“Many thought that One Thousand and One Nights were folklore, tales, and that’s it—not a treasure. These stories were told so people could learn lessons about humanity, even from bad deeds or omens.”
The Ocean at the End of the Lane | RA Crossroads
By on April 23, 2013 Leave a Comment
Gaiman starts this month’s reading crossroads. Fairy tales and fantasy, battles of forces, good and evil, short stories and audiobooks! Selections for the imagination.
Audio Spotlight: Marketing Strategies Help Vitalize Audiobook Collections
By on April 4, 2013 1 Comment
The audiobook industry continues to grow in near-equal measure in both the library and retail sectors, with the Audio Publishers Association (APA) ballparking sales at an all-time high of $1.2 billion. Libraries are in a real position to take advantage of the trend. Yet with diminished AV budgets, limited title and format availability, and a constant influx of competing downloadable and streaming offerings from the consumer realm, the prospect can be daunting. For libraries wanting to reap the benefits of increased awareness and discovery of their audio holdings, LJ spotlights some best practices in audiobook promotion, discusses some of the challenges inherent to the medium, and proposes new ways of thinking about audio that might even make it a catalyst for moving print.
Eastern Literary Traditions: Chinese and Indian Fiction | Collection Development
By on April 3, 2013 Leave a Comment
China and India, the two most populous countries in the world, share a border, have growing economies in common, and each has a centuries-old literary tradition of its own. Similarly, both countries have robust publishing industries, but despite a tremendous number of books published and sold annually, relatively few of those titles make it to the American market. In 2012, in what Paper Republic, a resource about Chinese literature in translation, called “a good year,” about 20 titles were translated, and the majority of those were not published in the United States. Indian fiction, especially that written in English, fares slightly better.
Ten Books to Lure Hibernating Athletes Out of Their Lairs | Books for Dudes
By on March 22, 2013 Leave a Comment
Spring books to propel dudes out of bed and into action for runners, cyclists, swimmers, nutritionists, weight watchers, triathlon athletes, or sit back with Leanne Shapton’s autobiography. Either way, your endurance for reading is building.
Debut Novels | 35 Going On 13
By on March 21, 2013 Leave a Comment
This month, Library Journal is spotlighting debut novels, which are also a mainstay of teen literature. It may be hard to believe, but there once was a time when Stephenie Meyer and John Green were not household names. Green’s debut, Looking for Alaska (2005), won the coveted Printz Award and is not the only first [...]
Spring Baseball Roster | February 15, 2013 (With Two Online-Only Reviews Added)
By on February 28, 2013 Leave a Comment
Everything you need to read up on America’s favorite pastime this spring.
Best Reference of 2012 (Including Best Free Reference)
By on February 28, 2013 Leave a Comment
There are dozens of the year’s best reference titles, but for sheer labors of love, winners this year are Louisiana Place Names, the entries of which were collected over a lifetime by Clare D’Artois Leeper, who died shortly before this was published by LSU Press, and Flies: The Natural History and Diversity of Diptera from University of Guelph entomologist Stephen A. Marshall, who displays the world’s fly families in 2,200 stunning color photographs from Firefly Books. Find those and many more, including Best Free Reference sources of 2012.
Q&A: Jodi Picoult | On Being a Storyteller
By on February 21, 2013 Leave a Comment
Author Jodi Picoult talks with LJ about her new novel, The Storyteller, and each person’s place in preserving history
Spring Training in Motion | Baseball on DVD, February 19, 2013
By on February 19, 2013 Leave a Comment
Some hits, some misses for fans of our national pastime
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