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It’s any author’s worst nightmare: another, really well established writer comes out with a novel with the exact same title. There’s the jealousy, the awkward cocktail-party explanations (“no, I wrote the other one”), and the incalculable damage to the first book’s SEO.

Dante Aligheri has been dead for a while, so his reaction to Dan Brown’s new novel Inferno will likely be limited to a little grave-spinning. But that doesn’t mean we can’t put the two writers head-to-head for a little comparison challenge!

In this corner: best-selling novelist, armchair cryptologist, and occasional songwriter Dan “Dan” Brown! And in this corner, Il Sommo Poeta, the Father of the Italian Language himself, Dante “Dan” Aligheri!

DING!

On May 14, 2013, George Lucas turns the ripe old age of 69.  And, as I’m sure you are aware, Mr. Lucas recently sold his sizable galactic empire to Disney.  What you may not know is that Quirk has a book called Disneystrology: What Your Birthday Character Says About You. So, I thought it might be fun to see what Mr. Lucas’ birthday character says about him. So without further ado, I present George Lucas’ Disney star-sign soulmate:

 One of the first limericks known to man. Note the obscenity in line two.

Sunday, May 12, is National Limerick Day, an event traditionally celebrated by dressing like Edward Lear and rhyming things with Nantucket. But for all the hallowed tradition surrounding this beloved poetic form, most of us know precious little about the limerick and how it became such a popular from of rhymery. So this weekend, while you’re out mailing limerick cards and singing limerick carols and visiting the nuclear power plant in Limerick, PA, take a moment to ponder the storied history of this simple but profound method of expressing life’s truths.

As much as it might pain us, sometimes we have to put down a book and stop reading. We know—it’s awful. But it doesn’t have to be! We have searched the Internet (okay, Etsy) for handmade bookmarks that pay tribute to your favourite pop culture icons. Treat yourself to a literary present and celebrate your favorite things every time you turn the page.

This simple chicken dish is enhanced with wine and combined with cream sauces. It’s good for the family or great for company.

Simply layer the ingredients casserole-style. Cook this in a crock pot or else cover and bake it in the oven. Cook it low and slow and go about your regular routine of activities. Come back to it and uncover an amazing dish filled with savory, succulent chicken simmered in wine, mushrooms, potatoes and a luscious sauce base. Serve this on a bed of egg noodles, paired with a green salad and great wine.

Take a bow and accept the applause.

(Image via)

For people who enjoy reading and love actual books (you know, the kind printed on dead trees), their bookcase is not just a piece of furniture, but something that they will spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about, analyzing and generally lose an entire day working on to get looking “just right”. Your bookcase is a reflection of you and who you are, and how your books are organized, what books you have, what authors you feature prominently all say something about you. And more than anything, you want people to stand in awe of your books and say “Man, nice bookcase.”