Week Six

Week 6: Assignment 1
In Week 1: Assignment 4, you began following one of the genre links on the right. Write a blog post about your discoveries.

Well I'm still not hooked on any mysteries yet.  I've never been a big mystery reader (and most of the World seems to be) but to choose a story about, usually, murder just isn't my cup of tea even when it's served up by a pinafore wearing, white-haired Ms. Marple type with a lap cat.  I can't say that my mystery site (Stop Your Killing Me) either converted me nor impressed with with browsable discoveries. 

That being said:  it has several good lists including a comprehensive list of mystery characters (but how up to date?) that I might consult from time to time for missing series titles, etc.  The awards lists might be useful as well but I have NOT yet discovered much "new" content each week nor does it lead me to subgenres which I might enjoy despite the presence of a genre index that breaks it down a bit.  I THINK that I'd like something like "literary mysteries" but haven't seen a sign of them. 

Week 6: Assignment 2
Explore this Prezi link of Fiction Genres and Subgenres.

Explored.  Cool.

Week 6: Assignment 3
Pick 3 sub-genres that you are unfamiliar with.

• Find a fan website for each subgenre and summarize the current buzz among fans. Why are they excited about this subgenre? How did you find the website?
• Gay Science Fiction (Found via Google search):  They're excited about (Ugh!) fan fiction.
• Science Fiction Serial Killers (Found via Google search). Androids and aliens are big.
• Literary Historical Fiction (Found via Google search).  At first I was disappointed because "literary" and "classics" seem somewhat synonymous as catagories (which they are not in my head).  Ultimately: it did contain literary efforts both new and old so all was cool.  I can't say that I saw any specific trends except a lot of apparent diversity based on author's names.
• List three authors or titles that are associated with or typify each of these 3 subgenres. What are the hallmarks or appeal factors of each of the subgenres?
• Gay Science Fiction: Main characters with alternative gender orientations.  Biological traits other than those normally found in humans.
• Hero by Perry Moore
• Alpha by Ravon Silvius.  Heads up on this one!  Cover looks a bit racy but many reading in this category may like that. 
• Anne Rice:  Not truly scifi but an obvious choice if you need it on the shelf now.
• Science Fiction Serial Killers (Found via Google search). Androids and aliens are big.  Technologies which alter the rules of regular detective work.  Time travel, computers, or drugs which reinvent the rules.
  • The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes
  • Flashback by Dan Simmons
  • A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess
• Literary Historical Fiction (Found via Google search).  At first I was disappointed because "literary" and "classics" seem synonymous but it turns out that there is just (obviously) some overlap.
• Umberto Eco
• Phillipa Gregory (Warning:  may wander into romance at times).
• Atonement by Ian McEwan
• Mashups of subgenres, e.g. steampunk westerns, are becoming increasingly popular. Find two titles, not shown on the flowchart, which could cross over into another subgenre. Describe your rationale.
  
  Sorry but that's pretty much what I did above (those are some pretty freakin' esoteric subgenres!) and it would make my head explode if I had to come up with more.  I'm considering that question answered.

Week Five

Week 5: Assignment 1
What useful information have you learned from the resource that you have been monitoring since week one? Blog about it.

To be honest, I frequently check Early Word so I won't say that I've had any great revelations.  However I now have a potential stack of reading for my vacation and I picked up both "Shining Girls" and "Sense of an Ending" from reading it.  I tend to find something that sounds good on Early World and then I add it to my "To Read" shelf on Good Reads.  I wish that somehow Early Word, Good Reads and Polaris let us share better.  I also have to admit:  I don't love book trailers.  I think that they frequently create visuals for a book that do not reflect my mental imagery.


Week 5: Assignment 2
What’s popular in your branch? If it’s “popular” or “commercial” fiction then you want be sure to look at The New York Times Best Seller List or People Magazine. For forthcoming titles check the Publisher’s Weekly On Sale calendar. If literary fiction and narrative nonfiction is popular, you can monitor the Indie Next Best Seller List (formerly BookSense) and NPR. Do your customers want to read the book before the movie comes out? More than likely, you have a diverse mix of customers who have equally diverse reading preferences, but all of these resources are available via Early Word. Take a look at the site and click around; there are lots of links in both sidebars. Post to your blog: What resources are new discoveries for you? What do you think that you will continue to use?

Unfortunately, the preponderance of the requests that we get in Information Services are NOT the newest and hottest stuff but more frequently reflect older and half forgotten titles.  "It's an adult book and had a talking turtle and took place in a garden in England" is my favorite and we found it via NoveList.  I also really like to use the Polaris sort for "popularity".  Its so easy to find the newest or best with that sort (ie:  the most popular mysteries).  Most of the genre sites that we are reviewing for this training are new to me and the Indie Next Best Seller list is sort of interesting and seems a bit less commercially than NYT and others do.  Frankly:  I wish that our own catalog did as good of a job at connecting customers with street dates as these sites do.

Week 5: Assignment 3
Pick a title from the highly anticipated titles of 2013, found under the right hand “Coming Soon- Season Previews” sidebar on Early Word. Write a blog post using appeal factors or read-alikes to describe the title. Why is this title expected to be popular and to whom would it appeal?

Shining Girl has been described as "Silence of the Lambs" meets "The Time Traveler's Wife" and that is a good place to start with this fast paced, dark and violent novel.  The narrative is intentionally choppy and breaks across different time periods as the unfinished victim of a serial killer hunts her time traveling would be assassin.

Week Four

OK.  I've been a GoodReads user for a while so I don't expect much from this week's lesson.  I've got the account, logged books, have reviews, have shelves, made friends (colleagues and otherwise), etc.  I'll go off and plug some books to colleagues on Good Reads now ("Let's Pretend That This Never Happened" to Elizabeth Rafferty and Julie Saxenmeyer.)

Week Three

I've always thought that appeal elements are one of the most important aspects to good readers' advisory.  I tend to completely gloss over on most "plot summaries" since they really don't tell very much about a book.  Think about a plot review for a book like "Animal Farm" ("A bunch of farm animals take over a farm" makes it sounds like a kids book.) or "Lord of the Flies" (" A bunch of kids crash on a desserted island and have to learn how to fend for themselves" makes it sounds like an adventure story.)  My reading preferences are more about the style and intelligences of the writing more than the story.

This week on "Early Word":  learned about Kate DiCamillo's new book Flora and Ulysses.  Also Gabaldon who wrote the Outlander series doesn't do a good job promoting her own books.Seems sort of arrogant.

This week on "Stop You're Killing Me" website.  The layout of this site does nothing to draw me in.  Not good descriptions or cover art.  Tried brief to see if I could find QLGBT mysteries.  No can do.

Assignment One: 
I obviously like the article but thought that the emphasis on fear in the floating librarian model was overplayed.  The exercises in the articles were great but it was unclear if R.A. training participants were expected to do (and post) on this assignments as well.

Assignment Two:

The Nancy Pearl podcast was great but I'm not sure if it adhered to the 15 second rule all of the time.  But to be fair:  she was being prodded so expounding would be OK.  I've gotta say that her "aw shucks!" downhome tone of voice makes her very endearing.

Assignment Three:

• First Conversation:  Funny, reflective, and a bit of depth.  I'd recommend "Julie & Julia."
• Second Conversation: Not too angsty and with a good pace.  Duh:  Anne Rice (it they were a bit older that the classic Twilight fans. Or, come to think of it:  Snookie Stackhouse. Much less angsty.
• Third Conversation:  True and fast paced.  Off the top of my head:  Devil in the White City.