Week Six: Genre Education

Assignment 1:

Since Week One, I've been following RT Book Reviews, a great source for news on the Romance genre (and its sub-genres and sub-sub-genres). Last week, I mentioned that I haven't yet checked out any new books based on my perusal of RT Book Reviews, but I have found some useful information there. And hopefully in the future I'll find the time to sit down and delve into some of the interesting books I found there. Someday...

In the meantime, RT Book Reviews has introduced me to the vast world of Romance genres, including the "new" genre of New Adult (which Beth covered in Between the Covers, earlier this month). It falls, in RT's classification, as a sub-genre of Young Adult, and has crossover appeal to both teen and adult readers. The characters are older teens and young twenty-somethings, figuring out college, jobs, life and relationships, mostly for the first time. It might be a good sub-genre to recommend to older teen customers who ask at the information desk for the romance section, especially since our romance collections can be a bit... vast and daunting to the uninitiated. This post on Judy Blume's Forever points out that the New Adult genre is not, technically, all that new, but it's certainly seeing an upsurge in new titles published. Upcoming releases highlighted on the RT Book Reviews blog include Molly McAdams' Stealing Harper and The Lucy Variations by Sara Zarr.

RT Book Reviews follows a broader spectrum of genres than just Romance with a capital "R" (though there's plenty of that, have no doubt). Every month, there are lovely graphics pointing readers towards their next favorite book in several genres, such as this one, which features several Sci-Fi titles I'll have to put in my queue:



Science Fiction & Fantasy Book Recommendations: May 2013. RT Book Reviews © 2009 - 2013.

In addition to book reviews in a plethora of Romance sub-genres (the latest scoops on Paranormal, Inspirational, Mainstream  (aka Contemporary?) and more are at your fingertips) RT Book Reviews has an Industry Insider section with the latest publishing news. The most useful part of the site, though, is certainly the reviews and author interviews. Great way to keep on top of what's hot in the Romance world.

Week Five: Early Word

EarlyWord is definitely a keeper. As a fan of many book-to-movie titles - Never Let Me Go, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Mortal Instruments, etc. etc. - I love that EarlyWord has a strong focus on media tie-ins. And I know that customers at our branch have been gobbling up our "The Book Was Better..." display, so I'm not the only one! Lists of upcoming releases (which helpfully point blog-readers back towards our friends, the original books) and trailers for recent/upcoming movies and television shows based on books (Squee! Shakespeare as done by Joss Whedon. So psyched!) were among the many many resources aggregated by EarlyWord.


Actually, the amount of links, ads, and categories on the site is a bit daunting. The experience was just not as slick and streamlined as I prefer in a website. While on the positive side, there aren't oodles of pictures and flashy goo-gaws to slow the site down (I'm looking at you, Goodreads!), EarlyWord is still a less-than-thrilling visual experience. Navigation is also a bit tricky: I resorted to using the ubiquitous Internet Explorer "find" function to locate the bestseller lists.

Ignoring much of the sidebar material (for sanity's sake,) the blog itself is definitely one to follow. And I can see a lot of value in having a source handy which brings together so much useful information (bestseller lists, media tie-ins, upcoming releases, reviews, award winner lists, media coverage, etc. etc.)  from around the interwebs.

Week Five: A Highly Anticipated Title

Assignment 3:

 

Looking under the "Coming Soon -- Season Previews" sidebar of EarlyWord, I was intrigued by the first link listed: Flavorwire — Flavorpill’s 30 Most Anticipated Books of 2013. Looking at the "Hot Topics" across the top of the page - David Bowie, Game of Thrones, Mad Men, Daft Punk, Star Trek Into Darkness, Arrested Development - I knew I'd found something right up my alley. And, allong with some other intriguing titles to look out for, I found that Neil Gaiman will have a new book out this summer, Ocean at the End of the Lane. Awesome!

 

Gaiman's books have been some of my favorite reads - American Gods, Good Omens, the Sandman Chronicles - so, for me, the combination of 'Neil Gaiman' and 'new book' would be all the appeal words I'd need. But for the sake of the exercise, I'll do the full break down Ocean:

• Pacing:     From the reviews I've read, the newest Gaiman book is as un-put-downable as his previous works. Gripping and spellbinding are also popular descriptions. I can't tell if that makes it fast or slow paced story-wise, but in terms of reading experience, it sounds like a fast read.
• Characterization:     The characters in this story are intriguing, poignant, and carefully constructed. I'm enticed by the family of witches, the bookish narrator plunged into a horrifying ordeal, and the opal miner who commits suicide in a borrowed car, setting off the whole chain of events.
• Setting & Detail:     Set in rural England, the book has some delightfully country details: foods, for starters, like shepherd's pie and homemade custard, along with the duckpond on the farm at the end of the lane that is much more than what it seems. Nostalgic on the surface but spine-chilling in the reveal.
• Story Line:     Mixing horror on an epic, good-vs.-evil scale with fantasy and layers of emotional resonance, this is a story about memory and redemption. It's also an adventure story with a myth-arc. Hard to find one genre, but "Fantasy" is usually where mash-ups like this end up.
• Tone & Language:     Moving, hair-raising, and highly emotional. This book also has elements of a thriller, mixed with the imaginative lure of modern fantasy.  The language is compelling and lyrical. From the jacket description, the tone of the book is

  "...as delicate as a butterfly's wing and as menacing as a knife in the dark..." [source]

  It sounds lovely.
• Learning/Experiencing:     Reviewers found that while the story steps into the strange and fantastical, the experience of reading the book was an emotional one. It is a book with which the reader, through the lens of childhood memories both good and bad, can connect in a personally resonant way.

Week Five: The Book Beast and RT Book Reviews Experience

Assignment 1:

Since week one of the Be More Bookish blog challenge, I've been following both The Daily Beast's Book Beast site and RT Book Reviews.

Book Beast has already proven its worth to me, since I found out about Dan Brown's new book there (yes, apparently I have been living under a rock, as my place at #194 in the holds queue for this title might suggest). Some articles on Inferno were positive reviews (see 'Inferno': Dan's [sic] Brown's Best Book Yet by Malcolm Jones) while others were less so (such as Fact-Checking Dan Brown’s ‘Inferno’: 10 Mistakes, False Statements, and Oversimplifications by Noah Charney).  




Best Dan Brown book yet? Or nonsensical oversimplification?
Can't wait to get the book in my hands to decide for myself!

 RT Book Reviews hasn't yet garnered any new titles to read, but it was fun to follow the 2013 RT Convention coverage on their blog. Looked like a good time!



Authors signing at Avon's Red Slipper LoungeRT Book Reviews © 2009 - 2013



  

Week Four: Goodreads

Here is a link to my Goodreads page - I update it pretty often with what I'm reading. I think that I like the idea of Goodreads much better than the experience. Maybe it is because I don't have the fanciest computer or a faster-than-light internet connection, but I find Goodreads to be a slow-loading, clunky experience. I like rating books and organizing books I've read into categories, I just wish the site would stop crashing!

Listopia is one of those internet rabbit holes that sucks you in and in and in, and then you look at the clock and realize you've spent an hour looking at such gems as "Bad Boy Bikers, Rockers or Tattoo Artists." I did find it amusing that at one point, the Listopia page showed Stephanie Meyer's Twilight in two lists at once: Best Books of All Time, and Worst Books of All Time. Can't win them all, Twilight.

Explore was interesting - I even found a few new books that I want to read in their many lists, and I loved that they tailor the top results based on your personal bookshelves - but I don't think I'll be headed back soon. It just takes too long to load a full page.

For a recommendation, I used the "compare books" function with some of my new Be More Bookish Goodreads friends. Seeing that both Amber R. and I gave five stars to Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion, I recommended Breathers: a zombie's lament by S. G. Browne to her. Like Marion's novel, it gives an insider's perspective on the zombie condition, and while can be at times both gruesome and moving, it does also have an unconventional love story and is strongly character-driven. The tone is more darkly humorous than Warm Bodies, but both books have central characters who end up challenging the status quo. Both fall into the growing "Rom-zom-com" genre and are fairly smooth-flowing reads.

Week Three: RA Conversations

Conversation 1

It sounds like this customer is looking for compelling, reflective, and descriptive story - perhaps also a memoir like the book she describes, Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert - which should, ideally, also have some humor to it. She's looking for something for a book club, so it should be a book with enough substance to make a good discussion, as well. Here's what I'd pick:

Wild: from lost to found on the Pacific Coast Trail by Cheryl Strayed

• Like Eat, Pray, Love, Cheryl Strayed's travel memoir follows the author through a personal crisis, has plenty of humor, and as an added bonus, was also selected for Oprah's Book Club 2.0.

All Over the Map by Laura Fraser

• All Over the Map is also a travel memoir, this time with a focus on relationships, wanderlust, and self-discovery. It has been praised for its lush descriptions of food and foreign locales.

Conversation 2

This customer wants vampires minus teenage angst (the anti-Twilight). She's also looking for something fast-paced. Since the customer asks about reading any vampire good stories lately, I'd also be looking for books that have been published recently (or perhaps have new titles out in an ongoing series). Here's my picks:

Bloodshot by Cherie Priest

• The first installment in Cherie Priest's Cheshire Red series follows vampire and thief-for-hire Raylene Pendle as her carefully planned life gets tangled up in conspiracy theories, vampire politics, and . It's fast-paced and the narrator has several decades on Twilight's Bella, plus it's got a sequel, Hellbent, with room for more titles in the series.

Sunshine by Robin McKinley

• Sunshine takes place in the near future after vampires and other supernaturals have taken over the human world. The main character, Rae Seddon, AKA Sunshine, must pit her wits and burgeoning magical talent against a sinister group of vampires. It's a gothic-style romance in a vividly drawn urban fantasy setting that keeps readers on their toes.

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

• Charlaine Harris wrapped up her Southern Vampire series this month with the 13th Sookie Stackhouse book, Dead Ever After, making now a great time for readers to catch up on all of Sookie's previous murder-mystery romps. The books are quick-reads with plenty of humor, steamy romance, and authentic Southern charm.

Conversation 3

Fascinating, fast-paced, and amazing true stories are the stand out appeal terms in this customer's description of their previous read, The River of Doubt by Candace Millard. They may also like  survival stories, expedition stories, or murder mysteries, especially related to historical events or figures. I kind of want to ask this customer more questions because I feel like this could go in one of several directions, but based on just this much, I have a couple of recommends:

Devil in the White City: murder, magic, and madness at the fair that changed America by Erik Larson

• This title is another true, historical murder mystery, this time set at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893 and focusing on both on the planning and executing of the Fair as well as the grisly exploits of notorious serial-murderer H. H. Holmes. Erik Larson is a celebrated non-fiction writer, and the story is suspenseful, absorbing, and chock-full of well-researched detail.

Lost City of Z: a tale of deadly obsession in the Amazon by David Grann

• David Grann's engrossing account documents the life of Percy Harrison Fawcett, a turn-of-the-century British explorer who vanished into the Amazon jungle in 1925. Grann writes himself as narrator of the search for Fawcett (or his final resting place) in the modern day, culminating in the author's own Amazonian expedition. The setting is richly detailed in this personal search for historical truth that is both part-unsolved mystery and part-survival story.

Destiny of the Republic: a tale of madness, medicine and the murder of a president by Candice Millard

• Another book by the author of River of Doubt, Destiny of the Republic has the same attention to detail as Candice Millard's other works, with plenty of drama to keep the reader engaged. This historic narrative focuses on U.S. President James A. Garfield and the assassination attempt that ultimately took his life.

Week Three: Nancy Pearl on NPR Books and The RA Conversation

Nancy Pearl kept things short and sweet on this podcast by NPR Books. The most interesting aspect of her book recommendations was that she included her own reactions and reader experience - how she engaged with the characters or what outside pieces of her experience resonated with the story. One book had her "laughing and wincing" at its foolhardy characters, while another served up mysterious goings-on with a side helping of cold case investigation, which to her was the "frosting on the cake." She certainly gave me some books to put on my to-read shelf.

Neal Wyatt's article, "The RA Conversation," was more instructional. While I can't say that I've encountered many customers who take advantage of RA services offered as they browse, the general concepts could also apply easily to RA conversations at the desk. I found this question a particularly good one to keep in mind: "What does the reader want to get out of their reading experience?"

Week Two: Collegial Recommendations

I was intrigued by Lori H.'s book choices and recommended two books to her for the final assignment of Week 2. For her pick of The Round House by Louise Eldrich I recommended Raven Stole the Moon by Garth Stein, a suspenseful mystery with elements of Native American culture, featuring a mother returning to the site of her son's drowning to discover what really happened and come to terms with it.

For a read-alike title to compliment The Doll by Taylor Stevens, I proposed Rage Against the Dying by Becky Masterman. It's a bit of a creepy, edge-of-your-seat thriller and features a female investigator.

Week Two: Appeal Factors

Oftentimes, when I recommend a title, I'm asked "So, what's it about?" The temptation is to give a rundown of the plot while attempting to avoid spoilers (with varying degrees of success), but Neal Wyatt's article on Appeal Factors gave me a new perspective on how to describe the books I read. In fact, I found some common characteristics of the books that I most enjoy most:

• My favorite stories tend to have ensemble casts of strong, quirky characters. I don't have to like all of the characters as long as they are meaty and their actions build from character development (and not just the cardboard cutout of an archetype). Characters are my number-one priority in a story - if I can't find anything interesting about them, I just don't care about the story, no matter how many other buttons that story hits.
• I tend to enjoy the slow-building long story-arc of a series, but I definitely like a sense of forward momentum in my reading experience - in other words, something that builds slow but reads fast.
• I also like detailed settings, genre mash-ups, at least some humor in the writing. And one other thing: I'm always up for fiction that explores psychology or social issues through genre (especially through zombies - can't get enough of 'em!).

So, after thinking and pondering and reflecting on appeal factors, here's the run-down on two of my recent favorite reads based on Wyatt's seven basic appeal factors:

World War Z by Max Brooks

• Pacing:        Short chapters and multiple changes of perspective and setting keep the reading pace moving quickly, although the full picture of the plot is slower to develop.
• Characterization & Setting:        Although the jump between different characters might be unappealing to some readers, each character packs a punch – there’s no weakly developed or cardboard cut-out characters, despite how briefly they may feature in the narrative. Because of the jump between characters, there are corresponding jumps in setting – this story follows the effects of the zombie war across the globe – which is almost refreshing in the reading, because as soon as the horror creeps up on you in a certain character’s story, the reader is whisked off to another war-zone with fresh new terrors.
• Story Line:        The format is a series of realistic-style interviews with survivors of the zombie war that raise questions in the reader about morality and perception in a variety of survival situations. It’s definitely horrific in parts, so I’d call it part of the Horror or Supernatural Suspense genres, but it’s also a post-zombie apocolypse, which seems these days to be almost its own sub-genre.
• Language, Tone, & Detail:        The language and tone of the book are sober and matter-of-fact but the sprinkling of action scenes are hair-raising and adreneline charged. It’s certainly detail-heavy: any time one of the narrating characters is vague, the interviewer draws them back out to flesh out their story.
• Learning/Experiencing:        I dearly hope that I never experience anything similar to the events in this story!

 

Redshirts: A Novel with Three Codas by John Scalzi

• Pacing:        I remember this as a fairly quick read, both in how I expereinced it, and how quickly the plot moved forward.
• Characterization:        The main cadre of characters are warm and share a sense of comraderie almost from their first introduction. The background characters are sometimes a bit cardboard-ish, but that plays into the story in a delicious twist.
• Story Line & Setting:        For any fans of the Star Trek universe – the story parodies the “redshirt” trope wherein the lowest-ranking (and inevitably red-uniform-wearing) crew members on any planet-side mission would invariably be killed off in dramatic fashion. The setting is an intergalactic-travelling spaceship and the story follows a group of redshirts as they uncover the conspiracy behind the high-mortality rate of their fellow crewmates, tipping their worldview right on its ear.
• Language & Tone:        John Scalzi has a wickedly sharp sense of humor, which plays out beautifully both in the parody inherent in the plot and in the character’s snappy dialog. The tone is light, despite a fairly high body count, but moments of pathos are well-deserved in the narrative and propel the plot forward.
• Detail & Learning/Experiencing:        While the story was not heavy on setting details, the slow reveal of the tightly woven conspiracy plot was like journeying with Alice down the rabbit-hole and an enjoyable experience in itself.