The Librarian's Lounge

Tweet!

I decided to break down and investigate Twitter today, after a long period of resistance due to a fear of extra time-suckage. What led me to do it today? Two things: Internet Librarian 2008 is coming up and I want to be connected to people there, and this article about how Twitter is still going strong. Curiosity has, at long last, gotten the better of me about the twittersphere. You can find me here. Note the missing "s" in my user name - I was one letter short of being able to use the full title of my blog, ergo the trim.

I'm still getting used to Typepad's upgraded interface, but I have to say I really like it! The composing window is much more user-friendly now.

My latest online find is SLG Publishing, the publisher of my current graphic novel favorite, Rex Libris. It's pure genius. SLG has lots of interesting titles, it turns out, and I put in my first order with them today. I found Rex at a local library, but can't find much else by this publisher available this way. I figure this is a good investment for me professionally, though, since I'd really like to expand my knowledge of graphic novels and manga in general. As far as Rex goes - it's funny, well-written, has awesome illustrations and is intelligent to boot - what more could one ask for? Rex is my new hero. 

Web Roundup

What do you get when you mash together a book and Google Maps?

Learn how to make your own invisible bookshelf.

In Finland, a novel comprised entirely of text messages is published.

A list of the top 100 alternative search engines.

I'm infatuated with The Monster Librarian. Check out his page for all your horror readers advisory information for all ages! One of the greatest features of this website is the "coming soon" information. I love the Genre Reader's Bill of Rights!

Longing to go back to school but don't have the dough? Check out this huge list of free classes available online - here's your chance to attend MIT, Berkeley, and Notre Dame simultaneously, if desired!

Something about author John Green's Brotherhood 2.0 just tickles me. I'm hooked. I especially like the bookfights.

Book Trailers Galore

Through a MySpace friend request, I've discovered ExpandedBooks.com, a site that is comprised of various types of book trailers. Included are the Teen Book Video Award winners mentioned in a previous entry, interviews with authors, and some that just look like commercials. The best are those that actually look like previews to a movie, such as the one for A Great and Terrible Beauty (That one in particular makes me wonder if any movie studios have discovered potential film material from book trailers yet.)

The videos can be browsed by genre, author, and title, and there are some for every age. There are quite a few non-fiction selections, to my delight. One of the best non-fiction trailers is for The Tender Bar by J.R. Moehringer. I like how it weaves together both an author interview with flashback scenes into the author's life to illustrate the story.

These would be great to incorporate into a library's website or blog and are an example of how libraries can use technology to promote materials.

Booklist Now Online

Read all about it in this article from ALA's website: Booklist Online Launches Respected Review Magazine Into Cyberspace. Unfortunately, much of the content is available only by subscription. With prices like these ($295 annually for an individual membership and starting at $425 for small public libraries), let's hope that a subscription to the print magazine will include access gratis. ALA's subscription page for Booklist does not currently address this.

Jesus Land: A Memoir

I just couldn't put this book by Julia Scheeres down. The story, overall, is one of endurance - both the author's and her brothers', both the mundane type of being a teen or a new kid in town as well as the sobering kind needed to deal with racial discrimination and all forms of physical and emotional abuse. But in the end, the abuse she suffered, first at the hands of her parents and then at Esquela Caribe, was not what I found most compelling. What really got to me was the relationship she shared with her younger adopted brother, David. The memoir's epilogue was tragically nonsensical in a way only real life can be.

The author has a blog that links to The Truth About New Horizons Youth Ministries, a site created by alumni of the school she attended (and other related educational institutions). That there needs to be an International Survivors Action Committee because there are so many kids going through these types of programs is just scary. Congressman George Miller, all the power to you in your inquiries.