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Nimoo: Some Adorable, Handmade Ways to Protect Your E-Reader
After spending so much money on an e-reader, you wouldn’t want to accidentally spill something on it, drop it, or ruin it in any way – but few (if any) of the cases you’ll find in stores are anything special.
If you’re tired of your bland Kindle cover or your overused Nook case, look no further: Nimoo on Etsy has the answer.
These covers are made to order and can be made to fit any type of e-reader. Aside from having adorable patterns, they’re multi-functional. The pocket on the front can hold small notebooks, pens, pencils, phones, spare change… the possibilities are endless.
The padding inside will protect an e-reader from most damage, and it even has a button to keep it safe and secure. There are many fabric options, and each one is handmade. No more awkward moments when someone has the same Kobo cover as you do.
Scope out Nimoo’s store on Etsy, here!
Posted by Simona DeDominicis
10 of the Coolest Book-Related Tattoos
If you’re a lover of both literature and body modification, you’ll understand the longing to get a book tattoo.
Between quotes, illustrations, and tattoos of just books in general, we’ve compiled some amazing pieces of ink! Here are ten of my favorite, beautiful book tattoos.
And if you can’t get enough of them (I sure can’t), check out the website Tattoo Lit, now a book published by our friends Harper Perennial.
Posted by Simona DeDominicis
Hanging On To Civilization and Humanity, For As Long As I Possibly Can
I’ve been answering the End of the World question for years.
One usually first confronts it around middle school. Without probing too deeply I realize that I had never really revised my answer since that time. A voice from the Id, something along the lines of: “Yeah! I want a seraglio full of Penthouse models all dressed in hooker costumes, and all the chocolate chip cookies in the world!”
Posted by Trav S.D.
Top 10 Literary References in Archer
Filled with incredibly obscure references that send watchers stampeding to Wikipedia (ie: Who am I, Alan Turing?), Archer isn’t only one of the funniest shows on television. It’s also one of the smartest.
And wow, does this show love making literary references. From Tolkien to Shakespeare, Melville to Orwell, the past three seasons of FX’s Archer has been full of them.
So read on, and share your favorite literary moments in the comments.
Posted by Eric Smith
Old-Fashioned Cookie Dough Ice Cream Sandwiches
Nothing says summer like an ice cream sandwich: creamy ice cream, little bits of moist chocolate cookie getting stuck to your fingertips, eating the whole thing before it melted into a goopy mess. You probably don’t need a reason to seek out one of these yummy summer treats, but now you’ve got one: it’s National Ice Cream Sandwich Day!
Even better, today we show you how to make your own… with chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream!
Here’s the recipe, from The Cookie Dough Lover’s Cookbook by Lindsay Landis.
Old-Fashioned Cookie Dough Ice Cream Sandwiches
These tasty summertime treats take the classic ice cream sandwich to a whole new level with—what else?—cookie dough! The soft chocolate cookies make the perfect foundation for blocks of frozen cookie dough goodness: firm on the outside, chewy on the inside, with a hint of saltiness that intensifies the richness of the chocolate.
Makes: 9 sandwiches
Active Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 12 to 24 hours
For Filling:
· 1 quart cookie dough ice cream, homemade or store-bought
For Cookies:
· ½ cup vegetable shortening
· 1 ¼ cups light brown sugar, packed
· ½ teaspoon baking powder
· ¾ teaspoon salt
· ½ cup dark or Dutch-processed cocoa powder, sifted
· ½ teaspoon instant espresso powder
· ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
· 2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
Directions:
1. Line a 9-by-9 inch baking pan with foil or parchment paper.
2. If using homemade ice cream, prepare as described on page 89. Immediately after churning, stir in cookie dough bits and then spread ice cream into the prepared pan. If using store-bought ice cream, soften it slightly and then spread it into the prepared pan. Freeze overnight or until firm.
3. Preheat oven to 350°F
4. In a large mixing bowl, beat together shortening and sugar with an electric mixer for 2 to 3 minutes. Add baking powder, salt, cocoa powder, espresso powder, and vanilla and mix until incorporated. Mix in 1 cup of the flour, followed by 2 tablespoons of water, and then add the remaining 1 cup flour and another 2 tablespoons of water, mixing well until no dry ingredients remain. Dough should be soft and pliable but not sticky; if necessary, add more water until dough comes together.
5. On a lightly floured surface, turn out half the dough and roll it to an even ¼-inch thickness. Using a ruler and a rotary cutter or paring knife, cut dough into 3-inch squares. Alternatively, use a similarly sized cookie cutter to make fluted or circular cookies.
6. Transfer cookies to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Using a chopstick or skewer, poke an even pattern of holes on each cookie’s surface. (Note: This step is purely decorative and can be skipped if you prefer your cookies sans holes.) Roll out, cut, and poke remaining dough, rerolling scraps as you work. You should have just enough for 18 cookies. Place sheets of cookies in the freezer for 10 minutes before baking.
7. Bake 7 to 8 minutes, or until tops are matte and cookies are just set. Do not overbake.
8. Remove from oven and let cookies cool 2 to 3 minutes on baking sheet. Transfer to cooling racks to cool to room temperature. Refrigerate or freeze cookies until ready to use.
9. To assemble sandwiches, use the edges of the parchment to carefully lift the block of firm ice cream from baking pan and place it on a cutting board. Using a large knife, cut ice cream into 9 equal squares. (If you used a shaped cutter for your cookies, use the same cutter for the ice cream.) Place 1 piece of ice cream between 2 chilled cookies and press cookies lightly to adhere. Freeze sandwiches until ready to serve.
Quick Tip: A standard-sized Post-It note happens to be exactly 3 inches. Use it as a template to make cutting perfect squares a breeze.
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Posted by Caroline Mills
Worst-Case Wednesday: How To Control Your Golf Rage
Photo by Fevi Yu
As the mercury rises, something about the heat seems to make tempers flare just a little bit quicker.
Summer is mostly about fun and games, though in the case of golf, it can be a fine line that divides a nice afternoon from a frustrating one. Whether you’re on vacation to relax or playing a game with business in mind, you’ll have to keep your cool in more ways than one.
The Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Golf by Joshua Piven, David Borgenicht, and James Grace has the protocol for keeping things calm, cool, and collected – and maybe even a better score.
Posted by Caroline Mills