Paperback Day

 

Once upon a time, in lands across the globe, book production was limited, and the books themselves were always hard-bound, and while they could be beautifully detailed, they were often quite heavy.  Then on July 30, 1935, Penguin, founded by Allen Lane, published their first 10 paperback novels. Selling for only 6 pence each, paperbacks ushered in a publishing revolution.

 

The History of the Book in 100 books by Cave, Roderick

The First 10 Paperbacks:

Ariel By Andre Maurois

 A Farewell To Arms by Ernest Hemmingway

Poet's Pub By Eric Linklater

Madame Claire By Susan Ertz

The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club By Dorothy L. Sayers

The Mysterious Affair By Agatha Christie

Twenty-Five By Beverley Nichols

William By E.H. Young

Gone to Earth By Mary Webb

Carnival By Compton Mackenzie

                      https://www.abebooks.co.uk/books/bodley-head-hemingway-christie-sayers/penguin.shtml 

 I much prefer paperback over hardback and  Paperback Crush: The Totally Radical History of '80s and '90s Teen Fiction by Gabrielle Moss is a nostalgic journey of all those paperbacks that I thrived off of in my younger years.   From Babysitters Club to Fear Street, The Against Taffy Sinclair Club, and The Dollhouse Murders to The Sleepover Club to Christopher Pike.  These are the books I first hoarded and searched library shelves for with fervor. 

In celebration of Paperback Day, on July 30th, I'd like to highlight our Paperback Exchange.

  With over 150 books to choose from, one can just select ones they would like to read from the Paperback Exchange shelf and just leave a tally mark on our clipboard; no library card is needed.

                   

Bicycle

I've always liked the idea of bicycling more than the actuality.  I was definitely one for a more casual ride, this worked a lot better when I had a nice level bike path behind my house.  Now I'm in a neighborhood that seems to be going uphill in every direction on a street that has multiple speed bumps.  My bicycle is good and buried in my shed.  My best friend, however, is in constant preparation for RAGBRAI, the weeklong bike ride across Iowa.  I have a rocky childhood history when it comes to bicycles.  All mine seemed to love falling apart, mostly a matter of chains falling off, usually as I was attempting to cross the street. Once it happened when a school bus seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.  It seemed to be barreling down in my direction, leaving me to try and hurriedly drag the bike to the side of the road.  The one bike I had that seemed well put together was stolen and never seen again.

Geared For the Grave by Brown, Duffy

Hoping to shift her chances of a promotion in her favor, Evie Bloomfield heads to Mackinac Island to assist her boss's father. Rudy Randolph has broken his leg and operating his bike shop, Rudy's Rides, is too much to handle by himself. But Evie's good turn only leads to more trouble...

After Evie's arrival, wealthy resident Bunny Harrington dies in what looks like a freak bike accident. Upon closer inspection, Bunny's brakes were tampered with, and now the prime suspect in her murder is also Bunny's number one enemy- Rudy. So if Evie hopes to stay on her boss's good side, she'll need to steer Rudy clear of jail. Now she must quickly solve this mystery so she can put the brakes on the real killer's plan...

Braking for Bodies by Brown, Duffy

Moving from Los Angeles to small, picturesque Mackinac Island to work in a bike shop might seem crazy, but Evie knows it’s the best decision she’s ever made. That’s not to say she’s gotten rid of all her stress; after all, the upcoming Lilac Festival has everyone in town riding in circles. But things really go downhill when a ferry full of tourists—including Evie’s friend Fiona’s former boss, the editor of a sleazy rag in LA—arrives on the island. No one knows why Peephole Perry came all the way to Mackinac, but things aren’t looking good for Fiona when Peep is found dead. Now Evie has to gear up and get a grip on the truth if she wants to clear her friend’s name...

The World's Fastest Man: The Extraordinary Life of Cyclist Major Taylor, America's First Black Sports Hero by Kranish, Michael

"In the tradition of The Boys in the Boat and Seabiscuit, a fascinating portrait of a groundbreaking but forgotten figure--the remarkable Major Taylor, the black man who broke racial barriers by becoming the world's fastest and most famous bicyclist at the height of the Jim Crow era. In the 1890s, the nation's promise of equality had failed spectacularly. While slavery had ended with the Civil War, the Jim Crow laws still separated blacks from whites, and the excesses of the Gilded Age created an elite upper class. Amidst this world arrived Major Taylor, a young black man who wanted to compete in the nation's most popular and mostly white man's sport, cycling. Birdie Munger, a white cyclist who once was the world's fastest man, declared that he could help turn the young black athlete into a champion. Twelve years before boxer Jack Johnson and fifty years before baseball player Jackie Robinson, Taylor faced racism at nearly every turn--especially by whites who feared he would disprove their stereotypes of blacks. In The World's Fastest Man, years in the writing, investigative journalist Michael Kranish reveals new information about Major Taylor based on a rare interview with his daughter and other never-before-uncovered details from Taylor's life. Kranish shows how Taylor indeed became a world champion, traveled the world, was the toast of Paris, and was one of the most chronicled black men of his day. From a moment in time just before the arrival of the automobile when bicycles were king, the populace was booming with immigrants, and enormous societal changes were about to take place, The World's Fastest Man shines a light on a dramatic moment in American history--the gateway to the twentieth century"-- Provided by publisher.

Switching Gears by Sedgwick, Chantele

Still mourning the loss of Lucas Nelson, the boy she loved in secret for years, seventeen-year-old Emmy Martin turns to her passion for mountain biking to try to fill the empty void in her life. But just when things start looking up, Emmy discovers her mom has been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's. Confused and angry that her parents didn't tell her sooner, she throws herself into mountain biking like never before.

When Cole Evans, the rich boy who usually doesn't care about anything but himself, offers to train her for the biggest mountain biking race of the season, she accepts, determined to beat Whitney, and prove she's good enough for a sponsor. The more time she spends with Cole, the more she realizes he's different than she'd expected, and, to her surprise, she's falling for him. Torn between the deep feelings she still has for Lucas and her growing ones for Cole, she knows she must choose a path: one offers her the chance to love again, while the other is blocked by the overwhelming heartache for the boy she lost.

As she drifts further away from her family and closer to her dream of being sponsored, a terrible accident threatens any semblance of peace and happiness she has left. Instead of closing herself off to the people she loves, Emmy must learn to rely on those she has pushed away if she's going to have any chance of getting her life back again.

Gold by Cleave, Chris

Cyclists Zoe and Kate are friends and athletic rivals for Olympic gold, while Kate and her husband Jack, also a world-class cyclist, must contend with the recurrence of their young daughter's leukemia.

Unbroken: 13 stories starring disabled teens

An anthology of stories in various genres, each featuring disabled characters and written by disabled creators. The collection includes stories of interstellar war, a journey to Persia, a dating debacle. The teenaged characters reflect diverse colors, genders, and orientations-- without obscuring the realities of their disabilities. -- adapted from jacket

Chasing AllieCat by Davis, Rebecca Fjelland

When she is left with relatives in rural Minnesota for the summer, Sadie meets Allie, a spiky-haired off-road biker, and Joe, who team up to train for a race, but when they find a priest badly beaten and near death in the woods, Allie mysteriously disappears leaving Sadie and Joe to discover the dangerous secrets she is hiding.

The Green Bicycle by Al-Mansour, Haifaa

Spunky eleven-year-old Wadjda lives in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia with her parents. She desperately wants a bicycle so that she can race her friend Abdullah, even though it is considered improper for girls to ride bikes. Wadjda earns money for her dream bike by selling homemade bracelets and mixtapes of banned music to her classmates. But after she's caught, she's forced to turn over a new leaf (sort of), or risk expulsion from school. Still, Wadjda keeps scheming, and with the bicycle so closely in her sights, she will stop at nothing to get what she wants.

Set against the shifting social attitudes of the Middle East, The Green Bicycle explores gender roles, conformity, and the importance of family, all with wit and irresistible heart.

The Memory of Running by McLarty, Ron

Once in a great while, a story comes along that has everything: plot, setting, and, most important of all, the kind of characters that sweep readers up and take them on a thrilling, unforgettable ride. Well, get ready for Ron McLarty's The Memory of Running because, as Stephen King wrote in Entertainment Weekly(Stephen King's The Pop of King column for Entertainment Weekly), Smithy is an American original, worthy of a place on the shelf just below your Hucks, your Holdens, your Yossarians.”Meet Smithson Smithy Ide, an overweight, friendless, chain-smoking, forty-three-year-old drunk who works as a quality control inspector at a toy action-figure factory in Rhode Island. By all accounts, including Smithy’s own, he’s a loser. But when Smithy’s life of quiet desperation is brutally interrupted by tragedy, he stumbles across his old Raleigh bicycle and impulsively sets off on an epic journey that might give him one last chance to become the person he always wanted to be. As he pedals across America with stops in New York City, St. Louis, Denver, and Phoenix, to name a few—he encounters humanity at its best and worst and adventures that are by turns hilarious, luminous, and extraordinary. Along the way, Smithy falls in love and back into life.McLarty’s novel has already received significant attention for its unusual genesis as an audiobook. Now, in a major publishing event, Viking heralds the arrival of a major new voice in American fiction with his stunning debut, The Memory of Running.

Bicycle Repair Manual by Sidwells, Chris

Fully revised with the latest models and equipment, such as electronic gear shifting and internal cable routing, this manual is essential reading for every cyclist.

RODENTS

 

July 22nd is Pied Piper Day. Based on true events that occurred in Hamelin of Germany in the 13th century, the tale of the pied piper entered the realm of fairy tales via The Brothers Grimm in 1816.  Going back to the origins of the story, however, there seems to be no record of a rat infestation, just missing children: "'The Lueneburg manuscript (c 1440 – 50), which stated: the year of 1284, on the day of Saints John and Paul on June 26, by a piper, clothed in many kinds of colours, 130 children born in Hamelin were seduced, and lost at the place of execution near the koppen.'A 1384 entry in Hamelin’s town records also grimly states 'It is 100 years since our children left.'”  (https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/pied-piper-hamelin-001969).

Pied Piper day also coincides with ratcatchers day.   Rats are interesting little, (some not-so-little), creatures.  Although I would much prefer not to run into any wild ones, domesticated or "fancy" rats make for decent pets and can be quite cute.  My sister used to have pet rats. My only complaint about pet rats is that I seem to be allergic.  

Merriam-Webster defines a rodent as: 

1: any of an order (Rodentia) of relatively small gnawing mammals (such as a mouse, squirrel, or beaver) that have in both jaws a single pair of incisors with a chisel-shaped edge

2: a small mammal (such as a rabbit or a shrew) other than a true rodent

For more information about rodents check out these links:

https://www.britannica.com/topic/list-of-rodents-2057092

https://www.dkfindout.com/us/animals-and-nature/rodents/

Piper by Asher, Jay

Long ago, in a small village in the middle of a deep, dark forest, there lived a lonely, deaf girl named Maggie. Shunned by her village because of her disability, her only comfort comes from her vivid imagination. Maggie has a gift for inventing stories and dreams of one day finding her fairy-tale love. When Maggie meets the mysterious Piper, it seems that all her wishes are coming true. Spellbound, Maggie falls hard for him and plunges headfirst into his magical world. But as she grows closer to the Piper, Maggie discovers that he has a dark side. The boy of Maggie's dreams might just turn out to be her worst nightmare.

The Piper's Pursuit by Dickerson, Melanie

"In 1424 Hamlin, Katerina reluctantly allies with the handsome but brash Steffan to protect herself and her city from formidable dangers--missing children, hordes of rats, a marauding beast, and her devious stepfather, the town's mayor." -- (Source of summary not specified)

The Summer I Learned To Fly by Reinhardt, Dana

Drew's a bit of a loner. She has a pet rat, her dead dad's Book of Lists, an encyclopedic knowledge of cheese from working at her mom's cheese shop, and a crush on Nick, the surf bum who works behind the counter. It's the summer before eighth grade and Drew's days seem like business as usual, until one night after closing time, when she meets a strange boy in the alley named Emmett Crane. Who he is, why he's there, where the cut on his cheek came from, and his bottomless knowledge of rats are all mysteries Drew will untangle as they are drawn closer together, and Drew enters into the first true friendship, and adventure, of her life.

Pekoe Most Poison by Childs, Laura

"When Indigo Tea Shop owner Theodosia Browning is invited by Doreen Briggs, one of Charleston's most prominent hostesses, to a Rat Tea, she is understandably intrigued. As servers dressed in rodent costumes and wearing white gloves offer elegant finger sandwiches and fine teas, Theo learns these parties date back to early twentieth-century Charleston, where the cream of society would sponsor so-called rat teas to promote city rodent control and better public health. But this party goes from odd to chaotic when a fire starts at one of the tables and Doreen's entrepreneur husband suddenly goes into convulsions and drops dead. Has his favorite orange pekoe tea been poisoned? Theo smells a rat. The distraught Doreen soon engages Theo to pursue a discreet inquiry into who might have murdered her husband. As Theo and her tea sommelier review the guest list for suspects, they soon find themselves drawn into a dangerous game of cat and mouse..."-- From publisher.

The amazing Maurice and his educated rodents by Pratchett, Terry

A talking cat, intelligent rats, and a strange boy cooperate in a Pied Piper scam until they try to con the wrong town and are confronted by a deadly evil rat king.

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl. Vol. 1 by North, Ryan

"Wolverine. Deadpool. Doctor Doom. Thanos. There's one hero who's beaten them all, and now she's got her own book! And to celebrate she's set her sights even higher - much higher. We're talking Galactus! But first Doreen Green, aka Squirrel Girl, is starting college, making new friends, eating nuts and kicking butts, not necessarily in that order! Together with her best (human) pal Nancy, and her best (squirrel) pal Tippy-Toe, and armed only with a tail and some foe fact-filled trading cards, she'll take on villains including Kraven the Hunter, Whiplash and, oh, yeah, the Devourer of Worlds!"--Amazon.

Squirrel Meets World by Hale, Shannon

Fourteen-year-old Doreen Green moved from sunny California to the suburbs of New Jersey. She must start at a new school, make new friends, and continue to hide her tail. Yep, Doreen has the powers of . . . a squirrel! After failing at several attempts to find her new BFF, Doreen feels lonely and trapped, liked a caged animal.

Then one day Doreen uses her extraordinary powers to stop a group of troublemakers from causing mischief in the neighborhood, and her whole life changes. Everyone at school is talking about it! Doreen contemplates becoming a full-fledged Super Hero. And thus, Squirrel Girl is born! She saves cats from trees, keeps the sidewalks clean, and dissuades vandalism. All is well until a real-life Super Villain steps out of the shadows and declares Squirrel Girl his archenemy.

Can Doreen balance being a teenager and a Super Hero? Or will she go . . . NUTS?

Squeak! : 100 Fun Facts About Hamsters, Mice, Guinea Pigs, and More by Davidson, Rose

• Mice and rats may be the most famous rodents, but readers will discover the diverse--and maybe even adorable--world of little squeaking critters. From cavies and capybaras to jerboas and gerbils to pocket mice and porcupines, get ready for the rodents. Packed with weird-but-true facts and tons of animal info, this Level 3 Reader shows just how endearing rodents can be. Meet the adorable pika, fuzzy hamsters, and yes, even supersmart rats, and collect cool facts about these scurrying squeaky creatures.

Little Red Rodent Hood by Vernon, Ursula

A little girl in a red cape asks for Princess Harriet Hamsterbone's help with a pack of weasel-wolves who want to eat her grandmother, but after meeting everyone, Harriet is not sure who to trust.-- Provided by Publisher.

Ratatouille [videorecording]

A rat named Remy dreams of becoming a great chef despite his family's wishes and the obvious problem of being a rat in a decidedly rodent-phobic profession. When fate places Remy in Paris, he finds himself ideally situated beneath a restaurant made famous by his culinary hero. Despite the apparent dangers of being an unwanted visitor in the kitchen of one of Paris' most exclusive restaurants, Remy forms an unlikely partnership with Linguini, the garbage boy, who inadvertently discovers Remy's amazing talents. They strike a deal, ultimately setting into motion a chain of extraordinary events that turns the culinary world of Paris upside down.

Amusement Parks July 18th

 

I miss KiddieLand.  When I was a kid my Grandma lived right down the street from Kiddieland and she never missed the opportunity to take me there and to talk about taking my dad there when he was a kid.  I lived for the tilt-a-whirl, the merry-go-round, the train ride, and the little dipper roller coaster.  I went to Great America a few times, the last being in the early 2000s. I went to King Dominion in Virginia back in 1995 as well as Cedar Point in Ohio.  Those are all categorized as amusement parks (though Great America may try to claim otherwise).  As far as theme parks go; I've never been.  I never had a desire to go to Disney.  The only thing I find to be at all tempting about Universal is The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  I am curious about Sesame Place and Hersheypark though.

Abandoned: Hauntingly Beautiful Deserted Theme Parks by Lawless, Seph

"Through more than two hundred gorgeous and elegiac photographs, Abandoned details Lawless's journey into what was once the very heart of American entertainment: the amusement park. Lawless visits deserted parks across the country, capturing in stark detail their dilapidated state, natural overgrowth, and obvious duality of sad and playful symbolism. Previously self-published as Bizarro, this updated edition of Lawless's photographic tribute to decaying American amusement parks contains new content and a new foreword"--Page 2 of dust jacket.

Birnbaum's Walt Disney World : The Official Vacation Guide 2022

Walt Disney World honors its fiftieth anniversary with "The World's Most Magical Celebration," an incredible 18-month event that begins October 1, 2021. As the resort celebrates and continues to grow and evolve, trust Birnbaum as your 2021-2022 guide...

After Disney : The Other Orlando by Monaghan, Kelly

This comprehensive guide to the attractions of Central Florida covers all the major theme parks EXCEPT Walt Disney World, including Universal Orlando (with Harry Potter), SeaWorld, Discovery Cove, Aquatica, Busch Garden Tampa, Kennedy Space Center and the new Legoland. Also covered are lesser attractions, dinner shows, water parks, zoos, the arts, sports, hot air balloon rides, miniature golf, shopping, and the great outdoors.

Action Park : Fast times, Wild Rides, and the Untold Story of America's Most Dangerous Amusement Park by Mulvihill, Andy

Often called "Accident Park," "Class Action Park," or "Traction Park," Action Park was an American icon. Entertaining more than a million people a year in the 1980s, the New Jersey-based amusement playland placed no limits on danger or fun, a monument to the anything-goes spirit of the era that left guests in control of their own adventures--sometimes with tragic results. Though it closed its doors in 1996 after nearly twenty years, it has remained a subject of constant fascination ever since, an establishment completely anathema to our modern culture of rules and safety. Action Park is the first-ever unvarnished look at the history of this DIY Disneyland, as seen through the eyes of Andy Mulvihill, the son of the park's idiosyncratic founder, Gene Mulvihill. From his early days testing precarious rides to working his way up to chief lifeguard of the infamous Wave Pool to later helping run the whole park, Andy's story is equal parts hilarious and moving, chronicling the life and death of a uniquely American attraction, a wet and wild 1980s adolescence, and a son's struggle to understand his father's quixotic quest to become the Walt Disney of New Jersey. Packing in all of the excitement of a day at Action Park, this is destined to be one of the most unforgettable memoirs of the year.

The Echoes by Montgomery, Jess

"As July 4, 1928 approaches, Sheriff Lily Ross and her family look forward to the opening of an amusement park in a nearby town, created by Chalmer Fitzpatrick-a veteran and lumber mill owner. When Lily is alerted to the possible drowning of a girl, she goes to investigate, and discovers schisms going back several generations, in an ongoing dispute over the land on which Fitzpatrick has built the park. Lily's family life is soon rattled, too, with the revelation that before he died, her brother had a daughter, Esme, with a woman in France, and arrangements have been made for Esme to immigrate to the U.S. to live with them. But Esme never makes it to Kinship, and soon Lily discovers that she has been kidnapped. Not only that, but a young woman is indeed found murdered in the fishing pond on Fitzpatrick's property, at the same time that a baby is left on his doorstep. As the two crimes interweave, Lily must confront the question of what makes family: can we trust those we love? And what do we share, and what do we keep secret?"--. Provided by publisher.

Lifetime Passes by Blas, Terry

Sixteen-year-old Jackie Chavez loves her local amusement park, Kingdom Adventure, maybe more than anything else in the world. The park is all she and her friends Nikki, Daniel, and Berke--although they aren't always the greatest friends--talk about. Kingdom Adventure is where all Jackie's best memories are, and it's where she feels safe and happy. This carries even more weight now that Jackie's parents have been deported and forced to go back to Mexico, leaving Jackie in the United States with her Tía Gina, who she works with at the Valley Care Living seniors' home. When Gina tells Jackie that they can't afford a season pass for next summer, Jackie is crushed. But on her next trip to Kingdom Adventure, she discovers a strictly protected secret: If a member of their party dies at the park, the rest of their group gets free lifetime passes. Jackie and her friends hatch a plot to bring seniors from Valley Care Living to the park using a fake volunteer program, with the hopes that one of the residents will croak during their visit. The ruse quickly gets its first volunteer--a feisty resident named Phyllis. What starts off as a macabre plan turns into a revelation for Jackie as Phyllis and the other seniors reveal their own complex histories and connections to Kingdom Adventure, as well as some tough-to-swallow truths about Jackie, her friends, and their future.

Good Girls Die First by Foxfield, Kathryn

Ava is one of ten people invited to the abandoned amusement park on Portgrave Pier. The invitation makes it clear that a someone knows her secret, and as the night wears on it's clear that each of the ten has something to hide-- and something to fear. When fog and magic swallow the pier, they must depend on each other-- and their mysterious host. An unseen evil compels the ten to turn against one another. As it reveals their darkest secrets, the deaths begin. How far will Ava go to be the last one standing? -- adapted from back cover.

Hide : a novel by White, Kiersten

Fourteen contestants, including Mack, a homeless shelter resident who lost everything, embark on a seven-day competition and the chance to win $50,000 if they can successfully play hide-and-seek in an abandoned amusement park without being found and eliminated.

All the Pretty Things by Arsenault, Emily

For Ivy, summer means hanging out at the Fabuland amusement park with her best friend, Morgan. Then Morgan finds a dead body-- a former classmate and coworker, Ethan. And a few days later Morgan is taken to a hospital psych ward. The police claim that Ethan simply took a bad fall, but Ivy isn't convinced. She finds that some people aren't being honest about Ethan's last night at Fabuland-- including Morgan. -- adapted from jacket

Curious Toys: a novel by Hand, Elizabeth

"In the sweltering summer of 1915, Pin, the fourteen-year-old daughter of a carnival fortune-teller, dresses as a boy and joins a teenage gang that roams the famous Riverview amusement park, looking for trouble. Unbeknownst to the well-heeled city-dwellers and visitors who come to enjoy the midway, the park is also host to a ruthless killer who uses the shadows of the dark carnival attractions to conduct his crimes. When Pin sees a man enter the Hell Gate ride with a young girl, and emerge alone, she knows that something horrific has occurred. The crime will lead her to the iconic outsider artist Henry Darger, a brilliant but seemingly mad man. Together, the two navigate the seedy underbelly of a changing city to uncover a murderer few even know to look for.-- Provided by publisher.

Embrace Your Geekness Day

 

July 13th is Embrace Your Geekness Day!  A day for going full-tilt for your fandoms, living it up for your LARPing, and clamoring over your comic collections. A day to let your geek flag fly.  Don't let anyone try to fool you into thinking that being a Geek is anything but awesome.  After all, according to  https://bigthink.com, 66% of millennials view the term "geek" as a compliment.  

Still Just a Geek: An Annotated Memoir by Wheaton, Wil

The celebrated actor, personality, and all-around nerd revisits his 2004 collection of insightful and humorous blog posts, presents additional later writings, and offers all-new material in which he opens up about his life, from his abusive childhood to finding his true purpose.

The Geek's Cookbook: Easy Recipes Inspired by Pokémon, Harry Potter, Star Wars, and More! by Lecomte, Liguori

"Binge-watching your favorite season of Dexter, Breaking Bad, or The Walking Dead? Planning a Pokémon Go gaming party or a Harry Potter viewing party? Need sustenance to fuel your attempt to achieve the impossible and watch all six Star Wars movies in a row? Enter The Geek Cookbook, your guide to cooking all sorts of treats and goodies to nourish your inner (or outer) geek. Send your taste buds to another world with over thirty recipes from your favorite series, TV shows, and video games. Experience the supreme taste of the Matrix Burger or the Sauron Tarts, succumb to the Dagobah Marsh in Herb Crust or the Karadoc Crunch. Top it all off with some Minecraft Cookies or Meringue Pokéball, and you've got yourself a meal fit for Geek royalty. Also featured inside are recipes inspired by Game of Thrones, Zelda, The Big Bang Theory, Batman, Final Fantasy, and many more!"--Provided by publisher.

The Nerdy Nummies Cookbook: Sweet Treats for the Geek in all of us by Pansino, Rosanna

The Nerdy Nummies Cookbook combines two things Rosanna Pansino loves: geek culture and baking. Her fondness for video games, science fiction, math, comics, and lots of other things considered "nerdy" have inspired every recipe in this book. You'll find the recipes for many beloved fan favorites from her internet baking show of the same name, such as Apple Pi Pie, the Chocolate Chip Smart Cookie, and Volcano Cake; as well as many new geeky recipes, such as Dinosaur Fossil Cake, Moon Phase Macaroons, and the Periodic Table of Cupcakes.

Geek Ink: The World's Smartest Tattoos for Rebels, Nerds, Scientists, and Intellectuals

"Exhibiting cutting-edge designs from the most sought-after and acclaimed contemporary tattoo artists worldwide, Geek Ink presents magnificent ideas for tattoos on themes from science fiction and fantasy, as well as a wide range of topics across science, mathematics, literature, and philosophy. With commentary from creators of the Inkstinct project--which connects people with the finest tattoo art from 380,000 studios worldwide and has an Instagram fan base of more than 1 million--as well as interviews with world-renowned masters like Eva Krbdk (460K followers), David Cote (232K followers), and Thomas Eckeard (169K followers), this is the definitive tattoo inspiration sourcebook for hipsters, bookworms, scientists, academics, engineers, and, of course, geeks!"--ONIX annotation.

Tokyo Geek's Guide : Manga, Anime, Gaming, Cosplay, Toys, Idols & More by Simone, Gianni

This is the most comprehensive Japan travel guide ever produced which features Tokyo's geeky underworld. It provides a comprehensive run-down of each major Tokyo district where geeks congregate, shop, play and hang out--from hi-tech Akihabara and trendy Harajuku to newer and lesser-known haunts like chic Shimo-Kita and working-class Ikebukuro.

Geektastic : Stories from the Nerd Herd

Acclaimed authors Holly Black (Ironside)and Cecil Castellucci(Boy Proof) have united in geekdom to edit short stories from some of the best selling and most promising geeks in young adult literature: M.T. Anderson, Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, Tracy Lynn, Cynthia and Greg Leitich Smith, David Levithan, Kelly Link, Barry Lyga, Wendy Mass, Garth Nix, Scott Westerfield, Lisa Yee, and Sara Zarr. With illustrated interstitials from comic book artists Hope Larson and Bryan Lee O'Malley,Geektasticcovers all things geeky, from Klingons and Jedi Knights to fan fiction, theater geeks, and cosplayers. Whether you're a former, current, or future geek, or if you just want to get in touch with your inner geek,Geektasticwill help you get your geek on!

The Fangirl's Guide to the Galaxy : A Hhandbook for Geek Girls by Maggs, Sam

"Fanfic, cosplay, cons, books, memes, podcasts, vlogs, OTPs and RPGs and MMOs and more - it's never been a better time to be a girl geek. The Fangirl's Guide to the Galaxy is the ultimate handbook for ladies living the nerdy life, a fun and feminist take on the often male-dominated world of geekdom. With delightful illustrations and an unabashed love for all the in(ternet)s and outs of geek culture, this book is packed with tips, playthroughs, and cheat codes, including how to make nerdy friends, rock awesome cosplay, write fanfic with feels, defeat Internet trolls, and attend your first con. Plus, insightful interviews with fangirl faves, like Jane Espenson, Erin Morgenstern, Kate Beaton, Ashley Eckstein, Laura Vandervoort, Beth Revis, Kate Leth, and many others"--Adapted from distributor's description.

Theater Geek : The Real Life Drama of a Summer at Stagedoor Manor by Rapkin, Mickey

Before there was Glee or American Idol, there was Stagedoor Manor, a theater camp in the Catskills where big-time Hollywood casting directors came to find the next generation of stars. It s where Natalie Portman, Robert Downey, Jr., Zach Braff, Mandy Moore, Lea Michele, and many others got their start as kids. At age thirty-one, Mickey Rapkin, a senior editor at GQ and self-proclaimed theater geek, was lucky enough to go, too, when he followed three determined teen actors through the rivalries, heartbreak, and triumphs of a summer at Stagedoor Manor.

Geek: Fantasy Novel by Archer, E.

What happens when a science geek and magic collide?Be careful what you wish for. Really. Because wishes are bad. Very bad. They can get you trapped in fantasy worlds full of killer bunny rabbits, evil aunts, and bothersome bacteria, for example. Or at least that's Ralph's experience. He's been asked to spend the summer with his strange British relatives at their old manor house in order to set up their Wi-Fi network. But there's much more to it than that, of course. It's just that nobody told Ralph. He's a gamer, sure. But this game is much stranger--and funnier--than anything to be found on his Xbox. He is a geek. This is his story.

Geekerella : a novel by Poston, Ashley

Geek girl Elle Wittimer lives and breathes Starfield, the classic sci-fi series she grew up watchingwith her late father. So when she sees a cosplay contest for a newStarfieldmovie, she has toenter. The prize? An invitation to the ExcelsiCon Cosplay Ball, and a meet-and-greet withthe actor slated to play Federation Prince Carmindor in the reboot. With savings from hergig at the Magic Pumpkin food truck (and her dad's old costume), Elle's determined to win...unless her stepsisters get there first.

Teen actor Darien Freeman used to live for cons-before he was famous. Now they're nothingbut autographs and awkward meet-and-greets. Playing Carmindor is all he's ever wanted, butthe Starfield fandom has written him off as just another dumb heartthrob. As ExcelsiCon drawsnear, Darien feels more and more like a fake-until he meets a girl who shows him otherwise.

Part romance, part love letter to nerd culture, and all totally adorbs, Geekerella is a fairy talefor anyone who believes in the magic of fandom.

Get a life, Chloe Brown : a novel by Hibbert, Talia

Chloe Brown is a chronically ill computer geek with a goal, a plan, and a list. She's come up with seven directives to help her "Get a Life", and she's already completed the first: finally moving out of her family's mansion. She's ready to enjoy a drunken night out, ride a motorcycle, and other adventures. But it's not easy being bad, and Chloe knows just the man to help her complete her list. Redford 'Red' Morgan is a handyman with tattoos, a motorcycle, and sex appeal, who paints at night but hides his work. When she enlists Red to help her rebel, she discovers what really lies beneath his rough exterior. --. Adapted from back cover.