Week 6

Assignment 1

Street Fiction
I felt as if I learned a lot about the different subgenres of urban fiction and its origins from Street Fiction. For instance, I did not know that Donald Goines was considered the "godfather" of this genre and that, looking even further back, urban fiction could have emerged from stories such as Daniel Defoe's Moll Flanders. I did not like that Street Fiction pulled its book information straight from Amazon. However, I did enjoy that the website had a specific section dedicated to librarians and helping them learn more about this genre. I enjoyed Daniel Marcou's article on this page, but I could not access the first two articles. I actually found a few dead links on the site, and some of the interviews with the authors were poorly done (though still fun to read!). The general appearance of this website needs to be updated, and the book reviews should be written by skilled writers instead of utilizing just the Amazon book synopsis and customer reviews. Nonetheless, I still felt as if I gained a general idea of what comprises this subgenre.

Assignment 3

The three subgenres that I picked were chick lit, cozy mysteries, and zombie horror. I found the following websites for them by doing a simple Google search with the subgenre's name followed by the words fan page or fan club.

Chick Lit

One chick lit fan website I found is offered through Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/chicklitclub). With a "membership" (or rather a "like" count) of 2,643, Chicklit Club definitely showed me what is currently popular among this subgenre's readers. For instance, a recent post about the new Bridget Jones's diary (#3) had 20 likes. Another book called Calling Mrs. Christmas by Carole Matthews had 20 likes as well. This page posts multiple times per day and provides author interviews, updates on new books, and other interesting links such as "Milly Johnson's 10 Commandments for Writers" and a link to a list of good movies to watch before a wedding. The three authors that seem to most typify this genre are Helen Fielding (Bridget Jones's Diary), Sarah Bushnell (Sex and the City), and Sophie Kinsella (Confessions of a Shopaholic). Jane Green and Emily Giffin are also very popular.

I also want to note another website I found called ChickLitBooks (http://chicklitbooks.com/). Although it is for fans, it is run by one woman and does not allow fan interaction or have any message boards for fans to post. However, I enjoyed it because it thoroughly described the different subgenres within this subgenre, including Hen Lit, Mommy Lit, Working Girl Lit, Wedding Lit, and Glamour Lit. This website also helped me find out more about the appeal factors of this genre: fast-paced writing, first-person perspective, and plots involving city life, mothering, friendship, and/or careers. This subgenre is usually humorous and light.


Cozy Mysteries

Once again, like with the Chick Lit subgenre, the best fan website I found for cozy mysteries was a Facebook page called Cozy Mystery Book Reviews (https://www.facebook.com/cozymysterybookreviews). It has a total of 1,367 likes. Some of the popular posts on this page are links to the books Nickled and Dimed to Death by Denise Swanson and There Goes the Bride by M. C. Beaton and a post advertising a book tour for A Cookbook Conspiracy by Kate Carlisle. This fan page also recently held a poll for determining what the June book club pick would be and Murder at Castle Rock by Anne Marie Stoddard won by a majority. Another popular post on this page asked fans what their favorite Christmas-themed cozy mystery is for a Christmas in July. There were numerous answers.

This website - http://www.cozy-mystery.com/ - seems to be a great resource for fans as it has lengthy, in-depth lists of cozy mystery books. It also helped me learn more about this subgenre's appeal factors, which include a small-town setting, neighborly-type characters, very tame stories (no gory details or sex), a smart, female amateur crime solver with a job such as a teacher, gardener, librarian, book store owner, a fast-paced plot, and endearing characters that develop throughout the story (or the series, as many cozy mysteries are series). Some authors that typify this subgenre are Agatha Christie (particulary her Miss Marple series), Lillian Jackson Braun (The Cat Who...series), Rita Mae Brown (Mrs. Murphy series), and Nancy Atherton (Aunt Dimity series).

In my searchings for a fan website, I stumbled upon this entertaining blog that is run by seven different mystery authors who post their recipes - http://www.mysteryloverskitchen.com/. I must try the apple pie fruit roll-ups!

Zombie Horror

This subgenre looked like so much fun that I just had to choose it. I found an interesting fan site for zombie literature at this link - http://www.undeadinthehead.com/. Undead in the Head has 83 members through Google+ and is run by Lyle Perez-Tinics, who writes zombie horror fiction himself. He provides book reviews and his interviews with authors of zombie books. Unfortunately, he has not posted since April 2012, so this would only be a good resource for fans wanting to browse older titles. I also found this useful website - http://www.zombiefiction.net/ - but like the other website, it has not been updated since 2012. Some popular titles in this subgenre are I Am Legend by Richard Matheson, Cell by Stephen King, Travis Adkins' Twilight of the Dead and Walking with the Dead, Max Brooks' World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War and The Zombie Survival Guide, and Day by Day Armageddon by J. L. Bourne. Also, Robert Kirkman's graphic novel series The Walking Dead and its tv show has certainly caused more interest in this subgenre. Another fascinating book that has arisen from this subgenre is Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I could not really find any great links that describe characteristic features of zombie horror novels, but I would surmise that all of these books contain graphic gore, violence, and suspense and likely share similar characteristics with the subgenres of disaster adventure, post-apocalyptic science fiction, and apocalyptic horror.

Finally, I came across this fantastic little zombie web comic that is told through lego characters - http://bricksofthedead.com/.

I mentioned Pride and Prejudice and Zombies above, which is a good time to bring up the last part of this assignment - the mashups. This title is a mashup of classic English literature and zombie horror. Another title that would be considered a mashup is Seth Grahame-Smith's Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, which is historical fiction combined with vampire horror.

Week 5

Assignment 1

Early Word
EarlyWord has turned out to be an entertaining resource where I can quickly gain information about new books (I enjoy the brevity of the blog posts). However, I feel that its book reviews are lacking a little both in the length of the actual reviews (brevity here is a negative) and in the fact that I found EarlyWord to concentrate just as much (if not even more so) on media news concerning books than actual book reviews. I was surprised to see that EarlyWord not only focused on movies that are based off of books, but also tv shows (for instance, I learned that a tv show is airing in June that is based off of Stephen King's novel Under the Dome). I find that, as librarians, we often dedicate a lot of time to learning about new book releases and not enough time to finding out more about new movies and tv shows. Since BCPL provides movies and tv shows (and since they are some of the most highly circulated items), viewers' advisory is just as important. I often have customers come up to me asking to place Downton Abbey on hold. I recently learned through EarlyWord that the new season of Downton Abbey is premiering in January and that one of the main actresses is not returning. This blog post also mentioned two books related to Downton Abbey (one on Lady Almina and the other on Lady Catherine). I have suggested that customers read these books and have also given them suggestions to watch Upstairs, Downstairs, Mr. Selfridge, Parade's End, and Call the Midwife (along with reading Jennifer Worth's memoirs). It's great that, through what I learn from EarlyWord, I can engage customers in a rich readers'/viewers' advisory experience beyond just placing Downton Abbey on hold for them. Therefore, I do like the emphasis that EarlyWord puts on media, though I feel as if I would have to utilize different resources (such as Goodreads or NPR) for quality, lengthy book reviews.

Assignment 2

I would say, hands down, that popular fiction (those on the booklists such as The New York Times Best Seller List) are the most checked out books at Reisterstown. I believe that customers tend to want to read a book after the movie comes out, rather than before (I have a feeling that most customers are unaware that a movie has been based off of a book until they see it listed in the opening credits, unless it is a very popular book). For instance, I have had no requests for Ender's Game yet, despite the fact that it is coming out in December of this year. However, I have a feeling that I will start to get requests for this title after the movie has come to theaters.

Since I chose EarlyWord as one of my readers' advisory resources, I have become familiar with the site over the past five weeks, so nothing was a new discovery for me this week. I'd say that the best resources that this site offers are the Movie & TV Based on Books sections. I will continue to frequent these pages. Another part of this site that I will start to use continually is the People Magazine Book Reviews Index, seeing as most Reisterstown Branch customers desire popular fiction (and I've had a few come to me with clippings out of People magazine of the books they want to be placed on hold). It's great that EarlyWord compiles these reviews in one section, since People does not have an online index of their reviews.

Assignment 3

I chose Flavorpill's (also listed on Huffington Post and The Los Angeles Times) My Brother's Book by Maurice Sendak. This was the last book Sendak wrote before he passed away last May, which will ensure its popularity as many will see it as his "farewell." Comprised of a meditative poem on Sendak's brother (and, as some believe, written in memory of Sendak's partner as well), this book is about two brothers who are separated when a falling star hits Earth. It deals with such themes as sibling (brotherly) love, loss, separation, and reunion. It is beautifully illustrated with watercolors, which will appeal to children, while its treatment of such deep themes will speak to an older, adult audience. Both the poetry and the illustrations are reminiscent of William Blake's work, especially Songs of Innocence and Experience (which, similarly, can be enjoyed by both children and adults). Adults who revel in meditative poetry, who devoured Sendak's writing and illustration style in their youth, and who like authors such as Shakespeare and William Blake, from whom Sendak drew his inspiration, will particularly find this book resonating.

Week 4

Assignment 1

I've had a Goodreads account for close to a year now and have enjoyed adding books to my shelves. I have 544 books on there interspersed throughout 28 shelves. In the past, I usually kept a Microsoft Word document of all the books I had read, but I've found Goodreads to be much easier and quicker to use. For instance, I've been recently reading all of the Caldecott medal and honor books, and it's been so effortless to keep track of which ones I have read through Goodreads. I also know that if I ever need to bring up a title I have read, but do not remember the name or author of the book, I can simply look through my shelves. I think this is where Goodreads can excel as a tool for librarians. I simply can't remember all the titles I have read, but being able to go to my shelves to jog my memory helps tremendously during readers' advisory. Some interesting features that I'd like to note about Goodreads are the following:

• The shelf cloud feature: This visually represents your shelves and shows which ones contain the most books, which is useful for determining the genres in which I need to read more!
• The most read authors feature: Shakespeare was #2 on my list, with Ann Rinaldi coming in at #1!
• The stats feature: This provides an interesting tool where you can see the longest book you have read in each year- a 743 page library science textbook topped the list for me in 2012
• The fun page with trivia and quizzes: This is a good way to kill time, have fun, and learn in the process!

I have not looked into the groups feature yet, but I plan on exploring this more in-depth. I like that the explore page has lists for recent award winners and books that are popular this week, and gives a debut author snapshot. Overall, I think the Goodreads site has a myriad of useful features and is quite user-friendly.

Finally, I recommended Behind the Palace Doors: Five Centuries of Sex, Adventure, Vice, Treachery, and Folly from Royal Britain by Michael Farquhar to Lisa Dibbern based off of her love of non-fiction books (I also noticed she was currently reading Literary Rogues, and Behind the Palace Doors is a similar concept, but focused on the scandalous lives of British kings and queens rather than of authors).

Week 3

Assignment 3

Conversation 1: My first thought was to recommend Wild by Cheryl Strayed, since this memoir focuses on a woman's journey for self-discovery along the West coast with descriptions of the places she hikes through and much of her own reflections. However, this book was an Oprah Book Club 2.0 pick, which means that the customer has probably already read it. Therefore, another suggestion I would give would be Traveling with Pomegranates by Sue Monk Kidd, which is similar to Eat, Pray, Love because of its reflective nature, its focus on travel (Greece and France), and its strong female characters (a mother and daughter). Finally, if the customer wanted to veer away a little bit from travel writing, but still wanted a book that was reflective, had some light humor, and focused on a brave and interesting female character, I would suggest The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, which is a memoir about Walls' childhood with her alcoholic, often homeless parents.

________________________________________________________

Conversation 2: There are two suggestions that I would give the customer. First, since the customer specifies that they do not like teen angst, I would recommend The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova, which is a more refined read on the topic of vampires. This historical fiction novel delves into the folklore of Vlad Tepes. While a long book, it is fast paced and has all the characteristics of a Gothic novel combined with detective fiction, adventure, and thriller. If the customer is looking for a book that is a little less deep and instead more fun (yet still with none of the teen angst), I would suggest The Southern Vampire Mysteries (or The Sookie Stackhouse Novels) by Charlaine Harris, which feature a tough, spunky heroine and are fast paced, quick, short reads.

________________________________________________________

Conversation 3: The customer here seems to be desiring non-fiction (since they enjoyed the fact that the story was true), and especially narrative non-fiction (since non-narrative non-fiction is usually not a fast paced read). My first suggestion would be anything written by Edward Klein or David O. Stewart, since their non-fiction books are similarly fast-paced and on the topic of presidents. I would also suggest Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President by Candace Millard and The Hour of Peril: The Secret Plot to Murder Lincoln before the Civil War by Daniel Stashower, since these are both fast-paced narrative non-fiction books that feature murder plots and presidents. The Hour of Peril would particularly be an interesting read for the customer if they are from Baltimore, since it focuses on the failed Baltimore Plot to assassinate Lincoln.