Week 9: Book Trailers and Summary

Assignment 1:

Interesting articles about Book Trailers.

 Assignment 2:

Book trailers do not work for me personally. In fact, I usually avoid them. I recently watched a trailer for a terrific new teen novel, Fat Angie. I’m glad I didn’t watch it BEFORE I read it. I already had the characters in my head, what they looked like, how they sounded, dressed, etc. I don’t want to be swayed by someone else’s idea of a book’s cast. For that, I’d watch a book’s movie adaptation.

 At most, I may watch a book trailer for a title I’ve already read to find out more about the author. Or in the case of Gary Shteyngart or Mary Roach, I’d tune in for comedy-value alone.

However….book trailers DO work for some readers.

According to the NYT article, book trailers can work, especially among teen readers. When doing a basic search for book trailers, I noticed that the vast majority were for YA titles. They seem to be an effective marketing tool for certain demographics (and maybe certain types of books). I can see them being an effective online RA tool for teen readers. Perhaps a few hot new book trailers for upcoming YA titles could be embedded on our website or promoted through our Teen Facebook page.

Assignment 3

The Teen component was most helpful to me. I read Teen novels, but I don’t actively follow sites specifically devoted to Teen lit. I also enjoyed learning about the “New Adult” phenomenon.

The various subgenre websites were interesting. I like learning about what motivates readers to gravitate toward certain genres.

I would welcome something like this that would exclusively focus on children’s books.

Week 8: Nonfiction

 Assignment 1:

The articles gave a good overview

Assignment 2:

Podcast: nice breakdown of nonfiction. I didn’t see humor listed….humor is also very popular area in the Nonfiction Collection.

 Assignment 3:

·         Travel (900s): Paris I Love You but You’re Bringing Me Down by Rosecrans Baldwin

·         Food (600s): Naked Pint: An Unadulterated Guide to Craft Beer by Christina Perozzi

·         Crime (300s): Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective by Kate Summer Scale

·         Medical (600s): Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry : Jon Ronson

 

Assignment 4:

Book Talk for Naked Pint:

Naked Pint is not just for “beer geeks.” It’s for anyone who has anywhere from a casual to obsessive interest in craft beer. Many other “beer books” take themselves way too seriously and are really just a boring list of different beer types. Naked Pint is like hanging out with your friends, having fun tasting different types of beer.  I’d recommend it to readers looking for a light, humorous read and extra bonus: you’ll become much smarter about beer in the process.

Excellent for readers looking for a fun travel/beach read.

Reasoning: it’s highly readable, entertaining and informative.

 

Book Talk for Suspicions of Mr. Whicher:

Suspicions of Mr. Whicher is pretty much like reading a page-turning historical mystery….except it’s all TRUE. At the heart of the story is the mystery of the Road Hill Mystery of 1860. It was a heinous crime, involving the murder of the child and up until the very end, you’re kept guessing on who might have killed the child. This crime took place right around the time when Scotland Yard was created, so you get the history of Scotland Yard and the public’s view of the Yard. Some saw them as “working class lads who did well.” Others saw them as “glorified rogues.” This case completely absorbed the public and went on to inspire detective fiction and so called sensation novels—what we would call mysteries.

 

Highly appealing to true crime readers who enjoy historical true crime but also major appeal for mystery readers and people who like “books about books.”

Reasoning: The subject matter and pacing would appeal to many mystery and historical fiction readers. I’ve known many readers who almost never read nonfiction but love this book.

Week 7

Week 7: Assignment 1:

Cool visual breakdown of various dystopian subgenres.

Week 7: Assignment 2:

New Adult: Needless Marketing-Speak Or Valued Subgenre? Publisher’s Weekly, Dec 14, 2012

So, “New Adult” is a new subgenre in YA fiction or just a marketing ploy (depending who you ask). Regardless it certainly has major appeal for many readers. The Goodreads New Adult Fiction group is up to over 2500 members! When scanning through titles labeled as “new adult” in Goodreads, I noticed most of them have fairly spicy covers. I wonder if significant sexual content is one of the primary qualifiers. It will be interesting to see how this new subgenre plays out.

Who's buying teen books? Lots and lots of adults

http://www.csmonitor.com/Books/chapter-and-verse/2012/0914/Who-s-buying-teen-books-Lots-and-lots-of-adults

This article referenced the study that showed 55% of YA novels are being read by readers who are over 18. This article goes on to cite “gateway” YA novels for many adults, such as Hunger Games, Harry Potter or Twilight. For me, the Harry Potter series revealed the magic of children’s literature again. I didn’t get around to YA books until much later when someone convinced me to try Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. That was it for me.  I’ve been reading YA ever since.

I commented on the blogs of Maureen R. and Sandy L.

Week 7: Assignment 3

John Green’s Tumblr:

http://fishingboatproceeds.tumblr.com/

 I followed John Green’s Tumblr. John Green is the author; his readers (and general public) are the audience. Yes, it’s successful. It seems to be pretty rare that an author can have such a fervent following online. He’s been a major success in YA fiction for years, has a separate web presence that is not just about marketing his books. He is genuinely passionate about what he does. I like what he says about why he writes YA fiction:

“Writing novels takes a long time, and it’s completely impossible for me to do it unless I feel like the thing I’m working on is going to be helpful to people. Maybe to my discredit as a writer, I like to make stuff that is useful more than I like to make stuff that is beautiful. In short, I write because I share DFW’s belief that books can actually make human life better. For me, at least for the conceivable future, that means writing YA novels.”

 

Forever Young

http://foreveryoungadult.com/about

 I also followed the Forever Young blog. Forever Young is part of the Badass Digest blog, a site devoted to “all the things movie lovers love.” I particularly enjoyed the content here. As the Forever Young blog states, it’s for “readers who are a little less Y and a bit more A.” This site does a good job of incorporating book and movie reviews with lighter fare – e.g. internet distractions and drinking games. Forever Young seems to be pretty successful, lots of interaction in the comments and “shares” on Facebook.

 

Week 7: Assignment 4

Looking at trends in the teen sites was interesting. There are many common elements out there, namely DYSTOPIAS and riffs on fairy tales. Also, angels seem to be a hot topic right now. Hmm.

Harper Teen Trends:

·         Greek mythology

·         Dystopias

·         Paranormal fiction

 

Teens/Penguin Young Readers Trends

·         Dystopias

·         Vampires

·         Fantastical creatures: angels, fairies

 

Teens at Random Trends:

·         Dystopias

·         Stories related to fairy tales, folklore

·         Paranormal fiction

·         Historical fiction

 

Week 6: Building Base Knowledge - Genres

Week 6: Assignment 1

I followed the Street Fiction site. It tends to work better as a general resource, rather than a blog. Favorite features: lists of urban books categorized by place (yes, Baltimore is a prime location for urban fiction) and categories (pimps, motorcycles, hip-hop).

Week 6: Assignment 2

Enjoyed exploring the Genre/Subgenre chart.

Week 6: Assignment 3

Three subgenre sites are listed below. I found them by doing basic google searches. I was specifically looking for sites that are regularly updated and incorporate user-generated content.

1) Chick Lit Books
http://chicklitbooks.com/

Buzz among fans: this site has a tag cloud, so it made a nice way to find popular topics, such as City Girl Lit, Humor, Working Girl Lit and Set in NYC.

• Three authors:  Sophie Kinsella, Jill Mansell and Holly Chamberlin
• Appeal Factors: Light in tone, personal stories, may be humorous.

2) Cozy Mysteries

http://www.cozy-mystery.com/

Buzz among fans: one of the most popular parts of this blog is the Recommendations. Each month, readers share cozies they loved that month. There’s also a nice TV/Movie section, listing cozy adaptations like The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency and A Touch of Frost.

• Three authors: Susan Wittig Albert, Joanne Fluke, M.C. Beaton
• Appeal Factors: setting often important—often take place in small village, lack of violent or sexual content.
  

3) Christian Fiction Reviews

http://www.christianfictionbookreviews.org/

This site is devoted to Christian Fiction, I focused on the Christian Romance content.

Buzz among fans: There are current reviews but this site also has a “deal of the day” feature, linking to Christian fiction titles that are free or very affordable through Amazon.

• Three authors: Lynn Austin, DiAnn Mills, Laura V. Hilton.
• Appeal Factors: focus on romance and relationships rather than sex, may also issues of faith, as experienced by the characters.

Two mash-ups of subgenres:

1) Traditional Western + Epic Fantasy:  A recent favorite was Red Country by Joe Abercrombie. It contains many elements of a traditional western (ghost town, historical detail, gold rush) + epic fantasy elements (imagined history, several different characters, SWORDS!).

2) Traditional Western +Paranormal Horror: Blake’s Crouch Abandon is another example of subgenre mash-up. It has the Traditional Western elements (Western outpost town, set toward the end of the Gold Rush, clearly defined “bad” and “good” characters (even has the required prostitute with a “heart of gold”) PLUS ghosts and other paranormal activity. In this case, the mash-up works particularly well because it flips back and forth from the 1870s to present day, where ghost hunters are able to pick up on the paranormal activity in this abandoned frontier town.

Week 5: Building Base Knowledge

Week 5: Assignment 1

I chose to follow Daily Beast and Street Fiction:

Daily Beast: The Daily Beast is a good source for book news. I also noticed this site included reviews from titles I had not seen in other sources. Favorite content: The Book Bag--every week authors pick their favorite books.

Street Fiction: The site’s overall content is updated on a fairly regular basis. However, the layout is not set up for easy browsing. I had to set up the RSS feature to get regular updates. It’s not clear where the new content is being placed. I learned about urban fiction, nonfiction and some teen titles. Many of the titles reviewed are older titles. Favorite content: nonfiction titles focusing on hip-hop and teen urban series features: So For Real, Fab Life and Kimani Tru.

Week 5: Assignment 2

I use Early Word on a regular basis. I particularly like that the site includes media appearances by authors. It’s helpful when I get a customer who says, “I just heard about this book on The Today Show.” I will continue to use Early Word. I had not really explored the “Coming Soon” section. I’ll check this out also.

Week 5: Assignment 3

From Flavorpill’s 30 Most Anticipated Books of 2013:

Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald: Therese Anne Fowler – Z is Therese Anne Fowler’s fictionalized autobiography of Zelda Fitzgerald. Zelda Fitzgerald had somewhat been written off in popular history as the “insane wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald.” But Zelda was a fascinating woman and accomplished artist in her own right. Fowler has offered up a fully formed character in her Zelda; it’s easy to forget this is fiction. Fowler’s primary gift is character but she’s also an incredible storyteller and knows how to give readers a sense of place and time, without bogging down the story with unnecessary period details.

This title is expected to be popular because it’s getting excellent reviews in nearly every major review source, there’s a renewed interest in the Fitzgeralds, Hemingway and Paris in the 1920s. The Gatsby movie will also add to this title’s buzz.

Goodreads

Goodreads Impressions:
I've used Goodreads for several years now. It's a great tool for keeping track of what I've read and learning what others are reading. I will sometimes use it to pick up recommendations. I'm also a big fan of the listopia feature. I use this feature on a regular basis in RA exchanges.

Other cool things about Goodreads:

• Having discussions with friends and colleagues about books
• Following the reading tastes of complete strangers because their likes are so similar to mine – great way to decide what to read next!
• “Friending” favorite authors
• Creating short reviews for books I particularly love (or hate)
• Recommending books to friends/colleagues

Recommendation sent to Laura George in Goodreads:
Since you liked Time to Kill, you may also like Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin. Like Grisham, Franklin does an excellent job with sense of place. The Southern dialogue and characters are pitch-perfect. Also like Time to Kill, Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter works exceedingly well as a thriller. Franklin does a great job with pacing and maintains suspense throughout.

Week 3: Reader Services Conversation

Conversation 1

I noticed that this customer read Eat Pray Love "because everyone was reading it." She also read all the Oprah books. She likes to read what’s popular. She also likes hear a narrator's inner thoughts; I'd recommend Wild by Cheryl Strayed. It features a main character in an unusual setting and features a reflective and funny tone. It’s also extremely popular, another book that “everyone is reading.” I’d add that if she likes Wild, she may want to also try Strayed’s Tiny Beautiful Things, also very humorous and reflective.

Conversation 2

First, I’d ask if she’s already read Anne Rice. Her Vampire Series are grittier and not really written for the teen market. They’re classics but still highly readable. I’d also recommend The Passage by Justin Cronin, a fairly recent vampire book with story with more complexity and depth.

Conversation 3

The customer is asking for fast-paced nonfiction. I’m picking up on the fact that she seems to like to read about people in extreme circumstances.  Two titles come to mind, fitting this description: The Lost City of Z by David Gran and Jungleland by Christopher Stewart . Also, since she liked Candice Millard, I’d suggest she also try The Republic of Destiny, another fascinating nonfiction title (which also happens to feature a U.S. President).