A teenaged writer in Ireland has been published on stamps around his country. We’ve embedded the special stamp above, containing a complete 224-word story.

Composed by then 17-year-old writer Eoin Moore, the short short story was created in Dublin’s Fighting Words program for young writers.  Kids in the program submitted their work, trying to convey “the essence of Dublin” with just 224 words.

The stamp celebrates “Dublin’s permanent designation as UNESCO City of Literature.” You can purchase the stamp at this link.

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Has your to-be-read pile grown out of control? There is a Japanese word for that!

Avid reader Wemedge had his daughter illustrate the word “Tsundoku,” a informal Japanese
word that describes our out of control book piles. Want to know more about the word itself? Wiktionary has more about the word:

tsumu, to pile up + doku, to read, punning on tsundeoku, to leave piled up) Noun  (informal) the act of leaving a book unread after buying it, typically piled up together with such other unread books

One alert Reddit user snapped a photograph of an empty “What Teens Are Reading Now” shelf at a Barnes & Noble.

The photo makes for some funny Thursday morning reading, but don’t despair– the shelf was only being restocked.

On the same morning, scores of readers clicked on this photograph of young kids reading on the train.

What is the best book to bring to a baby shower? Some baby shower hosts ask attendees to bring their favorite books, a great way to build a baby’s first library and help new parents find great books.

Reddit user Kincsem recently had a baby shower and shared her books in the photo album embedded above: “I requested guests’ favorite baby books in lieu of cards for my baby shower last summer. The result was wonderful. My dad and my brother moved the room to tears.”

Martha Stewart‘s website has a long article about a book-themed baby shower if you need more inspiration.

My dream job…! The new host of #Jeapardy #bydhttmwfi #notevenkidding

— LeVar Burton (@levarburton) March 27, 2013

Reading Rainbow host, actor and book app creator LeVar Burton recently tweeted that hosting the quiz show Jeopardy would be “my dream job.” His tweet inspired an online petition that is already nearing 1,000 signatures.

This GalleyCat editor agrees that Burton would make a “intelligent and kind host” for the show (he already starred as a celebrity contestant).

What do you think? Sign the petition at this link.

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What if Quentin Tarantino‘s screenplays were published as vintage paperbacks?

Artist Sharm Murugiah created book covers for these movies, evoking the director’s work in a few simple lines of a paperback cover. Above, we’ve embedded his $12.48 art print that showcases all the the covers at once (along with a varient print for Django Unchained). Check it out:

Fine art print on natural white, matte, ultra smooth, 100% cotton rag, acid and lignin free archival paper using an advanced digital dry ink method to ensure vibrant image quality. Custom trimmed with 1″ border for framing.

60 Minutes featured Pussy Riot last night, the Russian punk band with three members sentenced to two years in prison for staging a protest performance against Vladimir Putin inside a Moscow cathedral. Check it out:

Since he’s been in power in Russia, Vladimir Putin has steadily cracked-down on democratic freedoms and the protesters who support them – a crackdown that intensified after his reelection as president a year ago. Nothing symbolizes this better than the arrest last March of a group of young feminists after they staged a protest against Putin in Moscow’s largest cathedral.

The news program also interviewed members of Pussy Riot currently in hiding. Below, we’ve rounded up the literature that inspired these dissident voices.

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How many books can you hold at once with all the covers facing forward? Prince of Thorns author Mark Lawrence has challenged his readers to test their book-holding prowess.

In the photo embedded above, reader Bradley held these books: Shadow’s Edge, Way of Shadows, The Jordan Rules, Desert Spear, Stormdancer, Beyond The Shadows, If I Die In A Combat Zone, The Warded Man, Prince of Thorns, King of Thorns, This Book Is Full Of Spiders, John Dies In The End, The Whore Of Akron). Check it out:

Send me a photo of you holding up a book you like (cover forward) and I’ll post it here. (empire_of_thorns@yahoo.co.uk) You are more than welcome to hold up books you’ve written. The more books you hold up at once, the higher up the list I’ll place you. rules: 1) Books all face forward 2) Only one person holding 3) No photo shop 4) No solid supports (shelves, metal frame etc). There will be a prize… of some sort.

The daily email service BookBub now counts more than one million subscribers, a big milestone for the book discovery tool created in 2012.

Readers sign up at the BookBub site, getting a daily email about book discounts in their favorite genres. According to the company, 5,000 to 10,000 new subscribers are joining every day right now. Here’s more from the release:

BookBub also employs an editorial team to select titles that are of the highest quality and best fit for its subscribers … BookBub’s rapid growth has attracted partners from across the industry to feature ebooks with the service. The company is currently working with five of the big-six publishers, dozens of midsized and small publishing houses, and hundreds of bestselling independent authors.

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At the relaunch event for KCRW’s Design & Architecture (DnA) show this week, Tesla Motors and PayPal co-founder Elon Musk answered questions about his work.

During his interview with DnA host Frances Anderton, the SpaceX founder said that science fiction had inspired his wide-ranging career. Naturally, this GalleyCat editor asked what books inspired the entrepreneur. Musk gave a long answer:

In terms of sci-fi books, I think Isaac Asimov is really great. I like the Foundation series, probably one of the all-time best. Robert Heinlein, obviously. I like The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress and I like Stranger in a Strange Land, although it kind of goes off the rails at the end.

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