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Next month World of Trouble, the final book in Ben H. Winters’ award winning Last Policeman trilogy, hits stores everywhere. We’ve all grown quite attached to Hank Palace here at the Quirk Books HQ, and while we’re all sad to see him go, we’re definitely sending him out with… well, do excuse the asteroid crash pun… out with a bang.

In addition to a fun blog tour (we’ll announce all the stops for that soon!), we’re launching a pre-order campaign for World of Trouble. Pre-order your copy, email us a photo of your receipt, and you’ll get all kinds of special VIP extras. You’ll also be entered into a giveaway to win an awesome H.P.S.K. (Hank Palace Survival Kit).

Read on to learn more about the special tiers you can unlock during the pre-order campaign. Not to be confused with tears, which we’re busy crying now that the trilogy is ending.

Photo via Climbing Grier Mountain

Whether you spell it donuts or doughnuts, you cannot deny the joy that stuffing a deep-fried ring of happiness in your face can bring.

We have plenty of options if we’re jonesing for a quick glazed donut from Krispy Kreme or a chocolate frosted treat from Dunkin Donuts, but what if we want something more adventurous? And then what if we take it one step further and want to even make the donuts ourselves? Look no further! The interwebz has plenty of places to find easy recipes for unique flavors that will spice up the donut game.

Use the links for each creation to find the recipes and get bakin’!

1. Baked Donuts with Chocolate Glaze and Popcorn: Popcorn? On a donut? …How did no one think of this sooner? This salty and sweet combination will surely satisfy your sweet tooth and it only takes about 20 minutes to bake so really, what’s your excuse?

2. Doughnut Ice Cream Sandwiches with Salted Maple Ice Cream and Caramel: What’s better than eating two doughnuts? Eating two doughnuts with ice cream sandwiched in between them! It’s a known fact that ice cream makes everything better so why not scoop some onto your doughnut? This recipe requires a few more steps but just think of the end results!

3. Strawberry Cheesecake Donuts: Strawberry cheesecake is a classic dessert, and this donut gives you the chance to eat dessert for breakfast without feeling guilty about eating cake so early in the day. It has a warm strawberry center with a graham cracker coating and is sure to add a little sweetness to your morning!

4. Peanut Butter and Jelly Doughnuts: PB&J is the classic food love story. They go together like grilled cheese and tomato soup. So why not make a donut out of this timeless combination? Though the cook time total can seem a little daunting, putting in the time for what is sure to be an explosion of doughy peanut buttery happiness is totally worth it, right?

Photo via Julies Eats and Treats

5. Baked Toasted Coconut Red Velvet Donuts: Following the trend of baked donuts for those who may not have the time or supplies for a full-fledged frying experience comes the Baked Toasted Coconut Red Velvet Donuts. Even though they’re baked, they’re no less delicious and with a classic, savory cream cheese frosting to boot!

6. Baked Guinness Donuts & Irish Cream Glaze: Did that flavor catch your eye? For the boozier experience, try this creamy-looking Guinness-infused donut that will most definitely complement your morning cup of coffee.

7. Spiced Baked Doughnuts with Nacho Chili Cheese: Who said all donuts had to be sweet and savory? Cut the sprinkles and throw on some chili instead. Adding nacho chili cheese to a donut is definitely an adventurous way to expose your tastebuds to new culinary horizons and adds some kick.

Photo via Tumblr

The start of summer officially begins June 21^st, and with it come the flip flops, beach bags, and of course, summer reads.

So to ensure you don’t get caught grabbing the first thing you see at the airport gift shop, below is a list of highly anticipated, and highly reviewed, beach books to get you through the summer. Whether you’re a fan of YA, fantasy, or biographies, this list has something for everyone.

Image via

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Greetings from a middle school English teacher! It is finally June, which means your children (and their teachers) are about to break free from the classroom for two sun-filled months of summer. While your kids may have a long list of “Must-Dos”(sleepovers at friends’ houses, water ice runs, trips to the zoo, fireworks down the shore) to accomplish in these brief eight weeks, one “must-do” that they may be dreading  is their summer reading assignment.

Local school districts are now requiring high school, middle school, even elementary school students to read novels over the summer so that they can practice and retain the reading comprehension skills that they learned during the school year. Sure, most kids moan when they hear “summer” and “reading assignment” in the same sentence, but summer reading doesn’t mean that their summer is doomed.

Here are some helpful tips on how your child can successfully complete his or her summer assignment with enough time to spare for barbeques and pool parties:

It's been a while since the Quirk Books crew went to Philadelphia's Wizard World, an awesome convention that hits the Pennsylvania Convention Center every year. And we're really thrilled to be heading back. Especially since the con is right in our backyard. Well, not literally. It's like, ten blocks away or something. But you get what I'm saying. 

This year, we'll be at Booth 1724, and we're bringing some authors and a ton of giveaways with us. 

Awesome giveaways will include the wonderful Quirk Books Totes Books tote bags (that will never be easy to say), posters of How to Make Your Cat an Internet Celebrity, Nick & Tesla's High Voltage Danger Lab, and William Shakespeare's The Jedi Doth Return and Empire Striketh Back. 

As for signings, we've got…

FRIDAY: 2PM – 3PM – Some guy named Eric Smith, signing The Geek's Guide to Dating.

SATURDAY: 11AM – NOON – Stephen H. Segal will be signing copies of Geek Wisdom.

SUNDAY: 11AM – NOON – Dustin Fenstermacher will be signing copies of How to Make Your Cat an Internet Celebrity. 

In the meantime, for those of you not going, we've got a lil' giveaway scheduled! Enter to win a totebag full of posters and all three of those books, signed! We're giving away three. Good luck! 

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