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National Name Yourself Day: Author Pseudonyms

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

April 9 is National Name Yourself Day, which isn’t about celebrating your own name, but about taking a day to choose a new one. It may just be for a day, but it can be extremely liberating to take a new name for a while; maybe a Jane is sick of feeling plain, and wants to be Arabella for a while. Maybe a Veronica acts a little differently in the world than a Mildred. Maybe you’ve just always wanted to see how the world would react if you could choose your own moniker.

Of course, for authors, there’s no need to wait for National Name Yourself Day to choose a new name. Many authors write under a pen name, for all kinds of reasons. Some do it so that they can cover sensitive topics without offending loved ones. Some do it to avoid public scrutiny, or to try something that doesn’t fit with their usual brand. Did you know that these famous authors have all written under pen names?

Posted by Rose Moore

Beer in Literature: A Guide

Photo by radovan on Unsplash

Beer goes by many names: draft, libation, brewskie, and the list goes on. This beverage is so delicious that even fictional characters in literature can’t help but pour a cold one! Here’s our guide to the hoppiest and palest ales in books.

Posted by Sandra Woolf

How to Share Your Bookish Love with a School Librarian

April 4th is School Librarian Appreciation Day and of all the truly random holidays, this one is our total and complete favorite. Think back to your elementary school days. Did you have a librarian who let you check out as many books as you wanted – well above your reading level – without making you feel strange or different? Maybe your middle school librarian had a pet rat that lived among the stacks Wormtail-style. Or maybe your high school librarian let you and your friends eat lunch there, because she knew how much easier your day would be. We’re giving back to those folks who planted that literary seed. Because it’s never too late to say thank you.

Posted by Danielle Mohlman

Book Recs for The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Characters

Photo by Dan Farrell on Unsplash

What do you get when you cross magic, teenagers, and comics? The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Netflix’s ode to Archie comics' favorite witch. Now that we’ve seen the first season, we can’t help but conjure a list of books for the bewitching characters of Greendale.

Posted by Sandra Woolf

Incredible Women in Science

It’s German chemist Robert Wilhelm Eberhard von Bunsen’s 207th birthday on March 31—aka National Bunsen Burner Day. To commemorate the birth of the man who invented that instrumental piece of laboratory equipment, we’re highlighting some of our favorite scientists from Sam Maggs’ Wonder Women – women who broke down barriers, made significant contributions to the field, and, in a couple of cases, didn’t even get credited for their work. Today is for them.

Posted by Danielle Mohlman

Best Swaps in Literature and Pop Culture

If you were a fan of Geekerella, you’re going to love Ashley Poston’s latest contemporary fairy tale: The Princess and the Fangirl. Imogen Lovelace is a teenager with one mission: to save her favorite Starfield character, Princess Amara. She’s got the ExcelsiCon map memorized, the #SaveAmara hashtag trending, and so much merch to give away. But there’s one problem: Jessica Stone, the actress playing the role, wants nothing to do with the campaign. In fact, she’d rather her character remain dead. (Yikes!) This modern twist on The Prince and the Pauper got us thinking about our favorite swaps in pop culture — and the hijinks that have ensued.

Posted by Danielle Mohlman