bookshelves of doom

Free excerpt: Boys Don't Knit, by T.S. Easton.

At the Guardian.

I've only read the first few pages, but despite the rather dated title, it's really funny: it reads a lot like a Georgia Nicolson book, only with a male protagonist. So that'll be a good one to keep an eye out for.

Best YA of 2013: Telegraph edition.

I'm only familiar with half of these titles: I LOVE best-of lists that introduce me to new books!

Here's the list, click through for blurbs and cover art and whatnot:

She Is Not Invisible, by Marcus Sedgwick

Picture Me Gone, by Meg Rosoff

More Than This, by Patrick Ness

In Bloom, by Matthew Crow

Heroic, by Phil Earle

Ketchup Clouds, by Annabel Pitcher

Dead Romantic, by CJ Skuse

Infinite Sky, by CJ Flood

Hello Darkness, by Anthony McGowan

Butter, by Erin Lange

Free read: Wikipedia Brown.

From The Case of the Captured Koala:

Bugs Meany was the leader of a gang of tough older boys. They called themselves the Tigers. They should have called themselves the Heathens. They were doomed to eternal torment in a subterranean lake of fire.

I haven't finished reading it yet, but so far, it's rather hilarious.

(via GalleyCat)

Teens and Facebook: Research study agrees with conventional wisdom.

From the Guardian:

Teens do not care that alternative services are less functional and sophisticated, and they also unconcerned about how information about them is being used commercially or as part of surveillance practice by the security services, the research found. 

"What appears to be the most seminal moment in a young person’s decision to leave Facebook was surely that dreaded day your mum sends you a friend request," wrote Miller.

"It is nothing new that young people care about style and status in relation to their peers, and Facebook is simply not cool anymore."

Currently reading Robin McKinley's Shadows...

...and not only is it dedicated to Diana Wynne Jones, but there's an algebra textbook that comes to life.

Which is so DWJ I can't even.

That's all.

I shall go back to my book now.

Added to my mental wishlist: The Settlers of Catan Cookbook.

From NPR:

To accommodate picky eaters, Oseland uses made for scientists so no two ingredients have to touch. Arranged as a "board" they also mimic the game's tiles. She fills them with side dishes made from ingredients that evoke terrains — red hills, green forests, yellow fields, dark mountains and white deserts.

The recipes range from things like "Settlers of the Nacho Bar" (a deconstructed nacho platter) to the much heartier "Thanksgiving Dinner Board" (mashed potatoes, stuffing and green beans).

DECONSTRUCTED. NACHO. PLATTER.

Clip: Divergent.

Theo James, rowr. (<--I've had a soft spot for him since that ridiculous Bedlam show.)