Week 9: Assignment 3

I think the training received via the Be More Bookish course was varied and comprehensive. It was nice to explore a variety of genres and read and think about the different aspects of Readers Advisory. As someone who struggles with my confidence when faced with the simple question “Can you recommend a good book”, this type of training is very useful in helping to combat the anxiety. The more resources I have and the more RA work I’m exposed to, the better able I will be able to comfortably and easily handle RA requests. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about and practicing using “appeal factors”. This seems to really be at the heart of good RA service. I also really enjoyed the Prezi link genre page. 

Thanks!

Week 9: Assignment 2

Of the book trailers I watched, the ones that actually made me want to read the books were the videos that showed the authors simply talking about the books. The trailers that were jokey and gimmicky may have been funny or interesting in their own right, but that did not transfer to interest in the book itself. If the video doesn’t tell me anything about the actual book, it’s not going to generate interest for me to go out and read it. When authors share their personal reasons for writing a book and give some background to pull me into their story that is what makes me want to hear more about it. I don’t really hear people talking about book trailers. I hear much more about author interviews on the television, radio and in articles in newspapers and magazines. In terms of Readers’ Advisory, I think some of the trailers could be useful (such as the ones in which the authors actually talk about the books), but the other trailers I mentioned that don’t really talk about the book are probably not going to help us determine if a book is going to appeal to a particular patron.  

Week 8: Assignment 4

The Wild Truth—Carine McCandless BIO McCandless 

Appeal factors: characters, plot, special interest subject matter (for those who read Into the Wild)

This nonfiction title was written by the sister of Chris McCandless, the main subject of “Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer. In that book, there were many unanswered questions as to why Chris essentially cut off his family. Carine writes this book to fill in some of those gaps and to give the readers a sense of what was really happening within their family that caused Chris to leave. This book is a biography written mostly about Carine and Chris’ lives growing up in a very strange and often abusive family. She writes in a way that almost makes her parents seem like fictional characters because of their outlandish, neurotic, and “crazy” behavior. This book will appeal to those who read and enjoyed “Into the Wild” in particular since otherwise you don’t have the story behind the story. Those who enjoy reading about and dissecting family relationships might enjoy this biography. Some authors include Elin Hillenbrand, Barbara Delinsky, and Fern Michaels.

In Cold Blood—Truman Capote 364.152 C 

Appeal factors: tone, genre, writing style

This book is a perfect example of a nonfiction book that reads like fiction. It’s a true crime book, but the writing style is exactly the same of the writing style you would find in the Fiction section. Capote uses descriptive language to set the scene and build tension within the story that effectively engages the reader. He also uses sense of place to develop the tone. Readers who enjoy fiction writers such as Patricia Cornwell, John Grisham and Agatha Christie may enjoy this nonfiction title.

Week 8: Assignment 3

Biographies
The Wild Truth—Carine McCandless BIO McCandless 

Crime
Social Sciences Dewey area: 
In Cold Blood—Truman Capote 364.152 C 

Faith
Religion Dewey area:
Under the Banner of Heaven--Jon Krakauer 289.3K 

Medical
Applied Science Dewey area:
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks—Rebecca Skloot 616.027S 

Week 7: Assignment 4

LB Teen

I am not a fan of this website. It is very slow. It has an alphabetized list of books with a plot summary attached. It just feels a bit clunky. The Librarian section is a bit better. It has links for Picture Books, Middle School, Young Adult etc. It has a couple of featured sections. Overall I don’t see a lot of useful, new information.

Harlequin Teen

Contemporary, paranormal, fantasy, sci-fi, historical and romance stories.

Paranormal seems to dominate

New Adult subgenre

More sales focused since it comes from the publisher

The site is more useful to me as a librarian since it’s focused on the genre/subgenre on the right side of screen which makes it really easy to gain access to titles for readers advisory purposes.

Week 7: Assignment 3

Blogs

http://foreveryoungadult.com/

This seems like a very fun, geared towards women-who-love-YA, blog. They self-describe as “A site for YA readers who are a little less Y and a bit more A.”

They blog about everything from books to movies to crafts. They hold Forever Young Adult book clubs throughout the country (there is one in Baltimore). They talk about drinking games for books and movies (ex. Paper Towns movie drinking game). The site is a little busy. There are stuff everywhere. I like the Best books lists since they seem to be experts in the genre. It’s not just what is popular, they list the books they really love. I especially love the YA Summer Showdown 2015 contest the site had this summer. Teams competed in all kinds of YA inspired challenges. The creativity level is pretty high (ex. Create a 24-hour adventure in your hometown, inspired by a movie or book or actor connected to the area if possible. This site is certainly a good one for the YA super fan.

http://www.teenreads.com/

I really enjoyed looking through their “Utimate Reading List” because while it contains many books catalogued in the Teen area, it also has a great number in regular fiction suited for the teen reader. This is pretty nice, because we don’t always know if an adult book is going to be appropriate for a teen. The website is pretty comprehensive in terms of teen book content. It has reviews, blogs, author interviews. I will add this site to my resource list!

Week 7: Assignment 2

New Adult: Needless Marketing-Speak Or Valued Subgenre? Publisher’s Weekly, Dec 14, 2012

I thought this was an interesting article. I think the “New Adult” tag does have a place as a subgenre. I’m not sure why there is a discussion as to whether it belongs in Teen or Adult though. As a genre, it is geared towards “new adults”. I would suggest to file within Fiction. Fiction contains a huge variety of subgenres, so this is just one more to think about and be able to suggest to our patrons. The New Adult subgenre to me is much different than what I see in the teen genre. Currently the teen genre is dominated by a lot of supernatural, futuristic, dystopian themes, whereas “New Adult” is a bit more focused on finding ones place in the world as a developing adult.

Not Just for Teens [PDF] Library Journal, Jun 15, 2011

Having read many of the popular teen books (Maze Runner, Twilight, Divergent, etc.), I was able to relate to this article. These popular teen books are fast-paced, exciting, and for the most part somewhat easy reads. As an adult, I’m not always looking for something slow and heavy. That is when I turn to these kinds of books. When I was a teen, the options were not quite as varied (I read lots of VC Andrews, for instance, which would not appeal to me to read now). These books to me feel a bit like a shot of adrenalin. They keep me up at night rather than put me to sleep. That is a book a person of any age might potentially want to read.

Week 6

Assignment 1:

Streetfiction.org 

I signed up for their weekly email back in week 1, but I have yet to receive an email from them. I’m not a huge fan of this site. The content is somewhat stagnant, besides new book reviews. I think it’s mostly just a collection of book reviews within the various subgenres. At first when I started looking at the site, I knew nothing about the genre, so I learned quite a bit. At this point after looking at the site more frequently, I’m no longer getting much out of the site besides seeing new reviews within the Urban Fiction genre. If I have a patron who is well-read in this genre, it could be a good site to visit simply because there are so many reviews available.

Assignment 2:

Prezi Link Exploration--very cool page.

Assignment 3:

Three subgenres:

1. Paranormal horror

Dean Koontz- Writes horror based novels featuring supernatural beings. Very popular Odd Thomas series.

Sarah Pinborough- Writes horror novels set in England featuring monsters and demons. Compelling and fast-paced.

John Saul- Writes psychological thrillers often with elements of the supernatural. Can be very dark and gruesome.  

2. Cyberpunk Science Fiction

               Philip Dick- writes science fiction in urban landscapes. Often bleak and futuristic.

               Bruce Sterling- writes bleak science fiction set in advanced and/or futuristic settings.

Pat Cadigan- writes about the relationship between human consciousness and virtual technology, gritty, futuristic, science fiction.

3. Regency Romance

Julia Quinn-Uses humor, passion and strong female characters to create stories of romance in addition to exploring women’s relationships. Regency setting.

               Amanda Quick-Uses a combination of humor and passion set in Regency and Victorian settings.

Lisa Kleypas—Writes character-driven romance novels in Regency settings.

Cross over titles:

Paranormal Romance—Many people like romance and many people like the paranormal. Bringing these genres together simply means you get the satisfaction of a good romance with the backdrop of a paranormal twist.

Historical Medical Thrillers---The history of medicine is extremely interesting. Many story lines could be written around certain time periods where medical treatment was very different than the current. 

Week 5: Building Base Knowledge Part II Assignment 3

Firebird by Misty Copeland

Firebird, a picture book written by ballerina Misty Copeland, lyrically tells the story of how a young girl overcomes barriers to become a beautiful dancer (a firebird). The bold illustration perfectly supports and enhances the story to bring her passion and spirit alive for young readers. Readers who enjoy this story of overcoming adversity in dance, may also enjoy Debbie Allen’s, Dancing in the Wings. 

Week 5: Building Base Knowledge Part II Assignment 2

In my branch, people definitely want the universally popular books like anything by James Patterson, Lee Child, Danielle Steel, Daniel Silva, Stephen King, etc. If it’s on the NYT bestsellers list, then our users want to read it. The NYT best seller list site is nice because often our users will just say “the new one by “fill in the blank””. I can check the site and easily get the title if I don’t remember it on my own. It’s also nice to just scan in preparation for the holds we will inevitable get for everything on the list.

NPR is also clearly listened to/read online by our users because we often get requests starting with “I don’t know the title, but I heard about it on NPR”. When that is the situation, I can usually find the book they are referring to by going to NPR Books online.

Early Word— The main site is a nice updated collection of relevant events with respect to the literary world. For instance, today they have a blurb about an author’s passing and their works (this often prompts requests in the library) as well as information about David McCullough’s appearance on the last episode of The Daily Show. These are cultural relevant events that I enjoy knowing about as an information specialist. I LOVE the New title radar. It is an easy way to get a hint of what people might be looking for in the coming weeks. I like the Holds Alert section for this reason too. I also like the various links to the Best Books, Best Sellers lists. It makes it easy to have these resource lists in one location. 

Week 5: Building Base Knowledge Part II Assignment 1

I have been looking at streetfiction.org as a resource.

The Street Fiction website has such a diversity of subgenres that I didn’t know about before—Urban Christian Fiction and Urban Fantasy Fiction, for example. You can look at the Amazon bestsellers if someone is looking for the more popular urban titles. You can also bring up an Urban Author list which is nice. Most of the site is sort of a featured list of books with their book covers and plot summary. Users can leave comments on the book, but it’s not a sophisticated site like Goodreads where you can sort by ratings, etc.

It also seems to be a site where they encourage new writers to become involved. There is an Urban publishers list as well as author writing tips and author interviews.

You can also submit your email to get new books in your mailbox if you’re an avid urban fiction reader.

I think I’ll use this site if someone specifically asks for recommendations within the genre, but otherwise I probably won’t use the site too much.

Assignment 4: Goodreads

Listopia—I love the lists generated on Goodreads because it’s a very fast way to get some recommendations (from a good amount of people) for books and genres I’m not as comfortable with in terms of suggestions. These lists are even helpful when I’ve exhausted some of my go-to recommendations and need yet even more. For instance, when a teen needs a recommendation and has read all of the popular and trending books, I can often find something appealing to the customer based on the extensive subgenre lists available. I also like that the lists are always changing, there are always new ones (Best Beach reads for 2015 is the current “featured list”) and as a part of social media, lists are created as real life happens. Goodreads serves as a great resource for organically generated suggestions.

I use Goodreads for ratings and recommendations, but have never created new shelves until now. I created a bunch of shelves and went back and added my books to my new shelves. Now I have a ton of new recommendations based on each individual shelf I created. Some of these are very accurate and some not so much. The shelf I called “Adventure”, for instance, suggested many similar non-fiction adventure stories. The shelf I titled “Baltimore Author”, however, (for Laura Lippman) just recommended similar mysteries that did not have anything to do with Baltimore. It is clear that the actual name of the shelf does not have any effect on what they recommend. Also I have a shelf titled “Did not finish” (i.e. did not like) so interestingly enough, I know to steer clear of the recommendations for that shelf.

The “Explore” part of Goodreads is great for finding new titles in particular genres. I often don’t read brand new books because there are usually lots of holds on them, so it’s nice to browse the explore page to make myself aware of the new items on the shelves that are going to be popular here in the branch.

I haven’t friended too many people, but just added some coworkers, so I’m excited to see what they are reading and read any reviews they have written.

Based on her extensive reading history of historical-fiction, I recommended Child 44 to Laura. She also seems to enjoy books that are a part of a series where you get to know the character and know what to expect from them, so I think she will enjoy that aspect of the characterization of this book.

Based on Carmen’s reading history of books largely based on women’s relationships and romance (Chick Lit), I recommended Barefoot by Elin Hilderbrand to her. I think she will enjoy reading about the romantic elements in the story as well as the evolving relationships between the three women. 

Week 3: Assignment 3

Conversation 1:

What I heard or deduced: Customer wants a compelling story, wants a book where she can connect to reader, interested in characters who share thoughts and feelings, needs a book group book where there is lots to discuss.

Recommendation: “The Secret Life of Bees” by Sue Monk Kidd is driven by a girl’s search for knowledge of her past (and her mother) as well as by the relationships between the women in the story (the beekeepers). This book features strong female characters with complex relationships during a very complex time period.

Conversation 2:

What I heard or deduced: Customer is looking for a fast- paced, mature vampire book without the teen romance element.

Recommendation: “The Shambling Guide to New York City” by Mur Lafferty is a fast and funny read about a smart and inventive human, Zoe, working as a travel book editor for the undead. This is a refreshing addition to the supernatural book world of vampires and monsters.

Conversation 3:

What I heard or deduced: Customer is looking for a nonfiction, fast-paced, adventure book.

Recommendation: “Into Thin Air” by John Krakauer is the true story of the 1996 disaster on Mount Everest ultimately claiming many lives and changing the way we think about mountain climbing and specifically Mount Everest. It is an exciting, terrifying and eye-opening adventure story you simply can’t put down.

Week 3: Assignment 1

Exercise 1: Working through patron description

1. Reader wants to feel like he/she is in a video game with constant action. Appeal Factors: Adrenaline: fast paced, military action/adventure. Fiction or non-fiction as long as the pacing of the book is nonstop.

It is important to know that the reader is not looking for a lyrically written, detailed book. The focus is really on action with a military element. Suggestions: Lee Child’s John Reacher series, “The Hunt for Red October” by Tom Clancy.

2. Reader is looking for an emotional journey to take with the characters in the book.

Appeal Factors: Emotion: deep character development, lyrically written description of setting, meandering pace. Theme: Women’s Lives and Relationships. Shares feelings, struggles, thoughts, shares personal connection with characters.

Suggestions: Rebecca Wells’ Divine Secrets of Ya Ya Sisterhood. Judy Blume’s Summer Sisters. Jodi Picoult, Barbara Kingsolver.

3. Reader is looking for a romantic story with a personal connection to the characters.

Appeal Factors: Characterization, Learning/Experiencing, detail (art glass), Tone, Setting/Language.

Suggestions: “The Vineyard” by Barbara Delinsky, “Circle of Friends” by Maeve Binchy

Reader might be interested in the winemaking aspect included in the “The Vineyard” as well as the romantic nature. “Circle of Friends” is a sweet romance also set in Ireland which was mentioned by the reader.

Exercise 2:

1. The tone of the book is intense and exciting. The major appeal of the book is the fast action and military adeptness. The key feature is that it reads less like a book and more like a video game or movie.
2. The tone of the book is slower-paced, emotional, and humorous. The appeal is the emotional journey on which the main character travels by way of her travel to different countries. The key feature is how the main character interacts with others in her travels and how she learns and takes away from her experience and changes her own life.
3. The tone of the book is romantic and breezy, yet realistic. The appeal is the light heartedness with strength of character. A special feature is the detail about the process of making art glass.

Week 2: Appeal Factors

A book I really enjoyed was “Unbroken” by Laura Hillenbrand. This book is a non-fiction story profiling the WWII hero, Louis Zamperini. She writes about his survival of his plane crash in the Pacific, his time stranded on a raft, and being a prisoner of war under brutal conditions. Unbroken is perfect for a reader who loves both fast-paced adventure/adrenalin stories, as well as those with involved characterization as you see Zamperini affected by the various challenges he faces. The reader who enjoys this title might also like “Into Thin Air” by John Krakauer (Pacing-Adventure), and “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”, by Steig Larsson (Pacing-Adrenaline, Characterization).

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot, is a biography of Henrietta Lacks, the woman behind the famous HeLa cells so important to the advancement of medicine. The fascinating story of the woman and her family behind the cells (who have been largely unknown) is the main driver of this book’s appeal. Throughout the book, we slowly learn who Henrietta Lacks was while learning how her cells made such an impact on the world of medicine. This type of book has deep character development and appeals to readers who want a personal connection with the characters. The reader who enjoys this title might also like “Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present” by Harriet Washington and “Prodigal Summer” by Barbara Kingsolver (Emotion-Women’s Lives and Relationships).  

“Another Thing to Fall” is a Tess Monaghan series book by Laura Lippman. Tess is a tough, but funny private investigator. This mystery series relies upon predictable characters and tone. As a reader, you know who Tess is, how she is going to react to events and the general humorous, but approaching serious tone. Readers who enjoy this series might also like “One for the Money”, the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich as well as “A is for Alibi”, the Kinsey Milhone series by Sue Grafton.

Week 1: Assignment 5

This was hilarious. I particularly liked the descriptions of " The Great Gatsby" and "Animal Farm". I am one who is often swayed (or not swayed) to read a book based on the cover, so I think it's a very relevant topic!

Week 1: Assignment 4

Recommended Links--Books


I am choosing Goodreads because the site has a lot of things to offer in terms of RA.


Recommended Links--Genre


I am choosing Street Fiction, because I've never read any Urban Fiction and am interested to know more!

Week 1: Assignment 3

Golden Rules of Readers’ Advisory Service


Great advice to improve my RA skills.

Week 1: Assignment 2

Genre cover matching


1. Small town


2. Techno


3. Literary


4. Cozy


5. Epic High Fantasy


6. I guessed Space Western (haha), but it was Hard SF


7. Legal


8. Urban Fantasy


9. Military


10. Historical


11. I was between Offbeat and Chick Lit. Looks like it's Chick Lit.


12. Contemporary/Modern

Week 1: Assignment 1

Sporcle Quiz:
I thought I might do a little better than I did! I got 13/24.
I should have gotten Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, but I couldn't remember the word "midnight" in the title. I also feel like the version I read of "The Great Gatsby" had a different cover.
That was really fun though!

Week 1: Create blog!

Created!