Summary: Theeeee Endddddd!

This has been a great, well-organized and helpful training, and has made me think of things, like appeals factors, which we throw around as terms but don’t necessarily stop to think of what they actually are or mean. I also found a plethora of new sites for RA and checking for new titles. Finally, I learned more about sub-genres and nonfiction genres, teen trends, and Goodreads which I will continue to use in my work.

I really liked how each week focused on a different topic/area of RA – my only suggestion for future online courses would be to consider the workload from the get-go.  Giving everyone something like 18 weeks (2 weeks per assignment) seems more realistic given our workload in the branches.  Thank you for all the tools and information you’ve provided us!  

Week 9: To trailer or not to trailer

Book trailers? Dunno. Haven’t thought too much about them before and certainly hadn’t watched too many. One of the sites I looked at for Week 7, Random House for Teens, had what I and the one article would classify as the “low-budget” version – some ominous music, smoke, attempt to create mystery – but really it just left me thinking “huh?” I did have fun watching the ones embedded in the Times’ article – especially Mary Karr’s and Jeannette Walls’. I think those were most interesting to me as far as meeting the people and “characters” behind the books – seeing pictures of the authors and their families, hearing their voices. I’m not sure they succeed in marketing the books – if anything, I was drawn to them because I had already read the books and wanted to see more behind-the-scenes dialogue and explanation. In fact, when I was watching book trailers on You Tube, I found myself searching for titles I had read, to see how others had interpreted the story. Book Launch 2.0 and Lowboy were just plain funny – could see them grabbing a certain audience, too, but again, I was drawn to the humor, not necessarily to the books’ content.

For me, I don’t think I’ll be looking to book trailers to pick future reads, although it was interesting that the Times’ article noted this was becoming more popular amongst teens. Personally, I get more from written reviews, but could see how a well-made trailer could create hype for a title. And – if we have both written reviews/summaries and trailers for movies, it only makes sense to have the same for books – although I’m guessing a movie’s marketing budget is a little larger ($10,000 for just a basic book trailer seems like beaucoup bucks).

If I did have a customer who seemed more visual, I might direct them to trailers, but otherwise, straight book talks still seem quickest. I will continue to use other RA sites and tools, not book trailers, to find titles – but like with everything, it’s good to have another tool in our “RA tool kit” at our disposal.

Week 8: Nonfiction, or "Try it, you'll like it!"

Assignment 3:

Crime (Dewey Areas: 362s-364s mostly, a few outliers in the earlier 300s and biographies): The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness, and Murder, by Charles Graeber (364.1523 G)

Science (Dewey Areas: mostly 300s and 600s, depending on the topic): Full Body Burden: Growing Up in the Nuclear Shadow of Rocky Flats, by Kristen Iversen (363.1799 I)

Contemporary Social Issues (Dewey Areas: really all over –environmental/medical [like the book I chose, which is cataloged in the medical section], sociology, even some in the 900s – I’ve read a few about the fallout of 9/11, one about the Abu Ghraib trial): Poisoned Profits: The Toxic Assault on Our Children, by Philip Shabecoff (618.9298 S)

Food (Dewey Areas: 641s) : Julie & Julia: 365 days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen, by Julie Powell (641.5 P)

Assignment 4:

The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness, and Murder, by Charles Graeber

A true-crime thriller that reads with a sense of urgency. Charlie Cullen hopscotched from one hospital to the next in NJ and PA, killing patients with drug overdoses. Readers will be on the edge of their seats as detectives race to find enough charges to bring against Cullen before he is hired at yet another hospital. Readers will also feel disbelief and outrage as they learn about how the hospitals lied and covered up Cullen’s history to keep a good public image, at the expense of patients’ well-being. Graeber provides histories with the main “characters”, so readers feel they know these people. Cullen’s friend, Amy, is an especially likeable person: frank, hard childhood, ends up being the informant for the detectives and standing up to the hospitals at the risk of her own job. Graeber also built a relationship of sorts with Cullen and interviewed him, so there is a lot of first-hand knowledge and insight into Cullen’s thoughts and deceptions. Perhaps most mysterious and intriguing: no one, including Cullen, knows the true number of victims. I would recommend this to anyone who likes true crime and thrillers: it really does read like a story, so if you like classics like In Cold Blood or Helter Skelter, which are written by people with insider knowledge, this is a good read-alike. And because detectives were really in a race against time to arrest Cullen, it has that thriller element: anyone who likes fiction authors such as Michael Palmer, Michael Connelly, Lisa Gardner, or John Grisham would like this book.

Full Body Burden: Growing Up in the Nuclear Shadow of Rocky Flats, by Kristen Iversen

This book combines a lot of elements: environmental pollution, dysfunctional families, social justice, Cold War history – so it has wide appeal. Rocky Flats is a place most people are not familiar with, so it’s an eye-opener in that regard. It was a top-secret nuclear facility opened after World War II; neighborhoods sprung up around the plant, in large part to house plant workers and their families. Although Iversen’s father didn’t work there, her family lived near to Rocky Flats and Iversen herself later worked at the plant briefly.  Iversen does a good job describing members of her family, so readers feel a connection there – it’s a little like The Glass Castle or The Liar’s Club if the dysfunctional family piece is a draw for you. Normal family? Appears to be, but they are slowly self-destructing. Anyone interested in environmental issues will be outraged: how the government and plant officials covered up what was going on, the number of times horrific accidents nearly happened, the amount of sickness and contamination that resulted, the careless practices of disposing of nuclear waste. There’s a lot of information, but Iversen does a good job with keeping it lively; she switches between her family’s story and the plant’s history, so the stories don’t drag. Since this is coming from someone with first-hand knowledge, there is a lot of description about the neighborhoods, how people lived and what seemed normal at the time about the situation, and how the Cold War era unfolded and the secrecy associated with that time period. For those who like social justice, you’ll cheer when the EPA and FBI finally raid the facility, although the result, like with many environmental disasters, is bittersweet (think A Civil Action). I’d recommend it to anyone interested in the above topics, because it is such an intriguing, mysterious, disbelieving true story of devastation. Fiction readers who like David and Goliath-type stories (John Grisham comes to mind) or family dysfunction, like Ordinary People, will also like seeing how things unravel on both fronts.

Week 7: Teens! Teens! Teens!

Assignment 2:

The Next Big Thing: Adults Reading Teen Literature

I wouldn’t say this article is too insightful, except for the buying stats; as the author herself acknowledged, adults reading teen lit isn’t a new trend, just a surprise to adults who do not read in this area. I wasn’t surprised to see I fit right into the age demographic for adults most likely to read teen books, especially for the “nostalgia” factor mentioned. One of my favorite things is to reread teen books I read as a teenager to see how my perspective has changed from oh-so-many-years ago. I also enjoy realistic fiction teen titles of today. With the exception of Harry Potter and a few stand-alone titles like Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children and a few authors like Lois Duncan, who sometimes incorporates magic or the supernatural into her books, I have not jumped into the fantasy realm, and really, really am not a dystopian reader, so I familiarize myself with a lot of fantasy/dystopian series from afar. For me, it will continue to be the themes of friendship, romance, mystery, family dynamics and social issues that attract me to teen titles.

YA Comes of Age

The article is almost two years old, so I did take it with a grain of salt, but it seems like their prophecies have been realized, like a still-growing dystopian market. This is interesting to me – that tough times have led the teen population and others to reading unhappy books (where it seems like adults tend to read more fun escapist books in these uncertain times, like cozy mysteries, romance, etc.). I’ve actually read several theories about this – helicopter parenting, feeling like they’re not able to make decisions for or do anything for themselves, strong teen characters in dystopian lit – so the speculation that this population has always known war is an interesting thought. It is also encouraging to see how much people want to read, and don’t feel confined to one age category for their books – whether it’s e-books, hard cover or paperbacks, people still love a good story.

 

I commented on Jaime B.’s and Maureen R.’s posts.

 

Assignment 3:

John Green Books

Funny!  You can tell he’s a Gen-Xer with the smart, sarcastic/dry humor. Felt a little pre-midlife crisis-ish when I realized he’s a year younger than me. He (or his publicist) is obviously doing a lot of the writing, with contributions from his brother Hank and others in their inner circle (videos). Intended for fans of his books, as well as anyone who appreciates off-beat, smart-alecky takes on daily living and various topics. Judging from the number of posts, especially in the book sections, I would say it’s successful. And although the site is wacky, it still maintains an organized air of professionalism.

 

Squeetus

Mostly I was just curious about the title. It’s a well-organized site, full of information, a little self-centered. I get that being a mom plus writer equals chaos, but this is mentioned again and again and again – certainly understandable but a little self-congratulatory too. And her “ridiculously long bio” (her words) – whew! Good information about her books and happenings. Hale is definitely doing the writing – funny in parts, but a little more slick-funny, not John Green-funny. Audience is definitely people like her – working and stay-at-home moms both eating up her posts about how difficult mommyland can be, and responding in kind. Also lots of fans, commenting how much they love her books. I can see how it is also inspirational for aspiring writers – lots of the “don’t give up, I was rejected 100 times before I was published” type of pep talk.

 

Assignment 4:

Harlequin Teen

Wow – so many titles and series to go through – I’m seeing lots of flouncy dresses (historical – imagined or real), supernatural, fantasy, and science fiction (steampunk seems to be here to stay for awhile). All covers and descriptions look very similar to what’s on our shelves now, with the exception of maybe steamier, hardcore (Katie McGarry) and more on the sci-fi side, as opposed to just paranormal or fantasy.

 

Teens at Random

The site itself has more of a “teen feel” – a big new releases trailer front and center, news ticker rolling with the latest book world developments, featured authors, fun site design overall. Less tedious than Harlequin – definitely made me want to hang out here and look around. Trends: sci-fi, dystopian, horror, and substantial books geared to girls (two of their newsletters are Sister Ink: Fun Fiction for the Thinking Girl, and Sisterhood). Maybe there will soon be a resurgence in realistic fiction, as several people have predicted?