Week Five Prompt

Hope you are getting your reviews read and written. For this week's prompt, I want to start a conversation about the different types of reviews. Different publications review different types of books and they allow different types of conversations. For example, Booklist will not publish negative reviews, while, as you have all seen, Kirkus has no problems with it. Ebook only books, which are increasingly popular (especially in the romance genre) see little to no reviews in professional publications unless they have a big name author, and then still it's usually only RT Reviews (formally Romantic Times) or other genre heavy publications. How does this affect collection development?

First, I have to say, it’s a good thing all of the review sites and magazines don’t review everything alike because we would all get the same review over and over. I’m sure not everyone is going to find every book in the review source they want. That said, I think librarians have learned to adapt to how and where books are reviewed and go to that source if they are selecting that genre.

Ebook only books make us work a little harder but if there isn’t a proper review, one can always check out Amazon reviews if they are so inclined to consider buying that ebook; even though these are not professional reviews (although some may be), they will give the selector an idea of the book. So I think collection development is affected but how much depends on the librarian’s efforts. If they use their resources well, the collection won’t be too affected but if they don’t make an effort to find these hard-to-find reviews, the collection will suffer.

I have posted two more documents in the week five files. 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? Is this ebook even romantic suspense?

So I went to Amazon to see this particular review and it now has a “Top 1000 Reviewer” badge next to it. While I normally would think this is not a reliable review, I have to stop and think that this person has reviewed quite a lot on Amazon and may know a thing or two about romantic ebooks. I think if you have patrons who want a certain genre and you go to Amazon to check out the reviews, you might want to check how many other reviews they have written.

The blog review is, of course, much more professional –looking with the slick layout and all the correct information. How much more reliable is it really though? Anyone can have a blog just as anyone can write a review for Amazon. I think the blog would be chosen over the Amazon review because of the appearance but what the blog review is saying is not much different than what the Amazon review states.

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 definitely make me want to add this to my collection – as I’m trying to forget how good this book was when I read it years ago to be impartial. First off, all of the reviews describe an incredibly interesting true story of triumph over horrible conditions – who wouldn’t want to read that? Also, when reviews include statements such as “extraordinary work in every way” (Kirkus), “almost impossible to put down” (Library Journal), “Expect demand” (Booklist) and “A vivid, wonderfully readable memoir” (School Library Journal), how could you not want this in your collection? These reviews make me feel like I want to read it again!

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 don’t necessarily think one type of book getting all the reviews is fair but I do think that these books are usually what is selling and being read the most so everyone is looking  for that review – which pushes out a review of another type of book. Again, if the selector is good, they will find ways to make up for that lack of coverage; if not, you will likely have a collection that is totally mainstream and nothing outside of the box.

On the one hand, I think it’s nice that there are no negative reviews in Kirkus; on the other hand, I may like that book that someone else doesn’t. In fact, that is usually the case. I think sources that don’t print negative content 1) will not have a problem with any authors or publishers and 2) don’t like to use up space with reviews that are negative but would rather showcase the positive reviews of books. We as selectors can still determine if sources such as Kirkus think less of these titles because they haven’t been printed.

I love reading book reviews. I am on many email lists such as Barnes and Noble, Penguin and Good Reads. At work, it’s Library Journal, Word and Film and Overdrive. I’m always looking for new sources.  

Kirkus-Type Review

Flynn, Gillian. The Grownup. Hardcover. Crown Publishing. 2015.

64 pages. ISBN 978-0804188975. $9.99.

A woman goes from being a prostitute to a medium in this haunted house novella by Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl, Dark Places).

The protagonist, a woman who grew up poor with a mother who introduced her to jobs such as prostitution and begging, uses the tools her mother gave her to survive. She resigns herself to her job by stating, “I would rather be a librarian, but I worry about the job security” until, one day, she gets a promotion – to spiritualist. In her new position, she meets Susan who lives in a haunted house nearby. When Susan finally talks her into coming to the house to “clean” it, she arrives to a Victorian mansion that seems “alive, calculating”. She also meets Susan’s step-son who Susan believes is possessed by the house; the step-son who is so abusive that his younger step-brother must stay locked in his room. As the unnamed protagonist spends more and more time in the house, she becomes increasingly more frightened and finds she doesn’t know who in the house she can trust. Flynn knows how to write a good story as is apparent in her earlier novels. She doesn’t disappoint with her signature twist at the end. The Grownup showcases Flynn’s ability to pull the reader in from the first sentence, take them to the past and back to the present to experience all the character-driven twists and turns that keep the reader moving at a pace that is swift, only to find themselves at a standstill – the end. Flynn shows her incredible talent and takes the reader on a wild ride that makes the reader wonder who is reliable; is the narrator even reliable? This woman, who has had plenty of excitement in her life from day one, endures more danger that one should be allowed in one lifetime. Flynn’s theme of trust throughout the novella will weigh on the reader much as it does the protagonist.

Like the woman in this story, you will feel as if you’ve been taken on the ride of your life. Will you know who to trust as the end draws near?

Secret Shopper

I visited a library to find a book that was similar to Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells. I found the librarian at the Information desk to be very friendly and anxious to help me. She was courteous and told me she was using Novelist and that it was available for me to use at home. After various searches, she came up with four books, two of which were not in and the other two that were not really what I was looking for. She then took me to the Fannie Flagg section after asking me if I was interested in her. I picked out one of her books that I would truly read but it wasn't really close to my original request. I was looking for something with a group of girls or women who have grown up together and have a special relationship, it didn't matter if it was in the South or not. So Flagg's books do have the settings in the South but not the same group feeling as Wells' book. This was mostly my fault, I believe. I was not completely honest with my answers to the questions she was asking me because I felt like I was dragging this out for too long - this was all coming from me, not from her.

This was an interesting exercise and result because I got to see how a patron would feel coming up to me, perhaps. No matter how friendly you are as a librarian, the patron may still feel like they are putting you out. I wonder how many patrons who I have helped go away with something they are not 100% happy with.

Week Three Prompt

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! 

Lunatic Café by Laurell K. Hamilton. When I looked on Novelist for the next in the series, only two books came up in that series. Because the patron is looking for the fourth book, I decided to go to Fantastic Fiction and look up the series. Once I got there, there were several Anita Blake series but there was only one with more than three books so Lunatic Café was the fourth in that series.

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. 

Wish You Well by David Baldacci. On Novelist I searched for the Kingsolver book and then did a Title Read-Alike. The books that came up did not seem in the same vein as the Kingsolver book even though they shared some commonalities. So I went to my library’s catalog and got the subjects for the Kingsolver book and typed them into Novelist. Since I know Baldacci is a quicker-paced author, I chose that book out of the ones that were returned on that search.

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! 

The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery. I did a search on Novelist with “Japan, historical, descriptive” and out of that list I chose this book. The description seemed like it had a good story.

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? 

A Possibility of Violence by Dror Mishani. Looked up Well-schooled In Murder and checked out the Title Read-Alikes. The Mishani book was the first on the list and had a similar mystery with similar settings.

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? 

Blackout by Mira Grant and As The World Dies series by Rhiannon Frater. Since the patron didn’t specify whether they wanted a series or a stand-alone, I offered both. World War Z is a stand-alone and Walking Dead is a series. So I did a Title Real-Alike for World War Z and found Blackout and a Series Read-Alike for Walking Dead and found As the World Dies. Both these titles seemed the most similar to the ones already read so that is why I picked them.

Annotation #1 - Suspense

THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN

By Paula Hawkins

Genre: Suspense

Publication Date: 2015

Number of Pages: 336

Summary

The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins is the story of Rachel, an alcoholic woman who rides the train into modern day London every day for work. Over the years, she becomes obsessed with a couple who live in a house on her route. One day, Rachel discovers the woman has been murdered so she decides to go to the police to lend her help at solving the mystery of who killed the woman. Over the course of the novel, the reader gets to see Rachel’s relationships with her ex-husband and his new wife, her roommate and the husband of the woman who was murdered. As Rachel gets more and more involved in the events surrounding the murder, Rachel’s investigation becomes more and more out of control with many twists and turns and surprising revelations.

Subject Headings: 
Railroad Traveling

Witnesses

Murder victims

Commuters

Alcoholics
Strangers

Three terms that describe this book: 
Fast-paced
From the beginning of the story, the author leads the reader on a great mystery that is full of suspense.  The language is not complicated so it is easy to keep the story moving at a very fast pace. Within the story are several sub-plots and the author bounces from one to the other which also keeps the pace. 

An atmosphere that depicts danger 
The author is really good at setting up danger in the places you least expect it. There is tension around every corner which suggests potential danger. Even as Rachel is innocently riding the train past their house, her thoughts become a little creepy and make the reader wonder what danger might be lying ahead in the story. 

Protagonist that is empathetic 
Rachel is a protagonist one can empathize with because she seems to be inherently good and wants to help. Because the reader has the privilege of knowing her thoughts, the reader gets pulled into the confusion and can empathize with her feelings surrounding the circumstances of the mystery. Also, she is human and has human attributes that we have all experienced.

Read-A-likes

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Losing You by Nicci French

The Pocket Wife by Susan Crawford

In the Lake Of The Woods by Tim O’Brien

Reading Profile

I have been reading for as long as I can remember. My undergraduate degree is in English so I have read something in just about every genre between classes and pleasure reading. I love to try new books I never thought I would read - I like to push myself. I love fiction and non-fiction equally but I am definitely a quirky reader - or maybe a reader of quirky things.

Some of my favorite fiction authors are Janet Frame, JD Salinger, VC Andrews (the original one) and Flannery O'Connor. My favorite genre is probably literary fiction. I was introduced to Janet Frame when the movie about her life An Angel At My Table was released. Her life and writing intrigued me and she has become one of my favorites. I love that her novels are semi-autobiographical and deal with her insecurities and her experiences with mental health facilities. Catcher In The Rye has always been one of my favorites and I love Salinger's short stories. I grew up reading VC Andrews, as most girls my age did, and those books are still on my shelf and I do, occasionally, pick them up and read them. I had to read Flannery O'Connor for one of my classes and I loved her writing and her ideas. She is one of many authors I was  introduced to in college that I still read. I also love a good YA novel now and then.

I do love non-fiction. I love to read biographies most of all but I dabble in all forms of non-fiction. I feel that non-fiction really helps me learn. I love to read biographies about people I love. My favorite non-fiction writer would have to be John Waters - he is also my favorite film director. My favorite books of his are the older ones that focus directly on his movies and the cast of his movies (Shock Value) or his own goofy likes and dislikes (Crackpot); he's hilarious! I also like to read about hauntings, Buddhism, film, self-improvement and history. Really, I like just about anything as long as I am in the mood to read about the subject. Poetry is a great love of mine as well; Sylvia Plath is my favorite.

I am excited (and overwhelmed) at the prospect of reading five novels for this class!