Another two weeks, another batch of interesting links. I think I’m lacking an infographic of some sort this time, but perhaps someone could point me to a good one that popped up over the last couple of weeks (and not the one about librarianship). In the mean time:

• Where to start with this? A charity which helps abuse victims in England wants to have a book burning of Fifty Shades of Grey and author GP Taylor thinks this is a good idea. I’ve got a lot of head scratching on this one.

• The lovely Kristi Chadwick wrote a great piece for Library Journal about Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, and other genre fiction coming out and some of the trends that are still going and some that should be appearing soon.  

• We all know Emily Giffin and her husband and puppets went off the rails this week. I’ve got a thought or two on this, but instead, I invite you to go read Justine Larbalestier’s updated post about how people should react when an author behaves that way. 

• Bitch Media asks if there are YA stories about diverse sexualities and identities where those things aren’t the crux of the story.

• So this article seems like it ran last year about this time (or maybe even two years ago at this point) but hey, mermaids are hot in YA lit. Here’s a list of some of the ones that are out now and some of the mermaid stories on their way to shelves soon.    

• This Tumblr cracks me up. First, the url is amazing; second, the name of the Tumblr is perfect; third, it’s an image of donuts and a famous literary quote. Brilliantly simple. 

• How about a literary jukebox? Get a quote and a thematically-appropriate song. 

• Ever wonder about how the questions they ask on Jeopardy are properly researched and sourced? What happens if there’s an incorrect fact? This article covers it all. How cool would it to work for Jeopardy as a question creator? Hello, dream job for Jen! 

• Part of why I obsess over cover design and book design is because so much of design hones in on the psychological underpinnings of the human mind (whoa). We’re all drawn to things for a reason. The Guardian has a nice piece on what design elements do on a book cover. I’m partial to number 20.  

• Lots of (unfortunately necessary) disclaimers on this post, but it’s one that you need to bookmark and refer to: YA science fiction and fantasy novels with protagonists of color. I cannot tell you how happy I am this exists and how much I plan on referring to it in the future. What a piece of work and also incredibly important.  

• Pittacus Lore is my favorite “author.” Because he keeps being presented as “an author,” rather than a collaborative effort out of the creepy James Frey enterprise. However, this article suggests that maybe there really IS a new guy behind Lore now. I also didn’t realize the Rachel Carter book was associated with this fiction factory, either. I need to pay more attention. Related: part of why I hate this Pittacus Lore business (besides the obvious) is because I have had to disappoint a teenager before. He really wanted to find Lore on Facebook and become a fan. Guess what? Couldn’t do it (at least then) because, well, fake! 

• A great book list of books featuring the moon and other orbital bodies. Love the Crunchings and Munchings blog and their fun, inventive book lists. How about another for good measure? This one is about lesbian discovery novels.

• This has nothing to do with books and reading, as well as everything to do with it. Are we becoming a culture of braggers thanks to social media? Honestly, I’d rather listen to people talk about their accomplishments on social media than many other things. Also, really?  Maybe I don’t follow enough people who are willing to brag about their good news. 

• Easily my favorite post in a very, very long time: a professional assessment of Twilight Sparkle as a librarian. What I love about this is everything. It so perfectly encapsulates all of the things librarians actually do in a manner that anyone can grasp. No, it’s not a quiet place. Yes, it requires using a brain. No, it involves no reading books at the desk. And so forth. 

• Vintage advertisements for classic books.  Not much else to add except they’re neat to look at.

• Mental Floss delves into how paperback novels changed the way Americans read. And this wraps up my history-of-reading-culture series of links this week.

• Actually, I lied twice in this blog post. First, it’s not the last history-of-reading-culture link. Second, this is really my favorite link. Let’s look back at the legacy of The Babysitter’s Club with The Atlantic. It doesn’t mention Abby except in passing and — after Stacey — she was my favorite of the girls. I know. That’s something like sacrilege but it is what it is. Hey, did you know I met Ann M Martin? I was in second grade, and my friend Lauren’s mom took us out of school early to go meet her. Photographic evidence to the right. I was so nervous to meet her that I couldn’t even ask her to take the picture with me so I just stood close to her and smiled.

• Source is suspect but the story sounds reasonable. Millennials buy more books than anyone else. I think that’s the first positive thing I’ve ever read about my generation. 

• Third lie: here’s a blog post about the trend of infographics, with links to some of the big ones making the rounds. If you aren’t reading this blog and you love readers’ advisory or genre fiction, fix that. 

This month’s Audiosynced will be here at STACKED and it’ll likely be a couple days late. I’m in the midst, too, of organizing a really fun series to run at the start of November — stay tuned (such a tease!)