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With National Pretzel Day (April 26) fast approaching, I have no choice but to celebrate; the Philadelphian in me requires it! I’m clearly not alone: Philly loves their pretzels so much that we apparently eat 12 times the national average.

Pretzels have a long history in Pennsylvania, dating back to the 18^th century when the Pennsylvania Dutch introduced soft pretzels to the region. National Pretzel Day was actually instituted in 2003 by none other than Ed Rendell to celebrate the importance of pretzels in Pennsylvania. Although the area is better known for their soft pretzels, legend has it that a Pennsylvania baker “invented” hard pretzels when he accidently left the pretzels in too long. Hard pretzels were also first commercially available from Pennsylvania’s own Sturgis Pretzel House in 1851.

So what better way to celebrate National Pretzel Day than to incorporate them into a delicious dinner recipe? I used Sourdough pretzels in this recipe adapted from Country Living to make another Philadelphia favorite: Fried Chicken! This Pretzel-Crusted “Fried” Chicken is actually baked, but the pretzel crust gives the chicken a nice crunch without deep frying.

This past Saturday was National Record Store Day. Unfamiliar? It’s a day when independent record stores across the country come together with musicians to celebrate their unique music culture. It's a day to lay down your iTunes, break out your well-used, scratchy vinyls, and head to your nearest music store for support. You can further justify your continued commitment to 90’s grunge outfits and band t-shirts, and even celebrate with an all-day marathon of Empire Records.

In honor of this holiday that's near and dear to our hearts (Philly's AKA Music is a block away from our office), we’re doing a giveaway of Swissted, Quirk’s recently released homage to the best in vintage rock music. Swissted is an artistic collection of 200 ready-to-frame posters combining the best in alternative music with modern graphic design. It features iconic bands like Talking Heads, The Lemonheads, Soundgarden, The Ramones, Radiohead, Social Distortion, Violent Femmes, Nirvana, Sonic Youth, and so many more! Sorry, though—no Rex Manning here!

April 26th might be Pretzel Day, but here at Quirk, we’re celebrating Pretzel WEEK. Check back for fun pretzel recipes all week long. Because hey, we’re from Philadelphia. Pretzels are our thing. 

For National Library Week, we asked some of our authors to reflect on the libraries in their lives. Here's Ben H. Winters (The Last Policeman) on his:

Last weekend I took this picture of the Cleo Rogers Memorial Library, in Columbus, Indiana, about an hour from where I live in Indianapolis. Like a lot of buildings in Columbus—a small town with a  rich architectural tradition—this building is a masterpiece, built in 1969 by I.M. Pei.