I thought it was time to do another link round up.
Part of this is pure self-promotion and vanity! (At least I can admit it, right?) I’ve been making appearances other places around the interwebs.
Earlier this month, Nancy Pearl wrote a column in Publisher’s Weekly on my library and innovative ways we do reader’s advisory, and mentioned my read-alike flowcharts.
Teen Librarian’s Toolkit did a fantastic series called The Sunnydale Project which celebrated all things Buffy, especially as related to teens and the library. Anyone who knows me knows I’m a huge Buffy fan (seriously, I have a Buffy tattoo). I’m also an ardent feminist, so when Karen at TLT put out a call for guest posts, I eagerly jumped at the opportunity to contribute this post on Buffy and feminism: Sometimes, the Girl Gets to be the Hero.
I’m also now a contributor to YALSA’s The Hub! If you’re not familiar with The Hub, it’s one of the best places for comprehensive coverage on young adult literature. Although it’s written by librarians, the focus is on literature rather than library services, so the posts are of interest to anyone who loves young adult fiction (and nonfiction!) My first post is on Great Contemporary YA novels for Book Clubs.
Okay, so enough about me. I’ve also been reading some great posts elsewhere I think you should check out.
So, we’ve established I’m a feminist, and I usually approach texts through a feminist lens. I read (and reviewed) Crewel by Gennifer Albin, one of my most anticipated novels of this fall, and was not untroubled by what felt like the perfect set up for a critique of patriarchy that ultimately went unexamined. This post over at We Eat YA opens up the discussion on the way gender is being framed in a lot of YA dystopias. YA authors like Maggie Stiefvater and Tessa Gratton have weighed in. You should check it out.
I loved this post on “spinach scenes” and what to do with them over at YA Highway. Great tips for those who are outlining their NaNoWriMo projects (like me).
Lydia Sharp’s writing blog is one of my go-to writing resources. She’s got a novel coming out soon, Twin Sense, which I am excited to read. She wrote this great piece for her publisher’s blog about why she writes queer YA: There’s Nothing Wrong with You.
Is anyone else completely befuddled by Facebook? I’m on the social media team at the library and do a lot with our Teen Zone page, and our stats seemed wonky. Michael my artist/musician/visionary friend who uses Facebook incessantly pointed me towards this post about the new promotion feature and why our “reach” has been cut even though we are getting more interaction. After some discussion, the social media team didn’t think that this would really change our strategy on Facebook (which you can read about here), but it’s something we’re keeping an eye on.
If this wasn’t a confirmation that teen librarians are important, I don’t know what is. The Pew Study on Younger American’s Reading and Library Habits is fascinating reading.
Did you read (or write!) any great blog posts recently? Please share in the comments!
Filed under: librarying, reading, writing Tagged: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Crewel, dystopias, Facebook, feminism, Gennifer Albin, Lydia Sharp, Maggie Stiefvater, Nancy Pearl, Publisher's Weekly, queer, reader's advisory, reading, social media, teen book club, Teen Librarian's Toolkit, Tessa Gratton, The Hub, Twin Sense, writing, YA, young adult literature
