Week 6

Assignment 1:  I've been keeping my eye on RT Book Review.  I never realized how much it covers in addition to the "typical" romance novel.  This morning I read two reviews of new novels--gasp!--written by men.  RT Book Review covers all books that have love or romance as a theme, not necessarily the bodice rippers that we're used to.  Even sci fi!

Assignment 2:  This Prezi is massive!

Assignment 3: This was incredibly difficult.  Who knew that fan websites would be so difficult to find.  But with my good friend Google I located:

#1 Paranormal Romance-- The buzz on this site is paranormal romance on audio.  She seems to review a lot of it.  Three authors in this genre include Gena Showalter, Victoria Davies, and Kresley Cole, but there are tons more.  The appeal factors are fast-paced, action-packed romance with vampires or some other paranormal element. 

#2 Military Romance-- I had no idea that this was a thing.  This blog is written by several authors in this genre and the buzz is that one of them has a story in the newest Jill Shavis headlined anthology.  Authors in this genre include Heather Long, Melissa Schroeder, and Bethanne Strasser.  This genre featured books with strong female characters (you have to be strong to keep the family together without your husband around), military wives, and heroic men/women in the military mixed in with the romance. Drama with a capital D.

#3 Post-Apocalyptic Sci Fi-- The buzz on this blog is about the author's local Apocalyptic Book Club trip to Apocalyptic Brewing in Oregon.  But he talks about books, too!  Timothy Long, J G Ballard and Michael Moorcock are authors in this genre.  Books in this genre have some sort of catastrophe, killing most of the population, forcing the rest of the population into survival mode.  And sometimes there are zombies.

Mash-ups: What could be more of a mash-up than The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes?!  Suspense!  Serial killers! Time Travel!  Historical fiction! A little bit of horror, a little bit of mystery.  And it's supposed to be the big summer read.

And as a more accessible or easier mash-up to give to customers, Lauren Willig writes historical fiction that's got quite a bit of romance, but also gives a good suspence/mystery story.

Week 5

Assignment 1: I have been following NPR Books and RT Book Reviews.  I've enjoyed reading NPR Books as much as I enjoy listening to their book segments--no big surprise there.  RT Book Reviews has so much info available, not just about romance, but also about any popular titles considered "women's fiction" including young adult.  Who knew?!

Assignment 2:  I already read earlyword everyday before this assignment, so I'll continue that.  I was pretty familiar with this site.  Sometimes I will discover something that I *MUST READ NOW* from the Galley Chats or the ads from publishers, though.

Assignment 3: I took a peek at the Huffington Post's round-up of the top pick of 2013.  The first cover image that pops up is for Z by Therese Fowler.  A fictionalized account of Zelda Fitzgerald's life with her famous husband Scott, Fowler pulls you into the world of flappers and speakeasys, money and excess that was 1920s New York and Paris.  Z is a touching account of a imperfect marriage.  I would (and have) recommended it to customers that liked The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin.  Benjamin tells the fictional tale of Anne Morrow and Charles Lindbergh from Anne's point of view.