First off, Happy April Fool's Day! I really, really wanted
to play a trick on the blog, but instead, I'm going to share my love for
Twitter. If you don't know about it, Twitter
is a social networking site that limits posts to 140 characters. If you aren't Tweeting, try this sometime:
say something witty and pithy, using ONLY 140 CHARACTERS. It is challenging! Some teachers are using
Twitter for writing exercises, and I can understand why. You have to really use
just the right word, and you have to THINK about what it is you want to
say. But honestly, that's not the main
reason I love Twitter. Being a stay-up-past-my-bedtime book fanatic, I love
Twitter for the interactions I have with the authors of the books
I so adore.
I read Cathy Marie Buchanan's (@CathyMBuchanan) lovely new
novel, The Painted Girls, and Tweeted about how much I enjoyed it. She replied to
me! She even retweeted one of my Tweets! And followed me! (For those of you unfamiliar with
Twitter, a "retweet" is when someone reposts your Tweet. Exciting!)
Ok, so maybe that is not earth-shaking to some of you, but I had a personal
interaction with the author of a book I really enjoyed. When was the last time you did that? I follow many authors on Twitter, and I feel
like I know something about them. For instance, I found out that Elizabeth Wein (@EWein2412) was a huge fan of the show Flambards when she was in High School, because I tweeted that watching it made me think of her book, Code Name Verity. Yes, some of them Tweet about
breakfast, the TV shows they watch, their chickens, their travels, and their
political views. I find it fascinating. I also wonder when some of them
actually write because they sure do Tweet a lot. Those who follow YA author
Maureen Johnson (@maureenjohnson) know what I mean! I can also keep in touch with authors that I have
actually met or worked with: I love
hearing about @CarrieMacWrites and her adorable children, and @arthurslade
posts all sorts of interesting tidbits.
I've also won things on Twitter. I've won 2 books and an iTunes
gift card. Again, not headline news, but I now have a personally signed copy of
a book from an author I really admire. @DanielDKraus sent me a copy of his new
book Scowler because I loved his first book and Tweeted about it during a giveaway. My winning Tweet: "I want Scowler advance copy...because Rotters nearly made me puke about 10 times."
@SavvyReader has a great 50 Book Pledge initiative on
Twitter. You pledge to read at least 50
books in the year, and you Tweet about the books you read. They even have a
nifty bookshelf this year that you can use to track your reading. I love this
new feature, and I love that I can write a quick review of the book – it comes
in handy when I am recommending books to others! Check out my bookshelf here.
PS – I've already read more than 50 books this year. Refer to above paragraph. I stay up too late
reading on a regular basis.
I've connected with other librarians on Twitter, too. I have
many new librarian colleagues that I have never met, yet I feel like I know a
bit about them. And when library conferences roll around, and someone organizes
a Tweet-up (meet-up) in person, worlds collide! Internet becomes reality!
So if you've heard about Twitter, but haven't delved into
the Twitterverse, now's the time. Follow me @annavalley and follow AVRL
@valleylibs. See you in the ether.
--Angela J. Reynolds, Head of Youth Services
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