Breaking Dawn Part 2, the last installment of The Twilight Saga film franchise, has been released this week.

We’ve collected links to five free digital books that inspired Stephenie Meyer while she wrote the novels behind the movies. In an interview, Meyer (pictured, via) talked about her favorite authors. She explained:

I’ve been reading books for adults my entire life. Growing up I was an avid reader—the thicker the book, the better.  Pride and Prejudice, Gone with the Wind, The Sword of Shannara, Jane Eyre, Rebecca, etc.  I’m a huge fan of Orson Scott Card, and Jane Austen– I can’t go through a year without re-reading her stuff again.

Read more

Louise Rennison and Louise Yates have each won a £2,500 Roald Dahl Funny Prize. The humor prize includes two categories: one for books targeting ages 6 and under and the other for books for ages 7 to 14. Interestingly enough, Dahl’s longtime illustrator Quentin Blake made the shortlist for both categories.

Rennison won for her Emily Bronte-spoof, Withering Tights (7 to 14). Yates got it for her canine story, Dog Loves Books (6 and under). The Roald Dahl Funny Prize recognizes authors and illustrators who create children’s books that inspire laughter.

Blake was nominated for Angela Sprocket’s Pockets (6 and under) and the David Walliams book he illustrated, Mr. Stink (7 to 14). Blake has won the 1974 Whitbread Award for Children’s Book and the 2002 Hans Christian Andersen Medal.  (Link via The Guardian, photo via Booktrust)

Ten years before the debut of the first literary mash-up, two video pranksters uncovered The Secret To Save Publishing–classic lit action figures!

In the video embedded above from 1998, Phil Lord and Chris Miller did a dead-on parody of children’s television advertising, trying to sell plastic action figure versions of Charlotte Bronte, Emily Bronte, and Anne Bronte. The toys feature Boomerang Book-Throwing Action and an AMAZING Brontesaurus tribute to Voltron.

Here’s more from the YouTube page: “This was a fake commercial we made in 1998 for a series of educational shorts about action figures based on historical figures. Its educational value was somewhat suspect. It was never aired.” (Link via Huffington Post)

The website wowOwow has launched a new reading project called “Words Move Me,” asking readers and literary celebrities to explain which books inspire them. Editors Note: An earlier version of this post referenced a Sony Reader giveaway that has already ended.

If you need inspiration, here are of a few of this GalleyCat editor’s favorites. Salon.com senior writer Rebecca Traister confessed her love for Willa Cather‘s “My Antonia;” “Practical Magic” author Alice Hoffman cheered “Wuthering Heights” by Emily Bronte; and finally, “Prospect Park West” author Amy Sohn explained her feelings for Mary Gordon‘s “Final Payments.”

Here’s a post from Judith Martin (Miss Manners) about the book that moves her: “For relief I turn to Henry James‘ “The Death of the Lion” for the best description of the sort of newspaper editor I used to work for…”