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Have you ever wondered where the expression “monkey on my back” comes from? Fret no longer. Quirk Books is here to help with that dang monkey.

It’s Ada Lovelace Day, y’all! Today we’re celebrating The Honorable Augusta Ada King-Noel (nee Byron), Countess of Lovelace and the contributions this renegade made to mathematics and technology. To celebrate this numerical genius, we came up some book recommendations for Ada and the company she kept. Want to learn more about Ada and her accomplishments? Pick up a copy of Sam Maggs’ Wonder Women for a sassy take on the queen of numbers.

If you’re one of the lucky few who has off today, then you probably know it’s Columbus Day. Otherwise, you might not realize it’s a holiday until you see the commercials for Columbus Day Weekend Sales. (Thank you, Macy’s.)

Despite the sea of controversy surrounding Columbus, use this opportunity to read some stellar books. Columbus-inspired locations are big in fiction, so check out these six books, comics, and TV shows set in spots named after the explorer who "discovered" America.

Here at Quirk Books we’re all about giving credit where credit is due. And we kind of hope the rest of the world has the same intention. So why didn’t we learn about Alice Ball or Marie Equi or Mary Bowser in school? Why is unearthing knowledge about these women as intensive as an archeological dig? Not for long! Thanks to Sam Maggs’ new book Wonder Women, twenty-five women in the fields of science, medicine, espionage, innovation, and adventure are getting their due. And we at Quirk Books are very excited to be playing a small role in reframing the conversation about women in history.

A little over a year ago, you would not have been able to convince the majority of the population that a musical based on the life of one of America’s founding fathers would ever succeed. Let alone blow us all away with its incredible music, lyrics, and cast.

Today, August 18^th, marks the anniversary of the Women's Suffrage Amendment being ratified. In celebration of this amazing achievement, we’re highlighting some incredible women from history that deserve to be immortalized alongside the likes of Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington in their own epic Broadway musical. Because women all earned that honor.

Hamilton: An American Musical has taken the world by storm. The music! The lyrics! The acting! The singing! The rapping! The story! The show was so good that I literally left the theater wondering if musicals have been forever ruined for me.

The show is historically accurate (mostly). And, if you are like me, you desperately want more. And, while I can’t offer you more songs, I can offer you more information and background—in the form of Quirk books. Read on to find out “What’d I miss?" Hint: We tell you what Thomas Jefferson was doing while he was “kicking ass as the ambassador to France.”