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[TV still from Parks & Recreation, NBC]

When it comes to planning a truly terrific party, Leslie Knope is the end all and be all. So, we were thrilled when the queen of Galentine’s Day herself let us peek into her party planning binder for the U.S. Department of the Interior Midwest Division Galentine’s Day Extravaganza. This is one party you won’t want to miss.

[Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash]

Some call it Valentine’s Day, some call it Single Awareness Day (SAD). If you fall into the latter group, you are likely looking for a way to either ignore the hearts and flowers overflowing from every store aisle, or you are expanding your right to protest by launching a full-scale Anti-Valentine’s Day attack.

So if you’re out shopping for ironic candy hearts that say “Platonic Forever” and planning to watch a bunny boil in Fatal Attraction, add a little reading material that will also make you happy you’re single for the night.

Photo credit: Courtney Apple

Or, How Poets and Novelists Became Video Game Superstars

Originally published on Powells.com

One day in 1984, my father and I were walking through a K-mart, and we stopped to look at the video games. At the time, K-mart carried all the arcade hits that a 13-year-old boy might want – Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Asteroids – but the salesman at the counter asked if we’d seen Ray Bradbury’s new game.

[Movie still from The Lego Batman Movie, DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation]

With The LEGO Batman Movie hitting theatres this week, we started wondering what other books would thrive under this specific adaptation treatment. After all, Batman started as a book too. And we’d be willing to bet that when DC Comics introduced Batman as a character in 1939, the furthest thing from their mind was a reimagining of their superhero using the interlocking bricks Danish toymakers were experimenting with. (Yeah yeah. We’re a bunch of pop culture history nerds. What did you expect?) Without further ado, here are four books that we’d love to see get the LEGO movie treatment. 

Every year, the Langston Hughes Society presents an award to the writer they feel most embodies Langston Hughes’ life and work. To commemorate the birthday of the man himself, we’re celebrating four of the most recent winners of the Langston Hughes Society Award. 

[Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash]

Today is Spouses Day, where the celebration of marital bliss is on the docket. While many people love their spouses, it is rare to see married people garner the same high level of regard in a single industry. Writers Matt Fraction and Kelly Sue DeConnick have been two of the most influential comic creators of the last few years. Their works have been at the forefront of the modern feminist movement in the comics industry. With some of the coolest books on the shelf and a list of impressive collaborators, Fraction and DeConnick have taken comics storytelling to new heights. Their work has inspired a whole slew of people to cosplay as their characters and even put tattoos on themselves. Below is a round-up of some of the pair’s best pieces.