Non Fiction
1. True Crime is primarily in 364 although some is in biography as well. I would recommend Erik Larson's Devil in the White City (364.1523L) or Ann Rule's newest edition of Stranger Beside Me (364.1523 R)
2. The classification of non-fiction travel narrative depends on the country or countries visited. Paul Theroux's Dark Star Safari (916.04 T) is classified in African travel while Tahir Shah's Caliph's House is classified in 964 D, the history and culture of Morocco.
3. Biography can be included in the Bio section, History , Sports, Business -- that classification for which the subject is noted. Thus John Krakauer's Into the Wild, bio of doomed Alaskan adventurer Chris McCandless in Bio Mcc and President in the Family about Thomas Jefferson by Woodson in 973.46 W.
4. Disaster Narratives -- classified depending on what kind of disaster it is. -- if it is about mountain climbing such as Krakauer's Into the Thin Air, 796.522 K, or The Graves are Walking by Kelly (941.5081 K) classified in the history and culture of Ireland - about the Irish Holocaust- or Enron, the Smartest Guys in the Room (333.79M) by McLean, in the business and finance section.
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Friday, June 7, 2013
Since I have gotten a whole lot older than I ever thought I would, I have been tempted by many things that were forbidden to young Catholic ladies back in the day and , I must admit, I have been acting out a bit in both thought and deed. I have been immersing myself in paranormal fantasy books, staring at HBO and Showtime late night fare with my jaw dropped and dreaming of just walking out, leaving everything, pets, kids, responsibilities, huge collections of things and moving to Morocco or Uzbekistan ( I'll take my husband with me) The idea of a garish tattoo dedicated to some long dead pet has crossed my mind and I sometimes imagine myself with a turquoise streak in my hair.. Now what is this all about you ask? In spite of my efforts to evolve and taste new experiences,there are some things I will never be able to do. I will never be able to get my nose pierced or actually enjoy and understand Manga or really, really find any motivation to spend enormous amounts of time blogging or reading blogs on Tumblr. I finally signed up for a Tumblr account today in order to examine the Cassandra Clare blogsite -- actually there is a lot of blogging and reblogging and fansites and artsites, and Twitter chatter about Cassandra, most dealing with the newest entry in her tarot series (little did I know how popular tarot is amongst adolescents!). Tumblr is very broad and very shallow and there is just too much multi-tasking involved for me to actively enjoy or gain anything useful from this particular site. Tweets in particular nauseate me, I mean how self-involved can you get? I will continue to view this site ( at least a few more times) but I doubt that I will revise my opinion- I mean it makes Facebook look like the Encyclopedia Britannica.
On the other hand, Stacked, quite obviously a project of love by two librarians, draws me in and involves me immediately. The reviews are delightful book talks which spark the imagination and leave you begging for more information. The reviewers are deeply knowledgeable about young adult literature and are able to offer constructive criticism and historical perspective to the works they write about. In addition, they offer suggestions for further reading. The site is a serious and substantial contribution to readers advisory and yet, it does not take itself seriously. The essays are light and easily digestible despite their thoughtful and complex content. Because it is written by only two librarians (it does take contributions under advisement), it is cohesive, offering insightful commentary, comparing and contrasting various books. So Stacked --adult site, Tumblr-- teen site. Stacked is deep and linear, Tumblr appears shallow and all over the page. I am going to persist on Tumblr however since maybe I am just hitting the wrong blogs -- I have lots of different interests so, perhaps, I will find something that excites me if I investigate further.
On the other hand, Stacked, quite obviously a project of love by two librarians, draws me in and involves me immediately. The reviews are delightful book talks which spark the imagination and leave you begging for more information. The reviewers are deeply knowledgeable about young adult literature and are able to offer constructive criticism and historical perspective to the works they write about. In addition, they offer suggestions for further reading. The site is a serious and substantial contribution to readers advisory and yet, it does not take itself seriously. The essays are light and easily digestible despite their thoughtful and complex content. Because it is written by only two librarians (it does take contributions under advisement), it is cohesive, offering insightful commentary, comparing and contrasting various books. So Stacked --adult site, Tumblr-- teen site. Stacked is deep and linear, Tumblr appears shallow and all over the page. I am going to persist on Tumblr however since maybe I am just hitting the wrong blogs -- I have lots of different interests so, perhaps, I will find something that excites me if I investigate further.
Thursday, June 6, 2013
I examined Harper Teen and LB Teen
Harperteen is a very thorough site which advertises and updates works by some of the most significant Y writers, notably Veronica Roth of Divergent , the prolific Avi, Kathryn Lasky, Meg Cabot,Walter Dean Myers and Terry Pratchett. It features book reviews, interviews (written and visual), links to newsletters, official websites and blogsites, movie tie-ins, live chat. The content is not particularly deep or analytic or memorable, but it is not supposed to be -- this a news site updating teens on media and popular culture.
LB teen deals primarily with books, less with the cultural phenomena that stems from the books -- The list of authors is impressive, though not so much as Harper. Cornelia Funk, Darren Shan, James Patterson most notably. Live chats with authors are advertised and older chats are presented in archive. There are some meatier offerings to teachers and librarians on the site, educator guides, book talks, ways by which books can be found by theme. This website is less visual, colorful and ADD than Harpers-- less attractive, I think, to teens, more attractive to the adults who recommend the books to teens -- the colors are more sedate, there are fewer funky links and less teen language used.
What I gather from both these sites and simply from my own observations is that many, many of new YA books are written for young ladies by female authors. They feature the strong, quirky female character facing real life or dystopian challenges which by and large she overcomes via her special abilities (innate abilities, sometimes magic--but usually abilities which come from within as opposed to learned skills). Most of them are narrated by the major female character. Many seem to be written to empower teenage girls and make them more aware of their ability to influence their environment. I think that is all well and good although, , as an adult, I have to acknowledge that hard earned useful skills combined with a positive attitude are much more vaulable to our world than magic or lore. But I am old-school, more Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Diary of a Young Girl, than Gossip Girl or Wither. I positively enjoy reading many of these books, but they are not books that I would return to read, they do not build character -- They are written for immediate pleasure, not lasting thought. What I don't understand is why more books are not being written for young men --maybe it is because young men simply are not as attracted to fiction as the ladies. I have to say, though, that those books which feature male characters are far more thought provoking and long lasting than teen girl reads. Walter Dean Myers, Gary Paulsen, Orson Scott Card, S.E. Hinton, Andrew Horowitz, Neil Gaiman-- better writers, deeper message, more enduring and complex, less self involved and self serving -- books that can be read by all genders and ages.I have to ask myself is this plethora of dystopian girl lit really doing a disservice to teen girls-- either that or underestimating them. The good thing is that teens read all kinds of books -- by and large do not limit themselves to one type of read and they also are able to weed out the good from the bad , the fad from the enduring classic.
Harperteen is a very thorough site which advertises and updates works by some of the most significant Y writers, notably Veronica Roth of Divergent , the prolific Avi, Kathryn Lasky, Meg Cabot,Walter Dean Myers and Terry Pratchett. It features book reviews, interviews (written and visual), links to newsletters, official websites and blogsites, movie tie-ins, live chat. The content is not particularly deep or analytic or memorable, but it is not supposed to be -- this a news site updating teens on media and popular culture.
LB teen deals primarily with books, less with the cultural phenomena that stems from the books -- The list of authors is impressive, though not so much as Harper. Cornelia Funk, Darren Shan, James Patterson most notably. Live chats with authors are advertised and older chats are presented in archive. There are some meatier offerings to teachers and librarians on the site, educator guides, book talks, ways by which books can be found by theme. This website is less visual, colorful and ADD than Harpers-- less attractive, I think, to teens, more attractive to the adults who recommend the books to teens -- the colors are more sedate, there are fewer funky links and less teen language used.
What I gather from both these sites and simply from my own observations is that many, many of new YA books are written for young ladies by female authors. They feature the strong, quirky female character facing real life or dystopian challenges which by and large she overcomes via her special abilities (innate abilities, sometimes magic--but usually abilities which come from within as opposed to learned skills). Most of them are narrated by the major female character. Many seem to be written to empower teenage girls and make them more aware of their ability to influence their environment. I think that is all well and good although, , as an adult, I have to acknowledge that hard earned useful skills combined with a positive attitude are much more vaulable to our world than magic or lore. But I am old-school, more Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Diary of a Young Girl, than Gossip Girl or Wither. I positively enjoy reading many of these books, but they are not books that I would return to read, they do not build character -- They are written for immediate pleasure, not lasting thought. What I don't understand is why more books are not being written for young men --maybe it is because young men simply are not as attracted to fiction as the ladies. I have to say, though, that those books which feature male characters are far more thought provoking and long lasting than teen girl reads. Walter Dean Myers, Gary Paulsen, Orson Scott Card, S.E. Hinton, Andrew Horowitz, Neil Gaiman-- better writers, deeper message, more enduring and complex, less self involved and self serving -- books that can be read by all genders and ages.I have to ask myself is this plethora of dystopian girl lit really doing a disservice to teen girls-- either that or underestimating them. The good thing is that teens read all kinds of books -- by and large do not limit themselves to one type of read and they also are able to weed out the good from the bad , the fad from the enduring classic.
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Assignment 7
This dystopian flowchart is just down my alley -- It will help me choose more books.. I have read a lot of the more notable dystopian works. I have tried to read quite a few more of them but many are poorly written, improbable or contain worlds which just bore me to death and I do not continue. The other day I was scanning the new Y fiction and noticed that probably a good half of it was either dystopian, paranormal romance or paranormal fiction. (Privately, I think this is an unfortunate trend -- People can profit from reading about real world problems and solutions as well -- of how all age groups can contribute to a less dystopian world. But it is the market right now.) So far, for me, aside from the Hunger Games, the best dystopian reads have been Shusterman's Unwind series, Divergent series by Veronica Roth, and the Shipbreaker series by Bacigalupi. I have not enjoyed any of the strange "world without love" or arranged marriage series such as Matched, Wither or Delirium. I have also just finished the 5th Wave which received excellent reviews but, for me , was just meh -- I am just not that invested in the characters.
I have a lot of reservations about New Adult as a distinct category -- I have read a little of it and it is basically just poorly written fiction about young adults. People 18-24 are fully capable of reading and comprehending any books that older adults read -- they can also appreciate and criticize and learn from these books -- Books are our extensions into worlds, ideas, emotions, solutions, etc, which we have not yet nor may ever experience. New Adult fiction does not provide this very special leap into the unknown--it does not particulary inspire deep thought nor does it broaden our experiences and open new worlds. There is nothing wrong with New Adult books, but there is nothing particularly special that I can see about them either--As reads they are usually well below a young adult reader's capabilities, but all of us read below our levels at times. I guess carving out a category for them is a good marketing technique and is a good way for authors and publishers to make extra money.It is possible to write absolutely brilliant young adult books-- but, I think, by definition, the New Adult category is just too poorly defined and written to order to ever produce absolutely inspirational literature, full of new experiences and ideas to ponder. It falls more into the genre of Romance or cozy Mystery or not so good fiction. (btw,in response to the last paragraph of this article, I do not think that John Green's novels should go anywhere near 50 shades or NA fiction -- I mean he is an excellent writer, his dialog is stunning , his characters are superbly defined; nor do I think that NA fiction should be thrown into the same dump as 50 which is rather shoddily written erotica. Throw all the poorly written erotica together with the paranormal romance. All this being said about NA, it is a perfectly legitimate genre to write and read -- kind of like first chapter books for adults.
An excellent book is an excellent book no matter for whom it is written. So why shouldn't adult readers want to read excellent young adult fiction which is full of imagination and ideas? It is great escape reading , big concepts are usually simplified, characters less complex and subtle and ,very often, the best of these books transcend young adult cliches -- eg the last volume of the Hunger Games, the whole Harry Potter series, the first volume of Shipbreaker. So we have books that overlap age categories -- it has always been true. Dickens can be read by young and old alike, as can Milne , or Mark Twain or C.S. Lewis, or Roald Dahl.
I have a lot of reservations about New Adult as a distinct category -- I have read a little of it and it is basically just poorly written fiction about young adults. People 18-24 are fully capable of reading and comprehending any books that older adults read -- they can also appreciate and criticize and learn from these books -- Books are our extensions into worlds, ideas, emotions, solutions, etc, which we have not yet nor may ever experience. New Adult fiction does not provide this very special leap into the unknown--it does not particulary inspire deep thought nor does it broaden our experiences and open new worlds. There is nothing wrong with New Adult books, but there is nothing particularly special that I can see about them either--As reads they are usually well below a young adult reader's capabilities, but all of us read below our levels at times. I guess carving out a category for them is a good marketing technique and is a good way for authors and publishers to make extra money.It is possible to write absolutely brilliant young adult books-- but, I think, by definition, the New Adult category is just too poorly defined and written to order to ever produce absolutely inspirational literature, full of new experiences and ideas to ponder. It falls more into the genre of Romance or cozy Mystery or not so good fiction. (btw,in response to the last paragraph of this article, I do not think that John Green's novels should go anywhere near 50 shades or NA fiction -- I mean he is an excellent writer, his dialog is stunning , his characters are superbly defined; nor do I think that NA fiction should be thrown into the same dump as 50 which is rather shoddily written erotica. Throw all the poorly written erotica together with the paranormal romance. All this being said about NA, it is a perfectly legitimate genre to write and read -- kind of like first chapter books for adults.
An excellent book is an excellent book no matter for whom it is written. So why shouldn't adult readers want to read excellent young adult fiction which is full of imagination and ideas? It is great escape reading , big concepts are usually simplified, characters less complex and subtle and ,very often, the best of these books transcend young adult cliches -- eg the last volume of the Hunger Games, the whole Harry Potter series, the first volume of Shipbreaker. So we have books that overlap age categories -- it has always been true. Dickens can be read by young and old alike, as can Milne , or Mark Twain or C.S. Lewis, or Roald Dahl.
Friday, May 31, 2013
I have been scanning Tor for the past few weeks -- I have to admit here that my patience for this type of book has begun to wear thin, how I can be tired with paranormal lore , hybrid monster characters who all look like ravishing 18 year old humans ( except they are immortal and usually scantily clothed) , and marathon sexual escapades, don't ask me, but I have been reading outside my genre lately ( and really enjoying it). Nonetheless, for afficionados of these books, Tor fulfills it's purpose -- to keep fans informed about new releases in paranormal romance, paranormal fiction, science fiction and genre benders -- all minor works in what I consider minor genres. There is also a place for new cover art, which is important to this particular type of book (some of the art is quite striking, especially the science fiction art), there is a place for blogging, and there is a message board containing conversations different events, art and books. Both the blogs and the message boards are up to date indicating that this is an active site. Current fan events, relevant television, movies are also present. It serves a very useful purpose to its participants.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
The Prezi chart is certainly ambitious ( I would never think to come up with something like this unbidden). I have lots of issues with it, however, I respect the author for his efforts. My first issue lies with the science fiction area. Personally I think that both science fiction and fantasy should stem from a new category, Speculative Fiction which is a broader term encompassing any works which are fantastic, supernatural or futuristic. Science fiction should be just that, books based on science or technology - real possibilities not leaps into the fantastic. I don't think that fantastic, superhero, strange monster fiction should be included in this category. Nor should dystopian fiction which is not based on technology be included. Fantasy and science fiction are equal and distinct categories.Next,most magical realism is literary fiction, not fantasy. Many works of contemporary fiction contain elements of magical realism.John Fowles, John Barth, Salmon Rushdie, Lionel Shriver are not fantasy authors, they convey complex human conditions in realistic terms including fantastical elements. They border on the crazy and the surreal, sometimes because of the narrator's unique point of view. By and large they transcend most sci fi and fantasy. Personally, I think that some of the southern gothic writers , Faulkner, Carson McCullers, Flannery O'Connor fall into the magical realism category -- certainly not as a subset of fantasy. Perhaps this particular type of fiction should be considered coequal with sci fi and fantasy under speculative fiction. Or, perhaps it needs its own free standing category under a new category of literary fiction. Finally, I disagree with classifying animal mysteries, culinary mysteries as subgenres of mystery -- they are all cozies and that is where they belong -- there is an endless list of special audience mysteries--plus size, antique store, scrapbooking -- and they all belong under the cozy category. These criticisms are easy to make, it is always easier to criticize than to create so I commend the author for his efforts, it has given me lots of insight into the world of fiction reading.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
My first subgenre is Tart Noir, a new detective genre derived from the hard boiled or noir stories which began in the early twentieth centuries with Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade, and Raymond Chandler's Phillip Marlowe and continues to this day in the works of Michael Connolly ( Harry Bosch) and James Lee Burke (Dave Robichaux). Like their male counterparts, tart noir heroines are tough and tender, possessed of fierce morality and a deep sense of compassion for the underdog. These stories also contain a fair amount of violence, sex and deep cynicism. One of the major authors is Lauren Henderson who wrote Dead White Female , Too Many Blondes and a host of other mysteries featuring tough lady Sam Jones. Probably the most well-known tart noir heroine is Steig Larsson's Lisbeth Salander, although his work could not be classified as tart noir -- it is just too complex and well written.I also think Janet Evanovich's number series is humorous tart noir.I did not find a website completely dedicated to this genre but I found a great description and history at this site http://www.crimeculture.com/21stC/TartNoir.html. The appeal of this fiction is self-evident -particularly for the female reader- fast moving plots featuring powerful women caught up in the action of pursuing criminals and dishing out justice..
My second subgenre is Paranormal Romance, a wild and sexy plunge into the intimate relationships of vampires, werewolves, succubi, you name it -- if it is immortal and feeds upon strange food then it can be included here. These works are basically romances ( as born out by the cover art -- young men with bared chests, some in kilts -- because paranormal men look basically like very young men with fabulous physiques). They pursue various ladies of the paranormal persuasion -- strong young ladies who take a whole lot of persuasion in the form of terrific sex before they can finally be claimed as mates . Sometimes the ladies are physically stronger than the men, sometimes weaker, but the paranormal heros are completely subjugated by them because of genetic predestination. Everybody has his own true and eternal mate and once you find her, you'd better corral her because there will not be another.Kresley Cole is one of the major writers of this genre -- her Immortals after Dark series presents the adventures of any number of immortal lovers chasing each other throughout the major cities of the world only to find endless passion in each other's arms (or whatever passes for arms)-- sometimes, the possibility of offspring is introduced ( naturally born offspring are hard come by in this world since most of these lovers are mismatched by species -- for some reason vampires keep falling in love with amazons and werewolves with fairies - opposites attract very strongly here and that makes conception a little tricky -- sort of like mating cats and dogs.) Conventional morality also reigns supreme despite the violence and hanky pank that occurs in the books. J. R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood is also a popular choice. Cynthia Eden also writes hot paranormal romance. Some of her books include a little mystery and detective work but that plot element never threatens to overwhelm the lovin'. The website http://www.vampiresrealm.com/ contains some excellent information and recommendations for lovers of this creepy romance.
My final subgenre is Urban Fantasy, there are paranormals here but the plot lines are a little stronger -- less smooching and more storyline. The setting is contemporary urban environment. Probably the best example of this type of story is the Twilight series -- girl meets and loves and ultimately bears child for vampire but in the meantime,important choices are made, friends and relatives are saved from destruction, anti-abortion and pro-marriage messages are sent, etc, etc. So lots and lots goes on before during and after the highly anticipated virgin bedding. Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series and Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse are more current examples of this subgenre. It is interesting to note that these books, as well as the other subgenre books I have written about, are usually produced in series -- which leads me to suspect that they are not all that difficult to write -- the authors absolutely produce masses of them -- chock full of strange creatures coexisting with us pitiable humans, living by dark and mysterious laws of the lore and finding solutions to some of our most difficult problems. Shall we say, then, that they all provide adolescents and over-stressed ladies escape from the dreariness, routine and obligations of our mundane lives. http://urbanfantasyland.net/about-u/ looks like an excellent fansite with lists of books and authors and some reviews.
I found sites for these books via google -- none of them had blogs, but I noticed that for both Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance there were active groups, recommendatiosn,etc. on Goodreads and Amazon both of which offer excited and breathless five star reviews as well as a plethora of criticism and snarking on these types of books.
My first cross genre book is Veil of Lies by Jeri Westernson which is described as a medieval noir - a cross between historical fiction and noir mystery which is shelved in the mystery area of our system. Her protagonist is Crispin Guest, a detective with the personality and methods of the noir heroes of Chandler and Hammett, in a detailed and authentic medieval setting.
My second suggestion are the Sister Fidelma mysteries of Peter Tremayne, again historical mysteries set in medieval Ireland. These are complex and scholarly mysteries, drawing deeply on Irish history and folklore and the Catholic religion. We go back in to the time when women were extremely powerful in society -- Sister Fidelma is a judge who is called to solve crimes and pass judgement on the criminals. A lot of Gaelic is used in these books and the mysteries being solved are historical and complex -- they are challenging.
My second subgenre is Paranormal Romance, a wild and sexy plunge into the intimate relationships of vampires, werewolves, succubi, you name it -- if it is immortal and feeds upon strange food then it can be included here. These works are basically romances ( as born out by the cover art -- young men with bared chests, some in kilts -- because paranormal men look basically like very young men with fabulous physiques). They pursue various ladies of the paranormal persuasion -- strong young ladies who take a whole lot of persuasion in the form of terrific sex before they can finally be claimed as mates . Sometimes the ladies are physically stronger than the men, sometimes weaker, but the paranormal heros are completely subjugated by them because of genetic predestination. Everybody has his own true and eternal mate and once you find her, you'd better corral her because there will not be another.Kresley Cole is one of the major writers of this genre -- her Immortals after Dark series presents the adventures of any number of immortal lovers chasing each other throughout the major cities of the world only to find endless passion in each other's arms (or whatever passes for arms)-- sometimes, the possibility of offspring is introduced ( naturally born offspring are hard come by in this world since most of these lovers are mismatched by species -- for some reason vampires keep falling in love with amazons and werewolves with fairies - opposites attract very strongly here and that makes conception a little tricky -- sort of like mating cats and dogs.) Conventional morality also reigns supreme despite the violence and hanky pank that occurs in the books. J. R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood is also a popular choice. Cynthia Eden also writes hot paranormal romance. Some of her books include a little mystery and detective work but that plot element never threatens to overwhelm the lovin'. The website http://www.vampiresrealm.com/ contains some excellent information and recommendations for lovers of this creepy romance.
My final subgenre is Urban Fantasy, there are paranormals here but the plot lines are a little stronger -- less smooching and more storyline. The setting is contemporary urban environment. Probably the best example of this type of story is the Twilight series -- girl meets and loves and ultimately bears child for vampire but in the meantime,important choices are made, friends and relatives are saved from destruction, anti-abortion and pro-marriage messages are sent, etc, etc. So lots and lots goes on before during and after the highly anticipated virgin bedding. Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series and Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse are more current examples of this subgenre. It is interesting to note that these books, as well as the other subgenre books I have written about, are usually produced in series -- which leads me to suspect that they are not all that difficult to write -- the authors absolutely produce masses of them -- chock full of strange creatures coexisting with us pitiable humans, living by dark and mysterious laws of the lore and finding solutions to some of our most difficult problems. Shall we say, then, that they all provide adolescents and over-stressed ladies escape from the dreariness, routine and obligations of our mundane lives. http://urbanfantasyland.net/about-u/ looks like an excellent fansite with lists of books and authors and some reviews.
I found sites for these books via google -- none of them had blogs, but I noticed that for both Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance there were active groups, recommendatiosn,etc. on Goodreads and Amazon both of which offer excited and breathless five star reviews as well as a plethora of criticism and snarking on these types of books.
My first cross genre book is Veil of Lies by Jeri Westernson which is described as a medieval noir - a cross between historical fiction and noir mystery which is shelved in the mystery area of our system. Her protagonist is Crispin Guest, a detective with the personality and methods of the noir heroes of Chandler and Hammett, in a detailed and authentic medieval setting.
My second suggestion are the Sister Fidelma mysteries of Peter Tremayne, again historical mysteries set in medieval Ireland. These are complex and scholarly mysteries, drawing deeply on Irish history and folklore and the Catholic religion. We go back in to the time when women were extremely powerful in society -- Sister Fidelma is a judge who is called to solve crimes and pass judgement on the criminals. A lot of Gaelic is used in these books and the mysteries being solved are historical and complex -- they are challenging.
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