Week Two: Books I have enjoyed according to their reader's advisory appeal factors

 

Week Two: Using mainly reader's advisory appeal factors rather than plot summary, write annotations on your blog for two books which you’ve read and enjoyed.

What are the appeal factors, you ask?  Neal Wyatt breaks it down in his Novelist article as:

1. Pacing
2. Characterization
3. Story Line (including the books context, type, genre, theme, and subjects)
4. Language
5. Setting
6. Detail
7. Tone
8. Learning/Experiencing

So let's apply these factors to one of my all-time favorite stories: Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron, by Daniel Clowes.

Pacing for graphic novels and comics moves faster than for the written word.  Because we use our visual literacy to read action from panel to panel, the storyline flows with the images.  Velvet Glove is not a superhero story, but rather a convoluted tale of a man who decides to find out about his estranged wife after seeing her in what seems to be a cult film at a desperately seedy theater.  We see our main character's life in the present, through flashbacks, and in dreams.  The reader needs to be keen of these transitions in the storyline, lest she or he become utterly confused and frustrated with our pretty whacked out/multifaceted tale.

There are multiple eccentric, odd, sad, and compelling characters featured in Velvet Glove.  Some don't even have speaking lines, but their presence is haunting.  In the case of Laura, we are introduced to a headless, orifice-less, shaggy dog who begins to follow Clay, our main character, where ever he goes.  Who wouldn't be a little shaken after picking up such a creature (who actually seems pretty harmless after you realize she won't bite you)?  We may not necessarily know who is good or who is bad immediately when they are introduced, but things get so weird and trippy we want to find out!

To sum:  if you are intrigued by a cast of misfit characters and a quirky but eerily dark-toned storyline, aren't scared or put off by the comic/graphic novel medium, you too may enjoy one of my favorite books, Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron.



Another title I enjoyed is Under the Banner of Heaven, by Jon Krakaeur.  This is a history of the Mormon Church told alongside the true story of a gruesome murder committed by members of a fundamentalist sect of the Church against members of their own family.

Storyline and setting are the primary appeal factors for this nonfiction title.  Since the Mormon faith is a fairly recent American-born religion, its made-in-the-USA history has an appeal of its own.  This is a faith of us, or at least some of us - natively American-made.  And its story is bizarre, intriguing, and at parts unbelieveable.  I remember reading and doing double-takes at Krakauer's information -- it was following too closely to the story of the Mormon's told in a South Park episode... but Krakauer wasn't joking around.  This was serious stuff, alternating between the story of Mormon origins and the severe story of the fundamentalist Mormon's murderous calling.

This title I would recommend to anyone who enjoys learning about history or other cultures and religions, and anyone who is intrigued by faith-based murders.  Definitely fulfills the 'learning/educational' appeal factor.

So there are my picks.  I hope someone suggests some interesting books for me! =)

If you're interested to see the other blogger's titles I responded and made suggestions to, peep it here.