The Green brothers are my latest addiction. Now over my morning tea I check my email, The Washington Post, and Vlog Brothers.  And I have plenty of time to peruse over another cup because both my children were up late scouring youtube for John, Hank and SciShow.  John mentions that 80% of the people who read his novels are teen girls, but the other 20%, if not the intended audience, are still listening. Although evidently most of the people who buy his books are young and female, he often speaks directly to young men. And considering that he has so many young women waiting for his next video, his next book, and many teen guys aren't even sure how to speak to girls, I guess he has some wisdom to impart there. They could certainly do worse.

I also looked at Cassandra Clare, who seems to have a similar fan base, demographically at least. Her tumblr is more visual, visceral than the Vlog Brothers, I scrolled and scrolled, enjoying all the pretty pictures.  I think it gives a good feel for her style and it certainly conveys the enthusiasm of her fans.  Makes me look forward to the movie more than the book though I will check out both.

Week 7 Assignment 4

Supernatural and paranormal  are still big. Apocalypse and dystopias fiction are going strong too, with  lots of  books setting in worlds that are dead or dying. Dystomance is a fun new word for romantic books in dystopia settings, indicating that the Dystopia genre is so big it is splitting into sub genres.
Some other interesting debuts I saw on these sites were book app tie ins and mini sites, smaller than author sites, just for one title. The younger market, being a good testing ground for that sort of tech savvy lagniappe, will probably also be a good place to look for other book tech emerging trends.  I'm looking forward  to "borrowing" my daughter's phone to try out some of those apps. I'm sure she won't mind.

Book trailers are awful. Cutting room floor caliber b roll, amateurish music and stiff acting haphazardly put together to form disjointed dreadfulness. Who makes these things? The summer interns? Well you get what you pay for. I kept checking the timer "How many seconds left? Too many, can't take it." Click.  One I thought was going to be ok, but it was the ad before the trailer. They all made me resolve to remember these authors names and never read their work. Granted, I only looked at six, so maybe I missed the good ones.  The exception that proves the rule is "Super Sad True Love Story" which was a fun parody, making fun of the awfulness of book trailers. 

Not only are they painfully awkward, but the book trailers I watched were singularly unhelpful.  They gave me nothing that I couldn't have gotten from looking at the cover.  All they told me is that these authors have terrible taste in music and can't afford a real director. Which tells me nothing about their ability to write.  I could be wrong, maybe I should take a look at these books to see if they are as horrible as their trailers. Sure. I'll get around to that someday.

They can't all be this bad.  To check, I looked for trailers by authors who I know are media savvy; they have movies or tv shows.  Evidently those whose books are made into movies have the money to make good book trailers.  But who is the audience? We all know these authors well, we know when they have a new book out. 

I don't think that book trailers will always be this bad.  Fans are making lots of them, generating ideas and trends, and I am sure that will develop one day into something. I conducted a poll of two of my coworkers, neither of whom had heard of book trailers, and both of whom thought they were a great idea.  There is an audience, just waiting for something to watch.

Week Seven, Assignment 2

I read Rachel Deahl's article on the new sub genre; New Adult: Needless Marketing-Speak Or Valued Subgenre?  Personally I like the term, anything descriptive is helpful and they certainly could have done worse. ("Too Old For YA" or "You THINK You Are An Adult") The fact that so many books fit into this category legitimizes it.  the huge shifting gray area between teen and adult and what parents, publishers and authors think is appropriate at that age is not always easy to navigate and anything that helps that sounds good to me.

I also read The Next Big Thing by Jennifer Rummel and was particularly struck by her reason number two that YA is such a huge trend with adults. It’s partly nostalgia and partly escapism reading for adult readers.  I wonder if any of that has to do with the economy being so bleak for so long?  I can see adult readers wanting to taste again those feelings of youthful enthusiasm and confidence, with a side of escapism.

Week 8: assignments 1) and 2): done and done.

3)

History
071.3 D
Scandals, Tragedies and Triumphs edited by John Avalon, Jesse Angelo and Errol Louis. 

A collection of some of the best newspaper columns in recent American history, this book will appeal to a wide audience.  It is particularly good for anyone who likes fast paced true crime; many modern murders are represented, compellingly, in two pages.  Also enjoyable for sports fans, politics aficionados, history buffs and those who like uplifting feel good stories, in small portions. I wouldn't recommend the whole book to each, but there are dozens of articles that each will enjoy.

Politics
324.709 M
Confessions of a Political Hitman by Stephen Marks
Part legal thriller, part history book, part memoir, Confessions of a Political Hitman is  moderately paced with a straightforward prose style.  The narrator outlines his decent into political corruption and how it eventually sickened him to the point where he decided he had to change. People who enjoy reading about powerful people, scandal and intrigue won't be disappointed.

Memoir
Bio HEN
Junior Officers Reading Club by Patrick Hennesy
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read about the military.  It's tales of military culture, training, deployment, camaraderie of soldiers and R and R are prominent themes. While it is set in many countries, I wouldn't recommend it as a travel book, he's descriptions of Afghanistan are dominated by how insanely insouciant the Afghan  soldiers are in the face of battle. Or casual carjacking, for a good cause. It is also not very political or historical, he doesn't as much discuss why he is fighting as much as he does the joy of battle and how experiencing that high affects you after you leave. Good for people who like heroic tales and heroes who are still very human.

Essays
814. S
When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
I recently recommended this to a book club that wanted something funny.  It covers lots of topics that will  provoke lively discussion, family, neighbors, smoking, Japan, and scary cab drivers.  It isn't for the cozy mystery set; there isn't a lot of sex, but when there is, it is discussed frankly. And it frankly has an adventurous moment.  It is funny, a little snarky at times, has complex characters who are appealing and flawed, or flawed and almost- not- quite- sympathetic, and in one case a character is flawed and an insect.  It definitely has a dark facet, but on the whole it is warm, generous and self depreciating. While it isn't a particularly quick read, the chapters are each stand alone essays, so it is good for people who read in short bursts and don't want something too long.  There is also a lot of growing up and coming out so it is actually something the could fall into that new adult sub genre. 

Okay, this is off topic, but while looking at the fan sites for week six's assignment and looking for their buzz, I thought about the sites of authors I usually visit and what people are nattering on about there. There is one topic that comes up again and again, that they never get tired of discussing: their irritation with the authors when the blog is "neglected" due to book tours, or worse, dead air when deadlines loom.  They like the format that they like, blogs and podcasts and videos, the immediate and interactive newer media, and see the books sorta like a musician's solo project that takes time away from the band going on tour.  "Yes, that's nice honey, you're doing your thing, but let's not lose focus here, you need to remember your responsibilities to the group." They need their daily fix. 

Maybe it is because I read divergent authors, but I see more sites by people who reach out to their personal fans using all sorts of media, blogs, podcasts, videos and polls.  It isn't the media so much as the message. John Green used a rocket ship, he probably transmits radio waves into space so the aliens don't feel left out.  Dan Savage employs flying monkeys. Dave Barry has cruises. I find interesting this trend that people follow personalities, celebrities, and they want to know what these people have on their minds, whether they get that through books, blogs, TV or mind meld, most of which can be accessed through the library.  More things to recommend in RA.

Back to the actual assignment:

Of course, there are plenty of fan groups on Goodreads, but we have explored that already so I wanted to find something else for this assignment.

On facebook I found a Cyberpunk page, aptly called "Cyberpunk," that discussed movies, RPGs, and books.  They like the gritty dystopia noir feel of the genre, the feeling of being on the outskirts of what is acceptable by society.  In fact, they declared that since there is a term for cyberpunk, it is definitely dead and over. It can't be punk and still be accepted as a genre; they are too cool to be cool. Their buzz is that there is no buzz. Whatever, I still like Blade Runner and Johnny Mnemonic. Some top authors of the genre are Neal Stephanson, William Gibson and Phil Dick.

In addition, I found a site called HistoricNovels.info that lists Historic Western sub genres and names some of the best books in each category. I decided to look for Native American Westerns, and I found that Piers Anthony wrote one, Tatham Mound. Who knew?  There wasn't much of a buzz here, either. There was just a lot of nostalgia, tradition and respect for people who had pretty tough lives. Hervey Allen, Win Blevins, Robert J. Conley and Vella Munn seem popular and Danielle Steele also makes an appearance.

And finally, I found Dark Warrior: To Tame a Wild Hawk by L. Wolfe, which is a Native American Western Romance. It might not be a smashup, but it's a crossover, at least.

Gumshoe Gorilla by Keith Hartman is a fun mix of hardboiled dective and urban fantasy. Very Noir, like The Maltese Falcon, but with Faries and shapeshifters.

Finally, Horror Fiction Review has a smell rating for each title.  Not your everyday factor in RA, but just in case someone asks, there is a resource for that.

At first I was a little disappointed by Street Fiction, the reviews were mostly by fans instead of critics, the first page under each sub genre seemed disorganized and thrown together, and the direct easy link to Amazon put me off. But...I like Amazon, they have free shipping. And I am supposed to be working, not just reading for fun, so I poked around a little more. The site it better organized that I'd first realized, maybe because it is so stripped down, which does make is accessible.  I like the tabs for places and topics, they have a detailed breakdown of sub sub genres that is easy to search. I think I'll be able to help with more detailed and specific requests from customers using those tabs.  The Librarian's Resources tab also looked interesting, I'll read more there later.