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While watching the film 50/50 our Production Manager, John J. McGurk, spotted a book he recognized in this bookstore scene with Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

It’s not the best picture, but you can still tell what it is. Sense & Sensibility & Sea Monsters by Ben H. Winters.

Awesome!

Here at Quirk HQ, we recently received 8 one-of-a-kind gig posters straight from the pages of Gig Posters: Volume 2. They are unique, high-quality proofs from Germany. We were tempted to take them home ourselves, but we’ve decided to give them away instead! They measure 24” by 28.5” by awesome, and feature some amazing bands. We’ve got posters for:

Vampire Weekend
Green Day
The Cranberries
Queens of the Stone Age & The Eagles of Death Metal
Deftones
Mogwai
Franz Ferdinand
Slayer

To win your own rock art, just comment (or tweet @quirkbooks) with either your coolest, or your most embarrassing concert story. But you’ll have to beat my story involving 11-year-old me, my Dad, and a Boyz II Men concert. Good luck!

At Quirk, we’re big fans of mashing up genres and putting an irreverent spin on pop-culture. We’re also big fans of The Hunger Games. So, to mark the movie’s release, we imagined what it would be like to have a celebrity version of The Hunger Games with some of our favorite TV children. Welcome to The Celebrity Hunger Games. May the odds be ever in your favor…

THE ARENA

The Arena has been prepared with a variety of dangers and pressures that face all teenagers. But, the Head Gamemaker has amplified these elements to a torturous degree. Here’s a sampling of what the Tributes can expect to encounter:

– A horde of teenage fembots sent to seduce and distract
– The captain of the football team armed with football grenades and handsome good looks
– A sudden onslaught of full-body acne so powerful that it leaves them incapacitated for hours
– A pregnancy scare
– Dangerous diet pills
– A throng of siblings out to steal their stuff
– An overbearing principal bent on destroying the Tributes’ freewill
– An avalanche of slushies that will threaten to drown them
– A very special episode where the characters experience the effects of drugs & alcohol
– And, near the end of the games, the Heads Gamemaker may introduce a younger sibling or cousin to stir things up—but, mostly to keep the at-home audience interested.

THE TRIBUTES

Caesar Flickerman had an opportunity to sit down with the Tributes and he has offered his analysis of each one.

Greg & Marcia Brady (The Brady Bunch)

Strengths: While not technically brother & sister, they have a connection that will be hard to break—and an investment in seeing the other return home safely. They’ve also displayed a strong ability to work together on-stage.

Weaknesses: It’s an immediate alliance, but they both can’t win. (Well, maybe they can???) Other known weaknesses include an ancient Hawaiian tiki and a football to the nose.

Well, it’s been a blast, but Marsh Madness has finally come to an end. We saw sixteen food blogs join in the fun, competing for the honor of best marshmallow. Their recipes were incredibly creative, and everyone at the Quirk HQ was thrilled to see them rolling in week after week.

Other highlights included our Facebook exclusive recipe cards, a special podcast featuring Marshmallow Madness’ editor Margaret McGuire, and a number of other blogs (Eat The Love, Sweets by Sillianah) creating their own wild recipes just because. All in all, a great time. Thank you!

Last week we saw some amazing recipes from Ice Cream Before Dinner, The Kitchenarian, Nibble Me This, and Love & Olive Oil in the Southeast Bracket. Links to their respective (and delicious!) recipes are below.

Ice Cream Before Dinner: Raspberry Cheesecake Marshmallows

The Kitchenarian: Cinnamon Toast Marshmallows

Nibble Me This: Fakin’ Bacon & Eggs

Love & Olive Oil: Cookie Dough Marshmallows

You can head over to Serious Eats for the full recap from Caroline Russock.

As for the winner of Marsh Madness, Shauna Sever selected Kitchen Konfidence’s Maple Bacon S’mores. One of the earliest recipes in the bracket, Brandon’s recipe combines bacon, chocolate, marshmallows, and homemade graham crackers. You can read her thoughts on the bracket and the winner on Serious Eats. Brandon wins a Quirk cookbook library and a $100 gift card to Williams-Sonoma. Congrats, Brandon!

To scope out the other entries, visit Serious Eats.

A huge thank you to everyone who participated and to our partners-in-mallows, Serious Eats and Caroline Russock. This was a lot of fun.

So apparently March 20th is National Proposal Day. It’s also the first day of Spring. And while I’m unsure if anyone actually goes out of their way to propose on that date, it is a fun excuse to write a little something about proposals. Specifically, the bookish sort.

From webcomics to comic books, hollowed-out library books to self-published picture books, these six wonderfully unique and clever marriage proposals are guaranteed to make you a little misty.

Grab a box of tissues and check them out.

The Comic Book Marriage Proposal: When David Salomon’s girlfriend said she was in love with comics, that’s when he first realized he was in love with her. So when it was time to propose to his girlfriend, Jen, he enlisted the help of his talented friends, had them create a comic book about their relationship. The cover is a tribute to her favorite comic, Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane.

I love how terribly nervous David looks at the 2:25 mark, while Jen is flipping through the book. He explains each of the (nine) pages to their group of friends, telling stories from their relationship… and it is incredibly sweet. Try not to cry when she fills in “yes” at the end. Try.

The Children’s Book Proposal: R.M. Massimo created A Prince is a Prince No Matter How Odd, a childrens’ picture book, to propose to his wife in Barnes & Noble. He acted as though the book had been published, convinced the booksellers to put it on their shelves, and had her read it.

Massimo went ahead and self published the book afterward, and you can pick it up via Xlibris.

Harry Potter Marriage Proposal: Reddit user Trehlo hollowed out a copy of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and placed his future-wife’s engagement ring inside. Excellent chapter choice.

St. Patrick’s Day and March always brings out the Irish in most of us. While you’re planning to break out the Leprechaun hats, hang the plastic shamrocks, and join the parade, you’re going to have a great time whipping up this marvelous potato soup with slivers of corned beef.

The beauty of this recipe is in its ease. It’s incredibly quick to prepare and the ingredients are easily accessible. Once you put it all together, this potato soup will fill you up with its rich flavors and hearty texture. Top it off with generous amounts of corned beef and sprinkle some cheese. Stir, slurp and enjoy!