Display Idea: Books We Have Faked Reading

One of my favorite book news resources is the Shelf Awareness free daily newsletter for booksellers and librarians. When they have an author interview, one of the questions they ask is "What is a book you have faked reading?"

I love this question because it twists the idea of every writer being some sort of elevated being that can do no wrong. It is not even close to what you think they will be asked. And even though I know it is coming, and whether or not I care about the author being profiled, I read every answer to this question. It its fascinating.

I talk about doing something similar in my booktalk training programs (see slide 8) when I encourage you to surprise your patrons by starting a conversation with, "What is your least favorite type of book?" 

This question will make your patrons do a double take and look at you as if saying, "Did you really just ask me what I don't like?" 

We need ways to shake people out of the same old, same old. This is why surprising them with authentic questions that are clearly meant to spark a conversation is key.

Back to Shelf Awareness and their similarly shocking question, "What is a book you have faked reading?" 

This is a GREAT idea for a display and/or an online conversation. Send around this question to all staff and explain that you want to get up a display of titles that answer this question, and you want to start with everyone who works at the library. Then get up the book display and make sure you ask patrons to add their own titles to the list. Have them add a post-it notes to a board, put a slip of paper in a box, or add their title online. This display will work best virtually on Facebook as a conversation and on Instagram after you post a photo of the display and ask for comments.

Oh, and don't forget, my overall best advice for interactive RA, get this question on a bookmark and put it in every book on the hold shelf for 3 weeks. Even if only 10% of them come back with an answer, that is a LOT of titles to add to this fun display.

I promise you, people will do a double take when they see a title over a display that reads, "Books We Have Faked Reading." Fill it up because I know there are plenty of titles, and for staff, many of then are going to be bestsellers which will shock your patrons even more.

Now, and I know these people are out there, some of you bosses are going to not love this idea because it uses a perceived negative to get people's attention. However, that is not true, and here are your counter arguments.

1. It is a question from the highly respected Shelf Awareness newsletter. 
2. We want to showcase that every reader has a different taste in books and that we cater to all of them. Acknowledging what works for some people and not others is a great way to engage our patrons in more nuanced conversations about what they like and why.
3. This display shows we want to listen. We are asking something that could be perceived as a negative. It will get their attention and encourages engagement with more nuance.
4. Finally, these more nuanced conversations lead to us being able to craft more responsive collections AND the relationships created by these conversations have been shown to lead to more checkouts.

There is a larger mission here. We are not trying to be snarky. It might seem cheeky to put up a "Books We Have Faked Reading Display," but in reality, it will increase satisfaction, engagement, and participation from your patrons.

And it is fun.