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.