Bookish Links du Jour 3/8/15

Oh no! There's much consternation on the internets, as author Shannon Hale talks about a sadly frequent phenomenon. Being invited as an author to school visits and finding that only the girls have been invited to her program.

Digital natives prefer reading in print! E-books are gaining in popularity, but the number of readers who read e-books exclusively is still actually very small. Many prefer to switch back and forth, and of course, there are a lot of die-hards who just always prefer paper.

Reading aloud to young children, especially before they start school is one of the best ways to increase reading readiness and future scholastic success. Here's a recent academic paper which breaks down just how much benefit there is to reading children's literature. They show that picture books use 50% more rare words and provide much richer vocabulary than your average children's television show. Also, reading 20 minutes a day will expose your child to over 1,800,000 vocabulary words over the course of a year!

Bookish Links du Jour 3/1/15

Here's one way to enjoy the snowy weather...

Is that a #Hogwarts snow sculpture we see?! MT @PeteKotsonis: Lumos! #harrypotter pic.twitter.com/vGSUlTqY0o
— Scholastic (@Scholastic) February 25, 2015

There's a new Dr. Seuss book is coming out this summer. What Pet Should I Get? is a continuation of One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish and makes for the seventh posthumously published Seuss book (not counting the 40 plus Cat in the Hat adaptations put out by Tish Rabe and Bonnie Worth.)

Grinches are looking to shut down Little Free Libraries, usually citing building codes and permits. What a shame. The basic idea behind Little Free Libraries is so charming and beautiful - to share favorite books with the community and foster neighborliness. If I had one argument with Little Free Libraries, it's that sadly, I see too many people treat them as "dumping grounds" for books of questionable quality. I've seen far too many moldy books, tattered newspapers, outdated appliance manuals and the like stashed in LFL's around town. C'mon, people! Use them in the spirit that they're intended and the world will be a better place.

People are talking about Pattern Recognition's blog post about shamefully low library director salaries in the rural U.S. Check out the comments for some interesting opinions.

Bookish Links du Jour 2/22/15

Enjoy this video: Book nerd problems: Getting a book wet! This is a major emergency. Help is needed, STAT.



Experience every dystopian novel trope at once, in this delightful twitter send-up of the genre: @DystopianYA For example: "It's the night before my 17th birthday, which means in a few hours, I'll have to face the mysterious Test to determine my future."

Oh my. Here's a book written by a staunch anti-vaxxer, Melanie's Marvelous Measles by Stephanie Messenger. Amazon reviewers have provided some delightfully snarky comments, for example, "As a carpenter who specializes in itty bitty coffins I can't say enough good things about this book, my customer base has been growing at an epidemic rate!" Check out more reviews on the site.

Bookish Links du Jour 1/8/15

Hurrah - Jane Austen themed nail art.

Wow, Maggie Steifvater creates Tarot cards inspired by her Raven Cycle series.

After more than 50 years, Harper Lee is publishing a sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird, and controversy ensues. Was she pressured into it? She says she's "happy as hell" about the new book, Go Set a Watchman. I think it's safe to say that no one could have seen this coming - I remember my high school English teacher lauding Harper Lee as the perfect example that everyone has "at least one" book in them.

Harry Potter news

Harry Potter news: new art has been revealed! I like how the characters don't look movie star perfect in these illustrations.


What?? This lady apparently has a beef with Harry Potter fans in her rant against this wonderful Golden Snitch engagement ring. I'm astonished! First, even if you don't know what it is, it's a lovely looking ring. Second, for folks who grew up with Harry Potter, there's so much positive symbolism there. As a huge nerd myself, I am all for book-inspired jewelry.

J.K. Rowling gives some writing advice on twitter.

Bookish Links du Jour 1/18/15

What caught my eye this week on the internets?
Here's a smattering of news and other tidbits that I thought looked interesting.

Neil Gaiman provides an awesome shortcut on how to be a writer.

Is there a library with a 3-D printer near you?

Cool maps of literary places.

IKEA's ad for their 2015 catalog spoofs Apple products with its revolutionary "bookbook."

Bookish Links du Jour 1/4/15

What's caught my attention this week on the internets?

Here's a smattering of news and other tidbits that I thought looked interesting.

Thoughts on how to read more (especially in the new year)

Lots of buzz on wacky questions posed to librarians, pre-Internet days. I've had some entertaining questions in my day, but nothing beats these.

Yay! Rainbow Rowell is writing a Simon Snow book (the fictional character from Fangirl).

Check out this awesome book-stamp t-shirt from Book Riot:

Readgeek

Here's a fun website to predict what books you might like to read in future. I don't know if it was super accurate for me - but it is supposed to get more accurate the more books you rate.

Check it out: www.readgeek.com

What Do You Feel Like Reading Infographic

Here's a great infographic from Random House... what do you feel like reading?

Book shoes

Here are some amazing book-themed shoes.

Happy Fourth!

Happy Fourth of July!

Literature Map

Here's something fun: go to www.literature-map.com and type in the name of an author. Other writers similar to that author will appear in a cloud, with those most similar showing up closest. I like the way the names scramble and wiggle for a spot before they settle down. Click on any other name for a new map. Wow!

Famous Books in Every State

Business Insider, of all places, put together a fabulous graphic of the most famous book from/about every U.S. state. How many of these have you read?

Raising Readers

Check out this article just published on CNN about how to raise a reader. I'm quoted in it as a children's literature expert. There's a ton of information in their slide show about all the various children's book awards as well.

From Dahl, to Sendak, to Dr. Seuss and others, young readers are spoiled for choice. There's a reason why Dr. Seuss in particular gets a nationwide celebration -- or Seussibration, for those in the know -- on his birthday, March 2: He created a niche with his wacky characters, and accessible writing style.

"It's a really simple vocabulary; it's easy to begin to read, if you're a beginning reader, but (the books) still have a really great sense of humor," said Madigan McGillicuddy, a children's librarian in Atlanta. "There is so much packed in there that builds a lifetime love of reading."

Dawn Treader Book Dragon

Wow! Check out this amazing recycled book art. It's the Dawn Treader from the Narnia series.

Found on http://www.deviantart.com/art/The-Dawn-Treader-209243630

Book Lovers infographic

I just found this neat infographic. What kind of Book Lover are you? I'm having a hard time deciding, myself. I think I'm split between at least four different sub-types!



Infographic by Laura E. Kelly

398.2 Necklace

I love this necklace from Etsy seller MoonGardenDesigns. I get the joke - do you?

Litograph T-shirts

I've posted before about amazing posters made up of the entire text of a book.
Now there are t-shirts using the same concept. Hurrah!

Pulp-o-Mizer

Check out this cool website: PULP-O-MIZER: the custom pulp magazine cover generator.
Fun! Here's one I cooked up... 

There are lots of options to change the image, text, font, everything, and when you're done, you can purchase posters, mugs, iPad covers, you name it, with your image. Enjoy!

Think books

This is really neat. Really makes you think, eh?