Population of paper town Agloe, NY drops from 1 to 0. (May 29)

Margo Roth Spiegelman IS excitement and enthusiasm, and after a night pulling retributory pranks—she vanishes.  Quentin and his friends try to unravel the threads of what happened, where she went, and if she is even still alive.

How to Commemorate:

• Leave somewhere at noon.
• Find and visit a paper town.
• Try writing crosshatch.
• Take a road trip.
• Edit a Wikipedia (I mean, Omnictionary!) page.

Find the book on Amazon or at a library.

Taking a break

Hey, guys, we're taking a week off just to unplug and remember what that big yellow ball in the sky is.  A lot of our Today in Fiction contributors are connected to a semester cycle that is just now closing down for the summer, so we're taking a short break, just a week or so.  

In the meantime, head to our twitter or facebook pages to let us know what books, movies, or TV show you would like us to highlight when we get back.

Lord Richard Croft goes missing in the field (May 15, 1985).

Lara Croft's dad (Richard) goes missing on May 15, 1985, though we later find out that he was killed.  That's how hero daughters are made, after all.

How to Commemorate

• Go starwatching for any planetary alignments.
• Dress up, like for an elegant British garden party (as Lara does).
• Find a clock and SMASH IT TO PIECES!

Buck Rogers launches into space (May 1987)

Buck Rogers lived in many comic book, novel, movie, and TV renditions, but the one I grew up with was the 1979 series starring Gil Gerard, which states that he launched into space in May of the far-off year 1987. Buck Rogers had a huge influence on science fiction for the next century. He is the original man-out-of-time (first appearance 1928 ) even before Captain America (1941). (I love Cap; don't get me wrong!)  Buck's stories were among the first popular ones to explore things like cryogenic freezing for space travel and post-apocalyptic worlds.

I also want to take this opportunity to give a shout-out to Star Trek: Voyager for, I think, basing Captain Proton almost directly on the Buster Crabbe black and white shorts (which were my dad's favorites--thanks, late night PBS!). Those are some of my favorite episodes, Voyager.

How to Commemorate:

• Get lost.
• Make arcane references.
• Every fifth step, say "beedy beedy."

Katniss Everdeen's Birthday (May 8)

Today is the birthday of Katniss Everdeen, who fought as tribute in the Hunger Games.

How to Commemorate:

• Enter a lottery.
• Go hunting (preferably with bow and arrow).
• Complete (or sign up for) an obstacle course. (We recommend the Rugged Maniac.)

May the Fourth be with You

We all know Star Wars, so I'm just going to suggest using quotes as much as you can during the day. Some of my favorite lines from the movies are:

• These aren't the ___ you're looking for.
• I find your lack of ___ disturbing.
• Don't get cocky.
• I've got a bad feeling about this.
• I can do this. I can do this.
• It's a trap!
• Strike me down and I will become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.
• There's always a bigger fish.
• Do or do not. There is no try.
• Never tell me the odds!
• The garbage will do.
• This is not how I expected this day to go.

Oh, and just call everyone "Big Deal." 

The Battle of Hogwarts (2 May)

Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley return to Hogwarts after a year of searching for horcruxes, just in time for the final showdown with Voldemort.

How to Commemorate

• Learn the play-by-play of the battle.
• Lift your wand to commemorate the fallen.
• Kill a snake.  (Ok, just pretend to kill a snake.)
• Choose what items you would make into horcruxes.
• Wear the colors of your Hogwarts House.*

*You do know what house you’re in, right?!