Week 9

 Assignment 1:

I read the Chicago Tribune and New York Times articles and watched the embedded book trailers.  So-So impact…

Assignment 2:

The comment in the CT article rings very true: because reading is an act of personal visual imagination, it’s impossible to “show” a scene from the book, similar to a movie trailer, without probably repelling the very readers it is meant to entice.  I see two current audiences for book trailers: ardent readers who search out videos of their favorite authors to feel a further connection, and teen readers, for whom book trailers are a routine way to discover new material to read—as the NYT article points out so convincingly.  In the first case, the Corporate Marketing Machine has a new tool to create word of mouth; a compelling corollary would be to have a bestselling author “blurb” a lesser-known author’s work.  In the second case, a new generation is growing up with a new art form/advertising angle.  It’s going to be a very interesting twenty years for publishing, and the book trailer can only increase its impact—once publishers figure out how to best exploit them for profit. 

Re: readers’ advisory?  It would be fun to point out the existence of book trailers to avid readers who are unaware of them.  In their current incarnations, however, I don’t see book trailers being of much practical use for readers. 

Assignment 3:

This was an extremely well-planned and presented training opportunity.  The segments were cohesive and challenging.  I liked seeing how colleagues progressed and seeing their comments—it made it almost interactive, beyond the two instances of being required to comment on another’s blog posts.  I’ve learned a lot about electronic resources that I was unaware of before, and I am certain that I will continue to use segments of this training in the years to come.

 

(Whew!!)

Week 8

Assignment 1:

I read the two articles.

Assignment 2:

I viewed Pratt’s E-Learning video.

Assignment 3:

• Biography (BIO): Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow
• Memoir (BIO): Breaking Night: A Memoir of Forgiveness, Survival, and My Journey from Homeless to Harvard by Liz Murray
• History (940-British, 970-American…) Mrs. Robinson's Disgrace: The Private Diary of a Victorian Lady by Kate Summerscale
• Science (500): The Violinist's Thumb: And Other Lost Tales of Love, War, and Genius, as Written by Our Genetic Code by Sam Keen 

Assignment 4:

Mrs. Robinson's Disgrace: The Private Diary of a Victorian Lady by Kate Summerscale is the character-driven yet issue-oriented story of Isabella Robinson, the unhappy second wife of a businessman.  Intellectually and sexually frustrated, lonely Isabella confides her thoughts and secret infatuations—they might well have been be dalliances—into her private diary.  When it is discovered by her dictatorial husband in 1858, the diary becomes the basis for one of the first scandalous divorce proceedings to take place among the middle class in Victorian Britain.  This is personal history merged with a social history of marriage, class and hypocrisy.  Devotees of British and women’s history will enjoy this steamy, thought provoking work which is amply supplied with background notes.  Fans of Hilary Mantel, Philippa Gregory, Frank Horan and even Downton Abbey are a likely audience for Mrs. Robinson.

The Violinist's Thumb: And Other Lost Tales of Love, War, and Genius, as Written by Our Genetic Code by Sam Keen merges science with quirky personal stories.  The discovery and influence of human DNA is illuminated and its past and future ramifications are explored by Keen’s witty recounting of the human stories behind the science.  Readers can learn the scientific basis for crazy cat ladies, why JFK was perpetually tanned and why Einstein was a genius, and why thumb flexibility is a prerequisite for world class violinists.  Accessible and engaging, this is the story of the interplay between science and history.  Readers who have enjoyed Dava Sobel, Richard Dawkins, Mark Kurlansky and Bill Bryson should appreciate Sam Keen.

 

 

Week 7

Assignment 1:

I found this flowchart so useful and pertinent that we put a color copies in plastic sleeves and posted the flowchart prominently in our Teen area!

 Assignment 2:

I read “Not Just For Teens.”  I think the YA crossover trend is due to many of the factors cited in the article: arrested development on the part of adult readers and the universal appeal of the coming-of-age story (very little is ever more vividly felt or remembered than those agonizing teen years), along with a higher quality of writing that one finds in many books written for high school aged readers these days.  Teen novels can be another form of escape for adults who want to retreat from the pressures of routine adult concerns, like the genres of romance, mystery, sci fi, teen vampires….

 I also read “New Adult: Needless Marketing-Speak or Valued Subgenre?”  “New Adult” won’t catch on with readers who are adults: they associate “New Adult” with newly released books for adults.  Duh.  I do see that marketers could find a niche for the college-age/post college-age female reader—and as one person commented, why not call this subgenre “college-age fiction”?  And let’s be frank here:  we all are really talking about books that have girl-appeal.  Even John Green.  (How many teen boys are reading John Green?  Do you know any?)  The mother/daughter aspect cannot be overstated, either: helicopter moms who themselves are not willing to grow up and are too involved in their girl’s lives, and their teen girls who may cringe at being their mom’s “best friend.”  But I rant…

I posted to Drennan N.’s “Bookish Spring Blog” and Mercedes M.’s “CubanCookingMama” blog.

Assignment 3:

I followed johngreenbooks.com and Stacked.

 John Green’s site is wildly successful due to two factors:  his teen novels resonate with his audience due to their realistic, often heartbreaking content and truly relatable characters—paired with his genius in marketing himself through social media.  With his brother, he posts two videos each week to his site and his YouTube channel, vlogbrothers, which has been viewed more than 200 million times.  He also has over 1.2 million followers on twitter: he may be a married man in his 30s, but he sure speaks teen (and pre-teen).  He has been able to create a community of “nerdfighters” who are committed to “decrease the overall worldwide level of suck” through meaningful community service activities throughout the U.S.

Stacked’s motto is “librarians. reviews. mayhem.”  This site is a moderated free-for-all for bookloving librarians to interact with other librarians and share their love of books.  All forms of media are reviewed and dissected, with guest articles written by experts in their field.  Opinions reign here—this site is not affiliated with ALA or PLA, but it’s easy to see why it engages librarians and attempts to entice them to read outside their comfort zone for the love of books.  All topics are welcome here and visiting it frequently, reader’s will be engaged in topics and materials they may never have considered before.  A winner to remember.

Assignment 4:

I visited HQ Teen.  While touting its “unforgettable characters and extraordinary stories” for teens, it seem to be a recent, tiny incubator for the more mainstream women’s  fare that the publisher is best known for.  Publishing just 1-3 titles per month (July and August 2013 only), it is obvious the HQ Teen imprint is looking for high concept, ultra-commercial fiction—the next Hunger Games or Twilight series .and Teens at Random.  Finding a successful teen author, I can only imagine that the publisher hopes to develop their work into more adult, mainstream romance fare. This is not a teen friendly site and seems to be an afterthought--in reality, trolling for teen authors as a prelude to finding additional authors to join their "stable."

 I also visited Teens@ Random.  Given the immense size and diversity of the Random House global empire, it’s logical that this site is sprawling and inclusive and savvy to teen media: the homepage is visually fun, book trailers are prominent, a You Tube site, links to popular authors, recommendations for parents, “fun,” “community,” you name it.  If I was an avid teen who reads, I’d “belong.”  This site really can hook and drag you in.