The Trolley is back on track!

Yes!  Like that annoying rash, we’re back (and with a fresh supply of ointment).

You know how you’ve had that feeling that something’s been missing in your life, but you couldn’t quite work out what it was?  Well, we’re here to fix all that, and provide you with lots of interesting snippets and links and pearls of wisdom for your general edification.

Books and reading

• Two extensive flow charts from Lawrence Public Library to help you find your next great dystopian, apocalyptic or postapocalyptic read: So You Loved The Hunger Games, What Next? and The Bigger Brighter More Up-To-Date version of the previous flowchart.

• Is it dystopia?  Let these helpful flowcharts from YA authors Maureen Johnson & Erin Bowman help you determine is what you are experiencing is a dystopian society, or if you are just a whinger. 

Source: @kdidd via @maureenjohnson

Source: http://www.embowman.com/2011/is-it-dystopia/

• Reading fiction is good for your brain – The Neuroscience of Your Brain on Fiction (via YALSA blog)

• A very interesting infographic from Goodreads tracking the popularity of  dystopian fiction and comparing it to important events in world history.

• What have the Trolleyed chicks been reading recently?  I’ve just finished Freeze Frame – a beautiful collection of photos & accompanying stories from acclaimed wildlife cameraman Doug Allan.  I love this book, and I don’t want to return it to the library!  If you have it on reserve, I’m sorry, you will just have to wait til I have finished poring over every page.   It is now on my must buy list.

At the same time I was reading C J Box’s latest Joe Pickett thriller Force of Nature.  This book focuses more on Nate Romanowski, who has been a supporting character to date.  I do love Box’s characterisation and I enjoyed learning more of Nate’s background and motivation.  Seeing Joe through Nate’s eyes was also interesting.  And as always, Box’s descriptions of Wyoming has only deepened my desire to go there…one day.

Rachael and I have both recently read John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars – which we both just loved.  Green’s writing is pitch perfect, and The Fault in Our Stars would have to be his best yet.

Rachael also discovered The Shadow Girl by John Larkin – a story about a 14 year homeless girl.  The story is told in alternating chapters between the author interviewing the girl, and the girl herself.  From Rachael’s description of it – it sounds a very moving and compelling story – highly recommended.

I also see on Rachael’s LibraryThing page she has been reading 48 Shades of Brown – I’m not sure if I want to know how that one turns out!

If you want to follow what we’ve been reading we both have accounts with LibraryThing (being library geeks we like listing and tagging books – it gives us a sense of satisfaction to see them all lined up).  Our pages are Rachaelistic and SarahCCL.  (I’ve just spotted Tim Gunn’s Fashion Bible on Rachael’s page – oooh!  Reserve has now been placed )

 Social media & technology

• Beyond the book talk: using social media to promote reading – some good ideas here (via Voya)

• Long Live Paper – Interesting article from The New York Times about the demise of the paper textbook.  The comment about the possibility of whenever someone wants to read something they will require a power source resonated with me, particularly given events of the last 2 years in Christchurch (via Library Link of the Day)

• 15 Pinterest boards for book lovers (via delightfulchildrensbooks)

• An excellent post on internet safety, the third video is particularly chilling.  Please share this widely – it is especially poignant in light of the recent tragic death of Amanda Todd.  (via Lucacept)

YA stuff

• The theme for the upcoming YALSA YA Literature Symposium is The Next Big Thing.  As a lead-up to the symposium, YALSA’s The Hub blog has been posting 31 Days Of The Next Best Thing.  There have been some great posts so far, and it definitely worth checking out over the rest of October.  As for the symposium itself, there are some great speakers and topics on the schedule – it’d be great to be able to go.  However, I’m sure there’ll be a twitter hashtag for us to follow – hopefully more on this closer to the time.  (via YALSA blog & The Hub blog)

• Infographic: How Teens View Their Digital Lives (via YALSA symposium blog)

• Looking for a way to combine the time sink that is Pinterest with your commitment to keeping up to date with young-people-these-days?  Then check out this list of YA authors on Pinterest.  And this is why I put this as the last link on this post, as I know that once you click on Pinterest, you’ll be lost for the next hour.  (Can’t remember the source for this link, sorry.)

Well folks, that’s it for the moment.  Keep applying the ointment liberally, and we’ll be back again in a few weeks with more goodies to share.

In the meantime, any comments, suggestions, or bribes will be gratefully received.

Sources: YALSA blog, The Hub blog, YALSA symposium site, Voya, Lucacept http://jennyluca.com/, Delightful Childrens Books blog, Library Link of the Day