Our Blog
Books We Used to Research Presidential Campaign Posters
The Library of Congress has 34.5 million books, but the writers in the Publishing Office only used a select few sources from the Library's 838 miles of bookshelves.
In spite of the size of our book collection, the books we used from the Library's collections for the entries featured in Presidential Campaign Posters only occupied one small shelf in our conference room. Yet these books and the facts held within their pages helped all of our writers craft captions that were both fun and factual. Most importantly, the books helped us tell the story behind the posters and the election it commemorates.
Posted by W. Ralph Eubanks
Should Know Sunday: Bacon-Wrapped Meatloaf
Photo via The Queen’s Notebook
Some recipes should be prerequisites to entering the adult world. From Recipes Every Man Should Know, this is definitely one of them.
Posted by Courtney Daniels
A History of Quirk Books: Our Infographic
Here at Quirk we sure do love infographics and flowcharts. Links to the fabulous literary infographics that Flavorpill posts and Bookriot's Flowchart Friday are regularly forwarded around the office. And as much as we love them, we were jealous. We wanted one!
So in honor of our Ten Year Anniversary, we made our own.
In our infographic, you'll learn all sorts of fun, appropriately quirky facts about our publishing company. How many employees have, at some point, lived in the Quirk office building? How many parties do we throw? If you stacked up all the copies of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children in print, what mountain would that pile be taller than?
Answers to all these questions and more await you below. Enjoy!
Posted by Eric Smith
Five Of Our Favorite Literature Themed Coffee Shops
Nothing goes together like coffee and books. Reading in coffee shops is a favorite pastime of book lovers around the world, so what could be better than a book themed cafe?
These five literary coffee shops will feed both your mind and your body, so be sure to check them out.
Bennu (Pictured Above): A 24 hour coffee house in Austin, Texas, Bennu’s known for its gourmet mochas that are named after books. A quick glance at the menu and you’ll see classics like The Scarlet Letter, Oliver Twist and The Great Gatsby. Each drink is created with a book in mind, and they all sound delicious. The one the sounds the best to me is the Don Quixote, which is described as “Azteca D’oro Spiced Chocolate Mocha topped with home-made whipped cream and dusted with Mexican spiced powder.” Yum!
McNally Jackson Cafe: A bookstore in NYC, and its cafe is really something special. Books hang suspended from the ceiling and pages line the walls, giving the space a whimsical feel. The lights above the counter hold stacks of books, which is appropriate for its place in a bookstore. They even have a literary experience section on the menu where you can eat and drink the same things as a character from your favorite book.
Literati Cafe: Located in Los Angeles, Literati Cafe does not disappoint. The walls feature black and white photographs of various literary figures as well as posters of famous book covers. The atmosphere has been described as “bookish”, with little nooks and crannies for customers to sip a latte and crack open a novel.
Posted by Simona DeDominicis
Milo Is a Street Thug
My cat Milo is a street thug. Well, he isn’t really my cat anymore. Or maybe he never was. Okay, let me go back a bit and explain.
I had the best cat ever in the history of earth for sixteen years. His name was Pooky and he was a cross between a Persian and a Himalayan. So he had Himalayan markings with that beautiful Persian fur, but without his nose being quite so mashed in.
He was the once-in-a-lifetime kitty, the cat no other cat will ever compare to. He went with me to college. He went with me when I got married. He had the most peaceful, Buddha-like energy. He talked to me in this funny little voice that sounded nothing like a cat, but more like a little chirping bird. He hung out sleeping about 23 hours a day, even when he was little, and hunted the smallest bug or ant in the house, and drooled when I patted him. He let me hug him, kiss him and even patiently let me make him dance (albeit with a totally disgusted look on his face). To make it even better, although he was completely docile with me, he hated everyone else, which made him all that more endearing in my mind.
Posted by Jennifer Adams
A To Do List At The End of the World
Six months until the world blows up. Okay.
1. pole dancing classes.
2. break my four years of sobriety.
3. get my family to Israel.
In that order.
I have to assume my kids don’t know about this world blowing up thing. They’re three and one and love couch forts and tickle parties. This is how I want us to live our next six months, please.
I also have to assume nobody else knows about the world blowing up because if they do:
1a. pole dancing classes are going to fill up quickly
and
2b. Israel may blow up first.
I also really need to talk to that woman by the church on our corner and ask her why she sleeps there with her shoes next to her and also apologize for avoiding her a lot of the time. I have to find my ex-best friend Ella and say, really, I hope you know I love you.
4. iced coffee.
5. sushi, nachos, karaoke. repeat.
6. a new wig for every day.
7. swim in that velvety lake by my uncle’s cabin.
8. spend a day with a piano.
9. ask my therapist if i can see her two times a week.
10. yoga, prayer, meditation – every day.
11. weep, dance, laugh. repeat.
And most importantly, when that rumble comes, and it will, turn on the stereo, grab my husband, my kids, the neighbors, the trees and shout, “let’s do this!!!”
—
Abby Sher is a writer, performer, and yogi living in Brooklyn.
Posted by Abby Sher