ALL YOU
READ NEED IS
LOVE
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| Example of origami heart bookmark. |
References
AliveOrigami. (2013, March 24). Valentine's Origami Bookmark (Heart) [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQqOR1rK67I
Dunneback, K. & Towner, M. W. (2010). Introduction: integrated advisory. Integrated Advisory Service. Denver: Libraries Unlimited, pp. xi-xvi.
Wyatt, N., & Saricks, J. G. (2019). The readers' advisory guide to genre fiction. ALA Editions.
Setting: Rural England, 1817 (Regency era).
Plot Summary: Captain Phillip Dacre can't wait to get back to his ship, but since his wife's death, his three unruly children have driven away a number of tutors and governesses, so it falls to Phillip to set things right at home. The cheerful vicar Benedict Sedgwick has looked after them in Phillip's absence, and the two men soon feel drawn to one another in ways that could change their entire lives. Is their budding romance is worth risking the lives they've worked so hard to secure?
Subject Headings: Men/men relationships, naval captains, clergy, single fathers, sexual attraction, marriages of convenience.
Elements of Romance: (From Wyatt & Saricks, 2019)
Rule of Three: (From Saricks, 2009)
Similar Works (Read-alikes):
Saricks, J. (2009). At leisure: The rule of three. Booklist, 106(3), 25.
Wyatt, N., & Saricks, J. G. (2019). Romance. In The readers' advisory guide to genre fiction (pp. 215-234).
A book will receive different reviews based on its genre, format, and author. As mentioned in class, eBook-only titles are reviewed relatively infrequently in professional publications. This creates a problem for collection development, since many collection developers rely on professional reviews to help them decide which items to purchase, myself included. In fact, I rarely purchase an item without first checking both professional and amateur reviews. Granted, this is not the only tool they rely on, but it creates a significant disadvantage for one book to be reviewed prolifically while another is largely ignored.
The pattern that emerges is a confirmation bias: books that are heavily reviewed are more likely to be purchased by libraries, which leads libraries to only seek out similar books for future consideration. Works that may be a "perfect fit" for a collection are easily overlooked simply because they are not reviewed by professional sources that librarians consult.
Both of these reviews have dubious reliability: the Amazon review contains several run-on sentences and comma splices. It doesn't tell me much about the book beyond a vague plot summary and that the reviewer enjoyed it enough to give it four stars.
The blog review fares a little better, but not much: it provides a plot summary, which I suspect may have been provided by a publisher. The reviewer comments on how brief the book is and that it seems run-of-the-mill, giving it three stars.
Based on these rather lackluster reviews, I would be unlikely to buy this book for my collection. There doesn't seem to be much to set this short work apart from others of its kind. Considering the fact that it is holiday themed, and therefore likely to see less circulation year-round, I would choose buy other titles for my collection over this one (unless I received patron requests for this title in particular).
The sheer volume of professional reviews (most of which are positive, by the way) strongly encourages me to purchase this title. Combined with its 1997 Pulitzer Prize, its status as a #1 New York Times Bestseller, its movie adaptation, and its literary and cultural significance, it seems almost impossible not to include this title in my collection.
Now, certainly this isn't fair. Who could say which of the two is a better book? Who could say what it even means for one book to be "better" than another? Regardless of which book is "better," it is clear that the amount of reviews tends to skew a library's collection to favor the over-reviewed and slight the under-reviewed. Now, this sometimes makes sense: a poorly written book is unlikely to receive overwhelming numbers of reviews, regardless of its format. But how do we as collection developers correct for very well-written books that are skipped over by professional reviewers?
Perhaps we must adopt a more "biblical" approach: "I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them down on every mountain and hill and from the crevices of the rocks" (New International Version, Jer. 16.16). Librarians must be these "hunters," searching for quality literature out of the "crevices of the rocks," so to speak. (I am 100% certain this is exactly what the prophet Jeremiah was referring to when he penned this phrase.) A library's collection should offer a wide variety of options for its patrons, and this may require a collection developer to stray from the beaten path from time to time. Delving into genre-specific publications, for example, can help to flesh out the diamonds in the rough.
I'd like to drop in a note here about negative reviews: quite often, I find that knowing why someone didn't like a book is as important as knowing why someone else liked it. Often, a negative review can help inform me about a potential purchase.
That said, professional publishers should take care to avoid becoming cynical and derogatory; I can understand why some review sources adopt the philosophy that Thumper's father taught him in Disney's Bambi:
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| If you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all. |
Expert ornithologist Sibley (The Sibley Guide to Birds, 2000, etc.) reveals the inner world of North American birds, pairing the answers to common questions with stunning full-color, full-page illustrations.
Covering more than 200 species in over 330 illustrations (including 87 "roughly life-size" paintings of familiar species), the short essays in this book discuss several aspects of avian biology, including migration, feeding, behavior, physiology, reproduction, evolution, and adaptation to recent environmental changes, and helpful indices break it down by topic and by species. Sibley notes in his introduction that this book "is not designed to be read straight through; it is designed to be browsed casually, so that different topics will spark connections and perhaps even a sense of discovery." While there are still many unknowns about birds and several of the topics in this work "are still being actively studied and debated by experts," the nontechnical language of these short essays is concise and accessible for adults to enjoy irrespective of prior knowledge. However, despite the title, there is not much on how birds think and feel: perhaps a better title would have been What It's Like to Love Birds. If you're looking for a deeper delve into the mind of birds, you may be interested in The Bird Way (2020, ISBN 978-0-7352-2301-1) by Jennifer Ackerman.
Rich with details and gorgeous illustrations, this compendium of facts about our feathered friends may be better suited to a coffee table than the field. Sure to delight casual learners and avian fanatics alike.
Using a public library where you are not known or a librarian who does not know you, ask for a good book to read. Discuss what happens: What questions were you asked? What tools if any did the librarian use to help you? Did the librarian successfully find a “good book” for you to read? If yes, how so? If no, why not?
For this assignment, I decided it was finally time to get my own library card and hit up my local public library. I had never met any of the library staff before, and I was sure they wouldn’t know me from Adam. I was right.
She asked me what I liked to read. I told her that I did not usually read science fiction, but I was looking for a good sci-fi title to branch out a little bit (planning ahead to my science fiction annotation due in a few weeks). Admitting that sci-fi was not her forte, she said she would give it her best shot and asked me what kind of sci-fi I liked. This question seemed like a dubious choice: having already mentioned that I was unfamiliar with the genre, I was tempted to say I didn’t know that sci-fi had any “kinds”. Opting instead for the truth, I told her that I had studied chemistry in college and therefore was partial to sci-fi with credible, plausible science, and I was less interested in fantasy-esque sci-fi. (Although that is a secret love of mine, I was looking for a pure sci-fi for my annotation.)
She thought about it for a minute and returned to typing on her computer. It was certainly a little off-putting and disconcerting as a patron: what was she looking up? Was she checking to see if a title that had come to mind was checked in? Did I say a word she had not understood? Had she given up on helping me and returned to her previous task?
Several minutes ticked by as I awkwardly looked around the library and pretended to be interested in the nearby display on Valentine’s Day picture books. Daring to break the silence, I mentioned something about being interested in LGBTQ characters if possible, but it was by no means a dealbreaker. This was met with silence and more casual perusal of tasteful children’s displays.
I wonder if this librarian had knowledge of appeal factors, NoveList (n.d.) defines as “the elements of a story that make a book attractive and interesting to a reader” (p. 1). This might have helped her identify items that I would have enjoyed beyond just subgenre. I thought she might be looking them up, but I realized she never asked me if I had already read any books in the genre, much less why I had liked them. The soft answers I had given about preferring LGBTQ characters were completely ignored, from what I could tell.
She then led me over to where Ready Player One was shelved. I told her that I had watched the movie, but as a child born in the mid-90s, I had only understood about half of the 80s pop culture references. (Sorry, Dad.) She said that her experience had been similar, she but reassured me that “the book was better.” I took the book since it seemed awkward not to take it from her outstretched hand. There was no opportunity for me to give feedback, tell her what I did or did not like about this work, or suggest other paths we might take. As Saricks (2015) mentioned, “[I]f we’re not really listening to what readers say, we’re not really meeting their needs” (p. 25). I am still not sure why this book was her recommendation to me, as it did not seem to match any of the scant preferences I had provided. It seemed like a bit of a shame.
I thought that maybe I was being too difficult for this librarian, so I did offer that I had read The Martian by Andy Weir and found it interesting; did she know of any similar works that she could recommend? She sure did: Artemis by Andy Weir. That was the only title she recommended, and as luck would have it, it was checked out. She did help me to get a copy of the eAudiobook on my device, albeit it was a copy in Spanish. (She did check to see if I spoke Spanish, which I do, so no harm there.) I genuinely thanked her for her time and bade her a good evening. While I was not particularly interested in either book, I decided to checkout Prey merely to save face and not walk out of the building without either of her recommendations.
Please understand that I do not wish to criticize the service I received nor shame this library; perhaps the librarian I spoke with had little experience or training with readers’ advisory, or perhaps she was just having an off day. Certainly she was underpaid and overworked. It seemed that she was just suggesting titles off the top of her head, without consulting any sort of online database or advisory tool. However, who really knows what was happening on the other side of the desk during those long stretches of awkward silence? I hoped that I was not causing her any pressure just by standing there doing nothing, but I know I was; O’Dell (2017) relates that a librarian “stand[s] there for hours, waiting for patrons to walk up and ask for help. But [they] have approximately 5 minutes to impress them before they leave. Talk about pressure!” (p. 27).
All things considered, I would return to this librarian and give them another chance. She did her best to provide the two keys to readers’ advisory proposed by Saricks (2005): “commitment to meeting the leisure-reading interests of readers and a responsive attitude toward readers, no matter what they are reading” (p. 11). I felt that she genuinely wanted to help and that she did not see this as a waste of her time. I never felt judged to criticized for my reading preferences.
This assignment was helpful in that it gave me a glimpse into how readers’ advisory interactions feel for the patron. The librarian should always seem available and be willing to help. They should also always tell the patron what they are doing so that the patron doesn’t feel confused or forgotten about. I will apply lessons that I learned here to my future readers’ advisory interactions.
References
NoveList Editorial & St. Louis Public Library Staff (n.d.) The appeal of books. NoveList.
O'Dell, B. (2017). Reader’s advisory: four sites that will help you fake it. Computers in Libraries, 37(6), 27-32.
Saricks, J. (2005). Readers' advisory service in the public library. American Library Association.
Saricks, J. (2015). At leisure with Joyce Saricks. Booklist, 112(7), 25
When I searched for the Anita Blake series in NoveList, I found the title of the fourth work. I verified that GoodReads shows the same result.
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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.
Oh, I love Barbara Kingsolver! She wrote Poisonwood Bible, right? I haven't had a chance to read much of her work yet, but I know her writing is very lyrical and lush. For a book that has a similar writing style with a quicker pace, have you read anything by Kunal Basu? Yellow Emperor's Cure and The Miniaturist are two of his works that you might find interesting. They are historical fiction, if that's something that agrees with you. Or you might also try Champion of the Scarlet Wolf by Ginn Hale if you'd prefer a fantasy.
From the NoveList page for Prodigal Summer, I selected the attributes that the patron liked -- a descriptive, lush, and lyrical writing style -- and used the "Search for More" function. I then refined results by pace to include only fast-paced works. I then compared a few results to the original work (Prodigal Summer) and chose a few that sounded promising.
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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!
For sure! Japan is super fascinating, and lots of books take place in historical Japan. Is there a historical period in particular you're interested in? If you're interested in 11th century Japan, for example, you might enjoy works by I.J. Parker, such as The Fires of the Gods. Or if you'd prefer the World War II era, you might like The Gods of Heavenly Punishment by Jennifer Cody Epstein or December 6 by Martin Cruz Smith.
I searched NoveList for keyword "Japan." I then refined results by tone to include "strong sense of place," as well as to include only fiction works and only works for an adult audience. I then selected a few eras under time period to show specified results, and I gave a few examples.
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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?
Sorry you had a bad experience! Let's see if we can find something you might enjoy a bit more. It seems like the suspense and violence wasn't an issue for you, but the gritty way in which Sandford writes wasn't your cup of tea. I'd recommend Dark River Rising by Roger Johns or The Night Hunter by Caro Ramsey.
Comparing the NoveList pages for Well-Schooled in Murder and for John Sandford, I looked for differences, reasons why the patron might have disliked Sandford. His gritty writing style was probably unappealing to them, but the compelling and richly detailed appeal factors didn't seem to bother them, and neither did the violent and suspenseful tone.
From the page for Well-Schooled in Murder, I used the "Search for More" function to find additional titles that are in the mysteries and police procedurals genres with a suspenseful and violent tone and a compelling writing style. From the results page, I selected the "Advanced Search" option so that I could use the Boolean operator NOT to exclude any results with "gritty" as an appeal factor. I stayed away from works by the same author since the patron has probably already considered or possibly even read other works by Elizabeth George.
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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?
Absolutely! There are lots of zombie books out there in many formats. Do you know if he was looking for more graphic novels (like The Walking Dead) or more novels (like World War Z)? For graphic novels, I'd recommend The Rage series by Pierre Boisserie; the first volume is titled Zombie Generation. If he'd prefer a novel, he might like the Newsflesh series by Mira Grant; the first one is Feed. He might also like Omega Days by John L. Campbell.
From the NoveList pages for The Walking Dead series and World War Z, I selected the series read-alikes and title read-alikes options, respectively. Since the patron mentioned both graphic novels and novels in their inquiry, I included both in my suggestions.
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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.
Oh, definitely! Plenty of books have been turned into movies. Is there a particular genre you like? You might like The Aftermath by Rhidian Brook. Another option might be The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins or Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. Also, Me before You by Jojo Moyes was a good one that left me in tears.
From the NoveList homepage, I selected the "Made into Movies: Fiction A-Z" list from the submenu "Fiction A-Z" of the Recommended Reads List sidebar. I then selected a few titles that seemed more "literary" and made sure their movies were released recently.
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7. I love thrillers but I hate foul language and sex scenes. I want something clean and fast paced.
No problem! You might like Smoke Screen by Terri Blackstock or The Jerusalem Assassin by Joel C. Rosenberg. Also, keep an eye out for The Water Keeper by Charles Martin; it was published in May 2020, so it might still have a list of people waiting for it.
Since works with a Christian message generally are devoid of explicit language and sexuality, I chose the "Christian Thrillers" list from the submenu "Thrillers and Suspense" of the Recommended Reads List sidebar.
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When I first started working in libraries, I was thrown every time someone asked me for a reading suggestion. Partly, this came from the self-imposed pressure to find a title that perfectly matches 100% of the reader's preferences. Oh, and the clock is ticking, so find it fast!
While my heart rate still swings up just a little bit even now, I've developed tools to rely on to help me find a good read at a moment's notice. When a colleague introduced me to NoveList early in my career, my paradigm shifted completely, and I knew I had an ace up my sleeve. I also use GoodReads and a personal spreadsheet to track and group books I've enjoyed and might want to recommend in the future.
These workhorses typically bear the brunt of my reader's advisory work, but I have also used Amazon to help me classify works into genres or according to audience. Departing from Chelton's list* of reader's advisory tools, I've also relied somewhat on Provo City Library's booklists for genres I'm less familiar with, and on their book order database in determining what book comes next in a series.
As for my personal recommendations, I've been squirreling away recommendations since I began working in libraries, and I have no shortage of books I want to read. While I occasionally peruse trade journals for ideas, most of my recommendations come from colleagues who are excited to share their latest finds. I store my To Be Read list on GoodReads and on the spreadsheet mentioned above. In a way, I hope my TBR never runs dry; I hope there's always something I'm looking forward to reading.
Reference