Assignments 1 & 2
Okay, I read the two articles about book trailers, and then I viewed a few on You Tube. Well, I have to say that, for the most part, they are very lackluster. I either thought they were very amateurish or failed to capture either the sense of the book they were promoting or my interest in reading it. A couple that I found well-produced and intriguing were the ones for Harbinger, Before I Fall (which has definite Teen appeal), and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. There were a couple that were so poorly done that it was almost embarassing to watch them including Harbinger and Undercurrent (which features a dreadful 'shot in my living room' interview of the author). Neither of these made me want to read the books. Would I use them for RA? Need to do it on a case by case basis. If, for instance, the last two titles are worth reading, then viewing their book trailers would not back up that opinion.
Assignment 3
I suppose the main thing I learned from "Be More Bookish" is that I do need to read more blogs and web sites related to genres with which I am not very familiar. Although I do try to read a lot and across many genres and subjects, I feel that there are quite a few RA tools that I was not aware of and also I want to approach the way I handle someone asking for RA more effectively. I really thought the appeal factors mentioned were quite a valuable way of getting into the mind of the person who is asking for advice. I tend (or hopefully tended) to listen to the customer's response to "What was the last book you read that you enjoyed?" and then immediately try to think of a read alike. However, I think I need to do more probing and also to think outside the 'read alike' box for titles that have similar appeal factors but are not necessarily in the same genre or subject field.
I enjoy reading Teen and Tween fiction, too, but I tend to only recommend them to Teens and Tweens. Not sure why I didn't think, "Hey, I'm way past the Teen and Tween ages, but I read them, so I bet adults would enjoy them, too!" But now I will. I think that's one of the things that I'm taking away from this training. I have a new point of view with regards to RA, and I know that with practice, it will make me a more effective Reader's Advisor.
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Monday, June 10, 2013
Week 8: Nonfiction
Assignment 1
"Borderlands" by Jennifer Brannen
I think Brannen makes some very good points about the relationships between fiction and nonfiction in RA. I enjoy reading nonfiction, particularly what is termed narrative, and have often recommended titles to customers. However, I don't know why it didn't occur to me that someone who enjoys certain types of fiction (such as Brannen illustrates) may also enjoy a similar 'story' in the nonfiction section. I hope to put these ideas into practice on the desk.
"Reading Nonfiction for Pleasure" by Catherine S. Ross
Ross advises that when doing RA, it's important to really understand what the person is looking for by doing an effective reference interview with them and not to make assumptions. I agree that sometimes it's easy to immediately want to lead a customer to a particular book or genre based on the first thing that he/she tells you. However, it's important to go beyond that initial comment to find out what they really want. I also found it interesting that during her research, many people responded that not being able to read would affect them profoundly in a negative way. I have to agree that I can't imagine my life without the ability to read or the materials to read.
Assignment 2
I viewed Pratt's Nonfiction RA video by Richard Oloizia and found it overall to be very helpful. I think the 16 types of narrative nonfiction he lists are pretty comprehensive and useful. I also thought it was interesting the he not only listed 16 Appeal Factors but had separate lists of Author Appeal, "Lack of Appeal" and Appeal for Non-fiction. It seems like a lot to know or to try and go through (at least in your mind) when doing at RA for someone interested in nonfiction.
Assignment 3
History (900's, depending on era) Stealing Lincoln's Body by Thomas Craughwell, 973.7092 C
Travel (also 900's, usually lower numbers) A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson, 917.4 B
Essays (in the lower 800's) Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris, 814 S
Biography (BCPL shelves them by last name of subject) Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey by Fiona, Countess of Carnarvon, Bio CARNARVON
Assignment 4
Stealing Lincoln's Body by Craughwell is probably one of the best written non-fiction narratives I've ever read. Craughwell offers enough details about the events leading up to this improbable story of the attempt to kidnap Lincoln's body from his tomb in Springfield, Illinois, to engage the reader without bogging down the flow of the story. The plot is both obscure enough and intriguing to hold the reader's attention. I think it would appeal to anyone who enjoys historical narratives, Lincoln, 19th century history, grave-robbers, crooks, and counterfeiters, or anyone who is looking for a quirky but true story.
David Sedaris is known for his satire and humorous stories both in written format and on radio and TV shows. Sedaris' Me Talk Pretty One Day recounts through a series of very funny vignettes his life as an ex-Pat living in France as well as other stories including insights into his rather odd family. This book will appeal to those who enjoy satirical humor, fast-paced essay type books, unusual insights and characters, or/and someone who appreciates a quirky view of the world. This book is also hilarious in audio format which is read by Sedaris himself.
"Borderlands" by Jennifer Brannen
I think Brannen makes some very good points about the relationships between fiction and nonfiction in RA. I enjoy reading nonfiction, particularly what is termed narrative, and have often recommended titles to customers. However, I don't know why it didn't occur to me that someone who enjoys certain types of fiction (such as Brannen illustrates) may also enjoy a similar 'story' in the nonfiction section. I hope to put these ideas into practice on the desk.
"Reading Nonfiction for Pleasure" by Catherine S. Ross
Ross advises that when doing RA, it's important to really understand what the person is looking for by doing an effective reference interview with them and not to make assumptions. I agree that sometimes it's easy to immediately want to lead a customer to a particular book or genre based on the first thing that he/she tells you. However, it's important to go beyond that initial comment to find out what they really want. I also found it interesting that during her research, many people responded that not being able to read would affect them profoundly in a negative way. I have to agree that I can't imagine my life without the ability to read or the materials to read.
Assignment 2
I viewed Pratt's Nonfiction RA video by Richard Oloizia and found it overall to be very helpful. I think the 16 types of narrative nonfiction he lists are pretty comprehensive and useful. I also thought it was interesting the he not only listed 16 Appeal Factors but had separate lists of Author Appeal, "Lack of Appeal" and Appeal for Non-fiction. It seems like a lot to know or to try and go through (at least in your mind) when doing at RA for someone interested in nonfiction.
Assignment 3
History (900's, depending on era) Stealing Lincoln's Body by Thomas Craughwell, 973.7092 C
Travel (also 900's, usually lower numbers) A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson, 917.4 B
Essays (in the lower 800's) Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris, 814 S
Biography (BCPL shelves them by last name of subject) Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey by Fiona, Countess of Carnarvon, Bio CARNARVON
Assignment 4
Stealing Lincoln's Body by Craughwell is probably one of the best written non-fiction narratives I've ever read. Craughwell offers enough details about the events leading up to this improbable story of the attempt to kidnap Lincoln's body from his tomb in Springfield, Illinois, to engage the reader without bogging down the flow of the story. The plot is both obscure enough and intriguing to hold the reader's attention. I think it would appeal to anyone who enjoys historical narratives, Lincoln, 19th century history, grave-robbers, crooks, and counterfeiters, or anyone who is looking for a quirky but true story.
David Sedaris is known for his satire and humorous stories both in written format and on radio and TV shows. Sedaris' Me Talk Pretty One Day recounts through a series of very funny vignettes his life as an ex-Pat living in France as well as other stories including insights into his rather odd family. This book will appeal to those who enjoy satirical humor, fast-paced essay type books, unusual insights and characters, or/and someone who appreciates a quirky view of the world. This book is also hilarious in audio format which is read by Sedaris himself.
Monday, June 3, 2013
Week 7: Not Just For Teens
Assignment 1
I looked over the Lawrence Public Library's flow chart for "So you love the Hunger Games...What Should You Read Next?" Overall, I think it will appeal to Teens and especially those who enjoy instant answers with little text to read. The arrows were a nice touch although I did find them a bit confusing in spots, particularly when there were titles that fit into more than one genre. Also, why did they drop the ball with the "Still looking? Try a classic!" titles? They could have put any of these in their corresponding genres they identified above since the 'classic' category is a catchall here. I mean, it doesn't help the person looking at this list who doesn't know what these classics are about, identify what the basic plot is.
Assignment 2
I read "Who's buying teen books?" in the Christian Science Monitor and "YA comes of age" in Publishers Weekly. The CSM article discusses the phenomenon that over 50% of the readership of YA titles is people over the age of 18. They site specific titles (ie, The Hunger Games) as being responsible for attracting an older audience to this genre. I have noticed that people who are obiviously not Teens checking out or asking about YA titles for years now. I read in that genre and didn't think anything about it being 'a trend,' I just like some of the authors and titles. I find it interesting that the publishing industry was somewhat unaware of this trend which I think has been going on longer than they suspect. I do agree that many YA books (with the exception of such titles as the over-hyped Twilight series) tend to have tighter story lines without a lot of padding.
The PW article article discusses that YA has undergone a huge transformation in the past decade or so into a darker, more supernatural type of story line. However, they do say that the industry is noticing something of a 'paranormal fatigue' and vampire/supernatural plots are giving way to dystopian-based stories. I have to say that I am THRILLED that the vampires are starting to finally die off (sorry about the pun) from YA fiction and there are more stories that tend more towards realism. I do think that there is plenty of dystopian fiction in YA and Adult fiction, but there is plenty of realistic fiction in YA, too. I don't know about the must have a hardcover copy of a title issue, but it sounds plausible. Also, I found it interesting that neither article mentioned how e-books are impacting the YA genre and its readers.
I published comments to the blogs of April F and Kathleen M.
Assignment 3
I'll be following the John Green blog (which is written by author John Green) and Stacked which is written/maintained/edited by two librarians, Kimberly Francisco and Kelly Jensen.
John Green's blog is mostly written/edited by Green although there are a lot of posts from fans and videoblogs from his brother Hank and himself. Its targeted audience is fans of Green's books and YAs in general who like that kind of fiction. It's self-consciously clever which can be annoying at times, but he seems sincere is his efforts to try and 'make the world a better place' or at least entertain his readers.
Stacked is obstensibly about "librarians, reviews, and mayhem" and it does contain a lot of well-written reviews and insights into the YA genre. They also include other info such as "Twitterviews" of authors and guest blog posts on vaious topics. I liked how they have a list of "Labels" on the left-hand side of the page so you can easily navigate to a variety of topics. I feel this to be a more useful RA tool for YA questions than the Green blog.
Assignment 4
Harlequin Teen: What I noticed is that the trend and hot titles (at least here) tend to be romances (go figure!) that involve a teen girl (who is misunderstood or an outsider or suddenly thrust into a world that is foreign to her) who meets that guy (who is also misunderstood or has a dangerous secret or has supernatural powers) and they hook up. I'm sure there are plenty of adventures, misunderstandings, and steamy or passionate or mild romantic scenes and they will probably end up together. Unless it's a series, then it may take several books before they finally end up together. I think the main thrust of Harlequin Teen is to groom a younger audience to transition into their adult line of romances. That's just my thoughts from looking over their site.
Teens at Random: Well, although these aren't necessarily romances, many of the titles and new/upcoming releases are along some of the same lines as Harlequin. It seems to be a lot of fantasy (ie, Grimm's fairy tales), alternate realities (ie, Norse gods runing the US), dystopians (ie, nuclear disaster survivors), paranormal (ie, ghosts) and similar settings where teens have to deal with unusual, unexpected, and/or scary situations and make the best of it. It also seems to have a lot of 'nobody understands me' element to many of these stories. Interestingly, there is a series entitled The Flappers which sounded as if they set the cast from Pretty Little Liars down in the roaring 1920's/Great Gatsby era. Even though some of these titles are obviously leaping on the popular themes that appeal to YA readers, a few did sound worthwhile.
I looked over the Lawrence Public Library's flow chart for "So you love the Hunger Games...What Should You Read Next?" Overall, I think it will appeal to Teens and especially those who enjoy instant answers with little text to read. The arrows were a nice touch although I did find them a bit confusing in spots, particularly when there were titles that fit into more than one genre. Also, why did they drop the ball with the "Still looking? Try a classic!" titles? They could have put any of these in their corresponding genres they identified above since the 'classic' category is a catchall here. I mean, it doesn't help the person looking at this list who doesn't know what these classics are about, identify what the basic plot is.
Assignment 2
I read "Who's buying teen books?" in the Christian Science Monitor and "YA comes of age" in Publishers Weekly. The CSM article discusses the phenomenon that over 50% of the readership of YA titles is people over the age of 18. They site specific titles (ie, The Hunger Games) as being responsible for attracting an older audience to this genre. I have noticed that people who are obiviously not Teens checking out or asking about YA titles for years now. I read in that genre and didn't think anything about it being 'a trend,' I just like some of the authors and titles. I find it interesting that the publishing industry was somewhat unaware of this trend which I think has been going on longer than they suspect. I do agree that many YA books (with the exception of such titles as the over-hyped Twilight series) tend to have tighter story lines without a lot of padding.
The PW article article discusses that YA has undergone a huge transformation in the past decade or so into a darker, more supernatural type of story line. However, they do say that the industry is noticing something of a 'paranormal fatigue' and vampire/supernatural plots are giving way to dystopian-based stories. I have to say that I am THRILLED that the vampires are starting to finally die off (sorry about the pun) from YA fiction and there are more stories that tend more towards realism. I do think that there is plenty of dystopian fiction in YA and Adult fiction, but there is plenty of realistic fiction in YA, too. I don't know about the must have a hardcover copy of a title issue, but it sounds plausible. Also, I found it interesting that neither article mentioned how e-books are impacting the YA genre and its readers.
I published comments to the blogs of April F and Kathleen M.
Assignment 3
I'll be following the John Green blog (which is written by author John Green) and Stacked which is written/maintained/edited by two librarians, Kimberly Francisco and Kelly Jensen.
John Green's blog is mostly written/edited by Green although there are a lot of posts from fans and videoblogs from his brother Hank and himself. Its targeted audience is fans of Green's books and YAs in general who like that kind of fiction. It's self-consciously clever which can be annoying at times, but he seems sincere is his efforts to try and 'make the world a better place' or at least entertain his readers.
Stacked is obstensibly about "librarians, reviews, and mayhem" and it does contain a lot of well-written reviews and insights into the YA genre. They also include other info such as "Twitterviews" of authors and guest blog posts on vaious topics. I liked how they have a list of "Labels" on the left-hand side of the page so you can easily navigate to a variety of topics. I feel this to be a more useful RA tool for YA questions than the Green blog.
Assignment 4
Harlequin Teen: What I noticed is that the trend and hot titles (at least here) tend to be romances (go figure!) that involve a teen girl (who is misunderstood or an outsider or suddenly thrust into a world that is foreign to her) who meets that guy (who is also misunderstood or has a dangerous secret or has supernatural powers) and they hook up. I'm sure there are plenty of adventures, misunderstandings, and steamy or passionate or mild romantic scenes and they will probably end up together. Unless it's a series, then it may take several books before they finally end up together. I think the main thrust of Harlequin Teen is to groom a younger audience to transition into their adult line of romances. That's just my thoughts from looking over their site.
Teens at Random: Well, although these aren't necessarily romances, many of the titles and new/upcoming releases are along some of the same lines as Harlequin. It seems to be a lot of fantasy (ie, Grimm's fairy tales), alternate realities (ie, Norse gods runing the US), dystopians (ie, nuclear disaster survivors), paranormal (ie, ghosts) and similar settings where teens have to deal with unusual, unexpected, and/or scary situations and make the best of it. It also seems to have a lot of 'nobody understands me' element to many of these stories. Interestingly, there is a series entitled The Flappers which sounded as if they set the cast from Pretty Little Liars down in the roaring 1920's/Great Gatsby era. Even though some of these titles are obviously leaping on the popular themes that appeal to YA readers, a few did sound worthwhile.
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