Books, Readers, and Beyond #54

EXERCISE #1

I was a member of a book club at the previous library where I worked--Victoria Public Library in Victoria, TX. I was mostly a participant, but I did lead the group when the reference librarian was not able to attend. The group met at noon and was called The Brown Bag Book Club. People were welcome to bring their lunch as we discussed the month's book. I enjoyed the group. I have recently become a participant at my branch's Mystery Club, and have led it a few times. I really enjoy discussing books I've read, and socializing with other readers. I believe an online site would be helpful to decide if I wanted to read a book, but I would prefer an in-person book club. I guess I'm old fashioned that way. :)

EXERCISE #2

I think it would be great to have a book discussion group that focused on a different genre each month. The different genres could be mystery, coming of age, classics, romance, historical, inspirational, and even a teen and children's. This would be a good way to introduce people to different genres and discussions could center on the book and the aspects of the genre they like.
I would start off with a bildungsromans or coming of age novel, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. This novel was listed as one of the top books of the 20th century in GoodReads.

EXERCISE #3

I looked for the rating of What the Dead Know by Laura Lippman in LibraryThing and Shelfari. Both gave it a rating of 3 1/2 stars. However, there seemed to be more positive reviews in Library thing. Several of the reviewers in Shelfari thought the book was terrible and should not be considered a mystery. I thought it was a great myster, and it kept me guessing until the end. I loved the book.

Books, Readers, and Beyond # 53

EXERCISE # 1

I looked at the online sites of the three bookstores located in Katy, where I live.

Katy Budget Books
Their site is o.k. Their special events caught my attention first. They also have lists, like award lists, and they have staff recommendations. I didn't see a place to search for the books they have in their store, but you can search books and order them online. I assume they order them for you. This store also sell used books, but I couldn't find out what their trade in consists of.

Bookworm Shop
The Bookworm shop is a small bookstore in Katy that also sells used books, as well as new books and related book items. Their policy on trade ins was easy to find. It is a very nice website for such a small store. It was very easy to navigate, but you can't search for books on their site.

Books A Million
Books A Million is a big chain store, so their site is very well done. It is easy to navigate and see what they have available.

EXERCISE #2

I searched for the book Uses of Enchantment by Heidi Julavits. This was one of the books that was recommended by What I Should Read Next. I searched Books A Million and found the book was available in hardback for $18.28, on CD for $31.23, and as an audio download for $24.99. I also searched Amazon and our database, but I did not find an eBook version.

EXERCISE #3

I very easily logged into Net Library and registered. Then I decided to check out a book from HCPL's digital books. I checked out Wanted by Shelley Gray. However, I hit a snag when I couldn't download the software to read the book from an HCPL computer. I downloaded the software on my home computer and read some of the book. I think if I had a laptop or better yet one of the reading devices, I would have enjoyed reading the book more. I do not like sitting at a desk when I read. I much prefer my recliner, where I can get very comfortable and get into my book. I have tried Amazon's Kindle during a demo I attended, and I might be o.k. reading from one of those. My eyes do get tired of reading from a computer screen, so I still prefer reading from the printed page.

Books, Readers, and Beyond, #52

EXERCISE #1



I searched Novelist Plus for one of my favorite books, What the Dead Know by Laura Lippman. The results were 4 authors, who write mysteries and detective stories. Only one of the authors had written a similar book, S.J. Rozan. What the Dead Know is more of a suspense, psychological fiction so the results I got from Novelist were not what I was looking for.



I, then, search What Should I Read Next, and I found these results to be exactly what I was looking for. They gave me specific titles that appeared to be very similar to Laura Lippman's book.



I searched Fiction_L Booklists. I didn't find this site helpful for finding similar titles. It does look like it would be very useful for people looking for books with certain character types, like pioneer women, strong southern women, or my favorite, desperate housewives.



I think all of these sites will be useful for Reader's advisory, and I plan to bookmark them.

EXERCISE #2

I used Mid-Continent Publi Library's site for series for children. I did a subject search for animals, then found animal tales to find the book, Fight For Life by Laurie Anderson, part of the Wild at Heart series. This book is about an 11 year old girl helping to rescue sick puppies. I also found The Storm by Cynithia Rylant, part of the Lighthouse Family series about 4 animals who live together.

For the 13 year old boy, I used the same site and searched ghosts, but I didn't find anything suitable for a teen boy. Then I search Paranormal and found the book, Dread Locks by Neal Shusterman about a 14 year old boy who meets a girl and begins to absorb some of her powers. I also found Hungry Ghosts by Ellen Steiber from the X-File series.

EXERCISE #3

I used Fiction_L Booklists and found the author Dan Simmons. Using Novelist, I found the authors Greg Bear and John Saul.

EXERCISE #4

I used the What's Next site. First I searched by title and the first book in the series to get the series title. Then, I put in the series title to get the books in order:

Book 1 Alanna: the First Adventure
Book 2 In the Hand of the Goddess
Book 3 Woman who Rides like a Man
Book 4 Lioness Rampant.