Operation Resources, Part Deux

So, Early Word is a linkfest. Links here, links there, links everywhere. It's nice to visit a site that is so specifically geared to connecting librarians to new works. Of course, this isn't the only site like this, and I imagine with the heavy established publisher influence that new trends in self-publishing will not be represented here. But there are other places to go for self-pubbed stuff.  Probably the most useful thing about this site for me is that most of the info deals with advanced peeks into books that are not yet published.  Generally, I go through the New books that come into the branch and that's how I discover new and interesting titles. But why wait? Also, it's nice to have the newest book buzz. This will probably become my go to site for book lists since there are so many links listed.

Operation Resources, Part Uno

So, things I learned from the Daily Beast Book section. Hrm. Well, books nowadays can be extremely specific. Just like this traffic sign.

 

 

It's not enough to have a book about hairy elephants, it has to be about hairy elephants who only live in one teeny area of Sri Lanka and how they were adversely affected by the Tamil rebellion in 2009. Specific like that.

 

Also, it seems that any book can be interesting if the review is well written enough. DB has bunches of intriguing, descriptive reviews of books that I would never in a million years choose to read, and yet I at least contemplated reading them after DB. The site looks pretty cutting edge too, which helps.

 

More concretely, everything is all 'summer summer summer', so I've been building up a bit of a list for my vacation late in August. DB helped out a bit in that regard, especially for titles outside my normal beach fare. 

Operation Goodreads

I posted this recommendation to Sharon P's Goodreads profile:

"You could read it! You might like it! It's a political thriller for a fast summer read. It's my gift to you based on the John Grisham and Michael Palmer in your books list. Beach time!"

I've been a member of Goodreads for a while now, but my book list is not terribly up to date and by no means is it comprehensive.  I like that pretty much every title I am looking for is easy to find with the search feature. Reviews and ratings are easy to manage, even though I use them mostly so I remember what to re-read and what not to.  Very slick experience, and advanced features are there for those who want it. I do like it better than LibraryThing, though. Debrief over.

Operation Talky-Talk-Talk

Mission Objective 1:  Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis

• Customer likes to read popular materials, especially Oprah Book Club picks.  TToH is very popular and is an Oprah pick.
• Customer liked books with interesting, brave female protagonists.
• Customer looking for book club picks, and there is a lot of meat in this story a book club could discuss.

Mission Objective 2:   The Strain by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan

• Customer doesn't want slow paced--The Strain is fast paced and plot driven.
• Customer wants vampires without the smoochy teen love drama. This story is more in the horror tradition, and no one reading it will be thinking about kissing these vampires.
• In a similar vein, Glen Duncan's The Last Werewolf might also be a good fit for this customer if they don't mind that main creature is a werewolf and not a vampire.

Mission Objective 3:  Various

• This convo requires more refining before I would feel comfortable offering a single title. Follow up questions are a must. Instead, there are a lot of threads you can pull for this customer.
• Survivalist Fiction or Nonfiction--the book the customer references is about a journey into uncharted territory under bad conditions, so he may enjoy more books with this sort of danger. A good pick might be Marco Polo by Lauren Bergreen, which is exciting and details the true adventures of a famous world traveler.  C.S. Forester's The African Queen could also be a good fit.
• True Crime or Thriller--the book mentioned has a murder, and is fast paced.
• Famous People doing exciting/unusual things--Teddy Roosevelt is a character.

Operation Appeal Factors

Okay, first up is Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.  Not a recent book, but an excellent one. Cline's madcap adventure story is half video game and half coming of age novel. It's lightning-fast paced, and yet the story's main character (Wade) is fully fleshed out.  Although this story is set largely in the future, the quest that Wade and his friends must complete is replete with  detailed trivia from the early days of computers and video games.  Geeky nostalgia abounds in this effervescent and fun story that has lots of heart.  The casual language and teen characters make this a great pick for teens as well.

The second is Care of Wooden Floors by Will Wiles. Half psychological drama and half screwball comedy, Wiles prose creates a gradually growing tension that is both humorous and nerve-racking. The story, told in the first person, focuses largely on the inner feelings/monologue of the main (unnamed) character, and not on external details about setting. Since the main character is British, dry humor and English idioms are a steadily present throughout the text. Definintely an oddball read that I loved.

P.S. I posted some recs on Lisa D's blog (Become Familiar with Cannibalism).

Wait a minute...

Excuse me while I

 

Decision Accomplished

Using an extremely scientific yet secret method, I have decided to commit my time and hard-earned attention to The Daily Beast (with maybe the occasional peek over at NPR Books) and the adorably-named Stop, You're Killing Me! mystery site. Links are to the right, so maybe I'll actually visit them.

Okay, perhaps I can share a little of the secret method. I've heard bunches about DB but my general inertia has kept me from visiting regularly, and even then it was mostly the home page (not the concentrated dose of goodness that's on the Books page). So, no brainer.  As for the other, mystery is not one of my most well-liked genres although it is a favorite of a lot of our customers, and therefore naturally provides the most learning bang for my buck. (Pow!) Also, mystery puns are sillier and usually more work-appropriate than most urban fiction puns (which was choice #2). RT Book Review was completely out, since I shamelessly and ravenously consume each print issue we get in the branch the moment it arrives. Not much learning potential there. *smirk*