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Winter is… here, actually. For better or worse (probably worse). My Michigan-bred, winter-loving roommate is all smiles at the prospect of snow while I sink further back into my anti-winter blanket cocoon of denial. I’d much prefer to read about winter than actually, you know, experience it. Though I have to admit, literary characters have it way worse—most often their winters are horrible snowmageddons that would make short work of weaker individuals (i.e. me) or really anyone who isn’t Elsa or Jon Snow.

Everyone knows about the nasty snowpocalypse that is George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire—the books, people, the books!—but what about other literary polar vortexes? As bad as winter may be this year, I suppose this group of unfortunate characters endured a much worse one.

The holidays are over, you’re back to work, and it’s freezing out. No matter how hard you try, you can’t find your mojo.

Don’t stress. The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Work offers tips on how to make it out alive when your boss catches you nodding or slacking off.

What would you do if you were stuck in one place and every day was exactly the same, and nothing that you did mattered?

Well, maybe you’d keep reliving the same day until you changed something about (dun dun dun) yourself, and something something inspirational. We’ve all seen the movie: Groundhog Day. Soon it will be February 2^nd again, and some kind of creature… badger… thing will predict six more weeks of winter or (hopefully) an early spring.

Charlie Brown had a special for Christmas and Thanksgiving, and even celebrated Arbor Day, but he somehow failed to honor this singularly important day. So as it gets closer, take some time to really appreciate the one movie that does it justice, and respects the importance of oversized rodents—not to mention the increasingly popularized use of time loops in fiction. Yet there are many other examples of this trope from literature that remain largely unrecognized.

In honor of Bill Murray and groundhogs everywhere who find repeating time less suicidally funny and more unnerving, following are a few of the best examples:

A few years ago, while at a party for The Mary Sue during New York Comic Con, I met Sam Maggs. 

We were both writing for Geekosystem at the time, with my former college roommate Glen Tickle. We geeked out over movies and comics, as one does at such a party, and talked about the awesome cosplay we saw at the convention. I enjoyed her articles and writing ever since. 

Fast forward two or so years, and Quirk is putting out her debut book. The Fangirl's Guide to the Galaxy. And I couldn't be happier to see her smart, witty writing in print. This is one special book, and I'm thrilled to give you all a sneak peek!

There are a lot of amazing literary events scheduled this week, and hopefully the harrowing blizzard being forecasted will not interfere. There are celebrations for debut novelists, discussions of craft and process, and wise words from some literary “doctors” at stake. If the weather gets you down and traps you inside, there’s always the amazing bookish podcast, The Catapult, to get you through the storm.

Tomorrow, on January 24th, Quirk is participating in National Readathon Day. A campaign organized by the National Book Foundation and Penguin Random House, National Readathon Day seeks to help raise awareness for reading, and get people into books. Which is like, basically the best cause ever. Readers help fundraise, talk about their books, and help support the National Book Foundation. Proceeds will support their education programs, like BookUp.