Tuesday, March 26, 2013

The pressure to read...is ON

...or maybe it's just me?


You know that feeling … your book club meets next week and you promised to review that other new book on your blog or for a review publication…but really, all you want to do is take the pressure off and curl up with a book that YOU want to read WHEN you want to read it? Put aside the pressure to read’ for once. 

As I continue on my ever evolving reading path, as a reader and as a librarian (sometimes this adds pressure – go figure J ), I have found that my reading tastes tend to go in spurts. One week I’m die hard YA dystopian novels, the next week I’m die hard YA romance, and then the next week I want all fantasy/sci-fi OR on a completely different note,  contemporary women’s fiction. 

Do you “make peace” with your books and just force yourself through them as your deadline approaches, or do you kick them  to the curb to pick up later when you’re more in the mood?

 Do you   attend your book club meeting, book unread?  Do you still review it on your blog, just later? 

Whoever thought reading could be stressful!?  

Let me know what you think in the comments!

Thursday, March 21, 2013

The Fault In Our Stars: A Book Review

After ALA's Youth Media Awards, which was  – live, free and online – (yes, my head almost exploded as I watched it in the workroom that morning, it was THAT awesome), and after compiling my list of ALL THE WINNERS to read, I realized that there was one winner that I had read, and enjoyed SO much that I just had to write a review.


The Odyssey award winner The Fault In Our Stars by John Green


I'm telling you, if you've not read it, go check it out... I'll wait while you run to the shelf or place your hold....

                                                                 My official review: 



     Sixteen year old Hazel Lancaster has been diagnosed with stage IV thyroid cancer which has spread to her lungs. One day as she begrudgingly attends her Cancer Support Group, she meets Augustus Waters, who immediately has eyes for her. 
     Augustus guides Hazel on a journey, focusing on her strengths and passions and keeps her from showing any signs of weakness.  In turn, Hazel finds a love she never thought possible, a courage she didn’t know she had, and a joy that she thought she was incapable of feeling.  
    Green describes the raw emotions of the two main characters unlike other books about this subject. He writes about cancer and its side effects honestly through the eyes of a teenager and takes the reader into the heart of two teenagers in love.


So now that you've all had a chance to take my advice and read (or reread) The Fault In Our Stars, I have to tell you about these amazing book-inspired Fault In Our Stars cupcakes! Check out the video from BEA and HuffPost Books – and I guarantee your mouth will be watering!

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Social Media and Books



 I recently attended this webinar hosted by Publishers Weekly and just the next week, I came across this article online  - nice timing right? Or nice sleuthing, either way you look at it! 

At any rate, it got me to thinking about social media and the act of reading. Reading typically is a solitary activity – one you do curled up on your couch, or on the beach or over lunch or before bedtime … or is that what reading USED to be …

With all of the (constantly upgraded) eReaders and tablets out there I feel that reading is quickly becoming (or already IS) much more social than in years past. There are social reading apps, authors have online presence on Twitter, Facebook, and their personal blogs. 

Gone are the days of the “autographed” postcard being sent to fans via snail mail. And IN are the days of tweeting with your favorite author AS you read their novel (in ARC form or post publication). 

IN are the days of publishers hosting twitter chats, doing cover reveals, and giveaways on Facebook and author blogs to really get the buzz going for the readers. 

IN are the days of established authors helping out debut authors as they join forces in author panels at book festivals across the country. 

I’ll be honest, when I start reading a book, I immediately look for the author on twitter and hope that they have a presence, and that they actually interact  - fortunately I’ve had much success and it really brings that much MORE to my reading experience. 

Gone are the days of the introverted reader, and in are the days of interaction.

So get social – if it’s your thing!

 It certainly makes reading more fun for me when I get to talk directly to the person who actually wrote the book! I mean it’s like talking to a celebrity when you tweet with authors right!

Do you connect with authors or publishers online? Do you think their presence hinders or enhances your reading experience?Let me know in the comments!

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

New Adult


     So there is this new-ish genre floating around in libraryland and publishing called ‘NewAdult’  ….I’m sure you’ve all heard of it – if not --- check out some more info here and here.

     Basically it is that crossover genre between Young Adult and Adult (fiction) – a book that follows the characters around 18-23 years as they enter new adulthood, after college, or post high school …  think the HBO show ‘Girls’, or Meg McCafferty’s  Jessica Darling series

     In the case of the Jessica Darling series, my library has it cataloged across sections with the first two books cataloged as YA, and the last two as Adult Fiction. I find it odd to separate a series like that, but for content purposes I can understand. However, if we had a New Adult section, those last two could be cataloged as such.  Speaking of such, I have heard of some libraries adding this subgenre as a category of its own within their fiction section.  

     I feel like so much attention is focused on the main departments of children’s, teens, and adults, that those ‘new adults’ are getting the short end of the stick in some respects. Their novels are shelved either in Young Adult or Adult …. But we mustn’t forget the many shades of grey …. 

     Do you have a separate section for New Adult titles in your library? What do you think of this new wave in literature?