• Someone give Leila an award for doing this — she tested out all of those digital book recommendation services and tells what works best and what does. What an awesome reference guide (and introduction to some services that maybe you didn’t already know existed). 

• What does J. K. Rowling’s pseudonymous novel say about commercial success? A short but interesting piece. 

• The more I read Roger Sutton, the more I love him. And I feel like he so perfectly nails something I was thinking about certain listicles that keep popping up: do you mean “might like?”

• Jennie talks about why “exclusive editions” of books are bad for libraries. I like this not only because it’s true, but I like it because it raises some good questions about other “exclusive” sorts of books are out there that do put library users at a disadvantage. Digital-only books? Not easy to get for readers who might want them — same with digital shorts. We want to get these things into the hands of our teens but our hands are often tied.

• Rebecca Schinsky busts down the myth that Generation Y or the Millennials or whatever the heck this group is called is only interested in Angry Birds and texting. They want and crave reading because it’s an activity they enjoy. 

• Next week, we’re doing a ton of posts about graphic novels, since it’s the genre of the month (yes, you’ll get a genre guide, an awesome Twitterview, as well as reviews and more). I stumbled upon this great reader’s advisory guide by Tom over at his library’s website worth reading: here’s a list of graphic novels that are adaptations of books, both classic literature and more contemporary works. 

• I feel like everyone has read or shared this one already, but it won’t hurt to do it again. Linda Holmes from NPR’s Monkey See wrote an incredible piece about being an oddball and how those dreams and schemes that seem unachievable or that seem like the kinds of things no one would ever be interested in are worth pursuing. This is super positive and uplifting reading. 

• Beverly Beckham wrote a really sweet piece to one of her first mentors and someone whose insight helped shape her own career: Robert Cormier. 

• A thought-provoking post by Megan at the Book Brats wonders about science fact in YA science fiction. 

• Are you in Chicago? You should check out the exhibit at Galerie F that pays homage to Roald Dahl’s books. Even if you can’t make it to see in person, you can check out some of the art on the Galerie’s website. 

• I stumbled upon a really interesting and thought-provoking piece last week which asks what the Bechdel test could add to YA literature. This topic popped up again over at the Pub Crawl blog, which explores the idea of what womance could add to YA fiction.  

• I get why dust jackets exist, but I am the lady who takes them off hard covers and uses them as page markers until I am done with the book. I put them back on after…usually. Flavorwire has a piece dedicated to the dislike of the dust jacket. 

• Here’s one for those of you who love book covers: four designers show off their concepts throughout the stages of design and what ended up working and not working. After you read that one, go check out this post on Lerner’s blog about the cover design process for Carrie Mesrobian’s forthcoming Sex & Violence. I love these behind-the-scenes, cutting room floor sorts of pieces. 

• Are you watching Orange is the New Black? Curious about what books are getting a little time on screen? Toby at Skokie Public Library rounded them up into an awesome reader’s guide on the library’s website. 

• I have a lot of opinions about Book Trailers, and so I love this piece over at Book Riot about what makes for a worthwhile book trailer

• We’ve talked about young adult, we’ve talked about “new adult,” and now let’s talk about mid-adult and what that emerging genre might be. (Calm yourselves — it’s satire and it’s great satire at that).

• If you’re a writer or you work with teens who want to be writers, I highly encourage spending some time on Courtney Summers’s master post of writing advice from her tumblr question-and-answers about writing. It’s incredibly encouraging and positive, and the response about self-doubt and encouragement is particularly worthwhile. 

Speaking of writing, did you know WriteOnCon is coming up? WriteOnCon is a free conference, all online, all about writing, the weekend of August 13 and 14. It is FREE and easy to take part in. This year, I’m one of the “faculty” members (so weird to say!), and I feel obligated to mention that you should check out the Con if you’re into writing, want to get into writing, or you know others who would benefit from it.

I’ve had two posts over at Book Riot in the last couple of weeks too, and both are book lists: What to read while you’re waiting for the Veronica Mars movie (aka teen girl sleuths in YA fiction) and six YA books worth checking out this year that have published already and six to get on your radar.