Assignment 3
I really appreciate the opportunity to be a part of Be More Bookish.
I do think learning about new resources, various exercises, and readings will serve to enhance my RA skills. The blog could be an exercise in frustration at times and being a part-timer it was hard to find the time to complete assignments. I do wish I'd had more time
to put more effort and finesse into the blog-it kinda looks like one hot mess. My co-workers were wonderful and it created a bonding experience as we coached and helped each other.
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Week
9
Assignments 1 & 2
I’ve watched some book trailers that were effective and
others that did not entice me at all.
The trailer for The 5th Wave by Richard Yancey looked like a
movie preview- I was waiting for it to say Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You. I also thought it gave away too much of the
plot-which served to dissuade me from wanting to read the book. The trailer for Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu was
a montage of pictures and words set to a sappy song-and I did not find it very
engaging. The trailer for Lowboy by John Wray was a spoof with actor Zach
Galifinankis portraying the author and
John Wray portraying a journalist
interviewing him. It was funny and unexpected and while it didn’t give much
about the plot, it did entice me to find out more about the book. I immediately looked it up on Amazon. I did not find a direct link to the trailer
but it may have been on the author’s Amazon page which I did not have time to
look at. One of the embedded trailers (I’m
forgetting author and title) was similarly witty and engaging. Another looked like a movie trailer. I did not see any that were simply the author
booktalking their book and I wonder if that would be an effective marketing
strategy- I guess for some yes and others no- but I think that methodology would
be the best as far as Reader’s Advisory goes.
Week 8
Assignments 1 and 2
I read the articles and viewed the video.
Assignments 1 and 2
I read the articles and viewed the video.
Assignment 3
Nonfiction genres :
Travel 910 Eat Pray Love Elizabeth Gilbert
Science 612 Bonk:The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex Mary Roach
Food 641 and Biography Kitchen Confidential Anthony Bourdain
Social Issues 305 Nickel and Dimed Barbara Ehrenreich
Assignment 4
Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex
by Mary Roach is filled with thorough, but zany research on the science of sex. Brothels, pig farms and sex toy research labs
are some of the places she has investigated.
Readers who like authors such as Chuck Palahniuk and/or Christopher
Moore may appreciate the quirky humor in
Mary Roach’s science writing. Dexter fans who don’t shy away from a little
blood or gore might find Bonk is similarly lurid in a droll way. If you liked
50 Shades of Grey and your high school biology class, Bonk should be right up
your (ahem) alley!
factors. The tone is essentially light with an underpinning of emotional drama and explores the dynamics between human relationships and self as do the characters in Tan's and Semple's books.
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Week 7
Assignment 1
I took a look at the flow
chart recognized some titles and noted the others.
Assignment 2
I read the article The
Next Big Thing YALSA
The article was enjoyable
but I thought the reasons listed for Adults Reading Young Adult Literature had
a glaring omission. I think a major draw
is that adults want to get inside the heads of teens. It is well known that
teen brains are not fully developed – especially when it comes to making
rational decisions. Personally, I love
reading the genre to get inside teen minds and to try to understand some of the
psychology behind their behavior.
The article Not Just for
Teens Library Journal covered a
lot of the same territory as the Yalsa article regarding explanations of the
seemingly recent hunger for teen books by adult readers (i.e. nostalgia,
wanting to know what their kids are reading, the paranormal craze, marketing
and tv/movie tie-ins). I was pleased to
see that the article made mention of wanting to relate to teen issues and
understand teen behavior. This article
also mentioned that the plot in YA literature generally moves at a more rapid
pace and characters are more fully fleshed out sooner so readers can more
quickly make an emotional connection.
Assignment 3
John Green Books is a
blog that lets John Green’s inner comedian and social commentarian sides be
front and center. He posts a lot of
videos on seemingly random topics which are quite entertaining and also thought
provoking. He has a lot of guest posters
(especially now as he is currently on paternity leave) and they seem to share
his style of humor and sensibilities. It’s
fun and he and his brother Hank have been doing this for some time and are
known as the Vlog Brothers. The only
John Green book I’ve read so far is Looking for Alaska. I thought that Green did a good job of
capturing the voice of an awkward self-conscious teen-age boy in his
protagonist Miles. The Fault in our Stars is definitely on my list for this summer.
The other site I’ve
started to follow is Stacked. The latest
post deals with validating (or not) the feelings of teenage girls through
novels. The writer seems to feel that boys’ issues have long been taken more
seriously than girls’ and it is only recently that this is starting to
change. I’m not sure if I agree or not-
I would need to read a lot more YA books from past years in order to have a
justifiable opinion.
Assignment 4
I looked at Harper Teen-
the majority of books on the site have a fantasy or paranormal element- no
surprise there. I also looked at Teens
at Random and found similar content. I
clicked on a few of the posts and saw people posing with favorite books and
casting their dream cast for movies of books they love.
Thursday, June 13, 2013
WEEK
6
Assignment 1
Exploring
the genre link for Urban Fiction called Street Fiction has been eye
opening. The site has history-listing
the first novel of this type as Moll Flanders dating back to 1722! There are links for author interviews and librarian
resources. You can search by category
and find books that use graffiti, suicide or LGBT elements in the
storyline-just to name a few. It is
broken up into broader categories of street fiction, urban non-fiction, urban
Christian fiction and Urban teen fiction with links to about 338 authors. The Street Fiction website is bound to become
a great tool in our RA services at Randallstown.
Assignment 2
Prezi introduced me to the Urban fiction subgenres of Hip-Hop,
Erotica and Christian. I also found some surprises in the Mystery subgenres such as Pet Investigators and Hardboiled. The Superhuman category in Fantasy was another that I was previously unaware of.
Assignment 3
I started looking for a pet detective fansite- but gave up
and resorted to a website that specializes in cat mysteries.
http://faculty.law.lsu.edu/ccorcos/lawhum/catmysterywebpages.htm#BOOKS FEATURING CAT DETECTIVES
There is an extensive listing of authors and the site subdivides into cats that solve mysteries and mysteries with cat characters (not necessarily involved in the solution of the mystery).
fanfiction.net is a site that lists fanfiction by book titles.
I didn’t see any that looked like Urban Fiction so I picked
a series I was unfamiliar with called Young Samurai. It seemed that most fans wanted to change the ending of a particular book- generally to change it from sad to happy.
I found an interesting viewpoint on genre from an author BCPL catalogs as SciFi/Fantasy :
*Charles de Lint on what to call his fiction:
“We liked the term ‘mythic fiction,’ which fits perfectly. ‘Urban fantasy’
doesn’t work because a lot of what I do isn’t set in an urban setting…’Mythic
fiction’ works because it has broader resonances and alludes to the heart of
this fiction, which is, of course, myth. It has the right tonality because these
are stories that have modern sensibilities, dealing with contemporary people and
issues, but they utilize the material of folklore, fairy tale, and myth to help
illuminate that. It also omits the word ‘fantasy’–a term for which people have
too many preconceptions….[because] I’m trying to engage an even broader
audience — people who normally don’t read fantasy, who get scared by the word
fantasy or by those types of covers. I think a lot of people who don’t like
fantasy just haven’t had the chance to have the right book put in front of
them.”–Charles de Lint (Locus, June 2003)
I have not really fulfilled all
components of this assignment. I’ve been
frustrated with Prezi- I just tried to look at it again and it has not finished
loading. I also do not like the constant
need to zoom in and out. I’m going to
put the rest of the assignment on hold for now so I can move on!
Friday, May 24, 2013
Assignment 3
I’ve chosen a book from the Indie Next List-June Picks
In “A Place at the Table” by Susan Rebecca White seemingly disparate people are connected in ways that slowly unfold for the reader. Strong characterization and a restaurant setting meld into a tale that unravels with delicious anticipation. Fans of “Five Quarters of the Orange” by Joanne Harris or “The School of Essential Ingredients” by Erica Bauermeister will relish the emotion and intimacy of the storyline.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Assignment 2
The number of link choices in Early Word is mouth watering and overwhelming at the same time. It’s the most complete site I’ve ever seen for easy access to a huge compilation of sources for reviews. One click and I find myself in a never-ending labyrinth that leads to one cache after another and winding my way out is difficult. I had not heard of BEA before and I had to look it up to find out that it stood for BookExpo America. I looked at some of the librarians’ picks from BEA 12- definitely a good resource for those looking for book group books. I also looked at People Magazine’s latest reviews-good to know that’s there when I can’t find the latest issue for my lunch break! I will continue to use these and the Indie Next Best Seller List for leads on great titles.
Monday, May 20, 2013
Week 5
Assignment 1
I blame Early Word for the plethora of books that are currently sitting on my desk and on the hold shelf. It’s the kid in the candy store syndrome –only instead of a tummy ache from over indulging, I’m filled with longing for more time to devour and digest the riches. Many will wind up on my Goodreads “To Read” shelf- a shelf that is buckling under the weight of stored desire-sigh. Early Word did alert me to the novel that is presently sitting by my bedside. It is “The Other Typist” by Suzanne Rindell. I was intrigued by the reviewer likening it to “a pitch black comedy with a dollop of Alfred Hitchcock and a dollop of Patricia Highsmith” and also the 1920’s setting with the promise of shocking flapper behavior. It sounded reminiscent of another book I’ve read and enjoyed- “Rules of Civility” by Amor Towles. I’ve also started “Dollbones” by Holly Black. It is a middle grade horror story and the title and cover alone were enough to lure me in.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Week 4
GoodReads
I've been a member of Goodreads for a while and come to rely on it more and more to jog my memory. I do get frustrated with the often slow loading time of the site though. Listopia is fun to play with- I entered "books narrated by animals" in the list search and got back "The Cat's Meow" (67 books), "Dog's Eye View (40 books) amd Animal Narrators in Adult Novels (21 books). Clearly, cats have won again! Just kidding-I love dogs just as much! I found the "Best Books Ever" list disconcerting. The Hunger Games is #1 on the list-huh???! I enjoyed that book, but c'mon- Best Book Ever?
I sent a book rec to Heather Mays:
I've been a member of Goodreads for a while and come to rely on it more and more to jog my memory. I do get frustrated with the often slow loading time of the site though. Listopia is fun to play with- I entered "books narrated by animals" in the list search and got back "The Cat's Meow" (67 books), "Dog's Eye View (40 books) amd Animal Narrators in Adult Novels (21 books). Clearly, cats have won again! Just kidding-I love dogs just as much! I found the "Best Books Ever" list disconcerting. The Hunger Games is #1 on the list-huh???! I enjoyed that book, but c'mon- Best Book Ever?
I sent a book rec to Heather Mays:
"Hi- I think you would enjoy this book
based on your five star rating for The Thirteenth Tale. It shares the mysterious tone and elements of the macabre along with a rich setting and complex storyline."
based on your five star rating for The Thirteenth Tale. It shares the mysterious tone and elements of the macabre along with a rich setting and complex storyline."
Monday, May 13, 2013
Week 3
Conversation 1
It sounds as though this customer likes tales that fuse literal and emotional journeys.
Traveling with Pomegranates by Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor has the warmth, humor and introspection that the customer so enjoyed from reading Eat, Pray, Love. Another
This customer wants to avoid the teen soap opera feel of Twilight and also wants something faster paced. The Carpathian series by Christina Feehan is suspenseful, dark and biting! The first in the series is Dark Prince. Another vampire series that fits the bill is the Charlaine Harris Sookie Stackhouse saga that the television show True Blood is based on. The first in the series is Dead Until Dark.
Conversation 3
This customer wants a true historic tale that has elements of suspense,and incredulity. I would recommend Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larsen and Unbroken: A World War II story of Survival , Resilience and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand.
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Week 2
Annotation 1:
The article on appeal factors brought to mind a few considerations that I did not think were addressed. A few other aspects that might affect a person's like or dislike of a book are:
- Viewpoint- Is the book told in the first person or third person? I have had customers that liked one way but not the other. Also, is the book told from one person's perspective or different characters' perspectives?
- Timeline- Does the book jump back in forth between different periods of time or is it more linear?
- Bias- Some titles have a political or social agenda. If it does not line up with the customer's ideals, they may not appreciate the recommendation.
The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbaugh is a novel filled with complex characters facing emotional, moral and physical dilemmas. The story centers on Henry, a star shortstop on his Wisconsin college baseball team who has had a long streak of no error games. That ends when he throws a wayward ball that injures a teammate and sets off an excruciating period of doubt and loss of ability. The book is rich with literary allusion and meditations on some of life's big questions. Even non-baseball fans will relate to this coming of age story that burrows deep into the psyche while you root, root , root for the home team.
Annotation 2:
The Ex-Pats is a fast-paced thriller filled with unexpected twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the end. It follows an American family who are living in Luxembourg under the pretense that the husband's job has caused them to relocate. This plot driven novel incorporates the world of high finance and a cast of characters who are never who they say they are.
Friday, April 26, 2013
Week 1
I've enjoyed the quizzes and I look forward to expanding my Reader's Advisory knowledge and skills. My daughter introduced me to Sporkle some time ago- try playing Famous Faces Badly Drawn-it's a hoot! I'm going to follow Early Word- it's exciting and makes me feel like I get the early scoop on upcoming titles. My genre pick is Urban Fiction because Randallstown has a heavy readership in this area and I haven't read too much UF yet- plus it'll help increase my street cred- I do live in the city! I'll be using Street Fiction- I like how it has the breakdown of the subgenres.
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