Making a List, Checking it Twice ...

... of books to take on Christmas vacation with me!

I still have some reading to finish for the Cybils, but I'm also packing some books that are just for me.  I intend to fully relax over the holidays.

I have two historical romances.  I've been very excited about COLD-HEARTED RAKE, Lisa Kleypas's return to historicals.  Eloisa James is another historical author that I love, and I picked up a copy of AN AFFAIR BEFORE CHRISTMAS because it seemed thematically appropriate.

I made an amazing second-hand store find at my local Half Price Books: INSTEAD OF THREE WISHES by Megan Whalen Turner.  This collection of seven short stories is hard to find (in my experience).  I love Turner's Queen's Thief series, so I'm happy to try something else by her - especially something this short!

LANCELOT AND THE LORD OF THE DISTANT ISLES or, THE BOOK OF GALEHAUT Retold is an Old French medieval romance that fell into obscurity until this translation by Patricia Terry and Samuel N. Rosenberg in 2006.  This edition also includes wood engravings by Judith Jaidinger.  I'm a huge fan of Arthurian romance, and Galehaut is said to include quite the interesting love triangle.

What are you reading?

Books for Christmas

I've been wrapping all weekend, which has made me well aware that I'm gifting more than ten books this Christmas.  I think all the recipients will really enjoy the ones I've chosen, however.

(One of my cousins is the easiest, because she likes YA fantasy.)

Do you give books as gifts?  How do you choose which ones?

I try to pick ones with appealing titles and covers, in addition to thinking they'll fit the person.  I want it to be a book they'll try to read, instead of tossing it aside and thinking, "Boring."

Need any help trying to decide on a book gift for someone?

Pick-Me-Up Books

I have a cold and it looks like I am feeling too muffled* to finish either my review of GOODBYE STRANGER by Rebecca Stead or FUZZY MUD by Louis Sachar.  For now, I'll say that they're just as good as you'd expect from those two names.

*It didn't help that I accidentally splashed some of my curry in my eye.  You were supposed to make me feel better, curry!

I'll ask a discussion question instead.  What are your favorite books when you're feeling ill or otherwise down?  What books help you feel better?

Why book bloggers use pseudonyms

Last January, I read NO ONE ELSE CAN HAVE YOU and thought it was a funny little mystery, just falling onto the right side of the twee line.  Yesterday, author Kathleen Hale published a piece for the Guardian, "Am I being catfished?" that reveals that a) she has no idea what catfishing is and b) stalked a book blogger without realizing she was doing anything wrong.

It is a horrifying article.  She finds the woman's address and work address.  I sometimes consider just going by my real name here, since it is a bit of an open secret.  But then I read this.

So yes authors, many of the book bloggers you interact with are using fake names.  Maybe lying about their personal details to muddy the waters.  Obviously, this is one incident with one disturbed person.  (See another article by Hale where she throws hydrogen peroxide in a girl's face and stalks her for two years and yet still makes herself out to be the victim.  Wow.)  Still, I think I'll keep my pseudonym. 

Also, kudos to HarperTeen for backing away from this mess.

#WeNeedDiverseBooks

The We Need Diverse Books campaign has started.  Why do you think we need diverse books?

Here's my reason:

We all have stories to tell.

We all deserve stories that speak to us.

#WeNeedDiverseBooks

Weekend Challenge: Read Outside Your Comfort Zone

One of my goals for 2013 is to read more nonfiction.  I've started by reading several memoirs.  (No, this is not an invitation to send me a review request for a memoir.  I already get about five a day and that's when I haven't invited them at all.)  Why not start with a genre that skirts the line between fiction and nonfiction?  The latest is LET'S PRETEND THIS NEVER HAPPENED by Jenny Lawson (The Bloggess), which is even subtitled A Mostly True Memoir.  I prefer her blog, although the two are very similar.  It just works better for me in bite-sized blog form.

It's been easy to pick up memoirs, as Harper Perennial at least almost always has them on sale.  (And I can't help but notice them because I love the Harper Perennial tumblr.)  That also made it an easy place to start.  Then there's the fact that memoirs are just plain popular.  There has to be a reason.  But while I do enjoy a good graphic memoir, so far I am not clicking with the prose memoirs I've picked up.  (On the graphic side, I highly recommend recent Cybils finalists DARKROOM by Lila Quintero Weaver and LITTLE WHITE DUCK by Na Liu and illustrated by Andres Vera Martinez.)

Even if my foray into memoirs hasn't been successful so far, I'm enjoying trying.  And I just know I'll find the one that works for me eventually and be able to find some more good titles from there.  (I've been saving LIFE by Keith Richards and JUST KIDS by Patti Smith for the end of my memoir reading because I'll be bereft if I don't enjoy those.)

I've also got some non-memoir nonfiction in my TBR now, like STIFF by Mary Roach.

My challenge for you, this weekend, is to start a book that's outside of your comfort zone.  It doesn't have to be really far outside.  Love the softer side of science fiction?  Try something harder.  Really into urban fantasy?  Try a paranormal romance.  But if you want to go farther, why not?  Pick up a manga - or an American superhero comic.  Check out some short stories.  Venture into the mystery section.  Experiment with a super serious literary or classic author that you're intimidated by.  I've heard CRIME AND PUNISHMENT is a real page turner.  (Yes, it is on my TBR!)

I'm willing to help.  If you've got an idea of what type of book you want to try but don't have a specific title in mind, I'm willing to give you suggestions.  I'm pretty widely read . . . as long as you aren't looking for a nonfiction recommendation.  Even then, I might surprise you.

BBAW: The Finish Line!

It's day five of Book Blogger Appreciation Week and time to say goodbye to the event for another year.  Sadly, the event coincided with compute problems and I basically wasn't able to get on at all on Thursday and likely won't be able to explore much today either.  It's still been fun!

I think the interviews were the highlight of the week.  It was a great way to learn about a number of bloggers quickly.

I also loved clinking on random names on the daily link lists and finding all sorts of new blogs.  I can get stuck in my blogroll, so it's nice to discover some new blood!  The first day was also great for finding new blogs to read since everyone recommended their favorites.

The conversation has also been wonderful.  It's lovely to talk to so many bloggers every day.  I'll have to try to keep it up!

What did you like best about BBAW?

BBAW: What Book Blogging Means to Me

It's day three of Book Blogger Appreciation Week and I'm not sure how to approach today's topic.  What does book blogging mean to me?

It's not a question with a concrete answer.  Book blogging means a lot of different things to me.  On the most basic level, it means writing about books in a place where others can easily discover and read that writing.  But that's not a very interesting answer.

Part of my motivation for blogging, that is quite relevant to this week, is to push myself out of my comfort zone.  There is a social connotation to blogging and I'm not at my smoothest when meeting new people.  In person, I tend to be quiet around people until I get to know them and then I don't shut up.  But on my blog, no one is going to speak up if I don't.  I have to be chatty from the word go.  The more I blog, the better I get at it.  And let's face it, social skills are super important.

The comfort zone pushing applies to books as well.  I have my favorite niches.  I'd probably go crazy if I wasn't allowed to read anything but urban fantasy novels, but it would take longer than if I was asked to read only modern poetry.  There's nothing wrong with modern poetry, but I prefer it in small doses.  I also don't seek it out.

But the thing about book blogging is you don't always have to seek something out.  You'll get pitches from people who obviously never read your review policy, but some of those books will sound interesting anyway.  You'll enter a contest on a whim and win a book you might not have been willing to pay for.  You'll see books on someone else's blog, on Tumblr, on Goodreads, on LibraryThing, and you'll remember it and read it later.  Book blogging is throwing yourself bodily into the path of new, strange, wondrous books.

Some of those books will be total crap, but let's not talk about that.

So what does book blogging mean to you?  Is this a question that makes you want to run for cover?  Because that's kind of how it makes me feel.

Amazon Trolling?

Like most book bloggers, I crosspost my reviews to Amazon.  Today I noticed that four of my mini-reviews (posted here on Friday) had been commented on.  It's rare that one of my reviews gets a comment, much less four, so I went ahead and clicked over to each review.

First I read this comment on my review of THE VICIOUS DEEP:

"Horrible book...and mermaids are fiction, just like the moon landing."

Now that's just hilarious.  I laughed a little then went on to the next comment, figuring it would be something silly too.  The next one I read was left on SERAPHINA.

"I can't believe you gave this book 5 stars.  With its graphic references and violence, it is not suitable for children.  Peddling this smut to children is the same as peddling them cigarettes."

I still found this one funny, although I began to worry that dear Stefan Buckman might be serious.  Strangely, there are actually people who think like that.  But considering SERAPHINA isn't graphically violent or sexy, I assume the comment is parody.

Next comes this headscratcher on my review of OF POSEIDON:

"This book did not end abruptly, and your review is misleading on the product.  Emma spurns Galen's advances, as she should because he is a tyrannical jerk, and then she singlehandedly slays the acid-spewing chimera.  Bam!  Resolution."

This one is odd because it sounds like an actual comment on the book, but isn't even close to what happens.  So for those who haven't read the book, don't fear that you've just been spoiled.  There are no chimeras involved.

Finally, I clicked over to my review of ENCHANTED, curious to see what Stefan Buckman had to say this time.  But it wasn't Stefan Buckman!

"Liviania told me if I didn't leave a good review she would kill my family so i really liked this book"

And I don't even know what to do with that.  It's creepy, not funny.  I suppose I could deny the allegation.  In case it needs to be said, I have never threatened anyone to review a book well, and anyone includes William D Buckman and his family.  (Which I suppose would include Stefan Buckman?)  Aside from that, I just don't know.

But now I'm curious.  Have any of ya'll ever been trolled on Amazon?  What's the strangest comment you've received on a review?

Soundalike Titles

It seems like every once in awhile you stumble upon two books that have the same title, or nearly the same title.  Usually they're easy to tell apart because they're different genres, or aimed at different age groups, or something.  But I've noticed a lot of similar YA titles recently.



I am currently reading BETWEEN YOU & ME by Marisa Calin, which comes out in August from Bloomsbury Children's.  Earlier this month I reviewed THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOU AND ME by Madeleine George.  Both of the books contain QUILTBAG content and are well-suited by their title.  But wait!  There's more.  You'll never guess what Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus's new book, released this month, is titled.  That's right.  BETWEEN YOU AND ME.

But this isn't just a problem for contemporaries.



Last fall, DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE by Laini Taylor made a big splash.  (If you haven't read it yet, there will be a free download of the audiobook in August.)  This month I reviewed SHADOW AND BONE by Leigh Bardugo, which was released to a lot of hype. In April Knopf Books for Young Readers published Robin Wasserman's THE BOOK OF BLOOD AND SHADOW.

Any day now I expect to see a notice for BETWEEN SMOKE AND SHADOW, the first in an urban fantasy trilogy about a lesbian trying to achieve her dream of stardom and escape the man who wants to control her hypnotic voice.  (Honestly, I would read that.)

Have you noticed any startlingly similar titles lately?

Armchair BEA: Ask the Experts

Banner by Nina @ Nina Reads

The final day of Armchair BEA is about the future of book blogging.  It is a day to share tips and ask questions.  I'm going to start by asking a few questions and finish with my (limited) wisdom.  I may have four years of blogging behind me, but I have a lot to learn!

1. Will you visit In Bed With Books after ABEA is over?
2. What made you want or not want to return?
3. Are there any features of IBWB that you think are really cool?
4. What do you think of the layout?
5. What could I change to improve IBWB?

And now, my top five book blogging tips!

1. Never, ever turn on reCAPTCHA or whatever your blog's equivalent is.  It makes it hard to post comments, especially when you have to try three times to answer correctly like me.  If you want to build a community, don't make it hard to take part.  (ETA: If you have a spam problem, turn on comment moderation instead.)
2. Don't clutter your sidebar(s).  A clean layout loads faster and is easier to follow.
3. Always credit.  Did you take a graphic from somewhere?  Add a caption.  Did someone's review affect your perception of the book?  Link it.  Are you paraphrasing someone?  Link the original.  Are you quoting someone?  State who you're quoting.  It doesn't take more than a couple of seconds to give proper credit.  Thievery is not cool.
4. Keep sticky notes handy or tear a piece of paper into little bits to serve as markers.  Use these to tag pages with important quotes or events that represent the beginning, middle, and end of the story.  Doesn't have to be many; I usually tag three to five things.  Before writing your review, read those pages.  By the time you're done reading, you might've forgotten how the book began.
5. Visit blogs that aren't on your blogroll at least once a week.  Seeing something fresh can spark your creativity. 

ETA:  Just for fun, have a behind-the-scenes peek at IBWB. (Click for full size.)

Armchair BEA: Why Monetize?

Banner by Nina @ Nina Reads

The topic today is "Beyond Your Blog."  The idea is what opportunities - writing elsewhere, special events, etc. have opened up to you because of blogging.  The other idea: how you monetize your blog.

I see a lot of posts about how terrible ads on blogs are.  That they ruin the purity of the experience.  How dare someone try to make money from their blog!

First, let's think of some possible expenses:

• Buying a domain name and hosting
• Paying a graphic designer for a logo or blog layout
• Buying and mailing giveaway prizes
• Traveling to signing and conventions
• Buying books at signings and conventions
• Printing business cards or bookmarks to direct people to your blog

Now, because I don't have much money, I don't have many of those expenses.  I use a free blogging platform and make it look as pretty as I can with a free template.  I haven't hosted a contest where I mail out the prize in awhile.  I only attend signings and conventions where I can stay with friends or family and I tightly budget while there.  I haven't printed business cards, though I know I can get them for the price of shipping at Vistaprint.

I do use Amazon affiliate links.  If you click on a book cover in one of my reviews, it will take you to Amazon.  The money made, if you buy, goes to Sybil of The Good, The Bad and the Unread.  Why?  Because she sends me books to review for the site.  People buying books for In Bed With Books means she can ship me review copies for TGTBTU.  I created an Indiebound affiliate ID, but I've never used it.  I probably should.

As for ads, I briefly turned on Google AdSense ads and made no money.  I've been considering Project Wonderful, but that's probably a long shot.  Perhaps I could sell an above the fold ad directly.

So why have I been considering adding advertising to my blog when I have low expenses?  Because I am doing something worth being paid for.

As a blogger I:

• Write and edit several articles a week totaling thousands of words
• Spend at least an hour a day on blog-related business
• Email professionals about business
• Research my chosen field of interest
• Analyze Google Analytics, pmetrics, and Site Meter to determine where traffic is coming from and how I can build my audience
• Social network
• Build a brand - and yes, it is a brand

These are all things people get paid to do.

I am not making money from In Bed With Books.  There are no ads in my sidebars.  But there is no reason I couldn't be making money.  There is nothing wrong with blogs that make their owners money.

What we do is valuable.  It is not about the purity of loving books, but about being recognized for what we do.  If you want to monetize, go for it.  Haters gonna hate.  My advice?  Just make sure you get paid fairly.  I've had someone offer to pay me $10 for a permalink in a post. Yeah right.

Armchair BEA: Networking IRL

Banner by Nina @ Nina Reads

I've started and restarted this post, because I am not sure what to say.  I've met people in real life after meeting them through this blog and I've done true networking in real life for the blog.  But I'm not sure I have any great advice aside from, "Get out of your house and talk to people.  Go to a bookstore, a library, anywhere you stand in long lines.  You'll find other readers."

I tend to be shy when I first meet people, so I like to carry around a laminated card I got from my friend and former roommate S.  I do not know who wrote it, but it was produced by the Business Honors Program at UT-Austin.

The front reads:

Introducing Yourself

In 30-60 seconds, talk about your:

• Education and how you entered the field
• Skills, strengths, and accomplishments
• General job focus and possible future career plans

The back reads:

Making a Good Impression

1. Use direct eye contact and a firm handshake when introducing yourself.
2. Listen attentively, and acknowledge what you have heard.
3. Show genuine interest.
4. Find out what you have in common with the other person.
5. Close the conversation.
6. When appropriate, follow-up with a phone call, email, or card.

I think the making a good impression instructions are straightforward and easy to apply to meeting fellow bloggers, authors, publicists, and other publishing professionals in real life. The introduction section, however, is geared toward business and getting hired rather than blogging.  I still think it works.

How?  You should have a quick, minute or less introduction ready for you and your blog.  What do you write about?  Who is your audience?  How big is your audience?  What do you want to feature on your blog in the future?

Here's a simple version of what I usually say: "Hello, I'm [Real Name] and I write the blog In Bed With Books under the name Liviania.  I review young adult books, although I sometimes cover other books that I love."  I stop there if talking to another blogger.  To a publishing professional, I add something like,  "My audience is mostly twenty and thirty-year-old professional women.  I have over a thousand subscribers through Google Friend Connect and FeedBurner and approximately 200 page views a day."  After you introduce yourself, let them make their introduction.

It is extremely important to be honest.  At the Texas Library Association conference in April, I spoke to many non-young adult publishers despite running a young adult blog.  Why not?  I am interested in books I never post about here and it's fun to talk to people about the books that get them excited.  But because I was honest, I found books that were relevant to the blog that I would never have found on my own.  Don't try to lie about who you are and what you do in order to appeal more to someone else.  Chances are that who you really are could be exactly who they're looking for.

Just be cool.  I like to carry the card around because it reminds me that almost everyone struggles with networking.  It is awkward to forge a connection with someone in a couple of minutes.  But it's easier if you're prepared, direct, and calm.  (Also, I dress fancy because it makes me feel more confident.)

Armchair BEA: Best of 2012

Today's Armchair BEA discussion is the Best Books of 2012.  (It's also giveaway day, so be sure to enter to win a SHADOW OF NIGHT prize pack.)

Yesterday I mentioned that two of my favorite books so far are SMART GIRLS GET WHAT THEY WANT by Sarah Strohmeyer and FOR DARKNESS SHOWS THE STARS by Diana Peterfreund.  My reviews of those books will be posted here on their release dates.  But as I received SMART GIRLS through the Amazon Vine program, my review is already visible on Amazon.  I hope it gets you excited for this release!  You can whet your appetite for Peterfreund's latest with the prequel AMONG THE NAMELESS STARS. (Link via Bookshelves of Doom.)

I'm also a fan of recent literary release BILLY LYNN'S LONG HALFTIME WALK, which I haven't posted about yet.  The author, Ben Fountain, was my creative writing teacher in college.  He's a great guy and has a real gift.  Today BILLY LYNN is the Nook Daily Find.  Amazon has price matched B&N on the Kindle.  If you click on the cover you'll be taken to Amazon, where you can buy BILLY LYNN'S LONG HALFTIME WALK for $1.99.  I highly suggest you do it.  This book for two dollars is an absolute steal.

Three I love and have posted about are GRAVE MERCY by Robin LaFevers (review), SHADOW AND BONE by Leigh Bardugo (review), and JANE EYRE: A COUNTING PRIMER by Jennifer Adams (review).  You probably haven't heard of the board book, but the other two can't be a surprise.  I'm often wary of hyped books, but this year the big books have been living up to their press.  That makes me a very happy bookworm indeed.

I am excited about a number of books at BEA 12, but nervous to list them because I know I'll forget something.  There's Mark Helprin's newest, IN SUNLIGHT AND IN SHADOW.  There's THE DIVINERS by Libba Bray and LEVEL 2 by Lenore Appelhans of Presenting Lenore.  There's PRODIGY by Marie Lu.  THRONE OF GLASS by Sarah J. Maas.  UNSPOKEN by Sarah Rees Brennan.  I don't know what books I'll find during the next half of 2012.  I'm just eager to read and discover whatever comes my way.

The Probability of Miracles: Vote on the Paperback!

Wendy Wunder's THE PROBABILITY OF MIRACLES - which made Amazon's Best Books of the Month list in December - will have a new cover in paperback. You can vote for your favorite of the two choices.

Option 1

Option 2

I much prefer Option 1. It's more dynamic and colorful, thus catching my eye. Option 2 is too subdued.

Below is the hardcover. Which image do you like best?

(via penguinteen on Tumblr)

Flavorwire's Not-So-Great 10 Great Science Fiction Books for Girls

Normally I love Flavorwire's lists. But the recent 10 Great Science Fiction Books for Girls by Emily Temple falls down on the job.

I'll start with the title. Lots of gender imbalance issues have been noted among readers. More male science fiction readers; more young female readers for instance. Labeling things "for girls" or "for boys" doesn't help bridge the gap. Perhaps "10 Great Female-Friendly Science Fiction Books" would be more inclusive?


Now, there are several great books on the list. The 50-year-old A WRINKLE IN TIME by Madeleine L'Engle, THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS by Ursula K. LeGuin, and THE HANDMAID'S TALE by Margaret Atwood cover the classics. Mary Shelley's FRANKENSTEIN gives the list literary cred. NAUSICAA OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND by Hayao Miyazaki gives the list foreign, arty cred. (Believe me: Nausicaä is not the problem with this list. Nausicaä is never a problem.) THE WINDUP GIRL by Paolo Bacigalupi shows attention to modern work. THE FEMALE MAN by Joanna Russ may not sound as familiar as some of the other titles, but it's an excellent trailblazing feminist work. DUNE by Frank Herbert may not center around women, but there's several memorable ladies in the series.

So what are the problem books?

ENDER'S GAME by Orson Scott Card and STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND by Robert A. Heinlein should not be on this list. I love both. I know other women who love both. But Temple admits "Though the female characters in [STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND] aren’t particularly inspiring." Anyone who has read much Heinlein knows that he gets pretty weird about the ladies. And by weird I mean misogynistic. For ENDER'S GAME she notes, "While it’s true that the only two prominent women in Orson Scott Card’s masterpiece are relatively weak (Petra is the only one to crack in the final battle, Valentine is by definition a softer version of Ender), they’re both still pretty amazing geniuses."

They're great books. But if you want a list of science fiction to get women and girls interested in the genre, don't list books you have to justify. Don't say, "The women in this book are lame, but you should read it anyway because it's a classic. It's not like how the author depicts women is that important."

What books could have been on the list instead?

Most of the commenters are championing Octavia Butler. PARABLE OF THE SOWER is not only a female and POC-friendly classic, it also fits in with the current dystopian trend.

For my second pick I considered other women authors mentioned in the comments, as well as a few not. (For example, Elizabeth Moon's military science fiction is an excellent example of how women in science fiction can be hard.) But my ultimate choice is THE HOUSE OF THE SCORPION by Nancy Farmer. It can replace ENDER'S GAME as the token boy's book while also representing a female author and a complex female character in the cook Celia.

What are your choices?

Say Yes to Gay YA

Yes, I am late to the linking.



I was super excited to learn through the comments on the article that there is a recent YA novel with an asexual character - Karen Healey's GUARDIANS OF THE DEAD.

MY PEOPLE ARE NEVER IN BOOKS. I AM SO EXCITED I CAN HARDLY STAND IT.

$7.20 at Amazon? You just made a sale, ma'am.

In addition to the lists linked in the article, here's a nice list of adult SFF with LGBTQ characters. Meg's list is very impressive.

Malinda Lo's awesome post charting LGBTQ characters in YA is sobering and has been updated today with bibliographies. (Also? Gay Utopia is a fab phrase.)

The agent posted a response today. The comments are worth reading. (Rachel Manija Brown briefly responded in turn.)

The always amazing Tiger Beatdown has an article on why we shouldn't confuse books featuring minority characters with issue books. They may overlap, but they aren't the same thing.

This is another agent's response saying what you can do to help.

STUPID FAST Cover

Sourcebooks has been asking readers about their covers on their Teen Fire ning. Sounds reasonable to me, considering how much readers complain about covers.

Currently, they're asking for input on the cover of STUPID FAST by Geoff Herbach.

Either #1 or 2 would catch my eye.  #3 both has too much going on and a lame color scheme.  As for representing the content, the blurb is available if you follow the link.  It pushes me towards picking #2.

How about ya'll?

Bad Book Covers

I receive several e-mails a week from different sites wanting me to feature something on my blog. Appoximately 99% of those e-mails clearly come from spanners who have no idea that a blog called In Bed With Books is about books.

OnlineCollege.org maintains a blog about a variety of topics designed to interest college students. Doesn't really line up with IBWB, but the article I received an e-mail about does fit my interests: 25 Worst Book Covers of All Time.  I'm impressed by the variety of genres covered, though most of the books are pulpy SF.  It's so easy to make fun of pulpy SF covers.

But I'm always interested in cover conversations.  After all, different people have different tastes.  Although some cover art is brilliant or awful no matter what.

Judge a Book by Its Cover is a hilarious blog by a former librarian Maughta (and a few others). If you think you know hideous book covers, wait to be astouded by the depths of awful she and her compatriarts have illuminated.

The famous Smart Bitches, Trashy Books blog frequently features awful romance covers.  (Cheesy romance covers come close to being as bad as pulpy SF covers.)

The super interesting Jacket Whys is another librarian blog.  She examines trends in children's and young adult book covers, whether they be good or bad. She also compares different editions of a book to track which covers work best.

I can't think of a cover I truly hate off the top of my head, but I love this one for Golden Fool by Robin Hobb.



It's detailed, beautifully colored, and the image directly relates to the contents of the book.  Plus, it shows a little skin without being faux sexy or impossible to carry on the bus without embarrassment.

Oh wait, I thought of a bad cover.



So, what covers do you hate or love?

Exciting News!

My blog is listed in the resources section of READ, REMEMBER, RECOMMEND FOR TEENS by Rachelle Rogers Knight, as I learned in an e-mail today.

It feels like my blog has been getting more attention lately, though less people have been linking to it and the number of visitors appears to be holding steady. Perhaps it's just different people dropping by and thus the type of attention is different?

I'm partially curious because I recently read a blog post (no clue where as I was wildly browsing) that put the line between old and new blogs at two years. Since In Bed With Books will be two years old in a few days, I'm wonding if it does qualify as an old blog. I'm certainly no Story Siren or Presenting Lenore. But I also think about blogs that started around the same time as mine, that I can remember visiting when I was new: namely, Book-luver Carol's Reviews and Reviewer X. I never would've suspected that Reviewer X would be defunct while Carol and I are still going strong. I also never would've suspected that Carol lived in the same school district as me. It's a small world. I would call Carol respected, but I have trouble thinking of her blog as an older one since it's the same age as mine and mine isn't that old. Or is it?

How do ya'll feel about IBWB? Am I a resource in the YA lit world? Or am I still a noob? (Of course, there is room in between the two.)