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Here at Quirk, we like our classic literary mash-ups. But we like the original classics too. Happy birthday to Charlotte Bronte (April 21, 1816), who more than one hundred and fifty years ago wrote a bang-up tale of orphans, ghosts, betrayal, and all-consuming love featuring one of the most independent, kickass heroines in all literature.

If you haven’t read Jane Eyre lately, it’s time to pull it off the shelf and give it a go. It’s good. Really good. In fact, it’s better every time you read it. But if you’re not up for quite that big of a time investment, try one of these movie versions of Jane Eyre instead:

Jane Eyre (2011)

Mia Wasikowska (Albert Nobbs and Alice in Wonderland) and Michael Fassbender (Inglourious Basterds, Shame, 300), are impressive as actors and might garner great attention, but when acting together there’s no sexual tension.

In fact, if you don’t already know the story, it’s hard to see why this young Jane would fall in love with this master of the house. When you want Jane to go off to Africa with St. John, you know something is wrong!

Jane Eyre (1996)

Anna Paquin makes a bold young Jane and Helen Burns at Lowood School is beautifully played. This version is worth watching for its arresting cinematography and interesting interpretation. But William Hurt is perhaps a bit too mild to make a convincing Rochester and this Jane may be a little too plain.

First, thank you!

When we launched Quirk Books ten years ago, we had one goal: to publish titles we were passionate about. We weren't aiming for New York Times best sellers (though we've now published four of them) or trying to create new publishing genres (though we've seen countless imitators of our mash-ups and "irreference" handbooks.)

So, thank you for sharing our passions, interests, and dreams. Thank you for helping us spread great ideas and tell terrific stories. Thank you for making our first ten years so fun, so successful, and so rewarding.

This fall, we'll be celebrating our tenth anniversary with plenty of contests, promotions, and giveaways. Keep an eye on this page for details on how to join the fun.

Retailers: Please contact your Random House sales representative to discuss your participation in Quirk's 10th Anniversary Retail Promotion.

BEA Prize Patrol: In honor of Quirk Book's 10th Anniversary, our prize patrol will be walking the show floor and randomly giving away prizes to attendees carrying the Quirk Books tote bag. Grab a Quirk Books tote bag at booth #3848 and you could be the next winner.

Samuel Beckett was born on April 13, 1906 outside of Dublin. Sam Beckett was born August 8, 1953 in Indiana, eight months after the world premiere of Samuel Beckett’s acclaimed stage play Waiting for Godot in Paris, France. Samuel Beckett died on December 22, 1989 — just 9 months after Sam Beckett made his first appearance in the series premiere episode of the NBC time travel drama Quantum Leap.

Coincidence? Well, okay. Maybe. But still. Bear with me here.

The Sunnydale High Library in Buffy the Vampire Slayer

It’s National Library Week, and even fictional characters need a place to check out books from time to time. Though it’s not always the case, fictional libraries tend to be magical; after all, they’re created by writers, and writers know the power of the written word. If they’re going to invent a repository for knowledge, then at the very least, it should be an interesting one.

Of course, in the manner of mice, cookies, and milk, when a writer creates an unusual library, he or she is going to invent an unusual librarian to go along with it. Here are a few memorable made-up archives and their equally memorable keepers:

Matilda & Mrs. Phelps in Matilda: The Musical

The Local Public Library & Mrs. Phelps (Matilda): Roald Dahl’s classic opens by introducing the protagonist, Matilda, as a Reader, which perhaps makes Mrs. Phelps the most important librarian of them all – in taking a four-year-old’s request for a ‘grown-up’ book at the local library seriously, she sets the rest of the story into motion. Mrs. Phelps is the first adult in young Matilda’s life to encourage her to learn, and the first to feed her hunger for knowledge.

The magic here is in the moment when Mrs. Phelps presents Matilda with a library card and tells her she can start taking books home.

The Great Library & Cheshire Cat (Thursday Next): In the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde, characters can travel in and out of books, interacting with public domain heroes and villains – as long as an intrepid explorer has already found a way in. In Lost in a Good Book Thursday enters the Great Library for the first time, which contains every book ever written, every book that ever will be written, “and a few others beside.”

The Library is the starting point for all Prose Resource Operatives, or members of Jurisfiction, and is overseen by the ‘quite mad’ Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland (technically, the Unitary Authority of Warrington Cat due to adjusted county boundaries). He can give you the publication date, ranking, and up-to-the second reading figures for every book in the library – as long as you have tuna-flavored Moggalicious to trade.

While watching the film 50/50 our Production Manager, John J. McGurk, spotted a book he recognized in this bookstore scene with Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

It’s not the best picture, but you can still tell what it is. Sense & Sensibility & Sea Monsters by Ben H. Winters.

Awesome!

At Quirk, we’re big fans of mashing up genres and putting an irreverent spin on pop-culture. We’re also big fans of The Hunger Games. So, to mark the movie’s release, we imagined what it would be like to have a celebrity version of The Hunger Games with some of our favorite TV children. Welcome to The Celebrity Hunger Games. May the odds be ever in your favor…

THE ARENA

The Arena has been prepared with a variety of dangers and pressures that face all teenagers. But, the Head Gamemaker has amplified these elements to a torturous degree. Here’s a sampling of what the Tributes can expect to encounter:

– A horde of teenage fembots sent to seduce and distract
– The captain of the football team armed with football grenades and handsome good looks
– A sudden onslaught of full-body acne so powerful that it leaves them incapacitated for hours
– A pregnancy scare
– Dangerous diet pills
– A throng of siblings out to steal their stuff
– An overbearing principal bent on destroying the Tributes’ freewill
– An avalanche of slushies that will threaten to drown them
– A very special episode where the characters experience the effects of drugs & alcohol
– And, near the end of the games, the Heads Gamemaker may introduce a younger sibling or cousin to stir things up—but, mostly to keep the at-home audience interested.

THE TRIBUTES

Caesar Flickerman had an opportunity to sit down with the Tributes and he has offered his analysis of each one.

Greg & Marcia Brady (The Brady Bunch)

Strengths: While not technically brother & sister, they have a connection that will be hard to break—and an investment in seeing the other return home safely. They’ve also displayed a strong ability to work together on-stage.

Weaknesses: It’s an immediate alliance, but they both can’t win. (Well, maybe they can???) Other known weaknesses include an ancient Hawaiian tiki and a football to the nose.