Happy Friday! Add these links to your #fridayreads (or check them out over the weekend).
Books & Reading
Many librarians and former librarians, including Angie Manfredi and Kelly Jensen, discussed why “Banned Books” Week is a misnomer and why knowing the difference between banned and challenged is so important. Pair it with our post from Miriam Wallen on self-censorship.
Tired of defending your reading of children’s and YA literature? (You shouldn’t have to, but somehow you do anyway, right? Ugh.) This may make you feel better, and it will arm you with more comebacks to those people who say you’re not reading “real” books.
Curious about the most banned or challenged books of the year?
Check out these diverse magical fantasy books.
Technology
Pinterest? For brides and homebodies. Instagram? You’ll never look as good as Beyoncé or your favorite food blogger anyway. The new way to internet your internet is Looklist.
Print is dead? ebooks aren’t real books? Digital natives don’t have the attention span for any sort of book anyway? Oh, put it to rest already.
Movies, TV, and Video Games
There’s going to be a Doctor Who spin-off and guess who is writing it? PATRICK NESS.
How does literature influence gaming, and vice versa? Check out this fascinating article on the interplay between the two different forms of storytelling.
What if HBO made The Watchmen into a TV Series?!
What’s the weirdest video game you’ve ever played? Read this article at Game Informer for the comments.
Exciting to see Death Note become a movie, but disappointing that Hollywood didn’t cast a Japanese actor—Nat Wolff will star in the adaptation.
Libraries, Librarianship and Youth Services
At the new blog Reading While White, Sam Bloom posted about the importance of owning and accepting whiteness and privilege.
Look ahead in your career and think about how you’ll serve a huge generation of first-generation Americans in the coming years as 59 million projected immigrants come to the US.
You know well how data and privacy are central to librarianship. Check out this call for case studies.
Do you work with at-risk teens? You should know about the proposed link between antidepressants and violence.
How does outreach impact your collection development strategy? This article from School Library Journal on working with incarcerated youth is a must-read.
Tumblr of the Week: Fandometrics. Ever wonder what pop culture and media is most popular with teens? The Fandometrics Tumblr is a data-driven look at the most discussed fandoms on Tumblr.
Any great news from this week we missed? Share in the comments!
— Hannah Gómez and Molly Wetta
While I have plenty of teens that are deep into fandoms, I have found most of my teens are into the series that have been around for awhile. A teen the other day told me he only watches “NCIS” (he was quite disappointed that I didn’t) and “Hawaii 5-0.” This isn’t uncommon. I remember watching TV with my parents when I was young, and wonder if that leads to them watching these series that are intended for “older” audiences.
As a side note: “Steven Universe” is such a special piece of television.