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."
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Wednesday, May 22
Week 5 Assignment 2
Customers at Parkville seem to like mysteries, SF, Amish fiction, chick lit, urban fiction, some bestsellers and book club material, and blockbuster authors. They enjoy leafing through the Hot Titles binder and placing holds on upcoming new fiction. They sometimes want to read a book before the movie comes out, if the movie has been getting good publicity. EarlyWord really helps out here, especially if the book carries a different title than the movie. This valuable site has great resources to use with customers who are interested in titles that are trending now. There are awards lists, links to publishers' catalogs, publishing news, best books of the past year, movie trailers, watch lists, and categories of books for all ages. The section that I would use again is the very comprehensive Non-Fiction read-alikes, for those customers who choose to read NF and want suggestions. The site is superlative. It goes without saying, since it's edited by a former BCPL'er. (smile)
Week 5 Assignment 3
I selected The Yonahlossee Riding Club for Girls from the PW link from the right-hand nav Coming Soon Season Previews because it was vetted by Curtis Sittenfeld and I enjoyed his novel Prep, a coming-of-age story about girls an an exclusive preparatory high school. This new one is set in the 1930's south, however, not present day but deals with girls in trouble, teen angst, and what goes on in these private girls' schools behind the ivy-covered brick walls. This would be an emotion book, and not expected to be fast-moving. It should be popular with teens and fans of historical chick lit, readers who enjoy books about school life. The appeal factors would be the campus setting, tone, and characterization. Readers would also like The Catcher in the Rye, Disobedience, The Life All Around Me, Old School, and Bill Warrington's Last Chance.
Week 5 Assignment 2
Customers at Parkville seem to like mysteries, SF, Amish fiction, chick lit, urban fiction, some bestsellers and book club material, and blockbuster authors. They enjoy leafing through the Hot Titles binder and placing holds on upcoming new fiction. They sometimes want to read a book before the movie comes out, if the movie has been getting good publicity. EarlyWord really helps out here, especially if the book carries a different title than the movie. This valuable site has great resources to use with customers who are interested in titles that are trending now. There are awards lists, links to publishers' catalogs, publishing news, best books of the past year, movie trailers, watch lists, and categories of books for all ages. The section that I would use again is the very comprehensive Non-Fiction read-alikes, for those customers who choose to read NF and want suggestions. The site is superlative. It goes without saying, since it's edited by a former BCPL'er. (smile)
Week 5 Assignment 3
I selected The Yonahlossee Riding Club for Girls from the PW link from the right-hand nav Coming Soon Season Previews because it was vetted by Curtis Sittenfeld and I enjoyed his novel Prep, a coming-of-age story about girls an an exclusive preparatory high school. This new one is set in the 1930's south, however, not present day but deals with girls in trouble, teen angst, and what goes on in these private girls' schools behind the ivy-covered brick walls. This would be an emotion book, and not expected to be fast-moving. It should be popular with teens and fans of historical chick lit, readers who enjoy books about school life. The appeal factors would be the campus setting, tone, and characterization. Readers would also like The Catcher in the Rye, Disobedience, The Life All Around Me, Old School, and Bill Warrington's Last Chance.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Tuesday, May 21
Week 5 Assignment 1
I have been following the resource http://www.stopyourekillingme.com because I want to know more about all the different sub-genres of mysteries, this not being a category that I explore much. Tons of work went into this site. In the left-hand navigation pane, users can find lots of special indexes where they can access books by character name, profession, ethnicity, historical period, and type of mystery. Readers can specialize in cozy mysteries in which the detective is a librarian. There are 4100 authors of mystery, crime, thriller, spy, and suspense books; mystery readers can spend all day here finding great leads on books to read, and they can subscribe to a twice-monthly newsletter of forthcoming books. Not necessarily the prettiest site, but hardcore fans will overlook this in favor of the many links to all the well-organized lists of information. This site would be great fun to use with a computer-savvy customer who is looking for new authors, or with someone who remembers the name of a certain detective and wants to know what books they appear in. More than anyone would ever want to know about the genre!
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Wednesday, May 15
Today I had great fun exploring Goodreads. The site is very easy to navigate through, and I wasted no time adding 21 of my favorite books, rating them all and reviewing a few. On Listopia I searched for books about characters who juggle, and found a list with one book on it. I added another to it, and marked the original one as "to be read." Then, I put the Goodreads RSS feed on the front page of my feed aggregator, Netvibes, so I can see what is trending right away when I log onto my list of feeds every day. 14 new stories trended today. (Note to Goodreads Webmaster: put the general RSS icon prominently on the first page so those inclined can find it quickly and add the stream to our feed reader of choice....) Then I added some friends from Gmail and made some recommendations.
The suggestions of titles in the genres I checked off were accurate, especially in the ones where the setting was prominent. Many books appeared in more than one genre.
Since our PAC links to Goodreads I have always been curious about it and have explored it before, but never signed up, preferring to use The Library Thing www.librarything.com instead.
Today I had great fun exploring Goodreads. The site is very easy to navigate through, and I wasted no time adding 21 of my favorite books, rating them all and reviewing a few. On Listopia I searched for books about characters who juggle, and found a list with one book on it. I added another to it, and marked the original one as "to be read." Then, I put the Goodreads RSS feed on the front page of my feed aggregator, Netvibes, so I can see what is trending right away when I log onto my list of feeds every day. 14 new stories trended today. (Note to Goodreads Webmaster: put the general RSS icon prominently on the first page so those inclined can find it quickly and add the stream to our feed reader of choice....) Then I added some friends from Gmail and made some recommendations.
The suggestions of titles in the genres I checked off were accurate, especially in the ones where the setting was prominent. Many books appeared in more than one genre.
Since our PAC links to Goodreads I have always been curious about it and have explored it before, but never signed up, preferring to use The Library Thing www.librarything.com instead.
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Saturday, May 11
The most important thing that I learned from the "Conversations" assignment with the three customer requests was that you can search Novelist for appeal factors. This was new to me. If readers reveal appeal factors in the books they prefer, or even just mention a title they liked, we can search by these factors and find just the right book for the right mood, every time. No more searching your brain for the one title you think is appropriate, but actually may not be.
Conversation 1
The customer chose Eat Play Love because it was popular, but ended up liking it for the location and the reflective tone. She revealed that she liked the Oprah books too, most likely for their tone as well. I would recommend Three Cups of Tea for its impassioned and thought-provoking tone, even though it is not a novel. Another one that comes pretty close to fulfilling what the customer wants would be Tales of a Female Nomad, an author's journey across the globe in search of her personal identity in the wake of a failed marriage and her peripatetic lifestyle in the fifteen years that followed.
Conversation 2
In this scenario, the customer is very sure of what she doesn't like in a vampire story. With the help of the Boolean appeal factors search in Novelist, I would suggest several humorous ones as well as poignant ones that are not for teens and are devoid of romance. A fast-paced, funny and steamy novel, Undead and Unemployed features Betsy Taylor, the new Queen of the Vampires, who gets a job selling designer footwear at Macy's while trying to catch a vicious vampire slayer with the help of a gorgeous ally. For a more contemplative mood, suggest Fledgeling, a story of a young, amnesiac girl whose un-human needs and abilities lead her to a startling conclusion: she is in fact a genetically modified, 53-year-old vampire. Forced to discover what she can about her stolen former life, she must also learn who wants to destroy her and how she can save herself.
Conversation 3
This customer wants a true story, historical, fast-paced, perhaps a story about wilderness survival, with or without a president but maybe someone famous. Lots of accounts of the Shackleton expedition came to mind, but after some digging I also found Panama Fever, the epic history of one of the greatest engineering triumphs of all time: the building of the Panama Canal. This book describs the human cost in terms of the harsh working conditions and epidemics, and the resulting medical breakthroughs that would transform medicine. The canal, commissioned by Teddy Roosevelt (the subject of the customer's last book read) is the main character in this well-researched and satisfying account of imperial vision and social inequity.
The most important thing that I learned from the "Conversations" assignment with the three customer requests was that you can search Novelist for appeal factors. This was new to me. If readers reveal appeal factors in the books they prefer, or even just mention a title they liked, we can search by these factors and find just the right book for the right mood, every time. No more searching your brain for the one title you think is appropriate, but actually may not be.
Conversation 1
The customer chose Eat Play Love because it was popular, but ended up liking it for the location and the reflective tone. She revealed that she liked the Oprah books too, most likely for their tone as well. I would recommend Three Cups of Tea for its impassioned and thought-provoking tone, even though it is not a novel. Another one that comes pretty close to fulfilling what the customer wants would be Tales of a Female Nomad, an author's journey across the globe in search of her personal identity in the wake of a failed marriage and her peripatetic lifestyle in the fifteen years that followed.
Conversation 2
In this scenario, the customer is very sure of what she doesn't like in a vampire story. With the help of the Boolean appeal factors search in Novelist, I would suggest several humorous ones as well as poignant ones that are not for teens and are devoid of romance. A fast-paced, funny and steamy novel, Undead and Unemployed features Betsy Taylor, the new Queen of the Vampires, who gets a job selling designer footwear at Macy's while trying to catch a vicious vampire slayer with the help of a gorgeous ally. For a more contemplative mood, suggest Fledgeling, a story of a young, amnesiac girl whose un-human needs and abilities lead her to a startling conclusion: she is in fact a genetically modified, 53-year-old vampire. Forced to discover what she can about her stolen former life, she must also learn who wants to destroy her and how she can save herself.
Conversation 3
This customer wants a true story, historical, fast-paced, perhaps a story about wilderness survival, with or without a president but maybe someone famous. Lots of accounts of the Shackleton expedition came to mind, but after some digging I also found Panama Fever, the epic history of one of the greatest engineering triumphs of all time: the building of the Panama Canal. This book describs the human cost in terms of the harsh working conditions and epidemics, and the resulting medical breakthroughs that would transform medicine. The canal, commissioned by Teddy Roosevelt (the subject of the customer's last book read) is the main character in this well-researched and satisfying account of imperial vision and social inequity.
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Tuesday, May 7
Applying Wyatt's principles again, here is a book where the setting is actually a character in this huge family saga. It is Rutherfurd's expansive history of a great city, his novel, New York. I chose this one for three appeal factors, the setting, the impressive historic detail, and for learning/experiencing the storied history of Manhattan. His latest, Paris, is on our new book shelves.
I will be recommending Elle Newmark's The Sandalwood Tree, and Lisa Scottoline's Don't Go to fellow bookish staffers tomorrow.
Applying Wyatt's principles again, here is a book where the setting is actually a character in this huge family saga. It is Rutherfurd's expansive history of a great city, his novel, New York. I chose this one for three appeal factors, the setting, the impressive historic detail, and for learning/experiencing the storied history of Manhattan. His latest, Paris, is on our new book shelves.
I will be recommending Elle Newmark's The Sandalwood Tree, and Lisa Scottoline's Don't Go to fellow bookish staffers tomorrow.
Monday, May 6, 2013
Monday, May 6
Great article on Neal Wyatt's appeal factors--Madison Avenue admen should check this out, because this is how everything, not just novels, finds its customer. I recently chose Lisa Scottoline's newest, Don't Go, to indulge because it's heavy on the emotion appeal factor, and all her fans know this before they even crack it open. When you read her you know that you will get complex yet predictable characterization, a quick pace, an ethical/moral storyline, and an ultimately satisfying ending. She never disappoints. Reading her books is like eating a whole bag of Utz Kettle Classics potato chips; you just can't stop after one chapter. And sometimes there could be tears.
Great article on Neal Wyatt's appeal factors--Madison Avenue admen should check this out, because this is how everything, not just novels, finds its customer. I recently chose Lisa Scottoline's newest, Don't Go, to indulge because it's heavy on the emotion appeal factor, and all her fans know this before they even crack it open. When you read her you know that you will get complex yet predictable characterization, a quick pace, an ethical/moral storyline, and an ultimately satisfying ending. She never disappoints. Reading her books is like eating a whole bag of Utz Kettle Classics potato chips; you just can't stop after one chapter. And sometimes there could be tears.
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Tuesday, April 23
Whoa. The Sporcle quiz was great fun, even though I only got 16 of the 24. Wonder how they managed to choose those specific titles.....What I like about looking through these recommended sites is that you come to think about Readers Services in a different way, realizing that for some, covers really do matter, and selecting non-representative artwork will confuse and deter an otherwise eager reader from trying the book.
I will be checking out NPR-Books, and Stop You're Killing Me from the Mystery genre, since this is one that I am not strong in--hope to get some unfamiliar authors to suggest. I chose NPR-Books because I listen regularly, and enjoy the booktalks and other book-related items they broadcast.
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