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| To celebrate library card sign-up month, Hennepin County Library (Minneapolis) did a roundup of their old library cards, dating back to the 1800s, on their tumblr. |
I love holiday weekends but the week after a holiday is rough, isn’t it? I’ve been wrong about the day of the week every day this week. Alas, here’s some interesting links to celebrate it being Saturday again.
- I love niche collections in libraries, and I love the idea of New Orleans opening up a culinary library for chefs.
- I haven’t yet read David Levithan’s Two Boys Kissing — I brought it home to read soon, though — but I really like this reflection on the 10 year anniversary of Boy Meets Boy and how much has and hasn’t changed in our culture since its publication.
- Everyone has posted something about YA book to film adaptations lately, but I think the one over at SLJ is really great. I didn’t realize some of the books she mentioned were being adapted (like Trash for instance). Worth the read.
- Litchfield meets Stoneybrook, otherwise known as how the show Orange is the New Black is similar to The Babysitter’s Club. Not only is this fun, it’s actually pretty spot-on.
- There is a really interesting two-part series over at The Paris Review about keeping a notebook. Part one is here and part two is here. I’m a rabid notebook keeper, and I have been forever. And it’s not just writing things down in notebooks; I keep those notebooks too. I am much less a narrative notebook keeper and far more a list notebook keeper.
- What are the top ten books people are embarrassed to admit they have read? There’s a Book Riot poll for that.
- This piece over at The Millions is really great and is making me think about writing on the topic of quiet books. What are the quiet books in YA? There are a lot, and many of them are among my favorite reads. It’s not about literary pretension; it’s exactly as the author describes here — the quiet space we carve and fall into while reading a particular story.
- Who dies in a Charles Dickens novel? There’s a chart for that.
- Frankenstein Day! A reading list! Check it out. As I like to point out, Mary Shelley was a teenager when she wrote and published the classic.
- Fifty of the best books you haven’t read by authors you already love. This list is solid. And it’s true — I’ve read many authors on here, but not a single one of these books, though I just got a copy of the rerelease of Hansaman and cannot wait to read it.
- Teacher or a librarian? Want a copy of What Goes Around by Courtney Summers? You already know I’m giving away a set of her books, as well as two copies, but you can win a copy of the bind-up over at Courtney’s tumblr, and right now, your odds as a teacher or librarian are better over there to win than they are here. That’s not to dissuade you from entering here but to encourage entering there, as well!
Over at Book Riot, I wrote up a book list that features YA novels (and non-fiction) set in juvenile detention. It’s a mix of backlist and current or forthcoming titles.
One of our staff members did a display of library cards from across the state – check it out! http://www.elkhorn.lib.wi.us/wordpress/september-is-library-card-sign-up-month/
On Boy meets Boy – a colleague of mine wanted to use it in a teen book club shortly after it came out. Her horrified director said NO. Fast forward to this year, she tried again, sent reviews etc….and her director said "sure, that sounds great!" attitudes, even in the same people, change!
I saw the library card display and it looks fantastic! Thanks for sharing it here since other people will dig it.
It's interesting to me how much we have — and have not — changed in 10 years when it comes to Levithan's books, what they mean, how they're perceived and accepted in our culture. I am going to be really curious how the cover is accepted or rejected or, as I hope, it's just seen as the cover fitting the story. Little more, little less (of course we know the bigger implications).