Social networks for the back-to-school crowd

August 15, 2007 - Filed under: buzz buzz news!, ReviewsStephanie Librarian @ 8:02 pm

Literature Themed Social Networks
A book report alternative
Teen readers may find perks in either of these programs aimed at gathering teen opinions on young adult books. First Look offers ARCs to registered teens in exchange for opinionated reviews. Creating an account with First Look will enable the user to participate on the message boards as well as grant them permission to receive arcs. If you have a library MySpace page, HarperTeen has a presence worth checking out. Just grab some code to continue promoting literature. More involved but equally rewarding, the Pulse It program created by Simon and Schuster, Inc is aimed at reading enthusiasts. Teens print a parental consent form, mail it to S&S, then create a member profile. They will be sent young adult titles to review including ARCs on a regular basis.

Shelfari* and Revish*
For teens who have book collections at home, Shelfari is the coolest place on the web to create an online bookshelf, join book discussion groups, make friends with similar genre interests, and gleefully grab some code to show off their bookshelf on MySpace or other blogs. Shelfari recently held a best review contest for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in which the winner received a signed copy. I’m not aware of Shelfari holding many contests, but Revish is hoping to have more user-driven review of the month competitions. If they follow through this idea, Revish would be the place to suggest for the teen looking to branch out of book reports.

Teens gearing up for another year at school may also enjoy more social networks discussed on the main blog found here.


Busted?

April 24, 2006 - Filed under: buzz buzz news!Stephanie Librarian @ 12:30 pm

Kaavya Viswanathan, a sophmore at Harvard, debut novel How Opal Metha Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life, is under investigation for plagarism. Some of Viswanathan’s passages bears striking similarities to Megan McCafferty’s Sloppy Firsts. Apparently, fans of the Jessica Darling series, the newest Charmed Life was recently released, informed Megan of this incident via email. Both the NY Times and the Boston Globe cover this news in more detail. Warning: you may need to create a free account with Boston Globe to view the article.

Find better info here: 17th St. Packaged “Opal”