Humor

Round-Up: The Great Bookish April Fools Pranks of 2013

Brenna Clarke Gray

Staff Writer

Part muppet and part college faculty member, Brenna Clarke Gray holds a PhD in Canadian Literature while simultaneously holding two cats named Chaucer and Swift. It's a juggling act. Raised in small-town Ontario, Brenna has since been transported by school to the Atlantic provinces and by work to the Vancouver area, where she now lives with her stylish cyclist/webgeek husband and the aforementioned cats. When not posing by day as a forserious academic, she can be found painting her nails and watching Degrassi (through the critical lens of awesomeness). She posts about graphic narratives at Graphixia, and occasionally she remembers to update her own blog, Not That Kind of Doctor. Blog: Not That Kind of Doctor Twitter: @brennacgray

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I have to admit that I’m a pretty fantastic April Fools grinch. Like, I kind of loathe it. I’m not fun that way. But the pranks and the fake news and the yadda yadda yadda.  I’m just not into it.  But I will make an exception for the bookish ones because my book nerd part of my brain is much more powerful than the prank grinch part of my brain.

Anne

At Random House Canada, blogger Ainsley reports Random House had gotten its hands on the lost first draft of Anne of Green Gables. The kicker?  In Montgomery’s first draft, everyone’s beloved ginger, Anne, is blonde!

Shelf Talk released the winners of the Pulitzer Prize two weeks early. For example, this year’s award for investigative reporting goes to psychic Sylvia Browne of Maury Show fame.

Over in the UK, This Is Money tells us that Asda’s planning to sell 50 Shades of Grey-themed toilet paper. A whole new way to read in the loo.

 

 

tumblr_mkkrhkwDOg1rti9pto1_1280John Green was all “I’m going to be Augustus Waters!” and the internet was all WHAT?!

Tolkien fans might appreciate this Eye of Sauron lamp from ThinkGeek, whose nerdy April Fools Day pranks often rock.  Similarly, you might want to go to HotelScan to check prices on stays in Hobbiton.  Or Wonderland!

Harry Potter fans might have liked the news that Hogwarts is now accepting applications.

John Urban was the first to break the exciting news to us all that eReaders are now available for our cars — and for only $129!  What a bargain.  And as I’m already an expert drive-and-texter, this can only end well for everyone.

I bet I’m missed some!  Share other bookish pranks in the comments.