Assignment 6: #3

Part I:
Choose 3 subgenres that are new to you

Historical Romance
Pioneer Family Westerns
Urban Christian Fiction

Part II: 
Historical Romance Authors and Titles
 
Joanna Wayne Trumped up Charges
Johannes Lindsey One Heart to Win
Terri Brisbin  At The Highlander's Mercy (April 2013), MacLerie Series

Keyword Search on Google:  Historical+Romance

For the historical romance authors, I checked out romanceaddict91.wordpress.com blog to see what people are looking for from their beloved authors.  The other website I checked was www.historicalromancewriters.com.  I always recommend trying the author websites to get a feel for the types of books the author enjoys writing.   It appears people are looking for romances with strong links to place and time, such as France in the early 18th century.  The book by Brisbin takes place in Scotland and the themes of family ties and relationships are very important.  It looks like readers want a conclusion for many of the series that have not yet been completed by the author.  The long lost love theme and nobility seemed to be very popular with the 2012-2013 books.  The hallmark and appeal for historical romance are plot driven and can be either fast paced or leisurely paced.  All of these novels have a strong sense of place and there is always a love affair, several that leave you hanging until the next in the series. 

Part II:  Pioneer Family Westerns Authors and Titles
Al and JoAnna Lacy A Line in the Sand
Elmer Kelton Many a River
Celia Hayes Adelsverein Series

Keyword Search in Google:  pioneer+western+novels

I checked the following site for for westerns, www.historicalnovels.info/Old-West-Novels.html, and found several titles that would fit the bill for subgenres of Westerns noted above.   I also found lindahubalek.com to be helpful with understanding writers of pioneer western fiction.  It seems many Pioneer Western titles embody the "western" appeal for readers-places west of the Mississippi, accurate historical context with attention to details, rough/tough male and female characters, heros, good vs. evil, romance, christian values and fighting for a cause. 

Part II:  Urban Christian Fiction
Rhonda Bowen One Way or Another
Tyora Moody When Memories Fade (#2/Victory Gospel Series)
Vanessa Miller Forsaken

Keyword Search in Google:  urban+christian+fiction

At www.blackchristianfiction.com there was a link to Cecilia Dowdy's christian fiction blog that I felt was very well done and informative, although not specific to urban christian fiction.  Urban Christian Fiction is characterized by raw and gritty characters full of honesty and drama.  There is often a protagonist who struggles with some wrong he or she has committed and seeks redemption. 

Week 6:  Assignment #2  Nice job Alex H. on your Prezi-very well done!  April

Week 6: Assignment #1

I wrote about Stop You're Killing me in my previous post but I will add that I enjoyed learning the various awards that are handed out for mystery writers.  I feel if I'm not exactly certain of a subgenre of mystery writing, I can at least use the indexes on the left column of the site to help me out.  There are location, job, historical, diversity and genre indexes listed and by choosing one of these, I can narrow the focus for my customer.  This goes back to the educational piece on how readers will enter the "gateway".  These tools are very effective in helping the librarian to find a book that meets the needs of our mystery readers. 

Week 5: Assignment 3 Appeal terms

I looked at Isabel Allende's Maya's Notebook for Part III of this assignment.  I wanted to check other read-a-likes in Novelist to see who would be interested in this book.  A few titles recommended in Novelist with similiar appeal characterists were, Purple Hibiscus by C. Adichie, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Angel's Revenge and Dutch by Teri Woods and The Man of My Dreams by Chris Sittenfeld. 

These are all coming-of-age stories which translates to a character-driven storyline in terms of "appeal".  There is a strong sense of place and these books would definitely appeal to those who enjoy stories of far off places or travel.  It is fast-paced, heartwrenching, violent, thought-provoking and disturbing.  Although there is humor interjected throughout the novel, it is typically a dark humor.  These stories would appeal to someone with interests in politics, the world condition and history. 

This particular book is described in Goodreads as "lyrical writing".  This type of writing is poetic and when it is done well, the reader is lost in the rhythm and beautiful descriptions of people, places and events. 

I have not yet read any of Allende's books and a few reviews said this novel was not typical of her other novels.  It may be worth a try. 

Week 5: Assignment 2 New Resources

What resources were new to you?  What will you continue to use?
I am familiar with NYTimes and have always liked checking this every week or two for new book picks.  I have never tried the Indie site and this is definitely a site I'll continue to use.  I like the overall layout of the site and I did find a newer children's book of interest-Timmy Failure:  Mistakes were made by Stephan Pastis that looks very good and has received great reviews.  Octopus Alone and Little Owls Night by Divya Srinivasan are adorable judging by the book trailer (Octopus Alone) and I can't wait to read them.  On the Indie site, I also found a non-fiction title of interest-Obsessed by Mika Brzezinski. 

While looking through Mysteries, I stumbled on The Nancy Pearl Booklist and this offers a more extensive category listing than Stop You're Killing Me, so this is also a nice find. 

Week 5: Assignment 1 Stop You're Killing Me

What useful information have you learned from the site you are monitoring?
Stop You're Killing Me is a site established by Lucinda Surber and Stan Ulrich and they are book lovers.  This is obvious when you peruse the site and see just how much content is available for mystery enthusiasts. 

I appreciate the logical layout of the pages and the multitude of hyperlinks within the site.  Checking out Next Months Releases I found a book for summer reading, Linda Castillo's Her Last Breath which is due to be released June 18th.  The other aspect of the site that is both educational and informative are The Mystery Book Awards.  I checked out The Dagger Awards and there is a hyperlink to Crime Writers Association; likewise, The Edgar Awards links to Mystery Writers of America and these are great places to check out the latest news about new authors, titles and the world of publishing. 

Looking at Book Reviews, I located 2 more titles of interest:  Chris Evans' Safe House and Tessa Harris' The Anatomists Apprentice.  The summaries gave me a good idea of the overall plot, characterization and setting. 

The Location Index allows the reader to narrow his/her focus when choosing a mystery title. For instance, if you are a mystery reader who is interested predominantly in historyical mysteries, there is a subheading "Historical" where you can search for only those titles. 

Week 4:  Part II Recommendation to Colleague on Goodreads

I checked out Greg Miller's book choices on Goodreads and recommended 2 books based on those he mentions on his Goodreads page.  For an adventurous thrill ride to the top of Everest and back, Touching the Void by Joe Simpson would be a good match to his Into Thin Air. The book is from 1988 but we still own 4 copies of this book. It has withstood the test of time. 

For a second pick, I thought he might try Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman since he liked The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.  Neverwhere is an urban fantasy story that takes place in London's underground where hoardes of homeless meander the sewers along with historical and fantastical creatures.  Murder and mayhem keep this plot twisting and turning.  There was a BBC presentation of Neverwhere in 1996 where it was aired as six half hour shows. 

Week 4:  Post #1
I started using Goodreads in September of 2012 because it was a requirement for one of my Clarion courses.  Since that time, I try to add as many books as possible (that I'm able to recall).  I enjoy using Goodreads, not only for logging my favorite picks, but for many of the "extras" that are helpful for any avid reader. 

Goodreads seems intuitive.   I list and rate books I have read and Goodreads creates a listing of books that match my appeal factors. I have been pleasantly surprised to find recommendations that are very similiar to the books I choose to read.  I decided on two summer reads-Defending Jacob by W. Landy and Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes based on recommendations from Goodreads. 

Listed in Most Popular this Month (Explore) are Golden Boy, The Perfume Collector and The World's Strongest Librarian.  There is a short, well written summation of each novel and I find this helpful when choosing my reads.  Top Reviews of the Week are great for anyone interested in learning to write reviews.  The active voice, action verbs and quick snapshot of plot are great examples for the budding reviewer. 

Several other features I find helpful are the author biographies, award winners by category, quotes and videos specific to each genre. 

At times I do find the page layout to be busy as I tend to like pages that have more white space.  This would be tough to accomplish on Goodreads as it is designed as a one stop shop for people who love books.  If you enjoy an online environment of conversing with others about books you have read and books you wish to read, this is  the place for you. 

Week 3: #3 Conversation #3

That sounds like an extraordinary story about Roosevelt and I would say you like biographical accounts of historical figures and life on the edge kind of stories.  David McCullough is always a good pick for biographical novels but if you are looking for the life on the edge stories try Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air which is about the devastation of a Mount Everest climb by Karakauer and his fellow climbers.  Try Alfred Lansing's Endurance:  Shackleton's Incredible Voyage about the 1914 Antarctic Expedition.  I think these will offer you a bit of biography and adventure. 

Week 3: #3, Conversation #2

ok. So you are looking for a vampire storyline that does not have so much of the love/romance bit, but is fast paced and will keep you yearning for more?  Mancusi, author of the Blood Craven series may be a better choice for you. They are fast paced and Mancusi adds a touch of humor throughout her series and this may be refreshingly different.  I would also have you try de la Cruz' Blue Bloods series-it is all there fast paced storylines and a fight to the finish between Blue and Silver Bloods. 

Week 3: #3 Conversation 1

It sounds like you like stories with a strong female protagonist with an adventurous spirit.  A few other stories you may find a good match are Rita Gelman's Tales of a Female Nomad which is another story of a woman seeking happiness and inner peace in her life through travel.  Novelist also mentions Maria Finn's Hold me Tight and Tango me Home that may be a good match as well. 

Week 2: Assignment 2 (Book #2, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)
I enjoy reading about female characters who are strong, smart and sometimes, rough around the edges.  Steig Larsson is the bomb in this drama, suspense, mystery and thriller rolled into one.  You know with the turn of every page, some mystery will unfold that pieces together a young girl's shortened life.  Lisbeth Salander is a renegade, making a name for herself in the world of journalism, and she has quite the reputation.  Mikael Blomkvist is also a man of mystery; he is intelligent and a bit edgy himself.  As Salander and Blomkvist search for clues that will lay to rest an age old mystery, they find a connection with one another.  It is a story that has every element I love-a wonderfully written plot, a rich setting, tough girl, mystery man and a love affair-if you can call it that....