Week 9 - Trailers and Farewell

I think book trailers are an intriguing concept, but freely admit that while I am an avid reader, I rarely search out a trailer. I agree with the commentary in the articles that most trailers are poorly done and/or do little to sell the book. While it is interesting to see and hear an author, especially in his/her home or work space, I'm not sure that it's much more than that. Mary Roach's trailer was vaguely entertaining, but I'm not sure to what end. The trailer was witty and cute, but did it didn't make me want to run out and read the book.

I watched trailers for The Graveyard Book by Gaiman and Wonder by Palacio. I think these two were both excellently done. Gaiman's was better done - short, creepy. Wonder was too long and had no audio but music? I do think the videos have the potential for strong kid/teen appeal because of the visual nature. I often hear commercials on the radio sponsored by readon.org which are very compelling book talks usually narrated from the perspective of the hero/heroine. If the trailers for kids could use that concept in a strong video format, they would be winners. I was glad for this assignment because I revisited Book Page's blog The Book Case and discovered they have Trailer Tuesday and share a different trailer every week. I watched the trailer for Red Moon by Pearcy and thought it was well done. It's a political/war thriller and the trailer looked much like a trailer for an adventure movie. It could be that the thriller genre lends itself really well to trailers because of their fast-paced nature.

I think this whole process has been incredibly helpful. It forced me to dedicate time each week to focusing on readers' services and finding new outlets for information. I also looked at genres and sub genres on which I normally don't focus because of personal reading tastes or areas of selection. I do think that some of the assignments could have been tweaked a littled bit. I'm particularly thinking of the one which required us to find blogs in our selected sub-genres. Because of the sub-genres I selected, I couldn't find sites and felt like it was time which could have been better used. Overall, I'm glad I participated and I think the Committee did an oustanding job!

Week 8 - Nonfiction

I chose sports, crime, food, and history from the list presented in the video. Sports is generally found in 796 and true crime in 364. Food and history are much broader and can be found in various Dewey areas of the 600s and 900s and are also often in biography.

Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown would definitely be an excellent choice for a fiction reader. It is well-written, inspirational, and is a wonderful story that is hard to put down. It's a sports story that transcends the sport and thus has a wider appeal. The Bling Ring: How a Gang of Fame-Obsessed Teens Ripped Off Hollywood and Shocked the World by Nancy Jo Sales would appeal to fiction readers who like reading about the uber-wealthy and/or prefer their stories set in the glitzy world of show business. This one would also be one for teens and younger adults. Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen . . . by Julie Powell is a strong choice for fiction readers because of its diary-like format and engaging story. The Catonsville Nine: A Story of Faith and Resistance in the Vietnam Era by Shawn Francis Peters combines detailed historic research with in-depth characterization and a quick-moving story.

Julie and Julia by Julie Powell is the story of one young wife stuck in a dead-end job, who loves to cook. She decides to tackle Julia Child's recipes over the course of a year and blogs about it. Her blog becomes more than just a recitation of recipes and cooking techniques, and soon she is sharing details of her life. The blog becomes more and more popular and soon the entire experiement is affecting Julie's job and marriage.

I would recommend this one to a wide variety of readers. First, of course to foodies. The details of the recipes and the history involved in Julia Child's cookbook are fascinating fodder for those who like to eat and read about food. I would also recommend this to fiction readers who enjoy chick-lit. Julie's story of a young girl struggling in the big city would resonate with readers who enjoy stories centered around urban women and their lives.

Boys in the Boat by Brown shares the uplifting story of the University of Washington's rowing team who traveled to the 1936 Olympics and defeated Hitler's German team and other elite global teams. The author was able to share the memories of their coach, the teammates, and others who played a part in this underdog story.

I would give this to readers of history. It is a compelling story of a specific time and history buffs will enjoy the focus and the details of the 1936 Olympics, which were so important to Hitler. I would also share this with sports enthusiasts. While rowing is not on Sportscenter every night, the author captures the essence of teammwork and drama that is part of why lovers of sports stay glued. This would also be a good one for readers who enjoy inspirational or underdog stories to try. This is an excellent example of narrative nonfiction which could easily be enjoyed by the right fiction reader.

Week 7 - Not Just for Teens

Assignment 1 –

The flowchart was interesting, if narrow in focus. It seems there are more teen books and teen readers beyond The Hunger Games.

Assignment 2 –

Who is Buying Teen Books? According to the Christian Science Monitor article, new market research shows that 55 % of those buying teen books are older than 18 and that 78% of those were buying the books for themselves. In The Next Big Thing on YALSA’s The Hub, the post is also discussing that market research. I’m really not surprised by this information and have in fact long held the belief that teen books were read by older readers. Teen books are popular among librarians and with the recent popularity of several movie tie-ins, the hype grew, but the actual readership hasn’t really changed. I understand the popularity of The Hunger Games, but also think we should be aware of other genres which are just as popular with readers. It seems as those this narrow focus is a disservice to many of our readers and a hindrance to successful readers’ advisory. I enjoyed reading others’ thoughts on this and commented on Sandy L’s and Monty’s blogs about their thoughts with regard to teen.  

Assignment 3 -

I followed Stacked and Forever Young Adult. Stacked is a review blog created by librarians. While the primary focus is book reviews, they also review other formats such as audio books, music, and zines. I would definitely return to this blog for information about teen materials and adult books for teens. It is updated regularly and also includes interviews with authors. Forever Young was less helpful. It is a blog for YA readers who are a little more A. It’s an interesting premise, and of course falls in line with the market research discussed above. And while it is a fun site to look at, I don’t think it’s one that I would return to on a regular basis because its book emphasis was not strong so not a go-to work-related site. 

Assignment 4 -

Harlequin Teen offers titles for teens in a variety of genres, including contemporary, paranormal, fantasy, sci-fi, historical and romance. The list of titles can be sorted differently, but I think the most helpful is to sort by publication date – newest to oldest. Since Harlequin has so many titles they cover a wide range of genres, so I couldn’t really pick up on any trend, although most seemed aimed at female readers. I also looked at Teens/Penguin Young Readers. This was a more involved page and the main focus was Sarah Dessen, whose newest title was just released. I don’t think this is a marker of a trend, more a push of one of the publisher’s most well-known and lucrative authors. I did like the fact that Penguin offered lists of upcoming titles, e-samplers, and teen apps.

Week 6 - Building Base Knowledge (Genres)

Assignment 1

Tor.com is a science fiction fantasy blog. One focus of the blog is books – upcoming releases, news, author interviews, etc. The monthly previews of new releases are extraordinarily helpful. They also break the posts down by sub-genre, including genre benders as a separate listing. Reading the posts of new releases (and seeing the covers) was interesting and I think I would now do much better in week one’s quiz! The bloggers also post regular book reviews and share information from the world of science fiction. The posts are authoritative, but still accessible to a newbie to the sci-fi/fantasy world.

Assignment 2/3

Zombie Horror – The Horror Fiction Review: http://thehorrorfictionreview.blogspot.com/

I found this by googling “horror fiction.” A search of “zombie horror fiction” was too narrow and did not bring up any good choices. This blog is touted as “by the fans for the fans.” This started as a fanzine, but due to increased printing costs, it morphed into this e-zine in 2008. The reviews cover a variety of sub-genres, but one title which they were excited about has also generated a lot of conversation outside of just the horror genre - Joe Hill’s NOS4A2. Three other authors associated with this genre are Joe McKinney, Stephen King, and Dean Koontz. Horror is about inducing fear in the reader and zombie horror is a sub-genre focusing on zombies inhabiting the world and wreaking havoc.

Legal Thrillers – Crime Fiction Lover: http://www.crimefictionlover.com/

I found this one by googling fans of thriller fiction. This is billed as the site for die hard crime and thriller fans. It was hard to find a site focusing on just legal thrillers. This is a pretty informative site offering book reviews, recommended reading, and latest news. The Walter Mosely title Little Green topped the reviews, while Stephen King’s Joyland was the top news story. Three other writers associated with this genre are John Lescroart, Scott Turow, and Marcia Clark. The appeal of these stories is usually the fast-paced, action-filled story compiled with the intrigue and intricacy of the courtroom setting.

High Seas Adventure – Historic Naval Fiction: http://www.historicnavalfiction.com/

This site is a good fan site for fans of naval fiction such as Patrick O’Brian or C.S. Forester. The site has a list of authors A-Z and also a book title index for specific searching. There are reviews posted frequently and many more authors and their heroes have appeared and these pages will summarise them under the Authors A-Z. You can also find them via the Book Title Index. This is a pretty in-depth site and the only caveat is that many of the titles reviewed aren’t owned by BCPL. Dewey Lambdin is a third popular author of naval fiction. These titles appeal to readers seeking adventures and who like to follow one character through a long series.

Mashups became huge with Pride, Prejudice & Zombies a few years ago, but their popularity does not seem to be waning. Anne of Hollywood by Carol Wolper is a mashup of historical fiction, time travel, and realistic fiction. Anne Boleyn time-travels to Hollywood 2012, where she loses everything but her head to Henry Tudor, entertainment magnate and Internet kingpin. Cherie Priest’s Clockwork Century series is fast-paced adventure that combines steampunk with zombie fiction.  

Week Five - Building Base Knowledge 2.0

Assignment One -

I’ve enjoyed checking in on Salon.com more frequently. It is a site not just for books, so there are on average three posts daily in the book section. But these are often interesting and go past just a simple review which can be found in many places. Posts range from forthcoming titles, to analysis of classics, to interviews with authors. One of my favorite posts outlined how cats may rule the internet, but dogs rule in literature. I’ve also looked at tor.com which has been enlightening as far as science fiction. This is a site which also goes beyond books, but many of the non-book related posts are interesting too. I will definitely look at this one going forward.

Assignment Two -

Early Word is something I look at on a daily basis and find it helpful, especially with regard to forthcoming titles. It is a site which also emphasizes movie tie-ins which are usually always popular. The kids/teen section is less robust, but there is some information to be gleaned. There are weekly posts outlining the hot titles coming that week in both adult and kids. It is also a great place for links to some other great sites and does a good job compiling “best  of” lists at the end of the year.  Having all of that information in one place makes it easier to check on popularity at BCPL and whether additional copies are needed. The only negative I have with the site is the “most libraries” references in some posts. Without an understanding of what libraries, how many, what size, etc., this kind of generality is really not helpful.

Assignment Three -

I went to the Barnes & Noble coming soon page, which is helpful since it’s broken down by week. The title which caught my eye was Looking for Me by Beth Hoffman. It is described as southern fiction about family, loss, and love.  The title is expected to be popular in large part based on the success of the author’s debut novel – Saving CeeCee Honeycutt. It is also expected to appeal to a wide variety of readers, including fans of Adriana Trigiana, Joshilyn Jackson, and Fannie Flagg. This is also a good candidate for future book clubs.

Week Four - Goodreads

I had joined Goodreads a while ago, but never really used it at all. I added titles and created shelfs and received several recommendations. I think the recommendations were good choices based on the titles I rated. One thing to note is that I only added titles which I liked (3 stars or better). It would be interesting to see how or if Goodreads use the information from the titles which readers disliked. Does this weigh into their recommendations? I also only rated adult books so far, so I will be curious to see what types of recommendations are generated when I add kids and or teen titles.

There is a lot more to Goodreads than simply journaling books read or to be read. The Explore feature offers monthly movers and shakers. This is valuable information that keeps us updated on what people are reading or talking about reading. It also offers new release shelves highlighting new titles in a variety of genres. This is similar to Amazon, but if your reading history is on Goodreads, it’s easier to just go to one site. Listopia was a bit overwhelming. I like the idea of voting, and the wide range of lists, but it just seemed like it could get a little out of hand.

I recommended Belle Epoque by Elizabeth Ross to Cayce. This is a new teen historical fiction set at the end of the nineteenth century in Paris. I think Cayce will appreciate the romance, historical setting, and adventure since she really liked the Flappers series, another teen historical series focusing on young women.

Week 3 - Recommendation Time

The first customer seems interested in literary stories with an emphasis on story and character – particularly strong women. This customer seems to read both fiction and nonfiction, so I would maybe offer one of each, especially since she’s looking for titles for a book club. I would recommend Life After Life by Atkinson because its literary fiction with a strong central female character. The plot twists should also appeal to this customer’s interest in story. I would also suggest Eighty Days: Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland’s History Making Race Around the World by Goodman. This historical narrative nonfiction should appeal to this reader because of the global settings, interesting story, and strong female characters. Both of these titles would be good choices for book clubs as they each have multiple discussion points.

The second reader seems put off by the Twilight series either because the main characters are teen or because of the romantic elements, or both. I would recommend the Jane Yellowrock series by Faith Hunter. While there is a romantic thread to the series, it is dark fantasy and Jane is a strong, tough, vampire hunter. Book seven was just published this spring.

The third reader likes quick moving, true stories. While the reader referenced something historical, I don’t think the time period is as important as the pacing. I would recommend The President is a Sick Man: Wherein the Supposedly Virtuous Grover Cleveland Survives a Secret Surgery at Sea and Vilifies the Courageous Newspaperman Who Dared Expose the Truth by Algeo. This is the true and little-known story of Cleveland’s disappearance for five days in the summer of 1893 when he had surgery on a ship to remove cancer from his palate and jaw. This quick, thrilling read also documents what happened when the story was made public.