Week 16 Prompt: Final Thoughts

How have reading and books changed since I was a child?  One thing I always think about when I'm looking at the books I would have read as a kid is that the vast array of choices are so unbelievable.  I grew up in a small town with a small library that had just a bunch of dusty, old-timey books nobody wanted to read.  My parents weren't big readers, so we didn't have much around the house to read except some dusty, old-timey books, Good Housekeeping magazine, National Geographic magazine and an encyclopaedia.  I craved books and words.  I read anything I could find.  So I can only wonder how different my life would have been with so many options for reading, in so many formats and so easily accessible.  

You'd think that with a deluge of books and authors focused on young people that young people would be voracious readers.  I'm dubious of that, though, because the vice grip that phones have on people today is scary.  My own daughter, who was raised with books everywhere, could not care less about reading.  But take that phone away from her for an hour and she goes bananas!  This is what makes it seem that reading in the future will be all but eliminated.  Taking the time to sit and read a good book is a ridiculous notion when you could be scrolling through your phone to find the next awesome meme or youtube video, or instagramming your millionth selfie out to hundreds of incurious followers.  

Ok, reading eliminated might be over the top.  But I am pretty sure that print books, at least, will gradually phase out.  Moving into a technological future of electronic reading is inevitable because it seems that the material to actually make books and magazines - paper - is a finite resource.  Also, waste is a serious problem for our world and paper creates waste.  Books, magazines and newspapers create waste.  Eventually, everything will need to be electronic because we will have no more room for storing or disposal of all that paper.  I definitely think we should all get used to electronic reading because it's going to take over at some point.  That's just my opinion, though. 

I wouldn't presume to predict how reading will change in the future.  Obviously, there will always be people like myself and probably most of the other people in this class who were simply born to read.  And we are the ones who will keep the publishing industry going - albeit in an electric format.  Will everyone else decide to give up reading completely?  Will we descend into a Brave New World type scenario where people don't read or think for themselves?  Will publishing diminish into a hobby horse for well-to-do intellectuals?  It's anyone's guess.  At the current time, though, I feel optimistic.  With so many people fancying themselves writers in the world, and with so many thousands of books being published and marketed that it's overwhelming, I'd say we have a long way to go before reading and books become obsolete.

Week 15 Prompt

When I went to read Joyce Sarick's article on promoting and marketing readers' advisory collections and services, I already had an idea of what I wanted to include in this prompt.  Book displays focusing on genre or subject, book marks and annotated lists and a prominent presence on the library website were my three ideas for marketing the library's fiction.  Lo and behold, these were exactly what confronted me in the article!  So I had to think some more.  This is a good thing, of course.  Because I came up with a couple of great ideas.

1. Facebook: A book club on Facebook would be a great way to promote good books and connect readers.  An involved presence on one of the most popular social sites in the world seems like a no brainer, but at least at my library, the closest thing we have to an online readers' advisory presence is the new books list scrolling at the bottom of the website and absolutely nothing on Facebook.

2. Read-Alike posters/blurbs: Positioning posters and lists next to or near certain bestsellers is a great way to get people to try other authors.  For instance, right next to Gone Girl should be a list of books with twisty endings or other psychological thrillers.  Amish books are extremely popular in our community, so lists of other authors of Amish fiction could be situated right by Wanda Brunstetter's books.

3. Great Books You Might Have Missed: This obviously was not my idea, but I really loved it and is something I will truly do when I am a readers' advisor.  I am always thinking about that book that I may have missed, the one that is still sitting there waiting for me to read it and love it.  I believe that I would absolutely love this display as a patron.  I would love the challenge of getting those books out there as a readers' advisor, too.  At my library, we have a staff picks display which should be similar, but the same books keep getting put up and the display sort of languishes.  Further, the one readers' advisor we have only reads romance and mystery, so these are the only books she promotes.  As Saricks pointed out, the display should have a great variety of genres and quality authors for the best patron experience.

Week 14 Prompt

Separating certain types of fiction out from the main collection is a bad idea.  Setting up regular displays of different types of books like street lit, LGBTQ or African American is a great way to promote lesser known authors and genres.  Permanently separating them isolates them as not a part of mainstream fiction, which of course, they are.  They should be there in the stacks with everything else, discoverable by all who are browsing. 

Where LGBTQ fiction is concerned, a prominent section with such material is not viable.  “It is important to note that LGBTQ and gender variant youth are not choosing public libraries because they feel the most comfortable in these spaces; they are forced to patronize public libraries because of a total lack of support from other social groups and services” (Robinson, 163).  If they are not able to privately browse for relevant material or feel comfortable getting help finding the materials, they’ll be less likely to check out information and reading that may change or improve their lives.  If you’re a closeted youth, desperate to find reading that helps you figure out your journey or you really want to read a story about someone like yourself, would you be caught dead perusing the big LGTBQ display?  Of course not!  There are other ways to help these people. “Offering printed booklists with recommended LGBTQ related titles is a guaranteed way of making patrons aware of such materials 365 days a year” (Ritchie, 62).  The article about the Iowa library patrons wanting to separate the LGTBQ books so that they won’t accidentally burn their righteous eyes on scandalous filth, made me seethe with fury.  I fail to understand why they insist on trying to subvert everyone else’s rights by screaming about their own religious rights – their rights not to see anything they don’t believe in!  Just, no. 

As far as African American authors, why separate them permanently?  It is definitely imperative to regularly promote African American authors with displays and book lists, but these authors are equal to white authors!  Ralph Ellison, anyone?  Alice Walker?  Classic, amazing  works!  They belong in the stacks along with Herman Melville and  Leo Tolstoy.  I really like the webpage for the Cincinnati Public Library listing African American authors.  This is a great way to single these works out…without separating them out!

Ritchie, C., & McNeill, D. ( 2011) . LGBTIQ issues in public libraries.  Serving LGBTIQ Library and Archives Users, ed. E. Greenblatt, 59–80. Jefferson, NC and London, England: McFarland & Company Inc.

Robinson, T. (2016 ).  Overcoming social exclusion in public library services to LGBTQ and gender variant youth.  Public Library Quarterly, 35(3), 161-174.

GLTBQ Annotation

TIPPING THE VELVET
AUTHOR:  Sarah Waters
PUBLISH DATE: 1998
GENRE: Literary fiction; GLTBQ; Historical fiction 


Nancy is an oyster girl from small town Whitstable in Victorian England. When she meets and falls in love with male impersonator, Kitty Butler, she leaves her family and follows Kitty to London to work the music hall circuit.  When Kitty breaks her heart, she flees into the seedy underworld of London, meeting more women and coming to terms with being a "tom" in a world where such things are unthinkable.  At one point, she is kept by a vicious, depraved wealthy widow as a sex slave, then tossed into the street with nothing but a cheap dress and pinching shoes.  She has forsaken her family and abandoned friends; alone and penniless she finds herself desperate for shelter.  She finds a woman she spoke briefly to 18 months before, the only person in the world she felt to be a "friend".  After finding her new "family", she must decide the course of her future by remembering what matters in love and loyalty.  


ELEMENTS OF APPEAL

Tone: Steamy, reflective, romantic, strong sense of place
Writing style: Lush, descriptive, candid
Pace: Leisurely
Storyline: Character-driven

READ-ALIKES

DESERT OF THE HEART by Jane Rule (1964): When Evelyn goes to Reno to get a divorce, she meets Ann, a casino worker and the two fall in love. 

SHE RISES by Kate Worsley (2013): Kate and Luke Fletcher's lives in 18th century England unfold in vivid, descriptive language.  As young Luke survives aboard a Royal Navy boat bound for the West Indies, Kate becomes a lady's maid to Rebecca, with whom she will fall in love and whose life she will save. 

MY TAKE

This was a really good book.  Sarah Waters' writing is lovely and reminds me of one of my favorites, Donna Tartt.  The story of Nancy begins unhurriedly as she begins to discover her true self with Kitty Butler, and then picks up as she must find unknown resources within herself to survive the gritty streets of London.  I found myself thinking about the book when I wasn't reading it, and I was impatient to see where the story went.  That, in my mind, makes great reading.  This was rather explicit, though, so readers' advisors should be aware.  Interestingly, NoveList classifies this book as "erotic fiction", but I'm dubious about that.  Yes, there are some detailed erotic scenes, but the book was not particularly focused on sex in itself.  Reviews on Goodreads ranged from "masterly" to "meh".  It appears that Ms. Winters has written some better books. including The Paying Guests and The Night Watch.  I am definitely going to check them out!

Young Adult, New Adult and Graphic Novels: Who are they for?

I, personally, don't really like YA novels, only because I find them a little too simplistic for my tastes.  However, I didn't think for a minute that this was the overall consensus.  Especially after the Harry Potter, Hunger Games and Twilight crazes.  Whoever says that adults don't read young adult fiction are not looking around.  I've even noticed since I started graduate school that many of my classmates list YA fiction as their favorite genre to read.  At my library, many adults ask for YA titles.  I get it.  Like Flanagan said in the Atlantic article, people are nostalgic for their young adult experiences.  It's interesting to read about situations that once flummoxed us as kids from an adult perspective.  And, many adults just want the simple, straightforward storytelling that YA and NA deliver.

As librarians, we are intrinsically supposed to respect all categories of books for all categories of book readers.  So, should we include YA, NA and graphic novels along with adult fiction promotions?  Yes.  When I think of the perfect display, it would include all representations of the subject or theme: adult, YA, NA, children's, non-fiction, DVDs, audio books, graphic novels, CDs, board games, or anything else that sparks interest and further informs.  Also, a display in the adult area of YA and NA titles that might interest is a great way of informing those who are unaware of this popular and provocative genre.

If I may play devil's advocate for a moment, though.  I wonder if displaying the YA and NA fiction so prominently will introduce the books to conservative or fearful parents who were unaware that such explicit material is available to their sacred offspring?  It's hard even for me as a rather liberal parent to think of my teenager reading books with sex scenes, even though I read them myself as a youngster.  So, I'm thinking of the...what do I call them..."less than liberal" parents who are perusing the display of books that should be geared towards young adults, picking up one of the Gossip Girl books and landing on a page with a sex scene in a Bergdorf's changing room. Or what about that graphic novel Sex Criminals?  We have that in our library, and it's in the Young Adult area!  I'm imagining a Tipper Gore type revolution against the filth that is being distributed to our young people.  Do we hide the YA/NA books, then?  No, but there is something to be said about everything in it's place, and a place for everything!  Although it creeps me out that my daughter might be reading this, I fully respect her right to do so.  I would hate to see that right be eroded by people who don't feel the same way.

Week 12 Prompt: Non-Fiction Matrix

Author: Corinne Hofmann

Title:  The White Masai

Publication date: 1998

Number of pages:  320

Geographic setting:  Kenya, Africa

Time period:  Late 1980's

LOC Subject headings:   Hofmann, Corinne

                                      Women, White -- Kenya -- Biography

                                      Masai (African people) -- Biography

Type:  Narrative memoir

Series notes:  There are two sequels that follow: Back from Africa (2003) and Reunion in Barsaloi (2007).

Book summary:  Corinne, a European entrepreneur, finds herself fallen hopelessly in love with a Masai warrior, so she leaves her home in Switzerland and relocates to Kenya to marry him and forge a new life.  She recounts the trials and triumphs of living in the African bush.  Ultimately, though having survived several life-threatening diseases and an arduous pregnancy, she flees her husband, who has become jealous and violent, and has begun to drink and use drugs, and returns to Switzerland to raise her daughter.   The "fish out of water" element to the story is enthralling reading.  

Reading elements:  

Pacing/setting: This is a fast-paced adventure/love story with fascinating details about home life in the African bush.  The author writes in a straight-forward way about her endless surprise at the strange and foreign customs she neglected to research before her adventure began.  She describes the gritty, uncomfortable living conditions, the unpredictable kindness of the locals, and the struggle to make ends meet in a place where poverty is crushing.  

Language: The author writes in a concise way, avoiding prose and flowery language.  Though not a diary, it reads like one. 

Characterization:  Corinne not only describes herself and her own motivations with great detail, she introduces us to her husband, Lketinga and family, and gives the reader an idea of their thought processes, as she interpreted them, and their customs and values.  Her description of Lketinga's slow transition from adoring husband to abusive drunk is compelling.

Annotation: A European businesswoman falls in love with a Masai warrior and moves to Africa to marry him and live in the African bush.  

Similar works:  

My Masai Life: From Suburbia to Savannah by Robin Wiszowaty (2009). A twenty-something, longing to escape the complacency of suburbia, travels to rural Kenya to live for a year as an adopted member of a Masai family.

Warrior Princess: My quest to become the first female Masai warrior by Mindy Budgor (2013).  The true story of a young entrepreneur who makes the spontaneous decision to volunteer in Kenya and, after living and working with the Masai, embarks on a quest to become the group's first female warrior. 

Married to Africa by G. Pascal Zachary (2009).  A former foreign correspondent describes how he fell in love with an African zoologist while working in Ghana, his subsequent immersion in lesser-known aspects of African culture, and their equally disparate married life in California. 

Western Genre Annotation

BLOOD MERIDIAN, OR THE EVENING REDNESS IN THE WEST
AUTHOR: Cormac McCarthy
GENRE:  Western; literary fiction; southern fiction

In a devastating epic, the fourteen year-old Kid, having left his drunken, abusive father, joins a brutal gang of mercenaries hired to kill Indians and terrorize the Southwest around 1850.  The riders move back and forth across Mexico and California, killing everything in their sights. The harsh landscape is its own character as the narrator describes in detail its savage assault on anyone who dares to traverse it.   More than that, man's cruelty to man is featured in all its glory as the gang massacres and pillages with horrible efficiency.  American westward expansion is portrayed as a blood-soaked, cutthroat nightmare in which death was almost preferable to life.  In a twist of the Western genre, the hero of the book, while perhaps the least repugnant of his compadres, is no hero. And his mission is not noble.  He'll be tempted by evil personified in The Judge, an immense, albino, hairless monster of a man.  Will he be able to resist the darkness? 

APPEAL FACTORS
Tone:  Atmospheric, bleak, disturbing, menacing
Writing style:  Gritty, lyrical, stylistically complex
Storyline:  Character-driven, open-ended
Character: Unlikeable

READ-ALIKES

No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy:  This is much like Blood Meridian with its bleak, violent tones.  In the late 20th century, Llewelyn Moss happens upon a massacre and $2 million in cash and his decision to take it will plunge him and his family into a typical McCarthian nightmare.

The Winter Family by Clifford Jackman:  Follows the adventures of group of outlaws from their formation during the Civil War through a blood-soaked three decades to 1900.  This book has the same gritty writing and bleak tone, as well as unlikable characters that populate McCarthy's books. 

Savage Country by Robert Olmstead:  A widow organizes a buffalo hunt to pay off her dead husband's debts.  What follows is a dramatic story of survival in a harsh and inhospitable landscape.  This story contains the same gritty violence and character-driven story line as Blood Meridian.  Incidentally, Blood Meridian contains a scene relating to the horrific buffalo slaughters of the same time period.  

MY TAKE

Boy, was I glad to finish this book!  The ghastly violence and horrific cruelty was almost too much to bear.  McCarthy managed to craft a lyrical image of hell on earth which while gorgeous in its prose, was sickening in its gore.  There isn't much of a story line except that the riders rode and killed and rode and killed and rode through the deserts and the mountains and through sand and through snow.  They came upon no less than eight massacred Mexican villages and visions of horrific brutality.  They hunted Indians and were hunted by Indians.  And the ending.  That ending!  I hated the book, but I had to love the beauty of McCarthy's writing.  His prose is unbelievably complex and many times I had to re-read a sentence several times just to understand it.  Had there been a real story arc and less horror, this would have been one of my favorites.  

This is not a typical Western.  Where Westerns usually feature a hero riding into town and saving the day or the lady, this book featured terrible people doing terrible things.  There are no good guys fighting the bad guys.  Further, while the landscape was drawn in detail as harsh and treacherous, McCarthy's landscape fairly throbs with menace.  The overall mood in the book is menacing and hopeless.  I would definitely not recommend this to a patron asking for a Western.  While it has Western elements and is listed in the Western genre, it's more of a literary novel.  Also, patrons should be made aware of its unremitting violence.

Week 11 Prompt: Audio Books and E-books

Remember when you were little and you just started to realize how much you loved turning the pages of that book about the bunny, the smell of the ink, the gloss of the paper?  Or how about when you were older and wore out your favorite book with so many re-readings that it fell apart in your hands?  For me, reading was always such a visceral experience.  I can still remember reading a book in the first grade and the feeling of pure joy that filled me.  Was it the physical appeal of the books that enchanted me?  It had to be, because I really can't remember what exactly I was reading.  I just remember the experiences vividly.  I wonder what voracious readers who read e-books feel?  Perhaps they remember the glow of the reader, the different fonts and text sizes they chose for each reading, the way touching the screen flipped the pages.  I suppose it's all subjective.  

Myself, I'll read a book off a roll of toilet paper if I have to, I don't care.  As long as the words are readable, I'm in. So, although I don't read e-books, I'm not against them in any way.  I would say that, as Dunneback mentions, not being able to flip around and read other passages easily is a very big factor for me.  I often go back and forth, especially in long, complicated books.  I recently was forced to read an e-book because the print version was out, and I really had a tough time being stuck where I was.  Maybe there's a way to easily navigate, but I'm a novice e-reader and I don't know what that is.  Also, I can see where people who are visually oriented would love the font and setup change abilities.  And I will say that it really does seem like the book goes faster on an e-reader.  Is it because you don't have the physical feeling of the book in your hands?  I don't know, but I think it's strange.

I haven't been a huge audio fan.  Sure, I've taken books on cd on car trips, but I found myself getting distracted and missing half the story.  But, I've never listened to a book and said, "I did not like that narrator."  Until podcasts.  I like to listen to podcasts when I'm going to sleep, and of course, short story podcasts are my favorites.  However...there are some pretty bad narrators out there and I now know that a narrator can ruin your experience.  Frankly, I haven't found a short story podcast that I really love, so if anyone has any suggestions, I'd love to hear them!  But I digress.  My point is that as a readers' advisor, I know I'll need to get to know the audio books and their narrators, as it would appear that this is a huge appeal factor, whether it is their pacing of narration, characterization, phrasing, etc.  I mean, it's the same story as the print book, right?  The story doesn't change, but how it's presented is of paramount importance.  An audio book will make a story come to life with the right narrator.  

Book Club Fun

My library has a book club called “Books on Tap”.  It takes place on a Tuesday night, which is the one night I’ve worked for years, so I’ve never been able to go.  I got the night off to go for this piece and I had a great time!  We met at Wings Etc. and ordered drinks.  The library paid for appetizers, which was a real treat.  There were about 10 people there, some ladies in their 40s and 50s and retirees.   We chatted while waiting to begin, and I felt very comfortable.  The leader of the talk was an older woman who has been at the library 30+ years, a very friendly and knowledgeable lady. 

This book club is slightly different in that they don’t discuss a book every month, they discuss a genre.  My understanding is that they had difficulties choosing one book that everyone wanted to read, so they settled on genre and each person would read a book and then share it with the group.  In one sense, I feel this hinders really digging into a title and finding the insight that discussion can lead to.  On the other hand, hearing about several different books sounds interesting and everyone’s looking for a new book to discover!  The genre this month was romance.  I brought along an old favorite of mine, Trade Winds, by M.M. Kaye. 

The meeting proceeded as you would imagine.  Each person would introduce themselves, tell us what book they brought and then launch into description of the book.  Everyone listened politely and interestedly, and then asked questions about the plot and characters and a short discussion ensued depending on where the comments led.  The leader didn’t have a script or schedule of questions that needed to be answered; each presentation proceeded organically.  It was interesting in that the other participants usually jumped in with questions and comments; the leader really didn’t need to lead anything.  It was a really talkative and curious group.  Another thing that struck me as cool was that most of the members had their synopsis of their books written down so that they remembered the most important parts of the book AND the small details that fleshed the book out for the rest of the group.  I was engaged in each presentation even if the book didn’t initially sound that interesting. 

Each person had the floor for about 10-15 minutes.  Everyone seemed comfortable and enthusiastic.  There were obviously some folks that had more questions than others, but there was no one who hogged the spotlight or made an ass of themselves, thank goodness.  I came away with a greater interest in a genre I’m not super fond of, and I made a few friends.  Next month, the genre is historical fiction, which sounds like a good one. 

In the end, I had a great time and am even considering changing my work schedule to attend again!  It was an interesting twist on your normal book club discussion which has its pros and cons.  I would suspect that hardcore, traditional book club enthusiasts would find the format somewhat off-putting, but there is no formula for what a book club is supposed to do, and it made me want to attend again, so that’s a good thing! 

Special Topic: Erotica in Public Libraries

Erotica has been around a long time, but hasn't had a real presence in American public libraries until very recently. Even though the ALA passed the Library Bill of Rights in 1939 to ensure that libraries would be free of censorship, librarians felt it their duty to spare innocents from "vicious" or scandalous material. Up until 1960, there were few sexually explicit materials found in libraries except reputable sex education books that were for adults only. Librarians had to decide if it was worth the public outcry to include items like Kinsey's Sexual Behavior of the Human Male, Mailer's The Naked and the Dead, and Miller's Tropic of Cancer. After 1960, more explicit materials were available and social mores loosened a bit and libraries quietly added erotic romances to their collections like V.C. Andrews' Flowers in the Attic series, My Secret Garden by Nancy Friday, and Scruples by Judith Krantz. In the 90’s, Madonna’s Sex was published and created another firestorm of controversy. Librarians debated hotly about its value to the library – was it art or pornography? It was mostly rejected as pornography, but today it is one of the most sought after out-of-print books ever released and according to Wikipedia is “considered a bold, post-feminist work of art”.

 50 Shades of Grey changed all of that. Despite the fact that it was 2012, it created a firestorm of controversy as librarians struggled to define the difference between erotica and pornography. There were actually libraries that refused to order the trilogy citing poor quality and pornographic elements, despite overwhelming public demand. Alas, those libraries eventually had to concede and order the books anyway. Libraries are moving to user driven collection models, so what the patrons want, they get. A current check of the catalogs of those holdout libraries in 20012 shows that they now have copious erotic literature offered up. It appears that currently, sexually graphic materials in the public library is a non-issue.

 Erotica is a sub-genre of romance and frequently is interchanged with erotic romance. There are differences, however. Erotic romance is centered upon relationships and includes explicit sex. Readers expect a "happily ever after" with these books. Erotica focuses on sex. There may or may not be a clear storyline or relationship. But there will be graphic sex. Amazon currently ranks Madison Faye, Alexa Riley, Sam Crescent and Adrian Amos as the 5 top-ranked erotica authors, but it is unclear whether these titles are erotic romance or actual erotica. Katie Dunneback's rundown of top erotica authors in Library Journal (2013) also includes erotic romance authors, so it's unclear where the difference is there, as well. Because of all this confusion, it's important that the readers' advisor know their erotic materials well. Katie Dunneback suggests several anthologies to read to get acquainted with the genre: Best Women’s Erotica 2011, Alison’s Wonderland, and Herotica: A Collection of Women’s Fiction. Further, during the RA interview, the librarian should get a good read on what exactly the patron is looking for. There are many types of erotica available including m/m (male/male), f/f, bdsm, non-consensual sex, and many levels of explicitness. Lists of titles and read-a-likes should be available for those who are too embarrassed to ask directly. Although there will always be someone who complains, libraries should foster an atmosphere of non-judgement and quality service. Dunneback, Katie (2013). Erotica’s full frontal shelving – genre spotlight. Library Journal,(138)3.


Retrieved from https://reviews.libraryjournal.com/2013/02/books/genre- fiction/erotica-full-frontal-shelving-genre-spotlight/.

Week Seven Prompt - Book Controversies

I vividly remember the scandal of A Million Little Pieces.  It affected me in a big way.  I had read the book and was blown away.  I loved it!  It was one of those masterpieces that you can't stop thinking about and wish it never ended.  And then, Oprah.  I was appalled that the memoir had been published as a true story when it was mostly made up and embellished!  I thought to myself, "How can we possibly know what's true and not true if this is the way publishers are working?"  I was deep into the memoir craze at that time and suddenly wondered what was real and what was fake.  To this day, I don't really trust anything I read. I suppose it's good that the scandal happened, though, because it put publishers who don't fact check or publish material they know is not true on the line.  No one wants to get called out on Oprah like James and his publisher did!  I saw the show.  She was merciless!  I actually felt kind of bad for James.  It seemed to me that he was trying to say (when Oprah let him speak, that is) that he had told the publisher that the book was not totally accurate, but that the publisher decided to market it as a memoir anyway.  Either way, the public was duped by someone, and it seems to me that the publisher was responsible for making sure they were putting out a memoir that wasn't made up.  Because it was an amazing book and would have been just as good as a novel. 

Mystery Genre Annotation

Turn of Mind
By: Alice LaPlante
Genre: Mystery, Literary Fiction, Psychological Suspense

Jennifer White is a retired orthopedic surgeon who has begun to slip into the throes of dementia.  She keeps a notebook so that she can write things down to refer back to and others can write information for her on her "bad days".  The story is told from her perspective, which is like going in and out of a dream, fragmented and blurry. On good days, she is clear enough to understand what is happening to her.  On bad days, she can hardly think of names of ordinary household objects, let alone her children and friends.  She rages and and attacks out of frustration and has a caretaker, Magdalene, who does her best to contain her charge.

Jennifer's best friend and neighbor, Amanda, has been murdered and her fingers removed from her hand.  Jennifer is the prime suspect, although she has to be told every day that Amanda is dead and what happened to her.  There is an investigation, but it happens outside of Jennifer's comprehension.  She is questioned numerous times and as the book progresses, the questions become more and more intense.  She has no idea she is suspected of murdering her friend, nor does she have any idea what may have happened to her.  As she floats in and out of lucidity, flashbacks reveal secrets and betrayals from the past that define her relationships with those around her.  Ultimately, the case is solved, but until then, we wonder, "Who killed Amanda?"

APPEAL FACTORS

Tone:  Bleak, haunting
Character: Flawed, unreliable
Writing style:  Compelling
Storyline:  Unconventional; nonlinear

READ-ALIKES

Trust No One by Paul Cleave:  Jerry Gray is a mystery writer who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and as the disease progresses, he makes the claim that his books' bloody, violent murders are true because he committed them.  Is it true or all in his head?

Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey:  This was recommended on Goodreads by a reader who thinks it is similar to Turn of Mind, but executed better.  An elderly woman succumbing to dementia believes her best friend has disappeard, yet no one believes her or will help her.  So she embarks on a desperate quest to find her.

The Two Deaths of Daniel Hayes by Marcus Sakey:  A man wakes up on a beach with no memory of who he is or why he is there.  He takes on the identity of the owner of a BMW he finds, but soon finds himself fleeing from the police for something unknown to him, but known to Daniel Hayes.  Is he Daniel Hayes?

MY TAKE
This was not a procedural mystery by any means.  In fact, it barely meets the criteria for mysteries.  There is a murder and an investigation, but seen through the splintered memory of the main character, which leaves the reader just as confused as she is.  However, the end gives us the answers to the question of who killed Amanda, so a mystery it is.  While this is classified as a mystery on NoveList and Goodreads, it is also called psychological suspense and literary fiction.  In fact, read-alikes suggested by NoveList did not include many mysteries at all, which makes sense.  Our mystery chapter in Saricks informs us that there is a wavy line between many of the sub-genres of mystery, and this book proves that.  I liked it a great deal, but only because I'm not really a mystery fan and I didn't miss the hard boiled investigation and forensic procedures of your standard mystery fare.  I think that people who like mysteries for those factors will be very disappointed with this book.  I would not recommend it to someone who came up to me and asked for a good mystery UNLESS they specifically asked for suspense.

Week Six Prompt

I've worked at my library for 12 years and I've been going to libraries for well over 40 years.  I've never heard of the gentle reads genre!  It's possible I didn't notice because I wouldn't read that type of material.  But my point is that I wonder how many other people don't know about it!  I think it would be a great thing to have genre nooks set up throughout the library with displays of books, DVDs, audiobooks, etc, creating passive integrated advisory experiences for all tastes and pleasures (well, maybe not ALL!).  Focusing on the gentle reads display, I'm thinking a cozy scene, complete with a homemade afghan, a coffee cup and maybe some cookies or something to really set the mood.  These extras can be rotated, like picnic baskets and lemonade in the summer, and a leaf pile, a sleepy dog and a blanket for autumn.  We want to have the feel for old-time, traditional and homespun stories.  Then I would rotate gentle read books, large print, audio books, and Lifetime/Hallmark movies.  I would add some non-fiction to reflect the novels on display.  Cookbooks, quilting and sewing books, flower arranging, whatever may be fictionalized in the display books and movies would be great complements.  I would also be sure to display programs we have going on like a knitting group, a book group, or other such things as are written about in the books.  I can think of a great many patrons at our library who would absolutely love this display.  And with the integrated advisory aspect I know that many of them would discover something new!

Gentle Reads Annotation

THE WHOLE TOWN'S TALKING
By:  Fannie Flagg
Genre:  Gentle Reads

Elmwood Springs, Missouri is the setting for this sweeping tale of community, friendship and family.  It begins in 1889, when Lordor Nordstrom buys property and founds a town.  He marries, builds a thriving dairy business and watches the town grow and prosper with himself as mayor.  But when he dies, something strange happens - he wakes and finds himself in the town cemetery, Still Meadows.  He watches over the town from his new post and is soon joined by family and friends who lived in the town and passed away.  We witness the town's evolution throughout the years and get to know the quirky and kind residents and their families who live through history in Elmwood Springs right up until 2020.  As the residents of Still Meadows cemetery observe and exclaim over the town's rise and fall through the years, they begin disappearing one by one to a surprising but marvelous place.

Appeal Factors

Tone:  Homespun - This is a quiet tale of home, family and community
Pace: Leisurely, comforting
Writing style:  Engaging; very few swear words
Storyline: Simple; sweeping; character-driven
Character:  Likable, quirky, relatable 

Read-a-likes

The Persian Pickle Club, by Sandra Dallas:  This is another homespun story of family and community told in a heartwarming storytelling style.

Debbie Macomber's Blossom Street series:  These are inspiring stories about a group of women who gather at Lydia Hoffman's yarn shop for knitting circles and work through personal issues and grow from their bonds of friendship.

Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon series:  Garrison Keillor writes with a witty and heartwarming style about a small town and its citizens in Minnesota.

Adriana Trigliani's Big Stone Gap series:  Another series set in a charming and quirky small town in West Virginia focuses on home, family and community.

My Take

This is the quintessential gentle read, an extremely simple storyline, heartwarming characters, old fashioned traditions.  I  think little old people or people that think and act like little old people will really, really like this book.  Myself, I like a solid story arc and intricate plotting.  I was thoroughly bored.  However, those who like gentle reads will appreciate its old-timey vibe.  Also, there were a few swear words, which really surprised me, as this type of book should be profanity free.  There are just a few though, and always appropriately from soldiers or burly men.

Week #5 Prompt Response

There are SO MANY BOOKS out there!  It’s hard to think about the sheer abundance of books and written materials without getting completely overwhelmed.  Your library can’t stock everything.  So, what is a selector to do?  Is it an astounding book or a piece of crap?  But, you know, the answer to that question is different to each person.  Like Ranganthan said “Every book its reader”.  Thinking about that, I can see why Booklist doesn’t print negative reviews.  While there can be books that are so bad that most people can’t get through them without giving up in frustration, but there will always be at least one person who likes or finds value in the book.  Reviews are only opinions.  They can make or break a book commercially, but they don’t determine the total value of the book.  So even if the New York Times pans a book as silly and a waste of space, that doesn’t mean there isn’t anyone on this earth who will enjoy it.  I think that’s why there are so many different outlets for different types of books and conversations.  Kirkus didn’t review a little independent book that I found at the garage sale, but if I were to Google the book, there would more than likely be SOMETHING on the internet about it, somewhere.  There are lots of sources for independent book reviews and small-time publishers.  A librarian should not only have the big-name resources like the New York Times, Kirkus, NPR, and Publishers Weekly, they should have a list of small and independent publishers and book reviews that they can consult so that their collection is rounded out with not only bestsellers, but little gems and diverse topics.  Collection development shouldn’t be affected by the fact that some books are reviewed more than others.

Angela’s Ashes was so big when it came out, not adding it to your library would have been seen as highly incompetent.  And I don’t think it was just the reviews that made it so big.  It was a really, really good book, and word of mouth is huge in the library business.  I imagine that I would have added Angela’s Ashes to my collection whether I had these reviews or not.  The e-book reviews, while not quite on the professional level of the New Yorker book review, make the silly little romance sound like a fun and happy read, so I would definitely add it to my collection because I know there are patrons who would enjoy that silly book.  Although if both the reviews had said, “Yuck, this book sucks”, I might think twice.  But if someone asked for it, I would buy it. 

I consult Goodreads for all my review needs.  Although the reviews are not professional, real readers tell you if they liked the book and why.  Or if they hated the book and why.  There are usually more than enough reviews of one book that you can piece together what the book is like just from reading the varied opinions.  I don’t need the New York Times to tell me if they liked a book or not.  

"Dog Boy" by Eva Hurnung - A "Kirkus" Style Review

Settle in for a tale so bizarre and fantastic, you will not be able to stop thinking about it long after you’ve finished it.  It’s about a boy.  And his dog family.  And their struggle for survival on the frozen streets of Moscow. 

Romochka is a four-year-old boy who has been abandoned by his mother and uncle, left to die in an empty apartment building in the middle of Russia’s arctic winter.  In desperation, he follows a stray dog back to her den in the basement of an abandoned church and becomes part of her family, her pack of six sons and daughters.  There, in the coziness and warmth of the nest, Romochka grows up as a dog, hunting and killing prey, marking his territory with urine and slow-licking his brothers and sisters to sleep at night.  We see the gritty, poverty-stricken streets from his point of view, which has become a dog’s point of view.  He thinks, acts and moves like a dog.  His loyalty is to his dog family and his love for his dog mother is undying.  Although it’s a hard life, a struggle for survival every day, we see the beauty of family and togetherness in the pack’s world, the joy of a home to return to and the rewards of successful hunts.  It seems like such a sweet, if tough life.  But as Romochka begins to attract the attention of concerned humans, we see his world in a very different light.  The humans’ reactions to the cozy den are visceral – revulsion, disbelief, horror.  The stench of death and rot and the overwhelming filth make some of them physically ill.  We suddenly see that this is not a place for a human being to be living.  As the concerned humans try to bring Romochka back into the world, it becomes obvious that the definition of being “human” is a slippery thing indeed. 

This is a compelling and enjoyable read.  Eva Hornung did her research well and successfully transports readers into the world of animals from the animals’ perspectives.   

Romantic Suspense Annotation

Sting

By Sandra Brown

Genre:  Romantic Suspense

Shaw Kinnard is your proverbial brooding, distant assassin.   Jordie Bennett is the  smoking-hot damsel in distress with a spine of steel and lips that pucker perfectly.  Jordie wants to protect her brother, Josh, who is a fugitive on the run from the FBI, and  from a notorious, bloodthirsty boss, Panella, who wants them both dead.  Shaw means to kill Jordie, but in a startling turn of events, Shaw kidnaps Jordie and holds her hostage in an attempt to recover a $30 million loot with information only she or her brother has.  Despite their obvious rancor, the heat between Jordie and Shaw is palpable and they must eventually rely on each other to survive.  The chase takes place in the swampy bayous and electric streets of New Orleans.  Full of twists and surprises, it’s anyone’s guess how this steamy, suspenseful story will turn out.  

APPEAL FACTORS:

   Tone:  Steamy, suspenseful

   Pace:  Fast-paced

   Writing Style:  Well-crafted dialog 

   Storyline:  Plot-driven

   Character:  Well-developed

READ-A-LIKES:

A Cold Day in Hell by Stella Cameron: Cameron's books are also steamy and suspenseful, as well as set in the American South.

When You Dare by Lori Foster:  Steamy and suspenseful.  The hunky lead rescues a kidnap victim and must remember not to mix business and pleasure.

Thigh High by Christina Dodd:  Steamy and suspenseful.  Set in Louisiana, with a subject of "sexual attraction."

Death Angel by Linda Howard:  Another foray into the underbelly of the crime world in which the heroine must work with the FBI to protect the defenseless from her ruthless crime lord ex-lover.  

MY TAKE:

I don't usually read this type of fiction, and after reading this, I remember why!  However, it was a page turner and I was held captive until the end, not knowing what would happen.  I mean, it was obvious that the dreamy assassin would somehow end up with his gorgeous victim, but in the beginning, it was impossible to tell how that could happen.  I like that.  I chafe at stereotypical characters that are found in romantic suspense, but no matter.  This was a fun, fast read, and I enjoyed it in spite of myself.  

I'm a "secret shopper." Good times!

I went to a medium, suburban library in a nice area.  Beautiful library.  Nice people.  But I was really nervous.  I had just read Chelton's "Readers' Advisory 101" and was now concerned I would be treated badly and turned away with a sniff.  Very nervous.  But I persevered. 

It ended up being a somewhat satisfying experience!  The librarian greeted me with a smile, which put me at ease right away.  She didn't seem upset at being asked about book suggestions and she seemed to have plenty of time for me at first.  I told her I need to read a mystery, but I don't read mysteries, so I don't know where to start.  First she consulted NovelList (yay!) and asked me about appeal factors of books that I liked in the past.  I told her I like literary fiction, intricate plotting and good writing.  After a few more appeal questions, she suggested a couple authors, Lindsay Davis and Janey Mack.  I said they sounded interesting, I'll give them a look.  She then asked if that was all I needed or did I want more options?  Well, yes I needed more options!  So she consulted Booklist Online and found a couple articles about literary mysteries.  She found some great possibilities for me with Emily St. John Mandel and John Banville, who writes mysteries under the name "Benjamin Black". 

With that, I thanked her and went on my way.  But I got the feeling that she was about out of options for me, for some strange reason.  I felt like she was winging it with Booklist Online because after I told her I wanted more options, she seemed a little puzzled.  Luckily we found Mandel and Banville and I was able to let her off the hook, but really it seemed that she didn't have a quick reference list of resources that readers' advisors should have.  Further, she didn't delve into appeal as much as she could have because she only came up with TWO authors on NoveList.  Two??  I know we could have found more than that had we talked more. 

Finally, had she told me to come back with any more requests or she could look at some more resources if needed, I would not have felt like she was very nicely helping me, but trying to end the session.  It wasn't busy at the time, so there was no need to feel rushed.  It seemed like she felt there was not much more she could do for me.  However, she was nice and I found some interesting prospects, so I consider the trip a mild success. 

Prompt #1: Readers have questions. Let's help them out!

1.  Reader wants the fourth book of the Anita Blake series, by Laurell K. Hamilton.

That would be The Lunatic Café (January 1996), followed by Bloody Bones (Oct. 1996).

2.  Reader wants something like Barbara Kingsolver’s Prodigal Summer, same type of writing but faster paced.

According to NoveList, Barabara Kingsolver’s writing style is lush, descriptive and richly detailed.  If I look for those writing styles and add fast pacing to the search, I find several books that may be just right.  Emma Donoghue’s Frog Music is about the unsolved murder of Jenny Bonnet, a cross-dressing frog catcher in 1870s San Francisco.  San Miguel, by TC Boyle is based on a true story of women who found themselves on San Miguel, one of California’s Channel Islands at the turn of the century and during the Depression.  In Ann Patchett’s State of Wonder, a researcher at a pharmaceutical company journeys into the heart of the Amazonian delta to check on a field team that has been silent for two years.  All of these are lyrical and descriptive with some faster pacing.

3.  Reader wants a historical novel set in Japan and wants to feel like they're there.

By using an advanced search with Japan as subject and historical fiction as genre, I’ve come up with some great ones.  First off, Memoirs of a Geisha, by Arthur Golden, was extremely popular when it came out and I, personally, loved it.  In richly detailed and compelling writing, it describes the struggles of a girl in 1930’s Japan to learn the arts of the geisha.  The Scarlet Kimono, by Christina Courtenay, is a romance set in Japan in the 1600s about an English girl who stows away on a merchant ship to Japan and is abducted by samurai warriors.  Entanglements with samurai warlord, Kumashiro, ensue.  The author’s great love of all things Japanese is evident in this richly detailed story.  James Clavell’s Shogun is a perennial favorite and a wonderful descriptive epic about 17^th century Japan.

4.  Reader loved Elizabeth George’s A Well-Schooled Murder but found John Sandford’s stuff creepy.  Any suggestions?

Elizabeth George’s writing is lyrical, detailed and compelling, with a strong sense of place, suspense and perhaps a little violence.  John Sandford’s is similar, but with a “gritty” aspect.  So in searching for read-alikes, I focused on avoiding “gritty”.  Dorothy Sayer’s Lord Peter Wimsey series looks like a great match.  Amateur detective Lord Wimsey, an engaging and amusing protagonist, along with his manservant, Bunter, investigates murder in post-WWII London.  Jacqueline WInspear’s Maisie Dobbs series is another historical British series with an upbeat, suspenseful mood and an engaging and witty protagonist.  P.D. James’ Adam Dalgliesh mysteries feature compelling and richly detailed writing and a menacing sort of mood, similar to Elizabeth George’s. 

5.  Reader’s husband is into zombies.  He’s already read The Walking Dead and World War Z.  What next?

The Walking Dead and World War Z are classified as bleak, gruesome, compelling and fast-paced.  As a short story reader, I can’t help but suggest The Living Dead, a collection of short stories edited by John Joseph Adams, which features the best in zombie literature from the last three decades, from the most renowned authors in fantasy, speculative fiction and horror.  In Zombie Autopsies: Secret Notebooks from the Apocalypse, by Steven Schlozman, a few brave doctors attempt to find a cure by applying forensic techniques to captured zombies as the walking dead rise up throughout the world.  Day by Day Armageddon, by J.L. Bourne, is another series about a man’s struggle for survival in the midst of an unknown plague.  If the reader liked the Walking Dead graphic novels, the Revival series, by Tim Seeley, comes highly recommended on goodreads.com. 

6.  Reader likes literary fiction that gets turned into movies.  Recommendations?

I’m not sure if I’m recommending books or movies here, but I do have some suggestions.  My personal favorite, although not within the last 5 years, was Cold Mountain, by Charles Frazier.  The book was really good and immensely popular, but the movie was outstanding.  This is the only instance I can think of where I liked the movie better than the book.  NoveList has a couple Recommended Reads articles that are great starting point for finding books/movies.  I happen to like goodreads.com lists more, though.  Lists such as “Best book to movie interpretation”, “Best books that have been made into movies”, “Worst movies from the best books”, “From the page to the screen”, are abundant.  Goodreads members vote on each list so it is possible to find the most popular selections.  If you can’t find something here, you’re not trying.  I could make some suggestions from here, but again, not sure what exactly the reader is looking for.

7.  Reader wants thrillers with no sex or foul language.

This is a tough one!  NoveList doesn’t seem to have a category for “clean reads” and thrillers are usually awash with sex and swearing.  There has been a trend in Christian thrillers, however, and we can be reasonably sure that these will not offend.  Further, community forums on sites like goodreads or librarything could turn up readers’ recommendations.  Finally, ratedreads.com has comprehensive lists of selections and ratings from “none”(sex, violence, profanity) to “DIRT”.  Either browse whichever category you’re interested in or enter a title/author into the search engine.  I’ve selected some Christian authors which are popular at my library.  Lisa Wiehl’s Mia Quinn series focuses on a Seattle prosecutor and single mother who investigates murders.  These are intricately plotted and fast paced Christian suspense stories.  Dee Henderson is also a popular Christian suspense author.  She creates carefully researched, richly detailed, action-packed Christian romantic suspense novels.  Her Evie Blackwell Cold Case novels are very popular.  Perilous Judgement by Dennis Ricci is a Christian suspense political thriller about U.S. District Judge Edward Lamport from California who regularly faces threats of violence arising from his rulings.

My favorite resources for finding books:

I love and recommend Goodreads,com to anyone who will listen.  Besides book recommendations based upon books you have already read and books you have marked to read, there are literally hundreds, maybe thousands, of lists ranging from "Best books ever" to "Best books just like Harry Potter books" and everything in between.  For every book you look up, there are scads of recommended similar books and lists on which the book is included.  Before I discovered Goodreads, I was all about NoveList, which I still love for looking up series and similar reads.  I also like to peruse year-end best books of the year lists.  

Welcome to me.

It’s really hard to pin down my favorite genre of books.  It’s easier to describe what I DON’T read, which would be mysteries, romance, and westerns.  To begin my reader profile, I consulted my goodreads.com list of 400 books that I can remember reading, which I compiled years ago.  Of course, this is a fraction of the books I’ve read in all, but it’s all I could remember.  Literary fiction figures heavily in this list, followed by non-fiction.  For me, exceptional writing and intricate plotting are most important.  I  loved the dark tension in gothic novels like Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre.  Tom Robbins' use of the absurd and mystical made him my all time favorite author, and I'm truly devastated that he probably won't write any more.  1984 changed my life and everafter, proles and party members have figured into my thinking. I've gone through phases in historical fiction, horror and suspense.  Gone Girl was one of my favorite current reads - wow, what a twist!  In the last 15 years, though, I’ve been busy as a mother and a wife, so reading fiction often felt too indulgent, like watching too much TV, so I’ve been reading lots of non-fiction. Favorite topics include travel, religion, sociology/psychology, and animals, elephants in particular.  Further, I have a penchant for memoirs involving peoples’ professions and I’ve gone through phases reading rock memoirs, personal memoirs, books about Africa, North Korea and India, and Middle Eastern affairs. I really love the short story genre and I've found that reading short stories from around the world gives me an insight into other cultures.  I'll admit, though, I've gotten some funny looks when I mention something like "I'm currently reading a book of Bulgarian short stories!" I have dozens of books of short stories lying around in case I need a quick fix.

Favorite books of all time, in no particular order:

1984: George Orwell

The Handmaid's Tale: Margaret Atwood

A Fine Balance: Rohinton Mistry

Geography of Bliss: Eric Weiner
Dog Boy: Eva Hornung

The Good Earth: Pearl Buck

Confederacy of Dunces: John Kennedy Toole

The Metamorphosis: Franz Kafka

Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas: Tom Robbins

Baghdad Without a Map: Tony Horwitz

Although I said I don't read mysteries, romance or westerns, I have in the past read books that would definitely be characterized by those descriptions, so I can't say NEVER.  I'm looking forward to exploring these, though.  I'm always looking for my next favorite book!