I love every opportunity that will help me be a better librarian. There were topics that we worked on where I knew some of the information, but I don't think there was a topic where I knew everything that you had to offer. I figure that you can always know more about a subject. I very much like any addition resources that will help me keep apprised of what books are coming soon and what customers are digging at the moment (did you catch the SRC reverence there?).
I tried to challenge myself by looking into books or website options that I hadn't read or been aware of before. I think this helped me to get to know additional resources that are available to me. I think that Be More Bookish is great, but if I were to offer one suggestion it would be that there are additional tasks to do throughout the year when something pops up that BCPL believes librarians should be aware of. For example if there is a new website that comes out or tech issue that is springing to the surface then an additional task be created to let librarians know and work with this additional resource.
Thank you for the training. I have enjoyed it.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Book Trailers
I agree with the Chicago Tribune article when Sloan says "What I would totally watch, would be somebody kind of famous — like an actor or a musician or just somebody really smart who I could recognize — looking into the camera and recommending a book. Or if there's some great nonfiction book coming out in the fall, and it was a video of some statesman or politician or a media personality saying, 'I just read this book, it was awesome, here's why you need to check it out.' That's really compelling." I think that it would be awesome if celebrities used their persuasion in this way. Can you imagine if the Jolie Pitt family did book trailers advertising the book their kids love or the books their reading right now.
I found this quote appalling Mr. Jacobs submitted a head shot and the publisher passed. “I thought, ‘What? I’m not even good-looking enough to be an author?’ ” from the New York Times article. frequently customers seem to remember the title of a book, but not the author and it's interesting that the author is getting more focus. I don't think of authors as a group of people out to get recognized. I guess it's the age we live in that the more formats and styles you can use to reach people the better the odds of success.
I watched several book trailers among them;
- Starters
- Maze Runner - I had read this book and the book trailer didn't really seem to match up, but that could be what the article was talking about with our imaginations. We are very clear in our minds of what we see when reading a book so perhaps we don't need too many visuals in the book trailers.
- Super Sad True Love Story - the article talked about this one getting so many views because James Franco was in it and hey the more views the better. Who knows maybe some people went on to see James Franco and then decided they wanted the book, however the trailer didn't really even give any info on the actual book.
- Fallen
- Matched - This one seemed good, but I don't think it gave quite enough information. I liked how it was done though. I had read part of this book and I thought the trailer matched pretty well, but it didn't really give enough information about what the plot was.
I like book trailers. I think that some people are more drawn to visual representations than written descriptions. I think that book trailers can be used where sometimes written blurbs may not. It would be nice to have book trailers playing periodically in waiting rooms and possibly running in homeroom before the bell rings or silently streaming monitors in the library. I think that book trailers have a place, but have to be set up properly. They have to eye catching, but hold true to the book. They have to show what the book is about without giving everything away or interfering with the potential reader's imagination.
I found this quote appalling Mr. Jacobs submitted a head shot and the publisher passed. “I thought, ‘What? I’m not even good-looking enough to be an author?’ ” from the New York Times article. frequently customers seem to remember the title of a book, but not the author and it's interesting that the author is getting more focus. I don't think of authors as a group of people out to get recognized. I guess it's the age we live in that the more formats and styles you can use to reach people the better the odds of success.
I watched several book trailers among them;
- Starters
- Maze Runner - I had read this book and the book trailer didn't really seem to match up, but that could be what the article was talking about with our imaginations. We are very clear in our minds of what we see when reading a book so perhaps we don't need too many visuals in the book trailers.
- Super Sad True Love Story - the article talked about this one getting so many views because James Franco was in it and hey the more views the better. Who knows maybe some people went on to see James Franco and then decided they wanted the book, however the trailer didn't really even give any info on the actual book.
- Fallen
- Matched - This one seemed good, but I don't think it gave quite enough information. I liked how it was done though. I had read part of this book and I thought the trailer matched pretty well, but it didn't really give enough information about what the plot was.
I like book trailers. I think that some people are more drawn to visual representations than written descriptions. I think that book trailers can be used where sometimes written blurbs may not. It would be nice to have book trailers playing periodically in waiting rooms and possibly running in homeroom before the bell rings or silently streaming monitors in the library. I think that book trailers have a place, but have to be set up properly. They have to eye catching, but hold true to the book. They have to show what the book is about without giving everything away or interfering with the potential reader's imagination.
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Nonfiction
Reading Nonfiction for Pleasure - I liked the idea for displays in this article. I think it's a great idea to combine fiction and nonfiction as well as many different formats because if someone is browsing because they like the subject they may be inclined to pick something else up that they never knew they wanted.
Boarderlands - I like the idea of attracting attention to one or the other (fiction or nonfiction) by pairing them appropriately. I also liked the title and author suggestions that were given.
E-Learning video - I thought this video was informative and I liked that he emphasized going back and forth between fiction and non-fiction for readers advisory.
Biography - Into the wild was in the biography section under McCandless. This book turned movie is written by John Krakauer who details the transformation of Christopher Johnson McCandless. Christopher came from a well off family and decided to travel to Alaska giving away all of his savings and burning what money he had in his wallet he hiked into the Alaskan wilderness to become closer to nature. The transformation and quest led to his untimely death. This story was so fascinating that it was turned into a movie by Paramount Vantage and Art Linson Productions.
Sports - Born to Run is written by Christopher McDougall and is located at 796.42 under the genre of sports. This book is McDougall's account of trying to locate a tribe of phenomenal distance runner to find out their secret to health and physical achievement. He was not only able to uncover some of their secrets, but was able to work toward meeting his own physical peak.
Medical - The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is under the health genre and it's Dewey number is 616.027S. This is a book written about a woman from this area whose cells were harvested without her knowledge for the advancement of medicine. The author Rebecca Skloot spent a lot of time researching this book and getting to know and becoming close to the family of Henrietta, giving her a unique perspective on this story.
I would recommend this book to people who like fiction that takes place in the area of the world as well as to those who are interested in medical related books such as Outbreak by Robin Cook or A Case of Need by Michael Crichton. There are also legal aspects to this book regarding the legality of using someone's cells without their permission and what right the family has to these cells and the profits from them. Regarding this aspect I may suggest this book to someone who liked something like Irreparable Harm by Randy Singer.
History - Bomb by Steve Sheinkin is located in the children's at 623.451S under the genre of Science and Technology. I have recently read this book and I couldn't put it down. The whole idea of this book is that it's a race to build the world's most dangerous weapon. There is espionage, science, war, covert operations, I mean it was a gripping book!
I would recommend this book to any age group. It's in the children's nonfiction section and I know that could be offputting to some adults so it's possible that I would use it for ninja style RA and have the book in hand so that the patron couldn't see where it came from. I would recommend this to readers of books such as Ken Follett's Jackdaws or Elizabeth Wein's Code Name Verity because of the WWII and espionage aspects. If someone had enjoyed Einstein Enigma by Jose Rodrigues dos Santos I would suggest Bomb because they both contain some science, spies and espionage.
Boarderlands - I like the idea of attracting attention to one or the other (fiction or nonfiction) by pairing them appropriately. I also liked the title and author suggestions that were given.
E-Learning video - I thought this video was informative and I liked that he emphasized going back and forth between fiction and non-fiction for readers advisory.
Biography - Into the wild was in the biography section under McCandless. This book turned movie is written by John Krakauer who details the transformation of Christopher Johnson McCandless. Christopher came from a well off family and decided to travel to Alaska giving away all of his savings and burning what money he had in his wallet he hiked into the Alaskan wilderness to become closer to nature. The transformation and quest led to his untimely death. This story was so fascinating that it was turned into a movie by Paramount Vantage and Art Linson Productions.
Sports - Born to Run is written by Christopher McDougall and is located at 796.42 under the genre of sports. This book is McDougall's account of trying to locate a tribe of phenomenal distance runner to find out their secret to health and physical achievement. He was not only able to uncover some of their secrets, but was able to work toward meeting his own physical peak.
Medical - The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is under the health genre and it's Dewey number is 616.027S. This is a book written about a woman from this area whose cells were harvested without her knowledge for the advancement of medicine. The author Rebecca Skloot spent a lot of time researching this book and getting to know and becoming close to the family of Henrietta, giving her a unique perspective on this story.
I would recommend this book to people who like fiction that takes place in the area of the world as well as to those who are interested in medical related books such as Outbreak by Robin Cook or A Case of Need by Michael Crichton. There are also legal aspects to this book regarding the legality of using someone's cells without their permission and what right the family has to these cells and the profits from them. Regarding this aspect I may suggest this book to someone who liked something like Irreparable Harm by Randy Singer.
History - Bomb by Steve Sheinkin is located in the children's at 623.451S under the genre of Science and Technology. I have recently read this book and I couldn't put it down. The whole idea of this book is that it's a race to build the world's most dangerous weapon. There is espionage, science, war, covert operations, I mean it was a gripping book!
I would recommend this book to any age group. It's in the children's nonfiction section and I know that could be offputting to some adults so it's possible that I would use it for ninja style RA and have the book in hand so that the patron couldn't see where it came from. I would recommend this to readers of books such as Ken Follett's Jackdaws or Elizabeth Wein's Code Name Verity because of the WWII and espionage aspects. If someone had enjoyed Einstein Enigma by Jose Rodrigues dos Santos I would suggest Bomb because they both contain some science, spies and espionage.
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Week 7
I read the articles Not Just For Teens and The Next Big Thing. I liked several of the comments from NJFT like identifying what it is about YA fiction that makes them so appealing. I love that YA literature grabs me from the get go. I liked that both articles acknowledged that there are a lot of authors that are crossing over from adult fiction to YA fiction and it made me wonder why that is. Is it because a story came to them and the just had to get it down on paper or was it sheerly for the fact that they know there is money to be made in the YA arena. NJFT posed the question "Has Adult readership changed the writing and marketing of teen books?" This is an interesting question because YA literature is for young adults and should cater to them so should adult fiction change to meet the needs of adults who like to read YA? This question got me thinking and will probably be rattling around in my head for the next few days or so.
Posted on:
- Sharon C - Booky
- Janet S - That All May Read
I will begin following John Green books and Forever Young Adult and report back on these in a week.
Little Brown Books for Teens - It looks like I'm not the only one excited about the Daughter of Smoke and Bone movie as it's front and center on the website. It also appears that book trailers are a big hit and it makes we wonder if we can somehow integrate these to our website or PAC. Strong female leads also seem like a major theme in the noted books and I love that!
Tor Teens - I checked out the coming soon books and though there were only four on the list 3 of the 4 are what I would consider Science Fiction or Fantasy. This trend seems to be the same with the recently released books. It also seems like there are a lot of books that are one in a series. Not number one, but a part of a series.
Posted on:
- Sharon C - Booky
- Janet S - That All May Read
I will begin following John Green books and Forever Young Adult and report back on these in a week.
Little Brown Books for Teens - It looks like I'm not the only one excited about the Daughter of Smoke and Bone movie as it's front and center on the website. It also appears that book trailers are a big hit and it makes we wonder if we can somehow integrate these to our website or PAC. Strong female leads also seem like a major theme in the noted books and I love that!
Tor Teens - I checked out the coming soon books and though there were only four on the list 3 of the 4 are what I would consider Science Fiction or Fantasy. This trend seems to be the same with the recently released books. It also seems like there are a lot of books that are one in a series. Not number one, but a part of a series.
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Building Base Knowledge
I have been looking at Urban Reviews and there are some pretty interesting features to this site. I like the book trailer of the month which is located at the bottom of the homepage. I read a lot of reviews so I think it's nice when a site give another way to get to know some of the books. The site also has another page called One The Line and it's telephone interviews with some of today's top authors. Currently on this page visitors can hear a conversation with Sister Souljah. One last thing that is really helpful about this site is a section for the most anticipated book of this genre. It gives a quick look at some book that you can expect customers to come in asking for.
Three sub genres I'm less familiar with:
- Military romance - I checked out http://xoxoafterdark.com/2013/05/27/reporting-for-duty-military-romance/ Apparently Navy Seals are all the rage and the genre is brought to the for front because of timing. Memorial having just passed and all. This was a cute site with a balls of fire rating system which rates the "heat" of a book.
Three authors recommended on this site are;
- Jessica Scott who is looked on favorably because of her own experience as a soldier.
- Cindy Gerard
- Lora Leigh
These authors all focus on various aspects of the military and they all contain elements of romance. All these authors focus on different aspects though. Scott has military experience and focuses on the psychological aspect of returning from service while Leigh's book is "very hot" i believe the term was with no shortage of erotica. There there is Gerard who focuses on the heroics of no doubt very attractive men in the military. Her characters take on the most dangerous missions and worst villains.
One mash up that I could see would be combining military romance with realistic fiction because I think Jessica Scott's book could possible fit into that category as well as Nicholas Sparks' Dear John.
- Urban contemporary fantasy - Here is the website I found for this sub genre http://www.thenocturnallibrary.com/2012/06/my-top-10-urban-fantasy-series-int.html On this website dystopian society seems to be a reoccurring theme. It isn't in all of the books, but enough to take not. The books also seem to be a part of a larger series and not stand alone books. Three authors recommended by this site are;
- Diana Rowland, who used to work in law enforcement and includes that knowledge in her series.
- Stacia Kane
- Patricia Briggs
These authors' books all contain either shapshifter, ghosts or Demons and take place in a city where the majority of the public is unaware of what is going on around them.
-Steampunk Science Fiction - while on this site, http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10114 I saw this quote and I love it. "technology transcends understanding and becomes, for all intents and purposes, magical." It seems that what readers of this genre like is the science and magic mesh for something imaginative and fantastical. Some authors mention in this site are;
- Tim Powers
- James P. Blaylock
- K.W. Jeter
You got to love when a scientist becomes the hero. It's the ultimate underdog story. The site credits these three authors with being the spark behind steampunk.
I could see a mashup genre being steampunk western because it seems like the movie Wild Wild West would fit in the category as well as cowboys versus aliens.
This assignment took me quite a while to complete, but it was totally worth while. I found all of these sites from doing a google search. I of course looked at more websites than are listed, but these one were by far the best. I love to read how passionate people get about their favorite genres.
Three sub genres I'm less familiar with:
- Military romance - I checked out http://xoxoafterdark.com/2013/05/27/reporting-for-duty-military-romance/ Apparently Navy Seals are all the rage and the genre is brought to the for front because of timing. Memorial having just passed and all. This was a cute site with a balls of fire rating system which rates the "heat" of a book.
Three authors recommended on this site are;
- Jessica Scott who is looked on favorably because of her own experience as a soldier.
- Cindy Gerard
- Lora Leigh
These authors all focus on various aspects of the military and they all contain elements of romance. All these authors focus on different aspects though. Scott has military experience and focuses on the psychological aspect of returning from service while Leigh's book is "very hot" i believe the term was with no shortage of erotica. There there is Gerard who focuses on the heroics of no doubt very attractive men in the military. Her characters take on the most dangerous missions and worst villains.
One mash up that I could see would be combining military romance with realistic fiction because I think Jessica Scott's book could possible fit into that category as well as Nicholas Sparks' Dear John.
- Urban contemporary fantasy - Here is the website I found for this sub genre http://www.thenocturnallibrary.com/2012/06/my-top-10-urban-fantasy-series-int.html On this website dystopian society seems to be a reoccurring theme. It isn't in all of the books, but enough to take not. The books also seem to be a part of a larger series and not stand alone books. Three authors recommended by this site are;
- Diana Rowland, who used to work in law enforcement and includes that knowledge in her series.
- Stacia Kane
- Patricia Briggs
These authors' books all contain either shapshifter, ghosts or Demons and take place in a city where the majority of the public is unaware of what is going on around them.
-Steampunk Science Fiction - while on this site, http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10114 I saw this quote and I love it. "technology transcends understanding and becomes, for all intents and purposes, magical." It seems that what readers of this genre like is the science and magic mesh for something imaginative and fantastical. Some authors mention in this site are;
- Tim Powers
- James P. Blaylock
- K.W. Jeter
You got to love when a scientist becomes the hero. It's the ultimate underdog story. The site credits these three authors with being the spark behind steampunk.
I could see a mashup genre being steampunk western because it seems like the movie Wild Wild West would fit in the category as well as cowboys versus aliens.
This assignment took me quite a while to complete, but it was totally worth while. I found all of these sites from doing a google search. I of course looked at more websites than are listed, but these one were by far the best. I love to read how passionate people get about their favorite genres.
Monday, May 20, 2013
Early Word
I was excited to see that Veronica Roth finally titled the third book in her Divergent Trilogy. I have been eagerly anticipating the release of this installment and was excited to see that it at least has a title. I was one of the first in the hold line for Allegiant.
I also really like the New Title Radar so that I can be aware of what people might be coming in to look for.
The Penguin Debut Author Program is something I hadn't known about before and that I think is a really good idea. I like that there is a live chat with debut authors and that early word members can give questions for Nora to ask the authors. I hadn't noticed the display ideas page until today and I think this is a great idea, but I think they could be doing so much more with it than they are so that it can be the go to place when you can't think of a display to pep up your library. I have also been listening to Hear the Buzz and listening to reviews of books and I enjoy this because it reenforces what I have read.
While listening to Hear the Buzz I heard about The Son by Phillip Meyer and I noticed this on the list for the most anticipated books in Spring 2013. Hear the Buzz indicated that there was a 200K print run on this title and it was highly anticipated because of the huge success of Meyers' first book American Rust which won the LA times book prize and was on the News Week's list of best books ever. The book is a family epic with a strong Native American influence and it reminds me of Legends of the Falls by Jim Harrison which is also a family saga and has Native American influence.
I also really like the New Title Radar so that I can be aware of what people might be coming in to look for.
The Penguin Debut Author Program is something I hadn't known about before and that I think is a really good idea. I like that there is a live chat with debut authors and that early word members can give questions for Nora to ask the authors. I hadn't noticed the display ideas page until today and I think this is a great idea, but I think they could be doing so much more with it than they are so that it can be the go to place when you can't think of a display to pep up your library. I have also been listening to Hear the Buzz and listening to reviews of books and I enjoy this because it reenforces what I have read.
While listening to Hear the Buzz I heard about The Son by Phillip Meyer and I noticed this on the list for the most anticipated books in Spring 2013. Hear the Buzz indicated that there was a 200K print run on this title and it was highly anticipated because of the huge success of Meyers' first book American Rust which won the LA times book prize and was on the News Week's list of best books ever. The book is a family epic with a strong Native American influence and it reminds me of Legends of the Falls by Jim Harrison which is also a family saga and has Native American influence.
Saturday, May 18, 2013
exploring goodreads
I have had a good time exploring good reads and I find that it's one of those site that I only intend on going into for a bit, but can seem to get out because something else catches my eye. I like the idea of setting up shelves of items that I have read and want to read because frequently I have a list in my head, but when it comes time to get a new book I can't remember most of them. I also like that the site makes recommendations for me and I have found that a lot of their recommendation look quite good. I have added a couple of my colleagues as friends and I like the feature that compares what you've read and that I can see how they rated those books.
For one of my colleagues I noticed that she enjoyed The Diary of Anne Frank, Night and these are both non-fiction books about people in a time of turmoil and struggling to get by. They made me think of the book, First they killed my father because it is also a true story about a person in a time of turmoil within her county. In this book a young girl is forced to separate from most of her family and work as a child soldier in a work camp. She has to find her own way in this tragic and inspiring book.
With another of my colleagues I noticed that she is fan of Janet Evanovich and the Stephanie Plum series as well and they fall into the fluff shelf. Evanovich is great at mixing dysfunctional characters with humor and some action into a quick, light read. She also likes to use strong and independent female protagonists. I think you may enjoy the Skip Langdon series by Julie Smith because she also has a good way of mixing humor in with some mystery and action. The protagonist of this series is also a strong willed investigator.
For one of my colleagues I noticed that she enjoyed The Diary of Anne Frank, Night and these are both non-fiction books about people in a time of turmoil and struggling to get by. They made me think of the book, First they killed my father because it is also a true story about a person in a time of turmoil within her county. In this book a young girl is forced to separate from most of her family and work as a child soldier in a work camp. She has to find her own way in this tragic and inspiring book.
With another of my colleagues I noticed that she is fan of Janet Evanovich and the Stephanie Plum series as well and they fall into the fluff shelf. Evanovich is great at mixing dysfunctional characters with humor and some action into a quick, light read. She also likes to use strong and independent female protagonists. I think you may enjoy the Skip Langdon series by Julie Smith because she also has a good way of mixing humor in with some mystery and action. The protagonist of this series is also a strong willed investigator.
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