Links of Note

I can't stop thinking about what a fantastic experience KidLitCon12 was this year. I feel like I've been walking around in a bit of a haze all week, trying to come back to my normal routine. It's been really hard though. Harder, too, because I've got another presentation on my plate at the end of the month, so my time is being consumed by reading and thinking about contemporary YA so much. I can't remember if I've mentioned it or not yet, but starting with that presentation, we'll be running a week-long contemporary week series here again this year, with five exciting guest posts and coordinating book lists to those posts. I've seen over half of the posts now and they are fabulous.

This biweekly edition of links of note is a little shorter than usual, but still packed.

• Remember how I said KidLitCon12 was fabulous? And I can't stop thinking about it? I'm so glad there is a roster of attendees, their blogs, and all of the blogger recaps available to read and think about over at KidLitosphere Central. I'm particularly fond of Nova's beautiful recap and she was kind enough to write up a lot more about our presentation than I have so far. 

• Go nominate titles for this year's Cybils consideration. I've made nominations already, but I like to hold out on categories I don't know much about so I can pitch in for other people's suggestions as the October 15 deadline draws nearer. I'm not participating this year on a panel because of other time commitments, but Kimberly is! 

• The Guys Lit Wire book drive for Ballou High School is going on again. I've purchased and sent two books, and if you can, you should pitch in, too. It's easy, and it all goes for a very worthwhile cause. Bonus: I LOVE seeing the pictures of the teens using the library.  

• Speaking of the YALSA YA Lit Symposium, the schedule is finally up! Whoever put it together must have listened to Liz, Jackie, and I complaining about how our panels at ALA were at the same time, so we couldn't see one another. We're all spaced out this time, meaning we can see one another's talks. If we want to, that is. Are you going to attend? I want to know!

• I can't help myself. I love anything that talks about good drinks with books, and Flavorwire offers up 10 great novels with their perfect booze pairing. An amaretto sour might get me to finally read Lolita. 

• A fascinating discussion of who is faulting who about "new adult" books and the "lack of market" for those titles. I said it once and here it is again: I hate the label new adult. Hate it. The concept itself is fine and not new. But I'm wondering this much -- if a lot of these books have taken off because of being ebooks, I wonder how the market looks when the books become print copies. Because ebook readers and purchasers are a certain type of reader. I welcome these kinds of stories, I should say, but I still wear a bit of skepticism, and I suspect a lot of it has to do with the label more than anything.   

• I'm not a big celebrator of Banned Books Week (celebrator? is that what I mean?) but there have been some worthwhile posts this week on the topic. Check out Molly Backes's open letter to book banners, as well as this piece by James Klise about book banning and his experience being uninvited to speak at a Kansas library because of his book -- you may need to login to a social media account to access that story. The HuffPo also has a neat infographic on banned books by content. Then there's also the LA Times piece which is a gallery of books that have been banned. 

• Writer Nandini Bajpai curated a Pinterest board that's worth looking at with over 100 books featuring people of color on the cover. Perfect not only because of that but also because this would make for an excellent book list beyond simply the covers reflecting diversity. 

• Though it doesn't touch on traditional horror in the way I look at it (and hey! we'll be running some horror stuff this month as we do in October), there's a nice piece in this month's digital VOYA on the rise of horror in YA.

• I don't have the energy to say anything other than "no" to this one: are professional book reviewers better than amateurs? Just this week I noticed my second factually wrong professional review in a month. FACTUALLY WRONG. It's hard to take trade reviews seriously when they're error-laden. 

• Countering that piece and this piece oh and this piece that started it all (because it is oh so hard to read 145 novels in a year -- I mean, it's not like anyone reads that many in the three month period of Cybils or anything) is this one about how bloggers are critical to literary criticism. 

• Rabia Gale has a feature on her blog with strong girls on book covers you should check out. I'm curious what people think. While I don't disagree with her picks, I wonder if it's necessary for a weapon to be in the hands of a girl in order for her to be strong. 

• What are the top ten referenced songs in books? Here's a list, including the songs. 

• There's a blog post or two in this post over at Shannon Hale's blog about whether or not writers should shut up.  My philosophy -- the short version, at least -- is no matter who you are, your words can come back to bite you. So it's all a matter of choosing what you say, period, knowing that. Also, what writers say will influence you, whether you believe that to be the case or not. The important part is acknowledging that it does. Like I said, though, there's an entire blog post in this.

• The LA Review of Books has a list of ballet books. They're missing some obvious ones (like Sophie Fleck's Bunheads), but there are some new-to-me titles here. 

•  A wee bit arbitrary (I need to know what criteria are when it comes to lists like this) but still a decent book list -- 16 books featuring smart girls.

•  Over at io9, reasons why time travel stories should be messy.

• 12 mind-blowing facts about The Babysitter's Club. That's all you need to know for this one. 

• This guy turned his house into a public library. I suppose there are many of us who also turn our personal collections into public libraries, but maybe not on such a grand and welcoming scale.

• Here's a link has nothing to do with books whatsoever, and I don't know anything about the backstory or research, but it's neat. So go with it. Here are popular names of colors based on gender preferences. 

And that's a wrap! I plan on sharing presentation notes and notes from the publisher previews I attended soon, for all of those who are interested in what's coming out next season.