au·gust

adj.

1. Inspiring awe or admiration; majestic: the august presence of the monarch.
2. Venerable for reasons of age or high rank.

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All the other months are defined by placement in the line-up and characterized by things like weather. All the other months are NOUNS (well, except for “March” and “May” … riffraff).

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1. Living Forever. Or at least being heavily memorialized. In November, the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library will open, complete with rejection letters, his Purple Heart, and the cigarette-stained typewriter.

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2. Drink By Th’ Book. I know that we often promote cocktails here on the Algonquin Books Blog, but we’re not the only ones slightly obsessed by the finer aspects of literary culture. At 1022 South in Tacoma, WA, you can order your drinks from the handy Lit section of their bar menu. Cheers!

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3. Library Rescue. “Booksellers band together!” 18 booksellers in Charlotte, NC, teamed up to raise funds (and stock) for the struggling public library. It was really a beautiful thing: Chains like Barnes & Noble linked arms with the tiny indie shops and everyone raised money and sang. (There might have been singing, maybe, I don’t know.)

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4. Buried In Books. I love my books, I do, but this is just weird.

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5. Know Your Covers. Being able to identify great book covers is a virtue. You might have to fact check me on that one, but I’m pretty sure that’s the case. Fortunately, Sporcle.com has your back. You get 6 whole minutes to identify 24 covers. Ready, go!

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6. Spine Art. Mikey Stilkey’s “book sculptures” are a different kind of cover art. He paints on the spines of books, his characters inspired by the fictional world to be found INSIDE the books. I’d like to install one of these babies in the living room.

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7. Lit Shots. For all the strong associations between authors and alcohol, no one ever says anything about the brooding, boozy nature of readers. For those of you stalwart soldiers, pushing through heavy tomes with just a snifter of brandy to light the way, I give you The Reader’s Drinking Game. (My favorite? “J.D. Salinger: Every time there is a symbol of lost innocence, drink a highball. Then spit it all over someone you love.”)

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8. Educational Videos.

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Homework: use the word “august” at least once today.

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-Susannah