Movies have drinking games, so why can't books? As any bibulous bibliophile will tell you, anything can be a drinking game if you want it to be (although we don't recommend turning every activity into one, because that's called bad decision making.)
 
We've compiled some fun, fast and loose ideas for literary drinking games below. These games—while intoxicatingly fun to read about—are mostly for satire purposes, and should not necessarily be seen to fruition. If you really feel the need to get drunk, get drunk on beautiful prose! And maybe a little alcohol. But only if you're of age.
 

Posted by Cassie Rose