Week Seven Prompt Response

For our prompt this week, I want you to think about fake memoirs, author mills (like James Patterson), and celebrity inspired book clubs. Basically write a readers' response to one of the articles you are reading for this week (see syllabus or links in this post for readings) - or talk about a time when a book or author that made headlines affected you personally or your work.

Before I started working at a library I was not aware of the phenomena that is celebrity book clubs. I had only heard of them in a second hand way. I saw their seals on the covers of books, but did not look that deeply into them. When I did start working at a library I became acutely aware of them and specifically one book club: Reese Witherspoon's. When ever she picks out a new book it literally cannot stay on our shelves. Her pick for January, of this year, is one of the most popular books at our library right now. 

The Variety article goes more in depth about this trend and the affect that it is having on the publishing world. I find it incredibly fascinating. In our modern world celebrities all have side hustles. The most common these days being owning some kind of brand. The celebrity book club is an offshoot of that. With Reese's book club the people are not giving her money to join the club, but she gains the full rights to produce the books into movies. This is what she is getting out of the book club. When a celebrity picks one of these books for their book club it can become an overnight bestseller. Where the Crawdads Sing has sold 18 million copies since being a pick for Reese's book club.

I personally would never use a celebrity book club to get recommendations. I try to naturally get book recommendations from coworkers, seeing a book at work, or friends. I do find them fascinating. I think that they are becoming more and more prevalent in our modern world. It is important to be aware of them and think about why they choose the books they do. 

Science Fiction Annotation: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

 

Author: Ray Bradbury 

Title: Fahrenheit 451

Genre: Science Fiction

Publication Date: 1953

Number of Pages: 158

Geographical Setting: America, Midwest

Time Period: After 1990

Plot Summary: In a dystopian future in which books are outlawed, Guy Montag is a fireman. His job is to burn any books that are found. He does his job without asking a question, until one fateful day. When the fireman come the occupants of the house are usually gone, having been removed by the police. This night the house with the books had an occupant: a woman who chose to be burned with her books. This event is the catalyst for a change in Montag. His whole world begins to unravel once he seeks the information that is within books.

Subject Headings: Totalitarianism - Fiction 

                              Book burning - Fiction

                              Censorship - Fiction

Science Fiction Appeals

Story Line: "Story is central in [Science Fiction]. The works in this genre contain an almost overwhelming richness of concepts as well as difficult questions that unfold on multiple planes"  (Wyatt & Saricks, 2019, p. 121).

The story of this book is the thing that really gripped me into reading it. The story of a man who was forced to burn books coming to understand the importance of them is a compelling narrative. The story is also a big metaphor for censorship. It works on both a literal and metaphorical level. 

Frame: "The otherness of time, place, or reality is crucial to the attraction of Science Fiction" (Wyatt & Saricks, 2019, p. 122) 

The time period is almost immediately alien to us. The fireman burning books is the one aspect that has aged well in this sense. The majority of the other futuristic/alien technologies that are presented just exist. The opening of a door with a hand print, room sized televisions, tailored content, mindless content, in-ear radios, etc. These were accurate predictions of the future, so they lessen the feeling of otherness from the setting. 

Characterization: "Although attention is paid to characterizations at the more literary end of the genre, generally the issues, story, and frame are given greater attention than the creation of dimensional, fully realized characters" (Wyatt & Saricks, 2019, p. 124)  

The characters of this book are flat and archetypical. The story more focuses on its obvious messaging rather than fleshing out any of the characters. There are hints to more depth, like the suicide scene at the beginning of the book, that do not amount to anything. That scene more or less served the purpose of showing the hopelessness of society and the lack of autonomy in this totalitarian state.  

Three Terms to Describe this Book:

Thought Provoking

Prescient

Timeless

Science Fiction Read-Alikes

Mockingbird by Walter Tevis

A story that is set in a future in which reading is forbidden and robots have control over humans. The story follows two humans who teach themselves how to read.

Common Appeal: Similar themes around censorship and a general disdain for the new technology of the era. Both are dystopian/science fiction novels. 

1984 by George Orwell

A story that is a cautionary tale of when the government is given to much power. The story deals with totalitarianism, thought control, and mass surveillance. 

Common Appeal: They are both cautionary tales that are meant to warn the public. They are both dystopian/science fiction novels. 

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

A story about a dystopian, fascist America now know as Gilead. It is set in the near future after the patriarchal, totalitarian uprising overthrew the United States Government.

Common Appeal: This is a cautionary tale meant to show what can happen if a fascist government took power. They are both dystopian/science fiction novels. 

Non Fiction Read-Alikes

README.txt by Chelsea Manning

A memoir about her experience leaking documents that showed the American public the truth of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Common Appeal: This book deals with the government control of the population through the media and control of information. That is a major theme within Fahrenheit 451. 

How Fascism Works by Jason Stanley

A nonfiction book explaining how fascism works and the tactics that are employed to gain power. 

Common Appeal: This book shows how a fascist, totalitarian government could come to be. This is a more realistic look at the themes of fascism presented in the novel.

Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick

A book that follows six different people who escaped from North Korea. It offers us a look into one of the most oppressive societies that exists today.

Common Appeal: This book shows the lived experiences of people who lived under a totalitarian regime. 

References

Wyatt, N., & Saricks, J. G. (2019). The readers' advisory guide to genre fiction (3rd ed.). ALA Editions.

Week Six Prompt Response

For this week's prompt, I would like you to think of an innovative way to promote romance or horror at your local library (pick one, just one!). What would be most effective? A catchy display? Some passive programming? In what ways could you incorporate integrated advisory? Pretend you're pitching an idea to your boss and write at least a paragraph in your prompt response. Hint, Pinterest can come in handy, so can Facebook's ALA Think Tank. Have fun with this one!!

For this prompt I am going to go off of that base idea and create a horror display for an adult audience. The main idea is to pick out three different horror media properties that were popular that year, find ten books, for each property, with similar themes, and put them on a display table. The decorating/theming of the space will be tailored to the properties or just general spooky décor.  This whole idea is a way to incorporate integrated advisory as well. You are using the media that the person is interested in, outside of books, to recommend them titles. Since there are direct tie-ins with media there is a really easy way to incorporate programming with the display. For the month that the display is up you could have three programs where people watch the media in question. This idea is also not limited to just a horror display for adults, this can be tailored to any topic or age range. To adapt this to teen or children you would just need to find out popular media in that age range and the display builds itself from there. 

This idea comes from the person who used to be the Adult/Teen Services Librarian at my library. She would have to do two displays a month when she worked at our branch. She would usually one display that was a completely original theme, and one that was one of her few fall backs. A really common one that she would do was a "For Fans of..." display. I thought that she was putting a lot of effort into these displays, but now I know that it is just a section on NoveList. They have a ton of lists that are all structured around this basic idea. If there is not a pre-built list that fits your specific theme you can always create your own. 

Week 5 Prompt Response

One is two reviews of an ebook only romantic suspense novel, one from a blog and one from amazon. Look over the reviews - do you feel they are both reliable? How likely would you be to buy this book for your library?

They both feel sort of reliable, the blog more than the Amazon review. I think that for personal use an Amazon review might be helpful, but for a library it is hard to justify a purchase decision with that. The blog, on the other hand, is good. The author took time to explain more of the plot and had more of a critique to their review than the Amazon review. I would personally not buy this book for my library. The main reason is because of the lack of professional reviews and the fact that it is, most-likely, self-published. The library that I currently work for has a strict rule against self-published materials, so if this book is, it would not be able to be purchased for that reason alone.

The other document contains some reviews of Angela's Ashes, by Frank McCourt, an incredibly popular memoir. These reviews are all from professional publications, feel free to find more on your own. I just nabbed a few from the Book Review Digest database for you. How do these reviews make you feel about the possibility of adding Angela's Ashes to your collection?

These reviews would give good justification towards purchasing this book. They all speak highly of the book and speak of how good of a story teller the author is. They are all from credible review sources and the book is most likely traditionally published. I would be inclined to purchase a few copies to see if they circulated well and then purchase more if it did.

Do you think it's fair that one type of book is reviewed to death and other types of books get little to no coverage? How does this affect a library's collection? And how do you feel about review sources that won't print negative content? Do you think that's appropriate? If you buy for your library, how often do you use reviews to make your decisions? If not, how do you feel about reviews for personal reading, and what are some of your favorite review sources?

I personally do not think that it is fair that one type of book gets reviewed professionally over another. In the age of the e-reader books that would not have ever been traditionally published are becoming immensely popular and then being picked up by publishers. The most recent example I can think of is Freida McFadden. Her work started off as self-published and now all of her books are extremely popular. I have never seen one of her books last more than an hour on the shelves. By having to justify purchases by things like professional reviews or traditional publishing you are harming the collection. The invention of the e-reader has changed the landscape of both publishing and libraries. We need to find new ways to justify purchases so that the collection can reflect the interests and needs of patrons.

I am ambivalent on the fact that some reviewers do not publish negative content. I personally do not like it, but I understand where the idea is coming from. They do not want to disparage an author who worked hard on their novel. I would personally never use a review site that does not publish negative reviews. Criticism, especially the kind that is negative, is very important. It is important for the author to receive honest feedback for the work that they put out into the world. It is also important so that people can make informed decisions about their purchases.



I do not buy for my library, so for personal purchases I mostly go by word-of-mouth and things that catch my eye. I do not often look at reviews as the deciding factor on whether or not I purchase a book. If I do I might look at GoodReads or whatever review comes up when I Google the book. The vast majority of the time when I buy a book, or check something out from my library, it is based on vibes or coworker recommendations. Of the two items that I have currently checked out one is off of a coworker’s display and the other is a collection of manga that one of my favorite animes was based on.

Kirkus Review: This is How You Lose the Time War

by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone  Release Date: July 16, 2019

Two agents who help wage war throughout time, to ensure their futures come to fruition, begin exchanging letters. 

Red and Blue are on different sides of a war that is being raged through all points in time. Red is from a technologically advanced future, she herself is part machine. While Blue is from a more nature based future where people are one with each other. They begin exchanging letters when Blue leaves a letter taunting Red at the sight of her loss. The book is structured chapter by chapter focusing on the letters that they send to one another. The letters they send are hardly ever though words on paper they are told through the flow of lava, the bark of a tree, tea-leaves, and the entrails of an animal. The book is written in an almost poetic style. The letters are never simple correspondence, they have layers that can be interpreted any number of ways. Red and Blue feel like they are from completely different universes, but have more similarities than we can first see. The book is the blossoming of their correspondence and an example of what can happen when enemies begin to talk to one another.  

A beautiful, poetic science fiction novella that shows that soldiers on opposite sides of a war have more in common than what first meets the eye. 

ISBN: 9781534431003

Publisher: Saga Press

Categories: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Time Travel

Page Count: 208

Publishing Date: July 16, 2019

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.