I read a lot of blogs. Here is a sample of my favorites. Some aren’t active anymore, but still are great resources.
Book Reviews: Literary + Genre
- Fourth Street Review – Mostly literary and horror reviews.
- Books Speak Volumes – Great reviews of literary fiction.
- River City Reading – Helping readers of literary, historical, and contemporary novels find their next great read.
- Book Riot – All things books and reading.
Book Reviews: Mostly YA
- Crunchings and Munchings – This blog has some of the most thoughtful discussions on YA lit you can find. Librarians will love the read-alikes that accompany every review!
- Clear Eyes, Full Shelves – Book reviews in a variety of genres. Lots of YA, romance, and others. Quality analysis. Also the reason I can’t stop watching Friday Night Lights.
- Reading Rants – YA book reviews and “out of the ordinary booklists.” This blog has been around for over a decade, so the archives are a great resource.
- Rather Be Reading – Great (mostly) YA book reviews from two different bloggers.
- The Book Smugglers – A well-known and very professionally run blog of mostly YA book reviews.
- Late Nights with Good Books – Consistent reviews of YA and adult titles.
- Confessions of a Book Addict – A teacher who reviews mostly YA.
- Bunbury in the Stacks – Heidi writes insightful reviews of YA books and speculative fiction.
- The Readventurer – One of my favorite sites, with in-depth reviews from three lovely ladies. Lots of YA, but adult books, too. Less active of late, but for older books, their reviews are amazing.
- Beth Reads – Book reviews from a librarian and other posts of interest to librarians.
- YA Reading List – Book-a-Day Almanac meets Book Lust for the YA set. A themed booklist every day. Though it’s no longer active, there are hundreds of themed list. It’s a great resource for book display ideas.
- Hey Library Girl – Book and movie reviews.
- Miss Print – book reviews from a teen librarian since 2007.
- Novel Hermit – YA book and graphic novel reviews.
Book Reviews: Comics + Graphic Novels
- No Flying, No Tights – A graphic novel review site edited by a librarian.
- Comic Book Librarian – Lots of great resources about collecting comics in the library.
- Women Write about Comics – Graphic novels and comic reviews, but also TV, movies, games, etc.
- Diamond Comics – previews of forthcoming comics and graphic novels. The newsletter is an excellent collection development resource.
- Comics, Cosplay, and Geek Culture in Libraries
Feminist + Lit
- Feminist Fiction – Discussion of pop culture and YA literature through a feminist lens from YA author Rhiannon Thomas.
- Romance Novels for Feminists – I don’t read a lot of romance of the adult variety, but I love the discussions on this blog.
Diversity in YA
- Vamos a Leer – Teaching Latin America through Literature. This blog is run by Latin American and Iberian Institute at the University of New Mexico. They focus on developing resources to support K-12 education. It’s a great resource for discussion of Latin American children’s literature. There are lesson plans and activities for teacher that could easily be adapted to a library program.
- Latinos in Kidlit – Self-explanatory.
- Diversity in YA – Malinda Lo and Cindy Pon put together awesome resources for those interested in supporting diversity in YA.
- Rich in Color – diversity in YA, with a new release calendar.
- Disability in Kidlit – what it says.
Library Interest
- The Hub – YALSA’s young adult literature review. All things YA lit: Book reviews, author interviews, booklists, award news, etc. I am a contributor.
- Stacked – Lots of YA reviews but also posts on library-related topics.
- Teen Librarian Toolkit – A great resource for all things YA and for teen programs in libraries.
- YA Lit – YA new releases organized by release date.
- YA Love – A teacher who shares classroom resources and reviews of YA lit.
- Consumed by Books – Liz is a youth librarian who mostly reviews YA lit.
- RA for All – A blog for all things (adult) readers’ advisory.
- Collection Reflection – Thoughts on Collection Development.
- Teen Zen – Lots of teen library program ideas.
- Fay the Librarian – Tiffany shares book lists and reviews, program ideas, and other posts related to the life of a teen librarian.
- Young Adult Activities – The teen services department at the Hays (KS) Public Library share their program.
- Library as Incubator Project – Ideas for art programming in libraries for patrons of all ages.
- Sturdy for Common Things – Rebecca is one of my awesome people I know even though she left me for Chatt. Check out her reviews + storytime crafts!
- The Leading Librarian – a school librarian who posts about edtech and books.
- Never Shushed – Mostly storytime plans.
- Bang Bang Books – teen programs and mostly pre-publication reviews of YA fiction.
- Magpie Librarian – Ingrid is an awesome teen librarian from Brooklyn who loves glitter.
- Robot Test Kitchen – library programs (on the cheap!) with a STEAM focus.
- Library Makers – a blog of the Madison Public Library that shares art, tech, and makerspace programs.
- Colleen Graves – blog from a teacher librarian who loves makerspaces.
- 5 Minute Librarian – posts about social media marketing and book displays.
Thanks for the shout out! I follow and read your blog as well! :)