This is the end.
Of this blog.
It was fun.
It was quite informative.
What did I learn?
Plenty.
I learned new things I could do with Goodreads.
I signed up for a new mailing list.
I've got new sites I check on a regular basis.
I know how to use appeal factors in everyday recommendations. I even used some this evening when recommending CDs!
I know where to direct people to learn about specific genres.
I've discovered new subgenres I didn't even know were a thing.
I'm glad I got to do this. I'd recommend it for any new librarian! Maybe even develop refresher courses. Things can change over time, after all.
This was a blast!
Thursday, September 3, 2015
Monday, August 31, 2015
Penultimate
Book trailers are an odd thing.
I love trailers for movies. Though they often leave you wondering if all the good moments of a movie are in the trailer, you'd never have to worry about that with a book. There are no scenes for them to show. As some people have noted, books are like movies that you get to direct, cast, star in, and produce by yourself. No need to bother with someone else making you think it is supposed to look at certain way.
That is something that is important for people to remember about books and book trailers. You don't necessarily want to lead readers to think about it a certain way until after they've already started reading. Coloring their opinions of the books before you even start reading it is sure to turn some people off. I think that is where book trailers fail.
But with that in mind, having a big name individual, a movie star or a singer, as the advertising force can be a way to drum up more readers. If this person supports it, I'm sure to like it! Though that person is only doing what they're supposed to so they can get a check. Not many people think about that bit.
On a readers advisory level, sometimes these trailers are effective, sometimes they're not. It all depends on how many or what kind of appeal factors are used in the trailer. If it is a character in the book describing their life within it or telling a small plot summary, it might be effective. Vague generalities about the whole genre in relation to a specific book, not so effective.
Over all, I think book trailers are a big mixed bag. Some of them are good. I want to see what the book Matched is all about now that I've seen the trailer. And I wanted to read Packing for Mars before, but seeing the trailer makes me want to read it even more. But I still have no interest in those James Patterson books. Those trailers did not make me want to read them any more than I did before.
I love trailers for movies. Though they often leave you wondering if all the good moments of a movie are in the trailer, you'd never have to worry about that with a book. There are no scenes for them to show. As some people have noted, books are like movies that you get to direct, cast, star in, and produce by yourself. No need to bother with someone else making you think it is supposed to look at certain way.
That is something that is important for people to remember about books and book trailers. You don't necessarily want to lead readers to think about it a certain way until after they've already started reading. Coloring their opinions of the books before you even start reading it is sure to turn some people off. I think that is where book trailers fail.
But with that in mind, having a big name individual, a movie star or a singer, as the advertising force can be a way to drum up more readers. If this person supports it, I'm sure to like it! Though that person is only doing what they're supposed to so they can get a check. Not many people think about that bit.
On a readers advisory level, sometimes these trailers are effective, sometimes they're not. It all depends on how many or what kind of appeal factors are used in the trailer. If it is a character in the book describing their life within it or telling a small plot summary, it might be effective. Vague generalities about the whole genre in relation to a specific book, not so effective.
Over all, I think book trailers are a big mixed bag. Some of them are good. I want to see what the book Matched is all about now that I've seen the trailer. And I wanted to read Packing for Mars before, but seeing the trailer makes me want to read it even more. But I still have no interest in those James Patterson books. Those trailers did not make me want to read them any more than I did before.
Penpenultimate
Week nine! The last week! Ahhhh!
Both the articles had some interesting things to say about book trailers. For my money, I have seen them very rarely. Usually they're on on daytime TV and I don't watch that much due to work. In any case, the ones I've seen have not been all that spectacular.
Nina Metz brings up a good point regarding the low budget and resulting low production value for many of these book trailers when that really doesn't need to be the case. Have you seen The Hunger Games? Did you actually enjoy that movie? Well try reading the book. It came first, you might like it better. This is the sort of thing book trailers so play on.
Pamela Paul, on the other hand, notes some of the more successful book trailers and how they utilize real life as a way to make them effective. Maybe book trailers would be better for nonfiction subjects. Cable TV channels like science channel and National Geographic could certainly market some of their own books using trailers as their commercials. It would probably work, too..
Both the articles had some interesting things to say about book trailers. For my money, I have seen them very rarely. Usually they're on on daytime TV and I don't watch that much due to work. In any case, the ones I've seen have not been all that spectacular.
Nina Metz brings up a good point regarding the low budget and resulting low production value for many of these book trailers when that really doesn't need to be the case. Have you seen The Hunger Games? Did you actually enjoy that movie? Well try reading the book. It came first, you might like it better. This is the sort of thing book trailers so play on.
Pamela Paul, on the other hand, notes some of the more successful book trailers and how they utilize real life as a way to make them effective. Maybe book trailers would be better for nonfiction subjects. Cable TV channels like science channel and National Geographic could certainly market some of their own books using trailers as their commercials. It would probably work, too..
– – – • • • • • • –
Time for some book talks!
Fifty Shades of Chicken is a delightfully humorous cookbook. Did you like the steamy action of Fifty Shades of Grey? Do you like to eat good chicken? Well look no further! This book combines the steaminess of one of the most popular book series in recent memory with the technical skills of cooking a whole bird. Author F.L. Fowler, which I'm assuming is a pseudonym, takes the recipes for various forms of cooked chicken and gives them creatively suggestive titles as well as introducing them with passages of a saucy romance between a chef and their chicken. Clearly designed as a parody, this book is a frantically fun way of making chicken all while enjoying the suggestive nature of romance books.
There are fewer and fewer people who realize that the White House as it exists today was not the one that John Adams first moved into in November of 1800. Not only was the house burned down during the War of 1812 and subsequently rebuilt but new additions were put on in later years. All of this led to the house being in generally poor condition by the time Harry Truman moved in 1945. Robert Klara's book The Hidden White House: Harry Truman and the Reconstruction of America's Most Famous Residence examines what happened after Truman moved in.
Famous for the fact that it is the President's residence, the house was in such bad repair that the Trumans had to move out for several years while it was rebuilt. The inside of the house was completely torn out. All that remained were the famous outer walls, a husk of the building. Steel was added, as was concrete, and the house grew inside while the outside remained unchanged. Along the way various strong personalities, not least of which was Harry Truman's, butted heads to get the job done. In the end, they rebuilt the most famous house in the nation to withstand many more years to come.
Fifty Shades of Chicken is a delightfully humorous cookbook. Did you like the steamy action of Fifty Shades of Grey? Do you like to eat good chicken? Well look no further! This book combines the steaminess of one of the most popular book series in recent memory with the technical skills of cooking a whole bird. Author F.L. Fowler, which I'm assuming is a pseudonym, takes the recipes for various forms of cooked chicken and gives them creatively suggestive titles as well as introducing them with passages of a saucy romance between a chef and their chicken. Clearly designed as a parody, this book is a frantically fun way of making chicken all while enjoying the suggestive nature of romance books.
There are fewer and fewer people who realize that the White House as it exists today was not the one that John Adams first moved into in November of 1800. Not only was the house burned down during the War of 1812 and subsequently rebuilt but new additions were put on in later years. All of this led to the house being in generally poor condition by the time Harry Truman moved in 1945. Robert Klara's book The Hidden White House: Harry Truman and the Reconstruction of America's Most Famous Residence examines what happened after Truman moved in.
Famous for the fact that it is the President's residence, the house was in such bad repair that the Trumans had to move out for several years while it was rebuilt. The inside of the house was completely torn out. All that remained were the famous outer walls, a husk of the building. Steel was added, as was concrete, and the house grew inside while the outside remained unchanged. Along the way various strong personalities, not least of which was Harry Truman's, butted heads to get the job done. In the end, they rebuilt the most famous house in the nation to withstand many more years to come.
– – – • • • • • – –
The histories are usually in the 900s. Some of my favorites. I usually like the 940s, WWII. So good.
One of the history books I've been reading recently that I greatly enjoyed was The Hidden White House by Robert Klara (975.3 K). I think it would appeal greatly to a non-fiction reader.
Food! I love food! 640s! 641 in particular. For this category, I'd recommend the parody cookbook Fifty Shades of Chicken by F.L. Fowler (pseudonym?), 641.665 F.
What's next...
Biographies are often good and have their own section: the Bios! What would be a good bio to recommend...? How about The Other Wes Moore? A biography of discovery involving two men with the same name who grew up into vastly different people while only living a block apart.
Travel! Usually the early 900s. I think Alone in Antarctica by Felicity Aston (919.89 A) would be a good choice for anyone who reads fiction.
One of the history books I've been reading recently that I greatly enjoyed was The Hidden White House by Robert Klara (975.3 K). I think it would appeal greatly to a non-fiction reader.
Food! I love food! 640s! 641 in particular. For this category, I'd recommend the parody cookbook Fifty Shades of Chicken by F.L. Fowler (pseudonym?), 641.665 F.
What's next...
Biographies are often good and have their own section: the Bios! What would be a good bio to recommend...? How about The Other Wes Moore? A biography of discovery involving two men with the same name who grew up into vastly different people while only living a block apart.
Travel! Usually the early 900s. I think Alone in Antarctica by Felicity Aston (919.89 A) would be a good choice for anyone who reads fiction.
Sunday, August 30, 2015
– – – • • • • – – –
Here are the topics covered by the video. Ah SLRC, how useful you are!
Biography
Memoir
History
Contemporary social issues
Politics
Science
Essays
Sports
Travel
Food
Crime
Faith
Overcoming adversity
Adventure
Disaster/survival
Medical
Biography
Memoir
History
Contemporary social issues
Politics
Science
Essays
Sports
Travel
Food
Crime
Faith
Overcoming adversity
Adventure
Disaster/survival
Medical
– – – • • • – – – –
I don't really know what to write for this. There probably isn't anything that actually needs to be written, but I like writing one for every assignment.
I liked reading these articles. They reminded me that some people may not think that nonfiction is worth reading, but there's a nonfiction book out there for everyone, much like there is a fiction book for everyone.
You like historical fiction? Try a history book and get a real story.
Enjoy a romance, try someone's biography or a memoir.
I liked reading these articles. They reminded me that some people may not think that nonfiction is worth reading, but there's a nonfiction book out there for everyone, much like there is a fiction book for everyone.
You like historical fiction? Try a history book and get a real story.
Enjoy a romance, try someone's biography or a memoir.
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