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Some of The Most Memorable Fictional Bosses

Do you dread going to work because you have the supervisor from hell? Would you treat your manager like royalty if you could? Are you your own boss? Or just boss in general?

Whatever it is, pick your reason to celebrate today since October 16 is Boss’s Day, even if it’s just to get on your boss’s good side! Here are some of the most, well, let’s call them memorable bosses!

Posted by Brian Morell

7 Ways to Organize Your Bookshelves

Via Tumblr

I’m a little obsessed with organization. There’s a place for everything in my apartment. However, every season I’m inspired to move furniture around and change up my living space. My bookshelves are always the first to change. Right now my books are arranged by category (I have specific shelves for fairy tale anthologies, graphic novels, middle grade novels, etc.), but I assure you they won’t stay that way for long.

In honor of Get Organized Week, here are seven different ways to organize your bookshelves. Take advantage of proudly putting your books on display.

Posted by Maria Vicente

Five Canadian Authors I’m Thankful For This (Canadian) Thanksgiving

Image via Tumblr

On October 14th, my friends in Canada (I’m looking at you, @RandomHouseCA!) will be celebrating Thanksgiving, and I’ll be sitting here jealous in Philadelphia. Because I want Thanksgiving turkey RIGHT NOW and have to wait until November. And no, the Thanksgiving sandwich they make at Cosi will not hold me over. Stop suggesting that, Blair.

So as I sit here, cranky, I decided to reflect on some Canadians I’m thankful for. And not just our publishing buddies up north or our fabulous Quirk blogger @MsMariaVicente, but the fantastic authors that call Canada home. Thanks for writing (and sometimes drawing!) such amazing work.

Posted by Eric Smith

A Brief History of Mad Hatter Day

This Sunday is Mad Hatter Day. It’s a real thing, I swear! And, in true Hatter fashion, we celebrate the numbers sticking out of the character’s topper (“In this style 10/6”) not as the order to make a hat in that particular style that costs ten shillings sixpence but as a day: October 6th—the perfect way to celebrate mix-ups and silliness with a little bit of an un-birthday.

The iconic John Tenniel sketch (above) from Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was what started this all. An illustrator, graphic humorist, and political cartoonist, Tenniel drew ninety-two drawings for the Wonderland series. All 2,000 copies of the original print run of the book were shelved because Tenniel objected to the publication’s print quality. A new edition was released in England in December 1865 and became an instant best-seller. And what happened to those 2,000 shunned books? They were resold in America, where apparently we weren’t so choosy about the fineness and fidelity of our lines.

But the Official Day (Sunday) didn’t come around until 1986. A group of computer technicians in Boulder, Colorado celebrated the first Mad Hatter Day, indicating that Tenniel’s “In this style 10/6” is a set of instructions to act in the style of the Mad Hatter on October 6th. They designated the holiday as a day of general silliness, a much-needed break in the calendar between April Fools Days. The holiday garnered national attention in 1988 when the celebrations attracted national press coverage.

(image via flickr)

Now go out and have a cup of tea, wear a silly hat, and bake cupcakes that bear the message “Eat Me.” Come up with your own response to the Mad Hatter’s unanswered riddle: “Why is a raven like a writing desk?” But most of all, be sure to be ridiculous without apology.

Posted by Danielle Mohlman

Word On The Street in Toronto: Photo Recap

Sunday, September 22nd, 2013 was a cold day. It was also the day that the Word on the Street Festival took place at Queen’s Park.

I woke up far too early to get downtown for my morning shift as a volunteer at the festival. It was my first year ever at the festival. I was wide eyed with excitement… and from exhaustion. I made my way to the volunteer tent through the gorgeous park, and saw some great things along the way.

Posted by Ardo Omer

Three Bookish Alternative Oktoberfest Celebrations

Oktoberfest is the annual German harvest festival, a citywide fair in Munich full of beer and bratwurst that takes place over sixteen days leading up to the first weekend of October. It’s awesome, or so my German friend tells me, and given my affinity for all things beer and meat and revelry, I tend to believe him (although I am mostly indifferent towards lederhosen).

I realize, however, that not everyone shares my love for such delicious gluttony. But rather than rudely asking what the hell is wrong with you and how could you not love malty lagers, tasty bratwurst, and lots of drunken singalongs, I’ve come up with a list of three alternative Oktoberfests for you to enjoy in those first days of autumn, all of which have been inspired by my other favorite thing that’s not booze, meat, or music — which, of course, is books.

Posted by Thom Dunn