Week 9 ~ Finally!

Are Book Trailers for Everyone?

After reading the articles and viewing a plethora of book trailers, I will say it was inevitable that we would get around to these visual talking points and their efficacy at promoting books. Are they for everyone? Not necessarily. Are they annoying? Sometimes. Do I care about them? No. Do I see a role for them in readers' advisory? Of course; there is a role for any piece that expands a books' reach. But for those avid readers (I consider myself one) I think it can also be a distracting couple of minutes. I am happy to read and listen to what people are saying about a book. I just don't want to be prejudiced by visual clues that may include actors or gimmicks, no matter how clever or cute. 
Now, having said all that, I do think for younger readers, including young adult, book trailers can provide just the hook to get these readers off the fence. And that is where I see most of  their value.

Bookish Thoughts

This has been a thoughtful and extremely useful exercise. I loved the concept and feel I have gotten a lot out of it. I particularly enjoyed being exposed to new websites and blogs devoted to readers' advisory. I liked Stacked and My Printz Will Come for YA, and I also liked the teen publisher sites at Penguin and Harper. It was also useful for me to track genres I am not as familiar with, such as science fiction and fantasy. For that I went to Locus.

The Prezi tool, created by Alex, was a lot of fun. It made me realize just how much more exploring of sub-genres I need to do. You are never finished learning or reading, and that was the beauty of this task. It made me visit and revisit my ideas about readers' advisory, what I can glean from others, and how much I already bring to the table and to our readers. This is really an ongoing learning opportunity.

In terms of the quality and quantity of the assignments, it is clear that much consideration went into the exercises and sites chosen to explore.  However, some assignments I felt were difficult to complete in the time allotted to me and went beyond my expectations. For example, assignment 6 was time consuming and lengthy. Just look at my responses. And while I learned a lot from the exercises (I liked thinking about the mashups.) it took forever to complete.

 I also didn't particularly enjoy looking for blogs to comment on, as many folks were at different points in the process. That was time consuming, although I will add that BCPL has some talented librarians and their thoughtful and creative blog posts reflected the seriousness by which they took this assignment. Over all, hats off to the administrators of Be More Bookish. It was a worthwhile endeavor, and I am a better readers' adviser because of it. Thank you!

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Week 8 ~ Assignments 1-4

After reading the two articles on nonfiction readers' advisory and viewing the e-learning video, I chose for my genre assignment:  science (500-600s), memoir (biography/subject area), history (900s) and travel (910s upward).

Titles included:
Science - Packing for Mars by Mary Roach (629.44 R) for someone who enjoys science fiction space travel.
Memoir - Double, Double: a dual memoir of addiction by Martha Grimes (362.292 G) for someone who enjoys realistic fiction about life struggles.
History - Here is Where: Discovering America's Great Forgotten History by Andrew Carroll (973C)  for American historical fiction readers.
Travel - The Unconquered: in search of the Amazon's last un-contacted tribes by Scott Wallace (981 W) for someone who enjoyed Ann Patchett's State of Wonder.

Book Talks

If Anne Patchett's State of Wonder made you curious about the deepest recesses of the Amazon rain forest, try picking up Scott Wallace's fascinating true book, The Unconquered: in Search of the Amazon's last Un-contacted Tribes. Wallace, on assignment for National Geographic, presents his riveting first person account of his search for an indigenous ancient tribe that predates the arrival of Columbus. With its fast paced narrative, compelling characters, and suspenseful tone, you will be gripped by Wallace's amazing journey of survival and discovery.

The consequences and perils of too much alcohol have been played out in numerous fiction books over the years. From Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf to Michelle Huneven's Blame who hasn't wanted their protagonists to learn the hard way. For a real life bottom-to-top story, try Double, Double: a dual memoir of Addiction by mystery writer, Martha Grimes and her son, Ken.  In alternating chapters the mother and son duo revisit their stories of failure, recovery, relapse, and success in their struggle with alcoholism. Candidly written and highly personal, the moving narrative slowly unfolds with bits of humor and plenty of self-evaluation.

Week 7 ~ Assignments 1-4

Assignments 1-2 ~ What to Read Next flowchart - Useful, and I printed it because I will not remember all those titles.

I didn't find much news to comment on in the YALSA article. We know that adults are reading teen literature. I did find interesting the Bowker study that listed the percentage of adult buyers. That 55% of teen lit buyers are 18 or older was a surprise. I didn't think it would be quite so high, but never thought about what the percentage was.  Also, the fact that the largest segment of this group is aged 30-44 is probably a discussion for another day; however, it is a nice segue now to my comments on the next article.

The Publishers Weekly article on the New Adult genre tag seems to address the need to clamp down on those YA readers ready to move on. We see from the Bowker statistics who is enjoying these books. So, with certain sub genres of teen literature attracting teen readers (12-17 year olds) AND a large chunk of 30 plus readers enjoying the same material, is slapping a New Adult label targeting 18-23 year olds with same age protagonists necessary or practical? I understand the label speaks mainly to "voice, style, and theme."

 In this case I think it makes sense to ride the coattails of a very hot segment that wants to explore the more mature themes that naturally come with growing up, moving out, etc. It's not so much that these challenges are new or more defining than years past, or that young adult readers are suddenly being drawn to these type of books. There has been and always will be crossover, and as librarians we are charged with matching books to customers regardless of genre label. Regarding what to call these books and/or where to merchandise these books I think it is just another marketing tool to get these books moving. If it fills a niche, why not. If it makes browsing easier for readers to identify what they want, I am OK with that. I also posted comments on Mercedes Mendoza and Becky Kuhn's blogs.

Assignment 3 ~ Blogs/websites: I followed the blog, Stacked, run by a couple of librarians, Kelly Jensen and Kimberly Francisco. I liked the look, feel, and content level. Because it's maintained by librarians I can see where librarians would gravitate toward it for industry news. But this well-visited site is also for readers who benefit, too, from the generally brief reviews of new writers, plainly written and to the point. It's been around since 2009  and has a good following, so it must be doing something right.

In addition, I checked out School Library Journal's My Printz Will Come maintained by Karyn Silverman and Sarah Couri. It is appealing to industry professionals and those who want to be familiar with buzz titles and speculation on contenders for YALSA's Printz Award, but because it's seasonal its updates are not as regular as other sites. Posts are thoughtful and funny.

Assignment 4 ~ I checked out teen sites for Penguin and Harper. Scifi and fantasy combos continue to be popular, like Through the Ever Night, second part of a trilogy by Veronica Rossi, along with chick lit, like the Pretty Little Liars series. I also liked on Penguin's website their link for teachers and librarians-good resources there.

Week 6 - Assignments 1-3

As far as exploring the science fiction and fantasy genre, I concentrate on new and buzzed about titles. I especially like to track Monitor, Reviews, and Perspectives on Locus. I discovered that for June - besides the ever popular George R. R. Martin and his acclaimed series, A Song of Ice and Fire - Locus bestsellers include A Memory of Light by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson and the new teen title, Homeland by Cory Doctorow, the followup to his popular Little Brother novel about techno-savvy teenagers rebelling against a tryannical security state.
For something new, a colleague also introduced me to Worlds without End, a great site for science fiction, fantasy, and horror books. https://www.worldswithoutend.com

Regarding Prezi, kudos to Alex for creating this useful tool. It made me realize just how much exploring of sub-genres I still need to do. I would love a printed version.

Regarding my three sub-genres, I chose:
~ literary urban fiction
~ traditional Westerns
~ horror gothic

Literary Urban Fiction: Defined as tension, tragedy and betrayal being used to illustrate a broader statement on urban lifestyle with astute cultural commentary.
 I spent too much time clicking and searching for an adequate fan website that I could cite. I finally settled on a blog maintained by Vanessa Irving Morris, who wrote, The Readers' Advisory Guide to Street Literature, part of the ALA readers' advisory series. Her blog, http://www.streetliterature.com/, is well maintained, fairly current, and full of useful resources on urban fiction, including links to other urban fiction blogs.
Current buzz titles include:
A Deeper Love Inside by Sister Souljah: the Porsche Santiaga Story, the long awaited followup to The Coldest Winter Ever.
Fly Betty: a Harlem Girl Lost Novel by Treasure Blue, a redemptive mother-daughter story with the hallmarks of street lit - a girl from "the hood" trying to move up and out by any means necessary.
Honor Thy Thug by Wahida Clark, the latest Thug Love novel.

Traditional Western: Action oriented, less demanding reads that follow a tried and true formula of familiar settings, romance, gun play and historical detail.
Current buzz title includes Wilde's Law by Ben Bridges, part of the Wilde Boys Western series - a traditional, fast moving tale of the wild frontier. I couldn't locate a fan website that I liked, so I joined the group Western Authors & Readers on Goodreads that allows me to read up on what's new from some new voices; also tried the Western Writers of America website, http://westernwriters.org/our-books/

Other books: The Son, Philipp Meyer's new novel, is not a traditional Western, but it has been drawing attention for its epic portrayal of the American West. While its multi-generational saga of power, blood and landholdings doesn't lend itself to being fast paced, it does follow the rise of a Texas family, from the Comanche raids of the 1800s to the oil booms of the 20th century and contains the historical detail readers of traditional Westerns crave. Another perennial favorite is Larry McMurtry, whose novel Lonesome Dove won the Pulitzer Pize in 1985 and whose latest nonfiction book, Custer, explores the life and legacy of General Custer and his cavalry's attack on a large Lakota Cheyenne village with devastating results.

Horror Gothic: Described as encroaching evil that threatens the lives and sanity of realistic characters, often more literary in style and set in historic locales and/or the contemporary American south.
 I found a couple of groups to follow on Goodreads: The Gothic Novel Book Club and Classic Horror Lovers. Current buzz titles include The Asylum by John Harwood, The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd, and Charlotte Markham and the House of Darkling by Michael Boccacino. 

My Mashups:

Death Comes to Pemberley, the latest by P.D. James, puts a twist on Jane Austin's Pride and Prejudice, by introducing classic suspense, murder and mayhem into the beloved historic fiction setting.
London Falling by Paul Cornell - Urban fantasy meets police procedurals when a team of London police officers comes into contact with an artifact that gives them the Sight, revealing the hidden monsters that stalk the city.

Week 5 ~ Assignment 1-3

I have been following Daily Beast and Locus and my impressions are similar for both sites. Each is packed with information and links that make gleaning suggestions a breeze. Frequent visits are a must for me.
Daily Beast's busy page will lead me all over the map if I am not careful. I do enjoy their Cheat Sheet, Highlights, and This Week's Hot Reads. Because science fiction and fantasy are my less preferred genres I particularly enjoy noting titles to try and suggest. I look to Monitor, Reviews, and Perspectives and SF&F news to see what I should be aware of. I'm enjoying perusing the scifi awards' links; I had never heard of some of these, like the Mythopoeic and Sturgeon awards. Fun stuff.
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As far as Early Word goes, I regularly check this site and its myriad of listings/links. For this assignment I discovered the People Magazine book reviews index archive - useful and worth revisiting on a regular basis since I am not a People reader. I also liked Library Love Fest, official blog of HarperCollins library marketing folks. I signed up for their newsletter and found an event to attend next week at Book Expo that will preview upcoming titles for the book club set.
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Finally, Marisha Pessl has a follow up to her widely popular debut, Special Topics in Calamity Physics, published in 2006. Due out this August, Night Film features investigative journalist Scott McGrath who suspects the life (and death) of a beautiful young woman is not what it appears. When he learns the dead girl's father is a reclusive cult-horror film director he senses an unsettling, unseen and eerie threat closing in, especially when another body shows up. Striking a creepy, haunting tone Pessl's clever literary thriller is ripe with exquisitely written prose and a suspenseful tone sure to please her fans long waiting to hear from this talented author.

Week 4 ~ Assignment 4

My Read on Goodreads:

Goodreads has been part of my readers' advisory repertoire for several years now. I use it as a repository for what I have read and what I want to read. I maintain numerous lists and categories for  materials. Keeping track of what my "friends" are reading is an added bonus, as I regularly glean suggestions from them. Occasionally I will comment on a title I feel strongly about or respond to a friend's comment.
Recommendations and Listopia links are fun browsing.

Based on Sam O'Heren's reading habits and love of dystopian teen fiction, I suggested Richard Yancey's new YA book, The 5th Wave, about a silent alien invasion that wreaks havoc and unleashes calamities in waves. With a fast-paced, adrenaline-fueled narrative and alternating points of view, this new scifi-esque series will appeal to teens and adults alike. I wouldn't be surprised if it's already on Sam's list.

Week 3 ~ Assignment 3

Conversation No. 1:

This customer read Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert and is now looking for another good story. I gather she is curious about popular books and is willing to try a title if it "draws her in."  Attracted to a strong, reflective, funny voice, she also pays attention to setting, though it's not the most important appeal. Tone is important to this customer. She follows Oprah's book listings, which she enjoys.
I would suggest Wild: from lost to found on the Pacific crest trail by Cheryl Strayed. It, too, features a reflective tone as the author gives voice to her internal struggles. There is an epic 1100 mile solo hike, so the setting is there, and it's an Oprah selection. Another I might suggest is Traveling with Pomegranates: a mother-daughter story by Sue Monk Kidd, where each confronts their respective challenges during a European trip. It, too, strikes a reflective, thought-provoking tone this customer may enjoy. While this was not an Oprah book it does have the cache of being written by the author of  The Secret Life of Bees.

Conversation No. 2:

This customer is looking for vampire books that are nothing like the slow- to-unfold Twilight series and its angst-filled teen love story. What good vampire books has the librarian read lately?
Well, the customer got me on this one, as my repertoire of vampire books is quite thin. So, off to NoveList Plus. I searched subjects/appeals and browsed through vampire titles. I further limited by appeal factors.
For something lighter minus teenage angst, I would suggest the first title in the newish Vampire Chef mystery series, Taste of the Nightlife by Sarah Zettel. A cozy, culinary mystery that is fast-paced, engaging and witty, and if she likes it she can move on to the second in the series, Let Them Eat Stake. For a classic vampire novel, I would suggest Bram Stoker's Dracula to give the reader a taste of how the trend arguably started.

Conversation No. 3:

This customer enjoyed Candice Millard's The River of Doubt and found the subject matter fascinating, fast paced, and an amazing true story. I gather that this customer doesn't necessarily want another book on Roosevelt's trek but might enjoy another similarly riveting narrative nonfiction.

I would suggest Erik Larson's The Devil in the White City: murder, magic, and madness at the fair that changed America,  based on its compelling, suspenseful tone. Additionally, I would  suggest Millard's latest book, Destiny of the Republic: a tale of madness, medicine, and the murder of a president. It, too, is a fascinating, true account of  the assassination attempt on President Garfield and the ensuing power struggle over his administration and his medical treatment. If the customer decides another precarious journey is in order I would suggest Scott Wallace's The Unconquered: in search of the Amazon's last uncontacted tribe,  also a suspenseful, compelling account of the National Geographic writer's trip into the depths of the rain forest.