Secret Shopper

 I completed this assignment a little bit away from my local library. When I got to the information desk there was no one there. I looked around and saw someone helping someone on the computers, who I assumed was the librarian, after waiting for a few minutes they came back to the desk. They asked me how they could help me and I asked if they could recommend a good book to read. 

They asked a few questions about what types of books I would consider “good.” They asked about what genre, setting, tone, and pacing I liked. I told them that I am a big fan of the Song of Ice and Fire Series by George R.R. Martin, that I am a huge fan of fantasy, that I really do not care about the setting, that I am fine with both a serious and silly tone, and I prefer a slow-paced book where the author really explains and builds out the world. The librarian then started searching. I asked them what they were using to offer this service and they told me that it was NoveList.  After about five minutes of searching, they recommended to me both the Lord of the Rings Trilogy and a blanket recommendation to look for books by Brandon Sanderson. When I asked them if they would recommend any specific books by Brandon Sanderson they recommended Elantris. When I asked why that book they told me it was one of his few standalone titles. They then told me where to find each of the books in the stacks and sent me on my way.

I think that they successfully found good books for me. The Song of Ice and Fire Series and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy are both epic fantasy novels that have a large cast of characters and complex plots. When I went home I also checked NoveList myself and found that they are listed as read-alikes for each other. They are also both listed as epic fantasy, have intricate plotting, and world-building. I can understand why they recommended this book. For fans of fantasy The Lord of the Rings is an incredibly safe bet. The recommendation for Brandon Sanderson was also not a shock. I did not see why they would have recommended him to me from NoveList, but I know that he is one of the most prolific and popular authors in the genre today. It would not be shocking to me if they just recommended him off of the top of their head for this reason. I am not the biggest fan of Sanderson, but I understand the recommendation.

I would overall say this was a decent but not great experience. I could tell that the librarian was the only one working thus making it hard for them to give me a fair amount of time. I still think that they offered adequate services even if it was not the picture perfect experience.  

Week Three Prompt Response

 Part One

1. I am looking for a book by Laurell K. Hamilton. I just read the third book in the Anita Blake series and I can’t figure out which one comes next!

I used Fantastic Fiction for this question. I would let the patron know that they had just read Circus of the Damned, so the next book that they need is The Lunatic Cafe. I chose this book because it is the next in the series that the patron is requesting. 

2. What have I read recently? Well, I just finished this great book by Barbara Kingsolver, Prodigal Summer. I really liked the way it was written, you know, the way she used language. I wouldn't mind something a bit faster paced though.

I used NoveList for this question. I would recommend The Fury by Alex Michaelides to this patron. The reason why is because it has both the lyrical and richly detailed tags on NoveList, which is similar to the book they read. The book is also listed as being fast paced which is something that they specifically wanted with this recommendation. 

3. I like reading books set in different countries. I just read one set in China, could you help me find one set in Japan? No, not modern – historical. I like it when the author describes it so much it feels like I was there!

 I used NoveList to find a book that would work with this prompt. To fill this request I found The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery. The reason I chose this book is because it fits all of the things that the patron is looking for. It is set in 19th century Japan and it is tagged on NoveList as “richly detailed.” The sample reviews on NoveList also mention how detailed the author is with their writing. This all put together makes this book a good match with this patron. 

4. I read this great mystery by Elizabeth George called Well-Schooled in Murder and I loved it. Then my dentist said that if I liked mysteries I would probably like John Sandford, but boy was he creepy I couldn't finish it! Do you have any suggestions?

I used NoveList for this question. I would recommend For the Sake of Elena to this patron. This is the next book in the series by that author, and since they liked the last they would probably enjoy the next in the series. If they had read all of the books by that author I would also recommend the Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman. This series is a lot less intense then John Sandford’s main series. This book and the book they read both feature likable characters and are suspenseful mysteries. 

5. My husband has really gotten into zombies lately. He’s already read The Walking Dead and World War Z, is there anything else you can recommend?

I used NoveList to answer this question. I would recommend I am a Hero by Kengo Hanazawa because it is a graphic novel about zombies like The Walking Dead is. They are also both listed as gruesome in tone if that is an aspect of The Walking Dead that he liked. I would also recommend The Zombie Autopsies by Steven Schlozman. It is about zombies and was listed as a read-alike to World War Z on NoveList. They are both stories told through pieces, one being an oral history and one being framed as found diaries. 

6. I love books that get turned into movies, especially literary ones. Can you recommend some? Nothing too old, maybe just those from the last 5 years or so.

I used NoveList to answer this question. I would recommend Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens and Women Talking by Miriam Toews. If they were interested in books that were turned into television shows as well I would recommend Normal People by Sally Rooney and Fleishman is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner. The reason I picked these items is because they are all books that have been put to screen that are literary fiction. 

7. I love thrillers but I hate foul language and sex scenes. I want something clean and fast paced.

I used NoveList to answer this question. I would recommend this patron the author Mary Higgins Clark. She is known for writing thrillers that do not contain any sex, violence, or hard language. I would further recommend Every Breath You Take. It is by the author previously mentioned and is listed as fast-paced on NoveList. It is a thriller that fits with what the patron wants. 

Part Two

I mostly find books to read at my job. I am a clerk at my local public library, so the vast majority of my day is being exposed to hundreds of different books from all genres. One of the books that I plan on reading soon I checked in last night while I was at work. The other two books I plan on reading soon were on a display that my coworker put up a few months ago. Being exposed to so many books every week is how I have found the last six books that I have read.

Reading Profile

 I do not read as much as I would like. When I was in K-12 I read a lot. I did not work until my senior year, so I had plenty of free time. When I started my undergrad I had no time to do anything else. I was either working on homework, in class, or working. In my few moments of free time I did not want to do anything related to school. When I graduated that love of reading slowly started to come back. It is still not fully to the level that it was, but I hope it gets there soon. 

When I do read the books usually fit into three categories: YA rereads, Fantasy, or Graphic Novels/Manga. I love being able to reread something a notice a new aspect that I missed the first time. It is extremely rewarding to me to be able to find out more about the books I love. I also only like to listen to audiobooks on a reread, so with rereading I can get other things done. Fantasy is without a shadow of a doubt my favorite genre. Most of the media that I consume, outside of books, is Fantasy. I just love being immersed in a world. I love when an author spends six pages describing the scenery. World building is one of my favorite aspects of books and Fantasy requires more than other genres. Lastly, I love graphic novels and manga. When I was a child my dad worked as a janitor at my local library. He would always bring stuff home for me to read, and the thing that began my love of reading was Manga. He would bring me home seven volumes of a series and I would read them that night. I could not get enough of it. That love has continued on to this day. Since they are a mixture of pictures and text you can get through them a lot faster. With how busy I am with both work and grad school that is a blessing. 

I am excited for this class because it gives me an excuse to read five books that have been staring at me on my shelf for a while. 

Favorite Series/Books

• Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones (Favorite book)
• A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin
• Simon Snow Trilogy by Rainbow Rowell
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins 
• Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan
• Looking for Alaska and Turtles all the Way Down by John Green
• Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
• I'm Glad my Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

Favorite Manga/Graphic Novels

• Scott Pilgrim Series by Bryan Lee O'Malley
• Uzumaki by Junji Ito
• Rave Master Series by Hiro Mashima (First Manga Series I Read)
• Sailor Moon Series by Naoko Takeuchi
• Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
• The Promised Neverland Series by Kaiu Shirai