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For National Library Week, we asked some of our authors to reflect on the libraries in their lives. Here's Ben H. Winters (The Last Policeman) on his:

Last weekend I took this picture of the Cleo Rogers Memorial Library, in Columbus, Indiana, about an hour from where I live in Indianapolis. Like a lot of buildings in Columbus—a small town with a  rich architectural tradition—this building is a masterpiece, built in 1969 by I.M. Pei.

Celebrate Earth Day on April 22 by using recycled materials for your next craft project.

Gather basic materials like a cereal box, string or ribbon, hole punch, and scissors to make the Star Garland from Craft-a-Day (Quirk Books, 2012). Download the pattern to get started and follow the basic directions below.

Have you ever really entertained the idea that we might not be alone in this universe? Maybe after watching ten straight hours of The X-Files on a Sunday afternoon, or even after picking the nearest tabloid to get your daily dose of world news. You probably panic a little on the inside, but you don’t want to say anything because your peers might think you’re a little bonkers.

Like one of those slightly crazed alien enthusiasts you see on the Discovery Channel—they seem to have it all figured out, and you can easily be drawn in if you’re not careful. You can’t control the future, but you can prepare yourself. One common prediction is that aliens will want to do experiments on human beings.

You certainly don’t want to be singled out as an interesting specimen and be beamed up to a UFO, right? The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Travel can give you some practical tips on how to prevent this from happening.

Image via

I have iambic pentameter on the brain these days, so here’s a little sonnet in honoring one of my favorite places in Portlandia.

Hopefully your financial records are a little more up to date than this…(image via flickr)

Tax season is almost totally upon us, and what better way to spend your hard-won tax refund than on sweet, sweet works of literature? We here at Quirk made lists and checked them twice for all the books we’ll cash in on when the refund check arrives.

BRETT COHEN: The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
This is one of the first books I remember having to read for high school and actually enjoying.  After enjoying a string of recent YA hits like The Hunger Games and Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, it might be good to revisit a favorite book from when I was actually a young adult.

BLAIR THORNBURGH: Okay, there is no way I could EVER afford this, because facsimiles are major $$, but in an ideal world…a full-color reproduction of the Lindisfarne Gospels. (Have you been watching Vikings? That book is beautiful). But…in the real world, I’ll probably go for something like Terry Jones’ Medieval Lives (because Monty Python! And the Middle Ages!)

MARI KRASKE: Rod: The Autobiography by Rod Stewart. Not kidding. I probably wouldn’t buy this book unless I had extra cash. But I love Rod Stewart and am pretty much only reading non-fiction these days. I heard it was good read and filled with lots of scandalous gossip on 70s Brit music giants. Besides, who wouldn’t want to know what the hell happened to someone like Rod Stewart in the 80s? I would, that’s for sure. Thanks tax refund!

NICOLE DE JACKMO: Lately I’ve been patronizing the awesome Free Library instead of buying books. And although I’m not getting a refund, thankfully I don’t owe money–so that’s cause for celebration! I’ll be celebrating by buying a copy of “Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home“. Summer’s just around the corner and I can’t think of a better way to prepare for it than making delicious ice cream.

ERIC SMITH: I’ve been swooning over box sets featuring hardcover copies of my favorite YA novels. I’ll likely be picking up the John Green box set, or maybe Ally Condie’s Matched trilogy.