The Serpentine Library

Maria Ciccone of Mount Kisco loves books. That certainly makes sense as a librarian-in-training and current master's degree candidate. But now she has taken another step. Ciccone is blogging about books on her own blog, The Serpentine Library.

"I love books and reading books and I talked my friends ears off about books all the time," Ciccone said. " A couple of friends have blogs, so I thought why not start one?"

Ciccone's blog is just one of many that center on the love of books. Reading and books are a favorite topic of blogs, which are online journals or diaries that anyone can read.

She posts her own reviews of books she has read and also picks up reviews from GoodReads.com and Amazon.com. Several days a week, her posts have themes or "memes." "Waiting for Wednesday" is for posting about books that have not been published yet, while "Teaser Tuesday" asks folks to open a book they are currently reading to a random page, and post two sentences that might pique someone else's interest in the book. "Friday Follow" links to other blogs on books.

Many of the books Ciccone writes about and reviews are fantasy novels or young adult novels. Young adult, or YA, literature is one of the few areas of publishing that is doing well. While over-all book buying is down, young adult novels are selling well, she said.

"I primarily work in the children's section of the library and I love reading YA," Ciccone said. "I try to keep current so that when kids come in and ask what to read next I know what to steer them to."

Although fantasy and YA are Ciccone's favorites, she does not limit herself. "I love reading pretty much anything, she said." One recent post discussed a memoir, Dead End Gene Pool, by Wendy Burden.

Ciccone is studying for a master's degree in library science at Long Island University's Purchase campus. She has two more semesters to go. Although she always loved books and had worked in a library while in high school, she had never given serious thought to becoming a librarian until the last few years.

At one time she'd considered law school--until she spent a summer working for a law firm.  She decided against teaching after a stint as a substitute teacher. "I figured out that all I wanted to do was teach reading and talk about books, so being a librarian was the best fit," she said.

The Serpentine Library is catching on. The blog now has more than 140 followers, or people who list her blog on their blog. Ciccone's blog has had visitors from several countries.

In addition to Ciccone's blog on books, there are other local book related blogs. Teen Talk Weblog is a YA-related blog hosted by the Greenburgh Public Library.  Library Mermaid is by Susan Moorhead of New Rochelle.