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A Death Star, drawn by my five year old.

As a parent, there are many days when things go very badly, days when you feel you are not cut out for raising cats, let alone tiny humans. But then some days you beam with pride knowing you got it right. My five-year-old twin sons are nice to each other (unless a dispute over Matchbox cars arises). They try new foods (unless they look icky). They always let me finish my requests before they ignore them. And now, now they are learning to be good geeks.

It all started so simply. My husband and I were minding our own business playing Angry Birds on our iPads. Our sons, future geeks that they are, were instantly attracted to the buttons, sounds, and pictures. It was as if they were born to understand a touch screen. And oh how we laughed at those silly piggies and crazy birds. The sound of wood crashing and wingless birds smashing was the sound of family time. As each new iteration became available, we had one more carrot to dangle in front of our future nerds.

And then it happened. Angry Birds Star Wars was released. The boys had already taken to Angry Birds Space like, well, like geeks to video games. We had been having some fabulous discussions about space travel and planets. We even watched the NASA video demonstrating how the birds would move in space. We had implanted an idea. Space = cool.

I figured they would just see the Star Wars game as another space mission, but I underestimated the nerd blood that pulses through their veins. As soon as the title cards scrolled on the screen in that familiar pattern, they instinctively knew this was something special. We had made space even better. The birds had names. The planets were different and wonderful. There was a story that Mommy and Daddy told with each new discovery.

And now, here we are; we have two boys who spend their free time at school drawing the Death Star and Tie Fighters. To say I'm proud would be an understatement.

Having successfully indoctrinated the boys into one of our geek loves, we know we can add others. You can too; here's how.

(Image via Seanmfreese)

We’re readers. We like books. I think that goes without saying. We also like giving and receiving books as gifts, but those actions bring their own special set of problems. When you pick out a book for yourself, you know what you like and what you’re in the mood to read, but how does that translate into picking books for other people? Conversely, how do your nearest and dearest pick books for you? And (horror!) what happens if you don’t like the book you’re given?

I’ve received some awesome books as gifts (like Yiddish with Dick and Jane from a friend who knew I was about to start working toward my MA in Jewish Studies). I’ve also received some epic stinkers. Interestingly, both bookish gifts were from the same well-meaning friend. I’ve recommended books to people that they’ve enjoyed (like City and the City) and books they just couldn’t get into (like Perdido Street Station), and both of these recommendations were by the same author and to the same friend.

So, really, what the heck?

This weekend, fans of Sherlock Holmes will be celebrating his birthday. The legendary literary figure turns 159 this Sunday, January 6th.

In honor of his birthday, here’s an excerpt from The Sherlock Holmes Handbook. Fun Facts: Ransom Riggs wrote this for us before he penned Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children, and its full of illustrations (two of which are featured in this post) by Eugene Smith, the man behind the beautiful drawings in the Lovecraft Middle School series.

We’ll be giving copies away on our Facebook page, so make sure you check that out! Enjoy!

Curious about what kind of educator's guides, reader's group guides, and event kits we've got? Follow us on Pinterest or scroll below! 

EDUCATOR'S GUIDES

The Tales from Lovecraft Middle School Series: Good news! You can download educator's guides for Charles Gilman's spooky middle grade series! This includes Professor Gargoyle, The Slither Sisters, and Teacher's Pest. Click the links below to access them all on the Lovecraft Middle School website.

Professor Gargoyle | The Slither Sisters | Teacher's Pest | Substitute Creature

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The Nick & Tesla Series: Bring Science Bob and Steve Hockensmith's charming middle grade series into the classroom, thanks to these educator's guides. You can download guides for High-Voltage Danger Lab and Robott Army Rampage via the links below on the Nick & Tesla website. A guide for Secret Agent Gadget Battle and Super Cyborg Gadget Glove will be coming soon! 

High-Voltage Danger Lab | Robot Army Rampage | Secret Agent Gadget Battle | Super Cyborg Gadget Glove | Special Effects Spectacular

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William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Hark! An educator's guide is available for thee… alright, our New York Times bestselling author Ian Doescher is way better at that. Bring his series into the classroom with these handy guides. 

William Shakespeare's Star Wars | The Empire Striketh Back | The Jedi Doth Return | The Phantom of Menace | The Clone Army Attacketh | The Tragedy of the Sith's Revenge

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READER'S GROUP GUIDES

The Last Policeman Series: Bringing The Last Policeman into your book club? Well good news! We've got a reader's group guide for The Last Policeman, Countdown City and World of Trouble. Download them via the links below.

The Last Policeman | Countdown City | World of Trouble

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AUTHORLESS EVENT KITS

Find Momo: Andrew zips around the country in his yellow van all the time. But, in the event you can't get him out to your bookstore, we've got a great authorless event kit you can download. Check it out here. 

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children: If Ransom can't make it to your bookstore because he's busy rummaging around for new vintage photos, you can download this fantastic authorless event kit here.

Lovecraft Middle School: Chances are, Charles Gilman is busy researching Cthulu lore along the shores of the Schuylkill in Philadelphia. You can get information on how to get an authorless event kit here, which will help you create a fun event. 

The Nick & Tesla Series: Excited to share the adventures of Nick & Tesla with your bookstore or classroom? We've put together a fun event kit, just for you. 

Jane Austen Cover to Cover: We've got a special kit so you can have your own Jane Austen Cover to Cover GALLERY SHOW. That's right! Download the free kit on Scribd, here. 

Hey Quirk fans! 

We're out of the office until January 3rd, but we'll be back in 2013 with fun new books and lots of new content. 

This year's holiday card was created by the good people at Space 1026 here in Philadelphia. Oh, and that adorable cross-stitched pattern? You can make one yourself. Just download this .PDF. 

Right Click, Save As [Holiday.PDF, 450k]

We hope all of you have a wonderful, safe holiday. 

<3

Quirk

Photo by Pat Pilon

Despite the fact that I usually start hearing Christmas music around Halloween (why?!), whenever the holidays arrive, I almost always find myself missing something. A present for this person, a piece of holiday clothing I swore I’d wear (ugly Christmas sweater, why must you be brought up every year), or an important festive decoration.

Like the Christmas angel tree topper.

If you’re hapless around the holidays like me, well, here’s an excerpt from the Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Holidays by David Borgenicht and Joshua Piven. Just in case you forget to pack that angel for the top of the tree.