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How-to Tuesday: Fantastic Trees to Read Under and Where to Find Them

How-to Tuesday: Fantastic Trees to Read Under and Where to Find Them
 
Now it's (finally) summer, it's a great time to think about going outside more often. And I don't mean to get a sun tan. More like, time to go outside to enjoy some beautiful scenery and cool fruity drinks (or some ice cold beers) while guzzling down your latest read. In order to do that though, you'll need some shade, or at the very least a sturdy friend to lean on. 
 
Here's a list of trees to look for the next time you're out somewhere with a book and in need of a spot to park your butt. 
 

Posted by Kristina Pino

Fiction

How to Tuesday: The Many Tan Lines of Beach Reading and How to Avoid Them

How to Tuesday: The Many Tan Lines of Beach Reading and How to Avoid Them
Image via Tumblr
 
It's about that time to hit the beach, and is there anything better than sitting near the ocean, listening to the waves roll in and drinking something cold while you read under the warm sun? 
 
Alright, don't answer that. I realize many readers are the "read while listening to the rain with a warm cuppa" type, and that's alright. But we're not talking about rain clouds – it's summer! Bring on the sun! BBQ! Picnics! Sun burns! 
 
Readers face some unique and specific challenges when it comes to enjoying a book in the sun. It's a question of how to do it while avoiding the scenarios I'll describe below, all to which I've personally fallen victim to at least once. If you're headed to the beach with a book sometime this summer, be sure to change up your reading position often in order to avoid these sun burn patterns (a.k.a. Reader Tan Lines):

Posted by Kristina Pino

Fiction

Not by Any Other Name: How Three Characters Will Make You Feel Great About Yours

Not by Any Other Name: How Three Characters Will Make You Feel Great About Yours
 
Major Major Major Major in the movie adaptation of Catch 22
 
Certain authors are sadistic name-givers. They hold no quarter for their brightest creations. Not only is the writer’s hero sent on a quest through the ether, but the character’s first name is exactly the same as the character’s last name. Sometimes the character doesn’t even have a “quest,” per say, but a two-bit role as a secondary companion. 
 
The technique, called reduplication, is one of the most brilliant and devious I’ve seen in fiction. So that you may go on in life enjoying the pleasure of your own normal name, here are three characters that will make you double- and triple- and quadruple-take upon reading.

Posted by Alex Grover

Fiction

Pack Your Beach Bag With These 2014 Summer Releases

Pack Your Beach Bag With These 2014 Summer Releases

Photo via Tumblr

The start of summer officially begins June 21st, and with it come the flip flops, beach bags, and of course, summer reads.

So to ensure you don’t get caught grabbing the first thing you see at the airport gift shop, below is a list of highly anticipated, and highly reviewed, beach books to get you through the summer. Whether you’re a fan of YA, fantasy, or biographies, this list has something for everyone.

Posted by Diana R. Wallach

Fiction

Families in Literature We’d Love to Summer Vacation With

Families in Literature We’d Love to Summer Vacation With
 
As the school year wraps up and calendars are overbooked with graduation parties, the summer vacation season is officially upon us. With young kids home for two and a half months, the idea of being cooped up in the house is too much to bear, so we set out on family vacations, hoping to build some fond memories, but mostly hoping to just get back home with all family members accounted for and relatively uninjured.
 
Fighting, screaming, crying, and half a million bathroom breaks aside, there’s nothing like family vacations. Whether it’s a far-too-long-distance road trip, a trip to the beach, or an ill-advised camping trip, we think that these fictional families would make it memorable.
 

Posted by Nicole Quaste

Fiction

Philadelphia Area Literary Events: June 8th – 13th

Philadelphia Area Literary Events: June 8th – 13th
 
The Rosenbach Museum on Bloomsday
 
Every week there are workshops, readings, parties and other exciting literary events taking place all over Philly. For those of you planning to spend the next week holed up in a dark room reading, here are some opportunities to get out of the house and experience Philly’s diverse and lively book culture:

Posted by Stephen Piccarella

New Releases

Dog’s First Baby
Dog’s First Baby
By Natalie Nelson
Elf
Elf
By Kim Smith
The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires
The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires
By Grady Hendrix
My Best Friend’s Exorcism
My Best Friend’s Exorcism
By Grady Hendrix
Horrorstör
Horrorstör
By Grady Hendrix