THE READERS’ ADVISORY MATRIX FOR CRYSTAL LAKE MEMORIES: THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF FRIDAY THE 13TH
BY PETER M. BRACKE
1.
Where is the book on the narrative continuum?
A mix (combines highly narrative
moments with periods of fact-based prose)
2.
What is the subject of the book?
Films and film making - the book is
about the making of the movies in the Friday
the 13th series.
3.
What type of book is it?
Oral history in interview style
4.
Articulate appeal
·
What is the pacing of the book?
The pace is
fairly quick
·
Describe the characters of the book.
The characters are the real-life
participants in each of the films including actors, production staff,
directors, producers, etc.
·
What is the intent of the author?
To collect the definitive oral
history of the film series.
·
What is the focus of the story?
The focus conveys the experience
of how the films were made and what the participants experienced.
·
Does the language matter?
Yes - in that most of the story is
done in oral history form taken from multiple perspectives
·
Is the setting important and well described?
The settings come from multiple
perspectives so there are some conflicting reports. However, familiarity in the
films helps make these clearer.
·
Are there details and, if so, of what?
Plenty of details describing
budgets, scripts, special effects, acting, onset experiences, audience
reactions, fandom, etc.
·
Are there sufficient charts and other graphic
materials? Are they useful and clear?
Yes, they contain production
stills, behind the scenes photos, production notes, advertisements, etc. that complement
the narrative.
·
Does the book stress moments of learning,
understanding, or experience?
The book leans heavily on
delivering the experience from those who were a part of the making of the
films. Although one does learn about the process of filmmaking in the process.
5.
Why would a reader enjoy this book (rank
appeal?)
1.
Nostalgia
2.
Detail
3.
Characterization
I wasn't quite sure how to approach my own annotation for this week's annotation, so I went with Wyatt's simple non-fiction annotation, which worked well with the simple book I chose, "On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder. For your book, I much prefer this method of annotation. This annotation would be very useful to me as a librarian, as this book is not in my wheelhouse for what I would read voluntarily. You did an excellent job of articulating the appeal in a way that makes this title really easy for me to evaluate for readers' advisory purposes!
ReplyDeleteI could see this work as being excellent for an integrated advisory style interview that taps into horror (films and books) and non-fiction. If you knew you had a slasher fan this could be an excellent way to offer them a path to expand their reading selections!
ReplyDeleteWhat I love about this is that I can immediately think of five+ people who would love this book, even though I've never read it myself. I bet it's really fun for fans of the movies! Thanks for sharing it!
ReplyDeleteOne reason I love the annotation/matrix assignments is that they introduce me to books that I didn't know existed, but would definitely read! I have to ask, though - since opinions aren't really expressed - did you LIKE the book?
ReplyDeleteExcellent job! Full points!
ReplyDelete