Science Fiction Book Annotation

Emperor Mollusk Verses the Sinister Brain
By A. Lee Martinez

Synopsis:
Emperor Mollusk. Intergalactic Menace. Destroyer of Worlds. Conqueror of Other Worlds. Mad Genius. Ex-Warlord of Earth. Not bad for a guy without a spine. But what's a villain to do after he's done. . . everything. With no new ambitions, he's happy to pitch in and solve the energy crisis or repel alien invaders should the need arise, but if he had his way, he'd prefer to be left alone to explore the boundaries of dangerous science. Just as a hobby, of course.

Retirement isn't easy though. If the boredom doesn't get him, there's always the Venusians. Or the Saturnites. Or the Mercurials. Or. . . well, you get the idea. If that wasn't bad enough, there's also the assassins of a legendary death cult and an up-and-coming megalomaniac who have marked Emperor for their own nefarious purposes. But Mollusk isn't about to let the Earth slip out of his own tentacles and into the less capable clutches of another. So it's time to dust off the old death ray and come out of retirement. Except this time, he's not out to rule the world. He's out to save it from the peril of The Sinister Brain!


Elements of Science Fiction:
Many Sub-genres:
While this really isn't an element of Science Fiction books, I wanted to point out this book is more on the comedic side of Science Fiction.  To find this book, I looked up comedic space operas using Novelist and other search resources, and this title was one of the suggestions.

Story line is speculative, often set in the future:
This story is actually set in essentially present-time, perhaps a bit into the future.  While no dates are stated, there are many flashbacks of both the Emperor's conquests and how he managed to quietly and "peacefully" conquer Earth, which also do not have any sort of dates attached to them-- they were simply "in the past."  All of the technology and situations are quite futuristic, however.

Often explores What Ifs or real-world quandaries outside of their normal settings:
This book definitely explores the questions of what if aliens were real, what if they tried to conquer our planet, and what if one actually succeeded?  What would a "conquered" Earth look like?  What would the galaxy look like with aliens who had advanced-levels of futuristic weaponry?  Emperor Mollusk Verses the Sinister Brain explores the answers to these any many more sci-fi-related questions.

Setting evokes otherness:
The details of the various alien planets and species that inhabit them make the readers see how different they are but similar in certain ways as well.  While Zala and the other Venusians from Venus have scales and feathers, they value honor and respect as humans do.  The book describes many alien societies that are different yet resemble our own Earthly societies in some ways.

World-building:
While not done in the traditional ways, Emperor Mollusk and his group go to many different areas on and around Earth, and there are many flashbacks on Mollusk's other infamous adventures on other planets in our solar system.  As the novel progresses, more details about the solar system and the states of the many diverse planets in it are revealed. 

Can be technical and jargon-filled, often is not:
Emperor Mollusk often goes into great detail when telling his companions about the technicalities of his inventions or the machinery around them.  However, he usually then explains what he just said in layman's terms because either Zala, the Venusian commander, or one of the other characters obviously does not understand what he is saying.

Often focuses more on storylines than on characters:
This is a plot-driven book, with the main focus placed on the action of the Sinister Brain's schemes to outwit Emperor Mollusk.  However, though the main storyline and the flashbacks, readers see Emperor Mollusk's motivations behind his actions and how his character developed into what we see at the beginning of the novel.  No other characters are examined like this, though, and the main focus is squarely on the storyline.


Read-a-likes:
Redshirts by Jon Scalzi

The Hitch-hikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

The Sheriff of Yrnameer by Michael Rubens

From the Notebooks of Dr. Brain by Minister Faust

Week Seven Prompt

For this week's prompt, I looked at the Oprah's Book Club article about the spike in popularity of books Oprah suggested on her show and added to her book club list from September 1996 to April 2002.  Celebrity-endorsed books almost always have an upswing in popularity after they are mentioned or recommended by the celebrities.  People want to read what famous people are reading, or they might simply find the book interesting after they hear about it. 

As I was reading the article, I was amazed at the amount of effort that Butler, Cowan, and Nilsson must have put in to come up with all of the statistics cited in the article.  It is easy to see how when one question was answered, such as what was the average rank of each Oprah-recommended title per year, it led to another question, such as how long did each of the Oprah-recommended books last in the top 150 each year, which led to even more questions, such as how did the Oprah-recommended titles compare to other top 150 books over the years.  The authors did an excellent job on the article, and I highly recommend looking through it, even if you do not understand all of the statistic terms.

In the end, though, the author's introduction statement remains true, "we present evidence that strongly implies the conventional wisdom is correct: Oprah’s TV picks helped sell the books she endorsed" (Butler, Cowan, Nilsson, 2005, p. 23).  It makes sense that celebrity-endorsed books would sell, if only for the fact that more people know of their existence after the celebrity talked about it than before.  While this is conventional wisdom, the evidence in this Oprah's Book Club article supports it as well.


Reference:

Butler, R., Cowan, B., & Nilsson, S. (2005). From Obscurity to Bestseller: Examining the Impact of Oprah's Book Club Selections. Publishing Research Quarterly, 20(4), 23-34. Retrieved from EBSCOhost at http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.ulib.uits.iu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=16553116&site=ehost-live

Week Six Prompt Response

To promote titles in the Gentle Reads genre, there are some simple passive reader's advisory ways to catch a patron's attention.  A display would have a large sign asking if the patron is stressed out or tired, with a related graphic attached, and suggesting the patron check out the library's wide selection of gentle read titles, which would be easy reads with happy endings and optimistic tones throughout the books.  Patrons would be directed to the Gentle Reads section, and a list of popular Gentle Reads titles would also accompany the display.  Both the display and the reading list would suggest the patron ask one of the library's friendly librarians for assistance finding more Gentle Reads books and for discovering specific titles based on the patron's preferences.

Romance Book Annotation

First Impressions
By Nora Roberts


Synopsis:

Escaping the rat race and the lure of gold-digging women, wealthy businessman Vance Banning moves to a small, rural retreat, telling the townsfolk that he's an out-of-work carpenter. All he wants is peace, quiet, and to keep away from women. So the last thing he needs is a charitable neighbor, especially a beautiful, gracious, and persistent neighbor of the female persuasion, but there's something about Shane Abbott he just can't ignore. Vance is certain his cover story will stop his lovely neighbor from getting too friendly, but Shane is determined to break down his resistance. He has no idea how relentless Shane Abbott can be when it comes to giving a helping hand...or a loving heart.

Elements of Romance:

A love story dominates the plot:

The story revolves around Vance and Shane's relationship, with the other characters often commenting on said relationship and the action in the novel pretty much only shown to further their relationship.

A happy ending is assured:
Vance and Shane end up together in the end, and no one is surprised-- it is a romance novel, after all!

Writing allows the reader to experience the emotions vicariously:
Throughout the novel, the author allows the readers to hear the thoughts and feelings of the characters.  This allows the audience to connect with Vance's somewhat reluctant growing affections for Shane and Shane's shock and sense of betrayal near the end of the novel before everything is resolved and happy again.

Characters grow and develop into their romance:
When they first see each other in the town's general store, Shane and Vance both feel a connection between them.  However, while Shane attempts to be friendly, Vance wants none of it in the beginning.  The story follows a stereotypical storyline of the couple getting to know each other better because they are working on a project together-- Shane's Antique store and museum-- and they begin a to form an ever-stronger relationship.  There are the expected challenges, such as Vance resisting taking their relationship too fast due to his resistant heart and Shane's manipulative "mother" Anne who is only after Shane's grandmother's inheritance money, but the beautiful couple triumphs over all adversities and struggles to live happily ever after together in the end.

Characters are often archetypes:

Shane is a "Romance-genre" stereotypical beautiful, independent woman who lives alone, can eat however much she wants seemingly without gaining any weight, and is starting her own business.  She's loved before and been burned, but now she knows what she wants-- Vance to marry her-- and will stop at nothing to make him fall in as deep of love with her as she is with him. 

Vance is a complete stereotype as he is a millionaire, president of a successful company, and somewhat cold and broody in the beginning because he has been burned by "love" before and resists falling in love again.  Because he does not share his complete story with Shane in the beginning of their relationship, instead somewhat hiding his wealthy and successful status, Vance seems "mysterious" and "has secrets" Shane wants him to feel comfortable revealing to her, in his own time.

Often get the view of both protagonists:

The author allows the readers to see all character's thoughts and emotions throughout the novel, even the side characters.  This way, the readers can more greatly share in feeling the emotions our protagonists are feeling as well as observe how the side characters view their relationship, such as Shane's wonderful and supportive friend Donna and Anne, Shane's manipulative "mother" who practically abandoned her into the care of Shane's grandmother after she was born.

Read-a-likes:
Twelve Days of Christmas: A Christmas Novel by Debbie Macomber

The Carpenter's Lady by Barbara Delinsky

Always and Forever by Betty Neels

Temptation by Nora Roberts

Kirkus-style Review

Grasshopper Jungle

By Andrew Smith

In the small town of Ealing, Iowa, 16-year-old Austin and his best friend, Robby, have accidentally unleashed an unstoppable army. An army of horny, hungry, six-foot-tall praying mantises that only want to do two things.

The plot of this book does not follow in a linear pattern like most--beginning, middle, then end-- no, Austin jumps around in his storytelling, interrupting the main story with descriptions of past events and telling what is happening in other parts of the country or the world.  It is difficult to find a chapter in this book that doesn't involve some sort of sexual themes, whether it is Austin thinking about sex, the act itself portrayed either by humans or the monstrous bugs, or Austin questioning his sexual orientation.

With all the gore, violence, swearing, and sexual and mature themes, this book is certainly not for the faint of heart.  Older teens and fans of Kurt Vonnegut, Franz Kafka, and Jonathan Safran Foer would enjoy this bizarre apocalyptic coming-of-age novel.

Week Five Prompt Response

Here are my responses to the Week Five Prompt questions, and I have numbered out the paragraphs in which the questions were asked by Professor Cataldi.

1. Booklist's no-negative-reviews policy forces reviewers to only point out the positive aspects of a book, and this makes it more difficult for collection developers to discern between the best, most worth-while book purchases and the fluffed up ones.  It seems like Kirkus allows their reviewers to be more honest with their reviews and to point out the flaws in books while still highlighting the positives.  This should make it easier for collection developers to decide which items to purchase with their limited budgets.  Also, when eBook-only books are not reviewed or rarely reviewed, this makes it difficult for librarians to not only select the best books for their eBook collections but to suggest new titles to patrons in RA interviews.  We can't suggest titles we know nothing about, even if they would match the patron's request perfectly.

2. From what I read of the two reviews, The Billionaire's First Christmas is not a romantic suspense novel, it is a contemporary romance story.  The short Amazon.com review mostly retold the summary of the book and how there are apparently going to be more books with this couple, which is already obvious from the fact that this book is listed as part of a series.  The blog review gets more into different aspects of the book, like the hot guy's somewhat strange dislike of Christmas and the fact that it is a short, clean romance.  Even though the blog review only gave the book three stars, both reviews were quite positive, so I would probably choose this title for my library as a cleaner, less steamy Christmas romance that is on the shorter side for people who want quicker reads.

3.The reviews for Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt make me believe this book would make an excellent edition to my library's collection.  While all of the reviewers point out how this book does not shy away from the harsh and graphic reality of the desperately poor in the 1930s in both Brooklyn and Ireland, they also all describe the humor and love found in the book.  I found it interesting that each review seemed to say the same things but in different ways-- they all recommended the book and each describe a unique aspect of the book that stuck out to them the most.

4. While I don't think it is "fair" that some titles seem to get all of the reviews and others are neglected in this area, I don't think there is any realistic way to even the playing field in terms of number of reviews per title.  Unfortunately, I think this uneven reviewing of titles makes it more difficult for libraries to find quality books outside of the most popular titles.  For titles that have few to no reviews, it is almost a gamble to purchase these books for a library, whereas for titles that have many reviews, a collection developer has a better idea about the book and whether or not their patrons would enjoy it. 

As I mentioned before, I think forced-positivity in review sites is not a good thing, in that it forces the reviewer to only mention the positive aspects of a title, and they make it more difficult for the "best," high quality books to stand out among the others.  Some books just are not going to be very good-- maybe there is poor writing, the character development leaves much to be desired, or the story's plot is filled with gaping holes.  People and especially collection developers should get the reviewers true thoughts on the books they review, not just the superficial review with only the good points highlighted.

I do not purchase books for my library, but in my collection development MLS course, we learned that looking at reviews is one good way to learn about titles to select.  To be honest, I do not really look at reviews when selecting titles for personal reading.  I rely more closely on the summary of the book and genre and book appeals to make my selections.  However, from the review sources I have explored, I enjoy the honesty of Kirkus reviews the most.

Romantic Suspense Book Annotation

Sting
By Sandra Brown


Synopsis:

When Jordie Bennet and Shaw Kinnard lock eyes across a disreputable backwater bar, something definitely sparks.  Shaw gives off a dangerous vibe that makes men wary and inspires women to sit up and take notice.  None feel that undercurrent more strongly than savvy businesswoman Jordie, who doesn't belong in a seedy dive on the banks of a bayou.  But here she is... and Shaw Kinnard is here to kill her.

As Shaw and his partner take aim, Jordie is certain her time has come.  But Shaw has other plans and abducts Jordie, hoping to get his hands on the $30 million her brother Josh has stolen and, presumably, hidden.  However, Shaw is not the only one looking for the fortune.  Her brother's ruthless boss and the FBI are after it as well.  Now on the run from the feds and the notorious criminal Billy Panella, Jordie and Shaw must rely on their wits--and each other--to stay alive.

Miles away from civilization and surrounded by swampland, the two play each other against their common enemies.  Jordie's only chance of survival is to outwit Shaw, but it soon becomes clear to Shaw that Jordie isn't entirely trustworthy, either.  Was she in on her brother's scam, or is she an innocent pawn in a deadly vendetta?  And just how valuable is her life to Shaw, her remorseless and manipulative captor?  Burning for answers--and for each other--this unlikely pair ultimately make a desperate move that could be their last.

While it seems like everyone is hiding secrets, will Jordie's escapee brother Josh and the infamously missing $30 million ever be found?  Or will Panella get to them both first?  Read Sting by Sandra Brown to find out!


Warning!  Spoilers ahead!

Elements of Romantic Suspense:

Threatened heroine is placed in danger – saves herself rather than relying on a male hero:
Jordie is our threatened heroine, as she gets kidnapped right off the bat, and while she escapes the kidnapping through the aid of the FBI, throughout the book she relies more on herself than anyone else.

Isolated from those who would help her:
When she is kidnapped by Shaw and also throughout the novel, Jordie is seemingly alone against those who are "against" her, or at least suspect her of dirty dealings.

Choose between two men, one good one bad:
This is somewhat turned on its head in this novel, as Shaw Kinnard, originally Jordie's kidnapper and potential killer, turns out to be an undercover FBI agent out to arrest Billy Panella, the infamous criminal.  The bad boy is also the good boy.

Fast pace with plot twists, uneasy tone:
There are some interesting plot twists throughout the novel, such as Shaw revealed to be an FBI agent and Jordie's little Costa Rica trip with Panella, although the biggest shocker comes at the very end.  These twists keep the reader guessing about what the real story is and who is actually telling the truth.

Told from the heroines POV:
Most of the story is told from Jordie's point-of-view, with some interludes to the FBI agents, Shaw, Josh, and Panella's views as the story unfolds.

Graphic details – trend towards more sex, violence, strong language:
During the story, there is only one sex scene but there are many instances of violence, and strong language is used throughout the novel.

Detailed background/exotic locations:
Each of the locations Jordie visits are described in great detail, from the seedy bar to the isolated shed to Shaw's city safe house.

Romantic relationship is at the core:
The tension between Jordie and Shaw is at the core, with major emphasis put on how the conflicts of the novel affect their growing relationship.


Read-a-likes:
Bare It All by Lori Foster

Troublemaker by Linda Howard

Broken Bonds by Karen Harper

Cold Ridge by Carla Neggers

RA Secret Shopper Assignment

For this Reader's Advisory Secret Shopper assignment, I decided to visit a library fairly close to me that I rarely visit because it is neither my home library nor the library where I work.  Since I have been to this library previously, I knew which desk was the "Reference" or "Information" desk, and I believe it is marked accordingly. 

Welcoming Atmosphere

The desk I approached was situated across from the Adult Fiction section and in a centralized location so the librarians could view other areas of the library, such as the computer lab, Friends of the Library Book Sale area, and the new materials section.  However, I did not see any specific signs specifically mentioning Reader's Advisory service when I approached the desk.  The Reference desk was relatively free of clutter and signs, so I did not see any booklists on this desk.  The desk had one librarian working, and she is the one I approached with my "good book" inquiry.  Because the library was relatively quiet that day and not many patrons were around, the librarian was working on her computer, but she greeted me when I approached and asked how she could help me.

The Interview

In response to the librarian, I said I was looking for "a good book," and she chuckled a bit at my question, though I was smiling a bit, too.  The librarian asked what kind of book I was looking for, and I told her I was looking for science fiction or fantasy with some romance thrown in, but not what the story revolves around, like most plain "Romance" genre novels.  After I told her this, she latched onto this information and immediately took me over to the stacks to show me some authors and titles that matched my genre description. 

The librarian first took me over to the new book section and recommended one author that had a book there, then she proceeded to take me through the stacks and told me about some authors that wrote paranormal/fantasy fiction that included romantic elements.  Pretty much all of the authors she recommended she said she had read herself, although a few were authors she was planning to read works from and a couple were books she knew were in the genres I inquired about, but she had not read them.  The librarian also suggested the "Game of Thrones" series and showed me where those would be, although the first book was not available currently.  She did offer to place it on hold for me.

After she showed me around the stacks, she said she would make me a list of more authors and titles in my requested genres if I wanted it.  Because we moved somewhat quickly through the stacks, it was a bit difficult to remember all of the authors she suggested, although this issue probably would have been remedied if I had taken the librarian up on her offer of a list.

The Practice

Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to give the librarian any further information about what I was looking for, and she did not ask about the last book I read, the authors I like, or what I like about the books or authors.  Also, I was a bit surprised the librarian did not use any online or print tools or resources, such as NoveList or Booklist, before showing me the materials her library physically had available.  This library is one of the numerous libraries in the Evergreen Indiana Consortium, so I was also a bit surprised this librarian never mentioned how I could get materials from other libraries in the consortium if their library did not have what I was looking for.

I did end up selecting two books from the authors and titles the librarian suggested, the first of the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series, Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton, and The Perfect Poison by Amanda Quick, an Arcane Society novel.  They both match the somewhat limited genre information I was able to give to the librarian, which was science fiction or fantasy with romance thrown in, although I did had limited options using only what the librarian showed me.  As I was leaving with my selections, the librarian did say she hoped I enjoyed the books and said I should let her know next time I came into the library.

When walking though the stacks, I did notice there were numerous reading suggestion cards sticking out between the books.  These 4x6 notecards had author suggestions, like if a patron liked this specific author, they might like these other ones, and book suggestions, such as if a patron likes books with these book appeals, they might enjoy this book or this series.  I could tell someone had worked hard to make these cards appealing and accurate, and I believe they are an effective "passive strategy" for the library's reader's advisory services, since there is not a direct interaction between the librarian who made the suggestion cards and the patrons that use them (Ross, Nilsen, & Dewdney, 2002, p. 162).

Feelings

Overall, the transaction felt a bit rushed.  I was not asked very many questions, and the librarian took what little information I was able to give her and ran with it.  She could have listened a bit more to what I was looking for and wanted during the interview.  I think the librarian thought the transaction was worthwhile since I did end up checking out two books from the authors and titles she recommended.  She also seemed to genuinely want me to tell her if I enjoyed the books I selected.  During the reference interview, I never felt condescended to or judged in any way, especially since the librarian said she had read some of the books she suggested herself.  While I do not believe this librarian has had much reader's advisory training, at least recently, she seems to know her library's collection quite thoroughly and has likely assisted many patrons in finding materials while working at this library.

When I was selecting the books to check out, I noticed both were part of series, but the books were not labeled by series or number in the series.  I was going to go back and ask the librarian if she could tell me which titles were the first in each series, but the thought passed through my mind that I "didn't want to bother her" again.  I sadly did not feel like my "reader's advisory transaction [became] a shared exploration of books" as described in Ross, Nilsen, and Dewdney's book, In Conducting the Reference Interview (2002, p. 163). 

Reference:

Ross, C. S., Nilsen, K., & Dewdney, P. (2002). The readers’ advisory interview. In Conducting the Reference Interview (pp. 162-175). New York: Neal-Schuman.

Week 3 Prompt

Personally, since I have worked at my public library since my junior year in high school, I find most of my books through simply reviewing what others have checked out and returned.  Both as a shelver and working in the Circulation Department, I see countless books every day and many catch my eye.  In addition, patrons who really enjoy specific books like to suggest them to others-- "Have you read this book?  No?  You should, it's great!"

In terms of online tools, I have signed up with BookBub to be notified about when there are eBook sales in my chosen genres.  Sometimes I can get interesting books for free!  Also, since discovering my library has NoveList a few years ago, I often use it to find new book suggestions.

Prompt Question Answers:
1. After searching for Laurell K. Hamilton and locating her Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series on NoveList, I found the fourth book is The Lunatic Café.

2. After locating Barbara Kingsolver's Prodigal Summer entry on NoveList, I searched for other books with similar writing styles of "descriptive" and "lyrical" and were fast-paced.  Some suggestions I would give would be Louise Penny's Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries series, starting with Still Life, and Jhumpa Lahiri's The Lowland.

3. I searched for "Japan -- History" and writing style of "Richly detailed" or "Descriptive" on NoveList, and some suggestions I would give are The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery and Ingrid J. Parker's Sugawara Akitada ,ysteries series, starting with The Dragon Scroll.

4. First, I looked up Well-schooled in Murder by Elizabeth George in NoveList and compared this book's appeal list to John Sandford's list of appeals he usually uses in his books.  Since the patron called his books "creepy," I'm assuming this patron did not like Sandford's "Darkly humorous" tone he uses in his books.  I searched for mysteries like Well-schooled in Murder but without a "Darkly humorous" tone and found Fannie Flagg's The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion and Kate Atkinson's Jackson Brodie mysteries series, starting with Case Histories.

5. By comparing the appeals lists in NoveList for both Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead series and Max Brooks' World War Z: An oral history of the zombie war, I noticed both had "Compelling" writing styles.  I searched for books with a subject of "Zombies" and a "Compelling" writing style, and I would suggest trying Stephen King's Cell and Mira Grant's Newsflesh series, starting with Feed.

6. After searching in NoveList for "Books to Movies" and "Literary Fiction" that has been published within the last five years, I found The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers, which will have a movie from it coming out later this year, and The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson, which had a movie made from it just last year. 

7. While I was able to narrow down books in the "Thriller and Suspense" genre on NoveList without "Steamy" or "Explicit" sexual tones, unfortunately I was unable to find anything that would let me see if there was any explicit or foul language in the books.  None-the-less, I would suggest The Whistler by John Grisham and James Patterson's Alex Cross series, starting with Along Came a Spider.

My Reading Profile

Because I have stayed in school taking courses every semester since high school, college at Ivy Tech and Purdue, and now at IUPUI, I do not have a huge reading list or top books list to share.  With all of the coursework and working at my local public library, I fit reading in my schedule wherever possible.

That being said, I really enjoy listing to audiobooks where I can work on another task while listening, such as gardening, cleaning, cooking, and, of course, commuting back and forth from my home in Zionsville, Indiana, to Purdue University and Ivy Tech Community College during my undergrad years.  Even though I might not have had the time or ability to sit down and read a physical (or digital) book, audiobooks allowed me to enjoy these books on my own schedule.

In terms of favorite fiction genres, I enjoy reading romance, fantasy, and science fiction novels.  My favorite novels, though, are where there is a main, non-romance-centered story, but there are romantic undertones throughout and romantic parts of the story may pop up, however they are not the main focus of the novel.  I like a well-thought-out, engaging story with some romance mixed in for fun.  (If that makes any sense!)

Also, while it's not one of our genre choices, I quite enjoy a good comedy book, whether the book is centered around a comedic theme or the novel has comedic elements included.  These comedic aspects greatly helped me to relax after a tough day at college with a long car ride home awaiting me.

I try not to be too picky when selecting titles to read and have tried out and enjoyed many authors over the years.  You may notice I have "younger" tastes-- this is due to me only just recently expanding from Young Adult fiction to Adult fiction.  Some of the fiction books and series I have enjoyed would include the following: The Harry Potter series, The Chronicles of Narnia series, The Hobbit, and The Dresden Files series.  Since I am only 25, I also still vividly remember enjoying reading the historical American Girl series, A-to-Z Mysteries series, and Magic Tree House series with my mother and younger sister.

Edit:  After reading some of my fellow classmates reading profiles, I wanted to add a few things about my reading profile in general.  I enjoy reading graphic novels, short stories, and non-fiction, especially about crafting or cooking.  Non-fiction books with engaging text and fun pictures help me expand my knowledge of the world around me. 

In addition, I really like reading works people post online.  While most of the things I read online are not too long (with some exceptions), I enjoy reading the many different kinds of writing styles and genres of authors online, all for free, of course.  For anyone confused about what I am talking about, if you have ever head of NaNoWriMo, it's like that but online.  Also, people often use tags online to let others know what their story entails, so if I see a tag I know I don't like at all, I can easily skip the story and move on to another.  Published books don't have these helpful tags about their stories, sadly, so I've found there can be unfortunate "surprises" in published books which can turn people off from even finishing them.