Wrap up

Well, I have now completed the 'Be More Bookish' training. I learned a great deal to help me with Readers Advisory! I am staying subscribed to the Early Word newsletter - love it! I am the liaison for this training at the White Marsh branch. The comments I most heard were regarding the amt. of time needed to complete the weekly assignments. I concur. The only thing I'd change in future 'Be More Bookish' trainings would be - either cut the weekly assignments in half, or make this a 9-10 week program. Thanks!

Week 9

Week #9 - Ready to finish the 'Be More Bookish' project. I have read the 2 required articles on book trailers - one from the NY Times and another from the Chicago Tribune. The impression I took from the articles is that booktrailers popped up 10 years ago (who knew?) and have not really taken off. The reason is  - cheap budgets, often created in-house by the publishers = dull, boring product.

The articles I read suggested that publishers increase the budget for trailers, use famous people to read parts of the book AND/OR to advocate for the book, like, "Hey, I read this book and it was awesome!" Also suggested was  - hire talented graphic artists and video artists to create a product worth watching!

The exception to the above observations appears to me to be booktrailers for the teen audience. According to teenreads.com - these trailers are popular and helping to sell books. I went to YouTube and watched a trailer for a book called Shatter Me. The trailer was excellent - good soundtrack, great graphics - like a good movie trailer. I found the same with The Dawn of Sky booktrailer.

Because teens these days are so digitally involved, I believe that booktrailers will continue in the future to be a helpful marketing tool toward teens.

Week #8 and we're learning about Readers Advisory for Non-fiction. Of the many genres that non-fiction has to offer, I choose travel, memoir, crime, and essays as my four (4) to blog about.

Genre__________Dewey no                    Title___________Author________
Travel tales           910                        No Touch Monkey!          Halliday, Ayun
Essays                   varies                     Best American Science    Ariely, Dan
                                                               & Nature Writing
Memoir                 Biography              Kabul Beauty School       Rodriguez, Deborah
Crime                    364                         True Story                        Finkel, Michael





One title I selected is Michael Finkel's True Story:Murder, Memoir, Mea Culpa.This narrative non-fiction title reads like a novel. It's a gripping story filled with lies and deceipt. It really is two stories - two parts of Michael's life that sort of collide. He, a respected NY Times magazine reporter, is in the process of losing his career and reputation when he finds he's a victim of identity theft. He's fired from his job and simultaneously is informed that another man, on the run and accused of murdering his whole family, has assumed his identity. What a great set up for a novel - or a made for TV movie - but it's true! I believe some of the appeal of this book, to a fiction reader, would be plot, characters, tone & pacing. Michael Finkel, an investigative journalist can tell a good story, set the scene, and create suspense.

True crime books like this appeal to the mystery, suspense, and thrillers audience.


The book I selected to represent the memoir/biography genre is Kabul Beauty School by Deborah Rodriguez. This memoir tells the tale of her time spent in Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban. She went to offer humanitarian aid and wound up befriending many Afghans. Others in her group had background as doctors, nurses, etc. and she had been a hairdresser. It turned out that her profession & work experience was very useful, after all. She helped the women to set up some small businesses - against great opposition due to the cultural mores and the traditional closed life of women in that country. Her wonderful heartfelt stories of the women she met and the culture they lived in would be suitable for fiction readers who enjoy multi-cultural fiction. The characters are so well drawn that the reader feels as if they knew them.

Learned something new today! Publishers run sites & blogs for their teen audience. Makes sense, but I had never visited one. 'Teens at Random' and 'Harper Teen' are two that I stopped by. What did I find? This summer will be packed w/these genre/sub-genres - dystopias, post apocalyptic tales, paranormal romances (esp. ghosts), more vampires, coming of age, and teen love stories.

P.S. Don't forget the mermaids!

Week 7, Assignment 3

I looked at a couple of the recommended YA/Teen sites/blogs. Stacked (stackedbooks.org) is run by Kimberly Francisco, a public librarian in Texas, Kelly Jensen, small town librarian in Wisconsin, and Jen ?, another librarian. As to whether this site is successful, I don't know yet. Another site I visited is Teenreads.com. This site has over 25 reviewers from all walks of life, but all have an association with writing, reviewing, or publishing. Teenreads.com is part of The Book Report Network - which runs at least 8 other reader oriented sites. There is a whole corporate structure involved here - including founder/president Carol Fitzgerald, editorial director, content coordinator, senior writer, etc. etc., etc. Teenreads has a separate blog to read or follow. Both of these sites are aimed at the Teen/YA reader. Either could be useful to librarians, media specialists, or teachers to select titles for booktalking to their students.

So, I read a couple of articles about adult/teen crossover fiction. I think this phenomena gained ground around the the time of The Book Thief, and/or the Twilight series, and/or the Hunger Games series. The first article was from YALSA, The Hub, October 2012 entitled, "The Next Big Thing." I learned from this article - it listed 10 reasons why adults might be reading YA/Teen Fiction. If you'd asked me before, I might have been able to come up with 2-3 reasons. Here are some ways adults might 'accidentally' end up reading a YA title - (1) big name adult authors are writing Teen/YA fiction now, (James Patterson, Carl Hiaasen, John Grisham, & more), (2)YA offers a return to a simpler time - reader searching for nostalgia, or even escapism, & (3) the adult may have watched the movie or TV show & come to the library for the book and it was a YA title. I understand now why more adults are found in our Teen Fiction aisle these days.

Second article was from Publishers Weekly, issue of Dec. 14, 2012. It's entitled, "New Adult: Needless Marketing-Speak or Valued Sub-genre?" Some publishers, not booksellers so much, yet, are calling 'YA' fiction 'New Adult' fiction these days. hhhmmmmmmmm.....ok. The term may have been floating around in the publishing world since 2009. Of course, they are always trying to find a 'new niche' or a new 'target audience' to specially market towards. Adult/teen fiction crossover is a real phenomenon. It's to the publishers' benefit to encourage the continuation of mothers and daughters reading the same books together -  - this happened routinely w/the Twilight series and the Hunger Games series at my library. And bookstores were selling 2 copies of the books rather than just one - yay! I'm not convinced though that it is time yet to label another separate section of fiction at the library as "New Adult."

I commented about my finds and opinions on Rebecca B's blog and also Amie L.'s blog. I also put a brief comment on Monty P.'s.

Finishing up on subgenres. Mashups. The kinds of crazy mashups I have found between different subgenres, genres, other subgenres, etc. remind me of when my 2 friends and I used to take driving vacations to small towns in Texas(yes, I digress) We used to enjoy seeing & calling out what you could call the business 'mashups' They were really 2 businesses sharing a building to save $$$. But, we'd search for the "Bakery/Funeral Parlor" or the "Taxidermy/Bridal Gowns" stores. Yes, versions of this sort of thing do exist in many small towns in Texas.

Anyway, here's some mashups I have found - Chick-Lit/Fantasy/Vampires. Examples are: Almost to Die For: A Vampire Princess novel, by Tate Hallaway & Fangs for the Memories by Kathy Love. These were both shelved in our mainstream fiction section, not Romance or Fantasy. Another subgenre-genre mashup is Sci Fi/Adventure - Lost Lands. I found a couple of shipwreck stories like that - Life of Pi, by Yann Martel and Shipwreck Crusoe by Ken Milano. The first title is shelved in Fiction and, I believe, the 2nd one is in Science Fiction.

I picked the subgenres of Fantasy - 'Swords and Sorcery,' Romance - Paranormal, and Sci Fi - Cyberpunk. Discovering fansites was quite the adventure! 2-3 hours later, after multitudinous Google searches, checking Goodreads and Early Word for shortcuts, as well as the DailyBeast, I had still not found a shortcut method to recommend for finding fansites. Thought www.fanpop.com might be the answer, but no. Also, found that though I located some fansites, many of them are best explored once you join the fansite. Many options are not available to just visitors & I did not want to join.

So, I went back to the task at hand and searched for fansites for subgenre Fantasy - Swords and Sorcery. This subgenre, by the way, involves fantasy w/magic, tales of prophecy, heroes, spells, strange fantastical creatures, and the battle of Good vs Evil. The best site I discovered was www.fantasy-fan.org. But, to explore the subgenre of Swords and Sorcery, it is best to go to www.scifan.com. It has a great Themes option w/drop down menu and that's where I found my Fantasy subgenre. Classic authors in this field are Robert Jordan, Michael Moorcock, and Robert Jordan.

For the subgenre Sci Fi - 'Cyberpunk,' there are some good options to check out as fansites. Cyberpunk involves gritty tales re: advanced info technology, cybernetics, and the line between man and machine. Three sites are www.sffworld.com, www.sfsite.com, and www.scifan.com. These sites are ALL run by fans. Three classic authors of this subgenre are William Gibson, Bruce Sterling, and Philip Dick.

Last subgenre for today - Romance - Paranormal. This subgenre involves romances between humans and werewolves, ghosts, vampires and other ethereal beings. The heroine often has extraordinray physical or psychic powers. Interestingly, www.pinterest.com/gravetells is pretty good for Paranormal Romance. Again, it is best if you join pinterest to best use this site. In the 'Anticipated Releases' section I found Shadowed, and Twisted, by Rebecca Zanetti; A Love Untamed by Pamela Palmer; and Last Kissed Goodnight by Gena Showalter. Authors that really turn these readers on  - J.R. Ward, Laurell Hamilton, and Joey Hill.

Prezi link re: Fiction Genres and Subgenres - cool to look at & never realized that some of these genres had so MANY subgenres!! - lots to learn...

Week 6:  "Building Base Knowledge - Genre" - back in Week #1's assignments I chose to follow RT Book Reviews. I can offer very little to romance readers in terms of Readers Advisory.That's why I hope to learn some helpful tips from this magazine and/or website.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that they review not only Romance titles that we always file in our Romance section, but other mainstream books in 'RT Genre Spotlight.' When I clicked on that heading, I found subgenres of YA, Paranormal, Erotica, Sci Fi-Fantasy, Mystery, Mainstream & Inspirational. For myself, I'm going to expore further the 'Mystery' subgenre. I've never been averse to some romance in my mystery  - I'll read a few that are romance, with a bit, or lot, of mystery. For RA work, I will explore the other subgenre they offer.

I discovered that the section "Community News' contains 3 selections. They are as follows - 'RT Community Info,' 'Aspiring Authors,' and 'Booksellers.' Under the 'Aspiring Authors,' writers can find helpful links like 'Manuscript Evaluation,' Find an Agent,' Recommended Books for Writers,' and much more. 'Booksellers' leads us directly into the booksellers world via  'RT Booksellers Corner.'

It is really fun checking on forthcoming books on Early Word! They have an option called "Coming Soon - Season Previews." There are a no. of links to choose from there - I chose Huffington Post's "Best Books of 2013." From that list, I selected The World's Strongest Librarian:: A Memoir of Tourette's, Faith, Strength and the Power of Family. Maybe it seems a too obvious choice for a librarian, but for me it was not. I had just fielded my 1st request for that book a few days back.

This sounds like a fascinating story and is on my " To Read Soon" list. The memoir is by Josh Hanagarne - he has a blog by the same name as the book's title. From the reviews, I have gleaned that this is an inspiring story of a man overcoming numerous adversities. I think the Storyline is appealing to many - it's an uplifting, powerful personal narrative & an inspiring story of a real person overcoming adversity. Also, though I have yet to read the book, the reviewers describe the Tone as funny, gag-full, & tongue in cheek, at times. Perhaps that is his approach to life and it helped him to confront Tourette's, & other 'problems,' head on. I'll  find out for sure when I read the book.

For Read-a-Likes, perhaps a customer would enjoy Most of Me: Surviving My Medical Breakdown, 2012, by Robyn Levy. A successful radio producer in Canada, Robyn is faced with fighting Parkinson's disease and then finding out she had breast cancer & needed multiple surgeries. She shares how she made it through all of this and came out on the other side. Bob Mould, in 2011, had his memoir published. It's titled See a Little Light: the trail of Rage and Melody. He is a musician - a founding member of the punk band Heusker Deu & later a band called Sugar. He has faced drug problems, alcoholism, and struggles with his homosexuality.

What to say about Early Word.......I did choose that site to follow at the beginning of 'Be More Bookish'. I signed up on their email list - easier to keep up if it actually arrives in my INBOX once per week.So, I have found it a bit time consuming - in a good way - the thing is, there is so much good RA info there, as well as so many helpful links. I keep finding books I want to read. I am often late for my Desk shifts. I blame Early Word...

So, far, I have loved playing around with the multitudinous 'Best of ___' lists.'The Latest from Nancy Pearl' links to her official website - there goes another hour. I liked her Book Club Tips. I'm glad to be able to read some of her Twitter posts w/o actually tweeting myself.

Besides all the Early Word info on adult books, I've spent some time looking at the Early Word Kids link, content created by Lisa Von Drasek. It's helping me to keep up a bit with what's coming out for children and teens.

late Friday afternoon - I visited April F.'s blog and recommended a forensic mystery series she might enjoy. If she enjoys reading the authors Kathy Reichs and Patricia Cornwell, then it follows that she MIGHT enjoy Jeff Deaver's 'Lincoln Rhyme' series.

Well, I set up a Goodreads account 2 yrs ago, but never used it. I am logged back in & loving some of the features. I went to Listopia and found you can vote for your favorite books - got carried away w/that and want to go back and vote on even more. I was voting on my favorite books and checking out other 'Best of___' lists. I added books to "What's the book you can't wait to read this summer?"  I am still working on "Books that Everyone Should Read at least once."

The 'Explore' drop down menu has a no. of good choices for readers and others for writers, too. Some choices are Listopia, Prizes, Trivia, and more. Writers (and readers) might enjoy the 'Events' selection and the 'Creative Writing' selection. If am definitely going back to search more for 'Events' to attend in B'more. You can set the search to within 5,10, 25 miles or even more, from your zip code.

Conversation 3: For a customer who liked River of Doubt, a fast paced, true life travel/adventure - I might recommend A Bolt from the Blue. This true story by Jennifer Woodlief is the truly gripping, fast paced, compelling story of 6 vacationing climbers who ascended the Grand Teton. The six were whipped by hard rain, colliding wind currents, and finally struck by a humongous lightning bolt. Read this page turner to see what happened to each climber and how some surmounted all odds to survive.

Another fast paced, true life adventure tale is Imperfect Passage: A Sailing Story of Vision, Terror, and Redemption, by Michael Cosgrove. This story, published in 2012, is a first person account of the 60 yr. old author's sailing adventure across the Pacific which was plagued with disasters. He sailed an expensive boat, with a certifiably crazy first mate, directly into dangerous storms and intriguing foreign harbors. Read how he managed to survive this trip in spite of sleep deprivation, mental breakdowns, hallucinations and more.

Conversation 1: So, if I had a customer who had enjoyed Eat, Pray, Love, here are some other books she might like. There's a non-fiction book entitled Tales of a Female Nomad, by Rita Gelman, which came out in 2001. Still a good read, though. This book has the same kind of appeal as Eat, Pray, Love. They are both true stories of women who set out to travel the world and also recover their authentic selves, after divorce. The stories contain adventure, romance, and self discovery. A 2nd title she might like was published in 2011. Wanderlust: a Love Affair with 5 Continents was written by Elizabeth Eaves. It chronicles 15 years of travel by a very independent young woman who craves unique locales and experiences. While learning about many different cultures, she is also learning about herself.

Conversation 2: As librarians, we need to be up on many genre. I don't read many vampires stories, but if I did I might recommend  the 'Chicagoland Vampires' series, by Chloe Neill. The first in the series is Friday Nite Bites - there's a grad student who is attacked by a rogue vampire. She winds up living in a luscious mansion full of other vamps and all loyal to handsome 'vampire in charge?' Ethan Sullivan. The poor girl is STILL trying to finish her thesis. This series has possiblities. Another series to try is 'Broken Heart Vampires.' These are all set in Broken Heart Oklahoma - home of vampires, lycanthropes, were-cats - well, you get the idea. - this series is fast paced and humorous & romantic. First book is I'm the Vampire, That's Why! Note that author Michelle Bardsley renamed the series later - Book 1 is labelled a 'Broken Heart, OK,' book. Hope you enjoy them!

Okay - I'm back! I went over to Rod C.'s blog and recommended a couple of true crime books he might like.

Well, my favorite reading matter is British detective mysteries. One that I am reading now is an older series, by Colin Dexter. It is the Inspector Morse series that is also a BBC program, frequently shown on PBS and other channels.

One appeal factor for me in this mystery sub-genre is the setting (the UK - I have a 'thing' for British detectives and Scotland Yard, in particular). Also, I like the well developed characters - the 2 main protagonists are Inspectore Morse (a good detective, yet flawed) and Sergeant Lewis, usually assisting him with the investigations. The books have lots of dialog - that helps to move the story along fairly quickly. I've read all of Martha Grimes' series based on British pubs, w/Inspector Richard Jury. Their appeal factors are similar.

Another type of novel I have enjoyed over the years is family sagas - lots of family members, well-described characters, and usually covering generations of the family. Lately, I particularly seek out sagas of families from other cultures. I've enjoyed many from countries in Asia & Southeast Asia. I want to learn about the cultures of different peoples. Right now, my focus has been on novels of India, usually written by Indian authors. One of these I quite enjoyed was The Toss of a Lemon, published in 2008, and authored by Padma Viswanathan. It is the story of one woman, Sivakami, and her family, living in a Brahmin household during turbulent times. The characters were so deeply and well described -I felt I knew them.

Now it's time to discover what some of my co-workers enjoy reading.

1st post on my new blog

I am completely new to this blogging game, but here goes. As a public librarian, I need to know a lot about books - new and old, sci fi and romance, children's and adults,' and on and on. I've assigned myself 2 sites to read weekly to keep up w/what's coming out. The 1st is "Early Word." Why? Well, it touts itself as the 'Publisher/Librarian Connection.' Sounds perfect! I also signed up for their weekly email ( in case I forget to check the site.)

My 2nd choice is "RT Book Reviews." I selected the Romance genre to study 'cause I really know very little about it. Confession: Huge Mystery Fan! The only thing I do know about Romance is that it is the fastest growing genre in the publishing industry. Time to jump on board.

Stay tuned, more soon!