Week 4: Building Base Knowledge with GoodReads

I created a Goodreads account in 2007. I added some books I read in high school and then did not use the account for many years. I started adding books to my account again last year when I received a Kindle. The Kindle automatically asks you to rate a book when you finish and it gets posted to Goodreads.



When I first logged back onto Goodreads this week, I realized the suggestions were not what they should be because my shelves were polluted with things that reflected my 18 year-old self. Today, I enjoy reading narrative non-fiction and children and teen fiction. I cleaned up my shelves, created some additional shelves, and added some books to my Want To Read shelf. Now my recommendations are on point!



Shelves I created include: Teens, Picture Books, Storytime (books that are good for reading aloud), Children, Non-Fiction, and Memoirs. As I read more, I will create more shelves. I think this will be helpful when I reference my account to make recommendations.


I am glad I am now friends with other BCPL librarians! It's super cool to be able to learn what others are reading. This will help increase my awareness of books that might interest readers at my library.


I left suggestions for my colleagues Andrea and Varshea. For Andrea, I noticed her Read shelf contained a lot of cookbooks and books written by popular chefs. She also had given Wild by Cheryl Strayed 4 stars. From this, I suggested a memoir called Julie and Julia in which, like Wild, the author goes on an adventure of a lifetime, but instead of a months long hike, Julie resolves to cook every recipe (over 500 of them!) in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking in just 365 days.


For Varshea, I noticed that she is currently reading a couple of memoirs written in prose that discuss race, gender, and other social issues facing people of color. I suggested the 2014 National Book Award winner Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson. Woodson's memoir is also written in prose. Although it is more subtle in it's discussion about race and gender due to it being geared towards children, it offers the unique perspective of a woman who grew up in the 60s, spending time in both South Caroline and Brooklyn.

Add me as a friend on Goodreads!

Here is the url to my GoodReads account. Please friend me!
https://www.goodreads.com/librariankelsey

Week 3: The RA Conversation

Conversation 1
"The last book I read was Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. Everyone is reading it so I had to pick it up. It was lovely. She is such an interesting woman and so brave. I enjoyed the descriptions of the countries she went to and what she did while she was there, of course, but I think what I liked most was how she shared her inner thoughts — so reflective but funny too. I thought it might be just light fluff or all me, me, me, me, but it was so much more than that. I read all the Oprah books and just love them. Anyway I wanted to ask you for a few suggestions for my book group. It’s my turn to pick the title."

It seems to me that this reader finds books with characters with a lot of depth as well as interesting and exotic settings. She also seems to be motivated by books that are getting a lot of attention a la Oprah book club books. My first recommendation is Wild by Cheryl Strayed. The descriptions of the Pacific Crest Trail and all of the logistics, preparation, and skill required for a 3+ month hike are fascinating. Even more fascinating is that Cheryl embarked on this journey on a whim in attempt to untangle her life after her divorce, addictions, and mother's death. I would also recommend any of the following best-selling celebrity memoirs, for their comical insights on life: Bossy Pants by Tiny Fey, Yes Please by Amy Poehler, and Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (and Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling.

Conversation 2

Customer: Can you recommend any vampire books that are nothing like the Twilight series?

Librarian: Let me see how I can help you. What don’t you like about Twilight?
Customer: Everything, but especially that teen love story – way too much angst! And way too slow.  Have you read any good vampire stories lately?  

I am going to assume this customer is an adult because they say "that teen love story". Having said that, it sounds like this customer wants books with characters who are vampires but not necessarily the same books that are popular with the members of some of Good Reads' vampire sub genre fan groups like the Sookie Stackhouse or Anita Blake series. This customer may like The Passage Series by Justin Cronin. This series is more reminiscent of Stephen King than Anne Rice, and With a compelling tone, the customer will find it faster-paced than Twilight. I would also provide the customer with a list from Goodreads or NoveList with readalikes.


Conversation 3
I just read this great book The River of Doubt.  It was about Teddy Roosevelt and this ill fated expedition to chart an uncharted river in the Amazon.  They lost almost all their provisions, the president was injured, and it turns out one of their crew was a murderer since there was a murder.  And the most amazing thing was that it true.  It was fascinating and really fast paced.  Do you have anything to recommend that is like that?

I also love unbelievable true stories like this! This customer may like The Cruelest Miles by Gay Salisbury, a fast-paced true story about the team of men and sled dogs who raced hundreds of miles in the arctic to obtain life-saving supplies for the diphtheria outbreak in 1925 Nome, Alaska. The team travels through unbroken trails in temperatures more than 60 degrees zero. Keeping with this Ice/snow theme I have introduced, this customer might also enjoy Touching the Void by Joe Simpson (has been adapted into a movie, too). Simpson writes about his adventures mountaineering in the Andes. Another fast-paced selection that is unbelievable page after page.

Week 2: Appeal Factors

*The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie*
Learn about the struggles of growing up on a native american reservation in the 21st century through the lens of Junior, a goofy yet motivated 14 year-old boy residing on the Spokane Indian Reservation. This medium-paced young adult novel is surprisingly funny considering the tough issues- such as the alcoholism of his elders, poverty, and death- that Junior grapples with at home on the reservation. Junior's life on the reservation- where there is little hope for a bright a future and even fewer resources- is juxtaposed with his life at the high school he recently transferred to outside of the reservation in a middle-class and predominately white community where he has found success socially, academically, and athletically. 



*Sold by Patricia McCormick*
This novel, written in prose, begins with 13 year-old Lakshmi's simple life living in a hut in a small Nepalese mountain village with her mother, step-father, and new baby sibling. Lakshmi's life suddenly changes when her family's poverty deepens and she is sent to work in a far away place. When this "work" turns out to be nothing more than sex slavery, Lakshmi's courageous side shines as she refuses to accept the same fate as the older girls in the brothel. Well-researched and rich in detail, this novel exposes readers to the experiences of the world's many victims of human trafficking. 


*Bomb: The Race to Build--and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin* It is common knowledge how this story ends in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but thanks Sheinkin's impeccable research and the resulting rich detail, readers still get to enjoy a suspenseful and thrilling story that intertwines the actions of the military, spies, politicians, and scientists of multiple nations. Readers will develop a more intimate understanding of the events and efforts that lead up to the creation of the atomic bomb as well as the aftermath of its use.

Week 1, Assignment #4

From the Recommended Links- Books list, I am choosing Early Word since it is the one resource I wasn't familiar with. I also feel that Early Word will feature a diverse array of books compared to NPR, Salon, or Daily Beast. I had the feeling that those publications might only feature books that would appeal to their readers

From the Recommended Links- Genre list, I am choosing StreetFiction.Org. I selected this resource because Urban fiction is one of the most popular genres in my branch's community.

Week 1, Assignment #3

I reviewed the Golden Rules for Readers Advisory. Rule #6, Don't Pigeonhole the Books, stood out to me. The author, Cindy Orr, writes, "if you don't read in a particular genre, all the books in that genre may seem the same. But to genre fans, there are infinite nuances." This is something I am guilty of. I read a lot of books outside of my preferred genres for Genre Bootcamp and I actually really enjoyed it. This article was a good reminder that I need to continue this practice even when I am not required to for formal professional development opportunities.


I also like Rule #2 "Write, Write, Write." The author suggests keeping a log of all of the books you have read along with notes about possible audiences, readalikes, and appeal factors. I like this idea and will consider implementing it. My boyfriend and I actually keep a log of the movies we watch and I have referenced it to make movie suggestions for friends. I can't believe I never thought about doing the same thing for books!

Week 1, Assignment #2

I took the "blank covers" quiz. I am glad I am participating in Be More Bookish because I had no idea there were so many sub-genres! Here are a few sub-genres that I found especially interesting: Small Town Romance; Literary Realistic Fiction; Cozy Mystery; Hard/Soft Science Fiction; and lastly, Urban Fantasy.