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Joseph D'Agnese, co-author of the Indiana Jones Handbook, 24: The Official CTU Operations Manual, Signing Their Lives Away and the upcoming Signing Their Rights Away (due out in September), recently decided to try an experiment in self-publishing, releasing a collection of his best non-fiction science journalism in an eBook.

Entitled The Scientist and the Sociopath, this best-of collection features a number of pieces featured previously in places like Discover, Wired and Seed. From profiling the guy who conceived the Big Bang Theory (but watched someone else get the Nobel Prize for it) to hanging out with scientists investigating flying snakes, there's plenty of true, undeniably quirky stories here

You can download a copy for the ridiculous price of 99 cents for the Kindle and Nook. Get it.

When Ransom Riggs isn’t busy penning awesome New York Times bestselling novels or collecting odd vintage photographs, he enjoys shooting short films. And I’m not just talking about his book trailers for Sense & Sensibility & Sea Monsters and Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. He’s done a number of them, all of which you can brose on his website, including this fantastic short film, The Accidental Sea.

He released this video back in May, and it has since racked up over half a million views on YouTube, some nice compliments from Roger Ebert, and has been featured on popular websites like Neatorama and mental_floss.

Check it out. It’s pretty incredible.

The Accidental Sea by Ransom Riggs [YouTube]

Edgar Allan Bro by Joseph Toschlog

Yesterday, Brian McGackin's debut book, Broetry, hit bookstores everywhere with its hilarious (and often heartwarming) portrayal of the modern bro. Time liked it, USA Today liked it, and we sure as hell do too.

And now, we want to hear YOUR broems.

Submit your best broem to our author, Brian McGackin, for a chance to become one of the monthly Broet Laureates of Quirkbooks.com. The winners will be selected by Brian, and will have their poems posted here on the blog, along with a brief bio and a photo.

We're encouraging those of you submitting broems to be creative. Shoot a video. Record a bro-cast (also known as a podcast). Write your broem on a bar napkin and take a picture of it. Tweet a bro-ku (haiku!) at Quirk or Brian. You can also just email it in to Brian ([email protected]). Have more than one broem? Enter as many times as you'd like.

Winners will be announced on the first of the month and will recieve a fancy certificate, an autographed copy of Broetry, a handful of bro appropriate Quirk titles (Old Man Drinks, Perfect Drink For Every Occasion, Art of the Video Game & more!) and some serious bragging rights. Two monthly runners up will recieve a signed copy.

Good luck, broets and broettes in training. And again, send your broems to Brian at [email protected].

Over July 4th weekend, while the rest of you were relaxing, BBQing, and reveling in firework-related festivities, beloved Quirk authors Joseph D'Agnese and Denise Kiernan were on the road, meeting up with fans of Signing Their Lives Away.

While hanging out in Philadelphia (Quirk's hometown!), Denise and Joe stopped by Christ Church and the Independence Visitor Center. I swung by the IVC to say hi and snap some pictures. I also met their historic reanctor pal, who was reading lines from Signing Their Lives Away as guests walked about the gift shop. I've included a little photo gallery and a short video clip below.

Enjoy, and make sure you catch these two when they're in your hometown.

After months of writing, editing, preparation and the inevitable waiting, I am BEYOND STOKED to announce the release of my first book today, Broetry.

What is Broetry, you ask? Well, besides being the source of my obscene levels of euphoria today at having finally gotten this book out into the world, Broetry is poetry for dudes; it's poetry for people who don't normally like poetry. Are you the type of person that scoffs at Shelley, laughs at Lord Byron, and wouldn't be caught dead reading Whitman? Then I am quite pleased to inform you that there is finally a manly alternative.

Broetry isn't about nature and feelings and the way light shines through a butterfly's wings. It's poetry designed for today's common dude. There are broems about morning sex, hot celebrities, video games, football season and many other manly topics. Broetry finally brings poetry out of the lofty artsy fartsy stratosphere and back down to reality where it belongs, providing dudes across America with a poetic platform.

Just imagine it.

The heat is pouring off your grill in waves and the smoky, sultry aroma of chicken grilling floats through the air. You’re using your favorite tongs to turn the thick chicken thighs (pre-marinated in succulent, sweet teriyaki sauce of course) just enough to sear all sides evenly as the meat sizzles lazily in the flickering flames. Smoke is swirls in the air, picking up the robust scent of the charcoal. Your neighbor looks up from what he’s doing on his own patio, and stares longingly across the trees. His mouth waters, envious of your grilling prowess. Can you really blame him?

July 4th weekend is here and it’s time to fire up the grill! An all-time favorite in my home during grilling season is the Classic Chicken Barbecue. This recipe is one of my go-to, no-fail, simple, easy-to-do barbecues. It is so versatile. I feel like I’ve made this a thousand times. Perfect for family get-togethers, lazy weekend afternoons, and of course, 4th of July BBQs, this is my barbecue recipe of choice.