Being better at taking pictures of my displays at work also means more pictures of my displays at work becoming images to lead off link roundups. This is how I decided to put together a black history month display; the sign in the back says to read books by and featuring black people/characters not just this month, but every month. I’ve been thrilled with seeing these books go out.

On to this week’s links. If I’ve missed something big or interesting, I’d love to know!

• The Cybils awards were announced on Valentine’s Day, last Friday. Check out this year’s winners in every category, including speculative YA fiction, where Kimberly served as a judge. 

• Have you heard of the Tiptree awards? This annual award and list of honors is given to science fiction and fantasy novels that “expand or explore our understandings of gender.” This year’s list is pretty awesome, so check it out. 

• I can’t say I didn’t see this coming, though it still makes me sad and makes me wonder whether it’s time to consider an alternative eReader, but it looks like Barnes & Noble is discontinuing its Nook Touch. What happens if B&N gets out of the eReader business all together? Do all of those ebook purchases also just disappear when your device kicks it? 

• This discussion in the New York Times about whether or not we need “negative” book reviews is really interesting. I’m firmly on the side that yes, we do. Not just because it saves the time of readers, but many times, I will pick up a book because of a negative review (either there’s something I want to see for myself or I tend to disagree with the reviewer and their negative review suggests it might be the exact right book for me).

• There is a really nice piece in the Boston Globe about Candlewick Press. I’ve loved so many of the books Candlewick has published, and this gave even more insight into how they choose their titles and how they have grown as a business. 

• For the librarians: collection development in four easy steps. 

• I love Laurel Snyder’s post over at Medium about boys and girls and reading and gender. Boys will be boys and girls will be accommodating. 

• How cool is Waterstone’s recreation of famous literary scenes in LEGOs? Very cool. 

• On the CBC Diversity tumblr, Aaron Hartzler wrote a really great post about religion in YA. More than worth the read and consideration in light of diversity. 

• Speaking of diversity, Cheryl Klein’s post about diversity and the challenges and complexities of publishing diverse titles is more than worth the read. Then go read Beth Revis’s post about diversity and why it matters, especially in the YA world. 

• What’s the current state of reader’s advisory? This is an interesting and enlightening read all around, but the part that stood out to me most was this: “Many librarians perceive that changes in the makeup of library staff are harming RA service. Many librarians now are not readers, their colleagues say, or at least don’t read widely enough to become expert readers’ advisors.” 

• I’ve read a ton of blog posts highlighting YA books that tie into the winter Olympic sports, but I think the one over at Crunchings and Munchings is the most comprehensive. Check it out. 

• Here are this year’s SYNC audiobooks, which will be available for free each week during the summer. This program connects teens and audiobooks, though obviously anyone can download them. They’ve offered this program for a few years and their choices are a great mix of new titles and classics. 

• There is no such thing as a “real reader.” This post is perfect. 

• Malinda Lo broke down the diversity on this year’s Best Fiction for Young Adults list and compared it to years past. This is fascinating stuff. 

My posts elsewhere:

• I was resistant to Tumblr for a really long time, but it turns out I am really liking it for pulling together quicker thoughts between blog posts. Last week, I talked a bit about The New York Times‘s YA Bestsellers list and how there is only one female on it. It took off a little more than I expected and it’s driving home the point I need to look at the series list, as well as other lists. 

• At Book Riot, I rounded up a ton of the “best” of lists that tackle everything from adult genre fiction to picture books into one post, with descriptions of each list and links right to them. Enjoy. 

• Do you like fancy drinks while you read? My husband and I concocted 14 drinks to pair with 7 YA romance novels — 7 of them with booze and 7 of them without. It’s possible we have been working our way through those ourselves (the drinks and the books).