RUSA CODES Conversation-- RA 101 With my Editors and Friends Joyce Saricks and Neal Wyatt

So one thing I have learned being a RA trainer is that library staff are clamoring for the basics. Libraries are realizing that getting their entire staff on board behind promoting patrons’ leisure needs is imperative. Creating conversations around books, movies, audio books, all the things we circulate for patrons’ wants, this is an activity that is key to our mission and one that all staff can participate in at some level.

When I started doing this RA training thing full time, I thought that I would be doing all second level RA training. I wrongly thought that everyone knew the basics. Nope. What I found is my basics classes are the most requested-- for current practitioners to get a refresher and to recruit new staff to provide basic RA-- still 3 full years later.

The RUSA CODES Research and Trends Committee also noticed this and asked Joyce Saricks and Neal Wyatt to help them answer people’s questions in the next CODES Convo.  

The details on this one day, email event are below. I normally only lurk on these, but since this is my specialty, I am scheduling time to participate too.

Please consider joining us and getting some of your co-workers subscribed too. Even if all you do is follow along [live or after the fact], it would make for a great conversation in a staff meeting later.

I will also post the notes here on the blog when they are available a few days after the event. Below are the details on how you can subscribe.  I hope to “see” you there.

CODES Conversations: RA 101April 24, 2018 10am-6pm EST 

What are the key ideas, practices and sources everyone should be learningabout as they begin to do readers' advisory work? Join us and special guestmoderators Joyce Saricks and Neal Wyatt and bring your questions, suggestionsand advice! 

CODES Conversations are focused electronic conversations on issues facingcollection development and readers’ advisory librarians—or anyone interestedin those areas. The conversations are open to all who wish to participate (orlurk)! 

Use this link to join us! http://lists.ala.org/sympa/info/codes-convos

RA for All: Call to Action-- Joyce Saricks Calls Us All to Action

The Call to Action was on a vacation [along with me], but I am bringing it back today with a very special edition.  In the August 2016 issue of Booklist, Joyce Saricks offers up her final At Leisure column:

Librarians are skilled at changing with the times, and now it’s time for me to change. I’m not leaving Booklist; you’ll still find me happily writing reviews and features in the audio section, but I will no longer be writing this column. For the past 12 years, I’ve shared my pleasure in the art of readers’ advisory, offering tips and trying to give librarians a foundation from which to create their own readers’-advisory service. Looking back, I realize how fortunate I was to have a platform from which to share my thoughts, and I’m forever grateful to Bill Ott and Booklist for giving me that. As I step down from this column, I hope you’ll indulge me one last time, as I mention four things we don’t have to do to practice readers’ advisory and four things we should always do in that same pursuit.

Joyce is my colleague and friend but she was my teacher first. Everything I have learned, began with her. That means every thing you learn from me, has it’s roots with Joyce.

When she told me she was leaving her column behind she was a little sad [as was I], but she also knew it was time.  As she told me, this column needs to be written by someone who works on the front lines at a library every single day helping readers. As much as she still has to teach all of us, Joyce knew it was time to pass this torch.

Please click through to read the entire column-- her four things you don’t have to do to be good at RA and the four things you must do.  But first, let me share her final paragraph which could read like a thesis statement for these Call to Actions and really everything I do here on RA for All.

Our job is to ensure that readers feel safe and comfortable talking about the stories they appreciate and requesting materials for their leisure time. We share titles and permission to read and enjoy anything and everything. We offer free access to the world of stories, which provide food for our spirits, our emotions, and our intellects. My last piece of advice: read, enjoy, and share the pleasure.

This is a Call to Action we can all get behind.

New Issue of Corner Shelf Featuring Joyce Saricks’ Column on Psychological Suspense

I’m back from the Columbus Day holiday.....

Yesterday, a new issue of The Corner Shelf-- Booklist’s newsletter on “Where Readers' Advisory Meets Collection Development” came out. Click here to access the entire issue.

Here is the editor’s note which previews the issue:

No matter how widely read we consider ourselves to be, every librarian has a favorite genre or two. I like to think a healthy mix of reading preferences makes for a better library staff, and so I'm giving all of you who consider yourself "book floozies" (I prefer to call myself "the Booklist slattern") permission to celebrate your love of anything deemed nonserious. Nicolette Warisse Sosulski provides the "Real Life Reference" column for our Top Shelf Referencenewsletter, and I'm delighted to give her the opportunity to show her fiction skills off to Corner Shelf readers with her feature, "I Am a Book Floozy.” 

This issue also features part 2 of Robin Bradford's interview series featuring self-published authors, a new "Weeding Tips" column, and a look at how our sponsor, Baker & Taylor, seeks customer satisfaction in "At the Corner of Baker & Taylor: In Pursuit of Customer Delight." And just in time for Halloween reading, a link to Joyce Saricks' recent "At Leisure" column, focusing on creepy psychological suspense. 

As always, I love to hear about what you'd like to see featured in Corner Shelf, particularly if you are interested in submitting a feature item. Get in touch with me at rvnuk@ala.org. 

—Rebecca Vnuk, Editor, Reference and Collection Management, Booklist

Although the entire issue is worth your time, I did want to take a moment to point out Joyce’s Saricks’ column this month both because it is useful AND the link in the newsletter is wrong.

It’s all about my favorite genre-- psychological suspense [link goes to all RA for All posts tagged with that genre].

Psychological Suspense is a great genre to suggest at Halloween time, as Joyce describes in the column at length.

When Joyce and I taught together [beginning back in 2004], we were always advocating for people to consider psychological suspense as its own genre. For many years, it was an uphill battle.  I am so glad others have begun to enjoy it as much as we always have.

Back tomorrow with some reviews.

And don’t forget, RA for All Horror is going strong with a post a day all month.

Audiobook Appeal and More for Audiobook Month

So it is no secret here that I am a huge consumer of audiobooks.  I have not always been, however.  In fact, I can trace my conversion from audiobook illiterate to fiend to one person...Joyce Saricks.

Currently, Joyce is the Audio Editor over at Booklist. But before that, we co-taught a RA class for over 7 years together. Since we had a day when we discussed audiobooks included in the syllabus, I was forced to start listening to audiobooks on a more regular basis [so I could know what I was talking about]. I had Joyce help me pick out those first few titles, and now, I have become quite adept at helping myself and others with this format.

You can click here to see my many posts on helping readers to find the right audio book for them.

And now it is June, which in case you didn’t know is audiobook month. As I am sure you can guess, Joyce and her employer have a lot of great information to share with all of us.  I cannot think of a better person to explain the joy of audiobooks to you, so I have compiled a few links for you today:

• This month’s At Leisure column by Joyce is entitled “Listening for the Appeal of Audiobooks.” Read it. I promise it will help you to help readers.
• The He Reads and She Reads columns this month have been retitled, He Listens and She Listens.  So click here to see David Wright’s favorite female narrators and here to see Kaite Mediatore Stover’s favorite male narrators. 
• There is also the annual Voice of Choice honor given out by Booklist. This year it is narrator Kirby Hayborne.
• Finally, click here for all of the Audiobook Month coverage from Booklist compiled in The Booklist Reader.

For all things audiobooks on RA for All, click here including my list of my favorite audiobook resources.

RA 763's Blog Getting Some Love

Thanks to my friends Rebecca and Karen over on the fabulous Booklist Shelf Renewal blog for making the blog of my students, RA 763's Blog, their Web Crush of the Week.

From their post:

One of the assignments is that the students must contribute to the class blog. Students are given free range to read any 5 books that interest them and post reviews on the RA 763 Blog. They must use the language of appeal in their annotations, provide 3 fiction readalikes and 3 nonfiction readalikes with a comment for each as to why the title fits as a similar read, and are encouraged to give at least one “outside the box” suggestion.

Joyce Saricks and I are so happy to share the great work our students do.

Final Student Annotation Day: Plug For Their Blog

I am taking a break from the review-a-polooza today in honor of my last lecture of the semester.

My Fall 2012 RA students in LIS 763 at Dominican University have been one of the best overall groups I have had in awhile.  While normally, at least half of the students are engaged and add positively to the class, there are often a few students each semester who either cause me trouble or really do not give their full effort.  As a teacher that is frustrating, and unfortunately, it taints your view of the group as a whole.

I am so pleased that this semester, that was not the case.  Overall they are a wonderful group who are engaged, they keep improving, and they care about doing their best.  Tonight is my last chance to teach them because next week they turn in their final papers and half of them give a presentation.  Then it is goodbye to the group.  One student, Elizabeth will turn up on the blog next semester as "Intern Elizabeth," filling the shoes of fabulous "Intern Christi" from Spring 2012 and awesome "Intern Bill"who just completed his practicum, and thus his Masters Degree, this past Monday. Congrats Bill.  [P.S., if you have a job out there in the Chicago area, contact me about Bill.]

Back to the current batch of students.  I have not been as annoying about reminding you to check out their Student Blog every single week as I have been in semesters' past.  But today, hours before their final posts go live, I do want to remind you of what a wonderful resource their blog is.

I am not exaggerating when I tell you I consult RA 763's Blog on a regular basis to help my patrons.  The students are given free range to read any 5 books that interest them as long as they each fit a separate category.  The approved categories are genre and format designations which can be seen and accessed in the right gutter of the blog.

So as a first use of this resources, you can pull up a list of titles considered "Gentle Reads" or "Inspirational" as well as more traditional genre designations like "Fantasy" or "Mystery." It just takes one click, and since the students all have different reading tastes and they can pick any book in a given category, the blog has a huge range of annotations available for each category.  Many blogs have a tight focus, but breadth is our mantra here. I want the students to have as wide an experience as possible. If you use the blog to help patrons, you will reap the benefits.

Second, students are required to use the language of appeal in their annotations.  These terms are then converted into tags, but they also appear in the body of each entry.  As a result, you can do a natural language search in the search box at the top of the right gutter for "compelling, character centered and humorous" and get at least 2 pages of results.  You can also choose a sinlge appeal term from the tags cloud by clicking on it-- here is what you get when you click on "character centered."  And, there is still more.  If you read a post and are drawn to a specific appeal term, especially if it is not one of the most popular, so as a result does not appear in the tag cloud, at the end of each annotation, you can simply click on the hyperlinked term to pull up more-- here is what you get when you click on "closely observed characters;" which is a very specific but helpful appeal term.  I really do not know another resource that gives you this many appeal access points for a given title.

Third, the students are required to provide 3 fiction readalikes and 3 nonfiction readalikes with a comment for each as to why the title fits as a similar read.  That is 6 readalikes for every title! And, they are encouraged to give at least one "outside the box" suggestion out of the six, so you won't see only the same old, same old suggestions here.

Fourth, since Joyce and I have been keeping this blog for 3 full years now, the number of titles is huge!  And, as an added bonus, some more popular books have more than one annotation, giving you different perspectives on the same book. And, in reference to the third reason above, it also gives you more readalike options.

Fifth, it would be hard to find a resource where the content is created with more effort and enthusiasm. Look, let's be honest, they are doing this for a grade.  They are library graduate students; these are men and women who want a good grade.  They put a lot of effort into each of their 5 published annotations.  I would argue that there are times that I put in less effort on a review than they do on an annotation. Use their effort to your advantage by using the blog as a resource to help a patron.  The students will make you look like a RA star!

So congrats to the students for being almost done with class.  And to you library workers out there, don't forget to use their hard work to your advantage.  This is an under used resource that I would highly recommend.  I am very proud of their work.  Click here to access RA 763's Blog right now.  For future reference, I always have the link in the right gutter under the heading "Other Sites Featuring Me" listed as "Becky's Student's Blog."

If you are able to help a patron with the student's blog, leave a comment to let me and more importantly, them know.

Reviews back tomorrow.  I have Building Stories, 1Q84, and The Family Fang in the immediate queue.

Westerns for the 21st Century

I am in the final stages of getting ready for the new semester of RA students (classes begin for me on 8/29), so I am busy gathering up new resources for the students, and I came across Joyce Saricks' newest column in Booklist on the enduring appeal of Westerns.

Each semester I spend part of day talking about Westerns in the classic sense, and generally get a few students to try one for themselves.  You can click here to see their annotations.

Although many of them read a Western grudgingly, most come away having greatly enjoyed the reading experience.

In her column, Joyce does give a basic definition of the classic Western, but then goes on to say this:

"Few titles that fit this classic definition are being published now.  ...If we want to promote westerns as a thriving genre and attract new readers, though, we need to expand our thinking. Western-based genre blends now dominate the market, and almost every genre offers titles—and even series—that build on our ongoing fascination with the West."

One of these newer books she features is The Sisters Brothers.  You can use the link to read my review. It was one of my favorite reads for 2011.

There are plenty of Westerns or novels that feature the west that would appeal to a wide range of readers.  Let;s not forget about them when we are offering books to patrons looking for their next good read.

Start with yourself. Why not try a Western? As Joyce argues in her column, a Western does not have to be by a dead author or set in the 19th Century to qualify.  There are many modern options that evoke the timeless sense of place of the amazing American West.  This setting is something unique to America.  There is no other place like the West in the entire world.  No wonder people continue to  read and write about it.

Student Annotations Are Back

Although I am not teaching this summer semester, Joyce has the class 2x a week.  They began posting new annotations to the class blog this week.  So remember to check it out.  This week they covered the landscape genres (fantasy, historical fiction, western) and adrenaline (thriller, suspense, romantic suspense, and adventure).

Remember to check it every Monday and Wednesday for the next few weeks for great reading suggestions and readalike options.

National Audiobook Month--Coupon Included

June is National Audiobook month.  To get ready last week, I posted here about the appeal of audiobooks.

My friend and colleague, Joyce Saricks, has researched the appeal of audiobooks extensively.  Last year, she released what she claims is her final book, Read On...Audiobooks.

This book is really the only resource out there that can help you to assess which audiobooks would be best for readers who like to listen to books with, for example, a certain type of characterization, a specific frame, or an especially good evocation of a desired mood, just to name a few.

Our current RA resources assess these appeal factors based on the written text, but as those of us who enjoy audiobooks know, often, the audio version will enhance or detract from some of these factors.  For example, as I have mention many times before, I cannot read books with many foreign words, but I LOVE to listen to them.  Also, while reading the written page, I do not have a preference for point of view, but when I listen to an audiobook, I much prefer a first person narration.  For me, it is important that the character tell me his or her story when I listen to the book.  For many readers, fast paced books that they breeze through when reading, move too slow on audio, but for others, this down side is a huge plus because it draws out the suspense longer.

These are all things Joyce addresses in her book. There is no other resource that does this.

In celebration of National Audiobook Month, Libraries Unlimited wants you to receive a 20% discount on the book Read On...Audiobooks for the month of June. Use promo code 12LU189B to receive this special offer!

Click here for Libraries Unlimited's Facebook page or here to go directly to the product page to order  and use the code.

If you are looking for something to listen to, check out Joyce's book or look at this list of the 2012 Audie Nominees for the best work in audiobooks.

Don't forget you can also use #JIAM2012 on Twitter to follow any and all National Audiobook Month giveaways, info, and news.

Trending: Social Reading

Joyce Saricks passed this article on to me.  It happens to be by a Dominican student (although not one who took our class).

Entitled, What Is Social Reading and Why Libraries Should Care, Allison Mennella defines social reading and discusses at length how libraries can promote and encourage reading and the sharing of books across digital platforms in their communities.

Now social reading is not that new of a trend.  People have been using Facebook and Goodreads to have conversations about books for years now, but libraries have been slow to join in.

This trend is growing and it is one I have been particularly interested in too.  As noted here in my 10 Rules of Basic RA Service, I have seen "bridging the physical-virtual divide" as developing into a key issue in RA service.

For me, however, I am less focused on the social networking for its own sake, and more interested in how we should think of our virtual work with leisure readers as the other side of the same coin of the work we are already doing to help the readers who come into the physical building.

I see the key to any success with the library's involvement in social reading coming only if we keep the book at the heart of it all.

But take a look at Allison's article on social reading.  She has a lot of good ideas on how the library can connect virtually with readers throughout their community.

For those who are interested, I will be talking about this issue at greater length next week at Reaching Forward, and I addressed it briefly in this article for NoveList RA News.

Click here for more Trending Articles.

RA Links Round Up--The Back From Vacation Edition

Thanks for hanging in there last week.  I was in Southern California on Spring Break.  A big thanks to my students for guest hosting the blog last week.

But I am back and although I did no work while on vacation, I still did a quick scan of my RSS feeds via my iPhone each day (mostly to clear out the backlog) and starred the things I wanted to pass on.

Also, check out RA for All: Horror later this week. I am working on a report on why people love the Haunted Mansion and Tower of Terror (yes we went to Disney) even though they are fairly scary.

So here are a few tidbits I wanted to pass on:

• The Bram Stoker Awards and the Vampire Novel of the Century were announced on March 31st.  Click here for the official results.  I was very happy to see Joe McKinney's Flesh Eaters win best novel.  His Dead City series is fabulous, and I highlighted it in my PLA presentation.
• I love Bookmobiles.  My dream has always been to run one, but I know it probably will never happen.  Last week, NPR ran this great report on the end of bookmobiles.  If you share my love of bookmobiles, don't forget about Ian Sansom's Bookmobile Mystery series.
• Anne Tyler gave a lengthy interview to NPR.  She has a new book and rarely gives interviews.  I have had great luck using Digging to America as a book discussion book.
• The Sisters Brothers won the Morning News Tournament of Books! I was so happy.  It was one of my personal favs in 2011 too.
• We also hit the Madame Tussaud wax museum in Hollywood.  And in a freaky coincidence, Reading the Past ran this review of Michelle Moran's fiction biography of this fascinating woman.  I was happy to see that we do own the book here at Berwyn.
• One of the most original authors out there today is China Mieville.  The problem is his books are very hard to classify by genre.  They are all genres and no genre at one time.  This is great for readers, but very hard when librarians try to make lists of core authors.  I am embroiled in it right now as I am part of building the new ARRT Popular Authors list.  We have to have Mieville on the list, but cannot figure out where to put him.  The best description I have seen is that he writes "Weird Fiction."  Last week Mieville talked about his writing with Jeff VanderMeer for the Weird Fiction Review.
• While I was gone, Joyce Saricks tackled nonfiction the GSLIS 763 students.  Click here to see what they read last week.

That's what I was thinking about while I was gone.  Look for the Monday Discussion in a few minutes.  And a back to normal week.

RUSA Outstanding Audiobook Narration Awards

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.

Understanding Series Readers

My co-teacher, Joyce Saricks, focused her most recent monthly column in Booklist on series fiction.

Not only does she talk about why readers are drawn to series, but she also differentiates how series work in the different genres.

Click through to read for yourself.

Summer Student Annotations Begin

Even though I am off from teaching in the summers, Joyce has been busy twice a week with a new crop of students busily posting on the student blog.

Last week they worked on genres of landscape (fantasy, historical fiction, and western) and after 6 pm tonight they will be posting a new set (tbd).

Click here to see what they are reading and writing about.

Booklists' Annual Voice of Choice is...

...Katherine Kellgren.  Kellgren has been a fast rising star in the audio book world.  The annual Voice of choice award is a big deal.  Kellgren will be at ALA in New Orleans to accept the honor in person.

  Use this link to read Joyce Saricks' article naming Kellgren as the annual Voice of Choice in Booklist.

Also, the Audiobooker, compiled her links to more info on Kellgren.

What is so amazing about Kellgren is that she is both so young and so versatile.  To read an interview with Kellgren and listen to clips of her work, use this link to AudioFile Magazine.

While you are there, listen to a few other narrators.  If you are not a big audiobook fan, click through the various narrator interviews and get a sense of the different styles available.

Readers' Advisory: How To Balance Your Library's Reading Budget

Joyce Saricks and Neal Wyatt (the editors of my book) finished up a the first of their online workshops on the topic in the title of this post yesterday.

Over on the ALA Editions Blog, they have posted the resources and some of the slides from their presentation here.

Head on over and see what Joyce and Neal had to say and add your questions to the comments field.

Good RA service need not break the bank.  You can be creative in your purchases as well in how you market your collections in order to stretch your reading budget.  It is imperative in this weakened economy that the library be a place for leisure readers.  Patrons are on a tight budget and they are cutting their spending on books while increasing their use of the local library.

Of course, our budgets are tight at the library too.  We need experts like Joyce and Neal to help remind us of all we can do with our limited funds.

Check it out for yourself.

Over at the BPL we are taking this advice to heart.  We have increased our services to leisure readers both in the library and online in the last year without spending any extra money.  In fact, we spent less on books but increased our circulation by concentrating on staff training, starting a permanent staff recommendation display and blog, The Browsers' Corner, and by focusing our time and energy on displays.

What are you doing in these lean budget times?

RA Class Begins January 19

After taking the Fall semester off to hammer out the new book, I will be back to corrupting the minds of librarians in training on Wednesday.  Joyce Saricks and I are co-teaching this semester, and we have fully revamped the course.

But before we begin, I wanted to remind readers of this blog, new and old, that one of my main reasons for starting RA for All was to share the work my students were doing with the wider library community.  It was very frustrating to spend the semester watching them grow and to see some phenomenal work come out of the class, and then to simply lose it all once the students moved on. I wanted to capture their work to let it helps readers and librarians near and far. Since those early days, I have also set up a class blog specifically to archive the 5 annotations which each student is required to write in five different genres.  Click here to access the blog.

Throughout the semester, I will be pointing you to their blog and commenting on each week's topics, issues, and resources.  Teaching has been a great continuing education resource for me.  The students expect me to be an expert, and their questions keep me on my toes.  As a result, each week's class leads to a host of new information which I will then turn around and share here.  Each of these posts will be labeled GSLIS 763 (the class code) to ease your searching.

So, look for a lot of activity here as it pertains to GSLIS 763 from now until the beginning of May. Between that and book revisions, I am going to be a busy lady.  And if at any time you have questions or comments about what we are teaching, please let me know.

Historical Fiction Resource and Medieval Fiction Suggestions

I realized that I haven't talked about Historical Fiction in awhile. I do enjoy historical fiction, but I only read a handful of titles a year (it's really a time issue).  One way I supplement my reading is by subscribing to the RSS feed for Sarah Johnson's Reading the Past blog.

Sarah is a librarian and author of genre guides on historical fiction. The blog is a great resource for many reasons. First, she lives, breathes, and possibly eats, Historical Fiction. Sarah posts reviews and information on everything Historical Fiction just about every day. Second, she  keeps a thorough list of Historical Fiction and History blogs in the left gutter of the blog. I use this list frequently when helping readers to find their next good read.

And third, Sarah occasionally has guest posts by Historical Fiction authors, like this post from yesterday, when author Elizabeth Chadwick shared her favorite Medieval Historical Fiction.

If you haven't tried a historical fiction novel in awhile I have two comments for you. First, listen to Joyce Saricks as she has said in print many times, (and I paraphrase): The secret historical fiction lovers know is that historical fiction is a great and painless way to learn more about history.  Second, surf on over to Sarah's blog and find the book set in the historical time period that most interests you.

Finally, if you need more suggestions, here is a link to the books my students have read in the genre.

Favorite Intellect Resources

Tomorrow Joyce and I will be sharing our favorite tips, tricks and resources for the genres of the intellect: mystery, science fiction, psychological suspense, and literary fiction. I thought this would be a good time to pass on my favorite go to resources for each genre.

So I am going on record here today. If I had to pick only one resource for each of these genres, this is what I would use and why.

Mystery: This is the easiest one. When I have a mystery questions the first place I go is Stop You're Killing Me. I cannot say enough about how helpful and useful this site is, so I will let them tell you...

Stop, You’re Killing Me! is a resource for lovers of mystery, crime, thriller, spy, and suspense books. We list over 3,300 authors, with chronological lists of their books (over 37,000 titles), both series (3,700+) and non-series. Use the alphabetical author and character links above or the special indexes in the left column. And it’s perfectly fine with us if you print our pages for your private use, especially for a trip to your local library or bookstore.

Psychological Suspense: From the easiest (Mystery) to the most difficult now. Psychological suspense is not a recognized genre, but rather, these books are part thriller, part horror, and part mystery. Psychological Suspense is very popular with a wide range of readers, but it can be hard to find on the shelf. I know because the mini-genre study I did on the BPL's psychological suspense holdings is constantly being recopied.  We don't have that document up on the website yet, but until then, you can use this psychological suspense page from the always trustworthy Hennepin County Library.

Science Fiction: If you have any SF question, stop and immediately go to Locus Magazine Online, the online version of the leading news and review magazine of the science fiction, fantasy, and horror publishing fields. I use Locus Online as a portal to every conceivable SF link. It has never let me down.

Literary Fiction: Here you go right to The New York Times Books Section to find links to the notable books lists, their blog Paper Cuts, and of course tons of reviews of literary fiction titles.

Helping You To Find Your Next Good Read: Historical Fiction

As I am preparing for this week's class on what Joyce calls "The Landscape Genres," meaning genres for which the setting is a huge appeal for readers, I came across this new prize for historical fiction.

There is sometimes confusion as to what makes something historical fiction as opposed to a book from a long time ago.  I have discussed this issue and given examples here. It is an interesting distinction that our patrons aren't always making when they ask for a title, but one which we as RAs need to aware of. Click through to see what I am talking about, then use the back button to get back to this post.

When I first started teaching the RA class back in the fall of 2004, the list of historical fiction resources was embarrassingly small.  (I think there were 2, and they were only in print) Now, there are many to choose from, both in print and online.  Here are a few of my favorite Historical Fiction resources.

• The number one person on Historical Fiction is Sarah Johnson, hands down.  She is the author of Historical Fiction: A Guide to the Genre (parts 1 and 2) and publishes the blog Reading the Past which is filled with historical fiction links (look on the left gutter). She also had this very useful article on historical fiction in Bookmarks Magazine.
• The Historical Novel Society is still the best place to find out about new historical fiction.
• I would also suggest trying The Historical Fiction Network or Historical Novels.info for links to novels based on your time period or geographic preferences.
• Library Booklists also has this huge section on historical fiction.
• For the many readers who like historical mysteries specifically, I would suggest this book and/or the Stop You're Killing Me Historical Index.

Now go find a book to read.