The Finale Week 9 Assignment 3

Be More Bookish has been worth the time.   I would say that the articles on Reader's Advisory, especially during week 8 and 3 were most useful.


Neal Wyatt, very clearly and precisely describes RA.  

Exploring various links has such as Daily Beast was enlightening, because it made me realize how much I appreciate how comprehensive my favorite sites, Early Word and Goodreads, are and why I continue to use them and to recommend them to our customers.  I think that each of us chooses the sites that work best for us.  Some prefer the organized sites, others prefer media oriented, visual sites and others prefer the more rambling sites.  Having the opportunity to explore a variety of resources gives us a smorgasbord to select our favorites.

These exercises continue to force me to explore those genres I don't particulary enjoy, such as science fiction and urban fiction.

I believe week 6, that is why I didn't complete the assignment at the time, was the most frustrating.  It truly is difficult to find a fan blog that is kept current and active.  You really do need to find a blog run by an author or an organized fan who can maintain the site and keep it current.  I dreaded doing this at the time and dreaded doing it the second time around.  

As I noted in one of my blogs, I believe that the Neal Wyatt article should be incorporated into the Librarian's Checklist as a way to become familiar with RA.    It could also be used as a guideline to create a mini RA course in the future.

Thanks for all your hard work putting this together.  Unfortunately, it happened during the busiest time of the year, and the busiest summer we have ever had!

Week 6 Assignment 3 DONE

Subgenres

During week 6 I searched for blogs and was very unsuccessful in finding a subgenre blog that was active and worth recognition.

After searching again, I am still finding it difficult to find an active and current fan Website.  Authors and individuals have created blog, but I don't think of these as "fan" blogs.

Urban Fiction   Erotica:  

http://www.streetfiction.org/- provides reviews on a variety of subgenre urban fiction. Provides interviews and links for librarians.   Lacking in fan blogs.

Author, Tamika Newhouse, erotica, relationships, quick pace

Mystery:  Cozy mysteries, including food mysteries.

http://www.cozy-mystery.com/blog/

Cleo Coyle, writes a light,character driven, faced paced and with some  humor.

http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/mystery-horror-thriller,  I feel like I'm cheating using GoodReads, but it works!

Mystery:   horror, thriller

Stephen King, the Shining,    this is a fast paced, chilling horror story with a mystery to be solved.

Two books that are in a subgenre:

Author:  Patricia Knight   - She writes science fiction, romance with some erotic romance but with strong female characters.  This getting to a sub, subgenre is getting a bit difficult but I'll give it a try. I was thinking that the Science Fiction genre of this book provides a stronger female element that you don't see in erotica fiction. 

Author: Skirmish on a Summer by Billy Gregg
This Western includes a romance, but strong female character that saves him by providing a futuristic weapon.

Week 6 Assignment 2 DONE

AAAGHHH!    The Prezi link is a fantastic idea, but please, it would be more helpful to have it in a linear format.

Week 6 Assignment 1 DONE

Mystery Readers International

OK, any site that has a table of contents of their articles gets a thumbs up from me!  On the downside, they request that you pay to view most of their content.   I ventured off to the Janet Rudolph's blog, which is nicely organized, well written and allows you to follow archived blogs.    

I opted out to register for their email notification of new and upcoming mysteries.  It is just too overwhelming to be getting emails from multiple sources.  

To be honest,  I would not follow this site because I find it too limiting.  However, I appreciated the link to the Macavity Award.  These awards are given by the Mystery Readers International.   Low and behold, they have an award to mystery non-fiction which is appropriate for when we are looking for a non-fiction book for a fiction reader. 

Week 9 Assignment 2 DONE

So how many authors are outgoing and love acting? I would imagine not very many, so why put authors on a video where they feel uncomfortable speaking about their book.

Unless the book is already out and people are interested in the author, most readers are not going to be interested in hearing an author selling their books. A one-on-one question and answer session with the author is more comfortable and appealing to readers. Non-fiction books tend to lend themselves more to an author interview. I could see people wanting to watch the video of a Q & A session, but not a book trailer.

One article gave an example in one of the articles that readers were interested in seeing that Jeannette Walls, author of the Glass Castle, was successful after reading her story of her difficult childhood, but this was after readers had read the book. Again, this is a non-fiction book which lends itself well to readers wanted to meet the author.

The Packing for Mars trailer was a good example of the trailor not giving you a feel of the appeal factors of the book. You get the sense of Mary Roach's sense of humor, but that is all. I would much rather scan a more detailed summary and review of a book. A summary and review is much more helpful that a video clip.

Week 9 Assignment 1 DONE

I read the two articles and video on book trailers.  I looked for some book trailers on YouTube.


So how many authors are outgoing and love acting?   I would imagine not very many, so why put authors on a video where they feel uncomfortable speaking about their book.

Unless the book is already out and people are interested in the author, most readers are not going to be interested in hearing an author selling their books.  A one-on-one question and answer session with the author is more comfortable and appealing to readers.  Non-fiction books tend to lend themselves more to an author interview.  I could see people wanting to watch the video of a Q & A session, but not a book trailer.

One article gave an example in one of the articles that readers were interested in seeing that Jeannette Walls, author of the Glass Castle, was successful after reading  her story of her difficult childhood, but this was after readers had read the book.   Again, this is a non-fiction book which lends itself well to readers wanted to meet the author.

The Packing for Mars trailer was a good example of the trailor not giving you a feel of the appeal factors of the book.  You get the sense of Mary Roach's sense of humor, but that is all.   I would much rather scan a more detailed summary and review of a book.  A summary and review is much more helpful that a video clip.

Week 8 Assignment 4 DONE

Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

This is an engaging, moving book about four children whose  parents, although very bright, educating and creative live a nomadic and very dysfunctional life.   Jeannette Walls goes into detail about very disturbing conditions that they have to endure and yet she also shows the compassion and determination of the children to survive and pursue a better life.  

Stiff by Mary Roach

If you enjoy books about medicine, but not too serious, you just may enjoy Roach's book Stiff.  This is an informative book about cadavers, with a bit of humor to take off the edge.  It is very enlightening book that provides both a historical view of cadavers and also how they are used to solve crimes.  If you like the element of solving criminalcases, with a bit of historical medicine mixed with some humor this may like to try this non-fiction title.

Week 8 Assignment 3 DONE

Non-fiction genres.

1.  Adventure:   Dewey sections:  360s, 796, 910, 919 to name a few.
                          Book recommendation:   Between a Rock and Hard Place by Aaron Ralston


2.  Social Issues:   Dewey sections:    636
                              Book recommendation:  I Want to Kill the Dog by Richard Cohen


3.  Biography/Memoirs:   Dewey sections:  biography
                                          Book recommendation:  The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls



4. Medical:    Dewey sections:  600s
                      Book Recommendation:  Stiff  by Mary Roach

Week 8 Assignment 2 DONE

I viewed the video produced by MSLRC regarding non-fiction material, the type of genres that can be found in non-fiction and how some narrative non-fiction can appeal to fiction readers.

Week 8 Assignment 1 DONE

 I read both articles, Borderlands and Readers' Advisor News.

Reader's Advisory News made some very good points.

It is indeed true that the storyline of a non-fiction book appealing to a fiction reader. Without a storyline, the book can be too dry and boring.  The idea that there are subgenres in non-fiction, similar to  fiction is something to keep in mind when doing RA.   As noted, crime non-fiction can vary, so that RA  conversation with the customer will help to select the most appropriate titles for your customer.  Biography can also be tricky, so be sure to know what appeals the customer prefers.

Although we merchanside non-fiction, we tend to do so independent of fiction.   As recommended by Sharon Baker, we need to mix fiction and non-fiction was displaying material. 

Using Polaris read-a-likes and websites like EarlyWord and the Williamsburg Regional Library's list of narrative non-fiction can be very helpful.  I have been using these regularly, since I find it enjoyable to put a good non-fiction book into a customer's hand.

Week 7 Assignment 3 DONE

I instantly liked Stacked, it is organized and she writes in complete sentences!  I can see I am going to look forward to following this blog.  She also uses appeal factors when recommending books.   I'm reading her commentary on blogging, which I found to be very enlightening.  What is the purpose of blogging reviews, how do the publisher's take advantage of blogging reviews and who should be blogging so that the reader identifies a non-biased review.

Stack appeals to Young Adult readers and includes reviews and comments on material including audio materials, graphic novels, digital and video material.   It is one of the more active and current blogging sites for Young Adults I have seen so far.

They promote new authors and new titles to be reviewed on their site.  They have guidelines for submitting material to be reviewed.  Each reviewer specifies on the site their preference for the genre they prefer to read and review.

I would recommend this site for a young adult reader who would like to explore new titles.

Forever Young Adult

This is for the Young Adult who is wanting to move into adult books.  The layout would very much appeal to this age group.  The photos of older YAs and some older than YA folks drinking alcohol and being cool would be very inviting to the older YA.  The site is an eye catcher, the blogs are current.  I think this is more oriented to females, but it would also appeal to some males as well.

The site states  "FYA is a place where you can let your inner Lady Nerd loose and swoon over fictional characters without shame (while sipping on a cocktail). From book reviews to TV crushes to movie drinking games, it's basically a non-stop internet slumber party, and you're totally invited!"

Ta Da, they have a list of FYA book clubs by city.  It looks like Baltimore's Ivy Bookshop is looking to start a FYA bookclub-TBA.

Week 7 Assignment 2 done

Read the following two articles.  Following are my comments and thoughts
I read YA Comes of Age by Sue Corbett.  This was published in September, 2011. 

Publishers noted that the popularity of YA adults is on the rise.  This is not surprising, since there has been a surge in some very popular Teen fiction in the last 5-8 years.  These teens are getting into their adult years and are still yearning for something to read.  Also, there is a segment of the teen population that can afford to purchase new books so it is not surprising to see this trend. 

This article was written in 2011, when it was said that the publishers had paranormal fatigue, but the fatigue seems to have had a shot of B12 because it is being published.   Dystopia is the more recent genre of interest.

I agree that authors, like Patterson and Steel have been very sly to write YA books in order to grab them before they become adults. No sophisticated marketing there!    We, as librarians, can be abreast of the well written books in the popular genres so that we can recommend the not so famous authors who have spent a great deal of time writing an engaging story.  

Yalsa
The Hub

Why are adults now reading YA literature Rummel asks?    It appears that the surge of blogs have helped to create the interest in YA literature.  If one looks at those who are blogging I suspect it is the 20 and 30  year olds. The use of read-a-likes has helped the publishing industry boost interest in authors and titles similar to the popular books such as Game of Thrones, Vampire Academy and, Gossip Girl ect to get them hooked on other similar books.  As Rummel noted, the publishers are using savvy marketing techniques to hook these readers.  There is a large segment of the population that must read what is popular whether it is well written or not i.e Fifty Shades of Gray. 
Rummel shared what genres are popular, dystopia, fantasy and scinece fiction. 

Week 7 Assignment 1 done

Lawrence Public Library's Read Alike flowchart is useful in that it provides specific themes to the books such as natural disasters, climate, earthquakes, volcanoes etc.     It is has a logic flow to it, that leads one from one genre to subgenres.   I clicked on the title and was dissappointed that it did not take you to the catalog so that you could get more information about the book.  It is very linear, you miss the options to links; however, the designer provided a detailed diagram that is very useful.

Week 5 Assignment 3 done

Wicked Girls by Alex Marwood is a psychological thriller with a fast paced and gripping story. If you are a reader of Rosemnd Lupton and/or Chevy Stevens you may also enjoy this book.

Week 5 Assignment 2 done

Early Word was one of my favorite sites. As you can tell from previous posts, I NEED the organization on a site to be able to browse. Organized sites are much easier to sell to a customer.

 

How many times do customers come in hearing about a book on the air.  Early Word provides a link that I have found to be very helpul in these situations. 

 

I have also used the non-fiction links when I am stumped to find a good book for a customer.

 

It is hard to find a site that surpasses EarlyWord.  It is very comprehensive, well organized and has links to almost anything you would be looking for in the book world.  It is the best!

Week 5 Assignment 1 done

Meandering through the Book Beast is a challenge. I had to stay focused on the book reviews or else I found myself reading news items.

The Long Form Journalis provides was interested, not something other sites provide.

I would not follow the Book Beast on a routine basis because the lack or organization. From this site I discovered MM Millions, which does have organized links. It also links to NPR; however, I go there directly and was already familiar with NPR. 

Week 4 Assignment I DONE

I have added at least 15 books that I have either already read or want to read to my shelves on Goodread.   I have made friends with library staff on Goodreads.   I provided a book recommendation to Meliss Bunce based on what she has read.  

Week 3 Conversation 3 DONE

Based on your interest in the historical, fast paced, suspensful and compelling book River of Doubt, I would recommend the following title for you that has similar characteristics: Manhunt, the Twelve Day Hunt for Lincoln's Killer by James Swanson.   You will find this book is also fast paced and will dwell into the people who tried to  find Booth.

Week 3 Conversation 2 DONE

I would suggest the series Women of the Other World.   It is more gritty, suspenseful book than Twilight.  If you like werewolves and a contemporary setting (video games is the source of destroying the paranormal) you may enjoy this book.  It lacks the light romance of Twilight.  The protagonist is a female werewolf who takes on the challenge of capturing the person responsible for killing her paranormal friends.

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Week 3 Conversation I DONE

I get the sense that what you enjoyed about Eat, Pray, Love was the description of the various countries and also that Gilbert  spoke of her personal thoughts on her journey.   It also sounds like you enjoyed the humor that Gilbert injected into her book.   Based on your comments, I would suggest that you try Tales of a Female Nomad: Living at Large in the Word by Rita Gelman.   You will find in this book a 40ish year old woman who decides to shed her belongings and discover the world.  She explores people and places far and wide from Mexico to the Galapagos to Africa.  She talks about discovering ones dreams and the joy in ones life.   I think this book will provide the descriptions and character of other countries that you enjoyed in Eat, Pray, Love and the inner voice of the author, light but meaningful.   Please come back and let me know if you enjoyed the book.  I would love to recommend others as well.

Week 3 Assignment 2  DONE

Interview on NPR with Nancy Pearl giving a book talk on three books.

These are some of Nancy's favorite books so she describes them with such enthusiasm that you can't wait to read them!   Nancy emphasizes how much she loves well styled writing the books she noted, especially in Billy Lynn's Long Half-Time Walk. 

Lost: A Novel  by Michael Robotham

This has an appealing but flawed hero, who is solving a crime in the past (her preferred type of mystery).  The writing is nice with a complex plot.

Billy Lynn's Long Half-Time Walk by Benjamin Fountain\

In her description she referred to the following appeal factors:  irony, sorrow and anger.   Cognitive dissonance is the theme in this story that unfolds in one day. 

Treasure Island  by Sara Levine

She loved this book!  This was outrageous and delightful.  The appealing factor for Nancy was the complexity of the characters.  She was drawn into the story and into the characters such that she wanted to be able to provide her own advice to the characters. 

Week 3 Assignment 1 DONE

OK, I am rewriting this.  I already did this but I can't seem to find it in my posts. 

Neal Wyatt has very nicely presented everything one needs to know about how to provide excellent Readers Advisory.  Just a thought, maybe BCPL could use his article and suggestions for exercises for another RA training sometime in the future.

I especially enjoyed his idea of applying the following to a group of genres: Adrenaline, Intellect, Emotion, and Landscape.  I think we already do this, but putting words to it makes it more sensible. Wyatt also nicely reminds us that RA is a matter of engaging in a conversation with the customer, we must put aside our fears and feelings of being tested.  I have printed his article to give to my part-time librarians and also to use for training purposes. 

It may be a good idea that the librarian's checklist include Wyatt's article as mandatory reading, including doing the exercises.     

Week 2 Assignment 3  Done

First recommendation:

I posted the following recommendation on someone's blog and now I can't remember who is was.  I did it last week.

I suggested Philippa Gregory to someone who read Persuasion by Jane Austen but I did not jot down their name and I can't find who it is.  I used the following appeal factors:  historical, character driven and English history.


Second recommendation:

I posted the following on Elizabeth Stack's blog.

Based on your interest in reading The Jefferson Key by Steve Berry, a fast paced, historical suspense, I would suggest that you try reading Charles Brokaw's novels.  Charles Brokaw's books include conspiracy theories that involve solving an historical secret.

Week 2 Assignment 2 Done

Week 2 Assignment 2

Crown
by Nancy Bilyeau

This is a historical fiction, set in Henry VIII time. There is a strong female character, a novitiate, who has the job of finding the golden crown in order to save her father. It includes suspense and a surprise ending.
This is not what I usually read, but I must say that the book on CD was very well done, so if you want to listen to this I would recommend the CD.

Snapper
by Brian Kimberling

This is a first person narrative.  You may enjoy this witty story about a 30 something man who takes a job as an ornithologist even though he does not have much experience in the field.   His explorations in this new field of work are enhanced by his pursuit of a woman.  This is lighhearted and humorous.

Week 2 Assigment 1 DONE

Week 2 Assignment 1  DONE

Appeal Factors by Neal Wyatt:

Having had the opportunity to attend other genre trainings, most of the information he provided was already familiar to me.  However, I have printed his article so that I can refer to it in the future.  The information is nicely  presented.

He presented a new twist on viewing appeal factors: Adrenaline, Intellect, Emotion, and Landscape.  


Wyatt has some very useful exercises and articles to read.   BCPL could use his ideas and exercises to create a short course in Readers Advisory.  He already has it very nicely presented.  Just a thought. :)

Week 1  Assignment 5.  done
It always amazes how much some of these covers change over time.  For a few of these books, this child was not totally on the mark describing what the book is about.  Even though it was not a literal description of the book, her ideas lending some truth to some of the themes of the books.
It is all in the eye of the beholder.

Week 1    Assignment 4  Done

I have chosen to follow the Daily Beast and Mystery Readers International.

In researching the Salon and Daily Beast it was interesting reading some commentaries on both.  Unfortunately budget cuts have made these sites compromise their investigative reporting.  Salon is catering more to what the masses want, so I went with the Daily Beast.  I was already familiar with the other choices. 

Week 1 Assignment 3 Done

Week 1 Assignment 3
Golden Rules of Reader's Advisory

Great tip:  Record who would like the book you just read.  I have read some books that just don't appeal to me, but it would be very helpful to record WHO might like to read this book. 

When a customer can't decide I like to see what it is they might like and give them a bit of variety.  At least my chances are greater that they will like at least one or a few of the titles I recommend.  I always tell them to come back and let us know what they did or did not like, so we can provide more recommendations.  This is often helpful for someone who has been out of touch with reading for awhile.

Week 1 Assignment 2 done

Week 1   Assignment 2

Matching Genre covers.   I was delighted to see I got most of them.  The ones that tripped me up were science fiction.

Week Assignment 1 done

Week 1   Assignment 1

Sporcle quiz
Did they change some of those covers?  Got 18/24.

Week 1 Assingment 1 done

Week 1.
Assignment 1

Ready to get started on Be More Bookish.   Created my blog Zinnias