2012 Nonfiction Trends

Although I read both fiction and nonfiction, this blog has a definite fiction slant.  But hey it's my blog.

Seriously though, my goal is to showcase how the readers' advisors at your library can help you to find your next good read, no matter what that book is.

Also, like a good librarian, I know that it is not my job to know everything.  I just need to know where to find the answers to everything.  You might think that is just semantics, but let me tell you there is a huge difference there.  And that difference keeps me sane on the craziest of days.

So to help me find the answers and suggestions for my nonfiction leisure readers, I go to Citizen Reader, the nonfiction blog by author and freelance librarian, Sarah Statz Cords.

This month, Sarah has been focusing on the trends in nonfiction as she sees them in 2012.  She began by compiling and posting a spreadsheet of all of the major nonfiction titles that will be coming out in 2012.  And now she is examining the list, synthesizing what is there, and posting what she sees as the largest trends.  You can go to Citizen Reader for the spreadsheet and her commentary.  Especially in this election year, you owe it to your readers to have a handle on what is happening in the world of nonfiction leisure reading.

For more "trendy" thoughts from me, scoot on over to my horror blog to see today's post on Trends in Horror Series.

Romantic Suspense

Yesterday, I asked you to help me pick a romance to read.  Thanks to those of you who have already left comments or emailed me your suggestions. There were some authors whom I had never read before.  Also, I tended to only read historical romance when I read straight romance, since I enjoy the historical aspect.  Ditto with paranormal romance.  I have read very little contemporary romance beyond Nora Roberts, so I might be going that route.  I will get back to everyone soon with my choice.

Another area of romance with which I am more familiar is Romantic Suspense.  Technically, Romantic Suspense has much more in common with traditional Suspense, Thrillers, and Adventure stories.  Here it is all about the action, pacing, and heroes saving the day.

In Romantic Suspense, the protagonist is always a strong female who is fighting a villain, finding love, getting in peril, extricating herself, and then reuniting with her love interest.

This is the basic plot of most Romantic Suspense novels; however as a recent essay I read in my favorite crime fiction resource, Criminal Element, notes in "You Can't Do That Here: Awkward Moments in Romantic Suspense:"

Ever notice how you can be reading a really good romantic suspense and then something just plain screwy happens?

Like…say, there’s one of those life or death moments. I’m not talking after the life or death moment has passed and the adrenaline rush is still going and people just have to have the glorious life reaffirming moment… (you know where I’m going with this, right?)

But right in the middle. Guns blazing, or people chasing them, or the bad guy is so very, very close…

And what do the hero and the heroine do?

Nookie.

This is just the beginning of the essay, click here for the full text.  Also, scroll down to read the interesting discussion that has continued in the comments.

On a final note, I would be remiss if I did not mention that despite the random sex, Romantic Suspense also happens to have much more violence than regular suspense.  It is a great option for your readers who like harder edged suspense and some lovin'; which is quite a high number of people by the way (at least that is what 11 years behind the RA desk has shown me).

Request for Suggestions

Okay, normally I am the one giving out the reading suggestions, but today, I need your help.  Last month I made the following reading resolution:

I did not actually read a romance from cover to cover last year.  I speed read a few, but actually read...no, that didn't happen.  Even worse, the romances I speed read were by authors I already knew about.  Shame on me.  But in my defense, I was finishing a book for the first half of the year and then catching up on everything in my life for the second half.  So in 2012, I resolve to read the works of at least 2 new (to me) romance authors AND review them here on RA for All. That should be interesting and entertaining.

I was planning on using the RUSA Genre Fiction for Adult Reading List to help me pick out some Romance titles, but I also have a great resource right here...all of you.

So now is your chance to tell me what to do.  I am going to read one of my 2 resolved books in March.  I will be traveling to PLA and California that month, so I am figuring a romance will make a good plane read.  I am fine with ebook, audio, or print formats.  My only restriction is the author has to be new to me.

So bring on your favorite recent romance reads by leaving a comment.  And thanks.

Trending: Literary Mixtapes

Readers of this blog know that I am a big fan of "whole collection" readers' advisory.  First defined by Neal Wyatt here in 2006, "It makes connections that extend beyond appeal-only considerations and includes the entire collection, not just fiction or books, when working with readers."


This means that when we are helping leisure, we need to do more than just give them readalike reading options.  We need to also consider "watchalikes" or "listenalikes" too.

Readers have no problem making the connections to books they like with movies or TV shows.  In fact, they have been doing this longer than we professionals have.  But with music, things are slightly trickier.  Both the patrons and librarians are not already making these bridges intuitively, but that does not mean there aren't people out there trying.

Of course if you take a book like Bel Canto by Ann Patchett which has an overt musical frame, it is easy to make these connections.  But in most cases, making the connection from a song to a book is not that easy.

However, over the course 2011 and now into 2012, there is a trend involving authors and book lovers alike; a trend I will generally refer to as "Literary Mixtapes." (name taken from Flavorwire, see below)


Last year, Jodi Picoult inserted herself into this discussion in her classically non-subtle style by writing the novel, Sing You Home, which features a music therapist.  Picoult wrote songs for you, the reader, to listen to during certain parts of the book.  Yes, the book comes with a CD.

However, a larger trend than individual songs meant to be listened to while reading certain chapters is the book soundtrack.  This would be most likened to a movie soundtrack.  I first encountered a discussion of this phenomenon in January Magazine, which links to this essay in The Atlantic:

There is a long-held belief about cinema: "There never was a silent film." From the early days, when moving images fascinated viewers in their mute spectacle, musical accompaniment drowned out the incessant whirring of the projector machine. Sound brought cinema's haunting figures into being, amplifying their moods and heightening the intensity of the action.

Reading, however, is silent by design. Unless readers add their own accompaniment. On any given public transit commute, one might find an audience of readers trying to do just that, headphones in, books open, providing soundtracks to literature. Mark Cameron noticed this on his daily ferry rides, and as he selected his own music-reading pairings, found himself choosing songs that emotionally corresponded to the words on the page. When he told his brother, the two started cooking up an idea for "a more cinematic-type experience" for reading, says Paul Cameron, who is now the CEO of the company they co-founded, Booktrack.

Over the course of about three years, the Cameron brothers set up a service to provide movie-like soundtracks for digital books, five of which are available now for download onto an iPhone or iPad. More titles will appear on Booktrack's virtual shelves in the coming weeks and months, and will eventually be accessible for Android, computers, and other e-reading devices. They'll be offering selected titles for free, but most will cost between $1 and $4.

Click here for the full essay.


One of the books that is discussed in The Atlantic essay is The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan.  You can go to the webpage which has a link to the soundtrack here.  When I read this novel, I noticed the blurb on the cover which told me about the soundtrack and where to go to listen to it.  This one one of the first book's I have seen that had a soundtrack created before the book came out and the publisher used it in promotional materials for the novel.


But it is not just author produced or sanctioned music that is being paired with a book.  Many book lovers are out there making lists or even "mixtapes" to be paired with their reading materials.


Back in September, Lit Lists ran this list of the Ten Best Songs Based on Books.  But my favorite is Flavorwire's running series of Literary Mixtapes which take a literary character and make them a mix tape of music, like you would for a new girlfriend or boyfriend.  Their newest one is a mix tape for Jo March.  Click here to see them all.

This pairing of books and music is really gathering steam.  Keep an eye out for more, and start thinking about how you can incorporate music into your patrons', or your own, reading.

You can also click here for the "Trending" archive.

Happy Birthday Charles Dickens

I am working on another longer post and have some work deadlines, but I didn't want the day to pass without acknowledging that today is the 200th Anniversary of Charles Dickens' birth.  Here are a few links to celebrate:

• Google Doodle for Dickens to the left.
• Click here to read my review of The Man Who Invented Christmas about Dickens' writing of A Christmas Carol.
• Use the links to read my reviews of Drood and The Last Dickens.  Both have a Dicken's frame.  These reviews include more reading and watching options for Dickens fans.
• Here is the NPR report entitled "A Tale of Two Centuries" from over the weekend. And another from today.
• Flavorwire's Top 10 Dickens' characters.
• Discussion of when he visited New York.
• Dickens is even cool enough for EW.
• Book Page's roundup of Dickens links too.

It is so nice to see a writer who can still capture the attention of readers 200 years after his birth.  It makes everything I do to help readers find the perfect book for their current mood seem worth it.

Remember, all of Dickens' works are available for free electronically from Amazon, the iBooks store, or Project Gutenberg.

Monday Discussion: Books for Feeling Victorious

Remember Friday's post?  Well I am back today feeling great and wanting to keep the victorious feelings rolling on.  And then I realized, I can keep it going with the Monday Discussion.

Whether or not you like football, it is hard to deny that most genre fiction ends happily.  In fact, in the most popular genres of Mystery, Romance, Fantasy, and Science Fiction, while it is possible that an individual book does not turn out happily, the series better end with victory for the protagonist or that author will loose readers.  Readers expect victory in those genres.  If they do not get it, the book will disappoint.

For example, I never doubted for  moment that Harry Potter was going to defeat Voldemort and save the day.  Anyone who knew anything about Fantasy knew that the good guy may struggle over the course of many books, but in the end, he will defeat the bad guy.

Other victories in series that really get me cheering are Frodo destroying the Ring at the end of The Lord of the Rings and the Force triumphing over the Dark Side at the end of the Star Wars movies.

There are also great nonfiction examples of triumph.  Take Lance Armstrong's extremely inspirational memoir It's Not About the Bike which has helped to inspire many people as they or a loved one fight any serious illness.  This is but one small example.

These are all fist pumping victories to be savored.

So for today's Monday Discussion, what are your favorite literary victories?  Take a cue from me and feel free to include all media and fiction or nonfiction.

Click here to follow past Monday Discussions.

Football Reads

You all have no choice but to indulge me today since I am a bit preoccupied.  You see, I am a NY Giants fan and the past few weeks have been a whirlwind of emotions.

Knowing it would be tough to concentrate on much else, I have rearranged my work schedule so that I am off work from now until Monday morning.

I have to say, living in Chicago, it is fun to be the only Giants fan that my friends know.  (Although I have made a few calls back to NJ this week.)  Everyone is so excited for me.  I appreciate the support.  But right now, I need to distract myself to get through the next couple of days.  I have a feeling I will have the cleanest house on the block come kick-off time Sunday night.

Today I have a few football related reads to help you to enjoy the big game.  Now, I know that the list of football reads is nowhere near as long as that for baseball books.  In fact, although I enjoy football slightly more than baseball, overall, I much prefer baseball framed fiction and nonfiction.  That is not to say that there aren't great football books though.

I should begin with my fantasy football team, which is named, The Paper Lions after the book by the same name by the late, great George Plimpton.  From the Amazon review:

Through the course of a long and distinguished career in letters, George Plimpton has crafted an art form from participatory journalism, and Paper Lion is his big touchdown. In the mid-'60s, Plimpton joined the Detroit Lions at their preseason camp as a 36-year-old rookie quarterback wannabe, and stuck with the club through an intra-squad game before the paying public a month later. What resulted is one of the funniest and most insightful books ever written on the game; 30 years later it remains a major model of what was then blossoming into New Journalism. Plimpton's breezy style wonderfully captures the pressures and tensions rookies confront in trying to make it, the hijinks that pervade the atmosphere when 60 high-strung guys are forced to live together in close quarters, and the host of rites and rituals with which football loves to coat itself. Of course, Plimpton didn't make it as a football hero; he barely accounts himself with dignity on the field, which is just as well. You don't have to be a lion when you've got a typewriter that can roar.

This really is a classic piece of sports writing, period.  If it is just great sportswriting you are looking for, I would also suggest The Best American Sport Writing of the Century edited by another late, great, David Halberstam.

In the spirit of Plimpton, journalist Stefan Fatsis tried out to be a kicker for the Denver Broncos a handful of years ago.  The resulting book, A Few Seconds of Panic was quite enjoyable.  Click here and scroll down to read my review from August, 2008.

A few other football themed reads I would recommend are:

• Friday Night Lights by H. G. Bissinger.  This is a classic in YA literature.  But as good as the book is, the movie and especially the wonderful TV series are even better.
• The Blind Side was quite popular as a movie, but Michael Lewis' book of the same name is extremely enlightening for fans of the game.  He chronicles how the Left Tackle position has become integral to the professional game.
• Barnes and Noble has their own list of the best Super Bowl books.
• For fiction fans, Harlen Coben's mystery series following the sports agent Byron Molitar began with the football themed Deal Breaker.
• And then there are all of these books.  Remember when I said "indulge me" above?  If you click through you will see that I wasn't kidding.

I'll be back on Monday, win lose or draw. Go Big Blue!

Romance Spotlight

It's February, so publishers have turned their thoughts to love.  With Valentine's Day creeping up on us, they rightfully use the holiday as a reminder of all the romance stories they have to offer.

Book Page's blog has this great post with links to their articles about what's new in the genre and a few interviews with romance publishers about what trends they are seeing in the genre.

I have not hidden the fact that when it comes to my own personal reading, I am not a huge romance fan.  In fact, click here to see my reading resolutions for 2012 where I vow to read some new romances this year.

But despite my personal feelings, I help many romance readers each and every day.  So, it is imperative that I stay up to date on Romance, its trends, and the fans' opinions.

So thanks for helping me out Book Page.

I also wanted to remind people of my favorite romance resource, Smart Bitches, Trashy Books. Specifically, I love their discussions.  Readers write in asking for reading suggestions and book titles come flying in.

In fact, this is something else I should point out.  As a general rule, romance readers LOVE to share what they are reading and give you book suggestions without prompting.  They just love talking  about books. And I love to sit back and listen to them.  I use their enthusiasm for the genre to help me to get excited about helping more romance readers find their next good read.

So embrace the glut of romance information that will be coming out in the next two weeks and use it as an excuse to get yourself up to date on all the genre has to offer its fans in 2012.  And if you haven't picked up a romance in awhile, try a newer one for yourself.

Vlog of Author John Green

Have I mentioned how much I love working at the BPL, specifically in RA?  I may have dozens of times, but here is a concrete example of why.

Our fearless leader, Kathy, came in on Monday and could not wait to share with us her new favorite obsession, The Vlog Brothers.  Use the link to see what they are doing.  I have also embedded their most recent vlog entry at the bottom of this post.

The Vlog Brothers are Hank and John Green and they run the social networking site Nerdfighters where they fight for the causes nerds care about.  But even more important for library workers to know, this is the same John Green whose new YA novel, The Fault In Our Stars is getting rave reviews from teens and adults alike.

On their vlog, the brothers talk about a lot of different subjects, but currently there is quite a bit about John and his national book tour.  Oh, and they totally love libraries and librarians.

Following them is a great way to stay on top of the larger issues that bookish people are interested in.  They are proud nerds, and if you read this blog, you must be aware that you are a proud nerd too.  (Sorry if I am just breaking it to you.)  As my husband told me back when we were in college, "We are all nerds here, some of us are just cooler nerds than others."  The Vlog Brothers prove this maxim which makes me glad since I have been trying to embody it for the last 15 years myself.

They also cater to a slightly younger demographic than some of the more established resources I use to help readers.  This is an easy way to see a wider picture of the entire community of readers.

In fact, listening to Kathy talk about the Vlog Brothers made me think about vlogs in general as an RA resource.  Plus, it is just fun to say "vlog."

I use blogs and podcasts all of the time.  I will have an article in the March NoveList RA News (sign-up is free and you do not have to be a database subscriber; click here) about using blogs and podcasts as an RA tool.  Too bad I turned the article in at the beginning of January though because I would love to go back and add a small section on vlogs now.

I have added "vlogs" as a tag here on RA for All, so I will be keeping my eyes out for more and will pass them on to you.  I have never used vlogs in my work helping leisure readers, but I am definitely going to explore this resource further.

Enjoy!

RA Link Roundup and Book Lovers Club Reminder

I spent the morning at the kids' school library processing books and doing readers' advisory for elementary school children.  Let me tell you, RA training on 7 year olds will get you ready for anything and adult could ever throw at you.  But I digress...

Tonight is the last Tuesday of an odd numbered month.  Do you know what that means?  It's Book Lovers Club tonight from 7-8:30 at Olive or Twist in Berwyn.  Kathy and I will be there.  If you want to join us click here.  For those of you unable to join us, we do have the notes from all previous meetings.  We are working on getting them up on the Browsers Corner website.  Currently, we only mail them to those on the mailing list.  I will let you know when they are ready.

Working on posting those lists made me think about the fact that I haven't done a links round up in awhile.  So here we go:

• I have to say, American Psycho as written by P.G. Wodehouse is funny.  Thanks to the Book Bench for the link.
• I am normally a positive person who does not like to waste time dwelling on the negative, but despite those instincts, this post on Book Riot that lists what the author hates about being a reader has some merit.  The one, "knowing there is so much you haven't read," is one I periodically struggle with.
• I am a big fan of pushing the backlist here on RA for All and if we had a backlist Hall of Fame (hey, that's a good idea; I may start one now), Henry Miller would be on it.  So when I saw a Flavor wire post entitled, Henry Miller's 11 Commandments for Writing, I clicked through.  Interesting.  Click on it for yourself.
• Here is the Indie Comics and Graphic Works Bestseller list.  It is a nice mix of new, slightly older, and definitely backlist titles.
• "25 Things I Learned from Opening a Bookstore."  A lot of good RA stuff here that you can use to better serve your patrons right now.
• There is a good conversation about the longevity of the eBook phenomenon going on around the Internet in the last few days.  Click here to see January Magazine's compilation of the links with comments.
• This had "Becky Read-Me" written all over it: Lit Lists' Ten of the Best Nightmares in Literature.
• The ALA and book publishers finally sat down to talk about eBook lending.  Too bad it was in 2012.  Should have happened back in 2010.
• I thought it was just me who felt overwhelmed, but thanks to Galley Cat's inadvertent therapy session, I now know that I am not losing my mind, "There were more books published this week than in all of 1950."