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As if a bookworm ever needed the excuse to laze around with a good read and nothing else to do, August 20th is National Lazy Day. That’s right. You aren’t just indulging a desire to curl up with a book. You are marking a very important celebration in self-care!

This August, pair your favorite way to while away the day with some incredible fiction and nonfiction reads, from introspective humor on life to lighthearted novels that will leave a smile on your face…a smile that will last long after you have to get up and back to the real world.

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August 19th may be the official National Potato Day, but for anyone who appreciates the humble spud, any day is a day to celebrate. Deceptively simple, this little starch can be turned into just about anything—national dishes (like poutine), iconic snacks (like French fries), and even rich, creamy dishes that are essentially just a lot of cream, cheese, and butter masquerading as a "vegetable" side.

Versatile, beloved, and often the fastest and easiest way to create that warm fuzzy feeling, potatoes also have a whole lot in common with books. It may seem like a stretch only a shoestring could reach, but they are classic, comforting, and while not everyone loves every book (potato), there’s a potato (book) for everyone. So this August, combine a new read with a delicious snack, and celebrate the best of both!

[Image by TessaMannonen from Pixabay]

This month, we are between two full moons in Aquarius—the first on July 23rd, and the second on August 22nd. Having two moons in the same sign back to back creates a powerful energetic space, and one that is perfect to take advantage of the energy of the water-bearer when cleansing and charging crystals. These moons are focused on collaborative energies, as well as the Aquarian strength to see things differently—and that is only doubled with two in a row!

Cleansing and charging may sound complicated, but it’s one of the simplest ways to work a little kitchen magic and takes nothing than moonlight and thought. (Although, as with all practices, there are plenty of ways to add elements on, if you feel called to.)

Hi! My name is Kathy Benjamin and I’m the author of It's Your Funeral!: Plan the Celebration of a Lifetime—Before It's Too Late, on sale August 17, 2021. Funerals might not be the first thing you think of when it comes to laughing and having a great time, but this book aims to change that. By making planning your own funeral into something fun, it takes a lot of the fear out of such a normally serious topic.

Humor isn’t just appropriate when dealing with death, it’s downright necessary. Grief is such a complicated emotional rollercoaster already, without trying to live up to the standards set by our po-faced, death-obsessed Victorian ancestors. (And if they were so great, how come they are all dead now, huh?)

While death and funerals are perhaps the toughest situations to deal with, any hard time can become just that little bit easier when you laugh. So even if you’re not ready to chuckle while planning your own funeral, these tips can be applied to anything else stressful or scary.

[Image by Nik Shuliahin on Unsplash]

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February 2020, A24 graced us viewers with an eerie and compelling teaser for David Lowery's The Green Knight, and after almost a year and a half of mass film postponements, Lowery’s promising (and loose) adaptation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is finally coming to theaters.

If you’ve never heard of this chivalric romance, you may have seen this teaser and the second trailer and thought, “Did Dev Patel just behead an Ent? Did that Ent just pluck up his head and trot away, cackling like the headless horseman?” You may be wondering if this Middle English poem also drops a halo-crown from thin air onto Gawain’s head before lighting his whole head on fire. Maybe you’ve never heard of ye old text and simply thought, “Does that Ent have an axe?” Yes and yes, sadly no, and definitely yes. The axe is important. The Ent is too.

Whether you’re a renaissance lit reader, you’re an Arthurian legend fan, or you just like a good adventure story with some action, mystery, magic, and drama, The Green Knight (and the sheer power of Dev Patel) is bound to leave viewers wanting more Gawain. Though Gawain is a major Arthurian knight and appears in quite a few tales and retellings, here’s a small handful to start with that give him the attention he deserves.   

National Intern Day is on July 29, 2021, and we’re shining the spotlight on our rockstar marketing and publicity intern! Read on to get to know Olivia.

Hello everyone! My name is Olivia, and I am the marketing and publicity intern for Quirk Books for summer 2021! I’m also a rising junior at Emerson College studying Writing, Literature, and Publishing. In my free time, you can usually find me reading, discovering new food places, hunting for used copies of Moby Dick at my local used bookstores, and spending way too much time scrolling on TikTok!

What book(s) are you currently reading?

Normally, I am very much a Young Adult enthusiast when it comes to my reading tastes. However; I’ve been trying to branch out recently, so all of these books are outside of my comfort zone!

1. On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

While I really like Young Adult contemporary books, I have not graduated to Adult literary fiction quite yet! However, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous has been a wonderful introduction to the genre, and I will definitely be reading more.

2. The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

Since I started interning at Quirk, The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires has been at the top of my TBR list! I am not normally a horror reader (or a fan of vampire books), but the idea of a book club protecting their community from vampires had me pushing aside all of my priorities so I could start reading this.

3. Selected Poems of Langston Hughes

I am not normally the type of person to pick up and analyze a poetry collection, however last semester, I took a class called “Black Revolutionary Thought” where we talked about phenomenal Black writers and artists throughout U.S. history. One of these writers was Langston Hughes! We touched on his work briefly since it was an overview course, but I wanted to dive deeper into his works so I decided to pick up this poetry collection!

What are some of your all-time favorite books?

1. They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera

Even though They Both Die At The End has been blowing up recently because of TikTok, I have loved this book since I got an Advanced Reader’s Copy of it when I was in high school (yes, I totally have an “I loved it before it was cool” complex about this book!). I read it during a time of change and transition in my life, and this book definitely changed my life for the better.

2. Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

I normally don’t re-read books, however Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children is one of the few books that I have re-read! I am a sucker for a book with a found-family trope (and spooky vibes, of course!), so this book has been a hard-core favorite of mine for a while. In fact, I had to take the SAT exam one morning when I was a senior in high school and then I immediately left to drive two hours to a Ransom Riggs book signing! Yes, I’m that hardcore about this series.

3. One Last Stop by Casey McQuinston

One Last Stop is a new favorite of mine. I have two great loves in life: New York City and public transportation! One Last Stop is essentially a love letter to both of these! This book also has a found-family trope, so I immediately connected with the characters and the story.

Image by Wallula from Pixabay

Tell us about your favorite fandom!

Broadway! Before the pandemic, I used to go see a musical or show at least once a week (thanks to all of the amazing student discounts at Boston-area theaters).

I just truly think there is something so magical about sitting down in a theatre and being able to immediately immerse yourself in a production. I’ve been able to meet so many amazing people through Broadway and attending shows, and I am already counting down the days until Broadway reopens!

What is your favorite thing about interning at Quirk Books?

As cheesy as it sounds, one of my favorite things about interning at Quirk Books has to be the books that I have been able to work with. I’ve been a fan of Quirk for quite some time, and I feel like I’m pinching myself every day that I get to work with books that I genuinely love. I’ve learned so much already during my time at Quirk, and I’m excited to see what the future holds for me!