Be More Bookish - Week 5, Assignment 1 & 2

When I first started following Early Word back in week 1, I was really excited by the publisher-librarian connection. I touched on it briefly in one of my first entries, but as someone with aspirations of publishing this kind of interconnectivity is my favorite. Basically, Early Word is the best and I've caught myself losing track of time while browsing on more than one (or ten) occasion(s). In addition to the publisher-librarian aspect, I've found it a really invaluable tool for what to look out for in terms of upcoming high-request material. I also can't stress enough how nice it is to frequent a blog that doesn't just give reviews of books but also talks about other forms of media, such as movie adaptations or television appearances by authors. For example, yesterday I got pretty psyched when I saw the write up about Alison Bechdel's appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers, which included a performance by the cast of the upcoming Broadway adaptation of her graphic novel Fun Home. It's that kind of broadening focus that I'm looking forward to seeing in library models (not just ours, but all over the world) as we continue adapting and moving forward.

There seems to be a pretty good mix of what is popular at our branch. There are always people coming in and requesting new material, but for the most part it's for the four or five most popular new titles according to the New York Times or other well-known sources. A lot of that is informed by upcoming theatrical releases. I just helped a patron trying to find Steve Jobs' biography by Walter Isaacson a few minutes ago; she wanted to read it before the movie came out. There's also a high demand for interesting nonfiction, suggesting that our patrons like to challenge themselves. One of our highest circulating displays is a rotation of new nonfiction books selected by staff, and we try to keep it stocked with diverse topics. If they don't have something specific in mind, many of our patrons make a beeline right to the Staff Recommendations display. Oftentimes they're willing to check a book out based on who recommended it.

Be More Bookish - Week 4, Assignment 1

I've been using Goodreads more or less actively for about five years, so I'm extremely familiar with all of its features and uses. I utilize it pretty regularly to give suggestions or summaries of books for patrons, and to keep an eye on what my friends and colleagues are reading. A lot of the time I find the peer reviews to be both more helpful and more balanced than a critical review from a blog or publication. This was the first time I've ever given a recommendation for a book through the website, however, and I have to say that I'm a fan of the feature. Honestly I think the only reason I've never used it before is because all of my Goodreads friends always have so many books that they're currently reading. For this assignment I gave two of my coworkers recommendations for a couple of my favorite books. I know that one of them is really into DIY and the punk scene, so I recommended The Taqwacores by Michael Muhammad Knight for her. I also know that she isn't a huge fan of fiction that involves a lot of internal monologue and character development, but The Taqwacores is written with very plain language and even though it's told from the first-person perspective, the main character's arc is very contained and accessible. My other coworker recommendation was for Transmetropolitan, a graphic novel by Warren Ellis. I saw on Goodreads that my coworker has enjoyed graphic novels like Watchmen in the past, and based on conversations that I've had with him at work I know he's also interested in politics and journalism, both of which are huge focuses for the series. He also has a few science fiction titles with high ratings on his list, and Transmetropolitan has some of the most groundbreaking transhumanist and dystopian-future sci-fi elements I've ever read.

Be More Bookish - Week 3, Assignment 3

Conversation 1: So I already used this book for one of my Week 2 annotations, but I think How to Grow Up by Michelle Tea would be a really good match for this reader. It's a memoir about a woman with a strong narrative voice who is unafraid to bare her soul to the reader, even if what they see isn't polished or pretty. It's a recent release but isn't what I would call mainstream, and I think that might make it accessible to the reader but also challenge them out of their comfort zone slightly. Michelle Tea talks about her life with a very self-deprecating sense of humor, and with its candid discussions of sexuality, drug abuse, and learning the importance of self-love this book would certainly provide plenty of topics for discussion in a book club.


Conversation 2: I would recommend Sunshine by Robin McKinley for this reader for a few different reasons. At a very cursory glance, Sunshine could be seen as sort of a proto-Twilight and is, in my opinion, probably one of the biggest inspirations for Stephanie Meyer's series. However, the main difference between the two is that Sunshine explores the idea of vampires as true monsters, and balances the supernatural elements out with pieces of main character Rae Seddon's regular life as a baker, recovering juvenile delinquent, and girlfriend to a strictly non-vampire biker-turned-chef. The books biggest strengths lie in the patchwork family unit that McKinley has crafted for her protagonist and the very real passion for baking that allows her to give such rich description about monotonous, everyday activities. These bits of humanity and comfort lend real power to the sympathy the reader feels for Rae as she struggles against the darkness that she wandered into by accident. I think this book could show the reader that just because a book focuses on a female character and her involvement with vampires, it doesn't mean that it has to turn out like Twilight.


Conversation 3: The President and the Assassin by Scott Miller sounds like it would be right up this reader's alley. It matches all of the elements that they described enjoying about The River of Doubt, with the added benefit of a dual perspective narrative following both President William McKinley and Leon Czolgosz, the anarchist who ultimately killed him, through the years leading up to the assassination. The author, Scott Miller, deftly weaves the two tales together so that the broad focus at the beginning of the book gradually narrows until the reader is looking through a pinhole at the moment when McKinley died. This book incorporates all of the things the reader said they enjoyed about The River of Doubt while also giving a new twist on a more nuanced subject.