Literary List: Goodreads and YALit.com

Sometimes, when I go to the library or bookstore, I have a hard time finding a book to check out or buy.  This is partly because I am so overwhelmed by all the choices!  I don't even know where to start looking!  The fiction in libraries is usually organized by author rather than topic, genre, or feeling, and while this is super helpful if you know what you're looking for, it's not always the best for browsing.

One solution that I've come up with is to use other people's recommendations, including book lists, to narrow down my search.  A lot of times, I'll go to the library with a list of ten books or series, and I'll come home with only three or four of them.  It's like when I go to the grocery store: I have to go with a list, or I'll come home with stuff I don't even like!  (Like blue cheese.  Ew.)

If you're like me, and it's easiest to "shop" when you have a list, I have two websites for you!

First, if you're mostly concerned with reading the newest, then check out YALit.com.  It has a constantly updated list of books that will be released soon, and you can also read lists of books that have been recently released.

The downside to this site is that it doesn't have book descriptions.  You would have to click on the link to the book's Amazon or IndieBound page to see the description.  An upside to this site is that, if you click on a book, you can then click on that book's publisher.  The site then gives you a list of recently-released books from that publisher.  You can use that as your "shopping" list!

Second, a lot of people have heard of the GoodReads website, but I want to specifically highlight their Young Adult page.  This a great resource for many reasons, but my favorite reason is because it has lists, lists, lists galore!  (See here.)  Some examples are:

--Best "Strong Female" Fantasy Novels
--Intense and "Angsty" Romance
--Young Adult Road Trip Novels
--Fiction Involving Music
--Young Adult Vampires, Werewolves, Angels, Shapeshifters, Faeries, Mermaids, and Witches
--Best Intro to Sci-Fi for Young Readers
--YA Historical Fantasy
--Teen Urban Drama

You can look at the "Tag" or topic of different lists, or you can search for a specific kind of list.

Both YALit and GoodReads are great options if you don't know where to start or are overwhelmed with possibilities!

Recommended Read: House Rules

House Rules, by Jodi Picoult
Publisher: Atria Books
Genre: Realistic Fiction
http://www.jodipicoult.com/house-rules.html

Have you ever read a book that you just cannot get over?  You read the last page, finish the story, close the book...and then stay awake thinking about what happened?  You tell everyone to read this book, and you bring it up any time a conversation even remotely relates to the story?  That's what House Rules is like for me.

House Rules is the story of Jacob Hunt, a teenage boy with Asperger's Syndrome.  In a lot of ways, Jacob is like any other teenager.  He loves to watch TV, he has favorite foods, and sometimes he doesn't get along with his brother.  But in some ways, Jacob is very different.  He won't look people in the eyes, he twitches, and he has a hard time understanding emotions.  Unfortunately, when Jacob's tutor is murdered, the things that make him different also make him seem GUILTY.

The story is told alternately from the point of view of Jacob, his mother, and his brother.  All three views are powerful.  Jacob's mother loves her son deeply, but she wonders--could he be capable of killing someone?  Does he really know right from wrong?  Jacob's brother is defensive, both of Jacob and of the "normal" life he wishes he were living.  Jacob's point of view is the most interesting, because it's the most different thought process from mine.

There are a lot of good books about kids with disorders on the autism spectrum, but this is far and away the most engaging, interesting, heart-gripping look at what it's like to live with Asperger's.

Want to Know More? Discover More!

St. Peter Claver has a wonderful relationship with Scholastic (check out how awesome our Book Fair was here), and one of my favorite aspects of Scholastic is that all of their books are interesting and appealing.  I even find the non-fiction books they publish interesting!  (For me, this is a big deal--there are people out there who love non-fiction and informational books, but I am not one of them!)

One of the best informational series I have "discovered" is the Discover More series by Scholastic Press.  They have eight books in their "Expert Level" series: Disasters, Titanic, Rocks & Minerals, Technology, Ocean & Sea, Elements, World War II, and Night Sky.  Our library currently has three of these books, and I can't keep them on the shelves!

These books are great because they are very picture-heavy (appealing to a visual learner like me), but they don't shy away from giving in-depth information on a high vocabulary level.  They are also laid out in an appealing manner, and each page grabs you with colors, pictures, fonts, or timelines.  I think these are a great information resource for any age, and I can't wait to get the rest of the series in my library!

For more information, check out http://www.scholastic.com/discovermore/.