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Here at Quirk we love video games with all our nerdy hearts, and since National Video Games Day is September 12th and we also love books, we thought we’d combine the two and pair some of our favorite video game soundtracks with your favorite book genres. 

Many of the following scores include tracks with more distracting sound from grand choral movements to light breathing (thank you, horror genre), so you may have to filter out some tracks for a more personalized playlist, depending on your individual tastes. But if you’re looking for some nice background music while you jump into your next adventure, romance—what have you—these soundtracks are a good place to start.

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You know that song you just can’t get out of your head? You know the one. It lives in your bones and becomes your own private DJ, scoring your day as you wash your hair and do the dishes. And sometimes it’s a good thing – a dance party in your living room, the whole nine yards. But sometimes it’s an earworm in the worst possible way. Today, we’re pairing those iconic songs with some equally iconic books – books that make us want to dance and sing along. Go ahead and let that song get stuck in your head. Because we’re ready to read through it!

At long last, Mulan is finally being released in full live action glory. We have such distinct memories of the first time we saw that movie – one badass moment after another. Mulan was everything! She wasn’t technically a princess, so we didn’t feel sucked into that marry the prince mentality. And yet she still had her own hero’s journey, one that leaves so much room for discussions about gender roles and non-binary identity, especially now that we have that language.

Photo by Kevin Mueller on Unsplash

Many a hero has inspired a man to grow a beard. There’s just something so darn heroic about a gloriously kept face-mane. The wisest of wizards in pop culture are always sporting waist-length white beards to gently stroke as they ponder the problems of the world, the dashing rogues who save the day have some too-busy-saving-the-world-to-shave stubble, and some even have intricately woven beards, or beards dyed and decorated for that extra flair.

However, for World Beard Day, we’re not looking at the beards of the heroes, but at the (often far more interesting) beards of the villains of pop culture. We’ve come a long way from the boring go-to-goatee that was the ultimate villain look for so long. Check out these incredible beards for every bad guy.

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We couldn’t be more excited for International Literacy Day. Books are such a big part of our lives – and we celebrate that every day. But we’re also the first to admit that reading isn’t accessible to everyone, and that literacy isn’t something to be taken for granted. We love recommending graphic novels to the emerging readers in our lives – graphic novels are novels too! – and we’re excited to be sharing five of our favorites with y’all today.

Image by Evgeni Tcherkasski from Pixabay

Lighthouses have long captured the romantic imaginations of writers and creators: the symbolism of a single bright light guiding a lost soul home, of the lonely and windswept lighthouse keeper, gazing out to sea, of the call of the sea itself, and, of course, a stone tower that would fit in in a fairytale world. It’s no wonder that lighthouses are so popular in pop culture—even if the real-life lighthouse keepers are becoming increasingly rare to find.

In honor of all the ways that lighthouses have captured our attention, whether in romance, horror, or something in between, we’re rounding up some of the biggest and best lighthouses in pop culture.