week 4 catch-up

I wanted to be active on Goodreads for a while before publishing my thoughts on it. I love Goodreads and wish I had more time for keeping it updated and organizing titles into lists. I love that you can snap a pic of the book's upc to add it to a shelf.

I recommended "The Wishing Spell" on Paula's goodreads page because she reads a lot of children's books and this was a current one that I enjoyed (and wasn't already reviewed by her-she has thousands of titles listed!). This one is a modern fairy tale with a good sense of humor.

For Megan Skinner I recommended "The Silver Star". Because she like Jeannette Walls biography so much, I though she might enjoy her latest fiction foray with Walls' trademark dark humor and offbeat characterizations.

Week 9 assignment 2

I haven't viewed any book trailors prior to this assignment and am not sufficiently wowed by any I've seen since to seek them out on my own. Perhaps if there was a title I was really looking forward to and desired any information on it I could get I would search for one.

From a readers' advisory standpoint, they could be helpful for getting the tone of a book and who might enjoy it. Perhaps I'll watch ones for books I don't personally want to read but could recommend to other readers.

Week 8 Assignment 4

The disaster diaries : how I learned to stop worrying and love the apocalypse
This is a book I would recommend to fans of apocalyptic sci-fi and tales of rugged adventure (and anyone who watches "Doomsday Preppers"). In this engaging non-fiction read, Sam Sheridan begins his chapters with a hypothetical disaster situation such as zombies or gangs of looters and how one might extradite himself from the situation safely. The situations are thrilling and the advice is surprisingly informative.  I never new how important dental hygiene was to survival and now I know how to pull a 180 in my car should the need arise :)

Spiced : a pastry chef's true stories of trials by fire, after-hours exploits, and what really goes on in the kitchen would be an entertaining and informative read for anyone who enjoys browsing the cookbooks and has always wondered if they could hack it in the food industry. This eye-opening raucous read removes the romance of restaurant work and offers insight to what it's really like behind those swinging restaurant doors.

Week 8 Assignment 3 Nonfiction Genres

Food: These are typically found near the cookbooks in the 641s. Some are listed in bios if they center around a main chef or food writer.
Heat : an amateur's adventures as kitchen slave, line cook, pasta maker, and apprentice to a Dante-quoting butcher in Tuscany or
Spiced : a pastry chef's true stories of trials by fire, after-hours exploits, and what really goes on in the kitchen by Dalia Jurgersen

Travel: The nonfiction narratives are located in the 910-919s, interfiled with other travel books by region.
Eat, pray, love : one woman's search for everything across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert is a popular title among this genre that has attracted readers of women's fiction

Disaster/survival: These can be located in 2 main DDC spots. Most are in the 613s, the call number for personal health and safety, but some are in 796s for outdoor recreation. Here are books published by Field and Stream and focusing on how to make it in the great outdoors.
The disaster diaries : how I learned to stop worrying and love the apocalypse by Sam Sheridan is both entertaining and informative

Crime: True crime stories may be found in 364.1523, the call number is under social sciences and criminology. Ann Rule is a prolific author who dominates this category, but other stories like
The devil in the white city : murder, magic, and madness at the fair that changed America tell "I can't believe it's true" stories of crime

I wish they would have talked about more narrative nonfiction in the children's section as there are so many great examples of these wonderful teaching tools like "Sir Cumference and all the King's Tens" in various dewey areas.

Week 7 assignment 4 Teen Trends

From teen book publishers I'm seeing lots of extra material for fans through facebook and websites. Matched offers a party kit to throw a theme party based on the popular series, and there are quizzes to see who you would be matched with.  I loved the finishing school site for Etiquette and Espionage, a humorous tumblr with tips for genteel dress and weaponry.

For reading trends, there are still lots of dystopian reads with modern superheroes dressed like everyday people (only way cooler). Themes seem darker with the protagonist often struggling against the society they belong to.

Week 7 assignment 3

I followed the Someday my Printz Will Come blog from School Library Journal. I really liked this blog and am disappointed that it hasn't been updated in a while, perhaps it's more seasonal like some of their other blogs. The most recent post detailed how they currently find new books to review and ask for recommendations for better methods of discovery. Reviews, ARCs, goodreads and bookstores provide are their current sources but these methods are frustrating because books can easily fall through the cracks and there's no way they can read reviews for every book that's out.

The intended audience for this blog is library professionals that serve teen readers. Each post has anywhere from 11 to 30 comments, the most popular was one where the writer live-blogged while watching the teen book awards.

The second site I ventured to was http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/ but I immediately closed it out because I haven't read her books yet and wanted to avoid spoilers!

The author Shannon Hale's site gave less content away and I was happy to browse her personable blog. She offers frequent updates and her latest post informed readers of her books and projects for the next 2 years. She also give an insider view and pictures of conferences that she's attended. Seems very popular with hundreds of facebook likes for each post. Her blog is geared more towards the readers of her books.

another page for good recommendations is from Yalsa on the ala site

Week 7, Assignment 2

Jennifer Rummel describes the Next Big Thing being adults reading teen books. She included studies that proved adults are usually the ones purchasing these titles, often for themselves and listed 10 reasons why young adult books are so appealing to adults. Nostalgia and the popularity of titles like Harry Potter and The Hunger Games with their movie tie-ins make YA books irresistible. She suggests teen books to adults looking for something great and new in their favorite genre or to complement their tastes in television.

The second article I read was Publisher's Weekly take on a a new genre some publishers are pushing called New Adult. Here, the focus is on the "post-YA reader" who's just out of her teens and is looking for a read that deals with issues eighteen to twenty-somethings experience. While I don't see BCPL adopting a "New Adult" shelf, it's an important category to be familiar with. Also, it's worthwhile for the publishers to promote these books to potential readers to let them know it's available. This distinction informs the customer that these books are too mature for teen readers and will appeal to those looking for themes they're familiar with, in a voice similar to their own.

I posted comments on P Deany and J Hartzell's blogs

Week 6 assignment 3: Subgenres

Culinary Mysteries: Stories of delicious food and murder! These cozy mysteries often include recipes that tie in to the story and are often solved by amateur sleuths with ties to the food industry (caterers, bakers and the like). Expect graphic details about the meals, not the murders in these gossipy tomes

http://www.mysteryloverskitchen.com/ is a website that ties recipes and books together run by food-savvy mystery writers. Most of the recipes are comfort food favorites and decadent treats, lots of cupcakes even a savory lasagna one, while health foods are largely ignored.

Popular Authors: Joanne Fluke, Peter King, Diane Mott Davidson

Urban Fiction Hip Hop: Often fast-paced and character-driven, these books also rely on an urban setting to set the atmosphere. Usually centered around rappers, video vixens, or others in the hip hop music industry
http://www.streetfiction.org/ offers reviews of new releases and allows you to search by category or topic such as "family" or "pimps". There's a lot of crossover books mentioned to appeal to teens or fans of paranormal stories in addition to more serious topics such as suicide, gangs and homelessness

Popular Authors: Wahida Clark, Noire, Zane


Beach Reads: These can be fast-paced and action-packed or leisurely paced books that are typically lighter reads that aren't too complex to get into.

http://booksforthebeach.blogspot.com/ seems historical fiction is still a popular beach-reading genre along with the usual chick-lit and anything else that engrosses the reader into the book's plot.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/beach-reads is Huff post's compilation of all their beach reading lists from dark thrillers to lighter page-turners

Popular Authors: Janet Evanovich, James Patterson, Nora Roberts

Mashups: The cursed blends paranormal romance with fast-paced action in the battle of good vs. evil

11 22 63 by Stephen King is a mash-up thriller that is in the alternate history subgenre of science fiction as a man travels back in time to prevent Kennedy's assassination. The rich details of true events make it read like a historical fiction and the race against time makes this a thrilling read
                           

A good site to find book bloggers is:
http://bookbloggerdirectory.wordpress.com/fiction-blogs/paranormal-romance-urban-fantasy/pnruf-book-blogs-n-z/

and for crime genre suggestions, check out:
http://www.historyofthemystery.com/index.php?page=30

Week 6 Assignment 2

I like the prezi chart, it explained the appeal of some popular authors whose work I've seen but am not as familiar with. I also get a kick out of all the romance subgenres and their descriptions.

Week 6 Assignment 1

As I mentioned earlier, I really enjoy Earlyword and all their links and lists. I've been a little under-whelmed with the sci-fi sites, especially http://www.sfsite.com/ The page isn't updated frequently enough for me and the content is very limited. Many of their links to blogs are no longer valid. This has made me realize I like sites with splashy feeds to give me quick glimpses of information and entertain me too. Hearing so much about http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/ from everyone else's blogs makes me want to check it out.