Assignment Two:
Over the last few years, I may have seen one or two book trailers, and I didn't give them much thought. I don't even recall the titles. I do remember hearing a few adverts on the radio. They didn't have any effect on my reading decisions.
I checked out trailers of some current NYT bestsellers.
These books have big publishing houses behind them; hence, a bigger trailer budget, and it shows. These trailers indicate that they have an improvement in design and style since the Chicago Tribune article was written. They're slick, and do a good job of selling the titles.
I think Nina Metz's opinion piece in the Chicago Tribune still rings true. The book trailers are more sophisticated. Some are an entertainment unto themselves, but I don't think they are an effective means to sell a book or to use as a reader's advisory tool. Advertisers have not figured out a way to use multimedia websites to sell books. Book review blogs have joined the old standbys, such as traditional advertising in print, and on websites, book reviews in major publications, and word of mouth. Goodreads' recommendations is more useful advertising than trailers, in my opinion.
Assignment Three:
This is the end. This program did force me to think more about readers' advisory, and to make suggestions by using the appeal factors. Perhaps this was part of the introduction to RA online tools, but I thought that the resources offered titles that were too predictable for anyone wanting to delve deep into a genre. If a reader came up to me and asked for a romance or a mystery, I could ask a few questions to find out where the reader's taste level lies and then find a book to fill that need. ("Are you looking for a soft-edged murder mystery? Try Margaret Truman.
Something a bit harder? Try Ruth Rendell.") But it's too easy to point readers to the familiar. RA becomes challenging with the reader who has read all of Ruth Rendell, P. D. James, Elizabeth George, and wants to try something new. Interestingly enough, I found better titles and authors listed in the Go Further! links that would lead a reader beyond the Rendell/James/George triumvirate.
Over the last few years, I may have seen one or two book trailers, and I didn't give them much thought. I don't even recall the titles. I do remember hearing a few adverts on the radio. They didn't have any effect on my reading decisions.
After I read the two articles, I searched through Youtube for a couple of the trailers mentioned in the articles: One for Christopher Hitchen's Hitch-22, and Gary Shteyngart's Super Sad True Love Story. Surprise, surprise. I now want to read Hitch-22. The trailer was entertaining and funny, and made me want to read the book. I've read some of Mr. Hitchen's columns that were published in Vanity Fair,
and I liked them. I also remember that, when SSTLS was initially published, I had wanted to read it. After viewing the hilarious trailer, I placed it on my Goodreads Want to Read list..I placed Hitch-22 there, too.
I checked out trailers of some current NYT bestsellers.
I think Nina Metz's opinion piece in the Chicago Tribune still rings true. The book trailers are more sophisticated. Some are an entertainment unto themselves, but I don't think they are an effective means to sell a book or to use as a reader's advisory tool. Advertisers have not figured out a way to use multimedia websites to sell books. Book review blogs have joined the old standbys, such as traditional advertising in print, and on websites, book reviews in major publications, and word of mouth. Goodreads' recommendations is more useful advertising than trailers, in my opinion.
Assignment Three:
This is the end. This program did force me to think more about readers' advisory, and to make suggestions by using the appeal factors. Perhaps this was part of the introduction to RA online tools, but I thought that the resources offered titles that were too predictable for anyone wanting to delve deep into a genre. If a reader came up to me and asked for a romance or a mystery, I could ask a few questions to find out where the reader's taste level lies and then find a book to fill that need. ("Are you looking for a soft-edged murder mystery? Try Margaret Truman.
