Be More Bookish - Week 6

Assignment - 1

The book genre site that I followed Tor.com has been tremendously useful but only for a handful of times. For example there is a patron comes to the branch occasionally when I'm working who appears to aimlessly be wondering among the sci-fi stacks. Though I like to read sci-fi myself I haven't read enough to know the variety of what's available among the genre. Now with knowing that a site is dedicated to the genre I don't feel powerless to ask them if they need any recommendations. If they shot a sci-fi recommendation request my way that I'm not terribly knowledgeable of. I pull out the branches I-pad and pull up Tor.com. Most patrons have never used it so I explain what the community at Tor.com has to offer and when they see the genre list most patrons become excited to see that their favorite genre has many more books than they have even heard that they can continue to explore. Using Tor.com usually takes care of 90% of the reader sci-fi recommendations requests that I've come across since having become acquainted with Tor.com.

Assignment - 3

Gaming Fiction - A book that would typify this subgenre is Ready, Player One, by Earnest Cline. This story takes place in a distopian future were everyone uses virtual reality to escape temporarily from destitute existence. There are several companies that people turn their lives over to in the VR realm however one of the most popular games reports that their company will hand over everything to a player who finds an extremely hard to find treasure in a VR labyrinth. In the spirit of Charlie and the Chocolate factory, Ready Player One does a modern twist to an entrepreneur looking for a complete stranger to become the heir to his kingdom. The protagonist we are set up with at the beginning of the story starts to take a journey into the labyrinth however will other circumstance not within his control force his hand to give up looking for the loot.

The appeal of the book ties itself firmly into the gaming culture that will eventually have mass commercialization of VR head sets themselves in late 2015 and 2016. Also this book has been turned into a screenplay and is set to be directed by Stephen Spielberg in the near future. Those interested in eventually seeing the movie may want to have a heads up with the book or have interest in reading it after viewing the film.

Gore - A book that might typify this subgenre is Spatterpunk: A Glimpse into Hell, by Wade Garrett. If you read any of the Dexter series and hated the PG descriptions when Dexter delights himself in dissecting his victims but we really never really know what we are seeing from his point of view. This book will give you that description that is wholly missing from Dexter's characterization as a sociopath to the reader. We never know why the Dark Passenger consumes them as his play thing through Dexter. However Splatterpunk sets to describe all those graphic details in as dark as a plot setting possible. If you enjoy horror, serial killers, and gore as subgenres this will be the highlights one looks for in books such as Splatterpunk: A Glimpse into Hell.

Zombies - A book that typifys this subgenre is The Walking Dead, by Robert Kirkman. One could argue the point that zombies should be in horror or gore. However the subject of zombies by themselves have become so large and wildly successful with publishers I think they are certainly deserving of their own subgenre. The Walking Dead forces readers to bond with survivors of the zombie apocalypse that appears to start in Atlanta George. However when characters begin to realize that there will be no government response they begin to turn to the dire straits they find themselves and begin to truly fight for their survival as they understand it. But don't become too attached to character, Kirkman, is known to throw very well developed characters that become reader's favorite to the chopping block to throw the plot into limbo for the reader. If you like dramatic reads, strong characters, and zombie apocalypse senerios theses are the highlights that The Walking Dead will cover in this subgenre.

Two mashup subgenres titles -

Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson - This is a strong science fiction title that quickly goes from cyberpunk VR future to an unlikely allies becoming partners to solve a who-done-it action mystery. You could call this a cyberpunk mystery. Now this is more new to the likes of America however has been a genre in Japan among Manga in the likes of Ghost in the Shell series. However Stephenson adds a more down to earth characters who are free contract agents who appeal to mob leaders who are more of town constables in this cyberpunk future. In this exchange there is a new drug called snow crash in the VR realms that hacks people's brains in reality rather than just messing up their avatars and online status. This is interfering with the local mobs rule while also destabilizing the VR realm. Who is pushing Snow Crash and what is it's ultimate purpose. Our two young heroes are about to find out.

Cosmos, by Carl Sagan - this is a nonfiction title however it serves as the beginning of an wholly overlooked need to understand present day scientific thinking as a historical construct. For example how could two mathematically advanced ancient societies that existed at the same time in different parts of the world turn out to become so different culturally. For example Aztecs societies in had a very complicated calendar tied to astrological bodies to learn when to start planting crops however they never learned to invent the wheel. Where as the Greek society had just as a deep of an understanding for calendars using astrological bodies as well. However they were able to invent the wheel, advanced weapons and ancient computers. All of this and more is contemplated from a cosmic perspective in Carl Sagan's Cosmos. This book is so well thought out that it has become the template for other subgenres that science writers have expanded into such as science as comedy with Mary Roach's book.