Building Base Knowledge II cont'd

Question 2;
In Early Word I think I will look at the coming soon- Season Previews  to become better acquainted with what is coming and can formulate some possible read alikes for several of the books that might be popular.


Question 3:  After looking at Coming Soon- Season Previews on Early Word, I've chosen the book   Detroit: an American autopsy by Charles Le Diff .  Literary expression and language is the strong appeal of this book along with the  setting of a place of power that has crumbled and has hope of rebuilding.  It has philosophical appeal as it tries to uncover the whys of what has happened to the journalist's home town.  If you liked When a crocodile eats the sun by Peter Godwin, Detroit : an American autopsy might appeal to you.  It is written by a journalist that goes back to Zimbabwe to visit his aging father and sees the devastation of  his childhood homeland because of corruption.

Detroit  is expected to be popular because of the author's literary style and language.  It addresses concerns of the American people and gives possible hope.

Week 5: Building Base Knowledge (Part II)

Here it is week 5 when I am to write about what I have gained/learned from the NPR and Locus.  NPR has been helpful in giving me some awareness of popular titles for  customers.  When I combine the choices  with Early Word and other sites it gives a complete picture of what will be asked for.  In the most recent perusal of NPR  I was impressed with And the Mountain Echoed by Hosseini.  I want to remember that in his new  book Hosseini does not focus on " the political turmoil but family loss".  The setting  is in Afghanistan partly just as in His other books.   NPR  has interesting lists that are helpful.  I like the availability of non-fiction titles that are offered.

Locus is the other site I was going to frequent.  Opening the site has proved to be a difficulty in at least 3 of the days that I have attempted to visit the site.  I am not ready to weigh in on how this site has helped me.

Week 4 GoodReads Continued

GoodReads offers far more than I realized in terms of readers' services.  It offers Listopia which I discovered is list of books that are created by readers/ users in terms of genre and interests.  It offers suggestions for reading as well as basic reader's advisor.

Popular is another  category that I think would be helpful in readers' services and in keeping up with current titles.

The quizzes add a challenge but also assist thinking about books in terms that may help with working with customers.

I found the rating of books did affect whether I wanted to read them.

Having signed up for Goodreads several years ago and then not using it, made this assignment very helpful for me to get more involved and see the many options it has to offer. 

Assignment 4: Goodreads

Here is the book I recommended to Melissa :

Beckyrecommended the book:

The Scorpio RacesbyMaggie Stiefvater

"This is a fast paced, intense read of a life and death water horse race on the beach that combines fantasy with realism as two very strong characters lives become entwined by their needs and the emotion of the race. There are some similarities to Hunger games in that many horses and people are expected to die in the race. It is also a teen book. "

toMelissa

 

I will post my Goodreads thoughts when I next have time.

Week 3 - Reader's conversation

I'm finding the articles the last 2 weeks very helpful and informative.

Converstaion 1:    Eat, Pray, Love. I hear the reader saying that they like popular titles with characters that are interesting, reflective and funny.  The setting of the different countries and their description  added to their enjoyment.  The customer is also looking for a book for a book group.

Grace Eventually  by Anne Lamott would be a book the reader might enjoy.  It is witty, fun and reflective  and the author explores life and her view of faith in light of family and life situations.  It is a good book for a group discussion as well.


Conversation 2:  Vampire books not like Twilight with no angst, no romance, and fast paced.

I am not a reader of Vampire books.  I would recommend based on other readers suggestions Vampire Academy series or Blood Drunk by Angela Lovell.  Blood Drunk has a strong male protagonist and a steady pace as the main character seeks to find his sister and enters the world of the vampires. I would take the reader to Novelist so that they might look for other possibilities.


Conversation 3:  River of Doubt:  The Reader liked that it was historical, true, very fast paced.

I would recommend:  Unbroken: A World War II story of survival, resilience, and redemption by Laura Hillenbrand.  It is fast paced, factual, and historical.  The life of  Louis Zamperini an olympian, prisoner of war, and member of the Army Air Force is true, adventuresome and an excellent read.

Edward Klein may be an author the reader might like to try.  Fast Paced and historical in his writing but does not contain the adventure of River Doubt and Unbroken.

Week -2 Addendum

I visited several co-workers blogs.  I left a book suggestion on Kim B's blog and on Doug B's blog.  The books I chose were Mister Death's blue-eyed girls for Doug B and  Farishta on Kim b's blog.

Week 2- Annotation 2

Farishta by Patricia McArdle

Angela Morgan is at a change in her career and life and accepts a position for the US government in Afghanistan. As she details with  the lack of respect by her coworkers as well as the culture Angela is also dealing with PTSD from previous events in her life.  Not only does she grow and develop as a person in her new job post, she also discovers a way to help the women in Northern Afghanistan and thus gets the name Angel ( Farishta) from the people.

Setting was a great appeal to me as it was in another culture but also dealt with the military and government culture as well.

Pacing:  It was a fast paced book .

Characterization:  Immediately Angela Morgan draws you in as a character.  Her passions for each thing that she does as well as how she develops and grows beyond the grief of her past. complemented by the British commander, local warlords, and the local women.

Storyline:  Adventure, touch of romance, but definitely a  strong psychological and intellectual component. 

Language:  not a strength in this book-  Descriptions of the culture are well done

Detail:  Adds to the richness of the book.  Great description of the culture but not overly detailed.

Tone:  The subject is a dark subject but handled with passion and hope.  Doesn't leave the reader feeling dark but wanting to help

Learning/ experiencing:  Angela Morgan developes and learns to go beyond her past and develop a new sense of who she is.

I enjoyed this book because the setting was helpful in understanding what was in the news about  Afghanistan.  My friend's son was in the military in Afghanistan and it gave me knowledge of what he was facing daily.

Elements of Appeal- Week 2 Annotation 1

The Housekeeper and the Professor by  Yoko Ogawa

A Math Einstein type Professor has his memory reduced to  80 minutes of  short term memory after being in an accident.  He needs care throughout the day and thus he meets the housekeeper and her son.  The relationship and effect that they have on each other revolves around math and the professor's love of children and baseball. 

Pacing: medium to quick as it is only 180 pages.

Characterization:  The characters are never named except the son of the housekeeper is given a nickname of root because the professor thinks his head resembles a square root sign.  Inspite of this you become attached to the characters and their relationship with each other.  Rich; fullbodied

Story Line:  Psychological in its subject

Language: sparce; clear; relies on inferences;

Setting:  The professor's house; occasionally they leave the house but primarily it is set in the house and its location to the master house.

Detail:  enough detail to keep the characters real and developing.

Tone:  Compassion and Beauty

Learning/ experiencing-  the characters all grow as people through the contact with each other.  The professor grows the least as his memory is only 80 minutes.  One reader states: " imagine being a child greeted with new joy and respect daily.."  

This is a book I've read multiple times.  I enjoy the math references and challenges as well as the way the characters learn to relate to each other and grow.  I would guess there is an intellectual appeal to it as well.