Week 5

Question 1
I have been monitoring RT Book Reviews (which apparently stands for Romance Times but it wasn't posted anywhere on their website)

I am not a Romance reader and I was amazed at home many subgenres there are of Romance books.  Here is their index:
Paranormal/Urban Fantasy
Mystery/Thriller/Suspense
Mainstream
Inspirational
Science Fiction/Fantasy
Young Adult
Erotica
Comic/Manga

I like the fact that there is an index because I can look up very specific types of books this way for customers.  For myself, I really like love stories and I was glad to see there is a Mainstream category because I think I would like those type of books the best.

Another thing I learned about the RT website is that it's a great place to go for aspiring Romance authors. They offer a lot of support such as manuscript evaluations, links to blogs and help in finding agents and editors.

It is helpful to have "Top Picks" listed at the top of the page because if you get a reader's advisory question and don't have much time, you can just recommend one of the top picks.

Question 2
African American and Urban Fiction are very popular in my branch.  I have looked everywhere on www.earlyword.com and can't find either of those genres as a separate category.  The closest thing I found was Oprah's book club.
I did, however, find things on Early Word that I can use both professionally and personally.  I liked the ALA nonfiction read alike link and the People Magazine Book Reviews section which I can use for readers advisory.   I also like the Books to Movies section because I sometimes include this info when it's my turn to write the column for the Woodlawn Villager.  For personal use, I liked the helpful information offered for would-be authors, such as a directory of writers' groups (since I hope to publish a book one day). Also, I love audio books and there was a link for that.

Question 3

From this link

The Atlantic — Books to Look Forward to in 2013
I learned about a new book by Khalad Hosseini called "And the Mountains Echoed"  The biggest appeal factor  for me is that the first two books by this author were on the New York Times Bestseller's List.  I have read them both and will definitely put this book on my "Want to Read" list.  I think this book would appeal to people who like to read about interpersonal relationships, which is one of the author's strengths and who like reading about places outside the U.S.  This author always seem to include Afghanistan in his books and he educates the reader about that country's people, places and culture.