Assignment 1 and 2: Articles on Book Trailers and My Opinions
I appreciate that the Chicago Tribune article acknowledges that book trailers are not exactly taking off, and a lot of that could be because they are called "book trailers". By calling something a book trailer, you are mixing two mediums--advertising for print by using video. Even though it's possible to advertise for video using print (movie posters), the opposite just seems weird. Movie posters at least give you a snapshot of what to expect for the actual movie. Book trailers don't give you a realistic expectation of what's to come because the actors and sets you see in a book trailer are not part of a final product. I think it makes sense that the trailers that the New York Times are writing about, where the author is actually featured in the trailer, are more popular. The author is the voice for the book so it makes sense that people are interested in hearing the author speak. I don't think they are particularly useful for readers' advisory because the best readers' advisory seems to happen between people, as opposed to through a specific company marketing. Many people come to the library asking for books that they read good reviews on or that their friends recommended for them. I think that's what makes reading and books in general such a special and unique medium that cannot be replaced by newer technology. Books are about communicating ideas, and the best way to share these ideas is to talk about them.
Week 9 Assignment 3: Summarizing Thoughts
There were a lot of aspects of this training that I really liked. I liked the focus on appeal factors because to me that is a crucial part of readers' advisory and recommending books to people. Knowing appeal factors for different genres helps me feel more confident in recommending books to readers who might not necessarily like the same things I like.
One thing I think this training could have used more of is resources that feature popular books/authors from the past 5 or so years. There were a few assignments that had us look on the Amazon Bestseller List or other literary blogs, but I think it would have been helpful to have some more communication on this blog about what's circulating heavily in the BCPL community. We have the Between the Covers blog, which is helpful for identifying newly published books. However, I think it would be great to have an ongoing blog about what's popular at our individual branches at the moment, and to share what sort of reader's advisory we've been giving. This was a great introduction to some genres and book lists I had never heard of, and overall I leave here feeling more confident about my knowledge of reader's advisory!
Thursday, June 30, 2016
Week 8: Nonfiction
Assignment 1: Reading Articles
I liked the Borderlands article about good non-fiction crossover genres. I believe these are still good non-fiction crossover genres today, but I think there is a new genre of narrative non-fiction cropping up in the 600's where all the cookbooks are: food memoirs and writing. Food writing seems to be increasingly popular as celebrity chefs are writing memoirs about what a large impact food has had on their lives (I'm thinking of Cat Cora, Marcus Samuelson, and Simon Majumdar). There are also a number of memoirs that include recipes within the writing (such as Scott Jurek's Eat and Run). Books about food don't just have to be cookbooks anymore! There's plenty of narrative writing out there, too! I also liked the Libraries Unlimited article which talked about why people read non-fiction. For me particularly, I actually prefer non-fiction to fiction a lot of the time. I read non-fiction to learn about new things or find new ways to improve myself.
Assignment 2: E-Learning SLRC Video
I liked having a description for narrative non-fiction that wasn't just "reads like fiction". There are specific elements such as character development, suspense, and engaging writing style. These are all good appeal factors that I can use to talk up narrative nonfiction to customers. Sometimes when people hear "non-fiction" they think "non-entertaining". Of course, we know this isn't true!
Assignment 3: Four Narrative Non-Fiction Genres
-Memoirs (Usually biography, but this one is in the 900's, travel--Wild, by Cheryl Strayed)
-Contemporary Social Issues (300's, but this one is in the 800's, literature--You Don't Have to Like Me, by Alida Nugent)
-Food (600's but this is in the 700's, sports and hobbies--Eat and Run, by Scott Jurek)
-Medical (600's--The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, by Oliver Sacks)
Assignment 4: Book Talks
You Don't Have to Like Me: This is a great recently published feminist book by a young author named Alida Nugent. She speaks about feminism candidly as she talks about how being a girl has affected her life in ways that she would not have expected. This is a great book for a new generation of teens and young adults with concerns about social justice issues. Her informal writing and laugh-out-loud funny anecdotes appeal to millenials who can easily pick up this book and say "I've been there."
Eat and Run: This is a book about extremes and it's great for anyone who enjoys the adrenaline rush that comes with sports or survival stories. Scott Jurek is an ultra-marathon runner, meaning he runs races that are 100 miles long. Not only that, he excels at them and has won many of the few ultra-marathon races even held. Not only that, he pushes his body to this level of extreme physical exertion all while consuming a strictly vegan diet. This book isn't just for people who love sports or running. It's for anyone who enjoys seeing the test of human will. It's inspiring and exhilarating all at once.
I liked the Borderlands article about good non-fiction crossover genres. I believe these are still good non-fiction crossover genres today, but I think there is a new genre of narrative non-fiction cropping up in the 600's where all the cookbooks are: food memoirs and writing. Food writing seems to be increasingly popular as celebrity chefs are writing memoirs about what a large impact food has had on their lives (I'm thinking of Cat Cora, Marcus Samuelson, and Simon Majumdar). There are also a number of memoirs that include recipes within the writing (such as Scott Jurek's Eat and Run). Books about food don't just have to be cookbooks anymore! There's plenty of narrative writing out there, too! I also liked the Libraries Unlimited article which talked about why people read non-fiction. For me particularly, I actually prefer non-fiction to fiction a lot of the time. I read non-fiction to learn about new things or find new ways to improve myself.
Assignment 2: E-Learning SLRC Video
I liked having a description for narrative non-fiction that wasn't just "reads like fiction". There are specific elements such as character development, suspense, and engaging writing style. These are all good appeal factors that I can use to talk up narrative nonfiction to customers. Sometimes when people hear "non-fiction" they think "non-entertaining". Of course, we know this isn't true!
Assignment 3: Four Narrative Non-Fiction Genres
-Memoirs (Usually biography, but this one is in the 900's, travel--Wild, by Cheryl Strayed)
-Contemporary Social Issues (300's, but this one is in the 800's, literature--You Don't Have to Like Me, by Alida Nugent)
-Food (600's but this is in the 700's, sports and hobbies--Eat and Run, by Scott Jurek)
-Medical (600's--The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, by Oliver Sacks)
Assignment 4: Book Talks
You Don't Have to Like Me: This is a great recently published feminist book by a young author named Alida Nugent. She speaks about feminism candidly as she talks about how being a girl has affected her life in ways that she would not have expected. This is a great book for a new generation of teens and young adults with concerns about social justice issues. Her informal writing and laugh-out-loud funny anecdotes appeal to millenials who can easily pick up this book and say "I've been there."
Eat and Run: This is a book about extremes and it's great for anyone who enjoys the adrenaline rush that comes with sports or survival stories. Scott Jurek is an ultra-marathon runner, meaning he runs races that are 100 miles long. Not only that, he excels at them and has won many of the few ultra-marathon races even held. Not only that, he pushes his body to this level of extreme physical exertion all while consuming a strictly vegan diet. This book isn't just for people who love sports or running. It's for anyone who enjoys seeing the test of human will. It's inspiring and exhilarating all at once.
Tuesday, June 28, 2016
Week 7: Not Just For Teens
Assignment 1: What to Read Next flowchart
I didn't find this flowchart to be as confusing as some of my peers. However, I wasn't really looking at it as a "follow this until you get to the right choice" perspective. The chart did a good job of organizing the appeal factors into specific categories such as environmental disaster, resistance to authoritarian government, social control, etc. I wish there were more charts like this for other popular teen series!
Assignment 2: Reading Articles
Not Just for Teens: School Library Journal
I liked that this article highlighted appeal factors for all teen books in general, rather than just specific books or series. I read many books from the teen section when I was in middle school, and two of these appeal factors speak to me most: coming-of-age and emotional immediacy. Maybe it was something about becoming a teenager that made stories about teenagers so fascinating. Knowing that I was not alone in my awkwardness or hormones was comforting to me, and it was easy to get absorbed in these stories. I definitely understand the appeal of teen fiction for teens, but I am not quite sure if I see it the appeal as an adult. I don't have anything against teen fiction, but I also haven't had a desire to read it as an adult. One of the authors in the article mentioned that they don't like to delineate between teen readers and adult readers because they usually want the same thing. I agree with this, because I still want emotional immediacy in my books and I would be happy to read about people who are my age. However, most of the characters in teen books aren't my age, which is perhaps why I feel more disconnected reading teen fiction now than I used to. I feel like I may enjoy teen books more when I'm older and I can look back fondly on my teen years as a distant memory. For now I think I'm a little too close to the teen/young adult range to feel that sort of nostalgia.
A Not-So-Young-Audience for Young Adult Books
I thought this article made a good point. Why is there stigma for reading Young Adult books and not any other type of book or genre? They're just different, not necessarily better or worse than each other. I agree with the author of this article that there is a much higher emotional connection with YA books than adult literary fiction. Literary fiction can be very methodical and intellectual. However, who's to say that we should argue the difference between emotional and methodical? People often argue between studying science vs the humanities, claiming that methodical and intellectual studies about computers and science are somehow better or more difficult than studying art or literature. As we (librarians!!) know, all facets of intelligence should be respected. This article shows me that all genres of literature should be respected as well!
Assignment 3: Following Blogs
John Green's tumblr is cool. He clearly knows his audience, because his books are written for high schoolers and I spent many, many endless hours on tumblr during high school (and maybe occasionally still do now). The vlogs are something I haven't seen much on tumblr, but I also don't follow many authors. I think if you type "John Green" or "The Fault in Our Stars" on tumblr you will get a lot more quotes and gifs about the book/movie than vlogs. If I was a John Green fan I would maybe prefer him to write posts about his thoughts rather than recording videos, but maybe that's just me!
Cassandra Clare's tumblr looks much more like what I would have expected from my favorite teen author while perusing tumblr when I was 16. Lots of artistic photos, emotional quotes, and a general aesthetic appeal. Granted, many of her posts are reblogs (meaning she re-posted them from someone else's blog) but overall I think it would be appealing as a teen.
Assignment 4: Publisher Websites
Based on looking at the Harlequin Teen website, it seems like many of the same teen trends from the past few years are holding steady. Fantasy, particularly those that are formed into trilogies, seem popular. In fact, many teen books seem to come in series, rather than individual works.
On the Teens @ Random website I was surprised to find that many of their bestselling authors are authors I read when I was a teen (although I guess that wasn't terribly long ago). I recognized Jerry Spinelli, Lowis Lowry, and Jeanne DuPrau. It's nice to see that some teen books seem like they are becoming classics in the genre.
I didn't find this flowchart to be as confusing as some of my peers. However, I wasn't really looking at it as a "follow this until you get to the right choice" perspective. The chart did a good job of organizing the appeal factors into specific categories such as environmental disaster, resistance to authoritarian government, social control, etc. I wish there were more charts like this for other popular teen series!
Assignment 2: Reading Articles
Not Just for Teens: School Library Journal
I liked that this article highlighted appeal factors for all teen books in general, rather than just specific books or series. I read many books from the teen section when I was in middle school, and two of these appeal factors speak to me most: coming-of-age and emotional immediacy. Maybe it was something about becoming a teenager that made stories about teenagers so fascinating. Knowing that I was not alone in my awkwardness or hormones was comforting to me, and it was easy to get absorbed in these stories. I definitely understand the appeal of teen fiction for teens, but I am not quite sure if I see it the appeal as an adult. I don't have anything against teen fiction, but I also haven't had a desire to read it as an adult. One of the authors in the article mentioned that they don't like to delineate between teen readers and adult readers because they usually want the same thing. I agree with this, because I still want emotional immediacy in my books and I would be happy to read about people who are my age. However, most of the characters in teen books aren't my age, which is perhaps why I feel more disconnected reading teen fiction now than I used to. I feel like I may enjoy teen books more when I'm older and I can look back fondly on my teen years as a distant memory. For now I think I'm a little too close to the teen/young adult range to feel that sort of nostalgia.
A Not-So-Young-Audience for Young Adult Books
I thought this article made a good point. Why is there stigma for reading Young Adult books and not any other type of book or genre? They're just different, not necessarily better or worse than each other. I agree with the author of this article that there is a much higher emotional connection with YA books than adult literary fiction. Literary fiction can be very methodical and intellectual. However, who's to say that we should argue the difference between emotional and methodical? People often argue between studying science vs the humanities, claiming that methodical and intellectual studies about computers and science are somehow better or more difficult than studying art or literature. As we (librarians!!) know, all facets of intelligence should be respected. This article shows me that all genres of literature should be respected as well!
Assignment 3: Following Blogs
John Green's tumblr is cool. He clearly knows his audience, because his books are written for high schoolers and I spent many, many endless hours on tumblr during high school (and maybe occasionally still do now). The vlogs are something I haven't seen much on tumblr, but I also don't follow many authors. I think if you type "John Green" or "The Fault in Our Stars" on tumblr you will get a lot more quotes and gifs about the book/movie than vlogs. If I was a John Green fan I would maybe prefer him to write posts about his thoughts rather than recording videos, but maybe that's just me!
Cassandra Clare's tumblr looks much more like what I would have expected from my favorite teen author while perusing tumblr when I was 16. Lots of artistic photos, emotional quotes, and a general aesthetic appeal. Granted, many of her posts are reblogs (meaning she re-posted them from someone else's blog) but overall I think it would be appealing as a teen.
Assignment 4: Publisher Websites
Based on looking at the Harlequin Teen website, it seems like many of the same teen trends from the past few years are holding steady. Fantasy, particularly those that are formed into trilogies, seem popular. In fact, many teen books seem to come in series, rather than individual works.
On the Teens @ Random website I was surprised to find that many of their bestselling authors are authors I read when I was a teen (although I guess that wasn't terribly long ago). I recognized Jerry Spinelli, Lowis Lowry, and Jeanne DuPrau. It's nice to see that some teen books seem like they are becoming classics in the genre.
Friday, May 27, 2016
Week 6: Building Base Knowledge (Genres)
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.
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.
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.
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