Orange Prize Long List and a Comment on Female Writers

The Orange Prize is a British Prize given to the best fiction written by a woman (they do not have to be British though).  They just announced their long list, and in my opinion, it is the best in years.

The Guardian took the list and turned it into a slide show with the book covers and a bit about each book and its author.  Click here to view.  I like the British cover of Swamplandia! better than ours.

In past years, there have been complaints that there was not enough great literary fiction by women to fill the list. There was criticism that the bottom of the list was very weak, and that books landed on the list purely because they were okay and had a female author.  Not so this year.  This is a VERY strong list of some of the best books from the last 12 months, period:  The Tiger's Wife, A Visit From the Goon Squad, Room, and Swamplandia! to name a few.


Here is an essay discussing how much better the list is this year.  It even talks a little about why and discusses the importance of the list.  I am not a feminist, more post-feminist.  I personally believe that the world is co-ed, so women have to battle in there with men if they really want to prove themselves.  But I will concede that when it comes to literary fiction, sometimes women are forgotten in the mix.

The solution: women should write better books; books so good that the world cannot deny them even when judged against men.

Case in point, in the last 12 months, A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan won the National Book Critics Circle Award, Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon won the National Book Award,  and Deborah Eisenberg won the PEN/Faulkner award a few days ago.  They beat men.  Very prominent men (Egan beat out Franzen, for example).

So thank you women for writing books that have been judged on an equal playing field with men and have come out ahead.  This makes the Orange Prize Long List a true list of some of the best new books out there right now, regardless of the gender of their authors.

So if your patrons want excellent literary fiction by a woman or just a list of some of the best literary fiction out there, period, pass on the Orange Prize Long List to your patrons.

Student Annotations: Genres of the Intellect

Right now we are meeting in class to discuss the Genres of the Intellect: Literary Fiction, Mysteries, Psychological Suspense, and Mystery.

These genres are all linked by the puzzles and provocative issues they bring up in their work.

Click on over to the class blog to see what books our students read for tonight.

Reading Maps Updated

Midterms are graded and there were five new reading maps added to the class archive.  You can access every reading map the students of GSLIS 763 have done over the years by clicking here.  We now have 41 examples!  The Reading Map Archive is always accessible in the right gutter of RA for All.

Here is the list of the newest entries with links:

• The Hangman's Daughter by Liz
• Moveable Feast by Noelle
• Like Water for Chocolate by Jeannine
• The Lost Dogs by Laura
• 13 1/2 by Jennifer

If you have done a reading map, please pass it on to me and I will add a section to the archive for reading maps from the larger library community.

History of SF in Art Form

Over on PW's Genreville, I found this visual depitction of the history of Science Fiction.

You can use the link to read more about it and enlarge it.

This graphic been picked up by many of the blogs and websites I monitor, but I saved it for posting today because Spring Break and Midterms are over at Dominican and we are back to the genres.  Tonight we will be talking about Literary Fiction, Mystery, Psychological Suspense, and Science Fiction.  More about this grouping of genres and links to the student's work for this week later today.

For now, spend some time looking at this graphic history.  I have looked at it a few times now and have been struck by how effectively it depicts this complicated genre.  Of course it is not perfect, but I dare you not to get lost in following a path of two.

Why Can't These People Go To a Library?!?!

I am so upset I don't know if I can write this post.  Yesterday I came across this article on the NYT website, talking about GoodReads acquiring the automatic reading recommendation website, Discovereads.

Discovereads bills itself as having the best book recommendation system online.  I'm okay with that.  They do it online, with an algorithm; no people involved.  But then I get to the user comments further down the page, and I have to admit, I may not be able to control my anger:

This site helps me discover new books I would never have known about, based on my previously read and liked books! It takes all the headache out of looking for a new book to read once I've finished my present story. My only problem is choosing between all the interesting reads suggested!

- Emily Y.

I like Discovereads! It gives me great book recommendations that really fit me.

- Audrey W.

I've had a lot of difficulty finding books in the past, but after spending a little while on your site, I now have thirteen potential reads.

- Jeffrey L.

HAVE THESE PEOPLE NOT HEARD OF THE LIBRARY!!!!!  Sorry for the caps, but I am not happy here.  From where I sit, these comments are ridiculous.  They are thanking a computer for helping them do something that an actual trained person can help them do either in-person, over the phone, or over the computer through the local library.  Oh, and that actual person can get you the actual  books in print, audio, or ebook format...for free!!!

Audrey, we have book suggestions that fit you at the library.  Jeffrey, you would not have had trouble in the past if you had called us, at your local library, first, and Emily, we are all about preventing headaches at the RA desk.  You just need to remember that trained people exist to help you.  If the three of you could have seen the diverse group of people I helped to find their next good read just yesterday alone, you would be singing the librarian's praises, not some algorithm's.

That is not to say that computer generated suggestion sites like Discovereads or Gnooks do not have a place in the RA world.  In fact, they are a great option when you are stuck for ideas, but nothing beats talking to a trained readers' advisor about your reading tastes.  Quite often readers cannot articulate why they like a certain book.  They need to be asked specific questions about why they liked the pacing, storyline, characters, mood, style, and language.  From their answers, the RA librarian can begin to craft suggestions.

Also, these resources do not take the most important RA interview question into consideration..." Are you in the mood for that or something different."  Meaning, just because I gave a book 5 stars on a website a week ago, that does not mean that I want another book exactly like it now.  Maybe I want something completely different.  How is the computer going to figure that out?  No one reads the exact same type of book over and over.

The point is, a trained librarian can do a much better job than a computer.  And, you could contact us online too.  Don't agree?  Ask me to help you.  See if I can do better than the computer.

Great Eurpoean Crime Fiction: More Than Just Nordic Noir

One of the things I most love about following  the book coverage in The Guardian UK is that it gives me the European perspective of popular reading.  I get both a different perspective on American books, but I also find out about authors I know nothing about. (The other great thing about their book coverage is how much of it their is.)

Take this article for example.  Entitled, "The 10 Best Modern European Crime Writers," it consists of pictures of 10 authors and a bit about them and their best work. 

While Nordic Noir authors like Arnaldur Indridason and Henning Mankell are there, so are Greek author Petros Markaris and French author Fred Vargas.  Who?  That's my point.  What a great way to find some new authors.

By the way, Europe is currently the best place to find the largest concentration of great crime fiction writers.  Over here across the pond, we should be paying more attention.

Monday Discussion: Literary Road Trips

This weekend, over on the Book Page blog, The Book Case, I saw this post about someone's literary road trip to Oxford, MS.  It brought back great memories from when my husband and I did this same exact trip.

It got me thinking about other literary tourism I have done.  Once I started making the list, I was shocked at how long it was.  Here are just a few example.  I have been to Mother Goose's Grave in Boston multiple times, Walden Woods outside of Boston, and pretty much every literary related place in Boston.

I oohed and ahhed over Nathaniel Hawthorne's dorm room at Bowdoin College; in fact, seeing the room moved the college up very high on my interest list while I was doing the college tour in high school.

I have been to the Library of Congress at least twice and the main branch of the NYPL a few times.  I have visited many sites related to Ben Franklin, his writing, and the first library he set up in Philly, more times than I can count. I make my family go into every public library, in every little town we ever visit too.  Even in the Caribbean!  Basically, every where I go, if there is a literary related site, I hit it.

Then I started thinking about literary place I want to go.  Most of these are overseas.  For example, I would love to do some kind of Shakespeare tour in England, and I have heard that the James Joyce Walking Tours are fabulous.  And of course, I would love to see the resurrected great library of Alexandria Egypt, but I think that trip will have to wait awhile.

In terms of arm chair literary travel, years ago I watched Michael Palin's  Hemingway Adventure, and loved every minute of it.

I know I cannot be alone in the library and reader world.  So for today's Monday Discussion, share with me your favorite literary trips or ones you are dying to go on.

Click here to access the Monday Discussion archive.

Andrei Codrescu on eBooks

I am in and out of meetings and helping at both kids' schools all day, so no time to post.  But I did want to share this commentary by author Andrei Codrescu on NPR about his experience with his Kindle.

If you can, listen.  I love Codrescu's voice.  His semi-regular commentaries on NPR are archived here.  He is also the founder of the magazine, Exquisite Corpse.

Also, if you have never read Codrescu's work I would suggest The Blood Countess or New Orleans, Mon Amour: Twenty Years of Writings from the City.

Readalike Authors Reviewing Each Other

Anyone who has read this blog for even a few days knows that the RA's bread and butter is trying to boil down the main appeal of an author for a specific reader and then try to match the "why" that specific reader likes a book with another book.  You cannot match subjects headings.  You need to match the feel of the book.  The reason that a specific patron likes that specific book or author needs to be matched with another specific book or author. [For more on appeal, click here for one of my early blog posts where I define appeal and how the RA uses it.]

This is not easy to do.  I basically spend the entire semester trying to reinforce this point to the graduate students.  By the end, 99% get it.  But it takes practice and work.  You not only have to read a lot of books, but you have to read a lot ABOUT books and why people like them (or don't like them).  Even after 10.5 years of being a readers' advisor, I can tell you there are days when I am not sure I am succeeding.  I make a suggestion to a patron and then wonder if I made the right suggestion.  It is not a science, but an art.  There is no right answer.

And then there are days like yesterday, when I felt like a rock star.  I subscribe to the Washington Post's RSS feed for their book coverage.  Upon reading through the posts yesterday I found this review of Kevin Brockmeier's Illumination by Keith Donohue.  In his review, Donohue also mentions that Brockmeier's work is reminiscent of Steven Millhauser.

I was giddy with joy.  I literally cheered out loud.  Why?  These are three authors I always link and often suggest as readalikes to my patrons.  Full disclosure though, they also happen to be three of my favorite authors, and not just because Donohue has commented on this blog before.  Brockmeier's The Brief History of the Dead, is one of my all-time favorite books.  I still find myself thinking about this book, 4 years later.  And you can see my long standing Millhauser love by clicking here.

Why I was particularly happy to see Donohue's review is that authors like Brockmeier, Donohue, and Millhauser, are very hard to suggest readalikes for.  It is because they do not write traditional genre fiction.  You could categorize them all as literary fiction, but that would not hit at their appeal.  They all have a level of fantasy in their work.  It is a bit more speculative than magical realism, but not really straight fantasy.  They also all use their speculative elements to raise thought provoking questions about our world and the choices we make.  If you laid out the plot summaries of they work side-by-side, however, you would not be able to see any similarity between their books.  Their similarity lies in the tone, mood, characterizations, and style of their work.  Things that are harder to assess.

I was happy to see Donohue reviewing one of his readlaikes author and mentioning Steven Millhauser.  It made me feel like my work was validated.  So, this leads me to share one of my secret weapons on finding readalikes.  When you are stumped, look for author blurbs.  As seen with the Donohue review of Brockmeier, authors often review or offer official sound bite blurbs to others who write similarly.  The point is to draw interest in their own work (in this case, Donohue wants to remind fans of Brockmeier that Donohue himself has a new book, Centuries of June, coming out in May), and to point their own readers to another good writer who they may also enjoy.

Using the author blurb as a readalike resource is not mainstream RA practice, but I have never claimed to be in the mainstream.  Over the years, I have found it to be a great option and have passed this opinion on to 13 semesters worth of library students and hundreds of librarians throughout the Midwest who have attended my training sessions.

But where can you find these author blurbs?  I have three main resources.

1. The books themselves:  When a reader really likes an author or a specific book, get the physical book in your hand and look at who gave blurbs to it on the back.  In this Internet driven age, even librarians often forget that there is a lot to be gained by holding a physical book in our hands.
2. Fantastic Fiction:  This is one of my favorite resources in general, but particularly, they catalog author blurbs at the end of an author's entry.  Click here for Michael Chabon's entry and scroll to "Michael Chabon Recommends" at the end.
3. Amazon:  Many Amazon fiction entries now come with reviews by other authors (for the same reasons I mentioned Donohue wrote the one above).  Also, many times you can read the blurbs from the back of the physical book on Amazon by clicking on "See all  Editorial Reviews.  Click here to see what I mean on the entry for The Passage by Justin Cronin, and click here for the blurbs.

So, go on out there and suggest a book based on an author blurb and let me know how it goes.

Starting the RA Conversation Without Saying a Word

One of the newer things (in the last year) we have added at the BPL RA desk is a more regular impromptu display.  I know, this sounds like an oxymoron (regular, impromptu), but that is the best way to describe it.

What we did was put a small desk right next to the RA service desk.  It is literally right next to one of the two computers we have for staff to work the desk.  On it we put up about 10-12 books on a topic.  Sometimes we have readalikes for a popular bestseller or for a current book based movie.  During the winter Betty made lists of cold weather inspired books.

The point is, we gather a few books that are related, and at the very least put up a sign identifying why they have been put there.  We do not plan these displays as we do we our two more formal displays (which are planned out months in advance with subjects and staff assignments).  Anyone at the RA desk can change the display to whatever they want.  We only ask that the displays stay up at least a week and that they are switched to something with a coherent idea linking the books.  The key is that we put them next to our desk where patrons can see them on their way to the circulation desk, and so that these titles can spark a conversation between the staff and the patrons.

Let me explain using yesterday as an example.  John worked on Sunday (a popular day when we change this impromptu display).  John is also the staff member in charge of supervising all displays in the department.  John gathered 12 fiction titles with an apocalyptic theme.  He made a sign with a mushroom cloud that simply said "Ka-Boom!"  That was it. An idea, 12 books to match it, and a simple, yet eye catching sign.

I worked Monday morning and the sign grabbed many people's attention.  This is common when we change this small display, but as the day went on, less than 24 hours after John put it up, the display paid off in tangible RA terms.

I saw a 40-something patron looking at the display.  He had his hand on a Scott Sigler book.  Since he was right next to me and had stopped to pick up a book, I started to talk to him about Sigler.  Turns out, he had read everything Sigler has written already, but was drawn to the display because it had other titles he enjoyed too.  We started talking about apocalyptic fiction and I asked if he had read The Passage.  He said no and asked if it was good.  "It was only the best book I read last year, I told him."

I got him a Large Print copy because it was the only copy in, which it turns out he prefers so that he can read without his contacts in.  (Another thing learned about this patron)  We continued to talk about other authors and titles he might enjoy.  He even suggested a book to me, River God by Wilbur Smith.  I wrote it down to put on my Shelfari to-read list.

I had a 5 minute patron transaction.  We talked about what he liked and disliked, we shared book suggestions, I learned about his format preferences, and I got to meet someone who uses our fiction collection regularly but has never stopped to talk to us, all because John changed the impromptu display.  It is also important to note that I did not let him think I was the only one who could help him.  I ended our conversation by reminding him to come back and tell whoever was at the desk how he liked The Passage. He left satisfied, with a few books to read, and with the feeling that the RA department of the BPL cared about him and his leisure reading.

So what began as a display put up by John, turned into me having an in depth conversation with a patron.  That was just one of hundreds of examples of RA conversations that have begun as a result of this regular impromptu display.

It doesn't take much to spark a conversation between the RA staff and patrons.  Try putting a few books on your desk, make a simple sign using Word, and see how many RA conversations you start in a day, in 2, in a week.  Then put out a few more books under a different heading, and see what happens then.  You will be surprised how many patrons will notice and use your impromptu display as a bridge to begin talking with you about their next good read.