Wish your summer didn’t have to end? Our September Blue Plate special is all about gearing up for the seasons ahead with ebooks that teach you how to preserve the season’s bounty. Best of all, they’re just $2.99 each through the month of September. 

The Pickled Pantry by Andrea Chesman

There’s more to pickling than just, well, pickles! Though half-sours, dills, and bread-and-butters are given their fair shake, this pantry also includes delicious ideas for pickling everything from carrots to rhubarb and from cabbage to pineapple. Among its 150 recipes are single-jar servings, big-harvest ideas, and freezer and refrigerator variations.

You can buy The Pickled Pantry at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, IndieBound, Google, Sony, and Kobo.

In addition to the Westminster Dog Show and the Dog Writers Association Awards (what a busy week!), this week also brought the 2012 Toy Fair to New York City. Yes, the Toy Fair is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: a big room full of toy-makers, toy-sellers, toy-buyers, and toy-enthusiasts, sharing their products and ideas. There were board games and building blocks and bicycles and even some books—a real wonderland for anyone who likes to have fun.

Workman was there to represent our numerous kids’ books, but the star of the hour was BrainQuest, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year! Below are some photo highlights of the event.

The biggest BrainQuest decks ever! Fun to be smart indeed.

Honk if you love BrainQuest!

Me realizing my dream of meeting a LEGO minifigure (or maybe "maxifigure" is more appropriate).

An awesome "Bananagrams" book and calendar display at the Bananagrams booth.

Can you spot Waldo in this enormous mural?

—Avery, who wishes every day was Toy Fair day

Have you ever locked eyes with a handsome stranger while pushing your cart through the produce aisle, but been unable to think of something charming to say? Have you ever ridden next to someone cute on the subway, only to watch her get off at her stop before you could pluck up the courage to ask her name? Have you ever had a moment, but missed the connection?

Join us at the launch party for Brooklyn artist Sophie Blackall’s new book, Missed Connections. Sophie will discuss her art and the inspiration behind the book, and then audience members will be invited to share their own missed connections stories. You can visit WORD’s website for more information, and RSVP on Facebook.

When: Thursday, October 6, at 7 PM
Where: WORD Bookstore: 126 Franklin Street in Brooklyn, NY

Plus: Feeling inspired by Sophie’s project? Share your missed connection story with Time Out New York and enter for a chance to win an original signed illustration by Sophie Blackall—an illustration of your story! The winner will also receive a copy of the book, as will two runners-up. Contest ends today, October 5!!

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Brooklyn artist Sophie Blackall found inspiration among stories of lost opportunities when she discovered the Missed Connections section on Craigslist. Enthralled by the idea of strangers seeking out strangers based solely on a single shared moment, she decided to illustrate her favorite entries, compiling her beautiful watercolors first on her popular blog and now in a wonderful book, Missed Connections: Love, Lost & Found.

The ABCs of summer may really be more like the BBQs and Ts, because that’s all you need on a hot day like today: your coolest, comfiest T-shirt and a delicious meal (carnivorous or otherwise) fresh off the grill. Rob, a Workman sales rep in the UK, and his daughter Flossie know the importance of those two hot-weather staples—and they even know how to put their own spin on the old classics.

While we here in the States were celebrating Independence Day, our friends across the pond were ringing in the summer at Grillstock, a celebration of all things barbecue. Flossie, 14, was game to help her dad sell some of Steven Raichlen‘s spectacular grilling books—that is until she saw the uniform. The Raichlen shirt was cool, with a hot slogan to match (“Hot enough for you?”), but it was also way too big. And did she really have to wear the same thing as her dad?!

Rob, flanked by BBQ books, models his Raichlen T-shirt—just right for a dad, but for a young T trendsetter? Not so much.

So like any fashion-forward T-shirt reclaimer, Flossie busted out her craft scissors and her copy of Generation T: 108 Ways to Transform a T-Shirt and revamped the plain black T into a smokin’ fashion statement!

Flossie shows off her refashioning skillz.

We’ve never seen Generation T and The Barbecue! Bible shelved together, but thanks to Flossie and Rob, we can see how these two books make the perfect summer pair.

Emily Adams, Third Place Books, Lake Forest, WA

In the first installment of our bookseller spotlight series, we hail not only bookselling excellence but also a big fat dose of Workman-related ingenuity. We’re crowning Emily Adams as “Bookseller of the Moment” for the most awesome video that she created to promote our Indestructibles books at Third Place Books. The video, featured on the store’s blog and website, really displays Emily’s cinematic talents while simultaneously demonstrating the durability of Indestructibles.

Emily Adams Profile

3 favorite titles recently pimped
Agaat by Marlene Van Niekirk
Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes
The Girl Who Fell From the Sky by Heidi Durrow

Songs on heavy rotation
“Street Signs” by Ozomatli
“You Don’t Mess Around With Jim” by Jim Croce
“Emphasizer” by Garage A Trois

Astrological sign: Gemini

Age: 37

Secret talent: I can stand on my head on a trampoline.

Quote to live by: “We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful what we pretend to be.” – Kurt Vonnegut, Mother Night