The #readit2011 Twitter reading fest has been an amazing journey so far. All the details can be found here - http://readit2011.wordpress.com/ - and here - http://readersadvisory.wetpaint.com/page/2011+Twitter+Reading+Group
Not to mention the shirts you can buy the shirts from RedBubble here - http://www.redbubble.com/explore/readit2011
There are plans afoot to continue the love next year too in conjunction with the National Year of Reading and make it bigger and better and broader and bookier!! .............. is that a word? You get what I mean, I'm just a tad excited about it all.
Now, I'd best be off to update my reading challenge list on the RA wiki .............................
Thursday, May 26, 2011
And now for something completely different.......... #risg2011
Last Tuesday, May 24th, was the annual Reference @ The Metcalfe seminar, #risg2011.
The day had an exciting line-up, including David Lee King (via skype), Craig Thomler, Mitchell Whitelaw, Paul Hagon, and Ross Balharrie. Not to mention Megan Pitt doing her bit to showcase CNRL's fabulous CWA Country of Study webpage. Plus loads more.
All the details and presentations can be found here.
I missed attending this day in person, but thoroughly enjoyed following the action via twitter. A huge bonus has been the ability to view the Twapperkeeper stats and feed after the event to catch up on those moments when I wasn't shackled to my desk following the twitterstream.
As always a huge thank you to the RISG team for putting this event together and especially to Ellen Forsyth (@ellenforsyth) for all the hardwork she puts in when the rest of us simply can't make it to the post.
The day had an exciting line-up, including David Lee King (via skype), Craig Thomler, Mitchell Whitelaw, Paul Hagon, and Ross Balharrie. Not to mention Megan Pitt doing her bit to showcase CNRL's fabulous CWA Country of Study webpage. Plus loads more.
All the details and presentations can be found here.
I missed attending this day in person, but thoroughly enjoyed following the action via twitter. A huge bonus has been the ability to view the Twapperkeeper stats and feed after the event to catch up on those moments when I wasn't shackled to my desk following the twitterstream.
As always a huge thank you to the RISG team for putting this event together and especially to Ellen Forsyth (@ellenforsyth) for all the hardwork she puts in when the rest of us simply can't make it to the post.
Dragons in the Metcalfe - #ra2011 – part nine (last but not least)
Finally we finished the day with Garth Nix. Such a superb storyteller! He really brought the day full-circle, having started with Brent Weeks that’ morning.
Garth Nix reads everything – Rosemary Sutcliffe, Arthur Ransom, Georgette Heyer even rated a mention as an adventure story! For him, fantasy writing and reading is about myth, legend and superstition.
After weaving his magic on a spell-bound audience Garth reminded us that writing fantasy is about taking pieces of reality and adding in elements of the fantastic (or mythic) so that readers know it’s not true but will happily go along with the tale. And we certainly did that!
For him, finishing novels is one of the most important things a writer should do – regardless of whether or not that novel is ever published. As a writer it is important that you don’t quit, just keep going and when done move on to the next book. Write the books you want to read – Garth does.
Okay, so what is fantasy?
Often lumped together with Science Fiction
Plot; character; narrative; structure; emotion
Ask, what if…..?
Taking ordinary things you know well and making some small change
What advice does Garth have for writers?
Read Locus magazine – especially, the year in review (www.locusmag.com)
Pursue how-to-write literature: Ursula le Guin – “steering the craft”, books on writing
Exercise:
3 lines – beginning, middle, end
3 paragraphs – beginning, middle, end
Keep expanding on that
Plan / plot
Eg. Keys to the Kingdom series
Knew the 7 titles
Knew the big story, but not the smaller stories
Knew how the story would end, etc
Editors – very useful
Garth Nix’s first book was The Ragwitch, he has this beautiful cover fold-out of all his book covers which has he unfolds more covers makes you realise just how many books he has written and how diverse they have been – but all Fantasy, and all popular with audiences.
When the day finally ended it was with such a positive vibe in the room. Yet again the RA working group had put together an excellent seminar. I’m sure we all look forward to next year’s seminar and whichever theme it explores.
Well done!
Garth Nix reads everything – Rosemary Sutcliffe, Arthur Ransom, Georgette Heyer even rated a mention as an adventure story! For him, fantasy writing and reading is about myth, legend and superstition.
After weaving his magic on a spell-bound audience Garth reminded us that writing fantasy is about taking pieces of reality and adding in elements of the fantastic (or mythic) so that readers know it’s not true but will happily go along with the tale. And we certainly did that!
For him, finishing novels is one of the most important things a writer should do – regardless of whether or not that novel is ever published. As a writer it is important that you don’t quit, just keep going and when done move on to the next book. Write the books you want to read – Garth does.
Okay, so what is fantasy?
Often lumped together with Science Fiction
Plot; character; narrative; structure; emotion
Ask, what if…..?
Taking ordinary things you know well and making some small change
What advice does Garth have for writers?
Read Locus magazine – especially, the year in review (www.locusmag.com)
Pursue how-to-write literature: Ursula le Guin – “steering the craft”, books on writing
Exercise:
3 lines – beginning, middle, end
3 paragraphs – beginning, middle, end
Keep expanding on that
Plan / plot
Eg. Keys to the Kingdom series
Knew the 7 titles
Knew the big story, but not the smaller stories
Knew how the story would end, etc
Editors – very useful
Garth Nix’s first book was The Ragwitch, he has this beautiful cover fold-out of all his book covers which has he unfolds more covers makes you realise just how many books he has written and how diverse they have been – but all Fantasy, and all popular with audiences.
When the day finally ended it was with such a positive vibe in the room. Yet again the RA working group had put together an excellent seminar. I’m sure we all look forward to next year’s seminar and whichever theme it explores.
Well done!
Dragons in the Metcalfe - #ra2011 - part eight
Next up was Vassiliki (@vaveros) with her delightful presentation RA and Twitter which is viewable via Sharepoint and on the RA wiki (along with all the other presentations from the day).
And then yours truly ( @CatyJ) showcasing the delight of #readit2011 and #bookbinge plus the range of shirts now available from RedBubble to support these events.
And then yours truly ( @CatyJ) showcasing the delight of #readit2011 and #bookbinge plus the range of shirts now available from RedBubble to support these events.
Dragons in the Metcalfe - #ra2011 - part seven
Next up was Sally Dowling, Acting Childrens & Young Adult Librarian at Waverley Library, bringing together a YA Librarians perspective of providing recommended reading for teens. This was an insight into the committment Sally has to her role - participating in a teen reading group (building rapport and relationships with readers), reading YA titles, reviewing journals,newspapers, and publishers' websites, checking out the new stock as it arrives at the library and spending time on teenreads.com.au and the CBC website.
Sally came armed with some Fantasy author suggestions for teens:-
ED Baker (The Frog Princess)
Steven Orgerod
Scott Westerfeld (fabulous steam punk series: Leviathan, Behemoth, etc)
Justin Lalalesteley (?? not sure of the spelling of this one....)
Garth Nix (Sabriel is a great YA read)
Andrew Butcher
Brian Jacques
Jonathon Stroud
Holly Black
Sarah Singelton
Anthony Horowitz
Diana Wynne Jones
Eion Colfer
James patterson
Sophie Masson
Tamora Pierce
Philip Pullman
Stephanie Meyer
Erin Hunter
Anne McCaffrey
Darren Shan (Cirque du Freak / the Saga of Darren Shan; Demonata series; The Thin Executioner; etc)
Catherine Jinks (Evil Genius series; The Reformed Vampire Support Group; etc)
Francesca Lea Block
Gillian Rubenstein
Sally came armed with some Fantasy author suggestions for teens:-
ED Baker (The Frog Princess)
Steven Orgerod
Scott Westerfeld (fabulous steam punk series: Leviathan, Behemoth, etc)
Justin Lalalesteley (?? not sure of the spelling of this one....)
Garth Nix (Sabriel is a great YA read)
Andrew Butcher
Brian Jacques
Jonathon Stroud
Holly Black
Sarah Singelton
Anthony Horowitz
Diana Wynne Jones
Eion Colfer
James patterson
Sophie Masson
Tamora Pierce
Philip Pullman
Stephanie Meyer
Erin Hunter
Anne McCaffrey
Darren Shan (Cirque du Freak / the Saga of Darren Shan; Demonata series; The Thin Executioner; etc)
Catherine Jinks (Evil Genius series; The Reformed Vampire Support Group; etc)
Francesca Lea Block
Gillian Rubenstein
Dragons in the Metcalfe - #ra2011 - part six
What is your fantasy?
After lunch Jenn Martin (@wateryone) led us through a series of small groups discussions on the various Fantasy titles we had read prior to coming to the seminar. We approached our reading from the viewpoint of Nancy Pearl's 'doorways' of language, character, setting, and story/plot and considered our expectations of reading a Fantasy title versus the actual experience of the one we read. the bottom line was to consider the appeal of Fantasy to our library clients.
This was a fun session, highlighted by Vassiliki's (@vaveros) reading of Urgum the Axeman who keeps trying to die heroically only to be constantly foiled by the gods he worships who want to keep him alive as he is their last believer and without him they would perish and be forgotten. For Vassiliki reading this was all about character.
After lunch Jenn Martin (@wateryone) led us through a series of small groups discussions on the various Fantasy titles we had read prior to coming to the seminar. We approached our reading from the viewpoint of Nancy Pearl's 'doorways' of language, character, setting, and story/plot and considered our expectations of reading a Fantasy title versus the actual experience of the one we read. the bottom line was to consider the appeal of Fantasy to our library clients.
This was a fun session, highlighted by Vassiliki's (@vaveros) reading of Urgum the Axeman who keeps trying to die heroically only to be constantly foiled by the gods he worships who want to keep him alive as he is their last believer and without him they would perish and be forgotten. For Vassiliki reading this was all about character.
Dragons in the Metcalfe - #ra2011 - part five
Ellen Forsyth from the State Library of NSW (@ellenforsyth) spoke briefly regarding the Stock Quality Health Check (SQHC) - a project to develop a practical tool which enables public libraries to undertake an assessment of the relevance, depth and range of collection stock in relation to the communities they service.
Sound fancy?
Actually, I think this is a fantastic project and one I can really see the usefulness of in my workplace. To be honest I'm quite excited about this project - compiling an indicative list across numerous AF genres which can then be used to gauge the coverage of the library's collection is such a useful and practical idea. I'm also looking forward to parts 2 & 3 - nonfiction and junior/ya fiction
Sound fancy?
Actually, I think this is a fantastic project and one I can really see the usefulness of in my workplace. To be honest I'm quite excited about this project - compiling an indicative list across numerous AF genres which can then be used to gauge the coverage of the library's collection is such a useful and practical idea. I'm also looking forward to parts 2 & 3 - nonfiction and junior/ya fiction
Monday, May 9, 2011
Dragons in the Metcalfe - #ra2011 - part four
Just before we broke for lunch at Dragons in the Metcalfe we were introduced to Sophie Morales sophiam@galaxybooks.com.au , who runs a paranormal romance book club at Galaxy Books (where she also works) introduced us to some of the sub-genres of Fantasy, plus a bit of a look at what’s hot, what’s not, and what’s going to be hot over the next 12 months. A delightful presenter with an amazing generosity on sharing what she knows, Sophie again reinforced the advantage of having presenters from Book Shops at these seminars – she really knows her stuff.
Order me / Tell me / Twitter / Facebook / blog / monthly newsletter
Subgenres of Fantasy
Dark – Stephen King : Eyes of the dragon
Merrvyn Peake - Gormenghast trilogy
Michael Moorcock
Fritz Leiber – Our Lady of Dark
James Clemens – The Witch series
Stephen Leather – Nightfall / Midnight
Kate Griffin – In the Midnight
Comic – Terry Pratchett (the ever poluar and the best!!)
Terry Brooks
Urban – tied to setting – Jim Butcher (suggest that libraries should get all his titles)
Simon R. Green
Patricia Briggs
Ilona Andrews
Epic – Robert Jordan
Joe Abercrombie
Patrick Rothfuss
Heroic –
Historic ? – Guy Gavriel Kay - Ysabel
YA – Tamora Pierce
Kirstin cashore
Suzanne Collins – The Hunger Games series
Julie Kagawa – The Iron Court series
Holly Black
Melissa Marr – themes of dark faeries / tattoos
Gail Carriger – steampunk, Victorian, very cool
Upcoming themes ? – mermaids, zombies, minotaurs
Order me / Tell me / Twitter / Facebook / blog / monthly newsletter
Subgenres of Fantasy
Dark – Stephen King : Eyes of the dragon
Merrvyn Peake - Gormenghast trilogy
Michael Moorcock
Fritz Leiber – Our Lady of Dark
James Clemens – The Witch series
Stephen Leather – Nightfall / Midnight
Kate Griffin – In the Midnight
Comic – Terry Pratchett (the ever poluar and the best!!)
Terry Brooks
Urban – tied to setting – Jim Butcher (suggest that libraries should get all his titles)
Simon R. Green
Patricia Briggs
Ilona Andrews
Epic – Robert Jordan
Joe Abercrombie
Patrick Rothfuss
Heroic –
Historic ? – Guy Gavriel Kay - Ysabel
YA – Tamora Pierce
Kirstin cashore
Suzanne Collins – The Hunger Games series
Julie Kagawa – The Iron Court series
Holly Black
Melissa Marr – themes of dark faeries / tattoos
Gail Carriger – steampunk, Victorian, very cool
Upcoming themes ? – mermaids, zombies, minotaurs
Dragons in the Metcalfe - #ra2011 - part three
Next up at Dragons in the Metcalfe were the ever popular Lightning Talks – 5 slides in 2 minutes.
Martin Mantle – Armidale Library – Non-western motifs in Fantasy fiction.
· Raymond Feist / Janny Wurts
· Western / European
· Japanese
· Middle East
· India
· Sophie Masson – Mulsim / Hindu / Buddhist – a local Armidale author! –
· Graphic comic book - the Ninety-Nine / The 99 – al-tisa’a
Heather Thomson – Monavale Library – Holding The Book : using kindles in reading groups
· 1 purchase allows 6 copies
· Catalogued kindles to allow issues/returns
· Portable / storage / clarity (of screen)
· Blandness of reading experience
Anne Duffield – Ultimo Library - @Edwirinia – What are you reading?
· Listening to others (staff) talk about books
· Broadening knowledge
· Getting to know who reads what, what titles/authors are out there
Martin Mantle – Armidale Library – Disability in Fantasy Fiction – a fantastic talk, left everyone wanting more!!
· Impairment vs Disability
· Impairment – Body, Mind, Senses
· Disability – Environment, Technology
· Stephen Donaldson - The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, Unbeliever – has leprosy
· Garth Nix – asthma of main character is what enables him to enter fantasy world
Martin Mantle – Armidale Library – Non-western motifs in Fantasy fiction.
· Raymond Feist / Janny Wurts
· Western / European
· Japanese
· Middle East
· India
· Sophie Masson – Mulsim / Hindu / Buddhist – a local Armidale author! –
· Graphic comic book - the Ninety-Nine / The 99 – al-tisa’a
Heather Thomson – Monavale Library – Holding The Book : using kindles in reading groups
· 1 purchase allows 6 copies
· Catalogued kindles to allow issues/returns
· Portable / storage / clarity (of screen)
· Blandness of reading experience
Anne Duffield – Ultimo Library - @Edwirinia – What are you reading?
· Listening to others (staff) talk about books
· Broadening knowledge
· Getting to know who reads what, what titles/authors are out there
Martin Mantle – Armidale Library – Disability in Fantasy Fiction – a fantastic talk, left everyone wanting more!!
· Impairment vs Disability
· Impairment – Body, Mind, Senses
· Disability – Environment, Technology
· Stephen Donaldson - The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, Unbeliever – has leprosy
· Garth Nix – asthma of main character is what enables him to enter fantasy world
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