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Suburban Legends: Close Encounters of the Worst Kind [Excerpt]

Suburban Legends: Close Encounters of the Worst Kind [Excerpt]

An eBook exclusive re-release of Sam Stall's Suburban Legends came out October 1st! So through the month of October, we're sharing excerpts from the collection of spooky stories. Because Halloween! 

They told you the suburbs were a great place to live. They said nothing bad could ever happen here. But they were wrong.

This collection of terrifying true stories exposes the dark side of life in the ’burbs—from corpses buried in backyards and ghosts lurking in fast food restaurants to UFOs, vanishing persons, bizarre apparitions, and worse. 

So lock your doors, dim the lights, and prepare to stay up all night with this creepy collection of true tales. We promise you’ll never look at white picket fences the same way again!

Read an excerpt below (Close Encounters of the Worst Kind), and pick it up for $3.99 via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or the iBookstore this month! 

 

Posted by Eric Smith

Cats

Eat More Books: Episode 10 That Darn Cat

Eat More Books: Episode 10 That Darn Cat

Posted by Rick Chillot

Celebrate Fall with Six Book-Inspired Beers!

Celebrate Fall with Six Book-Inspired Beers!

Complex tastes, diehard fans, and cultish obsession with new releases: it's no surprise craft beer and literature go together like, well, writers and alcoholism. Quench your thirst for bookish brews with these five flavors…

An Ale of Two Cities: Whether you're celebrating the best of times or drowning the sorrow of the worst, this full-bodied beer will quench your thirst for Revolution. With bitter notes of social upheaval set against the long-fermented yeast of aristocratic privilege, this is a beer with more character(s) than you can keep track of. For the authentic Dickensian drinking experience, six packs are serialized one bottle at a time.

Posted by Blair Thornburgh

Geek, Relationships

The Geek’s Guide to Dating Webseries: Chris & Shannon

The Geek’s Guide to Dating Webseries: Chris & Shannon

Welcome to The Geek's Guide to Dating Webseries!

From bloggers to podcasters, indie video game developers to celebrated filmmakers, hard hitting journalists to award-winning storytellers, over the next few months geeks-of-all-kinds will be sharing their love stories and dishing out advice.

In this week's video, you'll meet Christopher Wink and Shannon McDonald. You locals might recognize Chris from Technically Philly and Shannon from NewsWorks / NEPhilly. Hit play and learn how they met, how Google Apps can play a major role in any relationship, and why Chris won't call himself a "cat geek", whatever that is.

Enjoy! And check back every Tuesday afternoon for a new video through February!

Posted by Eric Smith

Fiction

Breaking All Four Walls: Boston Bookstores That Aren’t Actually Stores

I love indie bookstores. Especially ones that smell like funky used paperbacks and whose wooden floors creak under your shoes. They’re probably some of my favorite places ever.
But do you know what can feel even cooler than floors creaking under your shoes? Outdoor bookstores! Outdoor libraries! Where grass and gravel crunch under your shoes instead! These little bookstores are just hanging out in different corners of your neighborhood, waiting for you to stumble upon them in all their bookish glory, and the Boston area has several of them all over the place. Here are three super-cool outdoor havens to drop off and pick up books without actually stepping foot inside a bookstore.
Harvard Square Book Table: The Harvard Square Book Table is a perfect example of stumbling upon an outdoor bookstore. The whole book table business is built on the honor system, and has been doing so for over five years. Shoppers have nearly 100 book choices that are constantly changing, and are trusted to leave their money in the lockbox, which seems to be working pretty well. One of my friends and I found the table while walking around Harvard Square one day (for anyone around Boston, it’s down near the Brattle Theatre), and were automatically preparing ourselves to walk away with at least four or five books each. The books were cheap—I don’t remember one being more than seven dollars—and with no dude with a cash register or anything, the store was even more awesome. Try to check this place out during sunny days, though; at even the slightest chance of rain, the books are packed away and a tarp is thrown over the table to protect your future purchases.
Brattle Book Shop Alleyway: This little shop is on West Street, almost right across from the Boston Common, and pretty much offers the best of both worlds, funky used paperback smell included. Complete with a mural devoted to several famous authors including Hemingway, Kafka, Asimov, and of course, Dr. Seuss, the Brattle’s alley is lined with bookshelves that are embedded in the walls of the surrounding buildings, and a bunch of pushcarts are arranged in the middle, as well (except, like the book table, on rainy days). Added bonus! When the Brattle closes for the night, the bookshelves in the walls close, too, offering even more bookish paintings for people to enjoy. And who can say no to book art?
Somerville’s Payphone Library: James Fox, president of the Friends of the Somerville Public Library, put together the phone booth and revamped it into one of the tiniest and most intriguing libraries in the city. Its bright red paint job makes it hard to miss, and the clear flip-up covering protects books from the weather while also acting as a browsing window for passersby. Several little signs taped up on the payphone instruct people to “take one, leave one,” but that rule isn’t set in stone—a sticker on the top shelf also suggests “heck, just take one,” so hey, you’re free to do whatever your heart desires. Just take a book, enjoy it, and maybe leave one for someone else to enjoy, too; it’s good karma. As a bonus, this little library is right across from a bakery in Ball Square in Somerville, so you can totally go grab a cupcake or something and then browse the payphone’s book selection. That’s something that I never thought I’d be writing, but there’s a first time for everything, right?

Want to see if there are any shops or libraries like these in your area? Check out littlefreelibrary.org! They have a list of hundreds of little free libraries all over the world, so you’re bound to find one nearby.

 

Posted by Allison Racicot

Cookbook: Drinks

Drink the Rainbow: Skittles-Flavored Vodka

Skittles flavored vodka. I repeat, Skittles. Flavored. Vodka.

Recipes like this are why it’s great to be a grown-up: sure, fruity candy is tasty, but wouldn’t it be better if it were…boozier? This is a great and inexpensive gift for friends who need a pop of color on their bar, or just a fun and easy way to fancy up your cocktails at home. Best of all, it’s as simple as pouring things in jars—but it’s a two-day process, so plan accordingly.

Posted by Erica Dreher

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