Weblog Love on Wednesdays

Ah, the beauty of the book blogging world. Can you smell it? I can. Here's what hit me this week:

1. Fun and General Bookishness

Check out The Nook -- Barnes & Noble's foray into the world of e-book readers. (It seems to me, a wholly uninformed person about e-book readers, that it might be the best on the market. Thoughts?)

Check out the Stacked blog's second installment in their series on the reading habits of boys/guys.

2. Book Reviews/Features

Edge of Seventeen did a post summarizing three of Lauren Myracle's books: Kissing Kate, Rhymes with Witches, and Bliss. You should read the whole post for sure, but let me point out my favorite part: "You can definately read [Bliss] as a stand alone, and I would recommend it over [Rhymes With Witches] , if you were stuck in a room on the set of Saw 32 and had to read only one book of two before a gruesome death and these were your only choices. Otherwise, read them both."

I was planning to re-read Let It Snow (Maureen Johnson, John Green, Lauren Myracle) this Christmas season--because it's so darned Christmas-y--but The Story Siren did a review of Kate Brian's Ex-mas which has now earned the right to be my seasonal selection for 2009. What are your favorite Holiday reads?

3. Publishing Industry Tid-Bits

I've shared before that I have deep thoughts about book covers (or aspire to have deep thoughts), but the ladies at Forever YA put their money where their mouths (and fingers) were and did a post asking publishers for better YA covers--so we don't have to be embarrassed when we carry around books about vampires.

The Amazon v. Wal-Mart price debate has not ended. Eric at PMN points out how the American Bookseller's Association wrote a letter to the Department of Justice claiming these pricing practices violate anti-trust laws. Let's all watch and see what shakes out, shall we?

Everybody and their brother is talking about this contest for aspiring YA authors. Got a YA book in the can that you're ready to start shopping around to agents? In the month of November, hook up your first (and best) 250 words for a chance at eternal glory.

4. Book Blogger Highlights

You'll definitely want to subscribe to LitDrift in your favorite reader (like I did) because it's fantastic. In their words, "Lit Drift is a blog, resource, and community dedicated to the art & craft of storytelling in the 21st century." One of my favorite recent blogs was about the intersection of the spoken and the written word... Uncomfortable public speaker? Try writing. And vice versa.