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Congrats to Loren, who won The Argentine Seduction (The Chimera Affair #1.5) by Keira Andrews!

Congrats to Susan, who won In Search of a Story by Andrew Gre! In Search of a Story is being released today by Dreamspinner Press.

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Happy 7th birthday, Mayhem!!! 🙂

Bookity

• New releases and more: Elisa Rolle (LGBT), Tor.com (UF, genre benders, fantasy, scifi), and Fiction Vixen (UF, romance).

• Tam wonders if authors need different pseudonyms for every genre in which they write.

• Becky Black on why it’s important for authors to know their word processor well.

• Kassa gets frustrated by writers who use their books to proselytize.

• 5 useful apps for writers.

• 11 quotes from Neil Gaiman about writing.

Think, Do, Make, Learn

• How to back up your Evernote data.

• Sticks and stones. (Hover your cursor for additional text.)

• “Is it better to walk or run?” (via Lifehacker)

• Bazqux is yet another Google Reader alternative, although it’s only free for the first month you use it.

• 9 classic American breweries.

• “NATO wants Hollywood to stop giving away the ending in trailers“.

• If you’ve ever been concerned that you aren’t pronouncing IKEA’s product names correctly, this is for you.

Cookity

• S’mores ice cream.

• No-bake dark chocolate coconut bites.

• Deep-dish chocolate chip cookies.

• Mexicana chocolate chip olive oil cookies.

• Coconut lime bars. (via The Kitchn)

• Black pepper popovers with chives and Parmesan.

• 10 burgers.

• Beef and bacon burger blend for grilling.

• Salmon, black rice, and sweet potato burgers with horseradish mayo. (via The Kitchn)

• No -bake veggie enchiladas. (via The Kitchn)

• Corn and tomato stuffed avocados. (via The Kitchn)

• Salad Nicoise.

• 10 lemonade recipes.

Gluten-Free

• Healthy Paleo fudge.

• Single-serving chocolate chip banana muffin. (via The Kitchn)

• Corn dogs.

Crafty

• How to use up all those sock yarn scraps. (via CRAFT)

Cool

• Gif of a cat drinking water.

• Awesome wedding photo. (via The Mary Sue)

• A fan-made Doctor Who 50th anniversary video.

• If Daleks were in classical movie musicals…

• Full-scale LEGO T-800 Terminator.

• Battle of Helm’s Deep, made from 150,000 LEGOs.

• Squee-worthy Avengers and Transformers.

• Very, very tiny crocheted animals!

• Earth’s core cake.

• Take a (literal) minute to catch up with what the Mars Curiosity Rover’s been up to for the last nine months.

Cool or Wha…?

• What might happen if you drink Game of Thrones beer…

• Simpsons Land theme park.

Wha…?

• A hamburger with deep-fried slices of lasagna for the bun.

• Chandelier light bulb.

• Apparently microwave popcorn is too inconvenient now – people are buying more popcorn already popped.

• Canadians are concerned that their new $100 bills smell like maple syrup.

LOL

• Oh, sneaky!

• Beware!

• “Helpful” kitten.

Teh Cute

• Baby tigers! Baby tigers! Baby otters! Lions! Cat and kitten! Cat and kitten! Baby ornate hawk-eagle! Baby jaguars! Black panther! Kittens! Kittens! Lioness and baby! Baby Southern pudu!

Reading Update

• Is this thing on?

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Do not disturb. Deep birthday thoughts in progress! (Or nap preparation – who can tell?!)

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No Misadventure on Monday because it’s a holiday in the US! Hope everyone has a great weekend. 🙂

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Randonymity

• The project from hell deployed Wednesday. Been a while since I was in the office for 15 hours. Let’s hope it’s a while before I have to do that again.

• Let’s hope that I start to sleep a little better now. Fours of sleep/night is not cutting it. *yawn* So, so, so tired.

• Linkity’s going to be briefish because of that!

• Still don’t feel like I’ll ever catch up…

Contests

• Blodeuedd’s giving away a copy of Jack Abosolute by CC  Humphreys. Closes June 2, US only.

• Bookwyrm Knits is celebrating her birthday hobbit style – by giving away a knitting and an ebook prize. Comment by midnight PDT on June 10.

Bookity

• New releases and more: Fiction Vixen (UF/romance)

• Book and publishing news from Dear Author.

• When is marketing manipulation?

• Lisa Henry on “unprofessional” reviews.

• BookLikes is a new social reading site.

• Part XI of the Romance Novel Reader Workout.

• Tree bookshelf.

• Exactly.

Ebookity

• Amazon’s going to publish authorized fanfic through its new “Kindle Worlds” program. Thoughts on this from John Scalzi and a reaction to his post.

Do, Think, Learn, Make

• If there were awards for hockey’s anti-heroes… (via Puck Daddy)

• Yahoo bought Tumblr…

• Another Google Reader option is EldonReader.

Cookity

• Cinnamon roll pancakes. (via Cabled Sheep)

• Cat donuts. (via CRAFT)

• Rhubarb buckle with ginger crumb.

• Asparagus pizza. (via The Kitchn)

• Stir-fried noodles with kale and cabbage. (via The Kitchn)

• Chicken pesto sandwich. (via The Kitchn)

• Thai ginger chicken stir fry.

• Tuna burgers with wasabi-ginger mayo. (via Food52)

• Crunchy cabbage salad with miso-ginger dressing. (via Food52)

• Thai coleslaw. (via The Kitchn)

• Greek salad with white beans. (via The Kitchn)

• 10 salads for a picnic.

Gluten Free

• Sponge cake.

• Cinnamon bun microwave cake for one.

• Chocolate chip cookie dough truffles.

• GF and vegan strawberry shortcake.

• Strawberry yogurt cream no-bake pie.

Crafty

• Make a necklace for a knitter. (via CRAFT)

Cool

• Hockey hugs!

• What it looks like when Sweden’s IceHotel melts in the spring.

• A newly discovered fossil was named after Johnny Depp. (via The Mary Sue)

• Full-scale LEGO X-Wing.

• LEGO Voldemort and the unexpected visitor.

Cool or Wha…?

• What movie poster would look like if they were made with clip art.

Wha…?

• Does Dad need a tactical grilling apron for Father’s Day?

• Celebrities with baguettes.

• The manufacturer of Nutella almost ended World Nutella Day with a lawsuit.

• Kiddy pool advertising FAIL.

• DVDs that smell like pizza.

• Eww!

LOL

• Darn replicas. (Hover your cursor for additional text.)

• So sneaky. Not.

• A box guide from Simon’s Cat.

• How cats see the world.

• They wear you down…

• Cats vs printers.

• Beware!

Teh Cute

• Kitten! (Thanks, Jeanne!) Egret and punk rock babies! Black cat! Buffalo! Swan and cygnet! Kitten! Kittens! Kitten! Baby tiger! Kittens! Kittens! Kittens! Baby Asian golden cats! Kittens! Baby clouded leopards! Kittens!

Reading Update

• Do you really need to ask?! 😉

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“My dastardly plot is about to come to fruition…” -Chaos

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Congrats to Gabrielle J, who won the signed paperback copy of Bound to the Beast (The Greenwood) by Kay Berrisford!

Congrats to Carolyn, who won Until Forever Comes (Mates #2) by Cardeno C! Until Forever Comes will be released on May 20 by Dreamspinner Press.

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Randonymity

• Well, there are a few leaves here in Minneapolis this week, but most of them are really tiny still. Things will speed up if we get some of the rain that’s in the forecast.

• You absolutely must go watch Commander Chris Hadfield’s modified version of Bowie’s “Space Oddity”. I’ll wait. 🙂 xkcd takes on the question of whether it was the most expensive music video ever made. “How Chris Hadfield made us care about astronauts again“.

• On Tuesday, May 14, Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton signed the same-sex marriage bill into law. The 35W and Lowry bridges were lit up to celebrate.

Contests

• Joyfully Jay’s giving away an ebook copy of the Crack the Darkest Sky Wide Open anthology. Closes 11:59 pm EDT, May 19.

• Blodeuedd’s giving away a copy of Kiss of Steel by Bec McMaster. Closes May 20.

• Pants Off Reviews is giving away an ebook copy of Spirit Sanguine by Lou Harper. Closes 11:59 pm EDT, May 21.

Bookity

• New releases and more: Fiction Vixen (UF, romance) and AAR (romance).

• Book and publishing news from Dear Author.

• Some guidelines and suggestions for writing reviews from Smart Bitches.

• Fiction Vixen wonders who your go-to authors are.

• Chrissy Munder reminds authors to think about who will inherit their copyrights.

• Rick Reed on why “gay for you” stories make him cringe.

• Becky Black points out that inequality still exists in m/m.

• How much does writing actually pay?

• Kassa considers the potentially thin line between flawed and TSTL characters.

Ebookity

• Lou Harper explains how to make mobi files for Kindle Direct.

• Charts from the Department of Justice on how agency pricing changed ebook pricing.

Think, Learn, Make, Do

• CommaFeed is a new Google Reader alternative.

• Dinosaurs and birds.

• Thinking hard really can make you tired.

• Angelina Jolie on why she chose to get a double mastectomy because of her cancer risk. (via The Mary Sue)

Cookity

• Green and black bean stirfry with red pepper. (via The Kitchn)

• Fried brown rice with asparagus, bell peppers, and cashews.

• Pasta con asparagi.

• Asparagus benedict on quinoa nettle cakes. (via The Kitchn)

• Spring salad with asparagus and soft-boiled eggs.

• Taco salad with creamy cilantro dressing.

• Pasta salad with smoked Gouda, roasted red peppers, and artichoke hearts.

• 10 main meal green salads.

• 15 quick vegetable recipes.

• 10 vegetarian main dishes.

• 5 types of fast weeknight meals.

• 5 dairy-free desserts for summer.

• 7 desserts without white sugar.

• Lemon bars. (via The Kitchn)

Gluten Free

• Pasta salad with shallot vinaigrette.

• Roasted strawberry cake.

• Chocolate idiot cake.

• Chocolate microwave cake for one.

Crafty

• Tutorial of an easier way to sew zippers into knitting. (via Cabled Sheep)

Cool

• Fun facts from the 2013 NHL season.

• Hockey hugs!

• Linkity from kmkat.

• Play Atari Breakout on Google Image Search.

• Geeky engagement ring boxes.

• Type with cats. (via The Bloggess)

• “Photographer envisions her daughter as groundbreaking women of history“.

• Ambitious yarnbombings.

Cool or Wha…?

• Disney villain heels.

• LEGO jukebox.

• Binder pillow.

Wha…?

• Netflix adultery.

• “Experimental flying car crashes near Canadian school“.

• Bacon hotdogs.

LOL

• Trouble in the MC Escher gallery…

• 15 Mom texts.

• Manly man cakes…

• Supercut of characters yelling “Nooooooooooooooo!”

• “I totally meant to do this.”

• Whoops!

• Flee! Flee!

• Um…

Teh Cute

• Kitten! Baby tiger! Musk ox and baby! Kitten! Baby otters! Swan and cygnet! Baby black-footed ferrets! Not actually Chaos and Mayhem! Baby clouded leopards! Arctic wolves and babies! Kittens! Kittens! Kittens! Kittens! Kittens! Baby Tasmanian Devils! Swan and cygnet!

Reading Update

• *smiles winningly*

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“This is the best wastebasket of all the wastebaskets, based on my extensive paws-on testing.” -Mayhem

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Congrats to GmaMungo, who won The Fight for Identity (The Good Fight #3) by Andrew Grey for donating an ebook copy of his forthcoming m/m romance! The Fight for Identity is being released today by Dreamspinner Press.

Congrats to Suze, who won Better Than Sex (Kinky Quickies #1) by Kim Dare!  Better Than Sex will be released on May 12 by Amber Allure.

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Randonymity

• We might deploy the work project from hell next week! I’m not going to hold my breath, but this is as close as we’ve gotten.

• Jeanne and I actually saw the Sock Monkey Dress long before it hit the Failblog. In fact, here’s my post about it from 2006, complete with a picture of Jeanne. (And with pictures of Mayhem as a five-month old kitten!)

Contests

• Joyfully Jay’s giving away an ebook copy of Choices by Grace R Duncan. Closes 11:59 pm EDT, May 11.

• KZ Snow’s giving away an ebook copy of Murderous Requiem by Jamie Fessenden. Open through this weekend.

• Blodeuedd’s giving away a signed copy of Alien in the House by Gini Koch, plus some swag. Closes May 21.

Bookity

• New releases and more: Tor.com (PNR) and Fiction Vixen (UF/romance)

• Book and publishing news from Dear Author.

• Bookish links from mental_floss.

• Fabulous fanfic website Archive of Our Own (AO3) was named one of the 50 best websites by TIME. (via The Mary Sue)

• Should the historical romance genre die?

• Jenna Harper begs romance authors to give up on the Big Misunderstanding.

• Yikes. Fans are threatening Charlaine Harris over how she ended the Sookie series. Maybe all authors of popular series that need to end (I’m looking at you, Janet Evanovich!) should do the last book as a Choose Your Own Adventure…

• Authorly links from Becky Black.

• Lou Harper explains POD (print on demand).

• If you’ve always wanted to have your very own secret bookcase hideaway…

• The history of typography.

• Libraries to the rescue.

• Part X of the Romance Novel Reader Workout.

• Alrighty then.

• Beware the footnote labyrinth! (Hover your cursor for additional text.)

Ebookity

• According to Smashwords, short titles and longer ebooks help sales.

Learn, Do, Think, Make

• Hyperbole and a Half is back as Allie shares her experience with depression.

• Is yours in this list of the 14 types of profile pictures?

• If you’re flying into O’Hare and you think you see goats grazing the grassy airport hills, you’re not imagining things.

• Bee skyscrapers.

• Exercise your whole body in just seven minutes.

• If you have an iPad and trouble deciding what color to paint your house…

• The FDA is reviewing whether or not antibacterial soap is safe for people. (I feel like this could go into “Wha…?” instead. Shouldn’t this have been done before its widespread use?!)

• College isn’t automatically a good financial investment.

Cookity

• 8 variations on s’mores.

• Almond Meyer lemon tart. (via The Kitchn)

• 15 make-ahead brunch recipes.

• Creamy beet and tahini dip.

• Asparagus salad with salsa and egg. (via The Kitchn)

• Salmon salad.

• Twice-cooked pork. (via The Kitchn)

• Pot roast.

Gluten Free

• Green chile chicken casserole.

• Gluten free crepes.

• Starbucks style gluten free chocolate cinnamon pound cake.

Drinkity

• Bloody Maria.

• Strawberry rhubarb margaritas. (via The Kitchn)

• Smoky watermelon-jalapeno margarita. (via The Kitchn)

Crafty

• Natural dyes made from seasonal foods.

Cool

• LEGO Helm’s Deep.

• Official steampunk LEGOs are on their way.

• The Princess Who Saved Herself. Go listen to it now. I’ll wait! (via The Mary Sue)

• Linkity from kmkat.

• Typographical chess.

• Dame Helen Mirren rocks.

• Abandoned theaters.

• 13 memorable treehouses.

• Cross stitched Starry Night iPhone case animation.

• Paper cat sculptures.

• The intersection of yarn bombing and bike parking.

Cool or Wha…?

• LEGO hand mixer that works.

• Multiplication socks.

• Wizard hoodie.

• Alice in Wonderland leggings. (via The Mary Sue)

• Dinosaur corn cob holders. (They look sort of hard to hold – very pointy.)

• Morse code clock.

• World’s largest inflatable rubber duck. (via Tor.com)

Wha…?

• Cheese and onion potato chip-flavored chocolate bars.

• Poutine-flavoured soda is going to be real.

• 30-person inflatable lounge.

• Jacket made of ziplock bags.

• “Please Date Me” line of clothing.

• A garbage truck filled with scratch’n’sniff natural gas cards caused a town to panic.

LOL

• 20 funniest autocorrects from April.

• Ouch! LEGOs are so very pointy sharp…

• Deep cat is deep.

• Strangely, not a picture of Chaos as a kitten.

Teh Cute

• 8 adorable live animal cams.

• Baby clouded leopard! Baby tiger! Kittens! Baby tigers! Baby clouded leopards! Cheetah and babies! Cat and kitten! Baby lions! Kitten! Cat and kitten! Baby wolves! Baby tawny frogmouth! Baby bison! Cats and kittens! Cats and kittens! Cats and kittens! Cats and kittens! Cats and kittens! Cats and kittens! Black kitten!

Reading Update

• Too stressed to read more than a couple hockey fics! 🙁

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“I need to destroy something.” -Chaos

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Congrats to Paula S, who won Soul Magic (Triad #3) by Poppy Dennison! Soul Magic will be released by Dreamspinner Press on May 6.

Congrats to Dianna, who won A Sticky Wicket in Bollywood by Devon Rhodes and TA Chase! A Sticky Wicket in Bollywood will be released by Total-E-Bound on May 6.

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Randonymity

• Today’s song from the Chris playlist: “Minneapolis” by Mark Mallman.

• Chaos’ favorite toy at the moment is… a leaf of romaine lettuce. Please let me remember to find it before it starts to rot under the couch…

• My absolute favorite gluten-free, dairy-free bread for toast is Kinnikinnick Sunflower Flax Rice Bread, which isn’t carried in my area anymore… but I  can order 10 loaves of it shipped overnight from Kinnickinnick Foods in Canada for less per loaf than I was buying it for locally. *blink blink*

Contests

• Joyfully Jay is giving away an ebook copy of The Mingled Destinies of Crocodiles and Men by Eric Arvin. Closes 11:59 pm EDT, May 5.

• Joyfully Jay is also giving away an ebook copy of Until Forever Comes by Cardeno C. Closes 11:50 pm EDT, May 15.

Bookity

• New releases and more: Rarely Dusty Books (m/m romance), Elisa Rolle (LGBT), Tor.com (fantasy, UF, genre benders, scifi), and Fiction Vixen (romance, UF).

• Book and publishing news from Dear Author.

• One reader reveals why she’s come to hate erotic romance.

• May at Smexy Books would like authors to share their intentions with readers.

• War for the Oaks is probably my favorite book set in Minneapolis.

• CheapRiver searches the various international iterations of Amazon to find you the best price for paper books.

• Authors behaving badly – the Anne Rice edition.

• Infographic about public libraries.

• Beware the library! 😉

• Cool bookshelf… but way too undersized.

Ebookity

• Tor Books UK shares the results of a year going DRM-free.

• The future of the book/ebook?

Think, Learn, Do, Make

• 10 names for various baby animals.

• I had no idea about “America’s growing hummus addiction”… nor that sriracha wasn’t introduced in the US until the 1980s. (via The Kitchn)

• Apparently, ground turkey is less likely to contain drug-resistant bacteria when it’s from antibiotic-free turkeys.

• “What hurts more: child birth or a kick in the balls?”

• “Turn an IKEA lamp into a multi-positional iPad holder”.

• 17 unusual May holidays.

• If there’s not enough procrastination in this linkity post for you, mental_floss has more ideas.

Cookity

• Chocolate bourbon-spiked banana bread. (via The Kitchn)

• Rhubarb crumble pie.

• Creamy coconut lemon squares. (via The Kitchn)

• Crunchy chili-lime quicos.

• Asian peanut noodle salad. (via The Kitchn)

• Thai hot and sour chicken soup. (via The Kitchn)

• Baked halibut with chimicurri.

• Pork tenderloin in tangy tomatillo sauce.

• 11 recipes for Cinco de Mayo.

• 10 Dutch oven dinners.

• Coconut, ginger, and cilantro cocktail.

Gluten-Free

• Gluten-free rhubarb coconut honey tart.

• Gluten-free almond butter chocolate chip cookies. (via The Kitchn)

• Gluten-free churros con chocolate.

• Oaxacan cinnamon chocolate macaraoons. (Thanks, Margene!)

• Red quinoa and cranberry salad.

• Green chile chicken casserole.

• Gluten-free quinoa burgers.

Crafty

• Crochet your own faux taxidermy deer butt. (via CRAFT)

• Knit a simple tote bag. (via CRAFT)

Cool

• 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs opening montage.

• Hockey linkity from Hockeypedia.

• Ice chandeliering on the shore of Medicine Lake (right by where I work).

• Star Wars characters as if they were from Chinese folklore.

• Enterprise, the Transformer edition. (via The Mary Sue)

• A map of the TARDIS.

• “On the matter of Bronies”.

• LEGO Polaroid camera.

• Linkity from kmkat.

Cool or Wha…?

• Walking Dead cross stitch for a newborn… (via The Mary Sue)

• Binder clip bag.

• Highlighter with a see-through tip.

• I am strangely unsurprised that this meat/cheese/Bloody Mary spectacle can be found in Wisconsin.

• A mayor in Iceland voted in the national elections… dressed as a Jedi.

• Iron Man flash drive.

• Decaying city of bread.

Wha…?

• House fire started by a dog’s water bowl?!

• Batman car seat.

• A giant head was found in the Hudson River. (via Tor.com)

• Shirt that can be worn 100 days without being washed.

LOL

• Well duh.

• Yeah, I’ve heard that one before…

• Pretty much… except Chaos, ever hopeful for food. 🙂

• What’s you cat name?

• Lord of the Cats.

• Obama’s the sassiest president.

• Wil Wheaton and Nathan Fillion…

Teh Cute

• Kittens! Kittens! Kittens! Kittens! Kittens! Lioness and baby! Tiger and baby! Cheetah and baby! Black jaguar! Tiger and baby! Kitten! Baby lions! Kittens! Baby tiger! Baby wolf! Black kitten! Porcupette! Kitten!

Reading Update

• Look! Up in the sky!

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“Don’t make me any crabbier. You won’t like it when I’m crabbier.” -Chaos

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Congrats to Jackie M, Kendra, Ann B, and Denise, who won Racing for the Sun by Amy Lane! Racing for the Sun is being released today by Dreamspinner Press.

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Randonymity (being a new section for stray thoughts from me)

• Favorite song from local band Cloud Cult’s recent release Love: “You’re the Only Thing in Your Way“. (Music to browse linkity by!)

• Monday night we got an inch or two of snow. Today it’s supposed to be nearly 70F… Nothing green and growing out there yet. Alas.

• The work project from hell continues, with no end in sight… *sigh*

Contests

• Joyfully Jay’s giving away an ebook copy of Dangerous Submission by Lori Toland. Closes 11:59 pm EDT, April 26.

• Smexy Books is also giving away an ebook copy of Dangerous Submission by Lori Toland. Closes April 26.

• Blodeuedd’s giving away a copy of Darius by Grace Burrowes. Closes May 5.

Bookity

• New releases and more: Fiction Vixen (romance & UF)

• Book and publishing news from Dear Author.

• Kassa thinks through the problem of too much familiarity with authors’ works and embarks on a plan to refresh her m/m reading.

• Nicole wonders whether others enjoy rereading as much as she does.

• Best-read cities, according to Amazon purchases…

• “What would it be like if book stores died out completely?“

• Peek at the TARDIS’ library.

• Part IX of the Romance Novel Reader workout.

• Cat as various fictional characters.

Ebookity

• Reader Rocket lets you compare different ereaders to help decide which one to buy. (via TeleRead)

• The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) is now online.

Do, Learn, Make, Think

• If you’re looking for a Google Reader replacement and you use Chrome, there’s a plugin that will make Feedly look more like Google Reader.

• How retweets spread.

• “The 12 types of people who use social networks“.

• TeleRead continues its Evernote guide: Part 4, Part 5, Part 6.

• Parking guide infographic.

• The US $100 bill is getting redesigned.

• The US government is suing Lance Armstrong to get back its sponsorship money.

• When should you throw out reheatable plastic containers? (I’ve switched to glass…)

Cookity

• Harissa eggs in purgatory. (via The Kitchn)

• Seared scallops with shrimp, herb, and spring vegetable risotto. (via The Kitchn)

• 10 fresh vegetarian pasta dishes.

• Spicy chickpea vegetable pancakes. (via The Kitchn)

• Chickpea stew with saffron, yogurt, and garlic.

• Hummus-y carrot and new potato stew. (via The Kitchn)

• Creamy broccoli salad. (via The Kitchn)

• 7 rhubarb recipes.

• Toasted coconut blueberry muffins. (via The Kitchn)

• Baked ‘coconut cream’ cheesecakes. (via The Kitchn)

• Nutella mudslides. (via The Kitchn)

• Strawberry gin smash.

Gluten-Free

• Gluten-free baking conversion chart. (Thanks, Seanna!)

• Gluten-free chocolate-espresso cupcakes.

• Gluten-free chocolate chip cookie cake.

Crafty

• Tessellating TARDIS iPhone cross-stitch pattern. (via CRAFT)

• Turn plain canvas sneakers into TARDIS shoes. (via CRAFT)

Cool

• TARDIS pinata.

• Beware evil garden gnomes.

• Superheroes based on little girls dressed like superheroes.

• LEGO stadium.

Cool or Wha…?

• Cocktails made with leafy greens, such as kale and spinach.

• LEGO oil rig.

• The University of Wisconsin’s bell tower plays the Game of Thrones theme.

• “Kiss Me” by Sixpence None the Richer… in Klingon.

• Death Star belly.

• Fire-starting pen.

• Fisheye lens stool.

• Redesigned toaster.

Wha…?

• NASA drew a penis on Mars. (Could’ve ended up in LOL just as easily.) (via The Mary Sue)

• Shower noise app to drown out “embarrassing bathroom sounds”.

• Skinless Laughing Elmo.

LOL

• 20 Pinterest crafting fails. (Thanks, Bron!)

• Real-life autocorrects.

• Supervillains try to find dates via speed dating.

• Superman, Batman, and the Doctor chat. (via The Mary Sue)

• Time-traveling cookie box.

• Truth.

• Instructions for the shared office printer.

• How to have a better day.

• I wouldn’t get one single cracker on Chaos before he woke up (and ate the cracker I was attempting to place on him).

• Cats in sink.

• Exercises you can do with your cats.

• “He is pleased”.

Teh Cute

• Kittens! Kittens! Kittens! Kittens! Lioness and babies! Cat and kitten! Cat and kitten! Baby tiger! Baby penguins! Red panda! Kitten! Puffins! Porcupette! Emu and babies! Black jaguar! Hummingbird! Baby tigers! Wolverine and babies! Lioness and baby! Hedgie and baby!

Reading Update

• *waves*

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“Sunbeams on my body make me sleepy… eventually.” -Mayhem

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Congrats to Yvette, who won Temporary Mark (Collared #3) by Kim Dare! Temporary Mark will be released by Total-E-Bound on April 22.

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Contests

• Joder’s giving away an ebook copy of Fire Horse by Mickie B Ashling. Closes 11:59 pm CDT, April 21.

• The Novel Approach is giving away an ebook copy of Dirty Laundry by Rhys Ford. Closes 11:59 pm PDT, April 23.

Bookity

• New releases and more: Fiction Vixen (romance/UF).

• Book and publishing news from Dear Author.

• Thoughts from Dear Author and Let’s Get Digital on Scott Turow’s recent diatribe.

• Fiction Vixen explains how to backup/export your Goodreads library, just in case.

• Smart Bitches takes a look at film and tv adaptations of Jane Eyre.

• TeleRead on author Joe Konrath’s reasonable opinions about fair use as it applies to authors.

• “11 organisms scientifically named after fictional characters“.

• Library with a built-in slide.

• Library made from shipping containers.

• Creative ways to store books. (Thanks, Jeanne!)

• Wooden bookstand.

• Definition of a writer.

Ebookity

• A lot of US libraries are lending ebooks and some are even lending ebook readers.

Do, Learn, Make, Think

• The first three parts of TeleRead’s ultimate Evernote guide have been posted.

• Why cell phones don’t have dial tones.

• Beware of “money-saving” things that actually cost you money.

• Handy retirement planning checklist.

• “If everyone in the US drove west, could we temporarily halt continental drift?“

• Sooooo much good information about bras and bra fit. (Thanks, Jeanne!)

• New Zealand has legalized same-sex marriage. (via The Mary Sue)

• “8 facts revealed by genetic analysis of the platypus“.

• Inexpensive allergy relief tips.

• Some thoughts on Boston from KD Sarge. I have to believe that the good outnumber the evil, you know?

Cookity

• Gluten-free “oreo” and peanut butter brownie cakes.

• Nutella cake. (via The Kitchn)

• Mars bars krispies. (via The Kitchn)

• Coconut green lentil curry. (via The Kitchn)

• Baked risotto with peas, asparagus, and pancetta.

• Grilled vegetable quinoa salad.

• Radicchio salad with avocado, red quinoa, and ricotta salata.

• Grilled tequila shrimp salad. (via The Kitchn)

• Spring dandelion leaves salad. (via The Kitchn)

• 9 simple spring salads.

Drinkity

• Strawberry-tarragon gimlet. (via The Kitchn)

• Peanut and Coca-Cola cocktail.

• Limoncello citrus sangria. (via The Kitchn)

• Sparkling pink sangria. (via The Kitchn)

• Pure Mexican margarita.

• Orange-y margarita.

• Gin and tonic sorbet. (via The Kitchn)

• Three-ingredient cocktails.

• 10 Game of Thrones-themed cocktails.

• 50 cocktails from 50 states.

• 15 pitcher drinks for parties.

Crafty

• Knit a t-shirt. (via CRAFT)

Cool

• Catwoman the cat lady… (via The Mary Sue)

• TARDIS bunk beds.

• Hockey hugs!

• Hockey linkity at Hockeypedia.

Cool or Wha…?

• Cutting board colander.

• Fancy TARDIS dresses.

• StarRSS is a very amusing (altho not particularly functional) feed reader that displays feeds as if they were the opening credits to Star Wars – complete with sound. Here’s what my feed looks like using it.

• Starting in 2015, Disney plans to put out a new Star Wars movie every summer (as long as they continue to make money).

Wha…?

• “Spring” Oreos look like someone peed on them. o.O I did a double take when I saw them in Target.

• Vibrating underwear controlled by iPhone.

• “The male underwear of the future“. (NSFW)

• A hockey player licked another player’s visor before a face-off.

• Budweiser’s going to be selling some of its beer in bow tie-shaped cans, which hold less beer than regular cans.

• You’re more likely to get malicious sites in your Bing search results than in your Google search results.

LOL

• This is me. Heh.

• Geologist. (Hover your cursor over the comic for additional text.)

• “The seven stages of [cake] wrecks“.

• Whoops.

• New Simon’s Cat!

• Big cats in (big) boxes.

• Not Chaos, surprisingly.

Teh Cute

• Baby bengals! Kitten! Kittens! Kittens! Kittens! Kittens! Kittens! Kitten! Kitten! Tiger and baby! Kitten! Baby clouded leopards! Kitten! Baby otter! Beaver and babies! Kitten! Maned wolf and babies! Brocket deer and baby! Tiger! Kitten! Tiger! Tiger! Cat and kitten! Mara and babies!

Reading Update

• Hockey fics, hockey fics, hockey fics…

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“…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…” -Chaos

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Congrats to Melanie M, who won Fire Horse by Mickie B. Ashling! Fire Horse is being released today by Dreamspinner Press.

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Contests

• Fiction Vixen Sophia is giving away two sets of recent paperback romances. Closes end of day today, April 12.

• Joyfully Jay’s giving away an ebook copy of Fire Horse by Mickie B Ashling. Closes 11:59 pm EDT, April 13.

• Pants Off Reviews is giving away an ebook copy of The Gentleman and the Rogue by JK Pendragon. Winner selected April 14.

• Check out the various places you can enter to win a signed copy of JL Merrow’s Hard Tail (plus JL will write the winner a limerick on the subject of their choice). Winner selected April 17 “around teatime” (GMT).

• Armchair Reader Cole is giving away winner’s choice of an ebook copy of Play Me, I’m Yours by Madison Parker or a $10 gift certificate to Rainbow eBooks. Winner selected April 23.

Bookity

• New releases and more: Fiction Vixen (UF & romance) and AAR (romance).

• Book and publishing news from Dear Author.

• Writerly links from Becky Black.

• Nenia Campbell on how not to respond to negative reviews.

• The Digital Reader rants about readers “owing” authors.

• Fiction Vixen Sophia wonders what people will do now that Amazon has purchased Goodreads.

• How to build a Little Free Library.

• Libraryish links from mental_floss.

• 10 literary beers. (via TeleRead)

• The Romance Novel Reader Workout, part 8.

Ebookiy

• BooksOnBoard has shut down. Should authors worry? Would publishers reconsidering DRM help indie ebookstores?

• The ebook market didn’t grow as quickly in 2012 as it did in previous years.

• The average price of bestselling ebooks is going down.

• “The day I forgot how to use a book“. I’ve done that before…

• “Why do we keep making ebooks like paper books?“

Think, Learn, Make, Do

• “The NHL just became the first of the four major sports leagues to partner with an LGBT advocacy group.“

• Google now has a tool that lets you set up how to deal with your Google data after you’re dead.

• Tam talks about avatars and profile pictures and our online identities.

• Cheryl compares Feedly and The Old Reader. The Digital Reader notes that Digg is going to target their replacement for Google Reader at “hard-core users”.

• The US Postal Service won’t be cutting out Saturday mail delivery in August.

• Which airline seats are the most popular? (Am I the only one who figures out by time of day and flight direction which side of the plane won’t have the sun shining on it the whole time?!)

• Food and drug recalls for April.

• Things that can happen if you misuse a pressure cooker.

• 10 old-time sayings that will certainly increase the confusion level of those around you…

Cookity

• Black Forest jar cake (grain/dairy/processed sugar free). (via The Kitchn)

• Gluten-free sweet potato chocolate chip mug pudding.

• Gluten-free lemon raspberry coconut buttercream cake. (via The Kitchn)

• Gluten-free blueberry flax muffins.

• Walnut flour brownies topped with bitter chocolate ganache. (via The Kitchn)

• 10 chocolate cookie recipes.

• 10 lemon recipes.

• Gluten-free vegan grilled cheese waffle sliders.

• Sriracha egg salad sandwich. (via CRAFT)

• Creamy chicken salad with parsley walnut pesto and sun-dried tomatoes.

• Kickin’ chicken hash. (via The Kitchn)

• Herbed goat cheese polenta bites.

• Spring quiche with butternut squash, peas, and feta.

• Thai-style green pesto. (via The Kitchn)

Crafty

• 5 stretches to ease the stiffness and pain from knitting a lot. (via CRAFT)

Cool

• The Twitter bromance of #Lumbus and @LAKings.

• Excellent linkity from Smart Bitches.

• “Behind the scenes with Simon (and his cats)“.

• Robert Downey, Jr’s birthday cake.

• Subways of North America. (Make sure you hover your cursor for additional text.)

• Animal alphabet carved from crayons.

• Geeky cakes.

• Minimalist Game of Thrones character portraits.

• Scifi movies reimagined as… Dr Seuss books.

• TARDIS refrigerator. (via The Mary Sue)

• Turn an IKEA shopping bag into a TARDIS. (via The Mary Sue)

• Stop-motion chalk art Tetris.

• Fake Quidditch. (via The Mary Sue)

• LEGOland hotel.

• LEGO space kraken attacking a Super Star Destroyer. (via The Mary Sue)

• LEGO “crystal” chandelier.

• Schoolhouse Rock!

Cool or Wha…?

• Cycling specific Swiss Army knife.

• Self-standing butter knife.

• World War Z posters created by fans.

• Coffee mug with built-in spoon holder.

• Stone drink dispenser.

• Spiked ice trays for making untraceable murder weapons…

Wha…?

• If you’re a Firefly fan who knits Jayne hats, beware…

• Black market Nutella.

• Condom slingshot.

• More extremely specific kitchen gadgets.

• Moose lasagna.

LOL

• “MANLY MEN cakes“…

• Beware… the signs.

• “Old World translations for modern social networks“.

• 15 film autocorrects.

• Strangely, not baby Chaos.

• Bad kitty!

• Oh oh.

• Awww…

• Unamused black cat is unamused… and sleepy.

Teh Cute

• Baby jaguar! Baby genet! Kittens! Kittens! Kittens! Kittens! Nyala and baby! Baby clouded leopards! Red panda! Kitten! Kitten! Kitten! Otter and baby! Baby otters! Baby goat! Przewalski’s horse and baby! Polar bear and babies! Lamb! Kittens!

Reading Update

• Hockey fics, hockey fics, getcher hockey fics here!

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So here I am, sitting on the couch next to a guy who’s biting his toenails…

*crunch crunch crunch* -Chaos

*SIGH*

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Congrats to EriSeg, who won A Wild Ride by Andrew Grey! A Wild Ride will be released by Dreamspinner Press on April 8.

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Contests

• Becky Black’s giving away a print copy of Higher Ground. Closes 9 am BST, April 6.

• The Armchair Reader’s giving away an ebook copy of an Anna Marie May title. Closes April 8, midnight CDT.

• Blodeuedd’s giving away a copy of Rev It Up by Julie Ann Walker. Closes April 13. US & Canada.

• Piper Vaughn’s giving away a backlist ebook title, a $10 Fandango gift card, and a $10 Amazon/ARe/B&N gift card. Make sure you read the rules for entering the contest! Closes 9 pm CDT, April 14.

• The Armchair Reader’s also giving away an ebook copy of Play Me, I’m Yours by Madison Parker (or a $10 Rainbow eBooks gift certificate). Winners chosen April 23.

• Lillian Francis is giving away an ebook from her backlist as part of the April Autism Awareness Blog Hop.

Bookity

• New releases and more: Rarely Dusty Books (m/m romance), Elisa Rolle (LGBT), Tor.com (PNR), Literary Escapism (UF/PNR), and Fiction Vixen (romance).

• Book and publishing news from Dear Author.

• “dear author: ‘research’ is not a dirty word“.

• “What do readers owe authors?“

• What book promotion strategies actually work? (via TeleRead)

• Infographic about how successful Goodreads has been.

• Just in case you missed it, Amazon’s buying Goodreads. VacuousMinx wonders about the implications of Amaon acquiring Goodreads. Some thoughts from AAR on Amazon purchasing Goodreads. Dear Author reviews some Goodreads alternatives. Comparing Goodreads and LibraryThing. Six alternatives to Goodreads.

• Add versioning and track changes to Google Drive/Docs.

• Huh. Bookshelf vase.

• “If Portal was a Little Golden Book“…

Ebookity

• Does Amazon’s ebook return policy already cover concerns about “serial returnees”?

• A court has ruled that the first sale doctrine doesn’t apply to digital content.

• Julie of the Wolves and the battle for ebook rights.

• You can read some of the Hugo nominees free online.

Think, Learn, Do, Make

• “The science of cats“.

• Cat age in human years.

• Kids can learn about electronics at Circuit Playground. (Snap Circuits are a cool way to do that, too.)

• Wednesday was the 40th anniversary of the first mobile phone call.

• Would cockroaches actually survive a nuclear war?

• “How hard would a puck have to be shot to be able to knock the goalie himself backwards into the net?“

• There’s now an iPad app that can diagnose concussions.

• The FCC’s seeking public input on what “indecent” should mean for prime time television.

• Facebook’s map of gay marriage support in the US. The gay marriage debate in 50 years.

• 19 unusual April holidays and anniversaries.

• Apparently people spend crumpled icky paper money faster than crisp new paper money.

Cookity

• 10 two-ingredient appetizers.

• Baked ricotta.

• Broccoli bites. (via The Kitchn)

• Loaded baked potato tater tots. (via The Kitchn)

• 15 easy one-dish meals.

• Scrambled hard-boiled eggs.

• Chicken enchiladas. (via The Kitchn)

• Gluten-free flatbread with pesto and salad.

• Gluten-free fudgy brownie cupcakes.

• Chocolate chip cookie in a cup. (via The Kitchn)

• Nutella banana bread. (via The Kitchn)

• White chocolate espresso peanut butter. (via The Kitchn)

• Salted spicy double-chocolate chili cookies. (via The Kitchn)

• Twix cake. (via The Kitchn)

• Beer-candied bacon. (via The Kitchn)

Cool

• Slow-motion hummingbird. (via Gizmodo)

• Shorts featuring the Doctor Puppet.

• Doctor Who fan art.

• “My drunk TARDIS“.

• Artsy Daleks.

• What popular websites would like in Game of Thrones.

• LEGO Xena (sort of).

• Hockey hugs!

Cool or Wha…?

• TARDIS tights.

• Knitted portraits of actors from Doctor Who. (via CRAFT)

• Mal, Harry Potter, Gandalf, and more… as mice.

• “If Game of Thrones characters were on Facebook“.

• Batman coffee table.

• Famous paintings recreated… on toast.

• Google Maps Persian rugs.

• Doodads to make your keys look like little chainsaws. (Hey, it’s Minnesota – my brother’s cell phone ringtone is a chainsaw…)

• Desktop cuckoo clock.

Wha…?

• The Dog Dicer. (Not gory! It’s for hot dogs…)

• Please remember that it’s not legal to hunt deer in Walmart parking lots.

• Streets of London sink. (All I can think when I see it is “cleaning nightmare”.)

• The ticking time bomb version of Jenga.

• Peep creations.

• This vibrat0r was not actually made by IKEA.

LOL

• Just in case there was someone waiting to see Scope Bacon show up at their local store…

• 12 funniest March autocorrects.

• Simon’s Cat!

• D’oh!

Teh Cute

• Kittens! Baby lions! Kittens! Kitten! Wolf and baby! Kittens! Kittens! Kittens! Kittens! Lioness and babies! Baby tiger! Baby clouded leopards! Baby otter!

Reading Update

• O hai! 🙂

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“I am very worried about the possibility of my dinner being late and I really don’t see how having just eaten breakfast is relevant to that concern.” -Chaos