Task 2 – Looking at Categories and Genres, and the Readers’ Advisory role

TASK

Looking at literature: what are the categories and genres with which you need to become familiar if you work in a reader advisory capacity? Complete the activities below and record the answers in your blog.

ACTIVITIES:
Give at least 3 examples of a title (with author) in each main genre (mentioned in the PowerPoint) from your general knowledge or from a bit of research.

CHILDREN (I chose picture books for younger readers)

One Clucky Hen, Alison Lester, 2013

Who did that?, Jill B. Bruce, 2012

Ten Little Fingers and Ten little Toes, Mem Fox, 2009

FANTASY

Dark Light, Jane Castle, 2008

Reaper Man, Terry Pratchett, 1991

The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien, 1977

HISTORICAL

Bring Up the Bodies, Hilary Mantel, 2012

The Help, Kathryn Stockett, 2009

Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell, 1936

HUMOUR

Company, Max Barry, 2006

One for the Money, Janet Evanovich, 1994

Blott on the Landscape, Tom Sharpe, 1975

MYSTERY/ADVENTURE

Helium, Jaspreet Singh, 2013

A River in the Sky, Elizabeth Peters, 2010

Flood Tide, Clive Cussler, 1997

ROMANCE

Happily Ever After, Nora Roberts, 2010

The Perfect Lover, Stephanie Laurens, 2003

Nobody’s Baby but Mine, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, 1997

SCIENCE FICTION

3001: The Final Odyssey, Arthur C. Clarke, 1997

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams, 1979

I Robot, Isaac Asimov, 1950

YOUNG ADULT

Girl Saves Boy, Steph Bowe, 2010

Journey to Eureka, Kerry Greenwood, 2005

Tomorrow When the War Begins, John Marsden, 1993

WESTERN

The Last Mountain Man, William W. Johnstone, 1994

Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry, 1985

Hondo, Louis L’Amour, 1953

HORROR

20^th Century Ghosts, Joe Hill, 2005

Interview with a Vampire, Anne Rice, 1976

Frankenstein, Mary Shelley, 1818

CRIME/DETECTIVE

The 9^th Girl, Tami Hoag, 2013

Vanish, Tess Gerritsen, 2005

A is for Alibi, Sue Grafton, 1982

GENERAL

The Thirteenth Tale, Diane Setterfield, 2006

The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini, 2003

Life of Pi, Yann Martel, 2001

Find out the titles of 3 well respected scholarly books on literature which you could expect to find on the REFERENCE shelves of a university library in Australia - and add some other useful reference books (at least 5) on literature and/or fiction and/or reading as a cultural activity.

a)      The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare (Oxford University Press)

A History of English Literature (Palgrave Foundation series)

AustLit Anthology of Criticism (AustLit: The Australian Literature Resource)

b)      A Few Good Books (Neal-Schuman Publishers)

1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (Universe Press)

Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms & Literary Theory (Penguin Books)

Bulfinch’s Mythology (Modern Library edition)

Reading Like a Writer (Union Books)

Story Logic & the Craft of Fiction (Palgrave Macmillan)

Find a job description for a readers' advisor which is reasonably current - you may have to search US and UK sites as well as Australia.

Here is one I found which gives a fairly good description of the sorts of tasks involved in readers’ advisory work. And below is a link to a job as Readers’ Advisory Librarian – Talking Book Program at Texas State Library.

Readers Advisory Assistant Fiction/AV/Teen Department

Posted by:          Mount Prospect Library, Illinois.
Posted date:      Nov-09-12.
Part time Readers’ Advisory Assistant position is available for someone who enjoys books, movies, and music and likes to talk about them. The job includes staffing a busy public service desk serving adults and teens for popular materials; preparing and delivering booktalks and database demonstrations; leading discussion groups; preparing both static and interactive content for the Library’s web page and social media sites; assisting with the development of the fiction and AV collections, etc. This position requires excellent interpersonal skills, writing and speaking skills, skill with working as part of a team, and skill with the use of a computer. Bachelor’s Degree is required. $13 - $18 per hour.

https://www.tsl.state.tx.us/jobs/ral.html

Discussion on websites you have found so far - are there any which discuss genres, categories etc........ or the role of a readers' advisor?

Many of the websites require you to sign up before you can access all resources, but most have at least, basic lists or blogs available to anyone. Some of the websites I found while doing this task include:

http://www.librariesalive.com.au/RA_sites.htm

Lots of links for readers’ advisory services in Australia & New Zealand as well as links to blogs &

 http://www.austlit.edu.au/

Run by the University of Queensland this website supports literary researchers.

 http://www.goodreads.com/

A good site when looking for a particular genre – EXCEPT selection is done by members and subject to their interpretation – BUT a good site for reviews and discussion.

 http://www.readersadvisoronline.com/blog/

A blog with the latest information about releases, that also gives you access to a database based on the Genreflecting categories.

http://www.genrefluent.com/

A blog that has loads of reviews, links to other sites and looks at books in various genres.

http://www.librarything.com/

Another site like good reads where members review, discuss and list their books

Task 1 - Websites promoting literature & reading, especially in Australia

TASK

Look for about 15 websites which promote literature and reading, with an emphasis on Australian websites.  A short annotation should give a succinct description of what is offered by the website and whether I consider it good, bad or indifferent.

OUTCOME

There are lots of websites dealing with reading and books for children and young adults, but not so many offered for adults. Here are the 15 websites that I found which promote literature, reading and/or literacy.

 https://www.australianbookreview.com.au/

Probably the most literary of the websites I found, this one is aimed squarely at adults with current and archive articles from the magazine available online. As well as reviews of new books, there are articles about poetry, plays and music. The website also has details of literary prizes and programs run by the magazine.

http://www.getreading.com.au/

“Get Reading!” is a government initiative to encourage Australians to read more, primarily around a national campaign in September when the guide “50 Books You Can’t Put Down” is produced. While the website looks like it offers a lot, there is not much happening from year to year, so I found it a bit disappointing.

http://www.goodreadingmagazine.com.au/index.cfm

This website has some adult content where you can look at the latest reviews or search by author, location or award, and even how to find or set up a book club in your area. The website also contains some interesting things for kids including a cool thing where they can click on their age and get a list of books. This is a good website for keeping up to date with new books.

http://www.indigenousliteracyfoundation.org.au/

Primarily a charitable organisation set up to supply books and promote literacy to remote indigenous communities, this website is mainly about events and programs to raise money. The programs aim to encourage links between the book trade, schools and libraries to ensure the supply of books to remote communities, as well as urban communities.

http://www.insideadog.com.au/

This site is all about books for young people by young people. Young people can read about books, send in their own reviews, join a book club and enter competitions. There is a different writer in residence each month and this site is responsible for the Inky Awards which are chosen by teens and voted for online. This looks like an interesting website for young people to get involved in.

http://www.kids-bookreview.com/

Kids' Book Review is a book-loving site with a focus on children's books from babies to young adult. It has lots of reviews, author interviews and plenty of lists & resources to be downloaded. Unlike some websites, the kids don’t really get to take part, so in that sense this website is directed at parents & teachers. It has a busy though modern look and is well worth a visit.

http://www.letsread.com.au/

This website promotes reading together as a way to help kids to develop a love of books and to learn important skills like naming letters and playing with word sounds. Under the Families tab there are printable lists of suitable books by age group with hints on how to read them with your kids. This website has lots of downloadable resources for families, community groups and professionals.

http://www.love2read.org.au/index.cfm

This website was set up in 2012 to promote the National Year of Reading and now promotes and runs the Reading Hour in August each year – this year on August 24. The Reading Resources tab has lots of links to further resources about books and reading, as well as links for learning to read. The Events tab has a list of events being held at libraries and other places for the Reading Hour. I found this web site to be a bit limited in scope.

http://www.mwf.com.au/2013/?name=Home-content

The Melbourne Writers Festival which runs for 11 days – 22 August to 1 September – is a celebration of writers, readers and thinkers. It encompasses events like talks from authors, artists & journalists, walks around Melbourne, word games in Fed Square, political & cultural discussions, performances, a special program for schools and even a conference. All designed to get people talking about and hopefully buying books and magazines or checking on-line about subjects which have piqued our interest.

http://papertigers.org/home.html

Curated out the US, this website embraces multicultural stories for children & young adults, with a particular emphasis on the Pacific Rim and South Asia. There are interviews with authors and illustrators, as well as links to reviews, a blog and lots of links to resources by country (including Australia). I don’t think there has been anything added this year, but what is there is not out of date yet, so the website is at least worth a visit.

http://www.readingrockets.org/

Even though this is another US based site, I think it is useful just for the wealth of resources it has for parents, teachers, librarians and others. There are lots of tips and tricks to get kids reading with lessons, guides and podcasts.  This looks like a very helpful site especially to parents and teachers helping kids who struggle with reading.

http://www.readplus.com.au/index.php

A privately run website with a listing of books and films for young people from 5 to 18 years old, which can be called up by theme. Current reviews are available on the Home page as well as under the Review Blog tab and there are lots of links to news about awards. Unfortunately, the reviews are not searchable and you need to pay for a subscription to get access to the teacher resources and generate lists by subject heading.  A serious educator could find this website useful.

http://soupblog.wordpress.com/

This is actually a blog disguised as a website originating from the now defunct magazine “Alphabet Soup”.  It is directed a kids under 13 who love books and creative writing. The blogs is searchable, there is a tab listing various writing competitions for kids, and long lists of author websites, resources for parents & teachers, other blogs and useful websites. The blog is up-to-date but some of the links are old. Kids who enjoy writing or illustrating stories would probably love this website.

http://www.tenminutesaday.com.au/home.html

The Ten Minutes a Day program provides practical ideas on using stories, rhymes, songs and music to help children under two years develop early literacy skills. An initiative of the Newcastle Region Library, it explains how to build your child’s reading skills and offers a list of suitable books for various age groups. I like this web site – it offers practical advice in simple point form and for time-poor mums is easy to navigate and read.

http://www.thebookchook.com/

Book reviews and links to activities to help parents & teachers from a writer and kindergarten teacher. There are lots of links, advice, games, activities but web site navigation a bit iffy – a new window opens whenever you click on a tab or menu item. This could be a good resource for parents or early years teachers and the reviews also offer up three other books you might also like. Worth a visit if you can stand the navigation problems.