Odds and Ends

by OddType

[oddtype-blog]

New products in the OddType Shop

New Jersey wood worker Brian Allanson creates wooden bow ties that are a spin on traditional cloth bow ties that remains lightweight and fashionable.

Brian's bow ties have been hits with a wide variety of audiences from corporations to bridal parties.

[oddtype-blog]

World Penguin Day was Tuesday, April 25th, a palette cleanser from the previous Tuesday, Tax Day. In celebration, here are our 5 top penguin books: 4 for kids and the young at heart and 1 for those among us who want a little more words and less pictures

1. Penguin Problems 

This book caught my eye from several aisles away at The Curious Reader in Glenrock, NJ. The art and text guides us through the troubles of a misanthropic penguin with delightful visual humor. "My beak is cold." "The ocean is too salty." Pair this book with your favorite misanthrope. 

2. Mr. Popper's Penguins

Oh man, how could we not include this classic? Penguins, check. More penguins, check. Performing penguins, check. A whimsical tale with a conservationist bent, check.

3. 365 Penguins

Like Mr. Popper's Penguins, 365 Penguins features a family who has to solve the problem of too many penguins, 365 of them to be precise. Yet another whimsical tale with a conservationist bent.

4. And Tango Makes Three

Roy and Silo, inseparable male chinstrap penguins, are given an egg to hatch and ended up raising a chick called Tango. This, by the way, is based on a true story. The book itself is controversial and has made it to the top ten list of most banned books. 5. Death and the Penguin

Viktor and his pet penguin Misha set out to challenge normality when Viktor lands a job writing obituaries for VIPs to be used when the time comes. What's more bizarre is that these VIPs drop dead as soon as Viktor finishes an obituary. He starts to realize that his end may be coming and that Misha may be the only thing keeping him alive.

What other penguin books do you love? 

[oddtype-blog]

Short, pocket-sized poetry

We have a poetry project up! Submit your poem here.

[pocketfullofpoems-blog1]

I Know My Soul

Claude McKay

I plucked my soul out of its secret place, And held it to the mirror of my eye, To see it like a star against the sky, A twitching body quivering in space, A spark of passion shining on my face. And I explored it to determine why This awful key to my infinity Conspires to rob me of sweet joy and grace. And if the sign may not be fully read, If I can comprehend but not control, I need not gloom my days with futile dread, Because I see a part and not the whole. Contemplating the strange, I’m comforted By this narcotic thought: I know my soul.

[nypl]

For National Poetry Month, 30 of our librarians and staffers read their favorite poems aloud. Listen to their picks.

[pocketfullofpoems-blog1]

Your Poem Here

You can submit poetry to our project.

Guidelines:

Your poem should be 16 lines max.

Your poem can be about anything you want.

If this sounds good, submit here.

[mewiyev]

*~*~Commissions open as of 4/5/17! *~*~~ (3/3 slots available)

Keep reading

[mewiyev]

commissions opened :D check ‘em out

[bookriot]

Every April, cities all over the globe celebrate the two best things in the world: books and food! The International Edible Book Festival was born in 2000, and now anyone can host their own edible book festival by following 3 simple rules:

The event must be held close to April 1st

All edible books must be “bookish”

Participants must share photos with the official International Edible Book Festival organizers

In celebration of all the rad Edible Book Festivals that just happened all over the world, here are some of the best cakes from this year and years past. I think my favorite is a tie between Stephen King’s It and Dostoyevsky’s Crime and “Bun”-ishment, how about you?

http://bookriot.com/2017/04/04/20-incredible-edible-books/

[oddtype-blog]

Odds and Ends

Our publication progress bar has inched up ever so slightly to 92%. We’ve just ordered our first proof from the printer! Once it arrives, we’ll check it to make sure everything is spelled right, punctuated consistently, laid out beautifully, and all that fun stuff. 

We will be at Book Riot Live!!! Extra exclamation points!!! We will be selling physical copies of All Our Misdeeds as well as handing out free bookmarks. We will be re-ordering those cat bookmarks that were so popular at BookCon back in May. 

While the anthology madness continues, we started groundwork on our next project. It involves Walt Whitman and is titled “The Body Electric.” And that’s all I can say on the matter. 

[oddtype-blog]

If I have any questions or details I need clarified, I test the number I know by heart...and wait less than a minute for a reply. The murderer is the most accessible boss I’ve ever had.

Jean-Luc Bouchard’s Rhythm Hit with beautiful paper art by Hayley Dalrymple.

Get a free preview of All Our Misdeeds.

[oddtype-blog]

Update Your TBR List ASAP

In anticipation of the official start of summer (June 20th, whattupppppp), we asked the authors contributing to All Our Misdeeds to recommend their top read. The OddType TBR pile can’t take any more additions (according to Read it Forward, we’re 8 years and 2 months out from finishing), but we’re digging these recs regardless.  Andrew Allanson, author of Slamdance, Space Cadet: “The Wind Up Bird Chronicle and Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami”

Rob E. Boley, author of The Last Recipe: “Everyone should read the graphic novel From Hell written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Eddie Campbell. It is mind-bending and horrifying, and an exceptional example of how powerful the marriage of images and text can be.”

Jean-Luc Bouchard, author of Rhythm Hit: “Kazuo Ishiguro's The Unconsoled. My friends are all sick of me talking about this book, but it's crazy how good it is. It's not the best novel in the world; in fact, I don't even think it's Ishiguro's best novel, technically speaking, which is The Remains of the Day (everyone should also read that when they have a chance). But it is, by a huge margin, the bravest and smartest novel I've ever read. Memory is a fascination of mine, and I love the treatment its given in fiction. The Unconsoled takes the topic of memory to places I'd never imagined possible to communicate through writing, and plays with the readers' expectations and desires without being mean or tricky. I think writers can learn a lot about how to withhold and reveal information through picking up this book.”

Joseph K. McCallister, author of Facades: “As a teacher, I try to ingrain in my students the philosophy that literature is only as meaningful as the reader makes it. That said, I have a hard time recommending only one book because what I take from a text might be entirely different from what any other reader takes. Take The Road, by Cormac McCarthy. This book is bleak. I mean, "make you question the value of life" bleak. (I haven't seen the movie, but I gather it's just as rough.) Yet this is one of my favorite novels. And I find its ending, dark as it is, to be somewhat uplifting. (Without getting into spoilers, there is an indication that humanity is not completely doomed as long as we hold onto hope.) I have friends and colleagues who completely disagree with me on the "uplifting" nature of the text. So is this a book worth reading before you die? For me, absolutely. For others? I just don't know.”

Kathleen Hale, author of That One About Us: “I have no idea but please let me know if you find out.”

Hananah Zaheer, author of One for Mirth, Two for Sorrow: “Lolita”

[oddtype-blog]

“The sky went dark. Purple fog swirled up from every direction, eclipsing the white clouds and the mid-day sun. From inside this inky mess, a lone creature few toward him.

He expected an angel.

He got a chicken.”

-Short story by Rob E. Boley. Illustrations by Wilfrid d’Anjou

Download a free preview of the anthology.

[oddtype-blog]

“His scruffy brown hair was replaced by a nearly bald scalp with missing flaps of skin and a few stray wires of hair; his once soulful dark eyes vanished, switched out with sunken grey orbs that oozed an opaque yellow fluid; his jaw twisted, leaving him with a deep and crooked underbite.”

-Facades  Story by Joseph J. McCallister; Art by Margo Sikes

[oddtype-blog]

During BookCon, we started a monthly newsletter called "Odds and Ends." It's filled with Odd Type news and things that make the team smile. We hope you sign up!

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[oddtype-blog]

Our set up from Book Con!

[oddtype-blog]

BookCon Bookmarks

We’re going to be giving away free bookmarks at BookCon, Booth 2171. If you scan the QR code on the back, you’ll be able to download a sneak peek of “All Our Misdeeds” for free. 

[oddtype-blog]

Hello fellow bookworms, book bloggers, and reviewers!

Do you like free books? Would you like a free copy of “All Our Misdeeds?” 

The catch: We want your honest opinion. And please fill out this form: http://goo.gl/forms/pkGvwmbDV5