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!