Write it Down!!!

I have said this at least a million times, and it is part of Becky's Ten Rules of Basic RA Service, but it deserves repeating...write down something (preferably adjectives) about every book you read! Yes, I used an exclamation point.

If you are a reader, whether you are also a librarian or not, I urge you to record something about every book you read.  It does not have to be long reports like my What I'm Reading reviews.  Just write something.  I am a big fan of picking three words to describe a book.  As soon as you finish, simply write three words or phrases that describe the appeal of the book.

Don't waste your time writing about the plot.  A few clicks of the mouse, and the plot can be revealed.  How the book made you feel? Was it character centered or plot centered?  What was the pace?  What was the overwhelming tone or mood of the book?  This is information you will not be able to recreate in the future.

It sounds overwhelming at first, but I promise you that once you get in the habit of jotting down a few notes, you will do it automatically.

Now, I want to take it a step further.  Write these notes down somewhere that you can pull them up anywhere.  In other words, put them on the web somewhere.  I use Shelfari, but you could keep a Google doc, use another book site like GoodReads.  This way you have not only written something down about everything you read, but you can recall the information anywhere you have web access.

I am constantly surprised to hear that many librarians out there are not writing anything down about what they read.  These same people are shocked by how much I remember.  My secret is not a great memory, it is writing something down about what I have read and then being able to quickly search for it and retrieve it when I want to "remember."

Try it.  Do not go back and recreate books you have already read.  Simply start with the next book you finish.  Record at least three words about the book.  You will be surprised by how much it will help you to help your readers.

BPL Book Discussion: Italian Shoes

This week, our regular group met to discuss Henning Mankell's  contemplative and brooding novel, Italian Shoes.  This is not a Kurt Wallander mystery, rather, it is a character study of a man who has removed himself from the world, but during one year, he is jolted into confronting his mistakes and begins to live again.

In order to start us all out on the same foot, here is the publisher's description of the plot:

From the bestselling author of the Kurt Wallander series comes a touching and intimate story about an embattled man’s unexpected chance at redemption. Many years ago a devastating mistake drove Fredrik Welkin into a life as far as possible from his former position as a surgeon, where he mistakenly amputated the wrong arm of one of his patients. Now he lives in a frozen landscape. Each morning he dips his body into the freezing lake surrounding his home to remind himself he’s alive. However, Welkins’s icy existence begins to thaw when he receives a visit from a guest who helps him embark on a journey to acceptance and understanding. Full of the graceful prose and deft characterization that have been the hallmarks of Mankell’s prose, Italian Shoes shows a modern master at the height of his powers, effortlessly delivering a remarkable novel about the most rewarding theme of all: hope.

Before I talk about the details of our discussion, I want to say that this one of the deepest and most comprehensive discussion we ever had.  This is a difficult book.  It is dark and Fredrik is infuriating, but he grows and changes in a satisfying way, albeit very slowly.  As a group, we decided this would be a difficult book to suggest to a wide audience as a simple leisure read; however, we did agree that any serious book discussion group would benefit greatly by reading and discussing this surprisingly intricate novel.

Now the discussion:

• We began the usual way, with our vote on who liked, disliked, and was so-so on the book: liked (5), disliked (2), and so-so (6).  Normally so many so-sos would be bad for discussion, but in this case it was perfect.  Why?  These so-so people felt VERY strongly about the book.  These were readers who were frustrated with the darkness and Fredrik's inaction, by the end, they were happy enough in his evolution, that they could not honestly say they disliked the book.  They were in a love-hate relationship with this book and with Fredrik.  Many of these so-so participants also said that they would not have finished the book if it were not for the discussion.  Ultimately, they were happy they finished it.
• "Liked" initial comments:  One participant liked how it was written; it's technique; the language; the division into 4 "movements;" the frame of happening within the span of 1 full year.  Another person shared that she felt it was a beautiful interpretation of Swedish culture and the Swedish man.  Yet another shared how while the plot was thin and bumpy at times, she loved the lovely sentences that were slipped in throughout.  She also liked the setting the characters and their interactions, and the use of the seasons.  Many liked how Sweden itself was a character, and how much they learned about the country and its different areas.
• "Disliked" initial comments:  It was about as un-American and un-Female as you could get, so this participant could not relate.  Some cited the intense deprivation and despair as a bit much.  The tone was oppressive.  These people agreed that Fredrik became more humane by the end, but these readers thought it was too little, too  late.
• This led us to start discussing Fredrik in earnest.  One lady began by saying, "Fredrik amputated himself from the world when he amputated the wrong arm."  This sums up his life at the novel's beginning.  The book is the story of how this man who always dealt with the problems in his life by running away, was forced to confront his own mistakes and begin living again.  We liked how the women in his life are the catalyst to this change.  When Harriet shows up on the ice, after almost 40 years, Fredrick can no longer ignore the world.
• On a side note, the group was so wrapped up in Fredrik and his choices that I had to remind them more than once that he was a fictional creation.  That is the sign of a great fictional character, by the way.  If the reader loses track of the fact that he or she is not real, the author has done a very good job.
• The title, Italian Shoes, was discussed.  The title is an odd choice, but we came up with two related but different reasons as to what it "means." First, there is the literal presence of Italian shoes in the book.  Harriet worked for an Italian shoe maker and Louise (Fredrik's daughter) takes Fredrik to the famous Italian shoe maker who lives in the Swedish woods upon their first meeting.  When Fredrik receives the handmade shoes close to a year later, putting them on is the signal that his evolution has come full circle.  He has begun to completely change his life, and by wearing the shoes, he confirms that it will stick.  The shoes are the complete opposite of his former stark and emotionless life.  They are sensual, extravagant, warm, and from the grown daughter he never knew existed.  We also felt that the title is setting up the Italian and Swedish people as polar opposites.  Fredrik talks about his visit to Rome as a young man when he was brutally mugged.  Louise is obsessed with the Italian painter CaravaggioFredrik's experiences in Italy himself, are the exact opposite of Fredrik and his life.
• And then, we moved on to the best part of the discussion: the anthill!  Fredrik has an anthill growing in his living room.  Every single person had something to say about this literary device.  Here are the comments:
• The anthill was the physical manifestation of Fredrik's emotional baggage. 
• Ants are very busy and productive, while Fredrik was not. 
• Fredrik could not bear to remove the anthill since it was the only living and vibrant thing in his life.  He had pets, but both were old and actively dying.
• Watching the anthill grow is a symbol of Fredrik's inertia.
• The anthill shows that life goes on.  Even if you try to ignore the world, you cannot stop it from continuing.
• When Fredrik picks up the anthill and removes it at the end, it is a very power symbol of the fact that he had changed his life.
• Harriet put a bottle with a note in the anthill because she knew that when he was ready to remove the anthill, he would also be ready to read the note.  She also knew this moment would be after she succumbed to the cancer that was killing her.
• The anthill was an extremely effective metaphor.  No one likes having ants in their home.  It is a visceral image.  It got us talking.  We all thought it was a very clever inclusion.
• We moved on to other characters.  People found Agnes, the woman who Frederik had amputated incorrectly, one of the most intriguing characters.  We only get the beginning of her story; in fact, one participant wished we got more of her point of view.  We liked how the book is about Fredrik, but it is the women who force him to confront himself.  We were also intrigued by how the women were all suffering on the inside, yet they could still function within the world.  They needed to teach him how to move on.
• We talked about the 4 movements which make up this book and how they were loosely tied to the seasons.  Each was also a setting itself.  Here is some of what we said.  First was "Ice.  Here Harriet shows up on the ice to start the story, but also, ice signifies no feeling, no emotion.  Second was "Forest." This is when Fredrik meets Louise (in the Forest), but also the forest is life, it is green, full of life, and spring is coming so it is awakening (like Fredrik).  Third is "Sea." The sea is a symbol of journeys.  This is when the story has the most movement; both physical, literal, and emotional movement. And the fourth is called "Winter Solstice." This is the longest night of the year, but it is also the symbol of a new beginning because the next day the nights begin to shorten again.
• Some final comments:
• The book ends hopefully.  We are glad Fredrik did not die just as he was turning his life around.  It was uplifting to see a man who had created his own prison begin to break free.
• All of the women in the book functioned with severe limitations: Harriet is dying and needs a walker, Agnes is without an arm, Louise has spent her entire life looking for her father.
• For such a bleak book, we spent a lot of time during the discussion laughing.  I cannot figure out why; maybe it was to counteract the dark tone, but we were lively (as one library staff member put it).
• Mankell is so talented, shared one participant.  His technique alone drew this reader in.
• While the story was depressing at times, the words, the style, and the story were so consciously constructed some of us were wrapped up in how it was written and how Mankell was manipulating our emotions.
• We agreed that this short book must have taken a long time for him to write.

Readalikes:  When Kathy's Night Owl's group discussed Italian Shoes, she suggested these readalikes.  Fiction:  The Sea by John Banville, Astrid and Veronika by Linda Olsson, and Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson (a book I have always meant to read).  Nonfiction:  Rogue River Journal by John Daniel, On My Swedish Island by Jule Catterson Lindhal, and Lonely: A Memoir by Emily White.

Our group also felt that those who enjoyed the story line of Agnes, Sima, and the refugee girls, would also enjoy Little Bee, which we discussed here.

Next book discussion(s): Tonight, I will be leading Kathy's book club's discussion of Fortunate Pilgrim by Mario Puzo.  The Monday group discussed it back in January.

My Monday group will tackle Doris Kearns Goodwin's memoir, Wait Till Next Year in June.

Finally, both groups are voting on the July-December titles this week.  I will post the new titles and schedule some time next week.

RA for Older Adults

This article about providing RA for Older Adults caught my attention last week.

I have become by default the library's resident expert in providing RA to older adults.  It is definitely a growing area of attention.  As more and more Boomers begin to retire, the library is receiving an influx of older patrons.  These are not your stereotypical little old ladies either.  These are vibrant, educated people who are embracing their duly earned free time.

If you work at a public service desk of any kind at any library, I suggest you read this article.

Monday Discussion: Are You a Book Reader or a Book Owner?

I am borrowing this week's Monday Discussion from a discussion that took place in multiple places on the web last week.  I will begin by pointing you the The Book Bench, The New Yorker's book blog where I first encountered it:

There is a growing distinction between the book reader and the book owner. The book reader just wants the experience of reading the book, and that person is a natural digital consumer: Instead of a disposable mass market book, they buy a digital book. The book owner wants to give, share and shelve books. They love the experience. As we add value to the physical product, particularly the trade paperback and hardcover, the consumer will pay a little more for the better experience.

This quote from John Mankinson, the C.E.O. of Penguin Group sparked a lot of discussion last week.  It struck a chord with me personally too.  Click through to read more if you are interested.

I used to be a book owner.  I would buy every book that I read.  Now, I barely buy anything.  I borrow everything I can, from books to movie to audiobooks all from the library.  And it is not just because I work at the library.  I am in my local library multiple times a week.

It is not just a money issue; although with the amount of books my family goes through in a year, it would quickly become a money issue (meaning we'd have none left).  But, I see it as a good use of my tax dollars.  I live in Cook County, IL and we have some of the highest taxes in the country.  However, we have some of the best services to go with those taxes.  In particular, the libraries in Northern Illinois are some of the best in the country.  Why not use those great services? I read and read and read for no extra money beyond what I have already paid in my taxes.

But there is also a larger issue here.  When I was younger, owning books made me feel good.  I had few things which were mine and mine alone.  Books were something that I already had a deep connection with and could own completely.  Owning books help to fill an emotional need.  Now, with a house, a husband, and two kids, I still love to read just as much, but I appreciate simplifying where I can.  I do not have room in my house to own every book I have read, nor do I have the desire to own them anymore.  I want to posses the book as I am reading it, but I also am happy to give it back when I am done and begin a new journey with another book.

That is not to say that I never buy myself a book.  I do, but it is usually for a specific reason, again with an emotional attachment.  For example, I wrote my undergraduate thesis on Ken Burns.  I spent a year studying his work, specifically Civil War and Baseball, so obviously, I own the coffee table books that go with those series.  Recently, I also purchased the companion book for National Parks.  These are books I love to own as they remind me of my past; again, they fill an emotional need.

So for today's Monday Discussion, are you more of a book reader or a book owner?  Why?

To view or participate in past Monday Discussions, click here.

Blogger is Down

Sorry no post today, Blogger is having problems and Thursday's post is lost somewhere.  It was about reading lists.  They promise it will reappear.  I hope so because I use the blog as much to keep track of links and info for myself as I do to share with the larger RA community.  I think it is still in the RSS feed history though, and if it doesn't reappear soon, I will recreate it.

I will not post something new now, since I am not sure if it will stay up.  Have a nice weekend.

Reading Lists For All

As I was combing through my RSS feeds today, I noticed that there were lots of suggested reading lists which I wanted to highlight.  So for today's post, I present a roundup of recent reading lists from all over the web.

Try one of these suggested titles out for yourself, or pass a list on to your patrons.  In fact, why not use these lists as a starting point to inspire you to suggest something new to at least one patron today.

• From The Guardian UK there is this list of books in which reality "gets a little bit bendy"
• One of the best historical fiction writers today, Geraldine Brooks, shares her favorite historical fiction on the Book Beast
• From io9, Ten Works of Science Fiction that are really Fantasy
• From Lit Lists, Top 5 Manhunt Tales
• The Locus Award finalists were just released.  This is my favorite SF/Fantasy Award because it does both genres and splits them.  Click here for the full list.  I would especially suggest the short stories to patrons.  I would also suggest Locus' annual Recommended Reading List which is a recap of the best Science Fiction and Fantasy from the last year.  Here is the 2010 list (which came out in February 2011).
• The Year's Best Crime Novels including a separate lists for debuts from Booklist.

Don't forget, at the BPL we have our suggested reading lists archive and our Browsers' Corner lists.  You can access these at anytime.  I also tag all posts with "reading lists," so you can easily pull up posts with reading lists (both from the web and original) going back almost 4 years now.  So get out there and start suggesting books to your patrons.

Finding and Using Information About the Author

I am frequently asked by patrons and librarians about the best places to find out more information about authors.  In this case "information" falls into a few different categories.  First, there is information (aka marketing) that the author puts out about him or herself,  Second, there are third party interviews and information which authors also use as a marketing tool when they have something new out.  And third, there is professionally provided, neutral information about authors and their appeal.

It is important to understand that each category will provide a slightly different perspective on the author.  Depending on what you are looking for, you may go about accessing this information in different ways.  I will break down the three categories for you, explain how and when each is best used, and suggest resources.

Author Generated Info
This is pretty easy to obtain.  Anytime you or a patron want more information about an author from said author's point of view you should check three sources: the author's website, their Twitter feed, and their Facebook page.  Just Google the author to find his or her website.  From their you can expect to find the official author approved bio, lists of books, links to Twitter and Facebook, a possible blog, and news.

Click here to run the Google search for James Patterson.  Notice his "official" page is the first result. Author generated info pages are best used by fans.  Authors use these resources to market themselves.  Nothing critical will show up here; it is all happy and positive. These resources also allow readers to get up close and personal with their favorite authors in a way that was impossible even 5 years ago.

Twitter in particular has become an intimate place for the author to interact with their fans.  Check out Neil Gaiman's Twitter Feed. He is having personal conversations with his fans, commenting on their opinions and thoughts, and even reposting their tweets. Fans also like to follow authors to see what their favorite author is reading, listening to, eating, etc...

If you have a patron who really loves a specific author, you should definitely ask them if they have visited their web site, considered following them on Twitter, or liked them on Facebook.

Third Party Interviews
When an author has something new to sell, they start offering interviews.  Thanks to the web, we can now access more than just current interviews.  In fact, many major media outlets have caught on the the readers' desire to access author interviews both past and present and have begun to create entire sites which archive this information.  Here are some of my favorite places to go to find author interviews; however, if you want to find interviews with a specific author, Google the author's name and the word interview.  Here is the link for said search run on Michael Chabon.

• Amazon's new page called "The Backstory" compiles all of their author interviews (along with other info) in order to provide readers with a central place to go when they want to access author information.
• The NPR Books page has an author interview archive.  I use this frequently, especially because NPR tends to interview the widest range of authors from popular to literary, fiction to nonfiction, self-help to controversial.  Their interviewers are also not afraid to be critical or ask the difficult questions.
• On The NY Times' Books Page you can use a drop down menu to search "Times Topics" for a specific author.  Using this search feature gives you access to everything the Times has ever written about an author, including interviews.  Click here to see the Times Topics for Stephen King.  You can do this on most major newspaper sites by using the search feature, but the NYT puts it all in one easy to access place.
• Bookslut does a lot of author interviews.
• Many of the Discussion Guides on Reading Group Guides contain author interviews that are particularly geared toward book discussion groups.

Who are interviews for?  This resource is not for every fan.  Third party interviews are great for book club groups, readers who want to know more about how an author got their ideas for a book, patrons who want to be writers themselves, and for hard core fans of a specific author.  Of course others may find these interviews interesting, I am merely suggesting situations in which you, the librarian, may want to go out of your way to identify a patron who would benefit from reading an author interview.  Remember, patrons rely on us to point them to the resources they did not think of accessing themselves. We need to let them know these resources are out there.  Do not assume they are already using them.

Professionally Generated Information
This third category is very different.  Here I am talking about independent and professionally compiled information about an author.  Here it less about who they are and more about how they write.  What can readers expect from a book by a specific author?

I write short, 100 word appeals statements about authors (along with many other contributors) over on NoveList.  They are written to a standard so that no matter who is writing the author description, users can expect similar information in each entry.  Also, these entries are looked over by an editor, so unlike a blog (even this one) where a librarian is sharing his or her opinion about an author's appeal, these are vetted by someone else.  THe BPL offers access to NoveList from home or in the library.

Also, most public libraries offer access to the online versions of the old print Contemporary Authors.  Oh, you know you remember using these for reports when you were a kid.  Instead of paging through hundreds of old volumes, you can now just put the author name into the database and get every entry in which he or she is listed.  Again, the information is researched by professionals and vetted by an editor.

All of this information will not be tied to marketing efforts by the author and is a great resource for any reader. Although there is much that shows up when a patron Googles an author, this professionally generated information, accessed through the library, is one of the only places where a neutral professional is writing about an author.

I find that librarians often forget to offer this information to readers.  We use it for ourselves, but readers are more sophisticated these days and I think they would appreciate having access to it.  We librarians need to remember to teach our patrons how to access these databases from our websites.  Their tax dollars are paying for the resources, but many don't even know they can access a wealth of author information, from any computer, as long as they have a library card.

So I am going to make an effort to show more patrons how to find this information on their own.  Not only will they be happy with my "above and beyond" customer service, but also, they will better appreciate all they get for their library tax dollars.

New Reading Maps Added

Finals are over and there are 7 new reading maps for the world to enjoy.  You can access all of the GSLIS reading maps on their blog or in my Reading Maps Archive.  Enjoy!

• Walking Dead by Cassie
• Queen of Babble Trilogy by Angela
• Born to Run by Carlen
• Just Kids by Lian
• Rings of Saturn by Mike
• Alice in Wonderland by Jenn
• The Warmth of Other Suns by Jeanne

Heartwarming Reads

Book Page's Blog, The Book Case, had this great list of "Heart Warming Reads," which they describe as:

...books that we think are well-written and uplifting, and they’re light in tone. (Think: no explicit sex or violence.)

The list includes some of my personal favorites like The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie and Major Pettigrew's Last Stand.  Again use this link to see the entire list and their commentary.

What I like the most about the list is that while these books can be called gentle, Book Page did not use that term, which turns off many younger readers.  These are all interesting stories, with original and intriguing plots and characters, and resolved, satisfying endings. They are a great option for any reader looking for a "good read."

More importantly, I am getting many patrons who come to me looking for a heart-warming story during these trying times.  With all fo the bad news in the world, they want to escape to a lighter story.

While this Book Case list is a great start, you will need more than 10 books to keep your patrons satisfied.  I have also had great success suggesting  Adriana Trigiani, Sandra Dallas  and Fannie Flagg to readers looking for "heart warming books."  Also check out my review of The Tower, The Zoo and the Tortoise by Julia Stuart, including the readalikes.

Although they are harder to find, there are some good "Gentle Reads" resources floating out there in cyberspace.  Some of my favorites include:

• Hennepin County Library’s list of gentle reads 
• Salt Lake County (UT) Library's Books with “Old Fashioned” Qualities, a list which includes both fiction and nonfiction
• Sachem (NY) Public Library's list of gentle reads
• Metropolitan Library System’s (IL) Readers’ Advisory Special Interest Group’s compiled Gentle Reads list (2007)

Feel free to share some of your personal favorite "heart warming reads."

Monday Discussion: Crime Fiction

I have been working on a big display focusing on Crime Fiction which goes up on Wednesday.  But what is Crime Fiction exactly?  I am using the following definition from Wikipedia as a guide:

Crime fiction is the genre of fiction that deals with crimes, their detection, criminals and their motives. It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as science fiction or historical fiction, but boundaries can be, and indeed are, blurred. It has several sub-genres, including detective fiction (such as the whodunnit), legal thriller, courtroom drama and hard-boiled fiction.

At the BPL we have a mystery section, but our very popular suspense, thrillers, psychological suspense, adventure, and romantic suspense is interfiled throughout the general fiction collection.  Many readers who enjoy our mysteries are missing out on some great reads by not straying from the mystery section.

My goal with this display is to focus on the appeal of crime fiction. These are suspenseful stories that pit the good guys against the bad guys.  We see investigators and criminals in a battle for justice.  The reader is drawn into the the investigation, caught up in the plot, and pulled through with an increasing pace and compelling characters.  Like mysteries (which are included as part of crime fiction too), crime fiction can take place anytime and anywhere so readers have a lot of choices in terms of setting.

Some examples of big name crime fiction authors who are not in our mystery section are James Patterson, Stieg Larsson, David Baldacci, John Grisham, J.D. Robb, and Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. When I went to compile the list for the display, I had 3x more authors than I could ever fit on the display.  Obviously, this is a popular type of book.

In this specific display, I am purposely leaving mysteries out.  The display promises stories that will appeal to mystery readers, but not a single one in from the mystery section.  It is our way to passively remind readers of all we have to offer throughout the entire collection.

Crime fiction is an important heading to consider since the professional review journals like Booklist, now review these genres all together under the heading of "Crime Fiction."  So even though we pull out the mysteries here at the BPL, all novels with a strong investigated element are being grouped together.

I am also beginning to see patrons thinking more in terms of general crime fiction too.  Just about every day now I get a reader who is looking for a new "mystery" author but can't find them in the mystery section. I bring them to the general fiction, show them the books they were looking for, and watch their eyes pop wide as they realize all the books they might have been missing.  This display will increase that response, and is one of the first steps we are taking into merging our fiction collection and doing away with genre sections.

If you want to know more about crime fiction, click here or here

So for today's Monday Discussion, share your thoughts on crime fiction.  Do you have some favorite crime fiction authors?  How do you highlight crime fiction beyond mysteries?  Are your patrons asking for crime as opposed to just mystery?  And, how do you distinguish?

The Monday Discussion Archive can be accessed here.