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).