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Dare to Know author James Kennedy’s “Damn Fine” Thoughts on David Lynch

I’ve been a fan of David Lynch ever since high school, when I recklessly watched a VHS of Eraserhead alone at one in the morning. Such an experience leaves its mark. As it turns out, my latest novel, the speculative thriller Dare to Know—about a company that can calculate the precise time of one’s death with perfect accuracy—has been described as “Lynchian.” Cool!

But what does “Lynchian” really mean? David Foster Wallace tried to define it as the “irony where the very macabre and the very mundane combine in such a way to reveal the former’s perpetual containment within the latter.” (Pretty fancy talk for a guy who kept doing a running joke about Depend adult undergarments in Infinite Jest.)

But there’s more to Lynch than just that macabre/mundane tension, DFW! Instead of one totalizing formula, I feel there are several distinct tendencies that recur in Lynch’s work—and yeah, some of those tendencies also show up in Dare to Know.

So settle in with your coffee and cherry pie—or garmonbozia, if you’re hardcore—and let’s look at what makes something Lynchian.

Posted by James Kennedy

Book Recommendations to Celebrate Disability Pride Month for The Whole Family

Photo by Yomex Owo on Unsplash

July is Disability Pride Month, a month-long celebration to commemorate the fight for the passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) and to continue to end the stigma surrounding how our society views disability. There is still a ton of work to do to create an accessible society, and there is no better time than the present to begin dismantling ableism and read some incredible books by disabled writers and activists! Here are book recommendations of all ages and genres to celebrate Disability Pride Month all year round.

Posted by Olivia Lusk

National Intern Day: Introducing Gwendy!

Hi there, my name is Gwendy! This feels like a surreal full-circle moment. I grew up in Indonesia and vividly remember my best friend lending me her copies of the Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children series when I was 13 or 14. I loved it. Today, I live halfway across the world and am a marketing & publicity intern at Quirk, the book’s first home. Most of my friends would describe me as spontaneous, random, and funny (my mom thinks I’m the funniest person ever, but that’s because she has to). I might be the most extroverted and talkative INFP person you’d ever meet––my roommate still refuses to believe I am truly an introvert.

Posted by Quirk Books Staff

Quirk Titles to Read to Embrace Your Inner Geek!

It is 2022 and we are no longer feeling shameful about our geeky hobbies! With the internet and social media, it has become easier than ever to exercise your inner geek and find others with the exact same interests as you! In honor of San Diego Comic-Con, we are highlighting some of our favorite geeky titles from Quirk Books. (Are you at SDCC? You can find our full schedule here.) Let’s get our geek on!

Posted by Olivia Lusk

Iconic Cats in Books and Movies and Why We Love Them

Image by Dimitris Vetsikas from Pixabay

Whoever said that dog is a man’s best friend has clearly never owned a cat. Sure, cats may give us humans a little bit of an attitude and wake us up with meows in the middle of the night, but they love their owners just as fiercely as dogs. Besides, they were once worshiped in ancient societies! They deserve to be treated like royalty!

 

Just as we love our real-life feline friends, we love our fictional cats even more. Fictional cats are fun and whimsical and often play a vital role in the stories they occupy. In honor of the release of Pet That Cat! by Nigel Kidd and Rachel Braunigan, we’re highlighting some iconic feline characters in books and movies!

Posted by Olivia Lusk

Catch us at San Diego Comic-Con!

Heading to San Diego Comic-Con this year (7/20–7/24)? Make sure to stop by booth 1636 to say hi, and keep this schedule handy to catch our author signings and book giveaways.

Did we mention #QuirkTurns20 this year? Check back here—we’ll be adding information about our big anniversary giveaway happening at SDCC!

 

Posted by Quirk Books Staff