Friday Fun: Interesting Reading

A few links to articles that I came across this week on the blogosphere!

How Young Adult Fiction Came of Age
Excerpt:  I am familiar enough with the basics: that YA is not to the written word as PG is to film. That it is publishing's closest thing to a safe bet in years. That it has seen explosive growth as a result. To wit: 3,000 young adult novels were published in 1997. Twelve years later, that figure hit 30,000 titles--an increase of a full order of magnitude. In 2009, total sales exceeded $3 billion, which is roughly all the money. 

YA Books are Booming--but not That Much
Excerpt:  Before I tell you what the correct figures are, how I think Mr. Grady got those numbers wrong, and why that matters, I do want to say that the article as a whole is a solid piece of work. Unlike the infamous Wall Street Journal article that complained about YA literature being too dark (I won't link to it, but you can find it if you search), Mr. Grady clearly likes YA books, and develops some good points: that adults are reading YA, for various reasons; that "New Adult" is what some in publishing hope to establish as a next step after YA; and that the commercial/literary divide may be shrinking.

"She's Not a Strong Reader"
Excerpt:  She resisted help at first. But after two failed attempts to get the book she wanted, she finally let me help her. I got her a wonderful stack of Libba Bray and Sarah Dessen and left her alone, only to have her mother announce to me, “She’s not a strong reader.” As if that explained why her daughter was taking her time to choose the right book.

Where Children Sleep (from the New York Times)
Excerpt:  As he considered how to represent needy children around the world, he wanted to avoid the common devices: pleading eyes, toothless smiles. When he visualized his own childhood, he realized that his bedroom said a lot about what sort of life he led. So he set out to find others.


Your Mom Reads More YA Than You
Excerpt: What struck me about the WSJ debate was not whether or not YA veers into a damaging darkness; rather, it was the allegation that mothers are unaware of, or disapprove of, the current YA offerings.  It was striking to me because, in my own experience promoting a YA novel, mothers have been some of the most ardent and vocal harbingers of what’s new and what’s next in the genre.

Friday Fun: Cover in Common

So I was walking around in the workroom at my library, and I saw this book on a pile of weeded books.

And I immediately thought, hey, I've seen that picture before! 

What interests me the most that beyond just flipping the image, the cover designer also seemed to have Photoshopped in some wear on the jeans.  Look at the white patches on the back of the thighs.  Interesting!

Friday Fun: Books Into Movies

With the news that the Gossip Girl producers are tackling a movie adaptation of The Luxe, it got me thinking about books being turned into movies.  I'm very excited about The Luxe being a movie, but I can't help wondering how the movie will compare to the book.  Will the Elizabeth/Will romance be pumped up?  Will Lina be as sulky and scheming as she is in the book?  And just who would play Penelope and Diana and Henry? 

Here's a list of some recent YA books that were turned into movies.  What did you think of these?

Soul Surfer, based on Bethany Hamilton's memoir (movie info)
Beastly, based on the novel by Alex Flinn (movie info)

It's Kind of a Funny Story, from Ned Vizzini's novel (movie info)
Flipped, adapted from the novel by Wendelin Van Draanen (movie info)
The Lightning Thief, from the bestseller by Rick Riordan (movie info)
Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging, based on Louise Rennison's novel (movie info)

I've only seen Flipped, so clearly I need to catch up on my movies!

Friday Fun: Making Time for Reading

For this Friday, enjoy these links to interesting articles!


Hooray for YA: Teen Novels for Readers of All Ages
Excerpt:  A good novel doesn't just transcend the boundaries of its target market — it knows nothing about target markets. Young readers have always reached above their reading level to get to meatier stories, and lately we've seen adult readers reaching into the world of teen fiction in search of the same thing — no-holds-barred storytelling.


Take a Look, It's In a Book, and On the Street, And In a Park . . . 
Excerpt:  The theme to LeVar Burton's iconic PBS children's show is, for children of the '80s (or anyone who raised them), like a war cry; it breaks the ice at parties, brings strangers together. If you ever walk by a group of tipsy youths belting the theme song after midnight, you can bet that they will all believe themselves best friends afterwards. Reading Rainbow is our Cheers.


How to survive the age of distraction
Excerpt:  I think most of us have this sense today, if we are honest. If you read a book with your laptop thrumming on the other side of the room, it can be like trying to read in the middle of a party, where everyone is shouting to each other. To read, you need to slow down. You need mental silence except for the words. That's getting harder to find.

Who Says YA is Dark?
Excerpt:  Next week we'll take a highly scientific look at 2010's YA covers and see if the darkness really is too visible. Because as Laurel Snyder points out, "dark" can mean many things, and I'm a fan of being literal to the point of sarcasm. 

Friday Fun: Diversify Your Summer Reading!

Feeling like you're stuck in a rut with your reading?  I certainly feel that way.  That's why I'm going to participate in the Diversify Your Summer Reading Challenge!

What is it?  It's a contest to encourage people to read outside their comfort zones.  There are separate contests for libraries and for readers/book bloggers.  It's easy and fun, and you could win some cool prizes! 

Look for my entry into the challenge later this summer.  Happy reading!

Friday Fun: Poll Time!

As part of my efforts to make librarian by day better, I hope you'll fill out a three-question poll.  If you have any clarifications or recommendations, feel free to leave a comment here.  Thanks so much!

Update, 7/2/2011: The poll is now closed.  Thank you for your feedback!  Feel free to leave a comment on this post if you have any suggestions.

Friday Fun: Summer Reading Lists

I admit, I don't get very organized when it comes to my reading.  I'm a big believer in serendipity, of picking up a book and diving in.  Sometimes, this means I go through lulls, where I can't find "anything good," or I'll have seven books that I'm juggling at once.

I've become a fan of Goodreads, in order to keep track of what I want to read, and I just might this year put together a summer reading list.  Thinking on this topic sent me to Google, where I found this article:  Crowdsourcing Your Summer Reading List(s).  How often have we all seen the power of mentioning a book on a social media site?  Perhaps I should just leave the creation of my summer reading list up to everyone who reads my blog or follows my Twitter!

A few summer reading lists that I found while hunting around might also be useful to you--so take a look!

Book Group Buzz:  Stephen King's Summer Reading List
L.A. Times: The Reading Season is Heating Up
ForbesWoman:  The ForbesWoman Summer Reading List 2011

If it's children's or YA lit you're after, consider these suggestions:

Horn Book:  Summer Reading
National Endowment for the Humanities: Summertime Favorites

What are you planning to read this summer?  Anything that you think everyone should read?

Friday Fun: Books About Winter

The last two weeks, the Mid-Atlantic has been sweltering--nothing like going right from winter to summer!  This makes me think longingly of cold temperatures, of curling up under a blanket while the snow falls outside.  So, if you're like me and want to cool off, check out some of these books that deal with Mother Nature's colder (and crueler) side.

Blizzard's Wake by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Trapped by Michael Northrup (read my review)

Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder

How do you beat the heat?

Friday Fun: Tumblr Time

Tumblr can be a very addictive site.  It's a quasi-blogging platform, one that seems to fit between the brevity of Twitter, the social connections of Facebook, and the lengthy text posts of Blogger/WordPress.  It's really great if you want visuals, music, or other media types.

Today, I'm featuring two sites that I follow on Tumblr.  First, there's Comically Vintage, which features panels from old comics, usually with snarky commentary.

Then, there's Better Book Titles, where all kinds of books are retitled for comedic effect.  This is an independent site that I happen to read on Tumblr.  My recent favorites have been new titles for The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake and Anna Karenina.

Friday Fun: Literacy, Book Festivals and Dolls

--Scholastic has just kicked off a global literacy campaign called Read Every Day.  Lead a Better Life.  It's always great to see such campaigns.  Best of all, there's an original art auction!  Twelve illustrators, ranging from David Shannon to Jeff Smith to Mary GrandPre, have offered up artwork that promotes reading.

--If you live in the Washington, D.C. area, why not check out the Gaithersburg Book Festival?  It will be held tomorrow, Saturday May 21, from 10am-6pm.  I plan to attend, to hear the great authors and take in a few panels.  Look for my report next week!

--Finally, this article has been making the rounds on the blogs, but if you haven't seen it, give yourself a few minutes of enjoyment by reading What Your American Girl Doll Says About the Rest of Your Life.

Friday Fun: What's Popular at Librarian by Day?

I admit that I am rather compulsive about checking the statistics for this blog.  Thanks to statcounter.com, I have a great deal of material at my fingertips to indulge such compulsions.

For example, what are the most popular reviews here at librarian by day?
1.  Chasing Lincoln's Killer
2.  All the Broken Pieces
3.  Will Grayson, Will Grayson
4.  Escape Under the Forever Sky
5.  The Musician's Daughter

What's even more interesting about this list is that Chasing Lincoln's Killer is extremely popular, with the following four novels put together not having the equal of the hits of that book.

Other interesting factoids:
--Some of the search terms that have brought searchers to this blog are "easy steampunk crafts for teens", "book: quakan, twin boys from two brothers", and "how does carbon diaries 2015 end?".
--Visitors from the following five states are the most frequent visitors to librarian by day are Texas, Illinois, Maryland, Arkansas and Pennsylvania.
--Since August of 2010, I've seen at least 1000 unique visitors a month to the blog.

It's that last fact that I'm proudest of.  I'm so thrilled that so many readers have visited librarian by day, and that you enjoy my reviews.  I hope that I'll continue to entertain and inform for many months to come!

Friday Fun: Unpopular Opinions

There's something liberating about expressing an unpopular opinion, in owning that you don't like something that everyone else likes.  Especially, I think, when it comes to books.  You don't want to rain on someone's parade, but sometimes, you can't help it, because you really don't understand why people like a certain book.

For example: I read Wither this week.  It's a book that's gotten quite a bit of buzz lately in the blogosphere, with several reviews posted--like at My Friend Amy, Galleysmith, and Backseat Writer.  It's gotten a big push from its publisher, one that has paid off in positive feedback from readers and reviewers.

I know that I say I strive to review positively, and that's true.  And I can't deny that Wither has an intriguing setup.  But it left me cold.  My biggest problem is that it felt padded.  It's the first book of a trilogy, and I know that naturally means there's a fair amount of exposition, of setting up the pieces for the eventual payoff that will come in future books.  Yet even with that being said, it still felt like there wasn't enough action to fill the pages.  The pacing moves in fits and starts, unable to gain momentum.

Other things bothered me as well.  Why did the females have a shorter life span?  Why was Gabriel kept out of sight for dozens of pages?  Why does Florida suffer from both devastating hurricanes and raging blizzards?

I know there's many people who greatly enjoyed this book.  But I forced myself to finish it, and it's unlikely that I'd read the next volume.  It can be difficult to venture that unpopular opinion, not only because you're going against the crowd but because you're making criticism of someone else's work.  I usually try to fall into the "If you can't say anything nice . . . " school of reviewing, so if I don't like something, I don't review it.  Yet I'm sure I'm not the only one to read something that everyone's raving about and go, "Really?"

So be brave and voice an unpopular opinion!  Any books that everyone love that you dislike, or vice versa?

Friday Fun: Gorgeous Covers

Have you ever seen the cover of a book and had your breath taken away?  That's how I felt when I saw Just Like That by Martha Qualey.

Look at it!  It's so amazingly gorgeous.  There's something about the rose petals in place of the footsteps, and the color palette, that just draws me in.

Sadly, this cover really has almost nothing to do with the book's story.  I loved the book, but the cover didn't match it.

When it comes to covers that do match the story, one of my personal favorites is the hardcover edition of John Green's An Abundance of Katherines.

You have the math elements, the variety of girls that Colin has dated, and a great color palette.  The cover sells the book and tells you what you're going to get.

What's your favorite cover?

Friday Fun: YA Novels with Footnotes

There should be more novels with footnotes, I think.  Especially in YA novels.  Why?  Because footnotes allows an author to have a witty aside that doesn't mess up the flow of the main story.  And there's not enough witty asides in this world.

If you haven't read a YA novel with footnotes, why not give one of these a try?

John Green: An Abundance of Katherines (who, coincidentally, has written about the appeal of footnotes in novels)
Jonathan Stroud: Bartimaeus books (The Amulet of Samarkand, The Golem's Eye, Ptolemy's Gate, and The Ring of Solomon)
Daniel Ehrenhaft: Drawing a Blank
E. Lockhart:  Ruby Oliver books (The Boyfriend List, The Boy Book, The Treasure Map of Boys and Real Live Boyfriends)
Michele Jaffe: Bad Kitty

Any ones that I missed?  Drop me a comment!

Friday Fun: ALA Elections

I know the ALA elections may not seem like fun on the surface, but just think--it's time for librarians to express the direction that they think ALA should be heading in for the future.  If you say that ALA, YALSA, or any division doesn't reflect what matters, elections are a way to change that!

ALA Election Info

Posts about the upcoming election at the YALSA blog

There's just a week left to vote!  Don't miss out on your chance to create change.

Friday Fun: The Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award

Have you heard about the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award?  Established in 2008, this contest offers a reward of a publishing contract and cash advance to the winner (this year, the publisher is Penguin).  In 2010, a Young Adult award was added.

How does the contest work?  250 quarterfinalists are selected in both the General Fiction and Young Adult Fiction categories, which are then judged by a group of reviewers (including me, in fact, to provide full disclosure).  100 semifinalists in each category will be evaluated by a panel made up of YA author Gayle Forman, VP & Publisher of Putnam's Books for Young Readers Jennifer Besser and literary agent Julie Just.

The 2010 ABNA for Young Adult Fiction went to Amy Ackley for Sign Language.  If you want to find out more about this year's quarterfinalists, you can read excerpts of each manuscript.  And if you've got a Kindle or a Kindle app, you can even download them to read on the go!

Friday Fun: Youth Literature . . . in Peeps

Since 2007, the Washington Post has sponsored Peeps Show, a contest to create a diorama featuring Peeps, those fascinating, beyond-nature-or-science marshmallow creatures.  Why not take a look at those entries that draw their inspiration from books for children?

Videos of 2010 Finalists
Goodnight Peep

The Mad Hatter's Peep Party

Photo Galleries
Peeps Show IV: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/gallery/2010/03/29/GA2010032903934.html?sid=ST2010032904380
Look for Where the Wild Peeps Are, The Book of Bunny Suicides: A Tribute to Andy Riley, Madeline, Peeps and Prejudice and Zombies, and One Thousand and One Peepian Nights.

Peeps Show III: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/gallery/2009/04/10/GA2009041001969.html
This year features Mary Peeppins and two different takes on Peep on Wire.

Peeps Show II: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/gallery/2008/03/21/GA2008032101983.html
Marvel at The Wonderful Wizard of Peeps, Sesame Peep and SpongeBob SquarePeeps.

Peeps Show I: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/photo/gallery/070402/GAL-07Apr02-69859/index.html
Take a look at Little Po' Peep!

Friday Fun: Links of Interest

A new feature here at librarian by day--Friday Fun as a way to kick off the weekend.  This week, have some links!

The Godmother of Chick Lit: read about Francine Pascal's return to Sweet Valley.

28 Vintage Book Club Mailers: who else did complex economics in order to get the most books for the money your parents gave you?

SXSW 2011: The Year of the Librarian: consider technology from a librarian's perspective, thanks to this article from The Atlantic.

On the Gender Divide in Children's Books: Sarah Pekkanen reflects on books and boys in a Washington Post article.