I want it noted that I have not talked about nor linked to a Lana del Rey video on links of note posts in a long time. And I’m not going to link to the latest video (which is so lazy) but instead I’m going to say the new album is out and I’m still trying to process how I feel about it. The song “Cola” is driving me crazy on so many levels. I can’t decide if I’m mostly shocked about it because it’s a shock value song or if I am shocked because it’s a woman singing that way or if I’m shocked because it’s LANA singing it or if it’s some combination of all of it. So I’m going to continue angsting about this privately, especially since I know no one reads these posts for my musings on such things (but if you have listened to the new album and that song — what are you thinking?).
Here’s some book and reading related fodder to chew over:
- Macmillan is ditching printed dictionaries. You know, I don’t care for stories like this when they angle it as “a sign of the times.” I don’t know so much if it’s a sign of the times or a cost-savings measure. Yes, it’s a “sign of the times” that more and more people just hop on the internet to access information, but as someone who works with many people who do not do that (and instead rely on print material or rely on resources to even get online), that mentality is a bit of privilege speak. But honestly, I don’t see this move to ditch the print dictionary as the end of times. There will still be print dictionaries. It might just be a much smaller market.
- Readers of Book Riot weigh in on their favorite quarter-life crisis reads. Of the listed reads and of the ones in the comments, I’ve read four. I think de Gramont title is an interesting pick, seeing it’s a story that’s set in high school.
- Adele Walsh was kind enough to share her list of recommended Australian YA authors on a blog post — it’s what she presented about at YALSA’s YA Lit Symposium.
- Megan Crewe has a really thoughtful blog post about the importance of writing and representing diversity in novels. Guess what? Characters who are of a different background, different race, or different sexuality are as dynamic and as human as anyone else. That’s something to embrace.
- Here are ten suggested books featuring characters who could be the modern Holden Caulfield. Or something. Sometimes the writing in these things kills me. I especially love the bit at the end about how any teenager who binges on Twin Peaks will eat up the story. Guys. Twin Peaks came on in 1990. *I* was 6 years old when it came on. Today’s 16 year olds were born in 1996. In other words, maybe there are a few teens who are watching the show but, uh. Even if the line was in jest, I get a little ranty about this because there ARE people serving teens today who are clueless about their milieu.
- I’ve never read Terry Pratchett (I tried listening to Nation but couldn’t get into it), but I love this blog post for people who are interested in getting into his work. It’s a great discussion of good entry points.
- Speaking of reading guides, here’s another neat one from Kirkus: science fiction books for those who love watching science fiction television shows.
- The Sidney Morning Herald wonders if literary sex is better than real sex. It’s written by a romance author who talks about the importance of emotions and other non-physical aspects of writing big scenes. It was this line that killed me in the story: My mum reads all my first drafts, but I realised pretty quickly she wasn’t the person to critique my sex scenes after she exclaimed, “Do people really do that?”
- Much discussion this last week came out of this LA Times Review of Books article about boys in YA fiction and the end of manhood. When I read the article, I didn’t get a sense of being anti-ladies or anti-boys but rather additional stories that DO tackle “manhood” as it’s a social construct. But out of that piece came a bunch of really well-written and thoughtful discussions about the topic of manhood, of girls in young adult fiction, and more. Read Saundra Mitchell’s, Phoebe North’s, and Malinda Lo’s pieces. By the way, the original author expanded her commentary on her own blog.
- Who has better book covers, the US or the UK?
- You know about book packagers, right? And about Paper Lantern Lit and how they aren’t really a book packager but instead a creative engine or some other non-packager sort of name? Here’s a fascinating article about Paper Lantern Lit and about how they operate. I still get really icked out about these, and I don’t know why. It’s not that I don’t think the authors might have talent, but there’s something about packaging a creative product with nothing but the intent of making money that gets me.
- Mental Floss shows off 11 books you didn’t know had sequels. I did know some of them, but not all of them.
- Another great Mental Floss list: 10 adult coloring books. Can someone please get me the unicorn one for Christmas?
- Ever wanted to work in publishing and have no idea how to get there? This post by Alex Bracken is amazingly thorough and honest about the process. And what I love about it is how similar it is to breaking into librarianship.
- So do all YA books featured screwed up parents? Not so much. Here’s a list of YA books that feature “grounded parents.” Except I disagree on some of them (sure, the parents in Something Like Normal are married but their marriage is kinda in shambles).
- Did you know half of self-published authors make less than $500? It’s…not really surprising. But a worthwhile read.
- The last time I read about the last taboo in YA lit, it was about abortion. But Deborah Heiligman writes about how it might be religion.
- It’s apparently Baby-sitters Club week on the internet. First, the announcement that in December, Scholastic will release the first 20 books in the series as e-books (with original covers) and second, Ann M Martin picks her favorite books of the series.
This is something I want to pull out separately because I’ve been thinking about it all week. Angelina came up with a really neat idea last week and has been talking about it a bit over social media with other librarians, and I think it’s something worth becoming a part of and talking about at a little bit of a wider level. It’s a 2013 reader’s advisory challenge and the premise is super simple: every month in 2013, those participating will read a book of a different genre. I plan on taking part, and I think I’m going to follow her genres pretty closely. If I can get organized enough and don’t get lazy, I’ll try to post something once a month next year about the challenge, as well as titles that’d fit into those categories for people looking for recommendations. Obviously, this challenge is open to all readers, not just librarians.
Which reminds me: if you’ve been wondering about #readadv, we’ll be back soon. The last couple of months have been busy for Liz, Sophie, and myself. We’re in the process of brainstorming a list of topics and questions and are so looking forward to bringing it back full force!
I love that you linked to the coloring books. We had a coloring book donation at the library and I bought one for myself and have been occupying my evenings with it (it's a bit more sophisticated than your usual kid fare). Coloring books are definitely not just for kids!
And the reader's advisory challenge looks fascinating! A great way to break into genre fiction.
Do you want to do it together? We could post a short list of titles fitting the genre then we can each review our title, if you want.
I'd have to be non-lazy but I think it's such a good challenge I can stay accountable on it.
I know that if I mention religion in a book review, everyone chimes in in the comments, "Ew, no, I don't want to read that!"