Week 4

I was having such a difficult time with Week 4--mostly wrestling with Goodreads in order to just get started--that I put it aside in order to move along. Trying again here.


My Goodreads account is several years old but little used. Revisiting it for this assignment had me looking at the site more closely. The chore of managing and maintaining an account to a certain level of usefulness seems large; I'd rather spend time reading than entering authors to follow, deciding on groups to join, and combing through comments.

I really like that hovering the mouse gets a window describing a title. This is much more friendly than leaving the current page. One of my favorite subgenres, historical fantasy, seems to be given little attention compared to some other subgenres. Recommendations, no matter where they come from, almost always fall short for me--they simply do not consider all the factors I'm interested in. I've had customers get very excited about the various lists people post, however, so Goodreads is a good resource in that regard.

Recommendations:

I'd recommend author Susanna Kearsley to those who enjoyed Daphne du Maurier's House on the Strand. They often feature a heroine who gets glimpses of other times, and there's a strong romantic element. Her books move slowly with excellent attention to period detail. Characters behave realistically even given the fantasy elements and touch of modern gothic.

For those who enjoyed Princeless by Jeremy Whitley I'd recommend the Enchanted Forest Chronicles  books by Patricia Wrede. They are not graphic novels, but the concept of a princess saving herself carries through to the series for somewhat older children. Cimorene runs away from her family's expectations for her, finds a job working for the king of the dragons, and refuses to be rescued. Both series are humorous, both princesses face adversaries and defeat them with the help of their wits and their friends.

Week 9: Assignment 3

It was useful to consider how nonfiction might be folded into an encounter that starts off about fiction advisory.

My continuing frustrations with advisory were not addressed, namely how to deal with the customer who has read everything, with the customer who is too impatient or rushed to be introduced to tools for finding books, and with the customer who knows so little about what he is looking for that it results in a stupidly broad list of suggestions, none of which are satisfactory for inexpressible reasons. When the process works, it is a beautiful thing, but some days are just frustrating.

Another big issue of mine is how much time to spend prepping for advisory queries that never come. I've gotten exactly two questions about westerns, for example, and they were both so general that they were easily answerable without deep knowledge of the genre. Urban fiction is popular at Towson, but I've never gotten a query about it much beyond where to find a particular author. Given those experiences, my inclination is to spend much more time with children's fiction than westerns and urban fiction combined.

This program also did some damage to my TBR pile.

Week 9: Assignments 1 and 2

My biggest question about book trailers is how people find them, i. e. what the marketing strategy is. If you already know about--and think to go to--the author or publisher's website or YouTube channel, fine. How do trailers find people who don't know about them or who don't follow the publishing industry? Your Facebook friend might Like a trailer, but that seems way too chancy. A library system posting trailers is preaching to the choir. What are the cost-benefit analyses? Whether a trailer consists of a few sentences from the blurb fading in over a generic landscape with generic music in the background or a teensy full-production movie, it seems like a solution looking for an audience. Movie tie-ins seem to be a better hook for customers than book trailers.

Useful for readers' advisory? For a visually-oriented customer, perhaps, but given that it takes to find and watch them, the moment may be lost.

Week 8: Assignment 4

The Cleveland kidnappings books should appeal to those who like to read thrillers and police procedurals as well as those who read the grimmer sort of crime novels. The real-life component ramps up the reader's involvement. Some of these books have been described as "compulsively readable," indicating a quick pace, and the observations of the captives of their captor give insight into his mind. The rescue of the women brings the same relief that a fictional happy ending does.

Working Stiff by Judy Melinek should appeal to those who read detail-rich, character-oriented fiction set in hospitals and morgues. The combination of grim reality and the author's sense of humor balance nicely, making a potentially gruesome subject less onerous and contradicting the gloss of television shows such as CSI.

Week 8: Assignment 3

Disaster/Survival
tornadoes 550s
The Mercy of the Sky by Holly Bailey


Crime (360s)
Cleveland kidnappings, e. g. Hope by Amanda Berry


Science (500s)
Wild Trees by Richard Preston


Medical (610s)
Working Stiff by Judy Melinek

Week 8: Assignment 2

I don't recall anything about mixing fiction and nonfiction in readers' advisory from library school. This was a good presentation that briskly laid out the merits of including nonfiction in advisory encounters.

Week 8: Assignment 1

The concept of narrative nonfiction is relatively new to me even though I've read nonfiction extensively for years; it's just been more along the lines of poetry, essays, and instructional books for cooking, exercise, and hobbies. Thank you, Genre Boot Camp, for a deeper look at nonfiction than I'd managed on my own.

Wek 7: Assignment 4

I saw a lot of fantasy at Little Brown (much of it shading into horror) and at Random House. Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction seem to be going strong. Harper showcased realistic settings. It was disappointing that Random House offers separate lists for girls and guys. Of course I can't put my hands on it now, but there was a recent article about how if you take gender (including obscuring any gendered cover material) out of the book talk kids will respond with equal enthusiasm.

Week 7: Assignment 3

I was impressed with the post on Shannon Hale's blog about the genre-neutral book talks and the reaction the revelation of the "gendered" sparked. I expect more buy-in to the "girl" vs "boy" books at a much younger age, but the narrow-mindedness of parents of older children was astonishing.

Yay for the posts about the development of Shadowhunt on Cassandra Clare's blog. Assuming you're already following her, they would seem to increase the anticipation for the next book. If you're not already following her, it seems like a waste of time and effort, rather like the book tour that forever takes away from writing the next book.

Week 7: Assignment 2

While I see the reasoning behind Young Adult/Teen as a category, I'm not going to spend a lot of thought on New Adult and whether it should further segment a library's collection. I can see the phenomenon of adults reading Teen fiction as either a passive backlash against heavy literary fiction and gritty Scandinavian police procedurals or the coming of age of a cohort that did not read much as children or as a simple relief from the pressures of work and other time spenders. I could even be that publishers have simply woken up to the discovery a previously untapped market. Perhaps Teen fiction is analogous to Chick Lit. It probably doesn't much matter. What does matter is knowing about these books and offering them to the appropriate customers, no matter what their age.

Week 7: Assignment 1

I'm not the only one who loves a good book flowchart. The comments on the Lawrence Public Library show I have lots of company.

Week 6: Assignment 3

High Seas Adventure

I looked at the Alan Lewrie Naval Adventures series by Dewey Lambdin, the Kydd series by Julian Stockwin, and the Mainwaring series by Victor Southern. As you'd expect from a subgenre of the Adventure category, these books seem fast-paced and packed with action. The high seas setting is important, as is the main character's personality.

Contemporary Western

Craig Johnson's Walt Longmire series, Tony Hillerman's Navajo Mystery series, and Margaret Coel's Wind River Mystery series are set in the present day, with Mystery elements. The western setting is important, as is character, and these particular series also feature American Indian elements. The tone seems to be gritty and realistic, even when there are overtones of the supernatural.

Culinary Caper

Just from the covers you can guess that these fall on the lighthearted end of the mystery spectrum. I looked at the Charlotte Denver series by Sherri Bryan, the Rose Strickland series by Terri Austin, and the Samantha Sweet series by Connie Shelton. From what I can tell, the food aspect is more of a hook or a plot point than anything essential to the story. The setting is of marginal importance, but the characters need to be quirky and the sense of humor is prominent.

Mashup: Steampunk Romance

The Iron Seas series by Meljean Brook combines elements of old-school romance and science fiction with adventure set against a background "history" that informs present-day action. The London Steampunk series by Bec McMaster and the Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carrier combine urban fantasy with romance and some historical fiction elements. The developing romances play out in the science fiction and fantasy setting.

Week 6: Assignment 2

I do love a good book flowchart! I have a serious problem with Fantasy being shown as an offshoot of Science Fiction, however, as would any earnest fan of either genre.   The breakdown of Westerns and Horror I found organizationally helpful, but I question whether Culinary Capers and Pet Investigators shouldn't be subgenre of the Cozy Mystery.

Week 6: Assignment 1

Urban Reviews appealed to me because, when I first looked at it, I noticed several reviews that mentioned writing and editing qualities. I can guess why quality is not often addressed in reviews, but I regret the lack, especially with urban fiction, which is so often self-published or published by houses that seem to have minuscule editing budgets.

For personal reading, you might find and follow a reviewer whose taste aligns with your own; for advisory interactions, however, quality may or may not be a factor. Still, I prefer reviews that address writing and editing quality as well as provide a simple description of plot. Smart Bitches Trashy Books is my go-to for romance reviews because they give letter grades and do not hesitate to call out inconsistencies, historical inaccuracies, etc.

Week 5: Assignment 3

I chose Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs. It is described as action-packed, and the description promises a desperate journey and a need for heroism. As the third in a series, it should have a readership base awaiting it, and the peculiar cover with its winged boy is attention grabbing. It should appeal to readers of fantasy that shades into horror.

Week 5: Assignment 2

I love that Early Word is one-stop shopping for movie and TV tie-ins, awards, reviews and interviews, best-of lists, etc. without the randomness and repetition of Goodreads. It is well indexed and easy to navigate.

Some of the links are more fruitful than others: Program Ideas was a bust, but Book Groups had some good stuff for those customers who come in when it is their turn to choose for their groups.

Week 5: Assignment 1

The breadth of my conception of urban fiction expanded after reading Urban Reviews for a while. What I’d picked up before in my efforts to “read around the library” didn’t hit even half of the story types covered in Urban Reviews. Still, I have only very rarely fielded advisory questions about urban fiction, almost as few as about westerns, although they are very popular at TO. I would certainly recommend customers check out Urban Reviews as well as Goodreads even though most readers I’ve dealt with come in with titles already in mind.

Week 3: Assignment 3

The first customer might enjoy Claiming Ground, another book about a woman's journey of self discovery, or the movie Babette's Feast.

The second customer might enjoy the vampires in the Sookie Steakhouse or Mercy Thompson books, but it sounds like the All Souls trilogy would move too slowly for her tastes.

The third customer might enjoy Through the Brazilian Wilderness, Roosevelt's own description of the same trip, or books about Ernest Shakelton's expedition.

Week 3: Assignment 2

Nancy Pearl is the Queen of Readers Advisory! She can talk in paragraphs about books! She talks more about what the books feel like than what happens in them, what the characters are like and how they fit into the environment of the book. I really admire her fluency in discussing books.

Week 3: Assignment 1

It was easy enough to identify what each reader in Exercise 1 wanted from his or her next book. Harder was coming up with suitable specific suggestions. The advice to read widely is solid. The Ice Station customer would probably go for any number of techno thrillers; the Eat Pray Love customer might enjoy other journeys of self discovery, especially those with a touch of humor; and the Born in Fire customer might want to complete the Born In trilogy as well as exploring other books with well defined characters.

Exercise 2 makes me think I perhaps strip a bit much from my descriptions of books in order not to go too long. I should summarize better. Exercise 3 shows a more specific way of approaching customers than "Are you finding what you need?" Exercises 4 and 5 sound like good ways to practice.

Week 2: Assignment 2

Suddenly One Summer by Julie James, is a contemporary romance about a divorce lawyer and her new neighbor, an investigative journalist, searching for the journalist's sister's child's father.

The characters are easy to identify with; They're flawed, but not so flawed as to be unreal. The author's language is not literary, but she does write well. While the book is set in Chicago, and we get some Chicago-specific detail, the book could be set in just about any big city. The tone is fun with some mild suspense as the two main characters search for the child's father and begin to deal with each other's flaws; the divorce lawyer's panic attacks provide a dimension of unease. With that Romance spine label, you know there'll be a Happily Ever After. While the panic attacks, for example, are given their due, this is not what I'd call a heavy Learning/Experiencing book.

Masterminds by Gordon Korman, is a children's book about kids in an isolated town discovering what their exact backgrounds and circumstances really are.

The pacing is quick, and each of the child characters has his or her own personality, making them easily distinguishable; the adults are less well characterized. Much is made of the town's isolation and quirks and how the children are treated. Descriptions are brief and brisk, never slowing down the pace. The tone varies: sometimes light and sometimes suspenseful. There is minimal learning/experiencing.

The Other Side of Midnight by Simone St. James is a mystery during which a psychic investigates the murder of one of her rivals.

The pacing is moderate, interspersed with episodes of suspense as the psychic gets closer to discovering the murderer. The psychic is the most vivid character, but she keenly observes the other characters. The language of the book leans slightly toward literary, but it is not heavy. The book is mostly set in London, but the city is not itself a character: Details are supplied for flavor rather than for mental stimulation. The tone is suspenseful and scary, mixing everyday events with supernatural ones. While some details about detecting fake psychics are given, there is little learning/experiencing.

Week2: Assignment 1

Reading through Wyatt's article, I thought of those flow charts for book recommendations. I wish my memory operated like that, so I could rapidly sort through what materials correspond with what desired characteristics.

Week 1: Assignment 5

Fun was had. That Gatsby cover is really awful; the theme park idea makes it a bit better.

Week 1: Assignment 4

I chose Early Word and Urban Reviews, Early Word because I'd seen mentions of it on blogs but had not explored it yet, and Urban Reviews because I don't read much urban fiction and because I noticed it includes ratings that talk about, among other matters, poor writing and editing. Tor's Fiction Affliction also looks like fun, so I'll probably look at that one as well.

Week 1: Assignment 3

Rule 7 is something I run into fairly frequently. A customer will say they're looking-for-a-good-book-so-what-is-the-librarian-reading. I've learned to immediately turn that around and ask what sort of read they're looking for.

Regarding Rule 2, I do keep a list, stored in the cloud so I can get to it at the library or at home.

One rule that's not on the list is that people seem to want you to just about instantly offer suggestions out of your head. When TO had binders of read-alike lists, no one ever wanted to look at them. Going through the catalog to Suggestions and More works better; unless someone has a really detailed need (has to be an award-winner by an author of a certain background, for example), Novelist is just too involved.

Week 1: Assignment 2

Yay! I got all the covers correct!

I find covers pretty helpful up in Teens, when I'm figuring out whether a book is aimed more toward 12-year-olds than 18-year-olds. Is the cover realistic or cartoon-y, dark or brightly colored, etc.

Week1: Assignment 1

I matched most covers with their titles; as for the rest,  I knew the books but couldn't dredge up the title. That's one of the major frustrations for me with Readers' Advisory: coming up with five more titles I could have mentioned to a customer long after she's walked away.