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Reading Resolutions for 2016 and How to Stick to Them

One of the best parts of a new year is making resolutions. Imagine a wonderful year of possibilities where you might just come out the other end happier, more accomplished than you were when you started. However, the smallest hitch can make a resolution seem hopeless come March. 

Never fear, dear reader, because we’ve come up with some of the best bookish resolutions to make, along with some hints and tips to help you see them through until the end of 2016.

Posted by Rose Moore

DIY: How to Make a Booklover’s Breakfast Tray

Having breakfast in bed? Making breakfast in bed for the book lover in your life? A beautiful breakfast tray is the perfect way to serve it up! Make one yourself with pages from an old book, a favorite book, or a book that has seen better days. Here’s how:

Posted by Margaret Dunham

Quirk Perks: Kickstarter Handbook

The Kickstarter Handbook: Real-Life Success Stories of Artists, Inventors, and Entrepreneurs by Don Steinberg only $3.99

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So you want to produce a short film. Or design a new line of jewelry. Or manufacture a revolutionary solar-powered garden sprinkler. There’s just one catch: You need $100,000 to bankroll your dream, and your checking account has barely enough to cover the rent.

Enter Kickstarter.com—the phenomenal “crowdfunding” website launched in 2009 that brings venture capital to the masses. At Kickstarter, it’s not uncommon for entrepreneurs to raise $50,000, $100,000, $250,000, or more. All you need is a great idea—and The Kickstarter Handbook.

Business journalist Don Steinberg has interviewed dozens of artists and inventors who launched their passion projects online. Through their voices, you’ll explore all the strategies of a successful Kickstarter campaign. You’ll learn the elements of a compelling Kickstarter video, innovative ways to market your projects, tips for getting donors onboard, and the secrets of irresistible Kickstarter “rewards.” You’ll also discover what to do in a best-case scenario—when your project goes viral and the cash starts flowing in. On Kickstarter, it happens to a few lucky visionaries every week. Here’s how to be one of them.

Posted by Julie Leung

Quirk Perks: Dreadfully Ever After

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Steve Hockensmith: Only $3.99

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Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and its prequel, Dawn of the Dreadfuls, were both New York Times best sellers, with a combined 1.3 million copies in print. Now the PPZ trilogy comes to a thrilling conclusion with Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dreadfully Ever After.

The story opens with our newly married protagonists, Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy, defending their village from an army of flesh-eating “unmentionables.” But the honeymoon has barely begun when poor Mr. Darcy is nipped by a rampaging dreadful. Elizabeth knows the proper course of action is to promptly behead her husband (and then burn the corpse, just to be safe). But when she learns of a miracle antidote under development in London, she realizes there may be one last chance to save her true love—and for everyone to live happily ever after. 

Complete with romance, heartbreak, martial arts, cannibalism, and an army of shambling corpses. Dreadfully Ever After brings the story of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies to a thrilling conclusion.

STEVE HOCKENSMITH is an award-winning novelist and reporter. His mystery Holmes on the Range was a finalist for the Edgar, Shamus, and Anthony awards. He lives in Alameda, California

Posted by Julie Leung

Quirk Corral: 3D Heads Will Roll, Plus the Making of #ForceAwakens

Here at Quirk, we’ve spent the past week searching the Internet for the best bookish, geeky, and crafty links. Whether you are looking for behind-the-scenes photos from the latest Star Wars movie, or a list of ways to start 2016 off strong, we’re sure to have something to make your day a little brighter.

Posted by Jennifer Morell

Quirk Corral: New Links, New Year!

Here at Quirk we’ve spent the past week scouring the internet for the best bookish, geeky, and crafty links. Whether you are looking for the best fan fiction of 2015 or some amazing art made from bubble wrap, we’re sure to have something to help make your day totally awesome.

Posted by Jennifer Morell