Week Nine Work

Book Trailers To Be or Not To Be:

I totally agree with the Chicago Tribune’s assessment that there are an awful lot of lousy book trailers on the web.  This is an area of the marketing industry that has only recently come about and does have a place in book promotions.  It should be a no brainer to produce a polished product if you want it to reflect positively on the book you are promoting, so leave this to the individuals who are good at this.  I do watch book trailers and have seen some very impressive ones.  I was on the fence about reading Niceville but the trailer closed the deal for me and I ended up showing it to multiple people because of my reaction.  The New York Times article hit the mark in describing how popular this form of marketing is with teens and how easy it is to just go ahead and purchase that book you just saw a trailer of, because you are already online. 

As far as a reader’s advisory tool, I don’t believe that book trailers have developed enough at this point to provide our customers with a reliable source of information.  We don’t want to direct them to a tool that looks amateurish. 

Final Thoughts:

 

I finished! My final thought is relief! I appreciate all the hard work the committee did in providing staff with this valuable reader services training.  I discovered and reacquainted myself with many different tools.  Following blogs for genres I don’t normally read has broadened my ability to provide better service to our customers.  I enjoyed the teen assignments and particularly appreciated the readalikes chart.  The flow chart on subgenres was also very informative and I have added many of the titles to my Goodreads account!  I only wish we had been provided more time to complete these assignments as I found myself rushing through the material I would rather have had time to thoroughly digest.  Some of the assignments had so many pieces to them we should have had more than just a week to finish these tasks.  I could not have completed the training by the original deadline so I am grateful for the extension but would have felt less stressed through the process if I had known there would be additional time at the end to catch up.

Week Eight Work

Four Nonfiction Genre Areas:

Biography:   The Dressmaker of Khair Khana: Five Sisters, One Remarkable Family, and the Woman Who Risked Everything to Keep Them Safe by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Biography genre: Books listed alphabetically in the Biography section, the first area of nonfiction at the Towson branch.

Crime: Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi

True crime genre: Dewey 364’s.

History: Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard

History genre: Dewey area by subject, this particular work in civil war history 973s.

Memoir: The Dirty Life: A Memoir of Farming, Food, and Love by Kristin Kimball

Memoir genre: Located throughout collection in Dewey area by subject. This particular work was in the gardening section 635s.

Book Talks:

The Dirty Life by Kristin Kimball – This nonfiction work reads so much like a fun fiction novel that you will find yourself checking the spine label to confirm that this is indeed a true story.  The main character of this memoir is a young female journalist from New York City who decides to write an article on organic farming.  She spends several weeks doing research on a farm, working alongside the owner with whom she falls in love. They decide to start their own farm and co-opt in upstate New York and the story recounts the many obstacles and unexpected realities she faces with such a 180 degree change in her lifestyle. This story will appeal to those who enjoy a strong female character.  It is written with humor, honesty, and some suspense.  Can this couple make their farm work in time to provide their products to the people who have paid into the co-opt? Will their engagement survive the first year of starting their massive endeavor?  Readers will enjoy this interesting narrative, learn a ton about farming, and be rewarded with many recipes utilizing products raised on their farm.

Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi – This disturbing, graphic, and horrific story contains all the suspense of a first rate fiction thriller.  Knowing that these events actually took place adds to the fear factor.  As the author recounts the background history of Charles Manson and his followers, it becomes understandable how this charismatic, persuasive psychopath could manipulate and warp lost individuals into doing his bidding.  The description of the actual murders will chill readers to the bone.  This story will appeal to people who enjoy a good crime story as the reader gets to follow the investigation of the murders, to the apprehension of the culprits and their trial.  As Manson and his followers periodically come up for parole and these events are recounted in the press, the interest in this book stays current.  Helter Skelter will appeal to those who enjoy reading about famous cases and shocking crime stories that one could only wish had been the work of the author’s imagination.

 

Week Seven Work

*Not just for teens Library Journal, Jun 15, 2011:  After reading this article I found the section about the marketing of YA books interesting.  Utilizing video trailers for books and posting on Facebook and Twitter reaches a wider reader base than just teens.  Readership among adults will continue to grow because they are being marketed to just as much as the original teen target audience.

 

*The Next Big Thing YALSA; The Hub, Oct 2012:  Sometimes the adult public needs to be encouraged to pick up a teen book. As librarians, we understand their appeal value, but occasionally it takes a book talk to entice a customer to take a look at a potential title. Since I “follow” new teen titles, I was not surprised by the news that more and more adult authors are generating novels for the teen audience.

Comments posted to Peggy P. and Richard S.

The two blogs I followed were John Green Books and Teenreads.

I very much enjoyed the Teenreads site and liked the “Adult Books You Want to Read” feature.  This is the converse of our week 7 Be More Bookish assignment on adults that read teen novels.  This is a valuable tool in helping grow our readers to a more mature level of books once they are ready to look beyond the Teen section.  Another thing that I think makes this blog “work” is the variety and depth of articles.  I also liked the daily quotes and believe adults would get just as much from this blog as teens do.

The John Green Books site was fabulous.  If you weren’t a John Green fan before checking out his site, you will definitely want to try his books after visiting his blog.  His video clips are beyond entertaining and the running ticker on the front that posts readers’ comments on his books acts like a hook to get you interested in what they are discussing.  Both of these blogs would be enjoyed by adult and teen readers alike.

According to the two Teen imprints that I evaluated: Little, Brown Books for Teens and Tor Teen (Macmillan) it is my opinion that there is a current trend toward expansion of the sci-fi, paranormal genres.  The trailers and book blurbs discuss steampunk and genetic mutations.  I think the reign of the vampire may finally be over!

Week Six Summary

#1 While following the Romantic Times website I was intrigued reading Romance industry news stories on the Industry Insider about new authors on the scene as well as the increase in novels to be published in the coming year. I was surprised to discover that the Romance category covers all interest areas from paranormal, historical, inspirational, contemporary, suspense to the bodice-ripper books, which seem to be the general impression of the genre.

#3 *Christian Urban Fiction Fansite:  I tried multiple different searches to find a fansite for this subgenre and failed repeatedly.  The closest I could come to was generated book lists for this topic on B&N.  3 authors:  Michele Bowen, A’ndrea J. Wilson, E. N. Joy.  Novels share uplifting themes, respect, and overcoming adversity. *Pet investigator Mystery Fansite:  A Google search for “mysteries solved by pets fiction” gave me the fansite result www.cozy-mystery.com/blog/dogs-can-be-cozy-too-dog-mysteries.html‎. This listed multiple authors for this subgenre.  The themes are light hearted and silly guaranteed to be filled with some very intelligent and perceptive cats and dogs. *Cipher Thriller Fansite:  I tried multiple different searches to locate a fansite for this subgenre and came up empty. I know there are popular books in this genre, but an organized fansite could not be located. Even a search of this subgenre on Goodreads was unsuccessful in generating a list of books. These novels feature puzzling crimes that require the intelligence of scholarly individuals to solve.

Examples of two mashups are Queen Victoria Demon Hunter by A.E. Moorat and Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahme-Smith. These novels meet the definition by using nonfictional characters in history and place them in a setting with fantasy creatures like demons and vampires.

Week Five Fun!

#1 While following the Romantic Times website I was intrigued reading Romance industry news stories on the Industry Insider about new authors on the scene as well as the increase in novels to be published in the coming year. I was surprised to discover that the Romance category covers all interest areas from paranormal, historical, inspirational, contemporary, suspense to the bodice-ripper books, which seem to be the general impression of the genre. I have also enjoyed reading the RT Daily Blog. 

#2 I am embarrassed to admit that although the NY Times Best Sellers list has been displayed at branches where I have worked, I have never really looked at this resource before the Be More Bookish training. I now make an effort to evaluate this on a weekly basis. The list is a huge help when customers come in confused about a title that they are interested in putting on hold. I am definitely going to continue to monitor this list!

#3 The Madness Underneath by Maureen Johnson is the second novel in the Shades of London series. Teens are the target audience for this thrilling and suspenseful story about a teenage girl from Texas who has moved to a boarding school in London. Surviving a near death experience gives the heroine an ability to see and communicate with ghosts and she ultimately gets recruited by the “Shades” to help locate and dispatch murderous spirits haunting the city. The Kirkus Review appropriately describes this fast moving and fun novel a “creepy, clever and ambiguous.” I thoroughly enjoyed The Name of the Star last year, which was the first book of this series. By reading Early Word’s “Coming Soon/Season’s Previews” I became alerted to the fact that the sequel was available.

Wonderful Week Four

Recommendation for Rachael:

Hey Girlfriend!  I just finished this novel and LOVED it!  Your reading tastes are totally all over the place, but because of your appreciation of a well written book, you should totally give Little Wolves by Thomas Maltman a go.  It is a wonderful literary work set in a small town in the Midwest where a violent crime takes place leaving a devastated father to try to understand his son's senseless actions and suicide.  It is told with a parallel story of the preacher's wife and her own mysterious back story.  Like I said, AMAZING writing that I know you will appreciate.  Look for a full write up on "Between the Covers" soon!

I enjoyed discovering the “Explore Books” tab and the valuable features therein!   Book giveaways, reviews, and titles that are shooting up the charts make this a valuable resource in keeping in touch with what is hot!

Conversation Suggestions

Conversation 1:   Since this customer requested an idea for her book club, I mentioned the BCPL book club kits that boast popular titles (i.e. her comment “everyone was reading it”) and also comes with a handy discussion guide which would be helpful since the customer would be hosting the next selection.  From the list of possibilities I would recommend The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society: a novel [kit] : book club kit / Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows.  This also features a strong female character and journeys to another part of the world for its setting.

Conversation 2:   So many vampire books are written for teens and will tend to revolve around their relationships and love interests.  To find a better fit for this customer I would fall back on my favorite series written by Anne Rice which begins with An Interview with a Vampire.  The in depth description of life as a vampire is the primary focus of the stories, and the captivating and beautiful manner in which they are written are certain to please this customer.

Conversation 3:  The customer enjoyed a real-life survival story and is interested in a similar type of story.  I would not hesitate to recommend The Endurance:  Shackleton’s legendary Antarctic Expedition by Caroline Alexander.  The added bonus to recommending this title is that BCPL also owns a DVD of the same title as well as additional nonfiction materials on different aspects of this amazing adventure.

Recommendations Posting

I posted a couple of recommendations to Melissa G.'s blog.  It was my opinion that The House of Velvet and Glass by Katherine Howe and What We Saw at Night by Jacquelyn Mitchard may be of interest considering the stories she had previously enjoyed.  I also plan to put her selections on my Goodreads list!

Week Two Work

“You can kill a person without touching them.”

 Cold Light by Jenn Ashworth is a darkly atmospheric novel set in London in the early 1990s.  The author’s description of frigid winter days, dysfunctional relationships, and deviancy, casts a spell of loneliness and isolation that permeates the story. The discovery of a body in a shallow grave during a ground breaking ceremony lead the main character Lola, and an old acquaintance to flashback to a winter years ago, and their mutual friend’s tragic death.  The pacing of the story is slow and methodical as the reader gradually discovers the truth behind those events.  This is a haunting story with effective characterization that leaves the reader just wanting to enfold Lola in your arms and give her a moment of peace.

 

A Good Old-fashioned Ghost Story

The Woman in Black by Susan Hill is a well written novel that’s creepy setting and old-fashioned use of language will send chills down your spine.  A solicitor must journey to a sparsely populated village in the English countryside to settle an estate.  Residents’ reactions to his destination allude to some past incident no one is willing to discuss with him.  Vivid imagery makes it easy for the reader to feel the ever increasing apprehension of the solicitor.  The sinister feeling of the old house, the apparition of a woman dressed in black, and screams in the night build to a climax that have the main character questioning his own sanity.  This is a ghost story at its best and will guarantee many sleepless nights!

Week One Work

I have chosen to follow Early Word for the books recommended link.  The weekly update of new titles and books certain to be headline grabbers will prove helpful in keeping current with publishing trends.  It is also a good way to keep up with the latest books being made into movies.

I will also be following RT Book Reviews as the recommended genre link.  Being a fan of mysteries and suspense, I don't tend to follow many of the romance authors or series.  This will be an excellent opportunity to brush up on my readers services skills regarding these books.