Week 9 Assignment 3
Summarize your thoughts about this program in a blog post. What have you learned that was helpful?
This program taught me just how much strategy and training goes into recommending a book successfully. Right now I'm a long way from becoming one of the great masters of readers advisory but I can see the road ahead and I am undeterred. I had fun recommending books to friends on goodreads (one of the two friends I messaged even texted me back to thank me for the thoughtful recommendations!) and I enjoyed learning how truly pitiful book trailers are. But I learned something about myself while describing this program to friends. A surprising number of them thought the be more bookish program and genre boot camp sounded miserable. My roommate even asked "But you can just pretend to read those books right?" And I realized that I don't want to make this stuff up. I really do want to become the kind of nerd who posts on Tor.com my list of top 5 fantasy horses.
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Week 9: Book Trailers
Post to your blog your opinion about book trailers – do they succeed in marketing the books they are trying to promote? Are they useful for readers’ advisory?
The book railer is an awkward format. They emulate the style of blockbuster movie trailers except without a budget and without real actors. Personally I haven't encountered many book trailers. This is because book trailers are unceremoniously flushed out into the vastness of youtube. No one knows they're out there so no one goes looking for them. But there is one book trailer I've seen that made me want to read a book. The trailer for Lev Grossman's The Magician's Land excited me even though I'd fallen out of love with that series. The trailer featured a parade of famous authors reading the first chapter of the book one sentence at a time. It managed to get attention by the pull of the famous authors like Neil Gaiman and Gary Shteyngart who appeared alongside fans of the series. This gave me a communal excitement that I'd lost after the second book in that series had failed to impress me. This proves you don't need a budget to make a successful book trailer (most of the famous people in the video are skyping from couches, beds and boats, production quality was not a concern) all you need is a good idea and the authors words. This article also mentioned the book trailer for Inherent Vice, which featured Thomas Pynchon himself reading from the book. This got a lot of hits, because Pynchon is a recluse and fans wanted to know what he sounds like (it turns out: Jeff Bridges!) I think in order for book trailers to succeed in getting people's attention the people making them need to stop modeling them after movie trailers.
The book railer is an awkward format. They emulate the style of blockbuster movie trailers except without a budget and without real actors. Personally I haven't encountered many book trailers. This is because book trailers are unceremoniously flushed out into the vastness of youtube. No one knows they're out there so no one goes looking for them. But there is one book trailer I've seen that made me want to read a book. The trailer for Lev Grossman's The Magician's Land excited me even though I'd fallen out of love with that series. The trailer featured a parade of famous authors reading the first chapter of the book one sentence at a time. It managed to get attention by the pull of the famous authors like Neil Gaiman and Gary Shteyngart who appeared alongside fans of the series. This gave me a communal excitement that I'd lost after the second book in that series had failed to impress me. This proves you don't need a budget to make a successful book trailer (most of the famous people in the video are skyping from couches, beds and boats, production quality was not a concern) all you need is a good idea and the authors words. This article also mentioned the book trailer for Inherent Vice, which featured Thomas Pynchon himself reading from the book. This got a lot of hits, because Pynchon is a recluse and fans wanted to know what he sounds like (it turns out: Jeff Bridges!) I think in order for book trailers to succeed in getting people's attention the people making them need to stop modeling them after movie trailers.
Week 8: Nonfiction
Assignment #1 - Read the following two articles for an introduction to nonfiction readers’ advisory.
It seems easier to me to convince a fiction reader to read a non-fiction book than the other way around. Personally I prefer fiction. I'm more engaged when reading fiction because I feel like anything can happen. But I know nonfiction readers who can't stand to read imaginary stories because they either feel like they're not learning anything or that the author is trying to trick them. I guess one strategy to convert a nonfiction addict is to emphasize historical detail. It's totally possible to learn a about say 1890's New York in Caleb Carr's Alienist books.
I like the idea of making book displays that blur the line between fiction and nonfiction. I hadn't thought about what subgenres nonfiction might contain. I'll give that some thought.
Assignment #3 - Choose any four of the 16 nonfiction genres presented in the video. In what Dewey area(s) did you find narrative nonfiction in these genres? List each of the four genres and their Dewey areas on your blog. Choose one book from each of these four genres that you could recommend to someone who normally reads only fiction. List these titles and their authors.
History - Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell (973 V)
Memoirs - Rock On: an Office Power Ballad by Dan Kennedy (It's only an online resource at the moment but I imagine it's call number would be "BIO KEN?")
Crime - Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (364.1523 L)
Adventure - The Lost City of Z by David Grann (918.11 G)
Assignment #4 - Using appeal factors, write a 1-2 paragraph book talk for two of the four titles you would recommend, noting who you would recommend them to and why. Post these on your blog.
Rock On: an Office Power Ballad by Dan Kennedy. This is the story of one man's hilarious and moving journey into the dark heart of the record industry. The books tone is a mix between Spinal Tap and The Office. full of quirky cringe-y humor that will appeal to comedy and music fans alike. I would recommend this book heavily to fans of Nick Hornby's High Fidelity.
Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. This is the first book on people's lips when they speak about the appeal of narrative nonfiction. Larson chronicles the story of serial murderer H.H. Holmes. A man who lured victims to his "murder castle" during the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. For fans of Serial, The Alienist and True Detective.
It seems easier to me to convince a fiction reader to read a non-fiction book than the other way around. Personally I prefer fiction. I'm more engaged when reading fiction because I feel like anything can happen. But I know nonfiction readers who can't stand to read imaginary stories because they either feel like they're not learning anything or that the author is trying to trick them. I guess one strategy to convert a nonfiction addict is to emphasize historical detail. It's totally possible to learn a about say 1890's New York in Caleb Carr's Alienist books.
I like the idea of making book displays that blur the line between fiction and nonfiction. I hadn't thought about what subgenres nonfiction might contain. I'll give that some thought.
Assignment #3 - Choose any four of the 16 nonfiction genres presented in the video. In what Dewey area(s) did you find narrative nonfiction in these genres? List each of the four genres and their Dewey areas on your blog. Choose one book from each of these four genres that you could recommend to someone who normally reads only fiction. List these titles and their authors.
History - Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell (973 V)
Memoirs - Rock On: an Office Power Ballad by Dan Kennedy (It's only an online resource at the moment but I imagine it's call number would be "BIO KEN?")
Crime - Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (364.1523 L)
Adventure - The Lost City of Z by David Grann (918.11 G)
Assignment #4 - Using appeal factors, write a 1-2 paragraph book talk for two of the four titles you would recommend, noting who you would recommend them to and why. Post these on your blog.
Rock On: an Office Power Ballad by Dan Kennedy. This is the story of one man's hilarious and moving journey into the dark heart of the record industry. The books tone is a mix between Spinal Tap and The Office. full of quirky cringe-y humor that will appeal to comedy and music fans alike. I would recommend this book heavily to fans of Nick Hornby's High Fidelity.
Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. This is the first book on people's lips when they speak about the appeal of narrative nonfiction. Larson chronicles the story of serial murderer H.H. Holmes. A man who lured victims to his "murder castle" during the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. For fans of Serial, The Alienist and True Detective.
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Week 7: Not Just for Teens
Week 7: Assignment 1
Take a look at the “What to Read Next” flowchart from the Lawrence Public Library (also available in PDF format.)
Week 7: Assignment 2
Read any two of the following short articles. Post your thoughts on your blog.
New Adult: Needless Marketing-Speak Or Valued Subgenre? Publisher’s Weekly, Dec 14, 2012
I'm trying not to have a cynical reaction to "new adult." This article points out it is a term invented by marketing teams to sell books to people who aren't quite old enough to be adults but not young enough to be "young adults" either. It's a silly name and it seems to me that slicing up readership into subgenre after subgenre just leaves you with a smaller pie of readers who are unwilling to read outside their designated sections. A good book is a good book, and the way we compartmentalize by genre and subgenre is kind of exhausting. Not to sound like a college freshman, but what does genre even mean, man? "Catcher in the Rye" isn't in the young adult section! "The Lord of the Rings" isn't in the fantasy section! But really these genre tags are mostly harmless and meant to help readers find what they want to read or mean to avoid. For instance if there were a "Matt Hickey" section I'd at least be curious to see what other Matt Hickeys like myself are reading.
YA Comes of Age Publisher’s Weekly, Oct 3, 2011
I totally feel what this author described as "paranormal fatigue" in popular culture. Between True Blood, Twilight and every zombie thing the paranormal genre feels played out for the moment. But when the author followed up that statement by predicting that dystopias will be the "next big thing" I had to check the date that this article was published. A-ha! 2011. That was two Divergents, three Hunger Games, one The Giver and a Maze Runner ago.
Choose any two of the following blogs/websites. Follow them for a week. Post comments to your blog regarding who is writing it, who is the intended audience, is it successful, etc.
Take a look at the “What to Read Next” flowchart from the Lawrence Public Library (also available in PDF format.)
Week 7: Assignment 2
Read any two of the following short articles. Post your thoughts on your blog.
New Adult: Needless Marketing-Speak Or Valued Subgenre? Publisher’s Weekly, Dec 14, 2012
I'm trying not to have a cynical reaction to "new adult." This article points out it is a term invented by marketing teams to sell books to people who aren't quite old enough to be adults but not young enough to be "young adults" either. It's a silly name and it seems to me that slicing up readership into subgenre after subgenre just leaves you with a smaller pie of readers who are unwilling to read outside their designated sections. A good book is a good book, and the way we compartmentalize by genre and subgenre is kind of exhausting. Not to sound like a college freshman, but what does genre even mean, man? "Catcher in the Rye" isn't in the young adult section! "The Lord of the Rings" isn't in the fantasy section! But really these genre tags are mostly harmless and meant to help readers find what they want to read or mean to avoid. For instance if there were a "Matt Hickey" section I'd at least be curious to see what other Matt Hickeys like myself are reading.
YA Comes of Age Publisher’s Weekly, Oct 3, 2011
I totally feel what this author described as "paranormal fatigue" in popular culture. Between True Blood, Twilight and every zombie thing the paranormal genre feels played out for the moment. But when the author followed up that statement by predicting that dystopias will be the "next big thing" I had to check the date that this article was published. A-ha! 2011. That was two Divergents, three Hunger Games, one The Giver and a Maze Runner ago.
Choose any two of the following blogs/websites. Follow them for a week. Post comments to your blog regarding who is writing it, who is the intended audience, is it successful, etc.
- John Green Books or John Green’s Tumblr
- Stacked
- Teenreads
- Forever Young Adult
- Cassandra Clare’s Tumblr
- School Library Journal: Someday My Printz Will Come (Seasonal)
- Squeetus Blog: Official Blog of Shannon Hale
"Once the other students were gone, three adults still remained. [The boy] was still clearly uncomfortable that we weren't alone but his question was also clearly important to him. So he leaned forward and whispered in my ear,
"Do you have a copy of the black princess book?"
It broke my heart that he felt he had to whisper the question. He wanted to read the rest of the book so badly and yet was so afraid what others would think of him. If he read a "girl" book. A book about a princess. Even a monster-fighting superhero ninja princess. He wasn't born ashamed. We made him ashamed. Ashamed to be interested in a book about a girl. About a princess--the most "girlie" of girls. I wish I'd had a copy of The Princess in Black to give him right then. The bookstore told him they were going to donate a copy to his library. I hope he's brave enough to check it out. I hope he keeps reading. I hope he changes his own story. I hope all of us can change this story. I'm really rooting for a happy ending."
I don't know Shannon Hale's work (I don't read girl books, jk I feel cheap now) but this post was sobering. Fiction expands empathy, especially in children. As librarians, teachers and parents we have an opportunity to aid this process or hinder it. By instructing children about who NOT to empathize with we can do serious harm.
Week 6: Building Base Knowledge (Genres)
Pick 3 subgenres that you are unfamiliar with. 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?
Cozy Mysteries - These books are rated G for "gentle." There's no illicit sex, drugs, or language and the murders are never terribly bloody. Imagine a mystery that your grandmother wouldn't mind getting involved in (or a mystery Sam Spade might get bored with). Cozies tend to feature light humor and unlikely protagonists like Alan Bradley's precocious 11 year old sleuth Flavia de Luce. See Alexander McCall Smith's "The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency," & Agatha Christie's "Ms. Marple" stories.
Native American Westerns - These books avoid ethnocentric "Cowboys & Indians" clichés. They tell stories from a Native American perspective with nuanced depictions of their culture. Sherman Alexie is probably the most popular writer of this genre. All of his novels deal with historical and contemporary characters struggling with issues of identity and acceptance. See also Tony Hillerman's "Joe Leaphorn & Jim Chee" books, & Larry McMurtry's "Lonesome Dove" saga.
Culinary Capers - These are mysteries revolving around food or recipes, often paired with instructions for how to make them. Similar to cozies in that they're very safe mysteries. Although I guess one COULD write a hard-boiled (ugh) culinary mystery. See Alexander Campion, Cathy Pickens & Diane Mott Davidson.
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.
I read about a book on the NPR website called "The Devil's Detective" that could be called a "supernatural mystery" where a crime takes place in hell. Come to think of it the detective genre is so rigid that it almost demands that you mix it up with other genres to get some extra flavor. Like Jasper Fforde's "Nursery Crime" books where detectives struggle to figure out who killed Humpty Dumpty in a hard-boiled style. Or the books of Philip K. Dick (whose book "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" was adapted into "Blade Runner") or the early novels of Jonathan Lethem could be described as "sci-fi noir."
Cozy Mysteries - These books are rated G for "gentle." There's no illicit sex, drugs, or language and the murders are never terribly bloody. Imagine a mystery that your grandmother wouldn't mind getting involved in (or a mystery Sam Spade might get bored with). Cozies tend to feature light humor and unlikely protagonists like Alan Bradley's precocious 11 year old sleuth Flavia de Luce. See Alexander McCall Smith's "The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency," & Agatha Christie's "Ms. Marple" stories.
Native American Westerns - These books avoid ethnocentric "Cowboys & Indians" clichés. They tell stories from a Native American perspective with nuanced depictions of their culture. Sherman Alexie is probably the most popular writer of this genre. All of his novels deal with historical and contemporary characters struggling with issues of identity and acceptance. See also Tony Hillerman's "Joe Leaphorn & Jim Chee" books, & Larry McMurtry's "Lonesome Dove" saga.
Culinary Capers - These are mysteries revolving around food or recipes, often paired with instructions for how to make them. Similar to cozies in that they're very safe mysteries. Although I guess one COULD write a hard-boiled (ugh) culinary mystery. See Alexander Campion, Cathy Pickens & Diane Mott Davidson.
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.
I read about a book on the NPR website called "The Devil's Detective" that could be called a "supernatural mystery" where a crime takes place in hell. Come to think of it the detective genre is so rigid that it almost demands that you mix it up with other genres to get some extra flavor. Like Jasper Fforde's "Nursery Crime" books where detectives struggle to figure out who killed Humpty Dumpty in a hard-boiled style. Or the books of Philip K. Dick (whose book "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" was adapted into "Blade Runner") or the early novels of Jonathan Lethem could be described as "sci-fi noir."
Monday, March 9, 2015
Week 5: Building Base Knowledge
Assignment 1: What useful information have you learned from the resource that you have been monitoring since week one? Blog about it.
I've enjoyed reading Tor.com's coverage of sci-fi/fantasy. Particularly their specific lists and "rereads" of favorite books. Their article "Five Books That Are Also Labyrinths" had some great book recommendations that I immediately added to my "to read" list. And one contributor's reread of "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norell" reminded me of why I loved that book so much in the first place.
NPR Books has been useful for learning what's new and what's popular, for instance I didn't know that Erik Larson had a new book out and they had an article about the rise of audiobooks that was interesting. But I feel like other sites cover these things while including other features that are specific (like Tor.com.) So I've been following this site less enthusiastically.
Assignment 2: What's popular in your branch? 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?
Our most circulated books are Urban & Literary Fiction.
I found the Publisher's Weekly bestseller list very helpful as it also offers reviews and summaries of most of the books rather than just giving you a link to amazon or b&b.
I'm still at a loss to find ANY site that reports on urban fiction. I wish there were since it's a genre I don't generally read or know much about.
I like Earlyword. It condenses a lot of bookish news and they seem willing to slam bestsellers, as well as lift them up, which makes them seem objective and trustworthy. I'll continue to use this site.
Assignment 3: Pick a title from Amazon’s Best of the Month, found under the righthand “Coming Soon” 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?
Erik Larson's "Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania" is a non-fiction thriller about the sinking of a British luxury liner during WWI. Larson has earned a reputation as the master of "narrative non-fiction," largely thanks to his book "Devil in the White City," about the serial killer H.H. Holmes. His books are well researched and full of not just historical detail, but character detail and read more like thrillers than history books. Readers looking for more historical detail might also enjoy "Lusitania" by Diana Preston, which goes further into historical detail and conspiracy theories surrounding the events. For more historical thrillers check out "Devil in the White City," also by Larson and "Death in the City of Light" by David King.
I've enjoyed reading Tor.com's coverage of sci-fi/fantasy. Particularly their specific lists and "rereads" of favorite books. Their article "Five Books That Are Also Labyrinths" had some great book recommendations that I immediately added to my "to read" list. And one contributor's reread of "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norell" reminded me of why I loved that book so much in the first place.
NPR Books has been useful for learning what's new and what's popular, for instance I didn't know that Erik Larson had a new book out and they had an article about the rise of audiobooks that was interesting. But I feel like other sites cover these things while including other features that are specific (like Tor.com.) So I've been following this site less enthusiastically.
Assignment 2: What's popular in your branch? 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?
Our most circulated books are Urban & Literary Fiction.
I found the Publisher's Weekly bestseller list very helpful as it also offers reviews and summaries of most of the books rather than just giving you a link to amazon or b&b.
I'm still at a loss to find ANY site that reports on urban fiction. I wish there were since it's a genre I don't generally read or know much about.
I like Earlyword. It condenses a lot of bookish news and they seem willing to slam bestsellers, as well as lift them up, which makes them seem objective and trustworthy. I'll continue to use this site.
Assignment 3: Pick a title from Amazon’s Best of the Month, found under the righthand “Coming Soon” 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?
Erik Larson's "Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania" is a non-fiction thriller about the sinking of a British luxury liner during WWI. Larson has earned a reputation as the master of "narrative non-fiction," largely thanks to his book "Devil in the White City," about the serial killer H.H. Holmes. His books are well researched and full of not just historical detail, but character detail and read more like thrillers than history books. Readers looking for more historical detail might also enjoy "Lusitania" by Diana Preston, which goes further into historical detail and conspiracy theories surrounding the events. For more historical thrillers check out "Devil in the White City," also by Larson and "Death in the City of Light" by David King.
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Week 4: Goodreads
Assigment 1: Recommend a title to two colleagues based on a title or titles that they have enjoyed using the comments field on Goodreads. Be sure to include appeal characteristics in your recommendation and note why it is similiar to the title or titles they enjoyed.
To my friend Katie. "Based on your interest in fantasy and young adult books I want to recommend Kelly Link's "Magic for Beginners" to you. We talked before about Lev Grossman's Magicians trilogy (and how much you enjoyed "Harry Potter with fuck words!") and I think Link has a lot in common with Grossman in that she's willing to take fantasy tropes to a mature and dark place. That said it's also a lot of fun! In one story a girl loses her boyfriend to a Narnia-like kingdom that exists inside a purse. A young man works at a 24-hour convenience store that serves actual zombies. It's great and reminds me of you and now that I think about it I'm kind of ashamed that I haven't loaned/bought you a copy already. Anyway, another book you might like is "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norell" by Susanna Clarke. This is probably the next best thing to another Harry Potter book. Susanna is less snarky about fantasy than Grossman and loves inventing specific details about the rules and history of magic in her world, (If you flip through it you'll notice lengthy footnotes and annotations covering the pages) similar to J.K. Rowling in her books. If you haven't read it already you should!"
To my friend Aaron. "Based on your interest in humor and sci-fi/fantasy I want to recommend Simon Rich's "The Last Girlfriend on Earth." Rich takes the three stages of a relationship (boy meets girl, boy gets girl, boy loses girl) and adds ghosts, time-travelers, and cavemen, among other things. His stories are short, funny and fast paced (many of them appeared in the New Yorker and he also used to write for SNL.) If you like that you might also enjoy books by George Saunders or Sam Lipsyte, who also write humorous/fantastical stories but of a more literary bent."
To my friend Katie. "Based on your interest in fantasy and young adult books I want to recommend Kelly Link's "Magic for Beginners" to you. We talked before about Lev Grossman's Magicians trilogy (and how much you enjoyed "Harry Potter with fuck words!") and I think Link has a lot in common with Grossman in that she's willing to take fantasy tropes to a mature and dark place. That said it's also a lot of fun! In one story a girl loses her boyfriend to a Narnia-like kingdom that exists inside a purse. A young man works at a 24-hour convenience store that serves actual zombies. It's great and reminds me of you and now that I think about it I'm kind of ashamed that I haven't loaned/bought you a copy already. Anyway, another book you might like is "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norell" by Susanna Clarke. This is probably the next best thing to another Harry Potter book. Susanna is less snarky about fantasy than Grossman and loves inventing specific details about the rules and history of magic in her world, (If you flip through it you'll notice lengthy footnotes and annotations covering the pages) similar to J.K. Rowling in her books. If you haven't read it already you should!"
To my friend Aaron. "Based on your interest in humor and sci-fi/fantasy I want to recommend Simon Rich's "The Last Girlfriend on Earth." Rich takes the three stages of a relationship (boy meets girl, boy gets girl, boy loses girl) and adds ghosts, time-travelers, and cavemen, among other things. His stories are short, funny and fast paced (many of them appeared in the New Yorker and he also used to write for SNL.) If you like that you might also enjoy books by George Saunders or Sam Lipsyte, who also write humorous/fantastical stories but of a more literary bent."
Week 3: Assignment 3 "Readers Advisory"
Librarian: Hi, is there anything I can suggest?
Customer: I’m looking for a good story, you know, something that draws me in. But I don’t know where to start looking.Librarian: What was the last book you read? Could you share something you liked about it?
Customer: The last book I read was Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. Everyone is reading it so I had to pick it up. It was lovely. She is such an interesting woman and so brave. I enjoyed the descriptions of the countries she went to and what she did while she was there, of course, but I think what I liked most was how she shared her inner thoughts — so reflective but funny too. I thought it might be just light fluff or all me, me, me, me, but it was so much more than that. I read all the Oprah books and just love them. Anyway I wanted to ask you for a few suggestions for my book group. It’s my turn to pick the title.
Based on the customer's interest in reflective narrators and travel, I would recommend "Wild" by Cheryl Strayed. It's a good book group pick and a popular choice given it's recent movie adaptation.
Customer: Can you recommend any vampire books that are nothing like the Twilight series?
Librarian: Let me see how I can help you. What don’t you like about Twilight?Customer: Everything, but especially that teen love story – way too much angst! And way too slow. Have you read any good vampire stories lately?
This is more in my wheelhouse. There are plenty of classic non-angsty vampire books. I'd recommend I am Legend by Richard Matheson. It's a book about the last survivor of a vampire apocalypse, so no romance and it's very fast paced. It actually inspired the film Night of the Living Dead and most of the zombie craze we're now experiencing through it's depictions of vampires not as counts or demons but as an infection. I would also recommend Anno Dracula by Kim Newman. It's an alternate history book about a society where vampires are a malevolent aristocracy that rule over humans. It's dark and fast paced but also fascinating in how the author incorporates characters like Moriarty and Lestrade from the Sherlock Holmes books with obscure characters like the 70's Blaxploitation vampire Blackula. Also The Girl with All The Gifts is technically a zombie book, about a young girl raised in captivity who doesn't realize she's a zombie, but her struggle to balance her humanity with her murderous impulses reminded me a lot of sympathetic vampire stories like Anne Rice's books.
Librarian: Hi, are you looking for anything in particular?
Customer: I just read this great book The River of Doubt. It was about Teddy Roosevelt and this ill fated expedition to chart an uncharted river in the Amazon. They lost almost all their provisions, the president was injured, and it turns out one of their crew was a murderer since there was a murder. And the most amazing thing was that it true. It was fascinating and really fast paced. Do you have anything to recommend that is like that?Based on the customer's interest in exploration, adventure, and history I would recommend The Lost City of Z by David Grann. It's a book about a 1925 expedition to find the mythical city of El Dorado and the British explorer who claimed to have found an undiscovered city called "Z" before disappearing during his attempt to return there. It's exciting, true and soon it'll be adapted into a movie so if you read it now you'll be ahead of the curve!
Monday, March 2, 2015
Week 2
Assignment 1: Read this article on appeal factors.
Assignment 2: Using appeal factors describe three books you enjoy!
I'll start with the last two books I read: Get in Trouble by Kelly Link and Trigger Warning by Neil Gaiman. These are two of my favorite authors with a lot of overlapping appeal, and they released their short story collections on the same day last month making me very happy.
To start with Link: her stories are like nothing else I've read. I've struggled with recommending her to my friends because they are so hard to describe. I usually say something about how "no other writer comes closer than Link to capturing the bizarre logic of dreams," but that doesn't really capture the charm and humor of her stories. She's not always fast paced, and her characters aren't always easy to understand, but plot-wise they always start with a premise that's irresistible. What if you had to work at a convenience store whose customers were actual zombies? What kind of ghost stories would astronauts tell each other while traveling through space? The execution could be overly cute or pretentious but Link's voice is a perfect concoction. Sad and funny, hip and mysterious.
Gaiman's book is also dark and fantastic, but less edgy thank Link. I'd feel more comfortable recommending his books to an older relative or a younger niece or nephew. Gaiman has written novels, comics, television and children's books, and has developed a voice that's inviting and timeless. Even though he primarily writes horror or "dark fantasy" his tone is always humorous and kind, like a loving parent telling you a bedtime story. This is not to say Gaiman's stories are "safe" by any definition, but for better or worse you just trust this guy even though he takes you to the worst places. His stories are fast paced, his characters are likeable, his plots are unusual and exciting... I'm running out of appeal factors here. For fans of charming characters and unusual plots.
The third book I'm reading is a bit of an oddity. It's the "Penguin Book of Ghost Stories" anthology. I'm not going to pretend this book has a broad appeal. It serves a slim specific audience of people who like to get spooked and don't mind plodding through dusty 19th century fiction to get there. The pace is slow, the characters are just vehicles for plot, and the language is antiquated, but boy are these stories fresh. Ghost stories are one of the oldest and most primal forms of storytelling and not much has changed in the last 100 years since most of these stories were published. It's almost reassuring to find that the very first "haunted house" story has a lot of similarities to recent ones like American Horror Story or The Happening. These stories are also inadvertently funny at times. After all the things that were scary and strange to us back then are not very strange or scary now. Sheridan Le Fanu's story "Green Tea" for example is all about the dangerous supernatural effects of caffeine. This book has high adrenaline appeal, and I would recommend it to fans of mysteries and thrillers as well as horror.
Assignment 2: Using appeal factors describe three books you enjoy!
I'll start with the last two books I read: Get in Trouble by Kelly Link and Trigger Warning by Neil Gaiman. These are two of my favorite authors with a lot of overlapping appeal, and they released their short story collections on the same day last month making me very happy.
To start with Link: her stories are like nothing else I've read. I've struggled with recommending her to my friends because they are so hard to describe. I usually say something about how "no other writer comes closer than Link to capturing the bizarre logic of dreams," but that doesn't really capture the charm and humor of her stories. She's not always fast paced, and her characters aren't always easy to understand, but plot-wise they always start with a premise that's irresistible. What if you had to work at a convenience store whose customers were actual zombies? What kind of ghost stories would astronauts tell each other while traveling through space? The execution could be overly cute or pretentious but Link's voice is a perfect concoction. Sad and funny, hip and mysterious.
Gaiman's book is also dark and fantastic, but less edgy thank Link. I'd feel more comfortable recommending his books to an older relative or a younger niece or nephew. Gaiman has written novels, comics, television and children's books, and has developed a voice that's inviting and timeless. Even though he primarily writes horror or "dark fantasy" his tone is always humorous and kind, like a loving parent telling you a bedtime story. This is not to say Gaiman's stories are "safe" by any definition, but for better or worse you just trust this guy even though he takes you to the worst places. His stories are fast paced, his characters are likeable, his plots are unusual and exciting... I'm running out of appeal factors here. For fans of charming characters and unusual plots.
The third book I'm reading is a bit of an oddity. It's the "Penguin Book of Ghost Stories" anthology. I'm not going to pretend this book has a broad appeal. It serves a slim specific audience of people who like to get spooked and don't mind plodding through dusty 19th century fiction to get there. The pace is slow, the characters are just vehicles for plot, and the language is antiquated, but boy are these stories fresh. Ghost stories are one of the oldest and most primal forms of storytelling and not much has changed in the last 100 years since most of these stories were published. It's almost reassuring to find that the very first "haunted house" story has a lot of similarities to recent ones like American Horror Story or The Happening. These stories are also inadvertently funny at times. After all the things that were scary and strange to us back then are not very strange or scary now. Sheridan Le Fanu's story "Green Tea" for example is all about the dangerous supernatural effects of caffeine. This book has high adrenaline appeal, and I would recommend it to fans of mysteries and thrillers as well as horror.
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Week 1
Assignment One: Take the adult book cover quiz.
I got 20/24! Not bad. I won't say the score I got on the children's quiz though.
Assignment Two: I had to google the term "techno thriller," which I guess is the same thing as a spy/military/espionage thriller except in the future maybe? I didn't know that those books with punny animal titles ("A Murder Most FOWL") are called "cozy mysteries." The more you know. Other subgenres I didn't know about: Soft Sci-Fi, Cipher Thriller, Regency Romance, Culinary Mystery.
Assignment Three: Read "Orr's Golden Rules of Readers' Advisory Service." "Begin every day remembering that you could be flipping burgers or working in the hot sun." Fair enough.
Assignment Four: "Pick two blogs and write about them." From the "genre" pile I picked Tor.com to visit, because I like books that are surprising or unusual. Also I like that this site posts original content such as short stories and comics. From the "books" pile I'm tentatively choosing the Daily Beast while reserving the right to browse articles from NPR Books and Goodreads as well since I usually visit those sites and know they're good. Assignment Five: Read "Judging a Book by Its Cover: A 6-Year-Old Guesses What Classic Novels Are All About" The Great Gatsby is a necromancer who burns theme parks, Slaughter-House Five is about a slot machine (slaught machine?) that is lost in the desert, and On the Road is basically Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. I would read these.
Assignment Two: I had to google the term "techno thriller," which I guess is the same thing as a spy/military/espionage thriller except in the future maybe? I didn't know that those books with punny animal titles ("A Murder Most FOWL") are called "cozy mysteries." The more you know. Other subgenres I didn't know about: Soft Sci-Fi, Cipher Thriller, Regency Romance, Culinary Mystery.
Assignment Three: Read "Orr's Golden Rules of Readers' Advisory Service." "Begin every day remembering that you could be flipping burgers or working in the hot sun." Fair enough.
Assignment Four: "Pick two blogs and write about them." From the "genre" pile I picked Tor.com to visit, because I like books that are surprising or unusual. Also I like that this site posts original content such as short stories and comics. From the "books" pile I'm tentatively choosing the Daily Beast while reserving the right to browse articles from NPR Books and Goodreads as well since I usually visit those sites and know they're good. Assignment Five: Read "Judging a Book by Its Cover: A 6-Year-Old Guesses What Classic Novels Are All About" The Great Gatsby is a necromancer who burns theme parks, Slaughter-House Five is about a slot machine (slaught machine?) that is lost in the desert, and On the Road is basically Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. I would read these.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)