Week 4: Goodreads

This is the post I gave Rose Frase on the book she rated: Rebecca.

Hey, Rose,
This was one of my favorite books in High School. I liked it so much that I took a course in college on Gothic literature. Since there is a love story in it and, I know you read romance at times, I would have thought you would have given it a higher rating. If you liked Rebecca, you will like Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. Both books use a foreboding atmosphere that permeates throughout this romantic suspense. The Gothic nature of both novels include family secrets, love interests, and psychological drama. Mercedes

My observations with Goodreads:
I had joined many years ago and had not really taken the time to review it closely. It could be, too, that the site has developed throughout the years to become more usefull. What I do find hard it having to always sign-in to the site to review/note my books. If I am with a customer, I find going to Novelist so much quicker. I would use Goodreads more as a place to write down what I have read, but whether a customer would wait for me to open my list to get suggestions for which I can't remember is another matter. Customers don't like to wait around for you. It is an online journal of what one has read, but I also have heard from others that they still like a spreadsheet better for their list of read items.

I have also observed that the subject lists they produce in Listopia could be good for merchandising ideas, not just reading suggestions for me. Going through some of the lists, I also noticed I could easily mark them as read from such lists as the BEST Books of the 21 Century or Best Books Ever lists without having to type in the title and search for them.

The best part of the Explore button, for me, was being able to search the main genre i.e. Science Fiction, and when your receive your results, it gives you related genres/subgenres. Click on the related genres/subgenres and one gets a decent explanation on it. This helps me learn more about genres I couldn't care to read, but for which I still am required to understand/know.

In regards to groups, I don't believe I would ever join them. I like reading on my own time schedule whatever I am in the mood to read and not what others want to read. Also, as generalists in our system, reading from all areas may make one read more from a specific age level more than another depending on what is going on at the moment.

Week 5 Assignment: building Base Knowledge II

Assignment 1:

I chose to review, on a regular basis, SF Site and Daily Beast/The Book Beast.

SF Site:
This site is one I would not have ventured to read on my own and this is why I chose it. I have never freely chosen to read fantasy or science fiction unless required to read it. After reviewing some of the book reviews on this site, I have made a small, very small list of titles I would like to read. The ones I have on the list are ones that don't go all out on creating other universes with strange names. This small list may lead me to read more in the genre if I can really find a niche that I enjoy.

SF Site has a Content page that has a lot of author interviews and book reviews. This site also prides itself on the quality and quantity of link sites to related subjects in the fantasy and sf world. Some of the links are to SF conventions, TV shows and movies, etc.

The SF News is great for listing the SF awards, the upcoming dates for award title selections, and, eventually for the actual winners. Some of the awards mentioned are Asimov's & Analog Poll Winners, Aurealis Awards, Nebula awards, etc.

SF Site offers a search engine to search the site by using a local version of Google. It is easy to find what you think you found previously. The site also gives archival information on past entries. I would highly recommend this site to SF savvy readers in case they are unaware of it. I surely was, but I am not a SF reader. Maybe one day I will be!

Daily Beast--The Book Beast:

The Daily Beast is published by the publisher of the formerly paper edition of Newsweek. It is short stories concerning news, entertainment, politics, etc. The part that I am concerned in getting acquainted with is the section on books entitled The Book Beast.I subscribed to receive this through e-mail. It has become an obnoxious presence in my inbox. They send out multiple ones each day. The subscription I receive attaches to the main page of the Daily Beast and I have to then search for the Book Beast. I only wanted to receive information on the book section. It is more annoying on my I-phone.

Despite its annoyances, the Book Beast is an incredible site filled with author interviews and book reviews. Each week they focus on reviewing 5 new fiction and 5 new nonfiction titles. I really enjoy the videos of people reading books. The reader can make or break whether one wants to listen to a book versus reading it visually.

Assignment #2:
I have been very familiar with the New York Times Best Seller List and People magazine for quite a few years as most librarians have. However, the resources available online today make these two sources a place where choice is not abundant. It is not what is popular that I want to read but what fancies me at the moment I want to read. The clear choice for me as to which resource to use for book reviews has been Early Word for the past two years. Not only do they reveiw adult books, but children's books too. The links to other resources is the best there is to offer. I was aware of NPR for the Indie Next Best Seller list, but did not look at this resource as much as I would like to do so in the future.
Early Word runs articles  about any book out there in the marketplace. I just read an article on a new online source for books called Bookish.com. Fancy they did not add it, as of yet, to their links.
I love the children's and teen area of Early Word. It tells you so much of what is here and what will come that one needs to know about.
For me, Early Word is a one stop shopping (hopping) place to be. There is so much to investigate and so much to use on this site. I highly recommend it above all other sites for general book knowledge.

Assignment #3:

I chose to suggest the title: A Constellation of Vital Phenomenon: A Novel by Anthony Marra. It is a historical fiction war story that is character-driven. The story develops heartbreaking relationships during the 2004 Chenya war with Russia. The vivid imagery and lyrical prose will overcome the bleak and violent tone. Readers who enjoyed The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway or The March by E. L. Doctorow will enjoy these war stories and their literary style combined with the character-driven storyline.

Week 3:

Conversation #1:
What I Heard:
The customer says she liked brave women, details about countries, humorous stories, and meditative or introspective stories like Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. In addition, the customer liked all of Oprah's book recommendations and now she needs a recommendation for her book group.
What I recommend:
I recommend the customer try Wild by Cheryl Strayed. She is a strong, courageous woman who ventures out into the wilderness as a means to face her demons. Just like Eat, Love, Pray by Elizabeth Gilbert, Wild is a book about a personal journey filled with reflection and a strong sense of place. It is descriptive and it is written in a conversational style. The wilderness provides Strayed with an avenue to rethink her past, present and future life all the while venturing into unknown territory. This book is also recommended by Oprah as a book club favorite.

Conversation #2:
What I Heard: Customer wants to read vampire story without a teen lover story and angst.
What I recommned: It is not obvious if this customer is an adult or a teen since so many readers of the Twilight series were both teens and adults. I would suggest titles that would appeal to both age groups. The classic vampire story Dracula by Bram Stoker would be a great start. There is no one out there that would second guess what the word Dracula suggests, and thus, we experience the first vampire. It does expose Victorian sexual issues, amongst others, but the focus is the traditional gothic horror of a vampire not a love story.
In addition, one can not forget the vampire images exposed in Anne Rice's writing. Start with Interview with the Vampire and Lestat which are more good vs. evil, occult fiction and horror stories all written in  the gothic vein.

Conversation #3:
What I Heard: I liked the book The River of Doubt because it was a fast-paced, nonfiction adventure story about Teddy Roosevelt. I did not hear the customer state he liked it because it deals with the presidents, so this leaves me the opportunity to suggest any historical adventure nonfiction.
What I recommend:
The first book that comes to mind is Devil in the White City. What a great a parallel story: one is the edification of the Chicago exhibition(vs. a trip down the Amazon) intertwined with the rise of many murders during this exhibition(vs.murder in the Amazon). Like The River of Doubt, it is fast-paced, nonfiction, and the main storyline is parallel to a murder mystery.  If the interest lies on the history of presidents, then I would suggest books by David McCullough such as Mornings on Horseback focusing on the life of a younger Teddy Roosevelt.

 

Suggested Annotations

I went to Jo B's blog and suggested Breakdown Lane by Jacquelyn Mitchard as a read-alike for for The Middlesteins and suggested Niccolo Rising by Dorothy Dunnett for the book The Habits of the House by Fay Weldon.