Prompt 7- Power of Patterson

Pull up a chair, the owl is in.

So I've read the article " The James Patterson Business" about 3 or 4 times and I'm trying to figure out what the controversy is and to be honest I don't see the controversy. What I'm getting out of this article is Patterson is a pretty smart author who has put his advertising past to good use ( and those around him in the book publishing business know how to market him and why it works.) For example, when the creative director talks about how they go about in designing a cover, they say that besides looking at what is in the manuscript they run the idea with Patterson, who they say is very open-minded about what works and what doesn't . I also like Patterson's take on what makes a good bookstore ( and in Googling him, saw a few articles about him campaigning, even taking out ads in various publications to save bookstores and libraries. I will post a few.)  He also has this great website for parents and  kids, ReadKiddoRead.com, which he created to help reluctant readers.

As to if people still read them, I would assume so since he is still writing new books ( I know the kids love his Middle School series because it is very similar to Wimpy Kid. I do too, but a lot of his non-mystery books, like The Christmas Wedding.) As to the co-authors, if you read the article, Patterson does say on he is very hands on and outlines each chapter ( My opinion: Having read books with co-authors, I find it very cool and interesting, especially when you can't tell where one writer ends and another author starts.)

Overall, I don't see the problem. Personally the fact that he still writes means he enjoys it (heck, how many times has Stephen King said " I'm retiring" and he has how many projects?) If it is all about the money, then it's  his business. Otherwise, I just keep reading and move on.

By the way, here are some articles on Patterson's campaign for bookstores

http://www.salon.com/2013/04/24/james_patterson_speaks_out_about_his_aggressive_book_industry_bailout_ads/

 http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/56940-patterson-sees-ads-as-a-wake-up-call.html

http://www.tampabay.com/features/books/author-james-patterson-campaigns-to-save-books/2117609


Hope that covers the prompt. Got lots to do.

Annonation # 3-The Selection by Kiera Cass

Pull up a chair, the owl is in.

Actually the owl is not in a happy mood. Besides trying to find items for a big report, this  annotation is my (and according our text, most librarians) least favorite genre-science fiction, which is a story that takes place in a "what if" future and occasionally features aliens, robots, technical jargon and unique but hard-to-pronounce character and/or planet names (presented with a really cool cover.)

About the Owl and Science Fiction-
While I love the rebooted Doctor Who and the Star Wars franchise ( 4-6 and the  Ewoks cartoon series from the mid-80s), I've never been a sci fi geek. Every time I've tried it, I get through two chapters and give up. ( But the covers are cool!!) For some reason, I do like the  teen and juvenile dystopia books (Hunger Games, Unwind, and Among the Hidden. True, they present a dark and war-torn future, but they are a little more believable than flying cars and weird space outfits with high collars.) After trying to read Ursula LeGuin's Eye of the Heron ( cool cover, by the way) I went on Novelist to see what was similar to the popular teen dystopia trilogy Divergent  and found...


Title: The Selection
Author: Kiera Cass
Genre: Sciene Fiction/Romance/ Teen Lit
Publication Date: April 24, 2012
Number of Pages: 327
Series: The Selection trilogy, # 1
Geographical Setting: a futuristic country called  Illea ( formally the United States)
Time Frame: ???
Topics:  Contests, Dystopias, Social Classes, Teen Romance

Characteristics of Science Fiction ( as Featured in This Book)

• Set in the future, in a caste-divided country called Illea ( formally the United States). Citizens are divided up into eight different social classes, ranging from 1 ( rich and famous) to 8 ( poor and homeless).
• Moral, social, and ethical issues are explored in the plot, particularly in the Selection, a dating contest created by the Illea government to seek a princess for Prince Maxon.
•  Language is visual and evocative, helps in world-building ( process of creating an imaginary world) or "otherness". 
• Tone is somewhat dark but romantic.
• Very fast-paced, youth-driven ( most of the characters are teenagers).
•  Series driven ( ends in a cliffhanger, action will continue in books 2 and 3).

Characteristics of Romanace ( as Featured in This Book)

• America is a bright, strong-willed teen that remains true to herself during the contest. Her love interest are the hard working, lower caste Aspen and sweet but somewhat clueless Prince Maxon (who becomes a better person as he gets to know America).
• A few misunderstandings cause American and Aspen to end their secret romance. Chance does bring Aspen to the palace to explain the misunderstanding and declare his love, but creates a rift in America's budding relationship with Maxon.
• Unlike most romance, we don't a happy ending.. yet (  we get a cliffhanger because there are two more books.)

Plot Summary:In the futuristic caste-divided world of Illea ( formally the United States), a contest called the Selection has been created to help Prince Maxon find a mate.  One of the contestants, America Singer, only signs up to financially help her family (and because her secret, lower caste boyfriend, Aspen, encouraged her.) But as America gets to know Maxon, she questions all that she knows and all that could be.

My take-I actually enjoyed this Hunger Games ( minus the bloodshed but lots of pageantry) meets The Bachelor ( minus the Rose Ceremony but plenty of drama) book. Really like America Singer, who is very down to earth and nice to everyone, even the villainess Celeste (also love the story of how she got her name). I really like her budding relationship with Maxon ( sort of hate you-love you relationship one would one in romantic comedies, especially one date that lead to her kneeing him in the groin) than her secret relationship with Aspen ( who becomes a jerk after she is Selected).
 I'm not sure Cass does a great job in establishing Illea. We get a few details about some of the caste levels and some of the rules and regulations ( such as having sex before marriage leads to jail) but very little as how Illea is formed ( we get some idea during the girls' princess lessons. It's too hard to explain other than it involves a third world war that leads to China somehow overthrowing the US's bankrupted government.) Also, the rebel attacks are bland ( we never see the rebel forces. The girls are told to hide, some descriptions the guards are fighting the rebel forces happen , then it's all safe for everyone to come out.)
 Other than the  undeveloped setting, it's a good read. I'm curious about what will happen in The Elite ( just requested it) and The One ( coming May 2014. Also saw there is a novella prequel called The Prince and The Guard.)

Read-a-Likes ( From Novelist)

•  Wither (Chemical Garden trilogy 1)  by Lauren DeStefano- After genetic engineering  has turned every human being  into living time bombs, young girls are kidnapped and forced into marriages to repopulate the world.
• Matched ( Matched trilogy 1) by Allison Condie- Seventeen year-old Cassia lives in a dystopian society where citizens are "matched" by the government. When "matched" with her childhood friend, Xander, she looks happy toward the future. But questions arise when another face shows up on her matched disk.
• Mockingjay ( Hunger Games trilogy 3) by Suzanne Collins- In the conclusion of the series, two-time Hunger Games winner Katniss Everdeen must save true love Peeta from a vengeful Capitol.

I'll probably stick to  the teen and juvenile section for science fiction but I might also do paranormal romances ( some of Susan Grant's novels sound real funny) and steampunk.

Oh yes, it's ladies' night , and we're feeling right(actually women's lives and relationships is the next genre). Really looking forward to it, pajama party, anyone?

Prompt 6-Book Talk, Talk A Lot

Pull up a chair, the owl is in.

 Part 1-Book Talk
 
Dancers Among Us: A Celebration of Joy in  the Everyday
 by Jordan Matter
Pub Date: October 2012

 Have ever you felt a moment in life where you just had to get up and dance? You get a new job ( or promotion)? You find Mr. ( or Miss) Right ( and he or she just said "yes")? Or you just felt like dancing for no reason, no music at all?

In Dancers Among Us: A Celebration of Joy in Everyday, photographer Jordan Matter captures moments of life using professional dancers posing in everyday, ordinary places. Matter got the idea while watching his son frantically play with his toys and wondered " How would I catch this moment?" The pictures Matter presents are a mixture of awesomeness and beauty to odd and extreme. ( Some which need to come with a " Do Not Try This at Home, Reader.") In a photo titled " The Thinker" a dancer strikes the pose of the fame Thinker statue.. at a train station. Another photo, " Surrender" has a dancer lying on a cannon at a very scary height. One of my  favorite pictures ( besides the cover picture, "Raindancer") is a very sweet and playful picture of two dancers by a heart statue, titled " I Left My Heart in San Francisco" ( I also favor " Fetching" which features a lady, jumping in midair, getting ready to throw a stick to a yellow Lab because it me of my dog.)

 

I also love that in each chapter or theme of pictures, Matter ( who by the way, did a picture of himself at the end called " The Artist) offers personal stories from his life. In the chapter called "Loving" he talks about meeting the girl would become his wife, in " Exploring" he talks about helping his son prepare for his new baby sister. I also love the stories behind the pictures, provided toward the end of the book.

So celebrate the dancer in you and check out Dancer Among Us: A Celebration of Joy in the Everyday. By the way, Matter still continues the "dance" online at www.dancersamongus.com

Part 2-About the Baker statement

I agree with Baker's statement on choosing only what we've read (and actually love) for booktalks (and I'm going to use a bit of what I know from working as a children's librarian to support my agreement.)When we are planning programs or school visits, we choose books that we know the kids will like, but we really try to choose books that we might have like if we were still kids. Obviously, the goal of a booktalk to "encourage" reading a book (and that reading is fun), so we want to make the time we spend with the kids fun (also, kids can know right away if you don't love the book, there are going to hate the book, thus making it a bad story hour.)  For example, one of the books I really looking forward to using while promoting our library fundraiser in January (if we didn't have the blizzard) was What does the Fox Say?, the book version of the Youtube sensation ( and yes, I watched the video 4-5  times to get every word right, even the nonsense sounds.)

Is it possible to do a negative booktalk? I'm not completely sure. Obviously we're not going to love everything we read, but we don't want to upset or displease a public audience. So it might be possible to two ways:  during a meeting with other librarians ( I do recall once someone doing a booktalk on Golden Compass and they clearly hated it) or in one on one RA interviews with the patrons ( because they are going to ask " But what did you think about the book?" and it's okay to discourage one reader from a book than a large group).

Well, hope that answers the prompt. I've got a lovely weekend of trying to read a science fiction novel ( I've tried two so far, and no luck. I'm trying three more books, including something suspense but sci fi by acting great Sidney Poiter. Wish me luck.)

Annotation # 2- The Woman in Black by Susan Hill

Pull up a chair, the owl is in.

Actually the owl should be hiding under the covers because this genre annotation is all about horror, which is a tale where nightmares and monsters come to life to evoke fear and unease from the reader (and possibly sleeping with the lights on!!!)

About the Owl and Horrors- I actually do read horrors, but usually during the fall and mainly YA and children's. ( Yes, children's does have some horror books. Mary Downing Hahn, author of Wait till Helen Comes, is perhaps the best in horror and ghost stories, but there is also the popular R.L. Stine series from the 90s', Goosebumps.) I've read very little adult horror and figure working with a classic might be less bloody and gory. Searching  Goodreads for horror classics besides Dracula and anything Stephen King, I chose....

Title: The Woman in Black

Author: Susan Hill

Genre: Horror/Gothic-Historical

Publication Date: First published October 10, 1983 ( Recent Publication: January 2012

Number of Pages:164

Geographical Setting: England

Time Frame: Victorian Period
Topics: Haunted Houses, Ghosts,  Revenge, Secrets

Characteristics of Horror ( as Featured in This Book)

•  Author uses language in adjectives and descriptions to set the dark and gloom of the story. In Hill's England, the weather is always cloudy or foggy, never a bright sun in the sky.
• Hints of gloom and menace  are featured throughout the story to evoke the reader's response.Hill slowly builds to greater horrific events in the last chapters of the book (including  a very gruesome ending.) Strange occurrences include a child's cries in the marshes, a ghostly pony and cart, and a woman described as having a pale, wasted face and dressed in all black.
• Brave and  a non-believer of ghosts, the events at Eel Marsh House shatter Arthur Kipps and continue to haunt him years later.
• Just when it seems the ghost of the woman in black is gone, she extracts revenge on Kipp's first wife and child. The memory of this last act haunts him years later when he is older and remarried (also during Christmas as his stepchildren tell ghost stories.)

Plot Summary: As his stepchildren gather round the fire and tell ghost stories on Christmas Eve, Arthur Kipps is haunted by memories of the past. At the start of his legal career, he was  sent to a small remote town to  settle the finances of the late Mrs. Alice Drablow. During his trip, strange and horrific occurrences happen, including an encounter with a  ghostly woman all dressed in black. 

My Take: This was a pleasant little horror book ( I know, "pleasant" and " horror" don't seem right together, but for this, they do.) It had the right amount of old fashioned creepiness (and because there is hardly any sex or foul language, I'm thinking it might be okay for a child age 12 and up. They might need use the Internet to look up any unfamiliar terms. I had no idea what a "pony and trap" was until I looked up and saw it was just a pony and cart.)  I actually think the book ends better than the 2012 film adaptation with Daniel Radcliffe ( saw it was  previously adapted to film in 1989 and is also a long running play at the Fortune Theater in London.) Obviously for folks that expect a lot of blood and death every ten pages would not like this book, for folks that want a pleasant scare, it's worth a read.

Read-a- Likes ( From Novelist)

• Turn of the Screw by Henry James- Another horror classic set in Victorian England where frame of story and first person narration slowly build to nightmares and chills
• Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St. James-  Set in the 1920s Sarah Piper is sent out to a small remote English town to help a ghost hunter investigate the mystery of Maddy Clare. ( I've read this and it's quite good.)
• The Ghost Writer by John Haywood- Australian Gothic/suspense story in which a man because obsessed with a centuries old manuscript from his grandma.

I'm also recommending All the Bad Ones, Wait Till Helen Comes  and The Old Willis Place by Mary Downing Hahn and Haunting of Hill House  by Shirley Jackson.

I'll probably still read horror for the teen and juvenile audience (and still during the fall, but with the winter we're having, seems perfect.) In reading about the genre in the text, I'd be willing to try  Clive Barker (especially Mister B. Gone, sounds funny) Stephen King ( when I know I'll have more time than a few weeks), Dean Koontz ( particularly the Odd Thomas books) and King's  son, Joe Hill ( especially since Horns is being turned into a movie with.. Daniel Radcliffe).

Next time's annotation is science fiction. Oh........ oh.... ugghhhhhhhhhhh.!!!

Kirkus- Style Review- Trains and Lovers-Alexander McCall Smith

 

Trains and Lovers  ( also known at The Heart's Journey)

By Alexander McCall Smith

Publication Date- June 2013 by Pantheon Books

ISBN: 978-0-307-90854-4

224 pp.

On a gentle train ride to London, four strangers pass the time telling stories of love that changed their lives.

Like the very train traveling down the tracks, the love stories weave in and out,almost blending into one because, as wonderfully put by the author in the opening chapter, " Love happens to just about everyone. It may bring surprise,joy, despair, and occasionally, perfect happiness".Andrew, a Scottish dreamer, talks about how saving an auction house from embarrassment led to the girl of his dreams (and her alpha male father). David, a middle-aged college professor from America, reminsciences about a boy he met in his youth but never got the chance to love (and still longs for that he keeps the story locked in his heart). Englishman Hugh remembers the time he got off at the wrong train station and fell in love with a mysterious woman.And in a very sweeping love story, Kay, a woman from Australia, tells how her parents met and raised a family while running a railway station in the wilds of the remote Outback.

 Enchanting, short but vividly profound, McCall Smith crafts a journey that worth the ride (perhaps more than once).

 

Week Five Prompt-My View on Book Reviews

Pull up a chair, the owl is in.

Before posting my Kirkus-style review, here is my response to the prompt on reviews.

 Personally I like reading book reviews (and the ones where the reviewer really slams the books are perhaps the best,as well as the ones that really, really love the book) but I don't really use as a reference point to choose what I read.( In fact, I read them after I read the book.) I pretty much go by the cover or title of the book ( or if it's an author I'm familiar with)read the summary on the back or flap of the book (and sometimes examine the size and amount of pages, chapters, etc), and then decide if I want to check it out or not. If I actually chose what I read based on reviews, I think I would be more of a snotty lit reader and miss out on perhaps a lot of good books. ( Case it point-I looked up What Does the Fox Say?, a book I was planning to use for school visits but couldn't because of the storm, and they clearly slam it( read review here), even saying it's ridiculous to spend seventeen dollars when you could just get the song for free from Youtube. I can sort of understand why they view it as a waste of time and paper because it is one hit wonder, but I kind of like it, and was really looking forward to actually singing the book for the kids. Darn blizzard.)

When I do read reviews, I like Entertainment Weekly, but also (because I'm in children's) BookLinks, Library Sparks, School Library Journal, and The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books. I also browse some blogs ( like Abby the Librarian). I checked out Smart Bitches Trashy Books ( love it, especially the What the H..., It's not Even a Book reviews. Loved  that someone chose to focus on the romance level in Iron Man 3 and Thor 2.) Most likely I will be checking out reviews more, but probably more as a guide when shaping my  own reviews.

Since I said I didn't really care whole about reviews, I'm not sure how I would respond to about the questions concerning why certain publishers only publish the good reviews, why one book is praised to death than others, along with the additional questions of the prompt. Personally, one would hope that the good and the bad reviews are published ( obviously places like Amazon and other sites allow bad customer reviews, so it would make sense for review sources to show both sides.) Then again, the aim of the reviews are to encourage the customer to read (or buy) the book, and seeing negative reviews might turn them away.

Reviewing the documents that refer to  the Ebook, I would say both are  somewhat reliable but lack the guidelines mentioned by Erin. I actually favor the Amazon review over the blog review( because at least the customer gave us an idea of what the book is about ( plus the blog .. is owned by the author.Of course she's going to praise it, it's her book.) Would I purchase it for myself ( or ask my library to purchase it?) Me, no ( not really my taste), but if I asked my library to purchase it, they would have to review the reviews themselves and also see if anyone is requesting it.

In reviewing the documents related to Angela's Ashes, I would say the last one, titled " Hard Times, Good Tales" which is featured in Newsweek, really drew my attention. I like that the author says at first glance it sound like a bunch of Irish cliches, but then he gets into the meat of the book, even looking at McCourt's writing style, such as how McCourt gives us his view during his bout with typhoid and how he uses commas and other punctuation marks. The other reviews I would say were decent and informative  ( although I felt the first review from Christian Century was too long, possibly because it compare Angela's Ashes to two other memoirs.  I wanted to really know their opinion about Ashes, not the other memoirs, so I did not finish it.)

Well, that's all I have to say for now. Look for the Kirkus review this weekend, and a lovely horror annotation next week.

Confessions of a Okay Secret Shopper

Pull up a chair, the owl is in!

I'll be honest. I rarely ask for help in looking for a good book to read. Ever since learning how to use the catalog ( the old, everything on a separate card from the days of the dinosaur to today's marvel of the computer), I pretty much look for the books myself. I figure " I'm a big reader, I don't need any help".  I'm also figure I might be judged by my reading or questioned " Don't you have to read children's books?. Plus I'm also very shy ( which surprisingly goes away during school visits or story times, especially when I must act like a lost member of the Wiggles. Which I really, really enjoy!)

Anyway, onto the mission.

image from Cafe Express

So the library I went to is pretty big ( three stories) and has adult fiction and nonfiction books on it's main level and third floor ( the basement is all children's). The main level does have labels on the shelves, the upper... not so ( the library was under renovations for a few years. When they moved the shelves on the upper level, it was out of order. Things are sort of in order, but not in the way I remember it.) While I could easily spot the reference desk on both levels, I did not see any reader's advisory displays or items ( I did see some books on the regular reference shelves and did find some items on the website, like a link to a Goodreads account of staff-recommended books and  various Novelist pages, but also a few links that were missing and a genre blog... that hadn't been updated in a while. Oh well.)

After playing helpless somewhat on both levels, I went upstairs... and saw one librarian who right way could tell I was looking for help. She asked " Could I help you?"

I said yes and mentioned that I just read the first book in Ian Sansome's Mobile Library mysteries from the Valentine Blind Date display and was curious to see if there were more books in the series than the one mentioned in the back preview. She looked over the book and first typed in " Mobile Library" and it came up with the fourth book ( which she then showed me the screen.) I then suggested to maybe type in the author's name and see if anything else came up. She did ( with the screen still facing me) and got five books ( the four books in the Mobile Library series and a stand-alone). She then pointed out where I needed to go ( 1, 2, 3,in mystery upstairs and the stand-alone on the main level. Book four was at a different branch, she didn't ask if I wanted to request it.) For some reason... I was hoping she would lead me to the shelf because I didn't feel like getting lost ( not that I would mind it..hehehe) but I went ... and got a little lost around the regular  fiction shelves. I then backed up and eventually found the mysteries( a big label on one of the shelves that says "Mysteries" but no labels of author's last names.) I found books 2 and 3, then went to "spot" the stand-alone for next time.

Reviewing the experience, I am going to say okay but could have been better. Obviously I should have asked more for a genre to get an idea of a full RA interview, but this is also the way I shop. As much as I like suggestions, I prefer knowing what I want. If I really want to dive into books related to what I just read, I'd rather do that myself. Sure I might try to ask for book suggestions in the future ( maybe to help me out for the science fiction annotation but I think I have an idea of what I might do) but for now I think I will stick to searching my way.