Now, many times these books are too popular for us to get our hands on. Other times we have no desire to read them despite their popularity. But the good news on both these fronts is that these huge event books are written about and talked about so much that we can normally help patrons without ever reading the book.
Let me be clear however, I am not outright advocating for you to lie to a patron if he or she asks you if you have read the book in question. Instead you can say, "The holds list is very long and I want patrons to read it first; besides, I have read a lot about it and have helped many happy patrons using what I know about the book and its appeal." But, if they don't ask you, you can easily pretend that you have read the book.
So maybe the title of this post is misleading. I am not talking about "faking" that I have read a book, just not admitting that I have not read it and not correcting the perception that I have. Rather, I tend to encourage that perception because it makes the patron more comfortable.
My book is The Hunger Games. Back in 2012 I wrote a longer post about having never read it, but how I still helped many patrons who wanted readalikes. I even had a few people email me to express surprise. I have written so much about the book, they had assumed that I had read it. But, as they noted, I never said anywhere that I had read it. Click through to read that full post.
Now it's your turn. For today's Monday Discussion, what book(s) have you helped a lot of patrons with that you have never read for yourself. We all have them. Time to come clean.
For past Monday Discussions, click here.
Besides "The Fault in Our Stars," I have fibbed my way through promoting all of John Green's novels. I plan on reading them eventually, but haven't had the time and enough has been said about them that I feel as though I have read them.
ReplyDeleteOh, and "The Catcher in the Rye." I might be the only person in the world that hasn't read it, but I can talk your ear off about it!
Not long ago a woman wanted to know specifically about the time travel aspect in Landline; she doesn't like sci-fi and didn't want a book that was too sci-fi. I hadn't read the book but I had read enough reviews to explain exactly how the reaching across time thing worked in the book, and that I didn't consider it a science fiction book really; and she decided to take it.
ReplyDeleteI usually am up front about whether or not I've read the book, but I find it so hard when people talk about how much they love Patterson. I have to keep a mild smile when I really want to stick out my tongue!
ReplyDeleteI have read James Patterson's Maximum Ride books, but none of his adult books. I listen closely to what patrons say when they return the books, so that I can suggest them if I need to. Also, I pay attention to what Patterson's fans are reading, so if someone comes in and wants something like him, I can suggest other authors.
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