More Best Lists 2009 - Including Genre Fiction

Here are some more best lists worth your attention.

io9 has this list of the best SF of the Decade

Time Magazine released their list of the year's best Fiction, Nonfiction, and Children's books

Genreville's top SF, Fantasy and Horror of 2009 (all in one list)

Booklist's top debut novels of 2009

What It Means to Be a "Readers' Advisor"

One of the most common questions I get is, "What exactly does it mean to be a Readers' Advisor?"

People want to know what I do and what I teach my students. Obviously this blog is one way I explain the nuances of RA work in American public libraries. I try to share my experience both as a practicing librarian and as a teacher of future librarians.

However, there are thousands of more RAs out there trying to spread the RA gospel like me. Over at the Readers' Advisor Online Blog, Sarah Statz Cords has a 2 part interview with Jane Jorgenson, a RA at the Madison (WI) Public Library System. Click here for part 1, and here for part 2.

The interview looks at the past, present, and future of RA service. Anyone who enjoys this blog will also like this interview.

More Best Lists 2009: Genre Fiction

Amazon has a page of all of their Editors' Picks broken up by genre. Click here and then use the left side bar to find a list for many genres. For example, here is the list for SF and Fantasy.

I am still waiting for a Horror best list from Amazon, but I am not going to hold my breath. Good thing I made my own list. Also, here is the list of the books that won the Stoker Award in 2009 (but it was for books published in 2008). My list is for 2009 books.

If nonfiction is more your (our your patrons') cup of tea, the Economist also published their annual list of the best business related books. In a year where banks closures and the economy were a daily topic of everyone's conversation, this list has more appeal now than ever before.

Besides pointing out more best lists, the point of this post is to remind you that the "best" books are not only the most "literary."

There is a book for every reader, and it is our job as RAs to match each reader with the book that is "best" for him or her. So look beyond the literary best lists for suggestions for you and your patrons. And remember the "best" tag is only 1 person's opinion. When we read for pleasure, our own opinion of the book is the only opinion that truly matters.

Wrap-Up Class

Tonight I had my "wrap-up class." This is the last lecture of the semester in which I try to summarize everything we have learned in the past few months and tie up any loose ends.

We have a few exercises, but we also discuss the entire semester's worth of discussions happening on the listserv for Readers' Advisors, Fiction-L.

New for this semester, I have created a handout of the the 10 things you cannot leave leave this class without knowing. It is modified from a new 60-75 minute talk I have been giving at libraries focusing on how all staff can provide basic RA service, or as I like to call it RA for All. Catchy, no?

Anyway, here are Becky's Ten Rules of Basic RA Service:

1.) Betty Rosenberg: “Never apologize for your reading tastes.”

2.) Suggest don’t Recommend.

3.) Everyone reads a different version of the same book.

4.) Write down adjectives about what you read; plot you can find.

5.) Read widely (at least speed read widely).

6.) Read about books (RSS feeds).

7.) Share what you read- with staff and patrons.

8.) Never let a patron leave unsatisfied.

9.) Get out from behind the desk.

10.)Get involved in creating displays.

I also provided a list of the 5 RA resources you cannot live without. Here is the text from the handout:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com

Plot summaries, possible read alikes, but most importantly, customer comments! 5 star and 1 star reviews are the most helpful.

NoveList: EBSCO Database

Most helpful quickly-- Left Hand Menu: Recommended Reads; Right Hand Menu: Genre Outlines. Enter author or title and look for “Author Read Alike” or “Feature Articles” tabs.

Kent District Public Library’s What’s Next Database: http://ww2.kdl.org/libcat/WhatsNextNEW.asp

Easy to retrieve and print lists of books in series order. Makes patrons happy. Brings them back!

Gnooks: http://www.gnooks.com/

When you are desperate…distract them.

RA for ALL: http://raforall.blogspot.com

My blog which talks about all things Readers’ Advisory.

So this is the super quick version of what we have spent all semester talking about. I also go out to libraries and teach this extremely basic "RA for All" class, so contact me if you are interested in having me come to you.

More Best Lists

Here is an article from the Chicago Tribune's books blog entitled, "Best of 2009: a User Guide." What I like about this list is that it combines traditional and non traditional best lists.

Remember, to check out the big list over at Early Word (right hand gutter) if you are trying to keep up with all of the best lists.

Also, look for my favorite books I read in 2009 at the end of this month and the BPL's best of 2009 display in January. Unlike many of the lists you will find, we will be acknowledging genre fiction too.

Best Death Scenes In Literature

Lit Lists, which I have mentioned a few times before, compiles literature related lists from all over the Web and posts one just about every day. Sometimes they are the obvious best lists that everyone else is posting, but other times they are really original.

Case in point, this post about the best death scenes in literature.

This is a great resource for finding a different list; one that will jump start your (or your patrons') reading when you feel like you are in a slump.

Just type a subject into the search box and see if they have a list. I would bet they do.

BPL Displays: December 2009

I woke up this morning to a fresh coating of the season's first measurable snow. It was a quite festive drive to work this morning; I literally have to go over the river and through the woods. Just enough snow to add atmosphere to the drive, but not enough to cause any hazardous driving conditions. How do people pass the winter in warm places without this beauty?

Digression? No? Segue into our 2 new displays here at the Berwyn Library? Yes!

For December we have our annual holiday display of Christmas book in all genres. It went up on Friday and now, on Monday morning, minutes before opening, I see it is bad need of restocking. The annotated list has a nice mix of new and old titles too. Even if you live nowhere near Berwyn, IL. you can still access the list and go to your local library to get one of the books.

I also did a display and annotated list entitled "Cozy Up With a Cozy." Our new RA staffer (but not new to the BPL) John, did a great job making the display look as cozy as the books on the shelf. The list has 5 general fiction and 5 mysteries filled with kind-hearted characters and happy endings, sure to warm your heart.

Can You Judge a Book By Its Cover?

I know we all are familiar with the idiom "you can't judge a book by its cover," but to take it literally anymore may be a mistake.

Publishers are getting much better at trying to sell the appeal of a book with its cover. You can tell the genre and tone/mood of most fiction just by looking at the book's cover. Also, publishers include appeal info on the flaps and in the blurbs on the back covers. With so little time to sell a book to a patron, using the cover to help us divine clues about what is between those covers, is a helpful RA tool in and of itself.

I now spend time each semester talking to my students about how to use the cover to help you and your patrons. But I am not the only one doing this. At PLA this March, Michael Gannon will be presenting "Readers' Advisory for Dummies: Yes, You CAN Judge a Book By Its Cover." If you will be there, I would highly suggest going to this program.

We already know how good covers help books. Amazon has annual poll of the best book covers. But, tomorrow, the NY Times Book Review is going to have this article about how bad covers can hurt a great book.

So, go ahead, start judging books by their covers. I do. But understand that you can't tell how good or bad the book is by its cover. It is more a guide for the genre and tone/mood. But those two appeals will help you to better help your readers.

What I'm Reading: The Housekeeper and the Professor

On Kathy's recommendation, I just read The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa. This slim (under 200 pages), moving novel can be read in just a sitting or two, but the story will stay with you for days after that.

The story is deceptively simple with a compelling twist. First of all I should state that no one has a name in this book, which leads to so many questions without even mentioning the plot. So our three main characters are "the housekeeper" (who is also the narrator and from whose point of view we get the entire story), "the professor," and the housekeeper's 10 year-old son, who the professor nicknames "Root."

The housekeeper is assigned by the agency she works for to take care of the a former mathematics professor's home and make his meals. She is the 9th housekeeper assigned to the professor. This is because the professor has a brain injury. He can remember everything that happened before his accident (1970s), but since, his memory is on a 80 minute loop. That's right, his memory only lasts 80 minutes. Intriguing, huh?

The ensuing story is about her time working for the Professor and the bond they form. It is about her son's relationship with her and the Professor. It is about the loss of a genius; we still see sparks of the old Professor as he works on complicated math problems. And finally, it is a story about living, no matter the obstacles; about living a life with meaning even if you cannot remember what happened 81 minutes ago.

Appeal: There is math in this book, but it is just enough to catch our interest. If you think the book looks like a good match for your tastes but you do not like math, don't be scared off. The math is presented in an accessible and interesting way. Trust me, I don't like math myself and I enjoyed this book.

This novel obviously has a speculative element that is key to the story. You need to buy the whole memory lasting 80 minutes thing to like the book. This adds a touch of fantasy to what is otherwise a very "real" story. The memory issue is well explained early on though, and it is consistently applied throughout.

When you are reading it, The Housekeeper and the Professor seems leisurely paced, but it is so engrossing and original (and short) that I literally gulped it down.

At its heart, Ogawa's novel is a domestic story about every day things. It is also about the universal topics of friendship, love, and admiration.

But most of all, you have to like characters over plot to enjoy The Housekeeper and the Professor. It is the interaction between the three main characters and how they handle the Professor's illness that makes the book. Ultimately it is both heart-wrenching and touching, both surprising and reassuring.

Thinking about how your life changes when your memory (or the memory of one in your midst) only lasts 80 minutes is a huge appeal here. You will not stop thinking about what it would feel like to live that way.

Readalikes: One reviewer said that this novel with its larger message and nameless characters felt a lot like Aesop's Fables.

The Housekeeper and the Professor is similar to the works of other Japanese writers. If you liked this novel, try Haruki Murakami or Kobo Abe.

I also found this novel to be very similar to Japanese American author Julie Otsuka's When the Emperor Was Divine about the Japanese-American internment camps. Both are short, but leave you thinking. Both are very domestically focused but look at a much larger and thought provoking picture.

Richard Powers' award winning, The Echo Maker also looks at a man unhinged by a mental defect caused by an accident. However, here we get the perspective of the person living with the brain injury.

The Housekeeper and the Professor also reminded me of the work of Jose Saramago. Try Blindness where everyone has gone blind, save for one "survivor."

For Nonfiction options, people may be interested in books about popular Japanese literature (Ogawa has won many awards in Japan), failed memory, and, of course, mathematics.

Look for more on The Housekeeper and the Professor in the next few months as my book group will be reading and discussing it soon.

More Best Lists: NYT and Book Club Choices

Two more bests lists came out this weekend that I wanted to point out. One is a major one, the other, more niche.

As reported on many other blogs, The New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2009 was posted on their website. It will be in print on December 6th.

The Book Club Cheerleader published her year end best list too. These are paperback and hardcover releases in 2009 that she feels made for the best discussions. Here is the list.