End of Course - Big Think and RA

I have to think more about the last reading and try out some of the concepts with real customers to see what I think. Hopefully there will be more articles on the Big Think and redefining RA - maybe it's enhancing RA that we should be focusing on and that's what is part of the article.

I've just copied and pasted my discussion forum remarks for now:
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The article in LJ about redefining RA talks about the new terms/ways of defining what we read that Saricks has come up with and Pearl is now talking "doorways". Is there a difference in these systems or is it all terminology?
I'd need to see a longer article or hear a talk about these new concepts and terms before deciding their value. This particular article is jargon-heavy without a lot of examples. What most resonates with me right now is: Saricks sees at least four different ways to group titles: adrenaline, intellect, emotion, and landscape " I can see pacing as adrenaline - but maye you're right that these are new terms for the same concepts. I do find intellect and emotion the factors that appeal to me most. In my reading notes I'd commented on how interesting that horror and romance were both described as evoking strong emotions - although very different emotions. I've found for myself that I like learning or intellectual content and lean toward books where I can learn something - like Nevada Barr's books in various federal parks, where you can learn about a culture like F. Kellerman's Decker mysteries where you learn about the Jewish faith; that I read nonficton to learn something. Lanscape as setting is a strong appeal for me too.
I still think it's important to think of the customer and what phrasing you use to elicit any of these appeal factors - it all seems so jargony and difficult for people to answer. People don't seem to understand why it's hard for us to pick a book for them if they say they want a book just like X - they go in a store and ask for bananas or a black leather jacket so why is it hard to just ask for a book . . . I think this is partly why a lot of people read what is new, what is on a list, what is a bestseller . . . . Whose the best RA writer who has dealt with the RA Interview and the phrasing to use/practice and does the phrasing vary by genre or by gender??????? This is what i need to know to make RA work - as asked in the second quesiton below.

What are you final thoughts for making RA work? An understanding and reading in the genres is very helpful! We've had some of the genre books for years and I haven't used them enough. Using the websites and finding new ones is necessary. I've come to really depned on LibraryThing. Practice also makes faster - so I can quickly use these tools because they've become familiar - you don't want to be figuring out how LibraryThing works with a customer standing next to you.

I wonder what kind of collaboration there could be done between librarians - fiction-L is good and needed but too amorphous. Have I missed some online Read-Alike cooperative tools -- lists of Read-Alikes with annotations - OR Can't Miss/Best Bets lists for us to share.

We should treasure the Joyce Saricks, Nancy Pearls and Neal Wyatts. We've been lucky in Wisconsin to have Joyce Saricks and Nancy Pearl speak at our conferences or workshops. But what I really want to know is how they find to read everything they do!!!!!!!!!!!!!