Week 5: Building Base Knowledge: Part II

Assignment 1:  I choose to use NPR's book page and the blog Street Fiction.  The NPR page was very heavy on literary nonfiction.  I was able to sign up for an email newsletter called NPR BookNotes.  The reviews on this website have been very helpful.  They pick books that are timely, concerning topics that are not popular with those who read literary fiction and nonfiction.  The reviews tend to be indepth and often will reference other similar books.  It gives a look at books that may not be on the bestseller lists, but are popular with people who are interested in history and literature.

Assignment 2: Towson has a very eclectic customer base.  A fair number read the bestsellers, so it helps to keep track of the current books on the list.  We also have a number of people who like the literary fiction and a few who like the nonfiction.  A fair number of people like the current business books. 
EarlyWord has a lot of best book lists that I have not looked at before.  They can be useful to make recommendations for good literary books to read.  I also had not realized that there are links to the award winning lists, like the Newbery.  The links can be used for a quick way to find those booklists.  I was surprised to see the movie tie-in lists.  They would be really useful for those people who want to read the book associated with a movie.  That information can sometimes be difficult to find.

Assignment 3:  PW's list of Most Anticipated Books of Spring 2013 has a new science fiction title called A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan.  The book is a memoir written by Isabella, Lady Trent, about her adventures on an expedition to see wild dragons.  Her world has social restrictions similar to those of Victorian England, and Isabella must overcome those obstacles to fulfill her dream of studying natural history.  Isabella's memoirs conjure up a Victorian style world inhabited by fantasy creatures which are depicted in illustrations accompanying the text.  Customers who are interested in this book may also like Naomi Novik's Temeraire series, an alternate history of the Napoleanic Wars as it might have been fought using dragons.  The book is expected to be popular with fans of fantasy alternate history stories and those who like books featuring dragons.

Week 4: Building Base Knowledge: Goodreads

I have not used Goodreads very much since I joined a few years ago.  For this assignment I added some books that I have read recently and look at the information on the Explore list.  One of the features that I did like about this process is the ability to assign a book to more than one bookshelf.  This really lets me think about the genres and subgenres that a book belongs to so that books that cross genres are grouped with similar titles.

The Goodreads Voice page had interviews with two authors I was interested in, Audrey Niffeneger and Lauren Willig.  I have read and enjoyed Willig's Pink Carnation books.  Her new book is a stand alone historical novel, The Ashford Affair.  Niffeneger's new book is actually a graphic novel called Raven Girl.  While I have not read her other books, this one appears interesting for the format and for the fantasy/fairy tale elements.  What's nice about the Goodreads Voice is the content given by the authors themselves, whether it is an interview or a list of favorite books.  

The lists provided on Goodreads are another way to get suggested titles, whether they are organized by genre, popularity or by categories on listopia.  I do find Goodread's lists somewhat confusing, however, because they are generally created by popularity on the website, instead of by a more critical review of the book.  While the lists might give a general place to start to look for titles of books to recommend, I would want to check the titles out more fully before recommending them.

I looked at Katy Troeschel's Goodread's page and saw Almost French, a memoir by Sarah Turnbull about deciding to visit Paris with a man she meets on her travels.  I recommended Paris in Love by Eloisa James, also a memoir about visiting Paris.  Paris in Love follows James and her family when they move to Paris after she has had treatment for cancer. The book is made up of entries from her Facebook page which chronicle their year.   The Facebook entries let the reader look over James' shoulder as she gets to know Paris.  The conflicts between American children and French culture, and the discoveries James makes about herself provide an entertaining story. James is a popular romance writer who is also teaches Shakespeare.  I posted this on Katy's Goodread's page and was frustrated that I could not find a way to edit what I had typed. 

I do not use social media, mainly because I'm an introverted person.  Goodreads was fun to look into, and I do think that the lists and interviews provided are useful.  I did like to see what other librarians are reading, because the patrons are likely to want those books.  I will probably try to use Goodreads to keep up with books that are popular.
 

Week 3: the Reader's Services Conversation

Assignment 3: What is the patron looking for?

Conversation 1:
         The patron enjoyed reading Eat, Pray, Love because of the author's description of her inner thoughts and the journeys she is taking:  the personal journey of self-discovery and the actual journey to the three countries she visits.  The patron found the tone of the book to be "lovely", but more than a light weight story.  She is also looking for a book club book.
          I would suggest Animal, Vegetable, Miracle as a memoir that follows the author, Barbara Kingsolver, and her family as they try to live for a year as self-sufficient on their farm.    I think that the book has an introspective nature similar to Eat, Pray, Love.  If the patron would like a  memoir involving more physical challenges and one that involves traveling, NoveList suggests Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Coast Trail by Cheryl Strayed.  The author of this memoir walks the Pacific Coast Trail after her mother's death and her own divorce, like the author of Eat, Pray, Love is dealing with her divorce.  Wild was an Oprah book club choice, so that title may work for the patron's books club.

Conversation 2:
        This customer likes vampire books, but not vampire stories like the Twilight series.  It sounds like she might like some romance that is not teen romance, and would like a faster paced book. 
         Adult vampire series include authors like Anne Rice, whose vampire books are very atmospheric but may be slower paced, and Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake vampire hunter series is  fast-paced and more erotic.  If the customer wants something lighter, but also fast-paced, then Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse mysteries might be a good recommendation.

Conversation 3:
         River of Doubt is a literary nonfiction title described by the customer as a fast-paced adventure, survival story and mystery involving Teddy Roosevelt. 
         Many of these factors are also present in The Destiny of the Republic: a Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President by the same author.   Both books are about a murder mystery in the life of a president.  If the customer likes the historical mystery facets of River of Doubt, then I would suggest The Devil in the White City: Murder, magic and madness at the fair that changed America, which is about murders during the 1893 Chicago World Columbian Exposition
        

Week Two: Appeal Factors

Bad Little Falls by Paul Doiron is a murder mystery which takes place in Washington County, Maine.  Mike Bowditch is a game warden has been assigned to this wilderness area after getting into trouble at his last posting.  Bowditch narrates the story from his darkly humorous viewpoint, telling about the people who live in this economically disadvantaged area and the hazards of facing drug dealers and frigid winters.  The severe weather and the isolation of the wilderness area hamper Bowditch's investigation, and his inexperience and impulsiveness lead him to make rash decisions. As Bowditch bumbles through the investigation, an air of menace is created by his uncertainty in who to trust and by the unforgiving weather and terrain.

The Uninvited Guests by Sadie Jones takes place at Sterne, an old English country house, in the spring of 1912.  A dinner party is being planned for the evening in honor of Emerald Torrington's 20th birthday.  The dialog and interactions between the members of Emerald's family and the small household staff reveal antagonisms and disagreements between them which add to the claustrophobic atmospere in the house.  As the birthday party is getting underway, word comes that there has been a catastrophic train wreck nearby.  The family is asked if Sterne would take some of the passengers who have been stranded.  When the passengers arrive, the atmosphere at Sterne becomes increasingly disturbing, with the family and their guests trying to keep the party going and ignoring the fugitives who have invaded Sterne.

I looked at Becky K.'s blog of the book Farishta.  I had not read this book, so I looked in Novelist and GoodReads to get two selections to recommend.