It’s been a long time, but the readheads are back in full force for the month of August! And to start it off, here’s what’s going on in the publishing world:

• JK Rowling still battling over plagiarism charges.

• Eoin Colfer to end epic Artimis Fowl series.

• Curious George partners with the Library of Congress.

• USAToday’s Weekly Booklist (week ending July 25).

• Inside the NY Times Bestseller List (and the list itself).

Everyone’s going digital!

• The $20 e-reader?

• Amazon reveals the new Kindle 3.

• Borders joins with Wi Fi Advertising Company.

• The latest in the digital royalties war.

• Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers announces two new digital initiatives.

• Scholastic is getting ready to test out a new e-book circulation platform.

Know something we don’t? Leave a comment and share the knowledge! Have a great week everyone!

And here we are at the last Sunday in June. How did that happen? As the month comes to a close, here’s what’s been going on in the literary world:

• This past week, Bravo’s reality show “Work of Art” was given the task of designing a book cover for one of the classics. See if you agree with the selected winner here.
• And speaking of book covers, AIGA’s 2010 jury has released their “AIGA 50Books/50 Covers of 2009″ list.
• Fiction? Dead? Um, explain.
• The New Yorker recently came out with their list of 20 writers under 40 to keep an eye on.
• Dzanc Books responds to New Yorker’s ‘20 Under 40′ list.
• Are bloggers and publishers finding a new way to work together?
• Are children’s publishers destroying rainforests? You decide!
• USAToday’s Weekly Booklist (week ending June 20).
• Inside the NY Times Bestseller List (and the list itself).

Find some interesting news yourself? Let us know!

Every month the readheads pick one book that all three of us read and review. Our book for June is Erica Bauermeister’s first novel The School of Essential Ingredients.

Synopsis from Publisher’s Weekly:

In this remarkable debut, Bauermeister creates a captivating world where the pleasures and particulars of sophisticated food come to mean much more than simple epicurean indulgence. Respected chef and restaurateur Lillian has spent much of her 30-something years in the kitchen, looking for meaning and satisfaction in evocative, delicious combinations of ingredients. Endeavoring to instill that love and know-how in others, Lillian holds a season of Monday evening cooking classes in her restaurant. The novel takes up the story of each of her students, navigating readers through the personal dramas, memories and musings stirred up as the characters handle, slice, chop, blend, smell and taste. Each student’s affecting story—painful transitions, difficult choices—is rendered in vivid prose and woven together with confidence. Delivering memorable story lines and characters while seducing the senses, Bauermeister’s tale of food and hope is certain to satisfy.

Have you read The School of Essential Ingredients? We’d love to hear what you thought of this book. Or read it along with us, and be sure to check back at the end of the month to see what we thought!

Allison recently graduated from Newcastle University with a Masters in Children’s Literature. An avid reader, Allison is my partner in crime when it comes to our love of YA Lit. Enjoy her guest post on the current state of children’s literature! -Kim

“The Song Remains the Same: Despite Skyrocketing Popularity and Award-Winning Authors, Children’s Fiction Still Struggles for Credibility”

As Children’s Book Week comes to a close, it seems only right to consider how far children’s literature (everything from picture books through young adult) has come and how far it has yet to go. The unprecedented popularity of children’s books in recent years has piqued the interest of literary critics and the media at large. Attention that, seemingly, has added to the credibility of children’s literature as quality fiction. This attention however, still often serves as a double-edged sword, acknowledging the importance of children’s books in today’s society while at the same time deriding the quality and caliber of children’s fiction as obviously inferior to books written for adults.

A recent article in the LA Times, entitled “Young Adult Lit Comes of Age,” is a perfect example of the common perception of children’s fiction—dismissive even as the writer attempts to highlight its increasing importance. Please consider the following excerpt as case and point:

I think part of the reason we’re seeing adults reading YA is that often there’s no bones made about the fact that a YA book is explicitly intended to entertain,” said Lizzie Skurnick, 36, author of “Shelf Discovery,” a collection of essays about young adult literature from the 1960s and 1970s.

“YA authors are able to take themselves less seriously. They’re able to have a little more fun, and they’re less confined by this idea of themselves as Very Important Artists. That paradoxically leads them to create far better work than people who are trying to win awards.

Skurnick’s reasoning is simplistic at best and offensive at worst. Her thesis is that adults like YA books because they are entertaining. More than that, YA novels are unabashedly open about the entertaining nature of their content (I can already see a parade forming in my head—We’re here!  We’re entertaining! So get used to it!). This rather ridiculous statement presupposes that adult literature—or at least adult literature from “Very Important Artists…who are trying to win awards”—is not entertaining, or must mask any entertainment value (no doubt with obscure references and dense, ‘literary’ language). I am reminded of a scathing article in the Atlantic by B.R. Myers in 2001, in which Myers picks apart the qualities deemed “literary” by today’s high-brow literati, pointing out that the unifying quality of highly-acclaimed novels is their boring content. If you’ll humor me, I’d like to share with you part of Myers’s article, which aptly describes the underlying beliefs about literature held by Skurnick and the literary elite:

Today any accessible, fast-moving story written in unaffected prose is deemed to be “genre fiction”—at best an excellent “read” or a “page turner,” but never literature with a capital L. An author with a track record of blockbusters may find the publication of a new work treated like a pop-culture event, but most “genre” novels are lucky to get an inch in the back pages of The New York Times Book Review.

“Everything written in self-conscious, writerly prose, on the other hand, is now considered to be “literary fiction”—not necessarily good literary fiction, mind you, but always worthier of respectful attention than even the best-written thriller or romance. It is these works that receive full-page critiques… It is these works, and these works only, that make the annual short lists of award committees. The “literary” writer need not be an intellectual one. Jeering at status-conscious consumers, bandying about words like “ontological” and “nominalism,” chanting Red River hokum as if it were from a lost book of the Old Testament: this is what passes for profundity in novels these days. Even the most obvious triteness is acceptable, provided it comes with a postmodern wink. What is not tolerated is a strong element of action—unless, of course, the idiom is obtrusive enough to keep suspense to a minimum. Conversely, a natural prose style can be pardoned if a novel’s pace is slow enough, as was the case with Ha Jin’s aptly titled Waiting, which won the National Book Award (1999) and the PEN/Faulkner Award (2000).

Under the burden of these demands, fiction for children has no chance of being considered worthwhile “literary fiction.” The prose style, written for a young audience, will never be pretentiously ‘writerly’ enough. The plots and pacing, designed to engage (and, yes, entertain), will never be muted and stilted enough. No, authors for young readers will have to be satisfied with their extreme popularity and impressive sales, never to be recognized as literary geniuses because let’s face it, they are basically entertaining monkeys, clanging cymbals.

Oh wait, I remember now. Didn’t Phillip Pullman win the Whitbread Award for Best Novel of the Year in 2001 for his YA book The Amber Spyglass? Yes, he did, and please note, it was the best novel of the year, not just best children’s novel. For Skurnick to assert that children’s book authors are not “serious,” are not “artists,” and aren’t the kind of authors that “are trying to win awards” is ludicrous. Children’s authors have numerous awards, not least of which is the Newbery Medal. Some children’s literature authors, like Pullman and Sherman Alexie, also win awards traditionally awarded to authors of books for adults.

Despite staggering popularity and the critical acclaim for superb storytelling and writing, ultimately, children’s books as a group are still considered the work of authors “who take themselves less seriously,” or who couldn’t write a novel for adults. In the same LA Times article, author Cecil Castellucci is quoted, lamenting the constant question “when are you going to write a real novel?”

Yet, there is hope. The increased popularity of quality children’s books is raising the bar, leading to more high-quality books for children and young adults. The thoughtful, well-researched, and beautifully written Tales of the Otori series by Lian Hearn is just one inspiring example of excellence in YA fiction, but there are now numerous options in the YA section of great storytelling.

Bottom line, there has always been excellent children’s literature, as well as a fair few awful books, as is the case with books for adults. The increasing interest in YA fiction among adults is not the sole test of a books quality, but rather points to a desire among readers of all ages for engaging and exciting reads, regardless of the intended audience of the book.

Hey guys! Taking a break from all of the wonderful Children’s Book Week fun, here’s the latest news from the publishing world.

• The mysterious Book Bike.
• Fan of Artemis Fowl? Then you need to read this.
• And more on comics: “Big Summer Movies and Their Comic Book Tie-Ins”
• Getting ready for the highly anticipated BEA (BookExpo America)? Here’s a list of Kids’ Galley copies up for grabs (ps. Brownie points for mailing me some…Cassandra Clare perhaps?)!
• The latest trends in American book covers.
• Wikipedia and Jorge Luis Borges.
• Review of #1b1t (One Book, One Twitter) project.
• New Textbook Law
• USAToday’s Weekly Book List (week ending May 9)
• Inside The NYTimes Best Seller List.  (And the list itself.)

I thought now would be a good time to share with all of you the top ten authors from my childhood who have had the most influence on not only my literary tastes, but my life (as corny as that sounds). So, in brief:

10. Shel Silverstein (I think I still have “Homework, Oh Homework” still memorized…)
9. The Brothers Grimm (Fairy tales? Yes please!)
8. C. S. Lewis (The Chronicles of Narnia was the first series I remember completing, and I wanted more!)
7. Roald Daul (Who hasn’t read a Daul book? Seriously.)
6. Meg Cabot (Anything *but* the Princess Diaries series!)
5. Sharon Creech (She took up my entire 6th grade reading life)
4. Sarah Dessen (And she was the rest of middle school!)
3. Robin McKinley (With her amazing narrative and ability to retell classic fairy tales without making me want to go to sleep, McKinley pretty much rocks my world to this day.)
2. Patricia C. Wrede (She introduced me to the idea of the unconventional princess who can take care of herself just fine. I loved it!)
1. Tamora Pierce (Words can’t describe the massive impact this author has had on me. Her characters are wonderful, her stories engaging, and her characters amazing role models. I absolutely love her stuff!)

Who influenced you? Leave a comment and let us know!

See larger image The Song of the Lioness Quartet: Alanna: The First Adventure / In the Hand of the Goddess / The Woman Who Rides Like a Man / Lioness Rampant (Paperback) By (author) Tamora Pierce List Price: $22.00 USD New From: $85.00 In Stock Used from: $27.99 In Stock Release date May 27, 2003.

Hey guys! Welcome to Children’s Book Week 2010!

It’s that wonderful time of year again where the literary world takes a moment to appreciate the magical affect children’s literature brings to readers of all ages. Beginning in 1919, educators, librarians, and booksellers have celebrated with various events like parties, storytelling, author signings, and other celebratory events! Here’s a list of some great events going on this week, links with more information about Children’s Book Week, and ways to get involved in the amazing experience that is children’s literature:

• The official Children’s Book Week site can be found here.
• All about Children’s Book Week.
• Children’s Book Week events.
• Children’s Book Week awards finalists reading their books aloud.
• Kids can create their own books online here.
• We Give Books, a wonderful charity for kids’ books.
• Kids Need to Read is another great kids charity.
• Books for kids to read online.
• Do ebooks ruin children reading?
• For what others are saying about Children’s Book Week, check out Twitter’s #childrensbookweek

Watch for some children’s lit-themed posts all week as we celebrate the books and authors who helped shape us into the readers we are today! And be sure to check out our Shelfari bookshelf below for all of our favorites!

Have a favorite children’s book? Want to share it? Leave a comment and we’ll add it to the bookshelf!

What if someone looked at you, really looked at you, for the first time in 150 years? How would you feel? And what if you were a ghost, completely unaccustomed to any form of human contact only to get that all back in the span of a few hours? How would you react? Laura Whitcomb’s debut novel, A Certain Slant of Light , examines life, death, love, and friendship from a whole new angle, going deeper into the typical young adult supernatural novel. This is instead a truly wonderful example of young adult gothic.

When you are Light, it is only your emotions that can send a ripple into the tangible world. A flash of frustration when your host closes a novel he is reading too soon might stir his hair and cause him to check the window for a draft. A sigh of mourning at the beauty of a rose you cannot smell might startle a bee away. Or a silent laugh at a misused word might cause a student’s arm to prickle with an inexplicable chill.

This story has all the right elements. There are spirits, mystery, haunting parallels, romance, and even some creepy wind.  I couldn’t help but get the chills while reading this book, and there was no way I could put it down! It was so easy to fall into Helen’s world; to feel her surprise, confusion, pain, and wonder over all of the changes and realizations she was forced to face in the span of only a couple of days. The love and companionship she feels for James, first because he can see her and then because they find they are tied in such a unique way, is wonderfully heartbreaking.

James, like Helen, is a ghost. But unlike Helen, James has taken over the body of a teenage boy in order to get his second chance at life. The soul of that boy had given up and in order to keep the darkness from taking over, James stepped in for control. Originally meant to be a temporary situation, James finds that he cannot leave this body, at least until he comes to terms with things he had long forgotten. It raises the questions of what it truly means to be alive. Helen and James both prove that live is more than just a physical act and they both learn through their host’s bodies that living is also taking everything life throws at you. The two of them experience what life was like for their hosts while at the same time grappling with everything they had gone through.

Whitcomb clearly understands her characters as well as her readers. There are tons of gothic novels that have failed to not only to impress me, but have caused me to simply return them unfinished. The moment I began reading A Certain Slant of Light, I was drawn into the story. The narrative was personable and flowed with ease. The plot was complex but also began with such a simple idea—what it really means to be seen by another being. I loved this book and recommend it to anyone curious about the world of the gothic novel.

Final Grade: A+

See larger image A Certain Slant of Light (Paperback) By (author) Laura Whitcomb List Price: $8.99 USD New From: $2.51 In Stock Used from: $0.44 In Stock

Hi guys! I hope everyone had a great weekend, because I know I did! This year marked the 14th annual LA Times Festival of Books and my first time experiencing it. Started in 1996, the festival is held on the UCLA campus during the last weekend in April and features publishers, authors, and vendors from all over the country. It was unbelievable! The crowds were huge, the weather was perfect, and there were panels for everyone! It was a great opportunity for thousands of people to come together and celebrate their love of everything literature. To get a basic idea as to what this looked like, check out this photo I took at the event:

And this is just one section of the festival!

For the rest of the photos, check out our photo gallery! And now, for the video!

Here’s a video with my basic summary and reaction to the different panels I was lucky enough to see! If Vimeo doesn’t work, hit the jump to watch the Youtube version and for some more information on the event. Also, HUGE thanks to Ranjana for making the video happen!

Here are some links for more information on the panelists, authors, and topics I discussed in the video:

• The festival’s program schedule
• David Shannon
• Richelle Mead
• The Reduced Shakespeare Company
• Wil Wheaton
• An article on the “New Media Meets Publishing” panel

Questions? Comments? Were you there too? Leave a comment or shoot me an email and I’ll be happy to get back to you!

Happy Sunday! I hope everyone’s enjoying their weekend. I know I finally am after working on Saturday, you know, publishing books and all that! Well, here’s the latest in books and publishing this week:

• Rest assured, it will take more than volcano eruptions to close the London Book Fair!
• Children’s book production rose 8% in 2009 (yay children’s lit!)
• The annual report of “challenged books” was released Wednesday by the American Library Association, and Twilight only hit #5!
• Top children’s book list for the week of April 12^th
• The 2010 Pulitzer Prizes for Letters, Drama and Music
• Random House’s Princeton Review Books launches a new Facebook app called Cracking the SAT Championship.
• 10 Essential Penguin Classics (complete with a video on why you should read them!)
• Are you going to be in the Los Angeles area this upcoming weekend? The come to the LA Times Festival of Books! And stay tuned, because next week I’ll post my full video report on the whole 2-day event!
• USAToday’s Weekly Book List (week ending April 11)
• Inside The NYTimes Best Seller List. (And the list itself.)

Enjoy!