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| I am so digging the minimalist YA author art over at this Tumblr. |
So I forgot to post links of note last week since I was still in ALA recovery mode. Since no one seemed to notice, I guess that being a little less regular isn’t a big deal. That said, this roundup is lengthy and has a lot of good stuff, since I’ve had things piling up for many weeks now.
- Have you checked out the recently-released PEW study on teen and younger adult reader habits with reading and libraries? Here are the salient points, with a link to the full study.
- I’ve been asked a few times by people recently if they should be on Tumblr. As someone who is on Tumblr but not super active, my answer is always maybe, maybe not. I use it for personal stuff, as well as professional stuff. I think of it like a journal, as opposed to a more formal blog or tool. But there is a great article at Library Journal about Tumblr and libraries, as well as the tumblarians, well worth reading for anyone considering using Tumblr and wanting to know how to get started.
- At Book Riot, Jill and Josh have an excellent discussion about whether or not kids are reading the wrongest things — or whether we need to just quit worrying about it.
- I haven’t had time to completely catch up on this story, but I am sharing it because there is a LOT of food for thought here. A writer was caught plagiarizing a number of “new adult” authors and self-publishing those books under a number of different names. But wait! The plagiarist hired ghost writers to do the work. And there’s so much more to unravel here, when it comes to plagiarism and self-publishing. Spend a little time unraveling this one.
- As of July 1, Penguin Random House is officially a thing. But what does that mean exactly? Here’s an interesting Op Ed from the NYT about what it could mean for the various imprints. Worth noting is that the author is published by one of those imprints he talks about, though I don’t know how much it detracts from his bigger thoughts.
- Starting this fall, there will be a national “Library Staff Picks” list through LibraryReads. This program looks super interesting — kind of an IndieNext list for libraries. Edelweiss has a nice “how to” for getting involved through them on their website, too.
- A nice infographic on where and how people around the world read.
- So one of the things I’ve been thinking a lot about is how to be more creative and inventive when it comes to reader’s advisory. It’s my passion. One of those things I’ve tossed in my head is making reader’s advisory guides to popular television shows. Guess what? Someone did this, and I absolutely love it — here’s what one librarian would recommend to each of the characters on Glee, if she were their librarian. Brilliant stuff!
- If anyone is suddenly inspired to think about the reader’s advisory stuff in new ways from that, I highly recommend checking out Scotty Rader’s fan mixes for books he’s digging. Here’s one example for Some Girls Are — but the possibilities here are huge! Check out how he’s using the fanmix for all the media he’s digging and how he’s using Spotify/fanmixes at his library.
- How have 90s book covers been remade to fit today’s aesthetics? A fun cover post.
- Keeping some cover talking going: Amy Spalding, who wrote The Reece Malcolm List, just did a cover reveal for her December release, Ink is Thicker Than Water. And while I don’t tend to share cover reveals, I’m sharing this one because Amy’s created her covers, and she shares the story of how this one went from concept to cover. The process is really neat and, I think, really unique.
- Have you seen this amazing (and concerning) image of books published featuring diversity yet? Go check it out — and then check out a few books that feature diversity and talk about them. Also, why isn’t there more diversity being published? An interesting discussion over at The Horn Book.
- What are the best selling books for 2013 so far? And is there a difference between best selling titles in print and in ebook? Publishers Weekly has the scoop.
- Julie wrote a really great post that is worth sharing and revisiting from time to time: making a difference.
- Curious about getting started with YA fiction but want some guidance? Sarah Andersen and Minnich have launched YA 101, an online course that you can take and strengthen your YA skills. These are super current titles, and both ladies teach high school — they’re working with the kids and know what’s getting their interest. This should be really interesting.
- The Millions shares the most highly anticipated 2013 adult novels (also known as, where the marketing money will be going this fall — though I am really excited about a number of these!).
- Ever wondered about Early Reader books? I know I have. I’ve bought them for libraries before without knowing very much about them. Agent Jenn Laughran has a great post with everything she knows about them. It’s focused more on the writing aspect, but anyone who works with these books will benefit from the post.
- I’m Your Neighbor is a really fantastic database that’s being built for Kid Lit that talks about “new arrival” literature — so books about immigration, about adoption, about new cultures merging with older ones. Keep an eye on this.
- Plugged this last month but plugging again: the Disability in Kidlit project, running all July long, is amazing, invaluable, and so, so worth reading. I know it has opened my eyes.
- Did you catch the Twitter game of “YA books with a letter missing?” Well, here’s a roundup of covers someone made for book titles — not just YA titles — with one letter missing. Good for a laugh.
- Goodreads finds out what it is that makes people put down a book, in infographic form.
- With fewer retail options for buying books, looks like Amazon can start raising prices.
- How about a little more book cover fun? Did you see these Edward Gorey covers of classic novels? I love the one for Kafka’s Amerika.
- Ten recent and forthcoming queer YA novels for you to check out.
- I’m positive by now everyone’s head that Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak was again challenged, this time on the grounds that it is “child porn.” I am not linking to that story. Instead, I am going to link to Leila’s impassioned post about this.
- Saving the best for last maybe — or at least the most amusing one. Design Sponge does a regular feature on their site called “Living in,” and they match up a movie with products so you can “achieve the look.” This week’s was all about living in The Babysitter’s Club and it’s too fun not to share.
Over at Book Riot, I’ve had three posts in the last couple of weeks I’m going to link up here — a roundup of literary-inspired Google Doodles, what I believe are the Five Things You Need to Know about YA, and your ultimate guide to summer YA reading. Now I am not remembering if I linked up to my post on YA-inspired manicures, so here’s that one, too!