Week 7

Assignment 1- Check! The chart was fun.

Week 7: Assignment 2
Read any two of the following short articles. Post comments on your blog, and make comments on two colleagues’ blogs.

I read "New Adult" and "Not Just for Teens". New Adult is not a sub-genre I think I've find myself thinking about. I still find myself thinking about the "Teen" section as "Young Adult", which in my opinion, covers many more readers than "Teen" and "New Adult".

As for the article, "Not Just for Teens", I liked how they quoted David Levithan and Libba Bray. Levithan was quoted as saying that when he writes, he's usually writing for his friends, not a specific audience. Bray was quoted as trying to write as honestly as possible and when she starts thinking about how her books will appeal to different audiences, she's no longer in the story. I'm also glad the article mentioned that a lot of adult writers are doing genre cross-overs. I read a lot of teen books because they are by authors that I enjoy in General Fiction, Romance, or Sc-Fi/Fantasy and I know that I like the writing style and the story development already. Where it's located in a book store or library doesn't impact my selection process.

I commented on Tina P. and


week 7: Assignment 3
As a fan of the Mortal Instruments series, I folled Cassandra Clare. She contributes to the site and right now, it is full of promos for the upcoming movie, photos of the cast on a re-movie tour, and fan artwork. Fans of her Shadow Hunter world are her intended audience and I think that, yes, the site is successful because some posts have 2000+ notes!

I also followed Forever Young Adult which kind ouf wound up being a trap that ate a lot of time, but I enjoyed every second of being lost in there. It's geared to Young Adult readers who are a little more Adult and a little less young. Quoted straight from their "about FYA" page: FYA is a place where you can let your inner Lady Nerd loose and swoon over fictional characters without shame (while sipping on a cocktail). From book reviews to TV crushes to movie drinking games, it's basically a non-stop internet slumber party, and you're totally invited! They have a "New Fake Boyriend" link, a "Literary Mysterious Dude Hall of Fame" link, and lots and lots of chatter about upcoming projects. It's where I found out Lifetime is making another movie of "Flowers in the Attic"! Basically, I am the intended audience and I find the site successful enough that I am going to check in on this site often of my own volition! :-)


Week 7: Assignment 4:

Browsing a little through Harlequin Teen, Harper Teen and Little/Brown Books for Teens, the trend I see is that 90% of the upcoming teen titles are dystopian or paranormal. Again, I am adding to my "to read" list. :-)

I'm not going to lie: This week's assignment took the longest and was finished last because there was LOTS of stuff goingon in this week. Not a bad thing, mind you, but just time consuming.

Week 9

Assignment One- Check!

Assignment 2-
Romance writers have been using book trailers for a few years, so they're not as foreign to me as to some other people. Very rarely do I find a book trailer that captures the essence of a book. Some are too long, some are just shots of the book cover with music in the background and someone reading the blurb, and some show content that isn't related to the book at all. One of the few that I found when I randomly searched "book trailer" on youtube that actually fits the book is one for Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. (video here)

Insofar as using book trailers, I don't think that I would ever use a book trailer when doing reader's advisory, because if the trailer mis-represented a book, I could loose a customer before I even had them.

Assignment 3-
I really enjoyed the BMB training, but I would recommend that in the future, something with so many assignments and links to explore should be given a longer time period to complete. To thoroughly explore the links and various sites, you need to spend more than two minutes on each site page. And if not an initial extended time period, then access to the assignments from outside of work would help.

Overall, even though I am not a blogger nor do I have the passion for blogging,  BMB provided a lot of information and sites and links that I wouldn't have stumbled across on my own and I think that some of the will be useful in the future. I can also admit that through all of my "thorough exploration" of all the links and sites, I have added 10+ titles to me "to read" list. :-)

Week 8

Assignment 1: Check!

Assignment 2:  Check!

Assignment 3/Assignment 4:
History-930 to 999
America the Beautiful by Ben Carson (973 C)

Travel- 910 to 919
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Coast Trail by Cheryl Strayed (917.9 S)
At 22 years old, Cheryl Strayed lost her mother. Shortly thereafter, her family scattered and her marriage fell apart. With nothing left to lose, she decides on a whim to hike the Pacific Crest Trail all by herself. One-thousand+ miles later, she finished and along the way, she found herself. Not having personally read it, I would give this to someone who likes memoirs about people rediscovering themselves.

Food-600's
Julie & Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell (641.5 P)

Crime- mostly 364's, but some dispersed in the 900's depending on subject
Devil in the White City byErik Larson (364.1523 L)
Erik Larson intertwines the true tale of the 1893 World's Fair and the cunning serial killer who used the fair to lure his victims to their death. Combining in-depth research and great story-telling skills, Larson has written a true-crime book that reads like it should be a movie (or at least a prime-time tv show). I would give this to anyone who likes crime tv-shows or mysteries.

Week 6

Week 6: Assignment 1

I've been following Urban Fiction and where I find it useful, there are some titles that will never be purchased by BCPL. With that being said, UR has a LOT of reviews, a "Most Anticipated Black Fiction" section, a preview of the month, and an excerpt of the month. These have proven super helpful in locating titles for my customers because as we all know, sometimes the customer comes in and has the title wrong, the author wrong, the plot wrong, or a combination of the three and just having a starting point in my search has been great.

Week 6: Assignment 2

I really enjoyed this prezi, but I felt that there were some notable subgenres that were left out, like Romantic Suspense. I also agree with the others who commented that a printable version would be handy or maybe even a poster-size version.

Week 6: Assignment 3
Pick 3 subgenres that you are unfamiliar with.

• Find a fan website for each subgenre and summarize the current buzz among fans. Why are they excited about this subgenre? How did you find the website?

Amish Fiction-"Fans of Amish Fiction" on GoodReads. This was my first hit when I googled "fans of Amish Fiction". It was pretty easy to find.Looking at the discussion portion of the site, they seem to be abuzz with free Amish books and downloads. They also have active feeds for Group Recommendations, Giveaways, and New Releases (just to name a few). Three Authors generally associated with this genre include: Beverly Lewis, Wanda Brunstetter, and Cindy Woodsmall. Appeal factors include close-knit communities, characters of strong faith, and romance.

Cozy Mysteries-"Cozy-Mystery.com". Again, I googled. The first hit for Cozy Mysteries was "Cozy-Mystery.com". The site was started by someone who, for the sheer joy of the genre, started a web page. Since then, it's grown and includes LOTS of useful information like New Releases by month, Cozies by theme, Cozy Mystery recommendations and lots of other great information. Three Authors generally associated with this genre include:Joanne Fluke, Susan Whittig Albert, and Nancy Atherton.Appeal factors include amateur sleuths, a crime or mystery that needs solving, and has a lack of gore, even when there's a body.

Chick-Lit-http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/chick-lit. Google, my friend, helped me find this fan site, too. Though not something I would refer to often, it was entertaining and informative enough when I played around on it. They had polls like "Who's your favorite Chick Lit author?" and sections for shared articles and book recommendations. Meg Cabot (the winner of the poll), Sophie Kinsella, and Jennifer Weiner are all representative writers in the Chick Lit genre. Appeal factors include: generally light-hearted stories, issued of modern womanhood (dating, working, finding the "perfect" outfit), and love/relationships.

Mashups of Subgenres:

Shadow Game by Christine Feehan-  Paranpormal Suspense Romance/ Military Thriller. Genetically enhanced special ops agents meet genetically enhanced psychic adoptees. Life threatening situations and love ensue. Enough military/weapon action and enough paranormal romance to fulfill both subgenre requirements.

Cast Off Coven by Juliet Blackwell- Cozy Mystery/ Paranormal Romance. A witch (her real name is Lily Ivory, so you KNOW it's a cozy!) owns a vintage clothing store solves a murder and battles a supernatural baddie minus gore. Add not one but three potential men in her life for love and you have the general appeal factors for a cozy mystery and a paranormal romance mashup.

Week 5

Week 5: Assignment 1

I've been following the Daily Beast since BMB started, but I must say that I don't find it as useful as Early Word which I have been following for much longer. The DB is much busier, but they do have a wide array of information. I find myself getting easily lost in all of the ads and news articles and the Hot Reads. With that said,while there is a lot more information, the presentation and busy-ness of the page detract from its usefulness, but I feel that this is just my own personal preference and this could be a very useful tool for someone else.

Week 5: Assignment 2


I check Early Word a couple of times a week. Some of my favorite parts of the site are the New Title Radar, the Holds Alerts, and the Media Tie-ins. I find the Media Tie-Ins more helpful because sometimes, when a book is turned into a movie or a TV show, they change the title (think "True Blood" inspired by "The Sookie Stackhouse Mysteries").

Week 5, Assignment 3

"Doctor Sleep", Stephen King's follow up to "The Shining" is set to be released in September 2013. Danny, the little boy from "The Shining" is all grown up. Haunted by the events of his childhood, he drifts through life before settling in New Hampshire where his gift of "shining" helps those who are not long for this world. Then Danny meets a little girl who "shines" brighter than anyone he's met before and feels compelled to help her fight for her life when she is targeted by an immortal species that feeds off the release of the "shining" when gifted children are killed. Again, Stephen King has woven a tale of good versus evil that will surely not disappoint fans both old and new.

Week 3

Assignment 1- Review the article "The RA Conversation" by Neal Wyatt- check!

Assignment 2- Listen to podcast of Nancy Pearle- check!

Assignment 3-Conversations

• Conversation 1

          Librarian: If you liked "Eat, Pray, Love", I'd recommend you try "Under the Tuscan Sun: At Home in Italy" by Frances Mayes. She's the gourmet cook and travel writer who buys a villa in Italy. For your book club, it has a lot of different appeal because there's romance, DIY home renovations and recipes. Plus, it was turned into a movie so you can watch it as a follow-up and compare the movie and book.

• Conversation 2

          Librarian: If you want something a little more fast-paced but a lot less angsty, I have two series to recommend to you. The first series gets a little graphic, both gore and sex-wise later in the series, but if that doesn't bother you, you can try Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake Series.  Anita is a federal marshal (who's also a necromancer) who has the legal authority to hunt down any supernaturals that break the law and to kill them. Vampires and weres play a big part in this series seeing as how one of her possible future love interests is the Master of the City, Jean Claude.

If you want something grittier, you can try Kim Harrison's "The Hallows" series. The main character is witch Rachel Morgan and she works for the supernatural version of the FBI, but when she quits, her former agency puts a hit out on her and she's forced to team up with Ivy, a former colleague and living vampire in order to survive. Then the author throws in a snarky pixy sidekick, escaping from a businessman/crime lord/drug dealer,  and some super dicey situations to keep the story hopping.

• Conversation 3

           Librarian: Have you read "Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson? It's the stories of two men during the 1883 Chicago World's Fair. One of the men is the architect who was responsible for the Fair's construction and the other is a serial killer masquerading as a charming doctor luring people to their deaths. It's been billed as having "magical appeal" while exposing the "horrifying dark-side" of 19th century Chicago.

Week 4

I'm a little behind, so I'm temporarily skipping week 3 and moving straight to week 4. Sorry if this confuses anyone!

Assignment 1
I've been a member of Goodreads for a while now, but usually just put books in the three shelves that already existed: read, to-read, or currently-reading. Today, I added: fluff (for all of those just fluffy stories I don't really have any deep thought or feeling toward), action-and-or-thriller, children, classics, historical romance, paranormal romance, suspense-thriller-romance, librarian-character, non-fiction, and teen. Using just these labels, I was able to shelve/cross-shelve 97% of all of the titles already on my list.

Making friends with my colleagues was pretty easy, especially if people used their real names or their BCPL email address.

In Goodreads, I recommended "You Belong to Me" by Karen Rose to Tina P. because looking at her shelves, I deduced that she enjoys romantic suspense and fast paced stories. As an added bonus, this romantic suspense thriller is the first in a series set in Baltimore!

My revelations, impressions, discoveries about exploring Goodreads this week? It's easy to get lost in and lose time. The ads on the pages are helpful, but in the way of candy in the check-out aisles at the grogery stores; I keep adding things to my list of "to-reads".  As my blog title says: Too many books, not enough time! :-)