Assignment 1:
I chose to follow Locus, a Science-Fiction and Fantasy review site. At first glance, it looks pretty similar to Early Word, including side bars with information and a main, constantly changing feed of book reviews. Upon closer inspection though, I noticed that Locus really appeals to its sci-fi readers by being almost scientific in its book reviews and data presentation. I clicked on "this week's best sellers" and was met with a very methodical-looking chart, which I wasn't expecting. I can definitely see why this site is a go-to for hardcore Science Fiction readers. It covers a lot of material and it's very thorough!
Assignment 2:
First of all, I love Prezis. Secondly, I love this Prezi. So many subgenres I never even heard of!! I had no idea there were so many subgenres to Urban Fiction. Or that Realistic Fiction, which seemed like such a wide genre to me, could be broken down so simplistically. In fact, I used the description for Beach Reads today when a customer asked me for a good book to read on her beach vacation for Memorial Day weekend. (I gave her The Rosie Project and showed her some things by Jennifer Weiner).
Assignment 3:
Subgenre 1: Realistic Fiction--Chick Lit
Appeal Factors: Light hearted, humorous, contemporary, awkward protagonist
3 Authors: Sophie Kinsella (Shopaholic series), Helen Fielding (Bridget Jones's Diary), Lauren Weisberger (The Devil Wears Prada)
Subgenre 2: Fantasy--Magical Realism
Appeal Factors: Realistic, magical elements that could happen in the real world
3 Authors: Lev Grossman (The Magicians series), Helen Oyeyemi (What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours), Mark Tompkins (The Last Days of Magic)
Subgenre 3: Science Fiction--Cyberpunk
Appeal Factors: Man vs. machine, realistic, action, advanced technology
3 Authors: Issac Asimov (I, Robot), William Gibson (Neuromancer), Neal Stephenson
Two titles with subgenre crossovers:
A Brief History of Seven Killings, by Marlon James--crossover between literary realistic fiction and historical realistic fiction. This book is about the attempted assassination of Bob Marley and won the Man Booker Prize in 2015. The 1970s setting makes this book historical, but the complex themes of race, drugs, and violence make it literary.
The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger--crossover between time traveling science fiction and literary realistic fiction. Time travel plays an important role in this book, but it's paired themes of loss, gratitude, family, romance, and love. The subject is time travel, but the style is very literary.
Friday, May 27, 2016
Thursday, May 26, 2016
Week 5: Building Base Knowledge (Part II)
Week 5: Assignment 1
I have been following NPR books, which has great reviews for new books. They cover a wide variety of genres but all of the books seem to have some literary merit. Also, the reviews are honest. This helps me when I'm recommending books to a customer, or even choosing a book to read myself!
Week 5: Assignment 2
Here at the Reisterstown branch we do a lot of readers' advisory for children. Lots of kids come in saying they need to do a book report on a science fiction book, or read a biography, or find a good mystery. Our NoveList database is great for searching these genres. Goodreads is also a good go-to source for finding lists of children's books. Early Word is nice because it tells me which books that are out right now are "hot", so to speak, as in they are generating enough buzz to be blogged about. However, I would say that NPR does pretty much the same thing, and they have more friendly layout. I do like that Early Word has so many categories, though. However, looking at all of these books reviews makes me wonder how I should approach reader's advisory when it comes to recommending books I haven't read. Should I say, "this book got great reviews on NPR"? Is that an appeal factor? Hmm.
Week 5: Assignment 3
I picked Girls on Fire, by Robin Wasserman, as my selection from Amazon.com's best books for May. The novel seems dark (because of the murder) and the fact that it's about high school students in the 90's immediately makes me think of The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I would recommend this book to teens who are prepared to read dark, heavy, intense material. Some read-alikes for this title could be The Rules of Attraction by Brett Easton Ellis (similar high school angst, confusing friendships, and intense emotion) and Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen or The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides (again, intense emotion, death, teens, 90's.)
I have been following NPR books, which has great reviews for new books. They cover a wide variety of genres but all of the books seem to have some literary merit. Also, the reviews are honest. This helps me when I'm recommending books to a customer, or even choosing a book to read myself!
Week 5: Assignment 2
Here at the Reisterstown branch we do a lot of readers' advisory for children. Lots of kids come in saying they need to do a book report on a science fiction book, or read a biography, or find a good mystery. Our NoveList database is great for searching these genres. Goodreads is also a good go-to source for finding lists of children's books. Early Word is nice because it tells me which books that are out right now are "hot", so to speak, as in they are generating enough buzz to be blogged about. However, I would say that NPR does pretty much the same thing, and they have more friendly layout. I do like that Early Word has so many categories, though. However, looking at all of these books reviews makes me wonder how I should approach reader's advisory when it comes to recommending books I haven't read. Should I say, "this book got great reviews on NPR"? Is that an appeal factor? Hmm.
Week 5: Assignment 3
I picked Girls on Fire, by Robin Wasserman, as my selection from Amazon.com's best books for May. The novel seems dark (because of the murder) and the fact that it's about high school students in the 90's immediately makes me think of The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I would recommend this book to teens who are prepared to read dark, heavy, intense material. Some read-alikes for this title could be The Rules of Attraction by Brett Easton Ellis (similar high school angst, confusing friendships, and intense emotion) and Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen or The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides (again, intense emotion, death, teens, 90's.)
Saturday, May 21, 2016
Week 4: Building Base Knowledge (Goodreads)
Week 4: Assignment 1
I, like many other bloggers on here, have had a Goodreads account for a very long time but it sort of fell by the wayside over the years. As a librarian I use Goodreads a lot to look up the order that books go in if they're in a series (because usually the author's website is no help). I never really used it personally.
But now that I'm back in, I'm realizing how fun it is! I loved making shelves to categorize the books I had read. I think I struggled a lot with reader's advisory because I couldn't quite identify myself as a reader. I always thought that I read "everything", but once I started making shelves I realized that I basically like two types of books. One is what I would call "slightly sci-fi", or fiction featuring dystopian themes and futuristic societies, but still pretty realistic. The other shelf I made I broadly categorized as "turn of the century" because I love reading about the late 1800s-early 1900s. Think high society, industrial revolution, Edith Wharton, women's suffrage, and very early feminist texts. I also encompassed works by Gustave Flaubert and Willa Cather in this shelf, because I love their writing style and they are roughly in this time period as well.
I did the best I could with making friends with colleagues. Speaking of which, here is the link to my profile! Check it out! https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/30453283-crystal-chong
I recommended a book by Ned Vizzini (It's Kind of a Funny Story) to Rebecca, because she seems to be an avid teen reader. I mentioned that Ned Vizzini is a great teen author for boys, but his work appeals to girls as well because teenage girls are definitely curious about what teenage boys are thinking. (At least I was, when I was a teenager).
To Hannah, I recommended another Margaret Atwood book. She had mentioned interest in The Handmaid's Tale, which is a classic, so I recommended one of Margaret Atwood's more recent books: The Year of the Flood. A lot of times when an author writes a novel that becomes a classic, it is sort of a one-hit wonder for them. This is not at all the case for Margaret Atwood. She's a very prolific writer and each of her books have great literary merit to them. Therefore, I thought another Margaret Atwood book would be a good recommendation. Also, Margaret Atwood visited my school and gave a talk to the English department and she was very cool.
Overall, I think Goodreads is neat, but I do have one small complaint. There are too many channels of communication! When I brought it up to my coworkers they said they had commented on some of my posts but I never got notifications from them. Perhaps something is up with my settings. I will have to investigate further. Communication aside, Goodreads is a lot of fun and I definitely think making more shelves will help with my reader's advisory!
I, like many other bloggers on here, have had a Goodreads account for a very long time but it sort of fell by the wayside over the years. As a librarian I use Goodreads a lot to look up the order that books go in if they're in a series (because usually the author's website is no help). I never really used it personally.
But now that I'm back in, I'm realizing how fun it is! I loved making shelves to categorize the books I had read. I think I struggled a lot with reader's advisory because I couldn't quite identify myself as a reader. I always thought that I read "everything", but once I started making shelves I realized that I basically like two types of books. One is what I would call "slightly sci-fi", or fiction featuring dystopian themes and futuristic societies, but still pretty realistic. The other shelf I made I broadly categorized as "turn of the century" because I love reading about the late 1800s-early 1900s. Think high society, industrial revolution, Edith Wharton, women's suffrage, and very early feminist texts. I also encompassed works by Gustave Flaubert and Willa Cather in this shelf, because I love their writing style and they are roughly in this time period as well.
I did the best I could with making friends with colleagues. Speaking of which, here is the link to my profile! Check it out! https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/30453283-crystal-chong
I recommended a book by Ned Vizzini (It's Kind of a Funny Story) to Rebecca, because she seems to be an avid teen reader. I mentioned that Ned Vizzini is a great teen author for boys, but his work appeals to girls as well because teenage girls are definitely curious about what teenage boys are thinking. (At least I was, when I was a teenager).
To Hannah, I recommended another Margaret Atwood book. She had mentioned interest in The Handmaid's Tale, which is a classic, so I recommended one of Margaret Atwood's more recent books: The Year of the Flood. A lot of times when an author writes a novel that becomes a classic, it is sort of a one-hit wonder for them. This is not at all the case for Margaret Atwood. She's a very prolific writer and each of her books have great literary merit to them. Therefore, I thought another Margaret Atwood book would be a good recommendation. Also, Margaret Atwood visited my school and gave a talk to the English department and she was very cool.
Overall, I think Goodreads is neat, but I do have one small complaint. There are too many channels of communication! When I brought it up to my coworkers they said they had commented on some of my posts but I never got notifications from them. Perhaps something is up with my settings. I will have to investigate further. Communication aside, Goodreads is a lot of fun and I definitely think making more shelves will help with my reader's advisory!
Tuesday, May 10, 2016
Week 3: The Readers' Services Conversation
Assignment 1: The RA Conversation
I must admit that I identify with those librarians who feel apprehensive about going up to a customer and offering your RA skills before they've asked for help. Neal Wyatt is right--it can be scary! If you are going up to someone and asking if they want a suggestion for a good book, my first thought is that they expect you to have many suggestions for good books at your arsenal. Do I have many suggestions for good books at my arsenal?? *panic* Of course not!!! But luckily, as I have learned from Neal Wyatt, RA is about much more than the end result--it's about the conversation. It was also helpful learning how to break down the RA conversation just enough to keep the reader engaged. Being able to pick out the appeal factors for books in the library sounds much easier than reading every single book in the library. Also, I'm starting to realize the best way to become good at RA is to practice, practice, practice!
Assignment 2: Nancy Pearl
The way Nancy Pearl writes her book reviews reminds me a lot of how I (try) to write my blog posts for Between the Covers. She has one paragraph of mostly summary and one paragraph of appeal factors for each book. I find it interesting that sometimes she mentions summary first and sometimes she mentions appeal factor first. My first instinct is to summarize the book first, but I could also see the benefits of introducing appeal factor first.
Assignment 3: Conversations
Conversation 1: For this customer, I would recommend Wild, by Cheryl Strayed as an engaging memoir about one woman's journey to find herself. I would also recommend The Liar's Club by Mary Karr because Mary Karr has been a mentor to many people writing memoirs because of her engaging writing style. For another insightful book that would make a good book club choice, I would recommend Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes. It is another book with an empowering female lead and could bring up a lot of good discussion since Shonda Rhimes is also well known as a tv producer.
Conversation 2: For this customer, I would recommend The Walking Dead graphic novel series. Even though it's about zombies, and not vampires, it has the fast-paced action they seem to be looking for. If the only vampire book this customer has heard about is Twilight, I might assume they are a teen reader. I would direct them to more fast-paced supernatural teen books such as The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. It's actually kind of hard to find a vampire book without some sort of romantic/erotic spin to it. If the reader is okay with some romance, just not puppy love, I would recommend books by Anne Rice or maybe the Sookie Stackhouse series.
Conversation 3: The conversation with this customer makes me wonder how much our own personal experiences affect they type of reader's advisory we give. I just saw the movie The Perfect Storm a few weeks ago and loved it, and now I want to recommend it to everyone! If this customer enjoys real-life stories of men battling the sea, I would definitely recommend The Perfect Storm! The book is engaging, action-packed, narrative and easy to read. I tend to lean towards books that get turned into movies because I figure movies are quite expensive to make, and they would not turn a book into a movie if it did not have a great story line (what do you guys think??) Another good author for this customer would be Erik Larsen. Devil in the White City is a good true-murder-story that moves quickly and reads like fiction. I would also recommend books by David McCullough, since he writes a lot of narrative, historical non-fiction as well.
I must admit that I identify with those librarians who feel apprehensive about going up to a customer and offering your RA skills before they've asked for help. Neal Wyatt is right--it can be scary! If you are going up to someone and asking if they want a suggestion for a good book, my first thought is that they expect you to have many suggestions for good books at your arsenal. Do I have many suggestions for good books at my arsenal?? *panic* Of course not!!! But luckily, as I have learned from Neal Wyatt, RA is about much more than the end result--it's about the conversation. It was also helpful learning how to break down the RA conversation just enough to keep the reader engaged. Being able to pick out the appeal factors for books in the library sounds much easier than reading every single book in the library. Also, I'm starting to realize the best way to become good at RA is to practice, practice, practice!
Assignment 2: Nancy Pearl
The way Nancy Pearl writes her book reviews reminds me a lot of how I (try) to write my blog posts for Between the Covers. She has one paragraph of mostly summary and one paragraph of appeal factors for each book. I find it interesting that sometimes she mentions summary first and sometimes she mentions appeal factor first. My first instinct is to summarize the book first, but I could also see the benefits of introducing appeal factor first.
Assignment 3: Conversations
Conversation 1: For this customer, I would recommend Wild, by Cheryl Strayed as an engaging memoir about one woman's journey to find herself. I would also recommend The Liar's Club by Mary Karr because Mary Karr has been a mentor to many people writing memoirs because of her engaging writing style. For another insightful book that would make a good book club choice, I would recommend Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes. It is another book with an empowering female lead and could bring up a lot of good discussion since Shonda Rhimes is also well known as a tv producer.
Conversation 2: For this customer, I would recommend The Walking Dead graphic novel series. Even though it's about zombies, and not vampires, it has the fast-paced action they seem to be looking for. If the only vampire book this customer has heard about is Twilight, I might assume they are a teen reader. I would direct them to more fast-paced supernatural teen books such as The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. It's actually kind of hard to find a vampire book without some sort of romantic/erotic spin to it. If the reader is okay with some romance, just not puppy love, I would recommend books by Anne Rice or maybe the Sookie Stackhouse series.
Conversation 3: The conversation with this customer makes me wonder how much our own personal experiences affect they type of reader's advisory we give. I just saw the movie The Perfect Storm a few weeks ago and loved it, and now I want to recommend it to everyone! If this customer enjoys real-life stories of men battling the sea, I would definitely recommend The Perfect Storm! The book is engaging, action-packed, narrative and easy to read. I tend to lean towards books that get turned into movies because I figure movies are quite expensive to make, and they would not turn a book into a movie if it did not have a great story line (what do you guys think??) Another good author for this customer would be Erik Larsen. Devil in the White City is a good true-murder-story that moves quickly and reads like fiction. I would also recommend books by David McCullough, since he writes a lot of narrative, historical non-fiction as well.
Tuesday, May 3, 2016
Week 2: Appeal Factors
Assignment 1:
NoveList Appeal Factors
Between the 8 elements of appeal, four areas by Saricks and doorway method by Nancy Pearl, I have to say that Saricks's method seems most approachable to me. When thinking of adrenaline, intellect, emotion, and landscape, I can think of books that would fall under each of these categories. I can also think of books that would overlap in some of these categories: emotion and landscape would go together for many books and adrenaline and intellect would also go together for many books. I like the idea of reader's advisory being simplified into these four easy categories. Also, Saricks's areas helped me realize that I read for setting and characterization, rather than plot. I definitely read for emotion and landscape--I like it when books have beautiful writing and make me feel something, which you will probably see in the recommendations I have picked!
Assignment 2:
Book Recommendations
The Awakening, by Kate Chopin
At a warm and sleepy resort in the Grand Isle in the late 1800s, a restless love blooms between Edna Pontellier and Robert LeBrun. Edna is a wife and mother itching for greater life fulfillment, while Robert is a young single man with the rest of his life ahead of him. Kate Chopin sweeps the reader into their summer romance with gentle interactions between Edna and Robert, all the while illustrating their true passions through the hazy beach setting: the sea reflects their waves of tumultuous emotion while the hot summer air illustrates their stifled passion. Chopin's naturalist writing and lyrical style make this short classic novel as pleasurable and ephemeral as the summer itself.
Gone With the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell
Sixteen-year-old Scarlett O'Hara is living a picture-perfect life in the antebellum south. Fancy dresses, servants at her beck and call, barbecues on the weekend and dozens of men begging for her hand in marriage. But Scarlett only wants one man: Ashley Wilkes, who is destined to marry another woman. When the Civil War erupts and Ashley leaves to be a general, Scarlett finds herself stuck in Atlanta with Ashley's wife. Both women eagerly await Ashley's return, although Scarlett must keep her love for him a secret. The only person who seems to know is Rhett Butler, the antagonizing blockade runner who sees past Scarlett's southern belle exterior and calls her out on her more unladylike conduct. As the war ends and the South struggles to find its bearings in an economic downtown, Scarlett is determined to redeem her home, her family's honor, and her love for Ashley. This epic historical novel follows Scarlett's life as she grows into adulthood and gives readers a rich portrayal of the Civil War.
Madame Bovary, by Gustave Flaubert
Gustave Flaubert's classic novel Madame Bovary uses naturalism and literary realism to portray the story of Emma Bovary, a woman stuck in an undesirable marriage with a penchant for greater passion and affairs. Flaubert is well-known for his use of style as a writer, and Madame Bovary is a perfect example of a story written more for style and characterization than plot. Each sentence of Flaubert's novel is perfectly crafted and so beautiful it could stand on its own and tell a story all by itself. Flaubert uses his rich style to evoke Emma Bovary's blooming passion for her lovers and underlying frustration for her marriage and motherhood. Widely regarded as a controversial, early feminist text, this novel flows seamlessly through Emma Bovary's life and makes for an engaging, emotional read.
NoveList Appeal Factors
Between the 8 elements of appeal, four areas by Saricks and doorway method by Nancy Pearl, I have to say that Saricks's method seems most approachable to me. When thinking of adrenaline, intellect, emotion, and landscape, I can think of books that would fall under each of these categories. I can also think of books that would overlap in some of these categories: emotion and landscape would go together for many books and adrenaline and intellect would also go together for many books. I like the idea of reader's advisory being simplified into these four easy categories. Also, Saricks's areas helped me realize that I read for setting and characterization, rather than plot. I definitely read for emotion and landscape--I like it when books have beautiful writing and make me feel something, which you will probably see in the recommendations I have picked!
Assignment 2:
Book Recommendations
The Awakening, by Kate Chopin
At a warm and sleepy resort in the Grand Isle in the late 1800s, a restless love blooms between Edna Pontellier and Robert LeBrun. Edna is a wife and mother itching for greater life fulfillment, while Robert is a young single man with the rest of his life ahead of him. Kate Chopin sweeps the reader into their summer romance with gentle interactions between Edna and Robert, all the while illustrating their true passions through the hazy beach setting: the sea reflects their waves of tumultuous emotion while the hot summer air illustrates their stifled passion. Chopin's naturalist writing and lyrical style make this short classic novel as pleasurable and ephemeral as the summer itself.
Gone With the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell
Sixteen-year-old Scarlett O'Hara is living a picture-perfect life in the antebellum south. Fancy dresses, servants at her beck and call, barbecues on the weekend and dozens of men begging for her hand in marriage. But Scarlett only wants one man: Ashley Wilkes, who is destined to marry another woman. When the Civil War erupts and Ashley leaves to be a general, Scarlett finds herself stuck in Atlanta with Ashley's wife. Both women eagerly await Ashley's return, although Scarlett must keep her love for him a secret. The only person who seems to know is Rhett Butler, the antagonizing blockade runner who sees past Scarlett's southern belle exterior and calls her out on her more unladylike conduct. As the war ends and the South struggles to find its bearings in an economic downtown, Scarlett is determined to redeem her home, her family's honor, and her love for Ashley. This epic historical novel follows Scarlett's life as she grows into adulthood and gives readers a rich portrayal of the Civil War.
Madame Bovary, by Gustave Flaubert
Gustave Flaubert's classic novel Madame Bovary uses naturalism and literary realism to portray the story of Emma Bovary, a woman stuck in an undesirable marriage with a penchant for greater passion and affairs. Flaubert is well-known for his use of style as a writer, and Madame Bovary is a perfect example of a story written more for style and characterization than plot. Each sentence of Flaubert's novel is perfectly crafted and so beautiful it could stand on its own and tell a story all by itself. Flaubert uses his rich style to evoke Emma Bovary's blooming passion for her lovers and underlying frustration for her marriage and motherhood. Widely regarded as a controversial, early feminist text, this novel flows seamlessly through Emma Bovary's life and makes for an engaging, emotional read.
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