Week 9 - Assignment 3

I mostly liked the concept of appeal factors. I could never really put my finger on those things that may be important to a reader, such as pace. The appeal factors for me open up more possibilities for readers advisory, recommending titles that may be different than what the reader would normally choose, but the pace or setting etc. may make it appealing beyond the author or the basic story.

I also liked the nonfiction section. One reason is I have been reading more nonfiction lately and it made me realize we can do some crossover titles that may compare to a fiction title the reader enjoyed. This, of course, will increase the possibilities of titles to recommend and help the reader branch out into another genre of reading.

Week 9 Assignment 1 and 2

I looked at about 5 book trailers on You Tube. They were for the following titles:

Glass Castle
Room
Destiny of the Republic
Hole in My Life
Art of Fielding

Some of them were very good and others looked so amateur that I really was not sure they were the official book trailer. The good ones I felt, at least for me, really worked. They made me want to read the title and left me with a good amount of curiosity about the title. It helped that I am a very visual person.

I think they would be helpful in a limited way for readers advisory. It could be a start for someone to maybe get an idea of something to read by looking at the trailer.

Week 8 - Assignment 4

Fast Food Nation - Eric Schlosser does an in depth study of the fast food industry. Not just a behind the scenes at the various fast food establishments, but a true behind the scenes as he takes the reader to the industries, meat packing, french fry factory, farm conglomerates, etc. to show what goes on to bring us this fast food.

We see the good, bad and unbelievable from the miss treatment of animals at meat packing plants to the mistreatment of workers as well as the monopoly by corporations over farmers.
 
I would recommend Fast Food Nation to someone who likes detailed investigations that expose truths that may not been known by most. I feel anyone who enjoys fiction such as The Jungle or any investigation fiction may like Fast Food Nation.

 

Destiny of the Republic - The true story of the shooting of President James Garfield and the eventual death of Garfield from infection due to his wounds, and the doctor’s unsanitary treatment of him.
 
This account takes on a variety of subjects as it deals with the main subject. We get to see some detail of the killer’s life, motive, and his mental state. Politics takes center stage throughout much of the book giving an inside look at the atmosphere of politics at that period in the United States. Medicine in the United States is scrutinized through the treatment of the president. Invention is part of the story following Alexander Graham Bell and not just his invention of the telephone but is invention of a device to help locate the bullet logged in Garfield’s back.
 
This title would appeal to so many different readers because of the subjects mentioned above. It at times really reads like fiction. I think anyone that enjoys character study should like this title since we get a glimpse of a number of characters that are part of the story.

Week 8 - Assignment 3

• Biography - Beginning of Nonfiction in the Biography Section Hole In My Life - Jack Gantos
• History - 973.009 Destiny of the Republic - Candace Millard
• Food -  647.9573 S Fast Food Nation - Eric Schlosser
• Overcoming Adversity - Biography Section  Unbroken Laura Hillenbrand

Week 8 - Assignment 2

The video presentation was helpful, though I did know much of what was presented it was a good reminder of some important factors that go, or should go into, nonfiction readers advisory.

Week 8 - Assignment 1

I liked both articles. In the Borderlands I felt the crossover examples for certain nonfiction genres where helpful.

In the Reading Nonfiction for Pleasure I thought the Implications for the Readers’ Advisory Transaction list was good and made me think deeper into the way to do readers advisory with customers in regards to nonfiction.

Week 7 - Assignment 4

I took a look at Harper Teen. I really liked the uncluttered look of the page and that the top books and top authors are on the first page making them easy to access. This is nice if you are new to the YA genre since you can quickly see some of the more popular titles and authors. The In The News section was also a nice addition and presented cross over information about a TV series that was in production called DELIRIUM based on the bestselling series by Lauren Oliver.

The changing banner highlighting some new titles had a very appealing look as does the whole website.

Teens At Random was the other site I viewed. It was similar in some ways to Harper Teen, Author and New Release sections, but also had the Fun Stuff section that connected readers to more about particular titles, such as games based on the books, ereads, videos etc.

I liked both sites and feel that either one or both are worth viewing regularly to get a sense about YA material and may help in reader’s advisory for teens. They would certainly be worth recommending to a YA reader.


The trend appears to be toward fantacy type fiction.

Week 7 - Assignment 3

I explored Teenreads - I really liked Teenreads, especially the book reviews, the section of books that are being made into films, and the section that has actual young adults from all different grades and from different parts of the U.S. They talk about their favorite titles and review YA titles.

If I was a young adult age it would really appeal to me that people my own age are discussing YA books and reviewing titles. I would like to know what my peers are interested in and what they think of certain titles.

Week 7 - Assignment 2

YA Comes of Age - Publisher’s Weekly

I found this article interesting. I was amazed that hardback YA titles are the norm, and that the YA readers will buy the the titles. It makes me think that there is a possibility that the readers do not think the library carries the titles, or they do not feel comfortable using the library. Of course there could be other reasons, but it makes me think that maybe the public library could promote the YA area and titles further and try to bring in the readers to borrow rather than buy the newest titles.

I know there could be other reasons why the YA readers would rather buy the books, but I feel that we in the public library should maybe analyze to see if our YA readers are not using us as much as possible and if not try to get the word out that we have what the book stores have.

I am not surprised that adults are interested in YA. I tend to think that the stories are now beyond the basic YA angst, relationship problems and parent problems. Maybe the more fictional, no real; paranormal, dystopias, etc. are taking the readers away from their problems and into a fantasy that can give them some down time from any problems. Maybe?

The Next Big Thing - YALSA; The Hub

I have always felt that YA titles are good reads for adults as well. To me it seems that it has become more that way with many of the adult authors writing also in YA, and since Hunger Games and Twilight, as the article discusses. The movies have helped that cause as well.

I think when customers do not know how good YA can be it may be a great opportunity to open up a new area of reading for them and helping us with readers advisory.

Week 7 - Assignment 1

I like the flowchart from Lawrence Library. It is a quick way to see some of the more popular and new teen fiction. I would go back to this to see what I want to read in teen fiction and the category it is in. I could certainly branch off from here.

Week 6 - Assignment 3

Genre/Westerns - Subgenre/Mountain Men

I found a discussion on Amazon that basically was talking about the mountain men subgenre being mostly about freedom and self-reliance. The characters, mountain men, needed to be free and live their lives the way they wanted, not following anyone else's rules. They did not need to rely on anyone else to survive.

They settled things with others without the law involved, since, outside the towns, the law was almost non existant. This subgenre makes me think of the movie Jeremiah Johnson.


Authors - William W. Johnstone
                  Terry C. Johnston
                  L. J. Martin

Appeal Factors - Action-packed; Issue-oriented; Plot-driven, Fast-paced, Atmospheric; Violent, Descriptive

Genre/Mystery - Subgenre/Police Procedural

I found the site www.mysteryguild.com. The site had a seperate section for the police prodedural and that was broken into city cops, country and police and professionals. In each of those sections there were books listed that fell into that subgenre. They had titles listed with information and reviews about each title.

Nice site and would be great to direct someone who likes mysteries and wants to explore subsgenres or knows one they like and want to find some titles.

Authors/Titles - Robert Crais - Suspect
                            J. D. Robb - Calculated in Death
                            Richard Castle - Storm Front

Appeal Factors - Suspenceful, fast paced, violent, plot driven

Genre/Realistic - Subgenre/Historical

Found an interesting site called write-better-fiction.com. Though it is more about writing fiction it gives a great overview of what historical fiction is all about. There are headings such as How to create realistic fiction and thoughts like, The bulk of the reality of the fiction is conveyed in the emotions and thoughts of the characters.

Authors/Titles - Kathryn Stockett - The Help
                            Anita Diamant - Red Tent
                            Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird

Appeal Factors - Could be very different depending on the title. There are such a wide variety of subjects.

Mashups

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies  by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith - I think the title tells all about this mashup.
The Ghosts of Watt O’Hugh by Steven S. Drachman - This review says it all.

“[An] engaging tale of Western science fiction and amazing fantasy…. Drachman pens a standout lead in the character of Watt O’Hugh. The cool hero’s tale is told in charming, romping detail, from the magical adventurer’s poor childhood in the Five Points and the Tomb[s], to his notorious, gun-toting dalliances in the Wild West and his wilder exploits through time itself. … Adding legitimate historical figures, such as the esteemed author Oscar Wilde, to the fictional mix builds levels of believability to the time-traveling romp’s fast-paced flavor. … this introductory tale of a planned trilogy often has the fleeting pace found in many of the historic Western pulps authored in the 1800s. Fast-paced, energetic and fun; a dime novel for modern intellectuals.” - Kirkus Reviews
              

Week 6 - Assignment 2

I liked exploring the different subgenres on the Prezi. Many were new to me and I would not have known about them as a subgenre. I usually just consider them as part of the main genre not thinking of them as a separate item.
 
Subgenres make it helpful to do RA if you can determine the one a reader may like and then look for those specifically. The reader may not even be aware that there are subgenres and that they like a particular one. Then recommendations may be even more to their liking.

The RA Conversation - #1

I went right to our "You might also like these..." section of our catalog to see what was similar to Eat, Pray, Love. I would recommend Wild by Cheryl Strayed. The appeal factors are similar.

Week 6 - Assignment 1

I decided to follow the Stop Your Killing Me site. I like the site; it is uncluttered and easy to navigate. I think the reviews are good with enough detail to whet your appetite. It can also be helpful for recommending to customers and just learning some basics about the mystery suspense genre.

I really liked the genre index that gives subgenres and authors and titles that write in those subgenres.

Week 5 - Assignment 3

The Woman Upstairs - A character driven haunting story about Nora a third grade school teacher that becomes obsessed with one of her student's family. Told in first person, at a leisurely pace, this story will have readers asking what is real and what is fantasy.

Week 5 - Assignment 2

I will use the things that I commented on already for Week 5 Assignment 1. I think I will mostly use the sight to keep up on what is new and on the horizon. This I feel is the most important use, at this time, for EarlyWord. As I explore it more I may find more uses. I do enjoy the site. My only criticism at this point is that like so many websites it is busy and takes time to take everything in that is available. I hope to explore more.

Week 5 - Assignment 1

I decided to follow EarlyWord in week one. I really like that you can find out about the newest titles coming, and it is right on the first page of the site.

I kind of stumbled across the section about authors and others associated with books and writing that have recently died. Though many times sad it does keep you updated.

I am impressed with the trailers, just like for movies, that are about books that are coming.

I like the Best Books of the Year section and how they are archived for older years. It is nice that they are the best books determined by different sources. This way you get a broader view of what were some of the best titles for a particular year.

Week 4 - Assignment 1

I basically like Goodreads, but I do find that some sections are not very intuitive. I think the best uses for me at this point are to keep a list of what I have read and get ideas of what to read from others that are on Goodreads.

I think the recommendations are probably mostly based on what I have read and matching those titles to similar ones. I like that it separated genres of the matches since I read in several genre.

I did a recommendation for Carmen Dearing on Goodreads and here is what I said: Carmen, I would like to recommend two titles that I feel you would like based on the fact that you like Beachcombers. The first one is True Colors by Hannah Kristin and While My Sister Sleeps by Barbara Delinsky. Both of these titles have similar appeal factors to Beachcombers.

Week 3 - Assignment 3

Conversation # 1

I went right to our "You Might Also Like These..."  on the catalog under the title Eat, Pray, Love and would suggest Wild by Cheryl Strayed. I chose that title over the other suggestions because not only did it match a number of issues from Eat, Pray, Love, but it said that the main character deals with their own internal struggles. The customer said what she liked the most about Eat, Pray, Love was how the main character "sheared her inner thoughts"

Conversation # 2

To answer this one I used a number of sources, even Google. I kept finding titles that were like Twilight, so with Google I searched for vampire titles not like Twilight. Dracula came up more than once, but the appeal factors did not seemed to be exactly what the customer wanted. So, I checked for other titles like Dracula and looking at the appeal factors found the title Historian that in many ways had the appeal factors,
fast-paced, creepy, suspenseful, ccompelling, richly detailed, stylistically complex, that the customer was looking for. And no mention of romance. I would also still suggest Dracula.

Conversation # 3

I used the title River of Doubt to look up read alikes on Novelist. Then I checked the appeal factors for the ones recommended to make sure they matched the readers appeal factors. With that I found that War by Junger was a good suggestion. When discussing with a colleague the another one that she thought would work well was Perfect Storm also by Sebastian Junger.

I like the fact that when you use appeal factors you can really be more sure that it is a title or author that will better match the readers interests and not just recommend on the fact that it has been determined to be a read alike.

Week 2 - Assignment 2

The Perks of Being a Wallflower - Medium paced with some quirky characters touching on the high school years and all the angst and thrills that come with that time. With some analysis of why teens act as they do. We hear the story as the main character tells his tale through letters he is writing to a friend.


Where Men Win Glory - In depth study of Pat Tillman's life and character, detailing his leaving the NFL and enlisting in the marines. Medium paced, with analysis by Tillman about his move to the military and his training to become battle ready. You meet his friends, wife, family and his brother who enlists with Pat and stay together the whole time even when they are sent to Afghanistan. Exposes the failings of the military leading to the death of Pat Tillman from friendly fire, and the investigation folowing the incident.


I made suggestions on Karin Kinzel's and Jennifer Riley's blogs about what may be similar to their favorite books.

Appeal

At first when reading through the article about the different appeal factors of readers advisory I felt there was so much to think about it would be difficult to use this method. But, on second look, and thinking about it more I realize this can be very helpful to advise others on what may appeal to them. Not just looking for similar authors.

I feel it will give a better way to move out of the same type of author suggestions and maybe to something that will be liked by the customer because of the appeal factors they care most about.

This can be a learning experience for the customer since they may not even be aware of appeal factor and can get them to start thinking in those terms for finding newer authors and titles. They may be able to read reviews and descriptions of titles and authors taking note of the things that will appeal to them or not.

Taking this a step further I was thinking that there may be other appeals for different media such as books on CD and Playaways. The customer may be interested in a type of reader, how they read, male or female, etc. Or with music, there may be a whole different set of appeal factors, such as style of music, types of instruments played, depth of song writing, etc.

Six Year Old Guesses

As I said in the earlier post "YOU CAN NOT JUDGE A BOOK BY IT'S COVER. This childs guesses are proof.

Stop Your Killing Me

I checked out, ha ha, no pun intented, the Stop Your Killing Me page. I liked it and especially the section where you can find main characters, usually a detective, matched to the author that created that character. This is helpful when a customer may know the character but not author. Matching them up would make a good game on the sight.

I also found the section on geography where you can pick areas of the world as settings and find titles with that area as the setting. This is great if someone likes a certain part of the world and mysteries. I checked New Mexico, where I have been and find interesting, and found some titles set there. I knew about Tony Hilleman, but I found others. Nice page!

Early Word

Checked out the Early Word Blog. I enjoyed it, though I found it a little busy. I really liked the page that told about the books that are, or have been made into movies. I will explore it a some more.

Week 1 - Assignment 1

I had fun with this. I was surprised how many I knew, but sometimes have trouble coming up with the title. Oh my old age. And remember,  Don't Judge a Book By It's Cover.

JC - 4/22