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How-To Tuesday: How to Make a Hardback Charging Station
Welcome to the first How-To Tuesday of March! This week I’ll be showing you how to make a hardback book charging station for your lifeline, I mean, cell phone.
If you’re like me, the only time your phone is out of your sight is when you’re sleeping — and that’s only because you’re eyes are literally closed. That bad boy is with you through work, play, and relaxation time alike. But I must admit, that plain ol’ charging cord can cut into the chic atmosphere you’ve spent many an hour perfecting in your bedroom or office space.
This DIY is actually quite easy, and can be completed in about 30 minutes start to finish. So pick out a hardback (obviously one that can be cut into) from your extensive collection and let’s get started!
What You’ll Need
Hardback book
Phone Charger
Drill
X-Acto Knife/Box Cutter
Measuring tape
Glue (optional)
Step 1: Measure Your Charger Head
Use the measuring tape to measure how wide your charger head is. You’ll want a snug fit, so do as exact a measurement as you can.
Step 2: Decide Where You Want the Phone to Sit
Choose where you’ll want your phone to stand up from, using the measuring tape as a reference of how big the charger head is. I chose the approximate middle of the book for mine.
Step 3: Drill Two Holes
Use the drill to drill two hole — one for each end of the charger head. Since the iPhone 5’s charger is so small, my hole’s ran together a bit, and that’s perfectly OK.
Step 4: Make Sure You’ve Drilled Through
Press hard to make sure you drill through the cover and onto the first couple of pages.
Step 5: Cut Between the Drill Holes
Using the X-acto knife or box cutter, cut between your two drill holes or help hollow out the space if the holes are already connecting.
Step 6: Check If the Charger Head Fits
Insert the charger head into the hole to make sure it’s a good fit. Use the knife to free up some space if it’s still too tight and if you accidently cut too much, use a drop of glue on each side to make it snug again.
Step 7: Cut the “River”
Using the hole in the pages as a starting point, start to cut a “river” for your charging cord to rest in. It doesn’t have to be big, just wide enough for the cord to comfortably lie there.
Step 8: Keep Cutting Until It’s Deep Enough
You’ll need to keep cutting into and removing strips of pages until your cord head will just barely peak out of the front cover.
Step 9: Close Cover and Set Up
After the river is deep enough, insert the cord and close the cover so that the head stands up through the front cover.
Step 10: Show Off!
That’s it! You did it! Now set up your book wherever you usually charge your phone and style it to your hearts desire. Also, prepare yourself for all the compliments you’re about to get on your expert DIY work.
Posted by Emily Kelley
Super Author Birthday Fun Action Squad!
What if some of the greatest authors in the history of literature, all born this month, could celebrate their birthdays together? There's only one way to find out: SUPER AUTHOR BIRTHDAY FUN ACTION SQUAD!
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Bookish Events in New York City: March 2nd – 6th
It’s another snowy, yet busy, week in New York City.
This week offers the opportunity to get fancy at the Brooklyn Academy of Music with food, wine, and the brilliant words of Tiphanie Yanique. Are you a music lover? Head over to WORD Brooklyn and soak up the wisdom from an amazing panel of music journalists. There’s also the opportunity to see Lorrie Moore, Francesca Marciano, and Elizabeth McCracken at the awards ceremony for the Story Prize at The New School.
Whatever you do, stay toasty, and know that spring is on its way.
Posted by Jennifer Morell
Fabulous Fan Films Inspired by Comic Books
There are so many of us who are fans. Whether you are a fan of a sports team, director, author or radio personality, you want to see the very best of what they have to offer. This goes for comic book fans as well. In recent years, comic book movies have owned the box office. There has never been a greater time to be a comics fan.
However, there is nothing worse than going out to see the film adaptation of one of your favorite comics only to find that it is a huge disappointment, or watching the property linger in development hell.
What with the epically dark Power Rangers fan film circulating around the Internet lately (which sadly just got pulled), I thought I'd round up some of the great comic book fan films. Because there are a lot of them. While they may not have the production value of a major studio, fan films can truly the best interpretation of their characters ever.
Posted by David Winnick
Ten Grammatical Terms That Totally Sound Like Band Names
Naming a band isn’t easy, but luckily you can find inspiration in all sorts of unlikely places. Here at Quirk, we’ve come up with ten possible bands with grammatically inspired names and imagined some of their hit songs.
Posted by Jennifer Morell
10 Literary Social Media Accounts for Bookish People to Follow
Are you an avid social media user but you’re getting a little sick of seeing the same cat memes over and over in your Tumblr feed? You don't really care anymore about the politically incorrect tweets from that guy you haven’t even seen in two years?
Well you’ve come to the right place! The following is a list of 10 social media accounts to spice up your feed if you’re book-minded or just need something new.
Posted by Maya Merberg