As for monitoring the blogs/ resources I chose, I would say NPR's been the go-to for the more erudite titles... and though many of the works seem interesting to me, NPR definitely maintains it's rep for dealing with the more "literary" tomes that have a very narrow, almost hipster-y focus. I think that if a librarian works in a very specific branch with a specific clientele, then their choice of review sources should be somewhat match their patrons. It's an age old dilemma, I know, and though one may try and get your customers to read "better" quality books (whatever that means!?!), you have to know who your people are and include them in your review process. In short, know where your bread is buttered!
Tor.com has been a bit better of a resource, as again, sci-fi and fantasy are popping up in all sorts of popular mediums... music and movies and TV. The books mentioned on that site just feel to be more in line with the zeitgeist. And it's not just books... there was a great article about a large sculpture of Kafka, which is "tangentially" related to books, but its a tangent that might interest someone who never made the connection between art and sci-fi and Kafka!
Assignment #2
Early Word is a good site, but I just have to say, the format is WAY to cluttered for me. I look at it and my anxiety goes thru the roof! That being said, there is an awful lot of info available on the site, but for my branch specifically, it's a lot of good info that might not be fully utilized. Most of our patrons are interested in DVD's and movies, and for that, IMDB.com or Io9.com are very good at getting the most recent up-to-date details.
As for their book interest, our patrons prefer urban fiction, and for that, I always try to use streetfiction.org, which has a lot of resources for that genre. However, I have noticed over the past few years that a lot of urban fiction authors are going the route of eBooks, so I utilize broader sites like Amazon.com or B&N.com to fill in the holes of what's coming out. Since a lot of these are self-published, the release dates are always suspect, but at least we can get the "most up to date' info from these sites to the patrons.
In regards to Earlyword.com, I do like the coming soon features for B&N (lots of commercially popular works), the Amazon Best of, as well as the PW calendar. I find I can find a lot of "golden nuggets" in PW's pages that really have a broad range of appeal.
And may I add that earlyword's feature on the Nebula winner Uprooted is great (http://www.earlyword.com/2016/05/20/uprooted-wins-nebula-award/)! I read that book last year and loved it. Granted, there were a few structural and plot kinks, but overall, a really beautiful story.
Assignment #3
For my selection from Amazon's list, I chose Tribe by Sebastian Junger.
Junger is an author who excels in telling strong non-fiction narratives that deal with extreme locales, situations, and the people who endure them. In this book, he turns his attention to the social concepts the "tribe" for the military in both a historical and current context. His first and most popular book, The Perfect Storm, featured fast pacing and an exciting plot, and this one is sure to follow that trend. The movie, starring George Clooney, was also a smash hit and introduced his strong storytelling style to a wide public. For those folks who enjoy other non-fiction adventures like Philbrick's In the Heart of the Sea or Into the Wild by Krakauer, Junger's newest book advances his normal style and delves into the sociology and psychology of the struggles that the nation's defenders undergo.
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