Quirk Book Reviews

My dear friends at Quirk Books have sent me a couple of books recently, and having read them all I thought I'd group all the reviews into one handy little post. Thanks Eric and company at Quirk!


 "Stars and Swipes:30 Awkward Postcards of Awkward Americana" and "Hugs and Misses: 30 Postcards of Awkward Romance". These aren't really books though. They're hilarious postcards in a cute, self contained package. They're by Wilhelm Staehle, and they are funny. Like laughing by yourself funny.

(The day I got these I was supposed to be making dinner,but when I saw these had come in the mail I started reading them and then time kind of got away from me and I kind of had to lie to my husband about why there was only a half finished dinner even though I'd been home for like an hour...yeah never mind that.)

You can check out his website with even more hilarity here.  Jack the Tripper? Caspar the friend zone ghost?

I've already pulled certain postcards out of the romance book to be sent as Valentine's Day cards. Because Valentine's Day should be about snark between friends and loved ones.

I really don't want to spoil any of them for you, because they are all hilarious so I'm only posting one:

I'd like to be in this gang.

That's all you're getting! Go to the website for more!

Check out Quirk's website for more information about the books!

The other book is going in a completely opposite direction, so brace yourself!

"The Resurrectionist: The Lost Works of Dr Spencer Black" by E.B. Hudspeth is a book unlike anything I'd ever read. The book is broken down into 2 different parts.The first is the story of Dr Spencer Black. He had a childhood that included nocturnal graveyard robbing with his dad and brother. (The family that plays together...) He is incredibly smart and becomes a gifted doctor in the Philadelphia area. He takes on hard cases, like amputating the limbs off of kids who have extra ones for whatever reason. The kids are often neglected or hidden away by their families, but Dr Black things they are special. He thinks that these people don't have genetic mutations, they are descendants of creatures of myth like mermaids or centaurs This becomes his life's work. Thiiiiings don't necessarily go well.

The second part of the book is part of Spencer's life work. Incredibly detailed anatomical drawings of creatures that he claims to have found and studied. The illustrations are beautiful and incredibly creepy at the same time. (I think the creepiest ones are the muscle layer ones. Eek!). Did you know that there are mermaids that only live in fresh, shallow water? They're actually called "nereids". I actually think the mermaid section was my favorite.

It's creepy and sad and awesome. The book itself is wonderful and weighty. I was sent the hardcover and I can't imagine reading it in any other format, especially with the detailed drawings.I mean, just check out the cover, it pretty much tells you what you're getting!

Don't worry, just a harpy skeleton!