Reading journal take two (i.e. the right source)

http://blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/teacozy


Alright.  I made a mistake-imagine that.  I went out and found my own source for my reading journal entry-I didn't read far enough through the syllabus (that I have a paper copy of!!) and thought that we were to find our own resources.  Sigh.  I am learning.

For my official reading post, I went exploring on the site:  A Chair, A Fireplace, and a Tea Cozy which is now affiliated with the School Library Journal.  I chose this site off of the list because I liked the name of the blog.  It sounded like something I would like to do-sit in a chair in front of a fireplace with a hot mug of tea and read-not something I get to do often enough!!  The link above is where you will find this source.

I read several things on this site-the majority of what I found are book reviews, so I spent most of my time looking at those.  Most of the titles that she recently has reviewed were not familiar to me, so it was definitely worth my time.  I also read a few interviews with authors and looked at the archives.  There is also a battle of the books section that compares and contrasts selection.

I did not like this site as much as others I have seen.  I do appreciate the book reviews for young adults-I have said this before, I am lacking in being current on this age group.  Even though I have been reading YA literature like a maniac, there is so much new stuff out there that I just can't keep up!!  The most helpful aspect of this site is the extensive reviews.  The author does get really into her reviews-she is super honest.  If she loves it you know.  If she dislikes it-well, you know that too.  As a newbie to meeting the needs of middle school and junior high students I appreciate that.  I do see myself using this as a resource for the middle school and junior high students in our building.  I am going to bookmark this so that I can use it as a reference for the kids.  The reviews are tagged so it would be easy to go on and locate a book that a student might like-for instance if they are wanting a new historical fiction selection I could find that with relative ease.

As for the content, the site is okay.  I wish there was more.  I would like to ask her how she sells YA books to her readers.  Does she do displays?  Does she have incentive programs?  Does she pull out books for kids?  While the reviews are good, does she still introduce the books that she doesn't like?  I know the goal of this site is to discuss young adult literature, but where is the discussion?  Do the comments count as what the site owner considers discussion?  I'm just not getting that piece.

Overall this is a good reference to use when looking for a book review for YA literature.  The benefit is that it is easy to use and gives a variety of YA literature that is being reviewed.  I would use it for that.  Beyond the reviews, I really would not use this site for anything more.