RA for All

Taft 2012!

2012-01-27T12:12:00.000-06:00

On Tuesday I was ordering new books for the BPL's adult fiction collection when I read a review of a new offering from Quirk Books, the fine people who brought us Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. The book is called Taft 2012! and was written by Jason Heller. Here is the description from the publisher:

HE'S BACK.

AND HE'S THE BIGGEST THING IN POLITICS.

He is the perfect presidential candidate. Conservatives love his hard-hitting Republican résumé. Liberals love his peaceful, progressive practicality. The media can’t get enough of his larger-than-life personality. And all the American people love that he’s an honest, hard-working man who tells it like it is.

There’s just one problem. He is William Howard Taft . . . and he was already president a hundred years ago. So what on earth is he doing alive and well and considering a running mate in 2012?

A most extraordinary satire, Jason Heller’s debut novel follows the strange new life of a presidential Rip Van Winkle: a man who never even wanted the White House in the first place, yet finds himself hurtling toward it once more—this time, through the media-fueled madness of 21st-century America.

How brilliant of Heller and Quirk to release this book now. I am already getting sick of the Presidential race and we still have 9 months to go! This book is going to have legs. I can see it going out constantly for the next year.

Add to the mix, this awesome book trailer (embedded below) which is made to look like an ad campaign for Taft. Political ad campaigns are so awful but also so ubiquitous that even my 7 and 9 year old kids got the joke of this book trailer. Thanks to Likely Stories for the link.

Watch for yourself and I dare you not to laugh.

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For more book related video fun from me today, click here.

And as we get closer to the actual election this fall, we here at the BPL RA desk have a fun display planned. Without giving it away, I can tell you that if you like the humor in this book and trailer, you will love our take on the election too.

What I'm Reading: Destiny of the Republic

2012-01-26T20:04:00.000-06:00

Last week, I finished one of 2011's best picks for Nonfiction, Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard. Previously, my book group read Millard's other critically acclaimed book, River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey. You can use the link to read all about that one and to see readalikes.

This book is a detailed recounting of James A. Garfield's unexpected rise to the Presidency and the story of his assassin, Charles Guiteau. I will not give away the interesting details of how these two men's stories were set on a trajectory towards a violent collision because allowing Millard to reveal them to me as I read was one of the joys of the book. There were times I literally gasped with shock at this book. Personally, I love it when history can still shock me.

She also recounts a brief biography of Alexander Graham Bell because Bell created a metal detector specifically to try to find the bullet lodged in Garfield. It goes into some detail about his background and personal life, specifically his family and his great frustration with all the grief the invention of the telephone brought him.

But it is the information on the radical differences of opinions in medical science at this time where this book shines. Millard slowly introduces the vehement fight between doctors at the time with the new idea of trying to keep things sterile led by Dr. Lister against the old way of the grubbier the better. Literally she describes doctors wearing dirty coats into surgery like a badge of honor; wiping instruments on their bloodied shirts from one surgery to the next, without washing a thing!

The crazy thing is, Lister was seen as wrong for wanting to keep things sterile. Millard uses the case of Garfield to show how the world was soon going to fall in line with Lister. Garfield's doctors, led by Dr. Bliss, are what killed him, not the bullet. In fact, as Millard tells us, the shot Garfield sustained then, would barely keep him in the hospital 24 hours today. To see how he suffered all summer waiting to die of an infection is quite horrific, but unfortunately 100% accurate.

While I enjoyed the medical parts, this book works because of Millard's obvious affection for Garfield. In a letter posted on Amazon here, Millard wrote, "This book is my attempt to step back in time, to understand these men and this moment in history, and to tell a story that should never have been forgotten." Her compassion and personal interest in this forgotten history comes through in her prose. She tells a specific story about particular men, but it is also our American story.

Sadly, Garfield knew he would be forgotten. I think that is what I take away most from this book. For the first time, I am thinking about how different America would have been if Garfield had lived, instead of viewing him as a footnote in our history. He was staunchly for the equal rights of blacks at a time when that was an uncommon political stance. Could he have helped to bring about Civil Rights sooner? If I go by Millard's overall argument, probably not. It was in how his death united the country that Garfield made the biggest strides of any post-Civil War President to bring the country back together.

I was so mad at Guiteau by the end of the book. Millard made me go from never thinking about Garfield to being in awe of his intelligence, fairness, and statesmanship to then mourning him, all in 350 pages. That is a good book.

The combination of Millard's engaging voice, her ability to cram in lots of details without overwhelming the reader, and her research which allowed her to link independent events of the era and show how they all played out through Garfield's shooting, long suffering, and eventual death, is a joy to watch unfold. This book may be about Garfield's assassination on the surface, but at its heart it is a story about an adolescent America going through some real growing pains, trying to move into adulthood.

Any readers who like smart, interesting, and entertaining narrative nonfiction should read this book.

Three Words That Describe This Book: engaging, compelling, richly detailed

Readalikes: Although the tone is completely different, I kept thinking of Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell. In this book, Vowell uses her trademark geeky humor to delve further into the ways in which the assassination of Lincoln, Garfield, and McKinley were played out in a cultural context. In the process of reading Vowell's book I learned quite a bit about Guiteau, and I knew the weirdness of Robert Todd Lincoln's presence at the assassination (and McKinley's later), but Vowell's book did not have any of the details about Lister, Bell and/or Bliss that I found so interesting. Together these books make a nice pair.

A search on NoveList revealed a few good nonfiction readalikes: Ira Rutkow's James A. Garfield (a biography), Kenneth Ackerman's Dark Horse: The Surprise Election and Political Murder of President James A. Garfield (as much about the era as the assassination), and Midnight Rising by Tony Horwitz (similar writing style; about the post-Civil War era).

For those interested in the subsequent McKinley assassination (which finally got the President some armed guards wherever he went), Scott Miller's The President and the Assassin: McKinley, Terror and Empire at the Dawn of the American Century is widely considered to best the best narrative nonfiction on the topic.

As an author, Millard's richly detailed, yet not bogged down style, her engaging voice, and compelling plotting remind me of a few other authors:

Tony Horwitz (mentioned above)
David Grann
Erik Larson
And the great David McCullough

If you have a reader who liked Destiny of the Republic but wants a fiction suggestion, I would try The March by E.L. Doctorow for its American History, multiple points of view, engaging voice and compelling plot. Just like Destiny of the Republic, we know what is going to happen but we are still compelled to see how it turns out.

Shame on You: Chicago Tribune Making Books Coverage Cost More

2012-01-25T13:39:00.000-06:00

I am not happy about this both as a librarian in the Chicago area and as a personal subscriber to the paper.

Please excuse me for a moment while I talk to the people who run the Chicago Tribune.

Tribune people, I am under 40 and get home delivery of your paper. We do exist. Well, maybe not for much longer now. What are you thinking here. For the record, my New York Times home delivery comes at a lower rate (education rate) and has FREE books coverage. Oh and also better coverage of Chicago news in their twice weekly Chicago News Cooperative coverage than you have every day. So, I really don't think you are in much of a position to ask me for $99 more a year. And to add insult to injury, you are going to take $99 out of my library budget now because we need to have this new section for our patrons. Thanks.

Okay, I am back. Here is the link to this news as I found it first on The Millions (whose last sentence commentary is spot on; I vote for marginalized):

The Chicago Tribune is rolling out a new premium books section for $99 a year. The Printers Rowoffering (named for a Chicago neighborhood) “will feature 24 pages of book reviews, author interviews and Chicago-focused literary news, along with a weekly bonus book of short fiction.” You can either feel validated (special HBO-style “premium” section for readers!) or marginalized (so few people care about this that you have to pay extra if you want it.)

Best Picture Books

2012-01-25T13:12:00.000-06:00

I happen to be a big fan of the Oscars already, but this year I am especially excited about 6 of the 9 Best Picture nominees since those 6 are all movies adapted from books...and good books at that.

Here is the link from the Early Word post where they break it all down. It includes a list of the 13 movies that received a major category nomination and are based upon a book. There is a mistake in the post saying that Hugo did not receive a Best Picture nomination. It did.

The post also includes links to Early Word's amazing book to film archives.

This is a great for library displays. When The Adventures of Tin Tin came out in theaters, our fearless BPL RA leader Kathy, dusted off the old graphic novels (literally, they needed some dusting off) and placed them prominently on top of the popular Browsers Corner with a sign about the movie. Those books flew off the shelves. I even worked with a 60-something woman who had never read a graphic novel before and simply fell in love with the books.

By displaying the book versions of popular movies, you are helping your patrons, highlighting your back list, and making your services shine.

Why not take advantage of this windfall the Academy is offering to us at the library and get your Books of the 2012 Oscars display up today. All you need is a small space for a few books. The buzz created by the rest of the media will do the rest of the work toward getting these wonderful books into the hands of readers.

Seriously, stop reading this and go pull these books. Show your patrons that you are thinking of them before they even have to ask you for help.

Hot Author of the Moment: Ben Marcus

2012-01-24T16:06:00.000-06:00

Ben Marcus has been everywhere recently. The other day, I heard him on NPR talking about his intriguing new book The Flame Alphabet. Here is the novel's concept in one sentence from the publisher: "A terrible epidemic has struck the country and the sound of children’s speech has become lethal."

This seemed right up my alley, and Marcus' interview reminded me of one of my 2011 favorites, The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta. So of course I placed a hold immediately. I got Berwyn's copy today. I have to say, as cool as the book sounds, it really has a pretty awful cover. Seriously, how does this lame and bright cover help sell this quirky and dark book.

But that is an aside. You can read my post on the importance of covers in helping readers here.

So, I was already enamored with Marcus when this essay he wrote for The Wall Street Journal caught my eye. Entitled "Strong Emotions, Delivered by Stealth," the writing professor side of Marcus explains how the best authors are able to get us to care so much about a fictional character that we are moved to actual emotions. This is an essay about how to write fiction but it is not written for authors, it is written for us readers.

It made me recall specific books or scenes that have really moved me. For example, I will never forget how the end of Cold Mountain did more than just bring a tear to my eye, it literally had me sobbing, and I am not the sobbing at a book type, more just the teary eyed type. I also recall leading a book discussion of Atonement during which a participant was so physically angry at the main character, Briony Tallis, that she stood up and started pointing and yelling at another group member who was defending the fictional character.

Actually, come to think of it, this behavior was not that unique. I have led many a book discussion like this in which I have had to verbally remind the group to stop getting so worked up about the behavior of a specific character in a novel. Yes, I have had to remind people many times that "these are not real people." But I also then direct the group to the point that the author must be doing a great job if we feel this strongly about a fake person.

So anyone who has ever cried at the end of a book or wanted to sucker punch a character, read Marcus' essay. I'll come back to Marcus the novelist in a few weeks with a review of The Flame Alphabet.

Monday Discussion: Favorite Genre Fiction or Audiobooks

2012-01-23T10:42:00.000-06:00

In honor of the RUSA awards given out last night for the best of 2011's adult genre fiction and audiobooks which are posted here and here, I wanted to ask all of you about your favorite genre titles or audiobooks.

To be fair, you were all not reading the best of the last year for an awards committee, so instead of asking about your favs of 2011, I thought I would see what you have read or listened to in the past couple of years that has continued to stay with you.

I'll go first. Readers of this blog know that I enjoyed Before I Go to Sleep and The Night Circus both which appeared on the Reading List and I really enjoyed the narration of The Snowman which was on the audiobook list. (title links go to my reviews)

But in the past couple of years, I have to say my favorite audiobook experience was listening to Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy. As I mentioned in my reviews, here and here, there is no way I would have gotten through the pronunciations of places and names in those books, let alone the complex plots, without the brilliant and steady work of Simon Vance's narration. I am now a Simon Vance fan for life thanks to his work on those three novels.

In genre fiction over the last few years, nothing has captured my attention more than The Passage by Justin Cronin in the horror/dark fantasy/science fiction genres (depending on your opinion on where it fits) or the pure enchanting captivation I feel when I enter the world of the Flavia de Luce mysteries by Alan Bradley. (link is to review of the latest installment; it contains links to other reviews). What is so remarkable here is how completely different these two series are, yet I am utterly infatuated with both.

Now it is your turn. What genre reads and/or audiobooks are among your favorites of the last few years? Share either or both.

You can follow past Monday Discussions here.

RUSA Outstanding Audiobook Narration Awards

2012-01-23T09:47:00.000-06:00

Busy day for awards today. Before the Monday Discussion, I wanted to also post the RUSA Listen List. Again, I cannot stress enough how useful and helpful these RUSA lists are to librarians everywhere. No where else will you find awards geared toward all of your adult leisure readers in one place.

In this case, the committee, including my co-teacher, Joyce Saricks who has literally written the book on audiobook RA and is the reason I now like audiobooks, has considered the entire sphere of leisure reading audiobooks regardless of genre. This is their inaugural list, and I am so glad to have it. Here is the link, but the press release is also attached below.

The Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) has announced its selection for the 2012 Listen List: Outstanding Audiobook Narration juried list.

The list was selected by The Listen List: Outstanding Audiobook Narration Council, whose members include Jodi L. Israel, library technology expert and veteran audiobook reviewer, Birmingham, AL; Bonnie Kunzel, youth services and adolescent literacy consultant, Germantown, Tenn.; Joyce Saricks, Dominican University, River Forest, Ill.; Kaite Stover, readers’ services manager, Kansas City (MO) Public Library; and Neal Wyatt, chair, Virginia Commonwealth University.

Established in 2010 by the Collection Development and Evaluation Section (CODES) of RUSA, the Council seeks to highlight extraordinary listening experiences that merit special attention by general adult listeners and the librarians who work with them. The Listen List recognizes and honors the narrators who create these experiences. Titles are selected because they are a pleasure to listen to and make one reluctant to stop listening; because the narration of the book creates a new experience, offering listeners something they could not create by their own visual reading; and because the narrator achieves an outstanding performance in terms of voice, accents, pitch, tone, inflection, rhythm and pace.

This inaugural juried list, designed for avid listeners and those new to the joys of being read a story, includes literary and genre fiction, memoir and history and features voices that enthrall, delight and inspire.

The 2012 winners are:

All Clear by Connie Willis. Narrated by Katherine Kellgren. Brilliance Audio. (ISBN 978-1-4418-7576-1).
This sequel to Blackout, a stellar science fiction adventure, follows the plight of a group of historians from 2060, trapped in WWII England during the Blitz. In a narrative tour de force, Kellgren brings to life a large cast of characters, including a pair of street-smart urchins who capture the hearts of characters and listeners alike.

Listen-Alikes:
Away by Amy Bloom. Narrated by Barbara Rosenblat. HighBridge.
Pirate King by Laurie R. King. Narrated by Jenny Sterlin. Recorded Books.
Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks. Narrated by Josephine Bailey. Books on Tape.

Bossypants by Tina Fey. Narrated by Tina Fey. Hachette Audio. (ISBN 978-1-60941-969-1). AudioGO. (ISBN 978-1-60941-719-2).
In a very funny memoir made decidedly funnier by its reader, Tina Fey relates sketches and memories of her time at SNL and Second City as well as the difficulties of balancing career and motherhood. In a voice dripping with wit, she acts out the book, adding extra-aural elements that print simply cannot convey.

Listen-Alikes:
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris. Narrated by David Sedaris. Hachette Audio.
I Was Told There’d Be Cake by Sloane Crosley. Narrated by Sloane Crosley. Penguin Audio.
The Partly Cloudy Patriot by Sarah Vowell. Narrated by Sarah Vowell. Simon & Schuster Audio.

The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey by Walter Mosley. Narrated by Dominic Hoffman. Penguin Audio. (ISBN 978-0-14-242856-6). Books on Tape. (ISBN 978-0-3078-7583-9).
Dominic Hoffman reads this elegiac novel of memory and redemption with fierce grace, inhabiting Mosley’s characters with voices perfectly crafted in pitch and rhythm. His rough, gravely narration manages the pace and mood of the book with astounding skill, brilliantly capturing the mental clarity and fog of 91-year-old Ptolemy Grey’s world.

Listen-Alikes:
Emily, Alone by Stewart O’Nan. Narrated by Andrea Gallo. Recorded Books.
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. Narrated by Jeff Woodman. Recorded Books.
Noah’s Compass by Anne Tyler. Narrated by Arthur Morey. Random House Audio. Books on Tape.

Life Itself: A Memoir by Roger Ebert. Narrated by Edward Herrmann. Hachette Audio (ISBN 978-1-60941-035-3). AudioGO. (ISBN 978-1-61113-792-7).
Ebert’s clear-eyed account chronicles his life from his youth in Urbana, Illinois, to his fame as a world-renowned film critic in Chicago. Herrmann’s engaging, affable reading mirrors the author’s tone—honest, often humorous, sometimes bittersweet—as he unhurriedly ushers listeners through Ebert’s moving reflections on a life well-lived.

Listen-Alikes:
Born Standing Up: A Comic’s Life by Steve Martin. Narrated by Steve Martin. Simon & Schuster Audio. Recorded Books.
Chapters from My Autobiography by Mark Twain. Narrated by Bronson Pinchot. AudioGO.
Life by Keith Richards and James Fox. Narrated by Keith Richards, Johnny Depp, and Joe Hurley. Hachette Audio.

Middlemarch by George Eliot. Narrated by Juliet Stevenson. NAXOS. (ISBN 978-184-379-439-4).
Juliet Stevenson brings crisp clarity, a witty sensibility, and a charming tonal quality to Eliot’s masterpiece of provincial life. Through her deft management of pacing and tone, she reveals character motivation and illuminates the many themes of the novel. But most of all she reclaims Eliot for listeners who thought they did not enjoy classics.

Listen-Alikes:
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton. Narrated by Lorna Raver. Blackstone Audio.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë. Narrated by Nadia May. Blackstone Audio.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Narrated by Josephine Bailey. Tantor Media.

The Mischief of the Mistletoe by Lauren Willig. Narrated by Kate Reading. Penguin Audio. (ISBN 978-0-14-242830-6).
In this Regency Christmas caper, a pudding, a spy, a hilarious school theatrical, and a memorable country house party lead to laughter, love, and an offer of marriage. Reading’s lovely English accent and exuberance are a perfect fit for the wide range of characters, from young girls to male teachers to members of the aristocracy.

Listen-Alikes:
The Black Cobra Quartet series by Stephanie Laurens. Narrated by Simon Prebble. Harper Audio. Blackstone Audio.
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emma Orczy. Narrated by Ralph Cosham. Blackstone Audio.
The Talisman Ring. Georgette Heyer. Narrated by Phyllida Nash. AudioGO.

One of Our Thursdays is Missing by Jasper Fforde. Narrated by Emily Gray. Recorded Books. (ISBN 978-1-4498-4675-6).
In this genre-bending romp, the “written” Thursday must rescue the “real” Thursday from a nefarious Bookworld plot. Emily Gray wears Thursday like a second skin, as she does the robots, dodos, and space aliens running around. The story is paced such that every nuance of pun and word play is captured and rendered aurally.

Listen-Alikes:
Blackout by Connie Willis. Narrated by Katherine Kellgren. Brilliance Audio.
The Peculiar Crimes Unit Mysteries series by Christopher Fowler. Narrated by Tim Goodman. Recorded Books/Clipper Audio.
Relative Danger by Charles Benoit. Narrated by Patrick Lawlor. Blackstone Audio.

A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley. Narrated by Jayne Entwistle. Random House Audio (ISBN 978-0-307-57643-9). Books On Tape. (ISBN 978-0-3077-0479-5).
Flavia de Luce, a terrifyingly proficient 11-year-old amateur chemist and sleuth, investigates the beating of a gypsy and the death of a villager in this third outing. Entwistle’s spot-on narration reveals the irrepressible, intrepid heroine’s prowess and captures a delicious range of secondary characters in these whimsical mysteries set in 1950s rural England.

Listen-Alikes:
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Narrated by Sissy Spacek. Harper Audio/Caedmon. Recorded Books.
Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessi. Narrated by Emily Janice Card. Penguin Audio. Books on Tape.
Tallgrass by Sandra Dallas. Narrated by Lorelei King. Macmillan Audio. BBC Audiobooks America.

The Snowman by Jo Nesbø. Narrated by Robin Sachs. Random House Audio. (ISBN 978-0-307-91750-8). Books On Tape. (ISBN 978-0-307-91752-2).
The icy chill of the Norwegian countryside and a series of cold-blooded murders dominate this Harry Hole crime novel. Sachs contrasts Hole’s world-weary professional attitude, his unquenchable thirst for justice, and his yearning for love and comfort, as he skillfully maintains a suspenseful pace and projects an overarching sense of doom.

Listen-Alikes:
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. Narrated by Simon Vance. Books on Tape.
Hell is Empty by Craig Johnson. Narrated by George Guidall. Recorded Books.
Rain Gods by James Lee Burke. Narrated by Tom Stechschulte. Recorded Books.

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. Narrated by Simon Prebble. Blackstone Audio. (ISBN 978-1-4551-0867-1).
The tragedy and heroism of the French Revolution come alive through Prebble’s distinctive and graceful narration. As the lives of Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton intersect, Prebble takes listeners deep into France and England, narrating terrifying descriptions and breathless acts of courage with a cadence that sweeps one away.

Listen-Alikes:
Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. Narrated by George Guidall. Recorded Books.
Sharpe’s Fury by Bernard Cornwell. Narrated by Steven Crossley. Recorded Books.
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. Narrated by Frederick Davidson. Blackstone Audio.

The Tiger’s Wife by Téa Obreht. Narrated by Susan Duerden and Robin Sachs. Random House Audio (978-0-307-87700-0). Books On Tape. (ISBN 978-0-307-87702-4).
In this imaginative novel, Balkan physician Natalia, on a mission of mercy, learns of her beloved grandfather’s death. Duerden’s mesmerizing voice leads listeners through the complexities of this rich novel with its intertwining stories, while Sachs memorably relates her grandfather’s haunting tales in a gentle and gruff voice.

Listen-Alikes:
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett. Narrated by Anna Fields. Harper Audio. Blackstone Audio.
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. Narrated by Jeff Woodman, Barbara Caruso, Richard Ferrone. Recorded Books.
Pretty Birds by Scott Simon. Narrated by Christina Moore. Recorded Books.

Why Read Moby-Dick? by Nathaniel Philbrick. Narrated by Nathaniel Philbrick. Penguin Audio. (ISBN 978-1-61176-024-8). Books on Tape. (ISBN 978-0-307-96967-5)
In what should be required reading before cracking the pages of Moby-Dick, Nathaniel Philbrick’s homage to this great American novel compels the listener to experience Melville with an almost incandescent joy. His voice resonates with palpable enthusiasm and calls to mind a New England professor giving a fascinating lecture.

Listen-Alikes:
Moby-Dick by Herman Melville. Narrated by Frank Muller. Recorded Books.
My Reading Life by Pat Conroy. Narrated by Pat Conroy. Random House Audio. Books on Tape.
The Swerve by Stephen Greenblatt. Narrated by Edoardo Ballerini. Recorded Books.

RUSA Reading List for Adult Genre Fiction

2012-01-23T09:31:00.000-06:00

All the librarians are in Dallas at the ALA Mid-Winter conference and that means it is time for all of their awards. The RUSA Reading List is the best award for all the RA librarians out there because it takes the major genres and gives a winner, with backlist readalike and watchalike options. There is also a list of honorable mentions.

This award is really the only place where one group picks award winners in all of the major genres of adult popular fiction. So following is the official press release with all the details for the 2012 winners (books which came out in 2011).

Also coming is the Monday Discussion which will ask you to pick your favorite genre books from 2011.

Press Release link:

The expert readers’ advisory librarians on the Reference and User Services Association’s (RUSA) Reading List Council have selected their top picks for 2012 in eight popular genres: adrenaline titles (including suspense, thrillers, and action adventure), fantasy, historical fiction, horror, mystery, romance, science fiction, and women’s fiction.

The Council, which consists of twelve librarians who are experts in readers’ advisory and collection development, selects one book from each of these genres, as well as a short list of honor titles–up to four per genre. The result is a list of recommended novels that will please die-hard fans as well as introduce new readers to the pleasures of genre fiction.

The winning titles were selected by the Reading List Council, whose members include: Sharron Smith, chair, Kitchener Public Library; Megan McArdle, vice chair, Berkeley Public Library; Alicia Ahlvers, Kansas City Public Library; Craig Clark, Akron, Ohio; Kathleen Collins, University of Washington Libraries, Seattle; Vicki Nesting, St. Charles Parish Library, Louisiana; Gillian Speace, NoveList, Durham, N.C.; Miriam Tuliao, New York Public; Kimberly Wells, Denton Public Library; and Michelle Young, Hawaii State Public Library System.

The 2012 winners are:
Adrenaline

Before I Go To Sleep by S. J. Watson, Harper Collins, 9780062060556
Each morning, Christine wakes with no memory. From the clues she left herself, she tries to piece together her identity and sort lies from the truth. The unrelenting pace thrusts the reader into the
confusion of a waking nightmare in which revelations of her past lead to a frantic crescendo.

Read-Alikes:
The Likeness by Tana French
Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
Memento (Summit Entertainment, 2000)

Short List:
Now You See Me by S. J. Bolton, St. Martin’s, 9780312600525
Spiral by Paul McEuen, Dial Press, 9780385342117
The Woodcutter by Reginald Hill, Harper Collins, 9780062060747
You’re Next by Gregg Hurwitz, St. Martin’s, 9780312534912

Fantasy

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, Doubleday, 9780385534635
Le Cirque des Rêves is utterly unique, disappearing at dawn in one town only to mysteriously reappear in another. At the heart of the circus are two young magicians, involved in a competition neither completely understands. The dreamlike atmosphere and vivid imagery make this fantasy unforgettable.

Read-Alikes:
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Prestige (Touchstone Pictures, 2006)

Short List:
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor, Little, Brown, 9780316134026
The Magician King by Lev Grossman, Viking, 9780670022311
The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss, DAW, 9780756404734
Zoo City by Lauren Beukes, Angry Robot, 9780857660558

Historical Fiction

Doc by Mary Doria Russell, Random House, 9781400068043
In the early days of Dodge City, a genteel, tubercular Southern dentist forges a friendship with the infamous Earp brothers. Combining historical details and lyrical language, this gritty psychological portrait of gunslinger Doc Holliday reveals how the man became the legend.

Read-Alikes:
Deadwood by Pete Dexter
Etta by Gerald Kolpan
Gunman’s Rhapsody by Robert B. Parker

Short List:
Bright and Distant Shores by Dominic Smith, Pocket Books, 9781439198865
Lionheart by Sharon Kay Penman, Putnam, 9780399157851
Rules of Civility by Amor Towles, Viking, 9780670022694
The Sea Captain’s Wife by Beth Powning, Penguin, 9780452296954

Horror

The Ridge by Michael Koryta, Little, Brown, 9780316053662

The unexplained death of an eccentric lighthouse keeper in the isolated Kentucky woods, followed by a mysterious threat to a nearby large cat sanctuary prompt an investigation by a journalist and the local sheriff. Palpable evil and a sense of dread drive this chilling tale.

Read-Alikes:
The Dead Path by Stephen Irwin
Those Across the River by Christopher Buehlman
Harbor by John Ajvide Lindqvist

Short List:
The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan, Knopf, 9780307595089
The Night Strangers, by Chris Bohjalian, Crown, 9780307394996
Raising Stony Mayhall by Daryl Gregory, Del Rey, 9780345522375
The White Devil by Justin Evans, Harper Collins, 9780061728273

Mystery

The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino, Minotaur, 9780312375065
An introverted mathematician matches wits with a brilliant former colleague to protect the neighbor he secretly adores from a murder charge. Although the reader knows the murderer’s identity from the beginning, this unconventional Japanese mystery remains a taut psychological puzzle.

Read-Alikes:
Out by Natsuo Kirino
Think of a Number by John Verdon
Sherlock (BBC, 2010-2012)

Short List:
Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead by Sara Gran, Houghton, Mifflin, 9780547428499
Killed at the Whim of a Hat by Colin Cotterill, Minotaur, 9780312564537
The Snowman by Jo Nesbo, Knopf, 9780307595867
A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny, Minotaur, 9780312655457

Romance

Silk is for Seduction, by Loretta Chase, Avon, 9780061632686
Ambitious dressmaker Marcelline Noirot will do almost anything to secure the patronage of the Duke of Clevendon’s intended bride. Neither her calculated business plan nor his campaign of seduction can withstand the force of their mutual attraction. Witty banter and strong-willed characters make this a memorable tale.

Read-Alikes:
Dangerous in Diamonds by Madeline Hunter
The Raven Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt
Untie My Heart by Judith Ivory

Short List:
Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison, Berkley, 9780425241509
A Lady’s Lesson in Scandal by Meredith Duran, Pocket, 9781451606935
My One And Only by Kristin Higgins, Harlequin, 9780373775576
When Beauty Tamed the Beast by Eloisa James, Avon, 9780062021274

Science Fiction

Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey, Orbit, 9780316129084
The missions of a jaded cop and a dedicated ice hauler officer collide as the fate of humanity hangs in the balance. A mystery adds a noir touch to this space opera featuring deeply flawed yet heroic characters, non-stop action, and Earth versus Mars politics.

Read-Alikes:
Up Against It by M. J. Locke
Pandora’s Star by Peter Hamilton
The Quiet War by Paul J. McAuley

Short List:
Embassytown by China Miéville, Del Rey, 9780345524492
The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi, Tor, 9780765329493
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, Crown, 9780307887436
When She Woke by Hillary Jordan, Algonquin, 9781565126299

Women’s Fiction

The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh Ballantine, 9780345525543
A former foster child struggles to overcome a past filled with abuse, neglect and anger. Communicating through the Victorian language of flowers allows her to discover hope, redemption and a capacity for love. Damaged, authentic characters create an emotional tension in this profoundly moving story.

Read-Alikes:
Like Family by Paula McLain (NF)
The Lost Garden by Helen Humphreys
White Oleander by Janet Fitch

Short List:
Deep Down True by Juliette Fay, Penguin, 9780143118510
Joy for Beginners by Erica Bauermeister, Putnam, 9780399157127
The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown, Putnam, 9780399157226
What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty, Penguin, 9780141043760

Battle of 2011's Best and Best to Come in 2012

2012-01-19T10:49:00.000-06:00

I was going through my RSS feeds yesterday and found two things that on their own are interesting, but paired together are fun.

First, one of my favorite events of the year has begun, the annual battle of the books over on The Morning News. Basically they run a bracket system like the NCAA basketball tourney where the previous year's best books battle it out for supremacy. They use guest editors to stage the battles and make the decision. It is a wonderufl way to wrap up the dueling "best of the year" lists. Click here for all of the info.

So I will let the good people at The Morning News close out 2011 in the world of books (although my votes are for Swamplandia or the Sister's Brothers).

So now let's move to 2012. I love this calendar from the people at Book Page. It breaks down the most anticiapted book of 2012 by month. I will use this calendar all year. I can use it to plan for collection development purposes, and for my own sake. I may have to start a countdown to the publication of The Twelve I am so excited for it (scroll to August).

There you have it. Out with the old and in with the new!

BPL Book Discussion: Crashing Through

2012-01-18T13:40:00.000-06:00

On Monday, we began our 2012 run of book discussions at the BPL. We began with Robert Kurson's Crashing Through. From the publisher:

Mike May spent his life crashing through. Blinded at age three, he defied expectations by breaking world records in downhill speed skiing, joining the CIA, and becoming a successful inventor, entrepreneur, and family man. He had never yearned for vision. Then, in 1999, a chance encounter brought startling news: a revolutionary stem cell transplant surgery could restore May’s vision. It would allow him to drive, to read, to see his children’s faces. But the procedure was filled with gambles, some of them deadly, others beyond May’s wildest dreams. Beautifully written and thrillingly told, Crashing Through is a journey of suspense, daring, romance, and insight into the mysteries of vision and the brain. Robert Kurson gives us a fascinating account of one man’s choice to explore what it means to see–and to truly live.

One more thing before I get into the discussion. There were no questions available to discuss this book online; however, my paperback copy did have questions in the back. I used these as a guide and did add one specific question about how the author chose to recount May's story (more on that later). If your group wants to do this book and you do not have access to the paperback edition, please contact me and I can copy the pages for you.

On to our discussion:

If you follow our book discussion reports you know the drill by now. I began by asking who liked, disliked, and was so-so on the book. We had 9 liked, 2 so-sos, and 0 disliked.
The so-sos mostly centered around May. These two people liked the book, but couldn't get past the fact that May was too arrogant for them. He was not someone they particularly liked as a person, despite the fact that they were intrigued by and completely respected him. Particularly people were upset by how he treated his wife. For example, more than once in their marriage, he asked her for a divorce because he didn't want to deal with the nagging and squabbles. Others were turned off by his obsession with seeing beautiful women.
But, overall, people not only liked this book, they were riveted by it. The combination of the science about how people see, the personal story of May (both his amazing accomplishments when blind and his courage to try to see after a lifetime of blindness), and the inspirational tone of the book were enchanting. Interestingly, just about everyone was surprised by how much they enjoyed the book.
May's Mom: Lots mentioned here. Some wanted more about her. Others felt like she was a bit too risky with May. She let him do the craziest things and always fought for him. This allowed May to be blind but function easily in the sighted world. We all agreed that we could never have been this way with our children. But we respected her greatly.
We could barely talk about the needles May had to have to the eye in order to save the transplant from being rejected. I get the willies just typing this.
We loved how Kurson integrated the science into the story. The doctors Fine and Goodman were mentioned as being portrayed well. We all also felt like this book and May's work with his doctors will help mankind and medical science for years to come; way past all of our lifetimes.
May made a list of pros and cons as to whether or not to try the surgery that could make him see again (but also could fail at anytime and the medicines involved could give him cancer). His con list was VERY long. But the pro list had 1 thing: curiosity. May was curious to see what would happen. Curiosity, taking risks, and pushing limits defined May throughout his entire life. We talked about this. Someone said, "Thank God for people like him who are always trying to find something new." We totally understood why he went for the surgery, but none of us felt we shared any of his risk taking abilities. We also felt this curiosity also allowed him to make his brain understand what he was seeing even when the doctors thought this would be impossible. That part of the book, when May figures out how to see, was most people's favorite part of the book.
We passed around my iPhone to all look at the website for Sendero, May's company which invented and produces GPS systems for the blind. There is also more information about May, this book, and his work as an inspirational speaker there. After so many failed inventions and start-ups were were glad to see that he finally had success at business.
We all were intrigued by the strength and personality of May's wife Jennifer. She truly is a patient and understanding partner.
We spent some time talking about how the book was written. Kurson seamlessly moves between the human interest story and the science. He made the story very personal, but kept himself completely out of it. We also appreciated Kurson's skill as a writer. "He uses words very well," said one participant.
One of my favorite comments about the universality of this book, "We could all learn from Mike by asking ourselves "What am I good at?" especially when we get stuck." This is how May tackled the problem of his vision not improving after the surgery. He did not focus on what was wrong or what he was doing badly. We all resolved to try to solve problems this way in the future. We could all benefit by turning to our strengths in times of trouble, rather than dwelling on our failings.
We spent some time talking about the way Mike sees and how it is different from people who have had sight for their entire lives. This was a long conversation, but I do want to mention how weird we found it that optical illusions (which we all thought were universal) do not work on May.
After reading this book we talked about how we now look at the world differently. We all agreed that we are noticing more details. One person even tried to walk around her house with her eyes closed.
As we wound down I pointedly asked the group if they would be willing to take the risks May did in order to see, especially considering how secure and fulfilled he was as a blind person. A few responses: "To look into the eyes of your children is worth it." "Examining your partner's body was so romantic." "If I had been blind for life, I don't think I could have been able to imagine what it would mean to see, so no." And, "I would not have taken the risk."
We moved to the title, which interestingly does not mention anything about being blind. We loved it because it describes May; he is a guy who always was crashing through. We loved that it had a happy ending. And finally, we decided this would be the perfect book for a coach to read and use to motivate his team.
And, for our grand finale as always, I asked the group to give me words or phrases to sum up the book:

inspirational
innovative
scientific
not-boring
thought provoking
engaging
exciting
heart warming
unstoppable attitude
motivational
ground breaking
informative
compelling

Readalikes: There are many ways to go here. A participant said that this book reminded her of the writings and essays of Indian-American Ved Mehta who lost his sight as a child and has since gone on to be a well known scholar. She highly recommended his memoir, Face to Face.

NoveList suggested a few other books about being blind. Eclipse by Hugh de Montalembert and Planet of the Blind by Stephen Kuusisto both look interesting.

However, as a group, while we found all of the information about being blind and how the brain takes what our eyes see to give us full sight, I would not say it was our main appeal. Remember when I asked people to give me a single word or phrase about the book above? Not a single person said "blind" or "sight" or "eyes."

So the true appeal of this book (for our group at least) lies in the writing and the inspirational story.

In terms of inspirational, Crashing Through reminded us of when we read, The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. Click through to see that report.

The group mentioned over and over again, how nice it was to learn so much about something technical and scientific wrapped up in a very readable and compelling story. These comments made me think about other authors whose works also bridge the gap between the specialist and the average reader with compelling jargon free prose. I have come up with the following list of suggested authors:

Finally, on a personal note, reading Crashing Through showed me once again why I so disliked 2010's The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. While both Skloot and Kurson spent countless hours with the families involved in these heart wrenching stories of medical miracles, Skloot put herself in the "story" of her book, while Kurson kept himself out of the story completely. In fact, it was not until I read the "Notes" section of Crashing Through that I even knew he lived with the Mays for long periods of time in order to write this story, that is how natural the story flowed.

I mentioned this to the group, many of who read and enjoyed Skloot's popular book too. Not many of them were bothered by this difference. So, while I cannot say for me it was the case, I think these two popular medical memoirs are good readalike options for each other.

Finally, if you want to hear the interview between Kurson and May that is on the audiobook edition, click here. It was recorded 7 years after the interviews in the book. For audiobook fans, May spends some time talking about the appeal of a good audiobook toward the end of the interview also.

Ebook Collection Development Survey

2012-01-18T09:58:00.000-06:00

Please help out the good people at Booklist by taking this eBook collection development survey.

From the survey:

Help us understand the collection development process for e-books at your library.

If your library offers trade e-books (fiction and nonfiction, not reference e-books) to patrons, please take this important Booklist survey on e-book collection development. The survey should take about 5 minutes to complete. Your input will help us put together a snapshot of how libraries manage e-book collections in the real world and will help shape future Booklist webinars, feature content, and reviews.

(Please note that we’re not seeking information about reference platforms in this survey.)

Use this link. The more opinions and thoughts they get, the better they can help us in the future.

Thanks.

I will be back later with my book discussion report.

Arty Fiction

2012-01-17T07:55:00.001-06:00

Today, my children have an Institute Day, so we are heading with friends on the train into Chicago to spend the day at The Art Institute of Chicago. Planning our day took my thought to some of the wonderful historical fiction about art and artists that is widely available.

The two authors who do the best job consistently writing about art and artists are Susan Vreeland and Tracy Chevalier. Both writers are able to tell a compelling story that is centered around a piece of art. But most importantly, they are able to use their prose as a means to capture the beauty and expression of the visual medium. This is quite a feat. Their skill at revealing a work of art with words alone is impressive.

Here are some other novels I would suggest to readers looking for arty fiction. Please note, I am not trying to be comprehensive with this list, rather I am striving to offer a broad selection of titles which prominently feature art. Since Chevalier and Vreeland are both so popular, I often find that readers think if they do not like these two authors, they are not going to like any arty books. That is absolutely incorrect. Just like every other type of book, there is something for every reader who wants a novel featuring art or artists.

For those who want a little more romance with their art, I would suggest The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant.
For those whose reading tastes veer more into adventure, The Flanders Panel by Arturo Perez-Reverte is a great choice.
For those who want to read about art in the Islamic world, try My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk.
For those who want a creepy psychological suspense tale, The Portrait by Iain Pears is a dark look into the mind of a disturbed artist.
Want more of a traditional literary thriller? Try The Dark Clue by James Wilson.
For a fictionalized biography of a Chinese artist try The Painter from Shanghai by Jennifer Epstein Cody. As a side note, you can find a fictional biography for just about any artist; I am simply choosing this one as an example.

As I said, this is just a sampling of what is out there. I tried to offer something different with each suggestion.

If this list intrigues you, I also want to point you to the Masterpieces In Detail calendar that we got for our house this year. The entire family is enjoying the pictures and the wonderfully written narratives about the art, artists, and time period in which these works were produced. It is like going to the art museum every day.

Please let me know if you have any favorite arty novels to share.

Monday Discussion: Community Service

2012-01-16T12:39:00.000-06:00

It is Martin Luther King Jr. Day today and we are open here at the BPL. Which is also why I was so late on the Monday Discussion this morning; we have been busy.

One of the nice things about MLK Day is how the country has used the example of Dr. King and made celebrating this day more than just an extra day off of school for kids. It has become a day of service. Employers encourage their workers to take the day off and often arrange for a group service project.

This got me thinking about our jobs as public library workers. Yes, you can not work with leisure readers without loving to read, but all of us who choose to ply our profession at the public library do so because we care about helping people. Our job is all about community service.

The library is a place used by people representing all subsets of your community. I know for me, being able to help all comers with any question they may have, and thus, making their day a little better, is why I do this. Goodness knows it is not for the money.

Helping people with whatever they need from the latest best seller to tax forms, to medical information to help them to understand a new diagnosis better, for example, is why I am here. When I ask you if you need help, I truly want to be the one to help you.

I still remember a patron from years ago who I helped to find an obituary in our local paper from the 1930s. For this patron it was the last piece of a genealogy puzzle he had been working on for decades. The question was simple to me, but to him, it was everything. This ability to provide life altering services to people every day and not charging them for it, is a joy.

So I thought for today, in honor of the King holiday, I would ask everyone to share their stories of service. If you don't work in a public library, share a personal story.

You can follow past Monday Discussions here.

For Love of Acknowledgements

2012-01-13T11:59:00.000-06:00

I am a sucker for author acknowledgments. I always read them. I like how who the author chooses to acknowledge and why adds another dimension to the text. I sometimes consider plot points or characters in a different light after reading the author's acknowledgements. To me, getting a glimpse into the creative process is interesting and telling. Also, I have to admit, I have enjoyed being mentioned in acknowledgements myself here and here.

I thought most people did not have an opinion about acknowledgements either way. This week I learned I was wrong. The Millions posted an essay entitled, "The Story Behind the Story" by Henriette Lazaridis Power in which she professes her love of acknowledgements, and talks about how best selling author Ann Patchett does not believe in them. It is an interesting issue to contemplate. I greatly enjoyed her take on it.

What about you? How do you feel about acknowledgements?

Nancy Pearl Teams Up With.....Amazon?

2012-01-12T10:34:00.000-06:00

I was all set to write about something else today, but then I saw this article in my daily Shelf Awareness email. I will cross post it at the bottom of this post, but the gist is that Nancy Pearl, America's most famous librarian and champion of local book stores is going to begin publishing books with Amazon exclusively. She will be donating the money to her scholarship fund, but still. Her other argument is that she is championing the backlist, another issue close to my heart. But still.

This news is troubling to me, especially given that I am about to go pick up the 40 book club books I ordered from my favorite local, independent bookstore, The Book Table. While they give the library a very good deal, and I have tax exempt status when buying for the library, I could probably still save a couple bucks by buying them from Amazon. But where would that leave me?

Jason and Rachel and their staff at The Book Table are huge library supporters and enhance our community by simply being open. I send patrons there all of the time when the book they need "immediately" is off the shelf at all of the area libraries. They have yet to fail me. In fact, I sent somewhere there just on Monday to grab a nonfiction title which was needed for school. I used their online stock search and found the patron a used copy for just over $5. If I didn't support them by buying books from them, they wouldn't be there to help me and my patrons when we needed to something. And who else could I talk to about books? Sometimes even I crave book conversation with non-librarians.

Besides, Jason and I are part of a three person team that puts on a fun presentation called, Back to Books. We will be appearing next at Reaching Forward on May 4th.

Anyway, click through or read the article below. I am sure Nancy Pearl will have a lot to say about the reaction to her announcement in the coming days. I say in the mean time, visit your local book seller. I will be at The Book Table tomorrow.

******************************************************

Seattle Shocker: Pearl to Publish with Amazon

Nancy Pearl, the former librarian and bookseller, author of the Book Lust series, NPR book commentator and champion of reading, libraries and independent bookstores, is launching the Book Lust Rediscoveries series with Amazon.com.

The series of about six books a year will consist of Pearl's favorite out-of-print books that will be available "in print editions via Amazon.com and as audiobooks via Amazon.com and Audible.com, at bookstores, wholesalers and libraries nationwide and as eBooks in the Kindle Store," Amazon said. The company's statement had no information on how non-Amazon outlets might be able to obtain the printed versions of the books. The books will include introductions by Pearl, a list of discussion questions for book groups and suggestions for similar titles.

Pearl will donate part of the proceeds from the books' sales to the Nancy Pearl Endowment for Public Librarianship at the University of Washington's Information School. "Helping these wonderful books find new readers is, for me, a joy and a delight," Pearl said, adding that she has received many requests from readers who found some of her recommended titles--a significant number of which are out-of-print--difficult to find.

The first two titles in the series are:

A Gay and Melancholy Sound by Merle Miller, to be published April 3. ("Joshua Bland tells the story of his life growing up in small-town Iowa as a child prodigy to his career as a theater producer and his most recent divorce: a life marked by a failure to love and be loved.")
After Life by Rhian Ellis, which appears June 5. ("A charming novel that's part psychological thriller, partly a story of mothers and daughters, and partly something entirely original.")

The move has shocked some people in the industry. The Stranger, the Seattle website, outlined why: "Pearl built her fame on a career at Seattle Public Library and through partnerships with local bookstores. Many of the local librarians and independent booksellers who supported her can't stand Amazon.com, which means that things could get a little awkward around here real soon."

First Annual Award For Meanest Reviews

2012-01-10T12:05:00.000-06:00

I spend a lot of time on this blog talking about how it doesn't matter if I personally liked a book or not, rather, it is all about finding the right reader for every book. As RA librarians, it is our job to think about the appeal of the book on its own terms. What about this book's pacing, storyline, mood, tone, characterizations, etc.. would make someone like it?

I have tried to practice what I preach. Here are a few examples of books I really did not enjoy personally, but then consciously separated those feelings from my work in a review:

Fay by Larry Brown
The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan
The City and the City by China Mieville

But that is how we roll in the nonjudgmental world of readers' advisory. Out in the cut-throat world of professional book reviewing, things can get ugly...very ugly. Ugly enough to have an award for "The Hatchet Job of the Year."

Click through to this article from FlavorWire on The Omnivore's decision to have an award for the meanest reviews of the year. All 8 finalists and the publication they appeared in are linked here. The winner will be announced February 7th.

I liked reading through these for a nice change of pace. Sometimes it is tiring to have to always be positive about every book. I am committed to doing it, and particularly, I find great joy in matching a book I did not enjoy with someone who ends up loving it; however, when a book really irks me, I will turn to these truly nasty reviews to help put it all in perspective.

Now is your chance though. If you want to get your hatred for a book out of your system before you accidentally express those views to a patron, leave your comments here.

Monday Discussion: Predict the Trends for 2012

2012-01-09T11:48:00.000-06:00

Today I want to look back on the trends from 2011 and try to predict what will be popular in 2012. Why don't you help me?

Some (not all) of the more memorable trends from 2011 (with links) were:

Some of these were continuations from 2010, but there are always new trends popping up.

Things I think (or in some cases, hope) will be trends in 2012 include:
[Please note: this list is to be read with sarcasm]

Libraries increase their fight against the eBook publishers for more say in how we acquire and loan electronic books. Right now, we are all sitting back and taking it. I see cage match in our future.
The number of series finally outpace standalone books meaning if your book doesn't have a sequel, I will have to weed it.
People get sick of the cold and darkness of Nordic Noir and switch to the bright warmth of Caribbean Crime.
Zombies, vampires, and werewolves are forgotten for a renewed interest in angels and cuddly animals. And just in time for my new book to come out, meaning no one will want to buy it.

Okay, now it is your turn. For today's Monday Discussion, what do you think will be the trends of 2012? Make your list funny, serious, or a combination of the two like I did.

Click here to follow past discussions.

RA Links Roundup--Courtesy of The MIllions

2012-01-06T08:32:00.000-06:00

From time to time I post a list of interesting and useful links that have saved but didn't get a chance to blog about on their own. Today is that, but with a twist.

The Millions is one of my favorite places to read what others have to say about books and reading on the web. Today they have finished crunching the 2011 numbers and have presented their list of the 20 most popular stories on their site which were published in 2011. And they have another list of the top 10 stories which were published before 2011. Finally, there is their list of the sites which drove the most traffic to them. Click here for the full article of The Millions Meta-Data 2011.

This list in and of itself is a great RA tool to see what stories and issues captured the most attention last year. It allows you to see trends and appeal over a large group during an entire year. When you are working at the RA desk, it is easy to get caught up in the day to day minutiae of your job-- helping patrons find specific books, placing holds for James Patterson, making sure you have enough copies of the newest David Baldacci, getting the returned books back on the shelf until more shelvers are hired.

It is nice to step back and think about your work helping readers from this wider perspective. I know I will take some time this weekend to read through these articles and use what I learn to energize me as I return back to my regular work schedule on Monday.

Audiobooks Being Pulled From Libraries

2012-01-05T08:57:00.001-06:00

With all of the hoopla surrounding publishers trying to rework their library lending models when it comes to loaning ebooks to libraries there is a more sinister issue which snuck into the conversation in the last few days. Audiobook publishers pulling their titles from library download services!

I understand that publishers are worried about the lending library model not working the same for ebooks (which never get lost, stolen, or literally break apart) as they do for physical tomes, but now, audiobook publishers are using that argument to start pulling their titles from downloadable services too.

Click here to read the Aduiobooker's post about the issue.

As an avid audiobook listener, I am very worried about this. I have argued in the past that publishers and libraries are going to have to work together to figure out how to have ebooks available in an affordable manner for library patrons. But I never thought audiobooks would be included in this discussion. Now Amazon is trying to corner the audiobook market and use only their services to sell them.

Audiobooks have been available for download for at least a decade already. Why change it now? Things have been working out just fine. Publishers have been making plenty of money. People like me who use their iPods exclusively to listen to audiobooks, still check out the physical audiobook to load on the computer and use for 1 copyright allowed listen before deleting. They are still selling the physical copy and the digital copy to most libraries.

I am actually more worried about this audiobook related news than about any of the ebook doomsday news like this.

I am not sure what is going to happen, but I will keep you posted.

Click here to read all of my posts about ebooks or here to read all my posts about audiobooks.

Take 10: Hot Reads For Cold Nights

2012-01-04T07:00:00.000-06:00

I am heading back from a vacation in New England today. Where I was it turned bitter cold yesterday. Seriously, the high was 5! But back in Chicago I hear it is going to be close to 50 by the end of the week.

But my brief encounter with true winter temperatures has reminded me of my student Christi's list for her final paper. She presented a book talk entitled "Hot Reads for Cold Nights." What I liked about this talk is how she considered different "heat sources."

Enjoy the list and look for more from Christi in the coming months as she will be joining the BPL RA Dream Team for the spring semester as part of her course work for her Masters degree.

Heat Source: Location

The Beach by Alex Garland
When a young man travelling through Thailand receives a map to a remote island paradise he believes he has found Eden, but the commune living on the island is not completely what it seems. Despite the warm, tropical location, this novel has a dark and gritty edge.

Duma Key by Stephen King
When a construction accident causes Edgar Freemantle to lose his arm, his anger, and ultimately his wife, he moves to Duma Key off the coast of Florida to recuperate. There, he discovers a love of painting that may not come entirely from himself. This intricately plotted novel takes place in a warm setting and has a creepy and compelling tone.

Nature Girl by Carl Hiassen
Honey Santana has an issue with telemarketers interrupting her dinner time. It’s worse when they subsequently insult her. When Boyd Shreave commits this most grievous of sins, Santana decides to teach him a lesson. What results is an offbeat and funny adventure through the Florida wilderness.

Heat Source: Heartwarming

Rainwater by Sandra Brown
Living in Texas during the Depression, single mother Ella Barron runs a boarding house to support herself and her son Solly who has autism. A new boarder, David Rainwater, turns life upside down for mother, child, and the entire town. This heartwarming and romantic story takes place in a warm location and contains historical details.

I Still Dream About You by Fannie Flagg
Former Miss Alabama, Maggie Fortenberry, has a plan to kill herself. With the housing market crash affecting her job as a real estate agent, she feels like a failure. However, her suicidal plans keep getting put on hold as her life just keeps getting in the way. This heartwarming novel has a relaxed pace and a funny and upbeat tone.

Heat Source: Steamy

Just for Kicks by Susan Anderson
Opposites attract in this steamy romance novel. Carly is a Vegas showgirl who loves the single life. Wolfgang works as a security guard at the casino where Carly dances and wants a wife and stable home life. When Wolfgang’s nephew comes to visit and strikes up a friendship with Carly, he decides to try and play matchmaker between his uncle and his new friend. This racy tale is fast-paced, funny and takes place in the desert to boot!

A Kiss of Shadows by Laurell K. Hamilton
Meredith Gentry works as a private investigator working on supernatural cases in LA. She also happens to be half-faerie and hiding from her aunt who is the Queen of Air and Darkness. When her cover is blown, she finds herself playing a part in her aunt’s power games which include seducing a lot of men. This extremely steamy fantasy novel is both dramatic and compelling.

Heat Source: Heartpumping

The Husband by Dean Koontz
While working, gardener Mitch receives a call that his wife has been kidnapped and is being held for a two million dollar ransom. With no where near the amount of money the kidnappers are asking for, Mitch must follow instructions in order to get his wife back safely. This intricately plotted novel has a suspenseful feel.

Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton
Working out of Port Royal, Jamaica in 1665, Captain Charles Hunter has just been hired to find a crew and commandeer a Spanish Galleon filled with gold. He and his motley crew of pirates, all with their own specialties, go on an adventure through the Caribbean. This fast-paced, dramatic and suspenseful novel contains historical details about pirate life.

Reamde by Neal Stephenson
A virus has been inserted into a popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game which holds the player’s electronic files for ransom. Richard, the creator of the game, and his niece go on a fast-paced adventure to apprehend the hackers and run into many more villains. This technothriller is complex and reads like a video game.

Monday Discussion: Reading Resolutions 2012

2012-01-03T07:00:00.001-06:00

Again the Monday Discussion is surfacing a day late. Such is life when major holidays fall on a Sunday; we all get Monday off. So after a joyous 4 day New Year's weekend, life returns to normal.

Today's Monday Discussion is becoming an annual event. I want to know what your reading related New Year's resolution are. Come on, I know you made some resolutions. For example, one of my non-reading related resolutions is to get my photos of the kids organized better.

On the reading front though, I know I have a lot to work on; and if I have a lot to work on, you must too. Here are three of my reading resolutions for 2012:

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 got very lazy about posting my reviews this year, and as a result, did not review every book I read and spent the entire month of December frantically trying to get the most important books written up. So in 2012, while I may not be able to review every book I read, I will be better about keeping up with the ones I am choosing to post about.
I will try to delve further into the backlist on a more regular basis this year. I had such a great experience finally getting to The Known World this year that it reminded me of all of the great books I have missed. I am going to resolve to seek out 4-6 titles from more than 5 years ago in 2012.

So what about you? If you read this blog, you care enough about helping leisure readers that you should be seriously considering creating some reading resolutions of your own.

Now is your chance to proclaim your reading resolutions.

To follow past Monday Discussions, click here.

What I'm Reading: Becky's Favorite Books I Read This Year

2011-12-31T22:00:00.042-06:00

Here are my Top 10 Favorite Books I Read in 2011, in no particular order. Please use the links provided for my full reviews.

Swamplandia! by Karen Russell: the descriptions of the Everglades alone makes it hands down my favorite book this year
The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta: a favorite author who keeps surprising me by getting better with each book
The Known World by Edward P. Jones: again, I am sorry it took me so long to read this masterpiece.
Before I Go To Sleep by S. J. Watson: a better suspense story I did not read this year.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern: a better pure story I was not told this year.
Chew by John Layman: I read some very good dark graphic novels this year (click here and here), but nothing surprised me as much as this original new series.
The Sisters Brothers by Patrick de Witt: how can I not love a book that I can describe to patrons as a cross between the Cohen Brothers movies O Brother, Where Art Thou and No Country for Old Men?

The Caretaker of Lorne Field by Dave Zeltserman: I read some great horror this year (click here to see more) but nothing stayed with me more than this one.
Centuries of June by Keith Donohue: for its ability to be original AND entertaining
Full Dark No Stars by Stephen King: not horror, but these four psychological suspense novellas were riveting and frightening, especially in the excellent audio version I listened to.

I have a few overall comments and observations to make about my reading also:

There was no nonfiction on my final top 10. I tried to go back and find something I enjoyed enough to bump one of these novels off, but I could not. I really liked both In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson and At Home by Bill Bryson, but I enjoy both authors and expected to enjoy these books. As a result, my enjoyment did not surprise me as much as it did with the 10 books in the list above.
For similar reasoning 2 other novels just missed the cut, Faithful Place by Tana French and Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson.

Finally, I always save at least one title from one of the year's best lists to start the next year off with. Example from year's past in this tradition Await Your Reply (on most of 2009's Best Lists, made mine in 2010), Olive Kitteridge (on most of 2008's Best Lists, made mine in 2009), The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (on most of 2007's Best Lists, made mine in 2008). That is a good track record for this year's selection, The Art of Fielding, to have to live up to. I will have a report on it sometime in January, but it will be an entire year before I will know how it pans out in comparison to everything else I read in 2012.
Thank for following me on yet another year of reading.

What I'm Reading: The Leftovers

2011-12-31T20:00:00.062-06:00

In my review of In the Garden of Beasts I mentioned how I love Larson and expect good things from him, so as a result, this book did not surprise me.

To show the other side of the same coin, I present The Leftovers. I also love Tom Perrotta (use this link to see), so here I was also expecting to enjoy his newest novel The Leftovers. Like the Larson book, this novel is also on most of the year end Best lists. So, I expected to enjoy this book greatly. What I did not expect was to be blown away by this novel. It also didn't hurt that he returned to setting his books in New Jersey again. (Click here for more on that)

Perrotta is THE expert at the 21st Century suburban novel. I have been a suburban girl my entire life (save 2 years in Chicago proper) and am drawn to novels which contemplate the late 20th Century into the 21st Century rise of the burbs. Each Perrotta novel has a different storyline angle but all of them boil down to him analyzing life in suburbia.

Here his lens has a slightly different focus than previosuly. We are in a world 3 years after some sort of rapture like event where a significant percentage of the population disappeared into thin air. We see this changed world where people are still actively healing through a few different points of view. We have Kevin the town mayor, his wife, who has left the family for a rapture obsessed cult who all wear white and took a vow of silence, his daughter Julie who is experimenting with being a bad girl, their son, who has left college to join another cult, and Nora, a woman in town who lost her husband and both kids to the rapture like event.

The book has nothing to do with the calamitous event and everything to do with how the main characters deal with the after effects of it. Each character has a different reaction to the event and each reaction is understandable given the magnitude of what happened.

What makes The Leftovers different from the other literary post-apocalyptic novels that have become so popular this past year is that the world for those left behind is not apacalyptic in any way. Only people are missing. In fact, three years after the fact, everything has pretty much gone back to complete normalcy.

You read The Leftovers if you want to take a long hard look at your own comfortable suburban existence and think about what truly makes you happy. That is what all 5 of the main characters are forced to do by circumstance. And they each find a different path to follow. It is as if they are all in a form of mourning (some mourning the loss of a person or people, others the world as they knew it, and others going through adolescent growing pains in a changed world), and the time we are with them in the story they all hit bottom and begin the long climb back up. Just like real life, some have made better choices than others; and therefore, some will be happier than others. But, all have to find their own way.

As usual, Perrotta's prose is smooth and realistic, but insightful in a way that makes you want to stop an ponder his characters' motivations. His descriptions of suburban American life are also spot on, but not in a completely negative way. Perrotta has a love for the suburbs that writers in previous generations did not. He appreciates what that life has to offer, but he is also reminding his readers that just because you think you are happy and successful, you may not truly be. You have to be happy with yourself and your life choices, not just with the stuff you have or the appearances you keep up.

The pacing here is surprisingly brisk for literary fiction. The first third is more methodical as we meet the characters and enter their points of view, but after that it steadily gains speed like a truck going downhill. Also I should point out that the ending is very open, but each character does make a big decision about where the next stage of their life should take them. There is no way you can agree with all of them, but they all make sense for each character.

The Leftovers is a thought provoking literary novel disguised as a genre departure. You could read it on the surface as a story of life after this event, or you can read it as a warning to yourself to find what truly makes you happy before it is too late.

Three Words That Describe This Book: multiple points of view, thought provoking, calamitous event

Readalikes: This may strike you as odd, but when reading The Leftovers I could not stop thinking about how similar it was to The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. Both novels begin with a horrible event in which loved ones are lost, but then neither book continues to be about that event. Both continue to be about those who are left on earth and how they each deal with their grief.

I read The Radleys by Matt Haig this past year also and it is very similar to The Leftovers. Click here for more.

Jonathan Tropper is also a good readalike for Perrotta. This is Where I Leave You deals with one man's struggle to come to terms with a few different personal catastrophes. Like Perrotta, Tropper has a sharp eye for detail and criticism but also a good sense of humor.

If you wanted more of the science fiction aspect than The Leftovers gave you, but you still want the literary elements, try Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake or The Year of the Flood. The novels are loosely connected.

And that is it for the books I finished in 2011. Next up, my Best of the Year List...

What I'm Reading: In the Garden of Beasts

2011-12-31T10:29:00.000-06:00

I am down to the last two books I finished this year to talk about, and both are on many of the 2011 Best Lists. I will begin with In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and An American Family in Hitler's Berlin by Erik Larson.

First, I should mention that I really like Erik Larson. Of course I enjoyed Devil in the White City, and I thought Thunderstruck was much better than people gave it credit for. But I am also a huge fan of his first book about the creation of the National Weather Service, Isaac's Storm.

What I enjoy most about Larson's narrative nonfiction is how he takes lesser known moments in history and pairs them with larger ones. So a killer is paired with the World's Fair (Devil), the invention of transatlantic radio communication with another murderer it was used to catch (Thunderstruck), and the creation of the National Weather Service with a devastating hurricane (Issac's). Larson gives us a known frame of reference, lulling us into a comfort zone, and then throws us a huge curve ball, knocking you off your feet and screaming at you to pay attention to the history (although it feels more like a story) he is telling you.

It is a brilliant method and frame which Larson has perfected. Although it is this perfection which is what is keeping this book off my 2011 Best List. This book was wonderful and deserves all of the accolades it is getting, but I expected that. Larson delivered on my expectations; therefore, when I sat down and looked back on my "best" reading experiences of 2011, this one does not stand as exceptional precisely because it was so good.

So that's my mini lecture on Larson. Here's the info on this book specifically.

Here the larger, known frame is Hitler's improbable rise to power seen through the eyes of the most unlikely diplomat, William Dodd and his daughter Martha. Dodd was a historian who wanted to change the diplomat culture. He was a true believer in Democracy and was mad that you had to be independently wealthy to be an Ambassador. He managed to get the Berlin post in the early 1930s, a post FDR was having trouble giving away, and spent the early years leading up to WWII railing against the tradition of wealth in the diplomat core and sending dire warnings of Hitler back to America. Unfortunately, both arguments were dismissed as frivolous.

Dodd's daughter Martha was also quite a character. A divorcee playgirl, she dated many key figures in Hitler's government, many of his enemies, and even once went on a date with Hitler himself. But she found her true love in a Soviet spy named Boris. Her story is one of the accidental spy. And, one of the most interesting parts of this story is Martha's transformation from one who thought that Hitler would bring good things to Germany to absolute disgust for the man and his followers.

Larson's book is about the Dodds and about the early years when Hitler was solidifying his power base. The Dodd's bore witness to many atrocities leading up to the war. They did not ever see a concentration camp, but they saw the torture of Jews and were there for a Hitler ordered mass purge of his enemies. They returned to America before Hitler began his European campaign of aggression, but they left knowing a horrible war was coming. And even worse, they knew they tried to warn the world of the problem and no one would listen.

Everything I said about Larson's appeal before this short summary applies here. He uses letters and official documents to tell his story, quoting extensively from William and Martha's correspondences. You really get a bird's eye view of the years leading up to WWII. It is alternately enlightening and upsetting to see how easily Hitler could have been tripped up along the way.

Larson's use of primary documents allows the reader to feel as if he or she is there, in Berlin, during the early 1930s, living amidst the terror and fear.

Martha especially is quite a character. She is a wanna be spy and sex crazed playgirl. She goes through men like most women of her time went through new outfits. She took a lot of heat for her behavior, but she was quite an independent spirit.

Read this book if you like Larson, but even if you haven't enjoyed his work in the past, read this book if you think you have read everything on WWII already. Larson managed to find a unique and enlightening angle to a time period that can be overdone by both historians and novelists.

On a final note, I listened to this book and really liked the narration. It was engaging and even toned. I found myself wanting to return to the story for both the way it was written and the man telling it to me.

Three Words That Describe This Book: fresh look at history, enlightening, engrossing

Readalikes: Of course there are hundreds of good nonfiction WWII options, but a few that appeal specifically here are:

Democrat and Diplomat: The Life of William E. Dodd by Robert Dallek
Resisting Hitler: Mildred Harnack and the Red Orchestra by Shareen Blair Brysac
The Coming of the Third Reich by Richard J. Evans

For another nonfiction book that takes a fresh look at WWII try Diane Ackerman's The Zookeeper's Wife. I wrote about our book group's discussion of it here. Using that link you can also find a few other WWII suggestions.

NoveList also pointed me to a fascinating novel, Every Man Dies Alone by Henry Fallada. From the PW starred review:

/* Starred Review */ This disturbing novel, written in 24 days by a German writer who died in 1947, is inspired by the true story of Otto and Elise Hampel, who scattered postcards advocating civil disobedience throughout war-time Nazi-controlled Berlin. Their fictional counterparts, Otto and Anna Quangel, distribute cards during the war bearing antifascist exhortations and daydream that their work is being passed from person to person, stirring rebellion, but, in fact, almost every card is immediately turned over to authorities. Fallada aptly depicts the paralyzing fear that dominated Hitler's Germany, when decisions that previously would have seemed insignificant—whether to utter a complaint or mourn one's deceased child publicly—can lead to torture and death at the hands of the Gestapo. From the Quangels to a postal worker who quits the Nazi party when she learns that her son committed atrocities and a prison chaplain who smuggles messages to inmates, resistance is measured in subtle but dangerous individual stands. This isn't a novel about bold cells of defiant guerrillas but about a world in which heroism is defined as personal refusal to be corrupted. (Mar.) --Staff (Reviewed January 12, 2009) (Publishers Weekly, vol 256, issue 2, p29)

Jeffrey Deaver has a thriller entitled, Garden of Beasts: A Novel of Berlin 1936 which I think is a good option, especially for fans of Martha's accidental spy part of the story. Another review also said her escapades had shades of a John Le Carre novel.

Thinking outside of the WWII box here, for another book which takes a well trod history and gives it an enlightening and surprising new spin, try The Known World by Edward P. Jones.

One more review before my best of the year post.

BPL Book Discussion: Killer Angels

2011-12-29T21:06:00.001-06:00

In December, our book club met for our annual holiday party/book discussion/movie. This year we chose Michael Shaara's Pulitzer Prize winning historical novel about the Battle of Gettysburg, Killer Angels.

For the last 10 years we have had great success with the December book discussion. The way I run it, everyone can have a break if they want, but still participate. What we do is purposely pick the book to have a good movie, in this case, we had the fabulous film, Gettysburg.

Our plan is to turn the normal discussion rules completely around and put the socializing first and the discussion second. This is always a welcome change come the end of the year. We all bring food to share, and while we are eating we talk about the book. Then we move to the movie.

I make it clear to everyone that they DO NOT need to read the book. I encourage all to come and be part of the celebration of another great year of reading whether they have read the book or not. Even I took advantage of the break. I read this book years ago and had seen the movie back when it came out, but in the spirit of the party, I did not re-read the book for the meeting. It was a welcome break.

Before I share some of the notes from our short discussion, I want to stress how important it is for any group, but especially a longstanding one such as ours, to take a break now and then. We don't necessarily need a break from each other, but you don't want to burn out on discussing books either. Our December meeting is always a nice change of pace that we all look forward to.

For more great ideas on ways to keep your group from getting stuck in a rut, check out Neil Hollands' "Bringing Back the Buzz" series on Book Group Buzz.

Our discussion itself was very short but a few things did come up:

We talked about how "real" this fiction book felt. It really walked the line between where fiction and nonfiction meet. We decided that if someone wanted you to pick just one historical novel as an example of the best of the genre, this could easily be it.
The groups of soldiers here made up a microcosm of life. For example, in the camps they had bands and played games amidst the chaos of war. In fact, one participant loved how music was "woven" into the story.
We all found it interesting to see so many different characters with so many different reasons for choosing to fight in the war. We all got a better picture of the story behind the war, and developed a better understanding of why the people of that era fought in it.
Speaking of characters, there were a lot here. One participant mentioned how you could have an entire discussion about a few of the officers alone. People shared favorite characters or quotes. We all agreed that while there were too many characters to keep track of at times, the shear magnitude of them added to the story. It reinforced the fact that there really were thousands of men out on those fields, each with their own unique story, fighting for their own reasons.
Fighting. There was a lot of it. There was blood and death and gross hospital scenes. Did I mention there was a lot of it? But this is a novel which realistically depicts war from every angle. Even my group of mostly older ladies was okay with the level of gore and violence. It did get to a few of them after awhile, but only because it hammered home how brutal hand to hand combat could be.
We ended by agreeing that this was not the type of book we would normally read, but we were glad we did.

*****I forgot readalikes on the initial post. Sorry**********

Readalikes: There are too many Civil War novel readalike options. I have mentioned many of my personal favorites in the past. Use this link to access our book discussion for Manhunt where I go into great detail about it.

NoveList also lists Killer Angels as a readalike in the book discussion guide for Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier.

For the record, Killer Angels is the second book in the Civil War Trilogy begun by Michael Shaara and completed by Jeff Shaara. In fact Jeff has keep it up, writing consistently excellent historical fiction set during American Wars.

We are back to normal on January 16th with Robert Kurson's Crashing Through

What I'm Reading: Mr Fox

2011-12-28T22:41:00.001-06:00

Scheduling note: Until the end of the year, RA for All will be mostly featuring reviews of the books I finished this month and then my personal Best of 2011 list (which is almost finalized) sometime on 12/31 or 1/1 at the latest.

Today, I want to talk about one of the most original and interesting books I have ever read, Mr Fox by Helen Oyeyemi

I feel like I have said this a lot about the books I have been choosing to read recently, but Mr Fox is not a traditional novel. It is more a collection of loosely connected vignettes with characters that overlap and intersect. In fact, I would say rather than a story, this book is more of an attempt to put the creative process into a story form.

The main characters are Mr Fox, the writer, who is famous for killing off his female protagonists. His boring wife, Daphne, and his muse, Mary Foxe. Now Mary is not real, she is Mr Fox's inspiration; however, these days she is becoming more fleshed out. So much so, that Daphne is beginning to see her and getting jealous.

Mary and Mr Fox begin a game of trading dark fairy-tales. As the process gets more heated, Mary is literally being built up and fleshing out. She moves in and out of the Foxes real life and imagination. This book is a great example of magical realism.

The book alternates between these stories (each of which on their own merit is excellent) and the story of what is going on between the 3 characters. This is a story about stories; well, at least the creation of stories. It has beautiful language, great characters, a overall darker tone, and thought provoking theme. But, there is no hard center holding it all together.

This is a book you have to let take you on a ride. If you want to read great interconnected stories, this book is for you. Personally I enjoyed it in small doses. I liked the stories Mary and Mr. Fox were writing for each other more than I enjoyed the "plot" about the conflict between the 2 characters.

Another thing I enjoyed about this book is Oyeyemi's use of African storytelling themes and traditions sprinkled throughout the book. The book is not overtly African-British, but there is an underlying vein of African influence that added to the story.

Three Words That Describe This Book: vignettes, books about book, creative process

Readalikes: Mr. Fox reminded me of many other writers and novels I have enjoyed. So listed below are specific titles which are good readalikes. Some I read recently, other are older. To see why they are readalikes, simply click on the link. Also, please note that many of the suggestions within the reviews below might also be a good readalike option.

Centuries of June by Keith Donohue
These Children Who Come At You With Knives by Jim Knipfel
Dangerous Laughter by Steven Millhauser
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff

Monday Discussion: Looking Forward to 2012

2011-12-27T13:44:00.000-06:00

It's a bit crazy at the BPL today. We were closed for 4 consecutive days for the Christmas holiday and everyone has a new ebook reader they need help with. Thankfully, our fearless leader, Kathy, trained the entire staff during the month of December on how to help people so Sharon and I are holding our own this morning. Although the lady who got a Kindle and doesn't have a computer, email address, or an Amazon account did throw us for a bit of a loop. But I digress.

Today's Monday Discussion is also a bit wonky since it is Tuesday, but pretty much everyone in the world was off work yesterday, so today is a default Monday.

This is also the last Monday of the year so it is time to look forward into 2012 in the world of books.

Personally, there is no bigger event for me than the impending publication of The Twleve by Justin Cronin in August. This novel will continue the story from my favorite book of 2010, The Passage.

I am also excited for new books by some of my favorite authors in 2012:

A new installment of the Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz
Canada by Richard Ford
An illustrated novel by Richard Russo

But now it is your turn. For today's Monday Discussion: what are you most anticipating from the world of books in 2012? It can be a book or maybe you are taking the eReader plunge in 2012. Maybe there is a reading centered event coming in 2012 that you are excited about.

Whatever you are most looking forward to in the world of books and reading in 2012, here and now is the place to share it.

To follow past Monday Discussions, click here.

What I'm Reading: I Am Half Sick of Shadows

2011-12-24T11:50:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas Eve. Today I would like to celebrate the true joy of a child's Christmas by writing about the latest installment in Alan Bradley's Flavia de Luce series, I Am Half-Sick of Shadows.

Since it is Christmas Eve and I have already read and reviewed the previous 3 books in this fabulous series, I am going to take some shortcuts here today. So here is the plot from the publisher:

It’s Christmastime, and the precocious Flavia de Luce—an eleven-year-old sleuth with a passion for chemistry and a penchant for crime-solving—is tucked away in her laboratory, whipping up a concoction to ensnare Saint Nick. But she is soon distracted when a film crew arrives at Buckshaw, the de Luces’ decaying English estate, to shoot a movie starring the famed Phyllis Wyvern. Amid a raging blizzard, the entire village of Bishop’s Lacey gathers at Buckshaw to watch Wyvern perform, yet nobody is prepared for the evening’s shocking conclusion: a body found, past midnight, strangled to death with a length of film. But who among the assembled guests would stage such a chilling scene? As the storm worsens and the list of suspects grows, Flavia must use every ounce of sly wit at her disposal to ferret out a killer hidden in plain sight.

All the charm of past Flavia books is here. I went into details about the appeal and readalikes in each review. Please use the provided links for those details:

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (bk 1)
The Weed That Strngs the Hangman's Bag (bk 2)
A Red Herring Without Mustard (bk 3)

While the back story of the de Luce family is moved forward in a few subtle ways, the great thing about I Am Sick of Shadows is that it can be easily read as a standalone. It makes for a perfect Christmas story. It has it all. The entire town snowed in (with the reverend) at Buckshaw, the birth of a baby, and some family reconciliation.

Bradley is consciously nudging us to get the jokes too. For example, the closed room murder setting is very Agatha Christie-esque, and then later in the book, the Inspector even says that it is all very Agatha Christie like. This book is not going to force you to think. It is a sit back and enjoy with a warm cup of cocoa by the fire kind of holiday story.

But as in all of the books, the appeal lies in Flavia. Here Bradley perfectly captures the conflict of an 11 year old's desire to believe in Santa with her intellect's understanding that it cannot possibly be true. As the mother of a 9 year old going through similar thoughts, this book was especially moving and touching to me. In the finally lines, Flavia is still questioning whether or not Santa is real and then she opens the door to her lab...

If you are looking for a heart warming and fun Christmas read, this is a great choice for this year or any Christmas to come.

Three Words That Describe This Book: charming, Christmas spirit, historical

Readalikes: As I mentioned above, please use the links to the 3 previous entries in the series for more specific appeal and readalikes.

Also in December of 2008 I read, The Man Who Invented Christmas: How Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol Rescued His Career and Revived Our Holiday Spirits by Les Standiford. Click here and scroll to the bottom of the post to read about it. This is another one of my favorite holiday themed books.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

What I'm Reading: Before I Go to Sleep

2011-12-23T10:26:00.001-06:00

Before I Go To Sleep by S.J. Watson is on many year-end best lists. Not only is it a well received novel in the press, among the BPL staff it was a favorite too. Just about everyone on staff has read it, and we have yet to have someone dislike it. And the interesting thing about it is, we all have a different reason for liking it. Which just goes to prove one of my 10 Rules of Basic RA Service: "Everyone reads a different version of the same book."

I believe that Before I Go To Sleep is so popular for two key reasons. First, it is a classic psychological suspense thriller which moves quickly but is also extremely thought provoking. Second, it manages to be chilling, suspenseful, and compelling with little to no sex or violence. It is simply an engrossing story which uses its narrative (not sex and violence) to keep you engaged and on the edge of your seat. As a result, it is a great choice for a wide range of readers.

I have talked about the power of good psychological suspense in the past; in fact, if you click here you can read my dirty little secret about psychological suspense (hint is has to do with where it ranks in my heart next to horror).

For the uninitiated though, here is a quick primer on psychological suspense. The term refers to books which put an uneasy atmosphere at the forefront, producing a chill in the reader; however, as opposed to horror, the fear and anxiety comes from very real sources because the monsters in psychological suspense are flesh and blood individuals who are frighteningly real, not speculative. These are books filled with serial killers, stalkers, and evil masterminds. They play with the psyches of their victims and the reader. Tension in these novels builds, the atmosphere is nightmarish, the chills do not let up, and the plot resolutions are disturbing and unclear. These are fairly literary novels filled with darkness, plot twists, and obsession.

Okay now let me move to the details of Before I Go to Sleep.

Christine is a middle aged woman who has a condition which causes her to wake up every single morning without knowing who she is. Her memory is blank before her 20s. She must start fresh each day. Her husband, Ben, is there to help her restart each morning, but as our book begins, it appears that Christine has been meeting secretly with a doctor who has asked her to keep a journal. He calls her each morning to remind her to read it. There is just one problem. The very first page of the book says "DON'T TRUST BEN!"

The book takes place entirely from Christine's point of view. We, the reader, only know what she knows, but we also know her knowledge is shaky at best. We read through her journal with her. Along with her, we also become increasingly uneasy, anxious, and paranoid. Who should we trust (we being the reader and Christine)?

In fact, this is what Watson does most brilliantly. His writing dissolves the line between the reader and Christine. It is hard to believe this is the British scientist's first novel. As a reader, it is as if the story is happening to you. And things are going from bad to worse very quickly. Or are they? Is Christine correct in her paranoia or is it all part of her condition? This drives the suspense.

Beyond the chills and a plot that starts to spiral out of control, Before I Go to Sleep is an extremely thought provoking and philosophical novel. When I could tear myself away from the book's action and stop compulsively turning the pages late into the night, I found myself thinking about how one lives a life with Christine's condition. What does it mean to live if you begin each day with a blank slate? What is identity?

Finally, the best thing about Before I Go to Sleep is the ending. Well, let me back up a bit. The pages leading up to the ending are a little too neat, but the final lines are perfect. Everything is resolved for the reader, but it is the end of the day. Christine will go to sleep. What will happen the next morning when she awakes? That answer is up to the reader.

Three Words That Describe This Book: disturbing, engrossing, psychological

Readalikes: In July, Alice LaPlante released Turn of Mind, which is very similar to Before I Go to Sleep. Here is the summary from NoveList:

Implicated in the murder of her best friend, Jennifer White, a brilliant retired surgeon with dementia, struggles with fractured memories of their complex relationship and wonders if she actually committed the crime.

There are also a few other psychological suspense novels where people are held against their will (with or without their knowledge). Room by Emma Donoghue is an excellent example here. Also Still Missing by Chevy Stevens. In fact, Stevens is a great example of a newer voice in the psychological suspense arena, although I should note that her books are more explicit.

A few other titles which remind me of Before I Go to Sleep in terms of the intense psychological strain which is inflicted upon the protagonist and, as a result, the reader, are Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane and The Turn of the Screw by Henry James.

Readers who like the very best of what psychological suspense has to offer, click here to see every post where I talk about psychological suspense and/or review a book which fits in that category.

As I recently said here:

Some of my favorite recent psychological suspense novels include, Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn, Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon, and by Alden Bell. All of the links here go back to reviews I have written about each novel. For more on their specific appeal, click on the titles.

I also created this tri-fold brochure on the genre for the BPL. It has many other suggestions although admittedly, it is due for an update.

Tomorrow, I will have a very special Christmas Eve post and then nothing until 12/27.

Wanted: Your Favorite Book Blogs

2011-12-22T09:02:00.001-06:00

I am working on an article for NoveList entitled "Blogs You Might Have Missed."

I have been compiling lists for awhile now, but I thought I might ask all of you to share some of your favorites. For the record, I will not be including any blogs that made this RUSQ article from October 2010 entitled, "A Selection of Core Resources for Readers' Advisory Service"(which means I disqualify my own blog from the article since RA for All is listed there). These blogs have already had their moment in the sun and I do not considered them "missed."

I would love to hear from you, my readers too. The great thing about blogs in their interactive nature. The best blogs not only generate useful content, but they also create conversations between their writers and their readers. So please join the interactive process of writing this article about interactive resources.

The article is due to the editors the first week of January, but will not be published until the end of February/beginning of March. I already have plenty of blogs to highlight, but I am sure I have missed some great ones. So over the holidays, why not comment on this post and leave me your personal choices for "blogs you might have missed."

I will credit all who share a blog with me in the article.

Thanks.

Bestselling Books of 2011

2011-12-22T08:48:00.000-06:00

Thanks to the brand new books blog, Page Views, set up by The New York Daily News, I have a completely different look at a "best" list for 2011. From their post:

Nielsen BookScan just posted its list of the bestselling books of 2011 and it’s interesting to note how few new titles made the cut. Out of 20 titles, only eight were hardcovers published this year.

In fiction, “A Dance with Dragons” by George R.R. Martin and “The Litigators” by John Grisham were the only two new books to surface. That means Grisham rules. Martin is a monster on the list, but “Dragons” was the first book to be published in the “A Song of Ice and Fire” series since 2005. Fans have been lined up for years. Meanwhile, Grisham puts out a book annually.

In non-fiction, the numbers were better. “Steve Jobs” by Walter Isaacson, “Killing Lincoln” by Bill O’Reilly, “A Stolen Life” by Jaycee Dugard, “Bossypants” by Tina Fey, “The 17 Day Diet” by Mike Moreno and “In the Garden of Beasts” by Erik Larson all made the show .

Nielsen BookScan covers approximately 75% of retail sales excluding big box stores such as Wal-Mart and Costco.

Click through to see the full list.

If you help leisure readers in the public library, this bestselling data is arguably more important than the other "best lists" since these bestselling titles for 2011 are the ones you were probably asked about the most this year.

Looking at the list I cannot argue. The Help and anything by George R R Martin or Stieg Larsson were definitely my top requests in fiction this year. And I know nothing about the top nonfiction book, Heaven Is For Real, except that I got asked to place a hold on it at least 100 times this year. But the fact of the matter is I knew the title because it was so popular.

Often with bestsellers, all we need to know is the title to help patrons. When someone came in asking for these books (many times without the correct title, and only with a vague description), I was ready for them because I was aware of their popularity.

So as you continue to read more best lists in the coming days (including my own), remember, as you work with readers, knowing the bestselling titles is just as important, actually, I would say more important, than being aware of the critics favorites.

Finally, I do want to publicly thank The New York Daily News for adding book coverage. As many papers drop their book coverage, it is nice to see a major news outlet adding it.

I hope to pop back in today (or at the very latest tomorrow) with my review of Before I Go To Sleep by S. J. Watson. Still to come before the end of the year, a brief BPL book discussion report on Killer Angels and reviews of I'm Half Sick of Shadows (on Christmas Eve), Mr. Fox, The Leftovers, and In the Garden of Beasts.

What I'm Reading: The Known World

2011-12-21T12:23:00.000-06:00

It is time for the year end barrage of reviews before I unveil my list of the 10 best books I read this year. Here is a book you all already know is going to appear on that list since I proclaimed it the best pre-2011 book I read this year, here. Yes I am talking about The Known World by Edward P. Jones.

I need to start this review by first saying that I was guilted into reading this book by some friends/patrons who could not believe I had never read it. I had always meant to, but never got around to it. Then our fearless leader Kathy walked up and also expressed her shock that I had never read this book. All three of them agreed that it was one of the best books they ever read.

Well, I am very grateful that they shamed me into finally getting around to it.

This book is a benchmark example of historical fiction at its best. Jones took a little known fact of history-- that there were black slave owners-- and created a completely fictional story about the life of one such black slave owner, Henry Townsend.

The novel begins with Henry's death but then goes on to tell Henry's life story and the story of those around him. Time is fluid in this novel, as is the narration. The reader gets a bird's eye view of the life of a black slave owner, his parents (who as freed blacks are disapproving), his wife, his slaves, the white man who is his mentor, and many other people in his "Known World."

It is this wide cast of characters and their unique experiences, thoughts, and actions which are the center of this novel. The plot is known from page one-- Henry, a black slave owner dies. It is how Henry got to his final days and the stories of the people around him both before, during, and after this event that IS the novel.

I mentioned that time is fluid here. That is an aspect that readers will either love or hate. I liked how I heard about characters throughout their lives. We even get to know what happened to many of them up to their dying day. I got to see them interact with a wide variety of characters. This unique, unstructured style added a mythic quality to this story.

Speaking of the story. The premise itself, a peek into an unknown part of history, was very appealing. Just reading about the structure of a society in which black plantation owners bought and sold other black people was both fascinating and horrifying. Jones was able to introduce extremely complex characters who eschewed any attempt the reader may have had to pigeon-hole them. Everyone, white, black, or mixed, was "real." They had things about them that could be labeled "good" and things that made you cringe. There was no attempt by Jones to create heroes and villains, just an honest, well researched look into a complicated world. Some people got what they deserved (good or bad) and others did not. It was just like real life. This was not a nostalgic look into a quaint past.

The detached omniscient narration added to the mythic quality of the story too. These people, although not real, represent actual people who did live a similar life. The ability of an all-knowing narrator who can see into the past, present, and future of the story and its characters added to the overall feeling that this was an epic tale of an adolescent America. As a former American Studies major, I loved this.

There were some absolutely beautiful and lyrical scenes in this novel. Descriptions of a slave brushing his female master's hair, Henry's father's internal struggles with his son's life choices, and the Sherriff's story were all memorable to me.

The overall tone of the book can best be described as haunting, heart-breaking, but ultimately uplifting. I cannot stress enough how fluid the style is. This makes the book leisurely paced, but engrossing. It is multi-layered both in plot and style. You cannot finish this book without taking a fresh, long look at everything you ever learned about American history.

As a final note, I want to mention that I listened to The Known World. The fluidity of the story lent itself well to audio. It moves easily between people and time in a manner that felt as if someone was telling me an epic story. The beautiful language, multiple overlapping plot lines, and wide cast of characters washed over me. The narrator used different voices to denote different characters, but in a very natural way. I never felt like he was trying to create voices, the voices were just who the character was to me. From a personal standpoint, listening to this complex and layered book was wonderful.

Three "Words" That Describe This Book: lyrical, new view of history, fluid

Readalikes: If you are looking for other novels which take a different look at the history of slavery in America I would suggest the following books.

Sally Hemmings by Barbara Chase Riboud is the fictionalized life of the black mother of Thomas Jefferson's children. Like The Known World it is fiction but uses historical information to add to its authenticity. It also shows a variety of points of view in this morally ambiguous true story.
Beloved by Toni Morrison is lyrical and fluid like The Known World and looks at another side of the consequences of slavery. In this case, the psychological effects of being enslaved.
Kindred by Octavia Butler takes a modern African American woman and has her time-travel back to slave times to see what it was really like. Reading about it and living it are two completely different experiences.
The March by E.L. Doctorow tells the story of Union General Sherman's victorious march to the sea. Like The Known World we see a wide picture of the people of the South during the slavery era, not just the stereotypes of Southern whites=bad, blacks=good. Both novels have a multi-layered plot with a huge cast of characters and shifting narrations.

Although there are no slavery issues, The Known World also reminded me of Away by Amy Bloom. Here is my full review on Away where you can see why.

Although Jones' characters are all fictional, and even the county in which he set his novel is made up, there really were black slave owners. Use this link to read about some books which look at this issue at length. Please be aware that they are a bit scientific and dry to read, but they are very well researched and informative.

Also, don't forget that after reading a prize winning book many readers want to try more that have won that same award. So here is a link to all of the Pulitzer Prize winners in the "Fiction" category. But specifically, a recent winner, Tinkers by Paul Harding, is an excellent choice. Here a man recounts his life story as he lays dying. Like The Known World, Tinkers uses time very loosely and incorporates the lives of many people in its story.

Look for more reviews in the coming days as I finish up my year of reading.

Best Book Covers and Titles

2011-12-20T15:28:00.000-06:00

Are you sick of the talk of all of the best books yet? Well Book Page has the antidote.

Click here for their 25 best book covers and click here for their 25 best book titles.

More On the Genre vs Literature Debate

2011-12-20T12:32:00.000-06:00

Back in September, I wrote about the trend of literary fiction writers exploring genre fiction. Click here to read my post and see the link to an essay on the topic.

Last week, in the PW blog Genreville, there was a link to this essay in SF Signal. It is a letter from genre to literature from author Daniel Abrahams.

It is both a fun and thought provoking letter.

Trending: Rural Noir [including a bonus Take 10]

2011-12-20T07:00:00.005-06:00

Brian W, wrote a very original and interesting paper about an emerging genre, which he is calling "Rural Noir." From Brian's paper with his permission:

“Rural noir” is a somewhat difficult genre to define precisely. I have also seen it referred to as “Appalachian noir,” but I opted for the more general name because the settings of these books vary; not all of them are set in Appalachia, although a few are. These books tell dark and gritty stories, often involving crime and violence, about characters in rural settings and desperate circumstances. The characters are generally either working-class or impoverished, and their environment is typically characterized by all-consuming destitution, immorality and violence. There is a high degree of variation with respect to storyline and pacing; these books can be fast-paced and suspenseful, or they can be more deliberate with a greater emphasis on description; or, perhaps most likely, they can exist in a middle ground incorporating both suspenseful storytelling and character-based deliberation.

In contrast to the bleakness in tone and plot, the prose style of these novels is often beautifully descriptive and lyrical. Indeed, I believe it is this very contrast that lies at the heart of the genre’s appeal. These authors imbue their desolate rural settings and morally bankrupt characters with grace and poignancy simply by virtue of their delicate, intricate language. This is why the target audience for these books represents a crossover between readers of literary fiction and readers of tough crime fiction or noir. These books do not necessarily conform to the conventions of traditional “noir”—for instance, they are rarely mysteries or detective stories—but the noir label is appropriate because of the books’ intensely bleak worldviews and focus on criminal activity.

Despite the harshness, these books often contain a central character who endeavors to escape his or her bleak environment, or at least gain some measure of justice or peace within it. Here, emphasis is often placed on vengeance or survival tactics. These struggles—sometimes tied to coming-of-age stories—introduce an element of hope, the possibility that the protagonist can survive the trials of his or her dismal surroundings and emerge with dignity and future intact.

Brian goes on to talk about the ten books he chose to compile into a book talk. His goal was for these ten books to serve as an introduction to the genre. Again in Brian's words:

Rural noir is a relatively new genre that has been gaining traction very recently. Eight of the ten books on this booklist were published between 2005 and 2011; three of those (Once Upon a River, The Devil All the Time, and Crimes in Southern Indiana) were all released within the past six months. The other two (Dogs of God and A Single Shot) came out in the ‘90s, and can be considered precursors to the current proliferation of the genre, although they are both considered excellent examples of rural noir. The currency of this genre is one reason why librarians and patrons could both benefit from a spotlighting of rural noir, especially considering that none of these books are major bestsellers or widely read despite the genre’s increasingly hip standing

I was both impressed and intrigued by Brian's paper and wanted to make sure you were all aware of this big trend. I would also like to thank him for letting me share it with all of you. From Winter's Bone the book AND movie to the popularity of the the TV show Justified, Rural Noir is definitely an emerging genre which needs to be on your radar.

So here is Brian's ten book list of Rural Noir with appeal based annotations.

Winter’s Bone by Daniel Woodrell (2006)
Set in a tough Ozarks community where seemingly everyone has criminal ties to the meth trade, this novel follows teenage girl Ree Dolly as she tries to locate her missing father. The appeal of this book lies in the contrast between Woodrell’s lyrical language and the bleak, harsh realism of the setting and characters, as well as the suspense-generating plot structure. Ree’s resilience and bravery in the face of her hellish circumstances gives the reader a ray of hope .

Once Upon a River by Bonnie Jo Campbell (2011)

Set in rural Michigan, this novel follows sixteen-year-old Margo Crane as she fends for herself on a perilous river journey in search of her lost mother. The prose is simple, but Campbell emphasizes the details of how Margo survives on her own. Gritty violence is balanced with tender emotion. Fans of Winter’s Bone who enjoyed that book’s strong young heroine, journey structure, and rural grit should seek out this novel.

Serena by Ron Rash (2008)

Set in the North Carolina mountains in 1929, this novel follows a married couple who attempt to start a timber empire, but their greed leads to murder. Beautiful descriptions of the natural Appalachian landscape butt heads with the brutality of the violence committed by the characters, particularly anti-heroine Serena, who has been compared to such evil women of literature as Lady Macbeth.

Dogs of God by Pinckney Benedict (1994)
Set in rural West Virginia, this thriller revolves around a backwoods drug lord named Tannhauser, a young boxer named Goody, and the grotesque lowlifes they encounter. Benedict etches these characters through multiple points of view, and lays on the Appalachian atmosphere thickly.

Rain Gods by James Lee Burke (2009)

Hackberry Holland, the new sheriff of a small Texas border town, investigates the murder of nine prostitutes and finds himself in a cat-and-mouse game with a preacher turned serial killer. The prose is lyrical and thoughtful but the book has the pacing of a thriller, and the tone is gritty and dark. It is also character-centered, with psychology of both the sheriff and the killer.

The Devil All the Time by Donald Ray Pollock (2011)

Set in rural Ohio and West Virginia, this novel follows a group of violent characters from the 1940s through the 1960s. The style is blunt and plain, the story is engrossing, and the numerous characters are well-drawn and memorable despite the book’s brevity; Pollock treats even the worst of them with empathy and compassion. At the center of the book is another coming-of-age protagonist fighting to escape (or at least find justice in) this bleak landscape.

Go With Me by Castle Freeman (2008)

In Vermont hill country, a young woman named Lillian is menaced by local villain Blackway, and enlists the help of an old mill proprietor and his Greek Chorus-like companions to fight back. The book is suspenseful and gritty, but also has a playful sense of humor that is not usually present in these books.

A Single Shot by Matthew F. Jones (1996)

Set in an unnamed mountain town, this novel follows John Moon, a poacher who accidentally shoots a teenage girl and pockets the $100,000 he finds on her; it turns out the girl was linked to a couple of criminals, who come looking for the money. This book may be the most intense and frightening on this list. It has detailed descriptions and the protagonist is complex.

Crimes in Southern Indiana by Frank Bill (2011)

A short story collection set in southern Indiana (as the title indicates). Each gritty story focuses on violent men struggling to find solutions to the messes of their lives. The tone is despairing and bleak; the desperate, blue-collar characters are complex; the style is terse and hard-boiled. Some of the characters recur in different stories.

No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy (2005)

Set in the Southwest, McCarthy’s novel—the inspiration for the Oscar-winning film by the Coen brothers—follows Texan man Llewellyn Moss as he steals a stash of money and heroin he finds on a dead man. A local sheriff and a psychotic hired killer enter the mix as McCarthy meditates on violence and the nature of good and evil. Gritty, lyrical, stylistically complex.

Monday Discussion: What I Have Learned About My Reading Tatses This Year

2011-12-19T13:18:00.000-06:00

Before we get to today's Monday Discussion, I want to recap the favorite books of 2011 that people shared last week. All have a 2011 copyright:

Swamplandia by Karen Russell
State of Wonder by Ann Patchett (2 votes)
A Good Hard Look by Ann Napolitano
The Little Women Letters by Gabrielle Donnelly
Sweet Jiminy by Kristin Gore
Before I Go to Sleep by S. J. Watson
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (2 votes)
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
E-mergency by Tom Lichtenheld
Bone Dog by Eric Rohman
The Day Tiger Rose Said Goodbye by Jane Yolen
Deadline by Mira Grant
Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow
Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard
Never a Gentleman by Eileen Dreyer
Always a Temptress by Eileen Dreyer
The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
We the Animals by Justin Torres
Sockology by Brenna Maloney

What I love about this list is the range of titles you can find here. There are kids books, nonfiction, literary fiction, romance, crafting books. Just about something for everyone. You can use this link to see all the wonderful comments by everyone who shared their best books of 2011.

Now on to today's discussion. I have been compiling my personal list of the best books I read this year, and in the process, I figured out a few new things about myself and my personal reading tastes.

For example, this year I learned that I love to read travel guides. Click here to read my full review and reasoning, but it was a pleasant surprise to find that there is a who new type of book for me to enjoy.

It reminded me that even people like me who are extremely self aware of what we like to read and why, can be surprised by something new. We should all keep our minds and options open to new types of books, new authors, new genres, and new formats.

When we, the professionals, keep our options open, it is easier to counsel our patrons to do the same. How can we expect them to try something new if we won't do it ourselves.

So in that spirit, think back on your last year of reading. What new authors, genres, formats, or themes emerged as new likes for you this year?

Click here to follow past Monday Discussions.

Also a programming note: due to the fact that the government, post office, and libraries are all observing Monday 12/26 as the day off for Christmas, the library will be closed and I will not be working. The Monday Discussion will make a rare Tuesday appearance on 12/27.

Take 10: Steampunk

2011-12-16T07:00:00.001-06:00

Remember back in October when I wrote this "Trending" post about Steampunk? Well, one of my students was listening.

New to RA for All or just don't know what steampunk is? Click here first and then come back to continue.

Jason said that this post made him realized that many of his favorite books fit into the steampunk aesthetic and he decided to explore it further in a book talk by creating this annotated list of steampunk novels.

Click here to access his Prezi presentation which includes the annotations and explore this popular subgenre of science fiction for yourself.

Take 10: Fiction for Foodies

2011-12-15T08:51:00.000-06:00

Last night marked the end of another semester of warping the minds of-- oh wait, I mean teaching-- future readers advisors at Dominican as the students presented their final projects. The bad news for me is that I will be frantically grading terms papers and presentations over the next 2 days.

But, the good news for you, the readers of this blog is that these students did a lot of great work and I will spend the next few days sharing it with all of you.

Back when I started RA for All in August of 2007, I was motivated by two factors. First, I wanted to way to promote the great work we Readers Advisors do to help readers each and every day. But, second, I had been so impressed with the work my RA students were producing that I wanted a way to share it with the wider world.

Nights like last night, prove I have not wasted the last 4 years of my life. We had so many interesting annotated reading lists and reading maps last night that I am excited, happy, and proud to share them with all of you.

Today I will begin with Brigitte's fabulous annotated list entitled "Fiction for Foodies." Note that along with her excellent annotations which strike a balance between plot and appeal, she also includes 3 more readalike options for each title. So you are really getting 40 suggestions in this list of 10 titles. These titles also appeal to a wide range of readers, and include options in many genres.

Also, please note that any original lists by myself, my co-workers at the BPL or my students get the tag "Take Ten." You can use this tag to access more great reading lists. Look back here to RA for All for more in the coming days.

So here is Brigitte's "Fiction for Foodies" list:

Baking Cakes in Kigali by Gaile Parkin
This novel’s protagonist is Angel Tungaraza, a passionate baker living in an international apartment complex in post-genocide Rawanda. Her neighbors come to her for her wisdom, as well as her baked goods. This book may appeal to readers interested in baking, stories with strong female characters, or African Fiction.

Read-Alikes: Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
Land of a Thousand Hills: My Life in Rawanda by Rosamond Halsey Carr
The Calligrapher’s Daughter: A Novel by Eugenia Kim

Crescent: a Novel by Diana Abu Jabar
Thirty-nine-year-old Sirene works as a chef in a Lebanese restaurant owned by her overprotective but loving family. Sirene leads a relatively sheltered existence, until she falls in love with one of her customers… a handsome professor of Arabic literature. He, in turn, falls in love with her cooking. This book may appeal to readers interested in stories about Middle Eastern cuisine, family-owned restaurants, or women in Arabic culture.

Read-Alikes: A Map of Home: A Novel by Randa Jarrar
Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa Alsanea
The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf: A Novel by Mohja Kahf

Gourmet Rhapsody by Muriel Barbery
On his death bed, French food critic Pierre Arthens tries to recall the one perfect flavor he tasted in his youth, a memory which he believes has influenced the course of his entire life. This book may appeal to readers interested in food critics and French cuisine, or stories about memories and dying wishes.

Read-Alikes: Food and Culture: A Reader by Carole Counihan
Remembrance of Repasts: Anthropology of Food and Memory by David E. Sutton
We Are What We Ate: 24 Memories of Food by Mark Winegardner

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender
Because of her supernatural ability to taste the emotions of others in the foods they have cooked, Rose Edelstein gains unwanted insight into the secret feelings of those around her. As a result, she grows up to regard food as a curse and a burden. This book may appeal to readers who enjoy cooking and eating, or readers who enjoy books with a unique premise or gifted characters with special abilities, especially children.

Read-Alikes: The Boy Who Couldn’t Sleep and Never Had To by DC Pierson
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Pomegranate Soup by Marsha Mehran
Three sisters, Marjan, Layla and Bahar Aminpour, flee the Islamic Revolution in Iran and seek refuge in Ireland, where they open the exotic Babylon Café, drawing curiosity (and in some cases, trepidation) from the locals. This book may appeal to readers interested in the Islamic Revolution, immigration, cultural fusion, and the restaurant business.

Read-Alikes: Chocolat by Joanne Harris
The Hundred Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi

The Recipe Club: a Tale of Food and Friendship by Andrea Israel
Lilly and Val have been friends since childhood. They correspond through a series of letters, which include their favorite recipes. Following a long separation, Lilly and Val must decide whether their friendship is salvageable. This book may appeal to readers who enjoy cooking and recipe swaps, or to readers who enjoy books about women’s lives and relationships.

Read-Alikes: A Year on Ladybug Farm by Donna Ball
Friendship Bread: A Novel by Darien Gee
The Owl & Moon Café by Jo-Ann Mapson

Roux Morgue by Claire Johnson
San Francisco pastry chef Mary Ryan is excited to begin her new job as an instructor at a prestigious culinary institute. Unfortunately, her first week is soured by the presence of homicide detective O'Connor, investigating a series of strange food-related deaths at the school. This book may appeal to
readers who enjoy books with culinary themes and chef protagonists, or readers who enjoy murder mysteries.

Read-Alikes: A Good Day to Pie by Carol Culver
Death by the Dozen by Jenna McKinlay
Tragic Toppings: A Donut Shop Mystery by Jessica Beck

The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister
Eight students gather in Lillian's Restaurant every Monday night for cooking class. Each character faces difficulties in his or her own personal life. Lillian teaches them to use cooking as a means of therapeutic escape. This book may appeal to readers with an interest in cooking and restaurant ownership, or readers who enjoy books with an emphasis on human relationships.

Read-Alikes: Georgia’s Kitchen by Jenny Nelson
How to Bake a Perfect Life by Barbara O’Neil
The Love Goddess’ Cooking School by Melissa Senate

The Various Flavors of Coffee by Anthony Capella
In 1896 London, poet Robert Wallis accepts a commission from coffee merchant Samuel Pinker to categorize and describe coffee flavors. He falls in love in the process, with his lovely assistant… Pinker's daughter, Emily. This book will appeal to readers with an interest in coffee, 19th century London, poetry, and romance.

Read-Alikes: The Coffee Trader: A Novel by David Liss
The Devil’s Cup: A History of the World According to Coffee by Stewart Lee Allen
Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How it Changed Our World by Mark Pengergrast

White Truffles in Winter by N.M. Kelby
This is a historical novel based on the life of legendary French chef Auguste Escoffier. Escoffier was torn between love of his wife, poet Delphine Daffis, and his mistress, actress Sarah Bernhardt. The sensuality of food is discussed against a backdrop of romance. This book will appeal to readers with an interest in French chefs and French cuisine, historical fiction, intrigue and romance.

Read-Alikes: Escoffier: Le Guide Culinaire by Auguste Escoffier
The Paris Wife: A Novel by Paula McLain
Sarah: The Life of Sarah Bernhardt by Robert Gottlieb

World Book Night Titles Announced!

2011-12-14T10:52:00.000-06:00

I have only mentioned it briefly before this, but April 23, 2012 is World Book Night. From their official website:

World Book Night is an annual celebration designed to spread a love of reading and books. To be held in the U.S. as well as the U.K. and Ireland on April 23, 2012. It will see tens of thousands of people go out into their communities to spread the joy and love of reading by giving out free World Book Night paperbacks.

Yesterday, the organizers released the 30 books that will be offered for giveaway in the United States. They are (in alphabetical by author):

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson (Speak)
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (Ballantine)
Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger (Da Capo)
Kindred by Octavia E. Butler (Beacon Press)
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card (Tor)
Little Bee by Chris Cleave (Simon & Schuster)
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic)
Blood Work by Michael Connelly (Grand Central)
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz (Riverhead); a Spanish-language edition, La breve y maravillosa vida de Óscar Wao (Vintage Espanol), will also be made available.
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo (Candlewick)
Zeitoun by Dave Eggers (Vintage)
Peace Like a River by Leif Enger (Grove Atlantic)
A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick (Algonquin)
Q Is for Quarry by Sue Grafton (Berkley)
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead)
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving (Ballantine)
The Stand by Stephen King (Anchor)
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (Perennial)
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss (W.W. Norton)
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri (Mariner)
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien (Mariner)
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett (Perennial)
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult (Atria)
Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson (Picador)
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (Back Bay)
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (Broadway)
Just Kids by Patti Smith (Ecco)
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls (Scribner)
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (Knopf Books for Young Readers)

Click here to read more about how the books were chosen.

Readers of RA for All, it is time for us to unite! I would love for you all to participate in some way. Anyone can sign up to be a book giver. If you work at a library or school, the organizers ask that you simply note that in your comments field. Click here to start the process. You will be allowed to choose your top three titles and will have to explain why you want to be a part of the this wonderful event. But honestly, if you chose to read RA for All, that explanation should be easy for you.

I just signed the BPL up to be a giver. Please join us in this wonderful global event to celebrate the power of reading. They are trying to get 500,000 people signed up to give away a million free books by February 1, and all you have to do it click here to be a part of it all.

I have started a new tag, "world book night" under which I will be compiling any news about this event in the coming months.