Our Blog

The wonderful thing about booksellers is that booksellers are wonderful, unique creatures. Depending on the shift, you can encounter a variety of booksellers, each with different answers to “So how was your day at work, honey?” Read on to better know the life and livelihood of professional book fans!

Quirk Books is linking up with The Broke and The Bookish again for Top 10 Tuesday! This week we’re discussing what we like (and dislike!) about romances in fiction, so I’ve decided to share ten of the romance tropes I really hate to love. So many of the following tropes are cliché and sort of horrible, but I can’t help but love them anyway.

WILL THEY OR WON’T THEY?

It’s torturous when two characters resist an inevitable relationship for what seems like a ridiculous amount of time. However, that build up usually leads to the best relationships because the characters have been so fully developed outside of the relationship. For example: In the Harry Potter series it took forever for Ron and Hermione to admit they had feelings for each other, but the wait was well worth it for R/H shippers.

VILLANOUS CRUSH

I can’t deal when a villain becomes attracted to the hero of a story because it inevitably means we will learn way more about this bad guy/gal. There’s always a reason why the villain is so bitter with the world, and I love watching that story unfold. One of my favorite examples is Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. His crush on Buffy becomes problematic later on (that’s a discussion for another day), but it was certainly a fun narrative arc to watch.

THERE’S ONLY ONE BED

This trope is one of the worst clichés, but if you love the characters enough you can find enjoyment in their embarrassment. I’m not sure why two adults find it so awkward to sleep in the same bed together (it’s not like the sheets will miraculously tear off their clothes), but I guess nothing really makes sense in fiction land. This situation is hilarious on The OC when Summer demands Seth sleep on the floor, but he absolutely refuses. 

LOVING A SHADOW

For this trope, a character has confused one type of relationship for another. The character loves someone because they remind him/her of someone else, or they are in love with the idea of being in love. I think Loving A Shadow fits Jay Gatsby from The Great Gatsby quite well. His infatuation with Daisy is definitely based on the girl she used to be. No one in that book is really living in the current moment.

PRECOCIOUS CRUSH

This one sounds a bit weird: when a child (a teenager, or younger) has a crush on an adult. This doesn’t imply that the adult also has a crush on a child. It’s most often seen when students have a crush on a teacher (you’d be lying if you said you can’t think of at least one instance of this that you were ok with), but my favorite example is in The Time Traveler’s Wife when young Clare has a crush on adult Henry. It’s a quite complicated example, and if you haven’t read the book you’re probably very confused, but it’s an unusual take on this often-used trope.

STAR-CROSSED LOVERS

I like to think I’m not interested in this trope, but one of my favorite literary love stories relies heavily on it: Wuthering Heights. This trope is when two characters desperately want to be together, but there’s always something (spoiler alert: it’s fate) keeping them apart. Catherine and Heathcliff are the perfect example of this super annoying plot device.

BETTY AND VERONICA

A trope where the main character is caught between choosing from two other characters with very different personalities. The name for this one is taken from the popular Archie comics series (Archie is torn between Betty and Veronica), but it exists in nearly every fictional story (hello love triangles). I really love Dawson’s Creek, so my favorite Betty and Veronica situation has to be Joey’s inability to choose between Dawson and Pacey. It leads to so much unnecessary teenage angst (and Dawson tears).

TRUE LOVE’S KISS

That one person who is absolutely perfect for the main character needs to kiss him/her just in time to save the world. There’s a great example in His Dark Materials, but I don’t want to go into details because ~spoilers~. Also, every Disney movie ever (but definitely not always the original fairy tales).

UNRESOLVED SEXUAL TENSION

Yes please! This could be my favorite trope. Two characters that have so much chemistry it’s practically jumping off the page—or screen. My favorite example? Ross and Rachel from Friends. R&R forever (even when they’re on a break).

SNOW MEANS LOVE

I know this is ridiculous and it should probably make me roll my eyes, but I totally believe in the romance of slowly falling snow (thanks, fiction). Snow = magic. If you loved Let It Snow, then you probably believe in this trope too. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is another example, and Lorelai Gilmore from Gilmore Girls is obsessed with the significant meaning of each year’s first snowfall.

Now I’m going to go watch fanvids of all my favorite ships. Let me know your favorite romance tropes in the comments! Let’s talk love!  

The weather is still a total bummer in New York City, but thankfully our local bookstores and bars are continuing to schedule amazing literary events. This week you can hear two-time Booker prize winner, Peter Carey, read in Brooklyn, and Simpsons creator Matt Groening talk about the beloved cartoon family in Union Square. There’s another chance to tell your stories at The Moth in honor of Valentine’s Day, or if your love life is really suffering, you can relish in post-apocalyptic doom at BookCourt.

Monday, February 9, 2015

Franklin Park Monthly Reading Series

618 St. John’s Place

Brooklyn, New York 11238

8:00pm

It’s novel night at the Franklin Park Monthly Reading Series. This month’s reading features Peter Carey, Laura van den Berg, Atticus Lish, Mark Doten, and Kashana Cauley.

FREE

Irvine Welsh at BookCourt

163 Court Street

Brooklyn, NY 11201

7:00pm

Irvine Welsh will be joined in conversation with Ben Greenman to discuss Welsh’s new novel, The Sex Lives of Siamese Twins. Stop by for a reading, Q&A, and book signing.

FREE

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Michelle Tea at The Strand

828 Broadway

New York, NY 10003

7:00pm

Celebrate the release of Michelle Tea’s new memoir, How to Grow Up. She will be joined in conversation by Saeed Jones. Information and tickets are available here.

$15

The Moth StorySLAM! at Housing Works Bookstore Cafe

126 Crosby Street

New York, NY 10012

7:00pm

There will be ten stories, three teams of judges, and one winner. This evening’s theme is “Love Hurts.”

$8 — Limited tickets available. Arrive early and join the line.

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Kelly Link at Barnes and Noble

1972 Broadway

New York, NY 10023

7:00pm

Kelly Link will be joined in conversation by Emma Straub to discuss Link’s new collection of short stories, Get in Trouble.

FREE

Sandra Newman & Emily St. John Mandel at Greenlight Bookstore

686 Fulton Street

Brooklyn, NY 11217

7:30pm

Come out for an evening of post-apocalyptic literature. Sandra Newman (The Country of Ice Cream Star) and Emily St. John Mandel (Station Eleven) will talk about the terrifying futures that they have created.

FREE

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Jeffery Renard Allen and Marie-Helene Bertino at Lillian Vernon Creative Writers House

58 West 10th Street

New York, NY 10011

7:00pm

Jeffery Renard Allen (Song of the Shank) and Marie-Helene Bertino (2 A.M. at the Cat’s Pajamas) will discuss their work as part of the Reading Series sponsored by NYU.

FREE

Pete’s Reading Series

709 Lorimer Street

Brooklyn, NY 11211

7:30pm

Pete’s Reading Series is one of the most beloved in New York City. This evening features Meghan Daum and Amanda Petrusich.

FREE

Friday, February 13, 2015

Matt Groening at Barnes and Noble Union Square

33 East 17th Street

New York, NY 10003

6:00pm

Matt Groening will discuss his new book, The Simpsons Family History, and shed light on the iconic cartoon family.

$35 – Receive a wristband with the purchase of The Simpsons Family History

Saaed Jones at The Bellwether

98 Moore Street

Brooklyn, NY 11206

8:30pm/10:00pm

Come out for a one-night-only multi- disciplinary installation based on Saaed Jones’ book of poetry, Prelude to Bruise.

$15 – Tickets are available here

Whether you use bubbles, bath bombs, candles or just stew á la you, here are four books set in, on and by the ocean that are perfect for bathtub reading.

*bubbles not included

Hello, hello Miss Peregrine fans!

For the last week we’ve been keeping a secret but can finally reveal exciting news. Ransom Riggs’s follow-up to Hollow City: The Second Novel of Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children has a title and we're in love.

Drumroll, please!

Library of Souls: The Third Novel of Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children

Entertainment Weekly revealed the title earlier this afternoon and they have an exclusive first look at an excerpt from the book along with some vintage photography that you may find. Head on over and check it out!*

Library of Souls goes on sale on September 22, 2015 and is available for preorder.

While you’re waiting for the third book, continue to visit QuirkBooks.com and follow Ransom Riggs on Twitter (@ransomriggs) for more information, giveaways, and reveals.

And if you loved Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children and haven’t read Hollow City yet, be sure to pick up a paperback edition on February 24, 2015.

*Spoiler Alert: Ransom Riggs warns that if you haven't finished Hollow City then you should hold off on reading the excerpt for Library of Souls.

Doodling is often looked at as a juvenile waste of time. The meaningless lines and scribbles one puts on the margins of far more important works are things to hide, to be ashamed of, to keep yourself from doing.

But that shouldn’t be the case. As educator Sunni Brown says in her TED Talk on the very subject, we as a culture are so focused on verbal information that we are blind to the value of doodling. Expressing thought in visual, abstract ways helps cognitive function. Smart people doodle, because doodling helps you become smart.

So it should be no surprise that some of the very best authors, clear masters of presenting verbal information, are also prolific doodlers. And since today is National Doodle Day, here are some favorite authors' doodles:

J.K. Rowling

The reigning queen of magical fantasy couldn’t have written the Harry Potter series without doodling. She drew every character and creature before she wrote about them. She even drew the effects of magical spells, often in several sequential drawings, like an animation storyboard.

John Keats

Before he was revered as a great romantic poet, John Keats was just a schlubby medical student, doodling flowers and butterflies in the margins of his notes. He also clearly was a heavy metal fan a good hundred and fifty years before it was invented, as evidenced by the skulls he drew on the cover of one of his notebooks.

Jorge Luis Borges

Borges once remarked that meeting Keats was one of the great experiences of his life. One wonders if they discussed their shared love of doodling. Borges contined to doodle even as his sight deteriorated, creating abstract scribbles of ink.

Allen Ginsberg

Not content with providing a mere signature, Ginsberg would doodle all over proffered works for fans. Like Keats, he too was drawn to drawing skulls and flowers. 

Vladimir Nabokov
 

Contemplating Gregor Samsa’s transformation is one thing, doodling it is quite another. But Nabokov clearly could not get past the first page of Kafka’s Metamorphosis without working out just how that giant cockroach looked.

Franz Kafka

Kafka, for his part, doodled angry, accusatory faces and lonely, depressed men. Which, when you consider his work, seems entirely appropriate.

Henry Miller

Miller’s doodles, however, offer a sharp contrast to his work, full of open lines and an almost anime-like sensibility. Was Miller fond of anime? He’d probably like JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure…

Sylvia Plath
 

Plath would cover her diary in doodles. While roses might come to mind as a prominent subject, the sinister, anthropomorphized food is a far more compelling window into Plath’s mental state at the time. Look out for that hot dog!

Samuel Beckett
 

Beckett’s doodles tend to be slightly abstract, knowing faces with prominent noses.

Charles Bukowski

In case you were wondering if Bukowski did this doodle with a bottle in hand, he drew one in there. Just so you’d know.

Kurt Vonnegut

Perhaps the king of all literary doodlers, Vonegut has incorporated his doodles into his written work several times, most successfully in Breakfast of Champions. Now, there’s a man who understands the importance of verbal and visual information.