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I want you to think back to when you were sixteen. What did you listen to? What did you read? What hobbies did you have, and what did you and your friends do on the weekends? Did you ever fight with your parents? Did you ever have a break-up that felt like the world was going to fall to pieces that second? Were you ever told “you’ll get over it, it’s no big deal” whenever you were upset about something? Did you ever keep secrets from family or friends, and it ate at you late at night and it made you feel small and all alone?

I didn’t want to read a sanitized, pre-screened selection of books where no one ever used profanity and the characters always made the right decisions, where no one ever got hurt and people never behaved badly. I wanted to read about real life and the real world.

I’m not a teenager anymore, but I’d be willing to bet that teenagers today still feel the same way. Assuming that kids can’t handle books about intense, upsetting, controversial topics is worse than just silly, it’s insulting. Kids aren’t stupid. They know every story doesn’t have a happy ending—not in real life, anyway.

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Let’s face this fact right now: I sweat, you sweat, we all sweat, and anyone who says otherwise is lying.

It’s uncomfortable, it’s embarrassing, and unless you’re a workout-aholic, it’s hard to come to terms with this unglamorous aspect of the human body. If you’re into competitive sports, good for you! You’re probably already well aware that sweating goes hand in hand with the sports you play. If you’re not particularly athletically-inclined, then you need to understand how to combat an overabundance of sweat so that you can go out and do normal things with normal people. There’s nothing more embarrassing, for example, than accidentally throwing a bowling ball behind you instead of in front of you because your hands were sweating so badly.

Golf, like bowling, requires a non-sweaty grip to maintain success in the sport. A pair of sweaty palms can lead to an embarrassing sports mishap that leaves you humiliated. Luckily, The Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Golf has you covered for all scenarios, from minor moisture control to remedying a torrential onslaught of sweat.

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Do you remember what reading was like as a kid? Making weekly trips to the library to pick out ANY BOOK that you wanted. Intensively listening as someone read a story out loud to you and your peers. Looking in wonder at the pictures that went along with the words.

Even if you’re an avid reader now, there’s no denying that reading was a lot more enjoyable back then. Thankfully, that magic isn’t gone. Here are five ways to tap into your inner child and make that next book on your to-read list a little more exceptional.

At the end of the month, we're packing up some books and posters, and flying out to Chicago for C2E2. 

This is our first visit to C2E2 in three years, and we're psyched to be coming back. We've got a lot of fun things planned for our triumphant return, from giveaways to author panels. 

Speaking of those authors, you'll be able to catch Ben H. Winters, the Edgar award nominated author of The Last Policeman (on sale all month, btw!), on the Mystery Genre Panel on Saturday, April 27th (2:45pm – 3:45pm, Room W476). He'll also be signing advance review copies of the second book in The Last Policeman trilogy, Countdown City. We'll be selling copies of the first book in the series and giving away those copies of Countdown City. 

E.B. Hudspeth, author of The Resurrectionist, will be featured on a Sci-Fi / Fantasy panel on Saturday, April 27th (12:45pm – 1:45pm, Room W475B), joined by Darth Vader and Son author Jeffery Brown. He'll also be signing copies of The Resurrectionist at our booth. Note, that the Resurrectionist isn't on sale until May 21st, so buying the book early at C2E2 is your chance to get a signed first edition before anyone else! 

As for giveaways, we'll be showcasing William Shakespeare's Star Wars by Ian Doescher and giving out gorgeous posters of the cover. You can also snag a super cute Planet Quirk totebag at our booth, which feature quotes from Geek Wisdom by Stephen H. Segal. 

Looking forward to seeing you all there! Check out the totebag after the jump!

So you finally bought an e-reader or a tablet. Whatever your new gadget is, you’re going to cart it with you everywhere you go. To work, school, or the dentist, that sucker is portable and by golly you’re going to port it!

It’s human nature to imagine what your favorite book characters get up to off the page: what they do on weekends, what they make for dinner, what they like to read. Which got me thinking: what would my favorite characters from classic children’s chapter books read if they were browsing the YA shelves today? Luckily for my fictional friends, these days there’s a YA book for every kind of teenager–now I’ve just got to find a way to get the books into the books.