BBYA Update

Sometime yesterday YALSA (the Young Adult Library Services Association) released a statement saying that The School Library Journal had erred in reporting that a proposed Reader’s Choice list would replace the current BBYA (Best Books for Young Adults) list.

However, there are two separate proposals under consideration:

1) the shelving of the BBYA list in 2011. (More details on the possible phasing out of BBYA here.)
2) the creation of a Reader's Choice list. (More details on that list are available here.)

According to Michele Gorman of the YALSA Board of Directors these proposals “will be discussed, debated and voted on by the YALSA Board this conference - and none have had a final decision.”

Sadly, this does confirm that the Best Books for Young Adults list is in jeopardy. Whatever the YALSA Board of Directors decide about the creation of a Reader's Choice list, I sincerely hope they realize the value of the BBYA and vote to maintain it when they meet to discuss the issue on Monday.

BBYA No More?

I truly hope this doesn't happen but the American Library Assocation is considering replacing their annual YALSA Best Books for Young Adults list with a Reader's Choice one.

According to their own literature, basically YALSA and Non-YALSA members would be able to nominate titles and the final list would be composed of the top 5 vote getters (only YALSA members will be eligible to vote) in each category (e.g. sci fi, fantasy, historical, romance, humor, mystery, horror, biographies, etc.).

At first glance the idea may appear attractive because it allows many more of YALSA's members to participate in the process. But as middle-school librarians Cindy Dobrez and Lynn Rutan point out in a Booklist article on the subject, a similar popular choice type list to the one the ALA have in mind already exists in the form of a Teens' Top Ten. The main difference with the newly proposed list is that it would be a librarians popular choice. Currently, BBYA committee members read over 300 books a year but we can't reasonably expect this same scope of reading from regular librarians who would be eligible to vote under the new system, which means quieter and less publicized books would be even less likely to be recognized by YALSA than they are right now. As YA author Alex Flynn explains on her blog, "Many libraries don't even order new books until several months after they come out, or they wait for the BBYA list to be released."

Reading about the positive impact that making the BBYA list with Breathing Underwater had on Alex Flynn's career, my heart sank at this: "A book like Breathing Underwater would never have been chosen for BBYA if it had been up to popular vote, particularly if there were only five slots."

And again at this: "And what of titles which may have less popular appeal due to concentrating on members of minority groups?...I can only imagine how a book like Williams' Garcia's, an African-American title which opened with a brutal rape and had a hideous cover, would have fared in a popular vote."

Replacing YALSA's current BBYA list with a Reader's Choice one would be a definite vote in favour of popularity over quality. If that's where YALSA want to go, I suppose they're headed in the right direction with this idea but it all feels very wrong to me. I understand if the current BBYA procedure needs some kind of overhaul but readers are already well aware of the hit books on the market. The Reader's Choice list won't offer anything new — instead it will shine yet another spotlight on top selling books that don't need another champion while lesser known but just as worthy novels go undiscovered. Is that really what you want, YALSA?

New Interview & The Shelf Life of Magic

There's a brand new interview with me up at Stop, Drop, and Read! Many thanks for having me over for a blog visit, Diana! I'll be making another appearance at Stop, Drop, and Read! for Diana's blogoversary in August but not as myself. As who? you may wonder, but I'm not letting the cat out of the bag just yet. You can check back there to catch that and many other cool blogoversary posts next month.

I should also mention that right here (on the blog & website) there are 7 days left for the One Lonely Degree contest. So if you'd like to enter email me at ckkellymartin at hotmail dot com before July 14th.

In other news, I'm sorry to report that a natural disaster befell the Magic Garden on day five. Nope, I didn't poke or prod it (I swear). The Magic Garden was extremely delicate and I suspect either the coffee table it was mounted upon got nudged ever so slightly or the current from the vent felt more like a hurricane to the fragile Magic Garden. I still recommend the Magic Garden experience but be sure to tiptoe around your Garden and avoid breathing in its direction!

To my delight someone emailed me and informed me there are also Magic Snow men, Magic Trees and Magic Sheep. Behold the Magic Sheep video somebody posted on YouTube:

So don't let anyone tell you there's no such thing as magic!

Canada Day Magic

We were in Stratford last weekend to catch a fantastic production of The Importance of Being Earnest, the kind of production that makes you wonder if there's anything in the world quite as delightful as an Oscar Wilde comedy. Well, of course there are those delectable Vancouver cupcakes so I might just have to call it a tie. But anyway, while in town for the day we stopped into Quark Soup on Ontario Street, a shop that sells all kinds of weird and wonderful goodies like Sea-Monkeys and Insta-Snow.

A bizarre looking Magic Garden kit caught our eye. The box promised that once watered with the enclosed MAGIC solutions the paper garden would begin to blossom within three hours. In just ten it would be fully grown.

Really? How the hell does that happen?

I'm no wiser now, having purchased the Magic Garden, and the box (which lists the product as being made in Taiwan) doesn't give any ingredients away. So I guess I just have to believe in the power of magic. Below you can examine my photographic evidence, taken on Canada Day when we had a day to spare to study the progress of our Magic Garden, in between watching snippets
from Corner Gas and Trailer Park Boys marathons.

Magic Garden—the promise of whimsy and wonder for $6.99.

The Magic ingredients, including paper cut-out trees, flowers, mountain and the packets of Magic solution. The instruction sheet mentioned a blue mountain, while ours was clearly green, but we soldiered on.

Assembled, the Magic Garden awaits the Magic solution which will transform it from a barren wasteland to a thing of beauty.

About an hour after the application of Magic Solution, the flowers and trees already showing some evidence of growth.

Approximately three hours into the process, pink blossoms sprouting on trees.

Woohoo, see that snow on the top of the mountain at the halfway point in the transformation!

A few hours left to go, trees puffy with pink and the flowers shaping up nicely too.

Hour ten, Magic Garden in full bloom as promised and complete with snow-covered mountain.

What next? The instructions suggest adding a small amount of water underneath the mountain after two days. Apparently this will result in snow of a more natural colour. The guy at the store told us the garden will remain intact for quite awhile if not poked and prodded. Magic, I suppose, doesn't like to be poked and prodded so I will endeavour to give the Magic Garden the space and respect it deserves.

I hope all my fellow Canadians out there had just as magical a Canada Day!

Win!

Yes, I'm finally getting around to the promised June contest! Because it's summer I want to keep things easy peasy so if you're interested in winning (*and live in North America*) just email me at ckkellymartin at hotmail dot com with the subject line "I want 1LD" and I'll enter your name in the contest. Contest starts now and the draw date is July 14th.

First Prize

signed copy of One Lonely Degree
One Lonely Degree journal
One Lonely Degree mousepad
One Lonely Degree T-shirt
One Lonely Degree magnet

Second Prize

signed copy of One Lonely Degree
One Lonely Degree magnet

shirt front

shirt back

Journal

Magnet

Mousepad

Best of luck!