Tuesday, June 18 Week 9 Assignment 2
It's pretty clear that Nina Metz is no big fan of book trailers, and, after viewing a few, even some that were supposed to be "the best" I agree with her. They are not hard to find, but they are poorly made, embarrassing, silly, amateurish, mostly unwatchable, and ineffective. In fact, some of them made me not want to read the book. I can only imagine the time, effort, and money that goes into making some of these travesties. The NYT article claimed that, for an author, appearing in your own book trailer is nothing short of humiliating. I get that. They are not trained actors.
As a reader's services tool, these book trailers would not be useful. A librarian would have to spend time navigating the web for them, and the audience would have to exert time and patience to endure watching them. Not much real information about the book is given, as most of the time is wasted in senseless production. In this era of immediate gratification, no one is going to want to view a two-minute book ad, unless, of course, it was fabricated by Nancy Pearl or the folks who wrote all the Heat books from the ABC drama, Castle, an amazingly brilliant piece of crossover marketing.
Tuesday, June 18 Week 9 Assignment 3
I had no idea that there were that many online reader's services tools out there, or that Novelist offered up training tools with their read-alikes. Stop You're Killing Me, an outrageously useful mystery site, will be one that I will continue to use with customers. The training was thorough, mostly geared to adults and teens, though, but I was glad to see that nonfiction was included. All in all, a good use of time spent.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Tuesday, June 18 Week 8 Assignment 4
Here is a sample booktalk for Bill Bryson's The Lost Continent
If you enjoy nonfiction travel books with a familiar setting and wacky and earthy humor like National Lampoon's Vacation, you would want to read almost anything by Bill Bryson, who writes honestly and unselfconsciously about his observations about traveling throughout the US. In this one, he sashays through 38 states in two months in his fruitless search for the perfect small town, trashing everything he sees as he tries to explain what being a typical American means to a Brit. Is this even possible?
Move over, Mark Twain. Your Innocents Abroad have nothing on this guy. Recommended for armchair travelers looking for a strong setting and a sardonic tone who are positive their small town is quintessential.
Here is one for Caroline Alexander's The Endurance: Shackleton's legendary Antarctic Expedition.
How hard is too hard? How cold is too cold? How long could you go on in an impossible situation, trapped in ice with no hope of rescue, with only your wits and the strong leadership of Ernest Shackleton? When Shackleton and his crew of 27 set sail for the South Atlantic in the days leading up to WWI, they were after the last unclaimed prize in the history of exploration, crossing by foot over the Antarctic. When their ship, The Endurance, got stuck in ice and was shattered into splinters, forcing the men out onto the floes, they were only 85 miles from their destination. This is their story, one of courage, determination, and survival.
During the next record blizzard to hit Baltimore, instead of jumping in your car and heading out to the supermarket, settle down in a cozy armchair with your brandy and blanket and read this, and be sure to enjoy the remarkably produced photos, captured from the original glass plate negatives. Recommended for lovers of inspiring survival stories and managers seeking effective leadership tips, this one is strong on characterization and setting.
Here is a sample booktalk for Bill Bryson's The Lost Continent
If you enjoy nonfiction travel books with a familiar setting and wacky and earthy humor like National Lampoon's Vacation, you would want to read almost anything by Bill Bryson, who writes honestly and unselfconsciously about his observations about traveling throughout the US. In this one, he sashays through 38 states in two months in his fruitless search for the perfect small town, trashing everything he sees as he tries to explain what being a typical American means to a Brit. Is this even possible?
Move over, Mark Twain. Your Innocents Abroad have nothing on this guy. Recommended for armchair travelers looking for a strong setting and a sardonic tone who are positive their small town is quintessential.
Here is one for Caroline Alexander's The Endurance: Shackleton's legendary Antarctic Expedition.
How hard is too hard? How cold is too cold? How long could you go on in an impossible situation, trapped in ice with no hope of rescue, with only your wits and the strong leadership of Ernest Shackleton? When Shackleton and his crew of 27 set sail for the South Atlantic in the days leading up to WWI, they were after the last unclaimed prize in the history of exploration, crossing by foot over the Antarctic. When their ship, The Endurance, got stuck in ice and was shattered into splinters, forcing the men out onto the floes, they were only 85 miles from their destination. This is their story, one of courage, determination, and survival.
During the next record blizzard to hit Baltimore, instead of jumping in your car and heading out to the supermarket, settle down in a cozy armchair with your brandy and blanket and read this, and be sure to enjoy the remarkably produced photos, captured from the original glass plate negatives. Recommended for lovers of inspiring survival stories and managers seeking effective leadership tips, this one is strong on characterization and setting.
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Thursday, June 13 Week 7 Assignment 3
I read Squeetus Blog: Official Blog of Shannon Hale because I was not too familiar with Shannon Hale and I really loved the title of the blog. It's very celebrity-like; she is well know in publishing material for teens and readers of this blog would be her teen followers and adults interested in trends in YA publishing. It's honestly written, from the heart, and she's very encouraging to beginning writers. If Shannon Hale is using this blog to sell her books, this is a successful way of doing it. The site is very stylish and organized, nice use of space.
Forever Young Adult is very hip and glib; like the City Paper for teens who are well immersed in pop culture. Perhaps a little more glammed-up than Squeetus but seven girls are the main bloggers here, with guest contributors. It's a riot. The site is for young adults only, no other age groups need to read it, for they probably won't understand it. It's ad-supported, and covers all media, not just teen books.
Thursday, June 13 Week 7 Assignment 4
I looked at the Harper Teen website, which is a nice clean page with lists of top books and top authors, podcasts, audio and video excerpts, contests and more. Clicking on an author link takes the user to another page within Harper to the author's personal blog. I also checked out Tor Teen, Macmillan's site, which specializes in SF for teens where users can read excerpts of forthcoming books, listen to podcasts and audio, and learn about books being released in popular categories like utopia/dystopia, monsters, courage, being an outcast, etc. The strongest thing on this site: an impressive page of related links.
Thursday, June 13 Week 8
Nice segue into nonfiction Readers' Services! Librarians shouldn't lose track of this goldmine of books that will satisfy even the most hard-to-please discerning bookworm. The four Dewey areas I chose were: Sports (796), Travel (917), Overcoming Adversity (362), and Disaster/Survival (919). Here is what I would recommend: in sports, Team Seven Eleven: How An Unsung Band of American Cyclists Took on the World--And Won by Geoff Drake, himself an Olympic cyclist in 796.62D. In travel, Bill Bryson's The Lost Continent in 917.3049B. All his books are humorous and great fun to read. In Overcoming Adversity, I chose Beautiful Buttons: a Memoir of Survival and Triumph by Catherine Ann, a heartbreaking biography of an adult child abuse victim in Ontario. In Disaster/Survival, The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition by Caroline Alexander about his imperial trans-antarctic journey.
I read Squeetus Blog: Official Blog of Shannon Hale because I was not too familiar with Shannon Hale and I really loved the title of the blog. It's very celebrity-like; she is well know in publishing material for teens and readers of this blog would be her teen followers and adults interested in trends in YA publishing. It's honestly written, from the heart, and she's very encouraging to beginning writers. If Shannon Hale is using this blog to sell her books, this is a successful way of doing it. The site is very stylish and organized, nice use of space.
Forever Young Adult is very hip and glib; like the City Paper for teens who are well immersed in pop culture. Perhaps a little more glammed-up than Squeetus but seven girls are the main bloggers here, with guest contributors. It's a riot. The site is for young adults only, no other age groups need to read it, for they probably won't understand it. It's ad-supported, and covers all media, not just teen books.
Thursday, June 13 Week 7 Assignment 4
I looked at the Harper Teen website, which is a nice clean page with lists of top books and top authors, podcasts, audio and video excerpts, contests and more. Clicking on an author link takes the user to another page within Harper to the author's personal blog. I also checked out Tor Teen, Macmillan's site, which specializes in SF for teens where users can read excerpts of forthcoming books, listen to podcasts and audio, and learn about books being released in popular categories like utopia/dystopia, monsters, courage, being an outcast, etc. The strongest thing on this site: an impressive page of related links.
Thursday, June 13 Week 8
Nice segue into nonfiction Readers' Services! Librarians shouldn't lose track of this goldmine of books that will satisfy even the most hard-to-please discerning bookworm. The four Dewey areas I chose were: Sports (796), Travel (917), Overcoming Adversity (362), and Disaster/Survival (919). Here is what I would recommend: in sports, Team Seven Eleven: How An Unsung Band of American Cyclists Took on the World--And Won by Geoff Drake, himself an Olympic cyclist in 796.62D. In travel, Bill Bryson's The Lost Continent in 917.3049B. All his books are humorous and great fun to read. In Overcoming Adversity, I chose Beautiful Buttons: a Memoir of Survival and Triumph by Catherine Ann, a heartbreaking biography of an adult child abuse victim in Ontario. In Disaster/Survival, The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition by Caroline Alexander about his imperial trans-antarctic journey.
Thursday, June 13 Week 7 Assignment 2
I read the Christian Science Monitor article, "Who is Buying Teen Books?" which explores the reasons why adults buy and read books meant for young adults. The article echoes what librarians see every day in branches, especially with the Twilight series. Some Moms even commented that they wanted to read along with their daughter so they could discuss the books as the story unfolded. Busy adults with harried lives see these teen titles as "easy escapism," something to gratefully turn to after a heavy day.
The LJ article, "Not Just for Teens" also shares this view, allowing the expectant reader emotional immediacy, since the story begins instantly and not 50 pages in, like some adult novels do. It affirms what our parents tell us, that these books are a good way for teens and their parents to communicate through reading and discussing these books. Both articles mentioned the top three crossover series, predictably Twilight, The Hunger Games, and the Harry Potter series.
I read the Christian Science Monitor article, "Who is Buying Teen Books?" which explores the reasons why adults buy and read books meant for young adults. The article echoes what librarians see every day in branches, especially with the Twilight series. Some Moms even commented that they wanted to read along with their daughter so they could discuss the books as the story unfolded. Busy adults with harried lives see these teen titles as "easy escapism," something to gratefully turn to after a heavy day.
The LJ article, "Not Just for Teens" also shares this view, allowing the expectant reader emotional immediacy, since the story begins instantly and not 50 pages in, like some adult novels do. It affirms what our parents tell us, that these books are a good way for teens and their parents to communicate through reading and discussing these books. Both articles mentioned the top three crossover series, predictably Twilight, The Hunger Games, and the Harry Potter series.
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Thursday, June 6
The third subgenre I chose was Adventures--Exotic lands because I like to visit unusual places and learn about their stories. Unfortunately I struck out trying to find some fan sites concerned only with novels written about travel, so I settled for World Hum, The Best Travel Stories on the Internet www.worldhum.com, even though it is really not an avid fan site exactly. On this site world travelers can share stories of the exotic sights they see, make recommendations, and read interviews. There is a travel blog, and links to social media. Some of the more interesting stories are written by Clay Shivers, who describes his adventures aboard a train in Bangalore, Andrea Johnson on Australia's Northern Territory, and Tarras Grescoe's observations while traveling the Moscow subway system. Adventure seekers would really get energized looking around on this site. The appeal factors would be setting, detail, and learning/experiencing.
Mashups: religious SF. Religion appears in fantasy novels, but there are classic science fiction ones in which religion plays a part, notably Canticle for Liebowitz, Dune, and Stranger in a Strange Land. Sometimes in these stories the main character might be a member of a specific religious order, or be making a pilgrimage, or trying to convert mankind in a future world devoid of religion. This is probably not as popular a subgenre now as it was in the seventies.
Here's another, actually a customer request: mysteries in which a murder does not take place. These are not necessarily cozy mysteries. Here are some examples: Dorothy Cannell's The Thin Woman, and Erskine Childers' The Riddle of the Sands.
The third subgenre I chose was Adventures--Exotic lands because I like to visit unusual places and learn about their stories. Unfortunately I struck out trying to find some fan sites concerned only with novels written about travel, so I settled for World Hum, The Best Travel Stories on the Internet www.worldhum.com, even though it is really not an avid fan site exactly. On this site world travelers can share stories of the exotic sights they see, make recommendations, and read interviews. There is a travel blog, and links to social media. Some of the more interesting stories are written by Clay Shivers, who describes his adventures aboard a train in Bangalore, Andrea Johnson on Australia's Northern Territory, and Tarras Grescoe's observations while traveling the Moscow subway system. Adventure seekers would really get energized looking around on this site. The appeal factors would be setting, detail, and learning/experiencing.
Mashups: religious SF. Religion appears in fantasy novels, but there are classic science fiction ones in which religion plays a part, notably Canticle for Liebowitz, Dune, and Stranger in a Strange Land. Sometimes in these stories the main character might be a member of a specific religious order, or be making a pilgrimage, or trying to convert mankind in a future world devoid of religion. This is probably not as popular a subgenre now as it was in the seventies.
Here's another, actually a customer request: mysteries in which a murder does not take place. These are not necessarily cozy mysteries. Here are some examples: Dorothy Cannell's The Thin Woman, and Erskine Childers' The Riddle of the Sands.
Thursday, June 6
Vampires are monsters, right? Anyone who is a fan of them should check out Twilighted www.twilighted.net, a fan fiction site where writers may publish their vampire tales for review. It's not just for readers of the Twilight series, but any vampire story. They have 193,249 members, with more joining every day. Genre news, writing contests, featured authors, random story links and giveaways abound. Vampire lovers can meet and post observations on the site, and read what others are saying about the books they read. I found this one by using DuckDuckGo and typing in "monster story fan website" Three top authors here are Rosemary Clement Moore, Kerrelyn Sparks, and Catherine Spangler. Appeal factors here would be tone and characterization. Twilighted is a great site to get people interested in reading more types of books about vampires, some humorous.
Vampires are monsters, right? Anyone who is a fan of them should check out Twilighted www.twilighted.net, a fan fiction site where writers may publish their vampire tales for review. It's not just for readers of the Twilight series, but any vampire story. They have 193,249 members, with more joining every day. Genre news, writing contests, featured authors, random story links and giveaways abound. Vampire lovers can meet and post observations on the site, and read what others are saying about the books they read. I found this one by using DuckDuckGo and typing in "monster story fan website" Three top authors here are Rosemary Clement Moore, Kerrelyn Sparks, and Catherine Spangler. Appeal factors here would be tone and characterization. Twilighted is a great site to get people interested in reading more types of books about vampires, some humorous.
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Wednesday, June 5 Assignment 6
I am continuing to enjoy browsing around in the site Stop You're Killing Me, and have now recommended it to customers too. The overall design is clean and the advertising is unobtrusive and does not detract, annoy, or impede access to all the useful information. One thing I especially like is when you go into a specific detective's list of books (all in chronological order) there is a link to the author's personal website as well as all the other lists of titles that author has written. Very helpful. Clicking on new audio books takes you right to Amazon where you can order, read reviews, and see who is voicing it.
The Prezi link of genres and subgenres is nicely laid out. There are many more subgenres of SF than what's shown here. For a complete list, check out the book Genreflecting, unfortunately no longer owned by BCPL. Not sure if Nancy Pearl's series lists them all out, but I'm sure it's just as good. This would also be fun to show to customers. Really clever.
The three subgenres I chose are: Western--Pioneer Families/Wagons West; Horror--Monsters/Mad Creations; and Adventure--Exotic Lands.
There are many small groups celebrating the our western heritage/history in literature. One I found is http://westernauthors.com, a directory of western authors, writers, and books. They are sponsored by Amazon, and contain links to Project Gutenberg and other sites where readers can download free books in the public domain. The various western subgeneres are listed, with representative authors. Here are three for Pioneer Families/Wagons West: Elizabeth Butler, Harvey Goodman, and Juanita Holbrook Ingram. Most of the authors listed have links to their personal websites. The draw to this site is reminiscence, remembering the wild west of classic films and bygone stories. The appeal factors here are setting and tone. The site is clearly a labor of love. I found this useful homage to westerns by using the search engine www.duckduckgo.com, and typing in "western fiction" "fans of pioneer fiction."
I am continuing to enjoy browsing around in the site Stop You're Killing Me, and have now recommended it to customers too. The overall design is clean and the advertising is unobtrusive and does not detract, annoy, or impede access to all the useful information. One thing I especially like is when you go into a specific detective's list of books (all in chronological order) there is a link to the author's personal website as well as all the other lists of titles that author has written. Very helpful. Clicking on new audio books takes you right to Amazon where you can order, read reviews, and see who is voicing it.
The Prezi link of genres and subgenres is nicely laid out. There are many more subgenres of SF than what's shown here. For a complete list, check out the book Genreflecting, unfortunately no longer owned by BCPL. Not sure if Nancy Pearl's series lists them all out, but I'm sure it's just as good. This would also be fun to show to customers. Really clever.
The three subgenres I chose are: Western--Pioneer Families/Wagons West; Horror--Monsters/Mad Creations; and Adventure--Exotic Lands.
There are many small groups celebrating the our western heritage/history in literature. One I found is http://westernauthors.com, a directory of western authors, writers, and books. They are sponsored by Amazon, and contain links to Project Gutenberg and other sites where readers can download free books in the public domain. The various western subgeneres are listed, with representative authors. Here are three for Pioneer Families/Wagons West: Elizabeth Butler, Harvey Goodman, and Juanita Holbrook Ingram. Most of the authors listed have links to their personal websites. The draw to this site is reminiscence, remembering the wild west of classic films and bygone stories. The appeal factors here are setting and tone. The site is clearly a labor of love. I found this useful homage to westerns by using the search engine www.duckduckgo.com, and typing in "western fiction" "fans of pioneer fiction."
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