Week 6: Building Base Knowledge (Genres)

Assignment 1

Well, I chose the Romantic Times and it has proved to be an interesting RA site.  I specifically am looking at Sci Fi Romances (I didn't even know that was a sub-genre of Romance) and was amazed at how many men are writing in this field.  I just assumed that women were the majority of readers and writers of Romance, but I've learned that quite a few men enjoy this genre, too.  As yet, I haven't had a chance to read any of the titles that look interesting, but I hope to soon.  I also like the author interviews and was surprised to see that they have an annual RT convention for fans and writers.  This past April it was in Kansas City, but next May it's in New Orleans!  Even though I'm not a fan of the genre, it does make me want to go since New Orleans is such a romantic city.  Oh, well.

Assignment 2

Okay, my first reaction to this Prezi on genres and sub-genres was WOW!  Alex did a fantastic job of encapsulating a lot of information in a concise manner with examples.  Plus, I learned some new things.  For instance,  I didn't even realize that there are so many sub-genres of Urban Fiction.  I liked the arrows connecting related topics across genres and the "customer questions" that lead to each main genre.  I think this is a great RA tool, and makes me want to learn Prezi better so I can create one, too!

Assignment 3

The three sub-genres I chose are: Hip Hop (Urban Fiction), Cyberpunk (Science Fiction), Hard Boiled (Mystery).  All of the sites listed below I found through searching Google and also Goodreads.

Hip Hop:  Here the fan site I found Forums » Dante's Inferno » African American/Black Urban Fiction/ Ghetto Literature/ Hip-Hop Fiction/ Gangster Fiction
It's more of a Forum (as the name suggests) than a site, but I found the current conversation interesting.  It seems to be centered around the use of slang in Hip Hop fiction and do people really talk that way regularly.   Some posters felt that the slang was too much and they didn't really know anyone who talked like the characters in the books/stories do.  Also, there was a debate about why is proper English considered 'white English' or is that not a positive way of looking at it.  A couple people chimed in that it is better to see more black/African American characters in 'mainstream books' and not just Urban Fiction.

Cyberpunk:  This fan site http://www.reddit.com/r/Cyberpunk has a forum where people talk about a variety of subjects, although I'm not sure they are all related to cyberpunk, per se.  Some of the topics include German graffiti drones (about German police using drones to catch graffitists), what makes a 'punk' genre a punk genre (where they discuss what is at the core of any kind of punk labelled writings or movements), and Google blimps will carry wireless across Africa (which is pretty self-explanatory).  I think this subgenre tends to attract techies and hackers by what I can glean from the sites and postings I read.  I did see a tendency to get lost in discussing technology and not so much plots and stories.

Hard Boiled: Now this is an interesting site http://www.thrillingdetective.com/  It has a slick landing page and plenty of information for fans of Hard Boiled detective fiction.  It seems that Hard Boiled and Noir fiction are closely related by the topics found on this site.  This site has essays, articles, and reviews all related to Hard Boiled mysteries.  There is also a blog and TD Newsletter via Yahoo web group that you have to subscribe to, which I didn't since I'm just reviewing the site.  I think the best part is the "Word on the Street" section that features recent releases and upcoming titles that appeal to fans of this subgenre.

Hip Hop:  Three authors associated with this subgenre are Nikki Turner, who is called the Queen of Hip-Hop fiction after the release of her first novel A Hustler's Wife and many more titles relating to the woman's point of view,  K'Wan, whose gritty novels include Blow which he penned with rapper 50 Cent, and  Erica Kennedy, whose novel Bling is a kind of Cinderella story set in the world of Hip Hop.

Cyberpunk:  Three very popular authors in this subgenre are William Gibson, Tad Williams, and Richard K. Morgan.  Gibson's body of work includes the classic Neuromancer.  Williams' output in the subgenre includes the series Shadowmarch.  Morgan's titles include the Takeshi Kovacs novels and his work is sometimes described as a genre crossover with elements of the gritty noir genre.

Hard Boiled:  Obviously, the authors that come to mind are the classics such as Dashiell Hammett (Thin Man) and James M. Cain (Double Indemnity).  However, there are some contemporary authors at work in the genre who are worth noting including Philip Kerr (especially the Bernie Gunther series), Walter Moseley (Easy Rawlins), and James Lee Burke (Dave Robicheaux).  They all have tough as nails detectives who don't take any guff from anyone.  Especially dames!  (Okay, it does lean a lot towards the sexist side).

I chose A Gift from Home: An Irish Western Novel by C. H. Admirand which is actually the fourth book in the Irish Western series.  I think it's an interesting example of a crossover or mash-up of the Western and Historical Romance genres which may appeal to readers of either of these two genres.    My other choice is Sorcery and Cecelia, or, The enchanted chocolate pot: being the correspondence of two young ladies of quality regarding various magical scandals in London and the country which crosses so many genres, it's difficult to nail it down.  I would say that is has elements of Mystery, Regency Romance,  and Fantasy/Alternative Realities with a definite Teen appeal factor.  It's written by two authors, Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer, who began the story of Cecilia and Kate for fun and it developed into a series that begins with this book.

Week 5: Building Base Knowlege (Part II)

Assignment 1

Okay, I picked Salon as the site I would follow and I've had mixed results.  I have not used it for RA when working because it is rather cumbersome to upload, is full of pop-up ads, and doesn't seem to cover topics that customers ask about.  Other than that, it's great! 

Well, I have read a couple of the books that were recommended there including Going Clear which is about scientology and the various wealthy and famous people who buy into that cult.  Not bad, but not a fast read, and the author clearly dislikes scientology but I think that's the whole point of the book.

I did sign-up for the Early Word newsletter and have to say that their site looks much better to me than Salon.  I wish I had chosen that originally, since I can see that Early Word is a more practical RA tool in my opinion. 

Assignment 2

Okay, after looking over Early Word's site, I think one of the areas that I will use is ALA — Great Nonfiction Read-Alikes.  I really think that read-alikes are something that I get asked about a lot when I'm on the desk.  I do use NoveList, but I like another point of view.  Also, I like their Awards section since they're listed alphabetically in one place and that makes it a quick access when doing RA.  There is so much on Early Word that I am still trying to sort it out, but I know I will be using this site quite a bit in the future.

Assignment 3

Using PW Most Anticipated Books of Spring 2013, I chose Neil Gaiman's newest novel due out in June 2013 entitled The Ocean at the End of the Lane.  Like many of Gaiman's works, this novel involves supernatural elements as a young man tries to remember the events that almost destroyed his family when he was a boy.  Gaiman tends to concentrate on place and character and his plots are full of fantasy type of elements such as witches and evil spirits.  I think this book will appeal to readers who have enjoyed Gaiman's past works and those who like a somewhat creepy tale with an ominous feel to it.  I would say that those who care for authors such as Stephen King or Cliver Barker or Terry Pratchett would probably enjoy Gaiman, too.

Week 4: Building Base Knowledge (GoodReads)

Goodreads

My impressions of Goodreads are that it is a fairly good RA tool and has a lot of interesting features.  However, it has a lot of everything and is overwhelming and not very well organized.  Although I have a Goodreads account, I use Shelfari more often and find it much more user-friendly, better organized, and is my choice for RA over Goodreads. 

I have explored the Listopia and Explore (which sounds redundant now that I've written it down)section, and they're okay.  Again, very flashy and probably what is preferred by the majority, but I like Shelfari.  I have created shelves and have added about 40 books or so.  I don't like the way Goodreads does their tags, but I do like their rating system for books. 

Goodreads is connected with Barnes and Noble and Shelfari is connected with Amazon.  So, they both have corporate sponsors, but most web sites seem to have one anyway.  I tried to find some friends, and have sent out 'invites' and have gotten a couple responses so I should be able to complete the rest of this week's assignment.  Stay tuned...

I now have 6 friends on Goodreads (which is more than I have in real life, but I digress).  I am looking over the books that they read so I can make a recommendation.  Which lucky friend will be the recipient of my sage advice?  It's hard to say.

I decided to leave a comment on Janet R.'s Goodread page which said the following:
"Have you tried any of the Lillian Jackson Braun "The Cat Who..." series? These are cozy mysteries with quirky characters including the two Siamese cats owned by the main character Quill. I know you're a dog person, but I think you might enjoy this series. Plus, the audio version read by George Guidall is very well done."

Since Janet likes cozy mysteries and didn't have any of the LJ Braun titles listed, I thought it was a good match.
 

Week 3: The Readers’ Services Conversation

Neal Wyatt's article

I thought Wyatt made a lot of good points regarding the RA interview and how to approach and engage a customer.  He's right that it can intimidating to both the customer and the librarian to begin a conversation about RA.  I did like the point he made that it's a conversation and NOT a test.  It often feels like a test and librarians don't want to come across as not knowing enough about the genre, author, or title that the customer likes.  However, tools like NoveList do make RA a lot easier.  I also enjoyed the suggested exercises and was wondering if it is something we could do during a Librarians' Meeting at my branch (maybe just one of the exercises).


Nancy Pearl podcast

Listening to Nancy Pearl's podcast on NPR was interesting in that she describes her books with a mixture of plot points and personal insights and thoughts about how the book made her feel.  Of course, she has written books on RA, so you would hope that she is good at book talking.  I think that she does a fairly good job, but I also felt as if she was selling these books in a different way then I believe most librarians do.  By this I mean that she has an agenda other than just hooking up books and readers; she needs her listeners to buy (literally and figuratively) the ones she recommends because, it's at least in part, how she makes money.  Her model is a hybrid of librarians matching readers with what they might like and bookstore workers who need to push certain titles.  It's not meant as a negative criticism of her, but just an observation from someone who has worked in both fields.

Conversations

1.  This customer seems to be saying that she wants to find a title for her bookclub that is well-written, probably non-fiction with a similar feel to Eat, Pray, Love.  She likes books where there's a lot of substance and the writer is not self-obsessed, but she not opposed to going with a title that's popular similar to the ones in the Oprah book club.  Based on this criteria I would recommend either Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes or The Feast Nearby by Robin Mather

2.  What I'm hearing this customer saying is that she likes the vampire genre but not the Twilight franchise.  She is looking for a more mature vampire-themed book or series that steers away from the teen setting of Twilight.  I would ask some follow-up questions to this such as do you like well-developed characters or lots of action or gore?  Based on the answer, I would recommend the Vampire novels by Linda Howard or the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris or NOS4A2 by Joe Hill.

3.  It sounds as if this customer enjoyed not just the mystery and action of this title, but also the fact that is was a true account of an historical event.  If this customer wants to read another book about Teddy Roosevelt, I would recommend The Big Burn by Timothy Egan or if he wanted a similar book with another historical figure, I would suggest Stealing Lincoln's Body by Thomas Craughwell which has many elements of the book the customer liked.

Book Recommendations

I recommended a couple of books to Doris S.

I hope someone recommends a book to me! :(