For these two, it’s all about the lovely script adorning the covers. (And am I the only one who keeps thinking Amy and Roger are facing away from the camera, when they’re actually facing towards it?)

I also love the type treatments on these two. Plus, Wildthorn has a killer corset.

I think I’m generally against real people on book covers, but all of these prove me wrong! So many striking images (I think it’s the eyes), but maybe I also have a fascination with dead girls?

These all win points for beautiful covers that don’t rely on realistic photos of pretty girls. I think the paperback cover of Tender Morsels may be my absolute favorite.

And finally, two covers that feature typography without any people! I cannot get over the gorgeous hand-lettering by Si Scott on the Beautiful Darkness cover.

Wildthorn comes out on September 6!

Find in a library or on Amazon. Add to Goodreads.

Reviewed from a review copy received from the publisher on NetGalley.

How long have you been a librarian?
Unfortunately I’m not yet a librarian! I don’t have the qualification, so I’m simply an Enquiry Assistant, which is somewhere between being a Library Assistant and a Librarian. If all goes well, I’ll have start my MA in Library and Information Science in fall 2011.

I’ve been working as an Enquiry Assistant at Southend Central Library in Southend-on-Sea (in Essex, England) for about a year and nine months.

Why did you want to be a teen librarian?
I enjoy the way that young people–who are still outside of and somewhat suppressed by the adult world–question and challenge its artificial order. I have always been very pro-education and pro-information but uncomfortable with the authoritarian nature of the school system, so reaching teens through the library is a happy medium.

During my adolescence I spent a great deal of time lurking in various branches of San Francisco Public Library (I was born and raised in America). I knew a really wonderful teen librarian named Betsy Levine (who still works at SFPL!) who had a talent for bringing shy teens out of their shells and providing varied and exciting programming. I was inspired by my excellent experience both with the library collection itself and with Betsy specifically!

What steps led you to your current position?
I’m very lucky–I was hired as an Enquiry Assistant without any formal library experience except volunteer work. As soon as I completed preliminary training I asked to get involved with our teen reading group, and my role simply expanded from there. I’ve been very persistent in my enthusiasm for YA lit and teen services, and my supervisors are wonderfully supportive, so I’ve been allowed to assist with and sometimes create new teen-related projects.

What has been your favorite teen program?
My favorite event was definitely our Manga Day, a mini-convention that subsumed our library for one glorious Saturday. The whole thing was complete chaos of the best kind. I especially enjoyed watching some of the shyer young people discover other members of the local geek community and make new friends.

Are there any upcoming programs or events you’re looking forward to?
Working with teens has just been officially added to my professional goals for the next year (previously it was an official part of my post!). I’m just beginning to consider a plan for the next year of teen programming, so nothing’s certain at the moment. My two wonderful managers have invited me to collaborate with them on a three-year teen plan, so I’m quite happy and optimistic about that.

What is the best part about your job?
Helping people of all ages is the best aspect of my job, although it can also be the most frustrating part. I also love creating new teen programs and finding new solutions to seemingly impossible problems (lack of funds, staff, et cetera). Getting to know the teens who come to library programs on a regular basis has been a real pleasure, too.

Are you involved with any professional organizations?
I’m a member of the American Library Association, specifically YALSA, who have awarded me a grant to attend this year’s YALSA conference, which I’m tremendously excited about. I frequently read and post to the YA-YAAC list. I’m also in the process of getting my CILIP membership (CILIP is the UK’s professional library association).

Do you have any favorite online resources?
For YA I often look at teenlibrarian.co.uk (run by the fantastic Matt Imrie) and the YALSA blog for advice on teen programs and events. I read Chicklish for YA reviews, and really enjoy the Book Smugglers’ YA Appreciation Month. Personally I use or refer many people to online libraries such as Project Gutenberg and Internet Archive (the latter not least for its fantastic film stock), and encyclopedias like Wolfram Alpha and of course the ubiquitous Wikipedia.

What are some of your favorite books, series, authors or genres?
I hope you know that this is an unreasonable question to ask someone who works in a library! I’ll just direct you to my Goodreads profile.

As for YA: Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (even though I keep typing “Absolutely True Dairy”–rather a different book, I’d imagine. “The cows had all settled in their…” what is it? Pens? Mangers? Cowsheds? Er, corrals? What do cows settle in?), I adore Garth Nix’s Abhorsen trilogy (which I first read when I was a young teen!), and I enjoy anything Robin McKinley writes. As for supernatural YA novels, Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy series is my absolute favourite–I love the tough-as-nails heroine and the clever incorporation of folklore and invented theology.

More recently I read Jean Ure’s novel Bad Alice, which I highly recommend to teens and adults alike.

Any other favorite pop culture stuff (movies, TV, music, games)?
Horror films are an obsession, as are comics (I mostly enjoy story lines influenced by but just outside the Marvel/DC superhero tradition–The Maxx, Watchmen, Sandman, Preacher, but also love comics like A Child’s Life and Persepolis and Madison Clell’s Cuckoo). Red Dwarf is probably my favourite TV series. At present I’m obsessed with the idea of gaming as a new type of storytelling, and am especially interested in Alternate Reality Games.

Vampires, werewolves, or zombies?
I believe in equal opportunities for all monsters! My favourite horror novel is definitely Let the Right One In, (although I also love Shirley Jackson’s spooky stories), but I also love the Romero and post-Romero zombie. I could go on forever about monsters.

August 18

With Twilight’s popularity, a vampire romance parody was inevitable. Vampires Suck skewers the whole genre, but appears to take aim primarily at the Twilight franchise. This will be an adequate summer diversion for vampire-haters and Twihards who don’t mind being poked fun at.

August 20

Emma Thompson is back as the inimitable Nanny McPhee in Nanny McPhee Returns. Young moviegoers and their families should flock to this movie, as it’s the first family-friendly film to open this month.

Lottery Ticket stars Bow Wow (he’s not Li’l anymore) as a young man who wins a multi-million dollar lottery and must deal with the money-grubbing hijinks of his friends and family. This broad comedy should attract a teen audience, especially those who are fans of Bow Wow, T-Pain, Ice Cube and the other rappers who star in it.

In The Switch, a guy named Wally (Jason Bateman) drunkenly spills the sample from his best friend Kassie’s (Jennifer Aniston) sperm donor and replaces it with his own. Seven years later, he finally meets his son and must confront the situation. While this will mostly appeal to an older audience, teens who are fans of Aniston or Bateman will likely be interested.

Piranha 3D (Rated R) is the latest remake of the 1978 B-movie Piranha. This horror flick stars a host of familiar names including Elisabeth Shue, Jerry O’Connell, and Richard Dreyfuss and features lots of gratuitous blood, gore, and nudity, all in 3D.

August 27

Based on the middle grade novel by Wendelin Van Draanen, Flipped gets a wide release this weekend after a limited release earlier this month. It tells the story of the budding romance between Bryce and Juli from second grade through junior high. Early reviews are mixed, but this looks like an endearing film adaptation that will appeal to younger audiences and families.

Moviegoers looking for something more action-packed should check out Takers, a gritty crime thriller about a group of professional bank robbers reuniting for a big heist.

The Last Exorcism presents itself as “found footage” of a disillusioned minister performing an exorcism. This has been making the film festival circuit and looks like a must-see for horror fans.

What movies are you or your teens most looking forward to this month?

I’m loving the discussion on the Forever YA posts about deal-breakers and deal-makers in YA books.

Check out the Teen Choice Award winners. Lots of love for Twilight, Vampire Diaries, and Pretty Little Liars.

Vote for your favorite YA fantasy characters in the YA Fantasy Showdown. The second round starts on Sunday.

Adele at Persnickety Snark is counting down the top 100 YA books based on votes from her readers. Who will be number one?

GreenBeanTeenQueen wrote a great post about how a librarian’s work extends well past regular working hours. Aspiring librarians should also check out her post, So you want to be a teen librarian?

The New York Times ran an essay about the popularity of teen books among adults. Liz from A Chair, A Fireplace, and a Tea Cozy shares her reaction to the piece, which includes links to other viewpoints.

• Scott Pilgrim is an underachieving 23-year-old who lives with his gay best friend Wallace, plays bass in Sex Bob-omb, and is dating 17-year-old Knives Chau. But when he encounters the mysterious Ramona Flowers, first in his dreams, and then in real life, he ditches Knives for a shot with Ramona. The only catch? He has defeat her seven evil exes before they can date.
• It’s packed with video game references that will delight even the most casual gamer. See a comprehensive list at UGO.
• Music also plays a big part. Scott’s in a three-piece band, Sex Bob-omb, with Kim Pine and Stephen Stills, and several scenes take place at music clubs. Beck wrote the music for the band in the film and members of Broken Social Scene composed the songs for a rival band, Crash and the Boys.
• The series takes place in Toronto and features many local institutions. Several fans have tracked down the sites and the movie was shot on location.



• The Toronto Reference Library is featured in two scenes in the graphic novel. Scott first sees Ramona in real life there and Knives Chau fights Ramona in the library’s main room.
• According to WorldCat, 401 libraries have the first volume cataloged and 236 have the series cataloged. (Including the Toronto Public Library, natch)
• Director Edgar Wright is also responsible for Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead, and the British tv series Spaced (available on Hulu!).
• The movie’s groundbreaking interactive trailer is played like a video game and includes behind-the-scenes featurettes and other tidbits of information. You can also create your own avatar.
• The comics were also adapted into a downloadable video game for the PlayStation Network and XBox Live Arcade.

Have you read the books? Planning to see the movie? Let me know in the comments!

Check out Anne’s post on the challenge at My Head is Full of Books. She’s already finished! She read Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952) by C.S. Lewis for the 1950s.

Lindsey from Ten Stories Up read A Separate Peace (1959) by John Knowles.

¤¤¤

Beverly Cleary’s Fifteen, published in 1956, tells the story of a few months in the life of fifteen-year-old Jane Purdy. Jane considers herself an ordinary girl – she spends most of her free time babysitting, her parents are embarrassing, and she wants nothing more than a cute boyfriend with a car. Things start to look up when she meets Stan Crandall, the new boy in town, and he invites her to the movies. Jane really likes him, and thinks he likes her, but not everything goes as planned. He spends too much time talking to cool girl Marcy, their date to Chinatown involves eating bizarre foods, and he doesn’t invite her to the first school dance. Will things ever go Jane’s way?

Fifteen is a fun and pleasant read, but doesn’t offer much in the way of substance. Jane does learn to be herself and not worry what others think about her, but most of the book is concerned with whether or not Stan will call her after one seemingly embarrassing event or another. Still, Jane’s affability and naivete are endearing and the other characters, however briefly mentioned, are fun as well. Many of Jane’s concerns – embarrassing parents, what to wear, will he call? – still apply to today’s teens, even if they’re not worried about their mother not wearing stockings, wearing the same suit twice, and tying up the party phone line. I definitely found this more accessible than Seventeenth Summer, which has a similar storyline, but that probably has more to do with Cleary’s writing style than cultural differences due to time period. I could see tweens enjoying this, especially for those who are graduating from Cleary’s younger books.

Find in a library or on Amazon.

Covers Through the Decades:

August 6

The Other Guys features Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg as two incompetent NYC cops who find themselves hot on the tail of some of the city’s biggest criminals. This buddy cop comedy from Adam McKay (Anchorman, Talladega Nights) may have the right combination of star power and broad humor to knock Inception from its box office throne.

The latest installment in the popular dance franchise, Step Up 3D looks to be its most extravagant venture yet. The plot in this is secondary to the all-out dance battles, which should be fantastic and the dance crews are packed with alums from teen favorites So You Think You Can Dance and America’s Best Dance Crew.

August 13

Julia Roberts stars in the big-screen adaptation of the Elizabeth Gilbert bestseller Eat Pray Love, which opens this weekend. A recent divorcee heads off on a journey to find herself in Italy, India, and Bali through food, spirituality, and romance. Though primarily for an older demographic, this will likely appeal to many older teen girls especially with Glee’s Ryan Murphy directing.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, based on the graphic novel series by Bryan Lee O’Malley, stars Michael Cera as a lovable doofus who must defeat the seven evil exes of his new love interest before dating her. Chock full of video game references, hip music tracks, and epic fight scenes, this film is made for the teen and twenty-something set and is being heavily marketed to them. (This is my most highly-anticipated movie of the summer, and maybe even the year!)

The Expendables (Rated R) is an action movie for action movie fans. Directed by Sylvester Stallone and starring himself and other action movie veterans like Jet Li, Steve Austin, Bruce Willis, Jason Statham, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, the movie focuses on a team of mercenaries sent to overthrow a South American dictator. But the plot hardly matters in this kind of mindless summer escape, which is perfect for older teens looking for a distraction.

Best bets

Maybe I’m being optimistic after a summer of so-so movies, but most of these actually look tolerable. My heart’s with Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, though, and I think lots of teens will fall for it as well.

Coming up

Paranormal romance parody Vampires Suck, Nanny McPhee Returns, the sequel to the 2005 kid’s charmer, Lottery Ticket, a comedy starring Bow Wow, The Switch with Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman, horror remake Piranha 3D (Rated R), the film adapation of the middle-grade novel Flipped, action thriller Takers, documentary-style horror film The Last Exorcism, and Going the Distance (Rated R), with Drew Barrymore and Justin Long

Rose Sees Red comes out on August 1!

Find in a library or on Amazon.
Add to Goodreads.

Other reviews:
Stacked
Abby (the) Librarian

Reviewed from an ARC received from the author.

Overall, I like Goodreads for its social features, LibraryThing for its extensive cataloging features, and Shelfari for its community-added metadata like character lists and “ridiculously simple synopses”.

Find me on Goodreads or LibraryThing.

What site(s) do you use for personal or professional use?

Read on for in-depth looks at each site.

Goodreads

Though Goodreads was actually one of the later book social networking sites to join the fray in December 2006, it has quickly become the largest. It boasts 3.4 million members who have added more than 100 million books. Goodreads is completely free, so it’s supported by ads, but those ads are always book-related.

It’s easy to add books, which are added to one of three “shelves” — read, to-read, and currently reading. You can also add custom shelves and sort you shelves by categories like author, title, average rating, date added, etc. You can rate each book on a five-star scale, enter a review, and keep track on date started and finished (though only once).

The biggest appeal of Goodreads is the social aspect. You can connect your account with Facebook and Twitter and easily find friends to add. The homepage highlights your friends’ updates, so you can see what they’ve been reading and what they’re adding to their shelves. There are also thousands of groups on any topic you can imagine. I’ve even found a local book group that now meets in real life.

While the site doesn’t do any automatic book recommending a la Amazon, each book page records lists the book appears on, what other books members looked at, and prominently displays your friends’ reviews. I’ve found plenty to read just from seeing what my friends are reading.

The Goodreads giveaways section has been gradually expanding and there are always plenty of book giveaways to enter with the click on a button.

LibraryThing

LibraryThing, which has been around since 2005, is small compared to Goodreads with 1.1 million members who have cataloged over 52 million books. As a partly paid service, it’s more professional and ad-free. Users can catalog up to 200 books for free — for more, it’s $10 for a year or $25 for a lifetime membership (though there is a pay-what-you-can option).

The focus here is more on cataloging books than socializing. Adding books is easy and members are encouraged to tag them with keywords, rate them on a five-star scale, and add them to “collections”. Since the focus was originally on books you owned, there wasn’t always a way to keep track of to-be-read books, though that is now incorporated into the collections feature. You can create and add books to multiple collections. Your library is displayed very visually with lots of options for sorting and categorizing your collection.

You can have friends or just watch interesting libraries, but those connections aren’t very prominent on the site. The groups are fairly active though, with a lot of good discussion in the Librarians who LibraryThing and the Read YA Lit groups. For me, LibraryThing is more personal and Goodreads is more social. I only have two real-life friends on LibraryThing versus 30-some on Goodreads.

One of LibraryThing’s strong suits is the metadata it collects about each book. Besides usual things like publication date and series, it lists character names, important places, related movies, first and last words, and epigraphs. All of this data is user-driven, so it’s not comprehensive, but it’s still a fun way to browse books.

LibraryThing also has an automatic book recommending feature based on books in your library compared with similar libraries and even has Unsuggestions, which are the opposite of recommendations. It even has a feature that guesses how much you will like a particular book, but it’s a little shaky.

They also have giveaways, but only once a month and with a less extensive selection than Goodreads.

Shelfari

Shelfari launched in October 2006 and was acquired by Amazon in 2008. They don’t publicize their user numbers, but it ranks third of the three sites profiled here on website analytics site Compete. It’s free, but the ads seem to be more prominent that on Goodreads. The interface is flashy and focuses on the book covers. I’m not as familiar with Shelfari, though I did play around with it recently.

Adding books is very easy. Books can be marked as “plan to read”, “reading now”, or “I’ve read it”. You can also indicate if you own it, when you read it, its purchase date, if it’s signed, if its on your wishlist, or if you’ve lent it to a friend. Books can also be rated on a five-star scale, tagged with keywords, or reviewed. Your books are displayed visually on a shelf and can be sorted by rating, author, title, or review. It doesn’t seem to offer any custom shelves for users, though.

Each book’s page has a wealth of information and even has the option to hide spoilers, which is enabled by default. Some unique features include a “ridiculously simplified synopsis”, a descriptive cast of characters, table of contents, themes/symbolism, and movie info. It’s maintained like a wiki by the community, so the information isn’t complete or verified, but it can be a powerful reader’s advisory tool. Each book has user recommended titles as well as the Amazon Customers Who Bought This Book Also Bought feature.

Since I don’t actively keep an account here, I don’t know much about the friends feature, but the groups look active and the book pages I viewed are well maintained with useful information.