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It Seemed Like The Perfect Day To Mention This…
It’s Friday the 13th, and what better time to mention that I wrote a book about superstitions! The book is called The Encyclopedia of Curious Rituals and Superstitions, and it will be published by Quarto on July 15, 2025.
In this book, I examine various superstitions, such as the idea that opening an umbrella indoors is bad luck or the belief that throwing salt over one’s shoulder is good luck. Where did these superstitions originally come from? Why do people believe in them? What rituals, gestures, phrases, talismans, and/or images are associated with these superstitions? This book answers all of those questions. And it also examines common, everyday rituals – like putting candles on a birthday cake or throwing confetti at a wedding – that aren’t thought of as superstitions today, but began as superstitions centuries ago.
Also, in The Encyclopedia of Curious Rituals and Superstitions, I look at superstitions from various cultures all over the world, as opposed to many other books on the subject, which have a decidedly Eurocentric bent.
Know what else I do in this book? At various points throughout the text, I explore the impact some superstitions have had on pop culture. For instance, how do the Star Wars films deal with the concept of good luck talismans? Do Marvel’s Infinity Stones have anything to do with the concept of birthstones? And what do vampire movies borrow from vampire superstitions?
The Encyclopedia of Curious Rituals and Superstitions is the third book in Quarto’s Wonderpedia series. (The second book in that series was The Encyclopedia of Epic Myths and Legends, which was also penned by yours truly.)
You can preorder The Encyclopedia of Curious Rituals and Superstitions HERE, HERE, and HERE.
Here’s the official publisher description of the book:
The Encyclopedia of Curious Rituals and Superstitions sheds light on the impact that superstitions have on our global society at large, world history, the pop culture we consume, the art we create, and even the way we think about marriage, death, prosperity, self-protection, and luck, to name a few. No matter where on Earth you live, superstitions have always been the infrastructure of societies since ancient times. They can be found in social rules of etiquette, in the vocabulary we communicate with, in rituals performed during holidays, in birthing rooms across time, at funerals, or just in our everyday habits. These mysterious practices provide an essential source of comfort, safety, and control. Even more fascinating is that they have been used since time immemorial to explain the unexplained. Unpack the lore and origins of cultural superstitions and how they have persisted throughout many generations.
Discover how:
• Celtic fairies are behind our compulsion to knock on wood
• Norse mythology is responsible for our fear of the number 13
• Taylor Swift finds the number 13 to be lucky
• A quick death in Japan is thought to be ensured if you cut your toenails at night
• The evil eye is an important talisman in Jewish and Muslim cultures
• The meaning behind your birthstone can predict your personality
• Rabbits hold significance in some Asian and Indigenous cultures
• Finding a husband in Nebraska is as simple as 99 horses, a white mule, and a handshake
• Eating twelve grapes on New Year’s Eve in Spain and Central and South America can bring forth prosperity
Beautiful illustrations further challenge the images your mind may have already held about the beliefs you instinctively carry throughout your life. You will be continually surprised and delighted by how superstitions not only define the bedrock of a culture but also demonstrate the nuanced ways in which we are all connected.
Unlock a world of wonders in The Encyclopedia of Curious Rituals and Superstitions.
The Wonderpedia series offers comprehensive, display-worthy illustrated references on a range of intriguing topics, including archeological discoveries, world mythology, pop culture, global superstitions, and the fascinating stories behind signs and symbols. A cross-cultural exploration of what makes humans tick, this series magnifies the connective threads between us across time and geography and demystifies the surprising, confounding sides of life.
The Beyoncé “96 Facts” Book Is Out NOW!
Hey, guess what? The tenth book in the “96 Facts” series – 96 Facts About Beyoncé – came out TODAY. And as with all of the previous “96 Facts” books, 96 Facts About Beyoncé was written by me and illustrated by the amazing Risa Rodil.
Here’s the official publisher description of 96 Facts About Beyoncé:
The ultimate fact book and journal for fans of Beyoncé. Packed with fun facts, quick quizzes, and bonus pages for journaling, this is a must-have for any members of the BeyHive.
96 Facts About Beyoncé is available in bookstores everywhere. But you can also buy it HERE, HERE, and HERE.
(If you click on the Amazon link, you can even see a few brief excerpts from the book!)
To find out more about 96 Facts About Beyoncé, check out this blog post.
To find out about the ninth book in the series – 96 Facts About the G.O.A.T. Athletes – check out this blog post.
And I talk about the entire “96 Facts” series in this “Book Q&A” interview with fellow author Deborah Kalb.
If you’d like see ALL of the books I’ve written for Penguin Random House – even the ones that have nothing to do with pop music or organized professional team sports – click HERE.
And when you get a chance, you should also check out the “96 Facts About…” page of my website.
Hey, Check It Out: I Wrote a Joke Book!
As you may know, in addition to my work as a children’s book author, I’m also a television comedy writer. And for quite some time now, I’ve wanted to write a children’s joke book, which seemed like it would be a nice way to combine those two disparate sides of my career: the “kid lit” side and the “joke writer” side. Call it a short-term goal. Well, a few months ago, I got a chance to realize that goal.
That’s because I wrote a children’s book called The Bad Guys Joke Book, which will be published by Scholastic on July 1st, 2025.
Now, I should mention a couple of things, just because I don’t want to give you the wrong idea here: This book is not set in the world of the Bad Guys books written by Aaron Blabey. It is set in the world of the Bad Guys animated movies (and Netflix specials) which are based on those books.
You also might’ve noticed that the book is coming out on July 1st, just a few short weeks before the Bad Guys 2 movie opens. (That movie comes out on August 1st.) Does this book tie into that movie in any direct way? I’m afraid I can’t quite answer that question at this early date. You’ll have to read the book to find out!
And in the meantime, here’s the official publisher description of the book:
Get ready to laugh out loud with Mr. Wolf, Mr. Snake, Ms. Tarantula, Mr. Piranha, and Mr. Shark! Packed with puns, funny fill-ins, limericks, and so much more, this joke book is the perfect companion to the Bad Guys Movie 2.
The Bad Guys Joke Book is available for preorder HERE, HERE, and HERE.
But if you click the link to the Scholastic Kids site – aka the third “HERE” link directly above – you’ll have to scroll down on that link to find The Bad Guys Joke Book, which is listed on that website as “Bad Guys Movie 2 Joke Book.” That’s the way it’s listed on most other book-related websites as well. I think the folks at Scholastic phrased it that way in the listings on these websites in order to make it clear that this joke book is set in the continuity of the Bad Guys movies, and also to remind readers that it’s coming out roughly around the same time as the second Bad Guys film. After all, as the official publisher description says, this book is the perfect companion to that movie!
I couldn’t agree more.