Reading Is Good For You

Mmmm, I love this blog (http://theyayayas.wordpress.com/). Not only do these three young adult librarians do the traditional book reviews and advice on programming and displays, but they feel free to rant and rave a bit about their experiences in this particular field. As someone interested in becoming a YA librarian, I find it helpful if someone's not all puppies and rainbows about the job, so I can know what to really expect (that would have been really nice when I was in the education field during undergrad).
As far as their book reviews go, I really appreciate the honesty of these bloggers. They don't simply stick to reviewing books that they love and sit there and gush about them (though they do give liberal praise for the books they do enjoy). They're not afraid to let you know that a book got merely lukewarm reception from them or was downright terrible and should be avoided at all costs. I don't like to waste my time reading bad books, so I am glad when someone gives me the heads up.
Also, I was more than pleased when I opened the feed yesterday and discovered that two of the bloggers had posted advice on booktalking, which is something I tried to do as a reading teacher last year and at which I never quite felt successful. They pointed me toward some great websites with sample booktalks, which I am posting for all who are interested:
http://www.motherreader.com/2006/06/bookhooks.html
http://www.motherreader.com/2007/10/teenbooktalking.html
http://www.motherreader.com/2006/03/extreme-booktalking.html
Also, Nancy Keane, Scholastic and Random House all offer book talk samples.