W6A3 - Prezi Link of Fiction Genres and Subgenres - First of all, Prezi's pretty cool, and the chart of the genres and subgenres is awesome, but I wish I could print it out for future reference.

Part 1: Subgenres
The assignment here is to pick three subgenres that I'm not as familiar with:  I chose Monsters, Offbeat, and Dystopia.  Here are the three examples I found for each subgenre:

Monsters
This subgenre includes topics such as vampires, werewolves, aliens, beasts, zombies, etc.  "These threatening and often misunderstood creatures are the centerpiece of the story."
Rolling in the Deep by Mira Grant
Dark Hollow by Brian Keene
Dweller by Jeff Strand

Offbeat
These books are "driven by quirky humor, idiosyncratic characters, and/or unusual situation which defy more traditional classification."
Ungifted by Gordon Korman
100 Sideways Miles by Andrew Smith
One Whole and Perfect Day by Judith Clarke

Dystopia
Dystopia takes "a speculative look forward at oppressive societies, dehumanization, and environmental disaster." 
Divergent by Veronica Roth
The Maze Runner by James Dashner
The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi

Part 2: Mashups
Mashups are books that fit into a category of two different, yet distinct, genres or subgenres.  An example is Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith.  Apparently, Lincoln had a secret obsession with the desire to kill vampires, and also believed the death of his mother was due to vampires.  The title pretty much says it all, but this book is a combination of historical fiction and horror.  Another mashup is Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Holmes by Loren D. Estleman, which combines mystery and horror.

W6A1 - Building Base Knowledge (Genres) - I chose the Mystery Readers International website to follow since... well, who doesn't love a good mystery?!  Unfortunately, this site seems to be more of a reference site for "where to find" things across the country, like reading groups at different libraries/venues, locations for mystery bookstores across the US, and places to get different mystery periodicals.  The Mystery Readers' Journal (blogger Janet's publication?) can be ordered from the site, but only two articles from each journal are viewable for free, so it's not very practical for a non-member.  Other than the excerpts from the journal, I haven't found any real reviews for books on the site.  Janet Rudolph apparently loves chocolate so there's a link to everything chocolate and books.  Nice, but ehh...  You can also find winners of the Macavity Award for mystery books, but you can't click on each book title and see more about it.  You would have to type each book into google, or wherever, to learn more about it.  Not helpful.  There's a link to Janet's "Mystery on the Menu" tour group that travels through California and nearby cities to perform, so that wouldn't be useful for the other 95% of the US.  So I have to be honest - I'm not sure why this site was chosen for Be More Bookish.  I don't think I would ever use it.  If I needed the location of local book clubs, or bookstores, or periodicals, I could find them easily with a quick google search.  ...and of course, I have to add that the site's just visually unappealing:).  P.S. - Janet started the blog in 1989, and I don't think she's ever updated the look of the website.  There has to be a better mystery book website out there...

W5A3 - Amazon's Best of the Month - This assignment is to pick a book from the list and describe why it would be popular and who it would appeal to.  I stumbled upon a book on the list that seems to be very pertinent.  It's called Confession of the Lioness by Mia Couto, and it has a similar appeal as the new hit series called  "Zoo," which is an adaptation of James Patterson's book of the same title.  In "Zoo" the animals communicate with each other (telepathically, of course) and instead of the humans hunting animals, the animals are actually killing the people.  A twisted thriller TV show that has everyone buzzing.  In Confession of the Lioness, "traditions and beliefs are threatened when ghostlike lionesses begin hunting and killing the women" of Kulumani (Amazon).  I believe this book would appeal to a large audience right now because of its pertinence.  I would say anywhere from teens to older adults.  People who enjoy exotic travel, mystery, suspense, and setting would probably appreciate this novel.   

W5A2 - EarlyWord.com - So I have a different impression of earlyword.com now.  When I originally went to the website, it looked way to visually overwhelming and the layout of the webpage is pretty... well, lame looking, so I didn't choose it for a daily review.  However, I visited again and took the time to leaf through the info and found some pretty good stuff, including upcoming movies based on books.  So I grabbed a few books for movies that are coming out next year - well ahead of the reserve rush:).  I'm seeing that Early Word will be a good site for hot-off-the-press information about books, authors, upcoming films, book awards, etc.  I'm still disturbed about the appearance of the site (yes, you'll keep hearing this from me lol), but I'm slowly getting over it as the great info reveals itself.
As far as what's popular in our branch, most adults come in with the titles that they are looking for, but they're not usually new books (at least the ones I get).  I have used the New York Times Bestseller List several times for those customers who are looking for the newest popular book, or Novelist for a quick read-alike list that I can print out for customers.  They've seemed to really like that feature.

W5A1 -  Building Base Knowledge (Part II) - The website I've been monitoring is nprbooks.org.  Awesome website.  One thing I think it's great for is the author interviews - hearing the inside scoop directly from the authors.  I just really love how the website brings together the book, the audio, interviews, music clips... whatever.  It's not just: click on the book and get a description and a review.  You get a lot more, either visually or audibly, and that's very appealing to me as a resource for all things books.   (...in addition to the clean, simple, easy-to-navigate web layout... I could go on forever baby!  lol Home Alone II).

W4A1 - Building Base Knowledge (Goodreads) - I became a Goodreads member last year and really enjoy using it.  But I've always used it as a personal (private) list to just keep track of my books.  So I added two friends (that's big lol), and commented on a book for each.  One of the books that was read was called Home by Carson Ellis.  I recommended Home Place by Crescent Dragonwagon which talks about a home that previously existed in a place that now sits empty.  The book takes you back in time as you imagine the home and its previous residents.  It also shares the same beautiful watercolor imagery.  Both books are very comforting to read.  The other book that I commented on was Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library.  I recommended I Kill the Mockingbird by which is not only completely relevant right now with the release of Harper Lee's newest book Go Set a Watchman, but it's a fun twist on To Kill a Mockingbird.  Novelist lists it as a read-alike for Lemoncello's Library because both inventive stories include games that involve books and readers.

W3A3 - The Readers' Services Conversation
--Conversation 1 - The first customer seems to enjoy the appeal factor of "character," where the reader is able to connect with the feelings and emotions of a person(s) in the story.  A book that takes place in another region or country would also appeal to her.  She seems to like a light read with a little humor, and a book from Oprah's book list will most likely be a sure hit.  I would recommend "Committed" also written by Elizabeth Gilbert.  This book is a continuation of Gilbert's story in "Eat, Pray, Love" and touches on the same topics of travel, love, reflection, etc.

--Conversation 2 - This customer wants a vampire book, but nothing with sappy romantic teen relationships, and nothing link the Twilight Saga books.  I turned to Novelist to find good recommendations for her.  If she wants a teen book, I would recommend Buffy the Vampire Slayer books because they have the vampire focus without the romantic relationships.  For an adult book, I would start with "Hit List" by Laurell K. Hamilton.  This book stars a U.S. marshal and a vampire hunter who find out that hit men are in the area and they are the targets - nothing like the Vampire Saga story lines.

--Conversation 3 - The third customer appears to be looking for a fast-paced, exotic, historical nonfiction mystery/suspense book ;).  I think this customer would really like the book "The Lost City of Z" by David Grann.  This nonfiction story takes place in the Amazon, and is about one man's quest to find a British explorer who vanished in 1925.  It's dramatic, fast-paced, and full of "thrilling dangers."

W3A1 -  The RA Conversation - The 15-second rule is a good tip: "When you work with readers in person, you need to express the appeal of a book verbally.  And you need to do it in about 15 seconds or you will lose the attention of your reader."