Reading Group Choices for Sure Bet Suggestions

One of my all time favorite resources for finding sure bet reading suggestions- either for gifts or to suggest to the patron who won’t give me more than, “I just want a good book”- is Reading Group Choices. Why? Well they have the most extensive database of proven winner, book discussion books available with one click.

First, why do I use a book discussion books resource to find sure bets for the average library patron? That one is easy to answer. It is because if a book has been a proven discussion winner that means it both has enough depth and interest to discuss something AND it has been shown to work with a large number of different readers.

Yes, as a demographic group, book discussion members are probably majority white, middle aged ladies, but also as a whole, book discussion members tend to read more broadly than the average reader. And, anyone who has been in or led a book group also knows that there is a HUGE range of opinions and reading tastes represented in every book club. Now extrapolate that out to all book clubs and....wow...we have a lot of different readers, reading a wide range of books.

You put the data together and find the books that were best for all book groups and you can be fairly confident that these titles work for a lot of readers-- or as we would call that in the RA world, they are a “sure bet.”

And, when I hand sell titles I identify through this method, I tell the patron where I found the suggestion. I add a comment about how this book was a favorite for discussion. Something like “While you may not love it yourself, there is a lot to chew on here. It has engendered a lot of conversation, enough that people loved discussing it whether or not they liked reading it.” Adding this little extra “behind the curtain,” info seems to make the patron more willing to give the book a chance. Almost always they end up reporting back that they liked reading it, even if they didn’t “love it.”

Now back to Reading Group Choices specifically. Not only do they have a list of favorites going back to 2003 that you can access here, but they also have started keeping track of the top books read each year. by sheer number. [The lists are different; a fact I find very interesting.]

Reading Group Choices and their large backlist is a wonderful place to look for suggestions, suggestions that will not only produce an excellent read for the patrons but also reinforce how important the work you do is. These are titles they could never find without you. We know how to do this people. We can give them great reads that are not brand new but still awesome. We can knock their socks off with only a few clicks.

Get to it, and have a great weekend.

Library Reads: June 2017

This is your monthly Library Reads announcement.

Library Reads day means 3 things here on RA for All.

1. I post the list and tag it “Library Reads” so that you can easily pull up every single list with one click.
2. I can remind you that even though the newest list is always fun to see, it is the older lists where you can find AWESOME, sure bet suggestions for patrons that will be on your shelf to actually hand to them right now. The best thing about Library Reads is the compound interest it is earning. We now have hundreds and hundreds of titles worth suggesting right at our fingertips.
3. You have no excuse not to hand sell any Library Reads titles because there is a book talk right there in the list in the form of the annotation one of your colleagues wrote for you. All you have to say to your patron is, “such and such library worker in blank state thought this was a great read,” and then you read what he or she said.

So get out there and suggest a good read to someone today. I don’t care what list or resource you use to find the suggestion, just start suggesting books. 

June 2017 LibraryReads

Magpie Murders

by Anthony Horowitz

Published:6/6/2017 by Harper
ISBN: 9780062645227 

“Susan Ryeland is a London book editor who has just received the latest manuscript from one of her most irascible authors, Alan Conway. But the manuscript’s ending appears to be missing and she learns that Conway has committed suicide. As Ryeland learns more about his death, she starts to question whether a murder has occurred and begins to investigate. Magpie Murders is a delightful, clever mystery-within-a-mystery. Horowitz shows real mastery of his craft. This is a terrific, modern take on the traditional mystery with ingenious puzzles to solve.”

Andrea Larson, Cook Memorial Library, Libertyville, IL

Silver Silence

by Nalini Singh

Published: 6/13/2017 by Berkley
ISBN: 9781101987797

“Silver Silence is a new chapter in the Psy/Changeling series. As the world tries to adjust after a peace accord, Silver Mercant takes center stage. As head of an aid organization reacting to rampant terrorism, she’s an obvious target. But Alpha Valentin Nikolaev has already decided she’s his to protect. Valentin and Silver start tracking down deadly shadow factions that want to undermine the Trinity Accords. Diverse and fascinating world-building are on full display along with a bumped up level of humor in the face of adversity.”

Jessica Trotter, Capital District Area Libraries, Lansing, MI 

---

The Waking Lands

by Callie Bates

Published: 6/27/2017 by Del Rey
ISBN: 9780425284025

“Lady Elanna Voltai flees her adopted homeland when the king, who raised her like a daughter, dies under mysterious circumstances and Elanna is accused of murder. Forced to return to the magical homeland of her birth and her estranged father who was branded a traitor for inciting rebellion, Elanna must come to terms with the life she left behind and her destiny. I loved watching Elanna find her voice and her strength, and the rich world of magic around her makes this story even more fantastic!”

Jessica Perham, Schaumburg Township Library, Schaumburg, IL 

---

Down Among The Sticks And Bones

by Seanan McGuire

Published: 6/13/2017 by Tor.com
ISBN: 9780765392039

“In Every Heart a Doorway we met Jack and Jill, two sisters bound together yet alienated. In this installment, we learn how these two girls escape their parents when they exit the world we know for a realm of fairy-tale horror via a magic stairway, appearing in a trunk in a locked room. This is a story about two young women and the trauma that shapes them; a story about love, hate, and the thin line between. A captivating and emotional novella that irresistibly sweeps the reader along.”

Tegan Mannino, Monson Free Library, Monson, MA

---

Do Not Become Alarmed: A Novel

by Maile Meloy

Published: 6/6/2017 by Riverhead Books
ISBN: 9780735216525

“Liv and Nora, who are cousins, decide to take their families on a cruise. Both have an eleven-year-old and a younger child as well.  At one of the ports, the moms take the children out with another family they met on the ship.  All goes well until the children, in a brief moment, aren’t observed and disappear. From here the nightmare begins, and the story alternates between what is happening to the children and the adults. The story is gripping and the characters are well-developed. The book explores family and marital dynamics, race, privilege, guilt, and responsibility.”

Mary Bennett, Carmel Clay Public Library, Carmel, IN

---

The Alice Network: A Novel

by Kate Quinn

Published: 6/6/2017 by William Morrow Paperbacks
ISBN: 9780062654199

“Outstanding fictional account of the Alice network, women spies in World War I, tough and determined to defeat the Germans. The story centers on Eve Gardiner, aka Marguerite, a young woman trained to spy on the Germans, and Charlie St. Clair, a young woman post WWII, pregnant, lost and finding her direction. The two meet and the story alternates chapters as Charlie is determined to find her cousin, Rose presumed dead after the war, while Eve’s story of the Alice network unfolds. A fantastic book with strong female characters.”

Ellen Firer, Merrick Library, Merrick, NY 

---

The Child

by Fiona Barton

Published: 6/27/2017 by Berkley
ISBN: 9781101990483

“When a baby skeleton is unearthed at a construction site, reporter Kate Waters thinks it is a story worth investigating. As she digs into the mystery of the child, she uncovers more than she bargained for. Told from the viewpoints of various characters, Barton tells an intriguing tale about the newborn baby and all the characters involved, leaving it up to the readers to put together the connections until the very end.”

Annice Sevett, New Hanover County Public Library, Wilmington, NC 

---

The Little French Bistro: A Novel

by Nina George
Published: 6/13/2017 by Crown
ISBN: 9780451495587

“Terribly depressed by the emptiness of her long marriage, Marianne decides to end it all by jumping off a Paris bridge. Her unwanted rescue and ensuing marital abandonment jolt Marianne into ditching her tour group and setting out for Finistere, the westernmost coast of Brittany. Keeping body and soul together by working at a seaside bistro, Marianne finds herself healing through the company of a diverse group of quirky locals. The Little French Bistro is merveilleux. It refreshes like the sea breeze sweeping the Breton coast.”

Sarah Nagle, Carver County Library, Chaska, MN 

---

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo: A Novel

by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Published: 6/13/2017 by Atria Books
ISBN: 9781501139239

“The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is a delightful tale of old Hollywood, so full of detail, that you’ll swear Evelyn was a real actor. Monique Grant is tasked with writing an article about the famous woman, so she interviews Evelyn who tells us all about her career, starting in the 1950s — and her many marriages. This novel will enchant you, and Evelyn will stay with you long after you finish reading.”

Lauren McLaughlin, Wilton Library Association, Wilton, CT 

---

Midnight At The Bright Ideas Bookstore: A Novel

by Matthew Sullivan

Published: 6/13/2017 by Scribner
ISBN: 9781501116841
“Lydia Smith is enjoying her comfortable life. She has a job she loves at the Bright Ideas Bookstore. Then one of her favorite “bookfrogs” (code word for eccentric bookstore regulars) commits suicide and leaves her his small horde of books. She discovers a strangely methodical defacement which is a kind of code. A delicate spiderweb of connections leading back to a murderous incident in Lydia’s childhood is revealed. This pushed me into reading ‘just one more chapter’ until late into the night.”

Joan Hipp, Florham Park Public Library, Florham Park, NJ

What I’m Reading: The Time Eater

The Time Eater.

French, Aaron J. (author).
Jan. 2017. 178p. JournalStone, paperback, $13.95  (9781945373367). 
First published May 5, 2017 (Booklist Online).

Roger and James were best friends at Ohio State until the day they performed a ritual to summon an evil spirit known as The Time Eater. After that day their relationship, and their lives, were never the same again. After years out of touch Roger is asked to come to the bedside of a dying James, but instead of a wasting away cancer patient in James’ bed, Roger find the Time Eater, an all knowing, all seeing vast being that is fighting for control of both James’ and now Rogers’ souls. In this modern Lovecraftian tale, French uses well worn tropes to introduce his story and get it moving, but then just when you think you have read this one before, he bends and twists his story into something both original and shocking. This is a well paced, occult story, featuring solid characters, and just the right balance between description and action that is perfect for fans of cosmic horror or demonic possession tales. With the recent uptick both in quantity and popularity of Lovecraft inspired stories, The Time Eater will find many eager readers. Start by handing it to those who enjoyed The Ballad of Black Tom by LaValle or even fans of the classic horror author John Farris.

Further Appeal: As I noted here, novellas are hot and this, while not marketed as a novella, is the length of one and can be read in a single sitting.

The Lovecraftian trend is also not budging; in fact, it is only gaining steam, as you can see from just this one click. The Time Eater is a great, short way for people to dip their toes into the trend with a title that stays very true to the original inspiration.

French’s descriptions of the cosmic world opened up by the Time Eater is "awesome"- in the truest sense of the word. It is huge, expansive, and threatening. It will take your breath away. But French is also able to capture the claustrophobia and paranoia of Roger as he inhabits the very real Brooklyn home where most of the action unfolds. This juxtaposition alone is a compelling reason to read this book.

Three Words That Describe This Book: Lovecraftian, well paced, twists

Readalikes: Start with the readalikes in the review above, or use this link to see other recent Lovecraftian tales I have reviewed and recommended.

Last year, I reviewed an anthology French edited, The Gods of H.P. Lovecraft which was selected as a Booklist Top Ten Horror Book of 2016.

Two other authors who are carrying the torch of H.P. Lovecraft by publishing smart, original and thoroughly 21 Century cosmic horror are Laird Barron and Brett Talley. These are not rehashes like some of the popular titles coming out right now, rather the work of these two authors should be seen like the grandsons of the tales Lovecraft first wrote. Use these links to access the posts where I have written about Talley and Barron on the horror blog.

Book Discussion Report: The Yiddish Policemen’s Union for ARRT

Okay before I get to the report of the latest book discussion and announce the next one, as you can see we got a NEW LOGO!

We loved how well our branding was going with the newer ARRT Logo that we thought we should also brand our 2 main programs-- the Book Club Study and the Genre Study. While these programs require that you be a member of ARRT to attend in person, for both studies we offer the notes for free.  With more and more of you using them around the world to help train your staff, we figured we should give each a unique logo to help identify them, but still firmly root them within the confines of the ARRT main logo. [Below and to the right]

I will unveil the Genre Study logo when those notes are ready. Although if you can’t wait, click here.

Also, as I mentioned here, today I met with Elizabeth and started handing over the administrative duties of the Book Club Study to her. We began with her updating the website. It felt good to start passing the baton for all the reasons I mentioned here. I promised Elizabeth I would continue to help her over the next year, but I am already feeling good about leaving her in the lead position. She will be great. Now to find who will supplant me as #2.

Okay now to the info you are actually reading for...

On May 3, the ARRT Book Club Study met to discuss The Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon.

 

CLICK HERE for the notes on the discussion of the book.

As always, discussion of the book included a nuts-and-bolts session devoted to sharing practical solutions to the problems and concerns of book discussion leaders.

The Leadership Topic, led by Bill Stephens, was about how to both recruit new members and retain old ones. 

CLICK HERE for the notes on the Leadership Topic Discussion.

That’s the discussion that was. Both were excellent. For the book discussion part, it was amazing how relevant Chabon’s 2007 title still was. And, kudos to Bill for handling what he called “the impossible question.” He inspired a very helpful discussion on this tricky and frustrating topic. Use the links above for all the details.

Moving on:

Please join us for a discussion of Dream Land: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic by Sam Quinones led by Melissa Stoeger:

 .

In fascinating detail, Sam Quinones chronicles how, over the past 15 years, enterprising sugar cane farmers in a small county on the west coast of Mexico created a unique distribution system that brought black tar heroin—the cheapest, most addictive form of the opiate, 2 to 3 times purer than its white powder cousin—to the veins of people across the United States. Communities where heroin had never been seen before—from Charlotte, NC and Huntington, WVA, to Salt Lake City and Portland, OR—were overrun with it. Local police and residents were stunned. How could heroin, long considered a drug found only in the dense, urban environments along the East Coast, and trafficked into the United States by enormous Colombian drug cartels, be so incredibly ubiquitous in the American heartland? Who was bringing it here, and perhaps more importantly, why were so many townspeople suddenly eager for the comparatively cheap high it offered? 

With the same dramatic drive of El Narco and Methland, Sam Quinones weaves together two classic tales of American capitalism: The stories of young men in Mexico, independent of the drug cartels, in search of their own American Dream via the fast and enormous profits of trafficking cheap black-tar heroin to America’s rural and suburban addicts; and that of Purdue Pharma in Stamford, Connecticut, determined to corner the market on pain with its new and expensive miracle drug, Oxycontin; extremely addictive in its own right. Quinones illuminates just how these two stories fit together as cause and effect: hooked on costly Oxycontin, American addicts were lured to much cheaper black tar heroin and its powerful and dangerous long-lasting high. Embroiled alongside the suppliers and buyers are DEA agents, local, small-town sheriffs, and the US attorney from eastern Virginia whose case against Purdue Pharma and Oxycontin made him an enemy of the Bush-era Justice Department, ultimately stalling and destroying his career in public service.

Dreamland is a scathing and incendiary account of drug culture and addiction spreading to every part of the American landscape. 
Dreamland is a scathing and incendiary account of drug culture and addiction spreading to every part of the American landscape. 

The discussion will be held:

Monday, August 7th

2-4 pm

Deerfield Public Library

For RSVP details, click here

Please arrange to obtain your own copy of the book for the discussion

As always, discussion of the book includes a nuts-and-bolts session devoted to sharing practical solutions to the problems and concerns of book discussion leaders.

The Leadership Topic, led by Elizabeth Hopkins, will be about how to discuss Nonfiction titles. Please come ready to share your successes and failures in this area so we can all help each other. Also, remember that you can always bring any problems or concerns you have with your group, no matter the topic, so we can all help each other.

Full details on this up coming discussion as well as the archives of notes on past discussions are on the Book Club Study homepage. You can also visit the Book Club Study section of the ARRT website to access our Pinterest board of every book we have ever discussed.

Call to Action: Help Improve RA Service By Proactively Battling Library Anxiety

One of the things I bring up in all of my basic RA training sessions is that Library Anxiety is a real thing. Even regular patrons feel it.

In the public library RA setting I most often see patrons afraid to take a book because they are afraid if they don’t like it, we will be upset. Even worse, they are afraid to not finish it if they are not enjoying it for the same reason.

Now this doesn’t happen with every patron, but it happens enough that I want to call you all to action to be proactive in attacking Library Anxiety head on as part of the RA transaction.

Let me explain and show you how easy it is.

Often, as we suggest books to patrons, they are reluctant to take them. In my experience much of this stems from fear in disappointing us. Over the years, as I hand sold books to patrons, I added a few new talking points to my repertoire that have helped them to not feel any pressure.

You would be surprised but people are most relieved to hear this: “If you don’t like it after 50 pages or so, feel free to close the book and bring it back. You don’t even have to tell me. We have no way of knowing if you finished the book or not.”

This always gets a nervous giggle because although they know this is true in their brains, patrons are not sure 100% that with our librarian super sense if we can find a way to know that. Letting the patrons know up front that we don’t care if they finish the books we give them is a huge relief, and it often is the difference between them taking a book [or 2] or not.

Sometimes, I elaborate further by saying: “It’s no offense to me if you don’t like the book. I didn’t write it.”

Whether or not I add that last line I always follow up this part of the conversation by reiterating that my only concern is to find you a book you will enjoy. And with all the books we have here, I am committed to matching you with the ones that are right for you. That is my only concern. So if you don’t like the book you are given, we need to get right back to work trying a different one.

In other words, the failure to connect is no one’s fault. It is a process. It is a journey we go on together. It is not a struggle. It should not be something that involves any discomfort. It is leaguer reading, not brain surgery.

This takes just a few seconds extra during the RA transaction, but it goes a long way toward showing them that the library is there to help based on what they want and need. If you answer this call to action, you are a library superhero, helping to battle all library anxiety in every setting, one patron at a time. You will increase every patron’s enjoyment of their library experience, no matter the library or person helping them.

To this day, a long time patron still regularly tells me that the greatest thing I ever did for her was to “allow" her to give up on books she didn’t enjoy with having guilt. She gushes about it all the time. She spreads the word to other readers too. Already a voracious reader, she now gets even more enjoyment from her books because she has been freed to stop reading. She also has been much more adventurous in what she will try too. She tells her friends how much fun she has had trying “steampunk." [She liked 1, but not the other that she tried] She is so proud and happy, and all I did was let her know it was okay to only read the books that she wanted to read when she wanted to read them.

I know we know we make a difference in our patrons’ lives all the time, but this is one place where I never knew we had such impact. So, I am passing it on and asking you all to try it out.

Another wonderful outcome of being proactive about the fact that the patrons may not enjoy the book you just gave them is that is serves to humanize you in their eyes.  The patrons now see you as just another book lover/reader who is just trying to help them find a great read. No longer are you the expert, telling them that they will like this book and if they don’t it is their fault not yours.

I know this sounds extreme, but even if you are super nice and polite, you are still the library worker giving out the books and patrons feel this way even if they aren’t conscious of the feeling.

So, get out their and keep reminding patrons that the library is a place where their needs come first and there is no reason to be scared of us. RA Service is the best place to battle Library Anxiety and it will improve your patrons’ library experience.

For past Call to Action posts, click here.

Fostering a Love of Reading Through School Libraries- Featuring A New Friend and Resource for You

Today is my 2x a month volunteer afternoon at the local elementary school library. Since this is also one of my last times volunteering while I have a child in this school I thought I would reflect back upon what I have learned as an adult librarian working in a school library for 10 [!] years before I introduce you to a new friend and inspirational school librarian.

Ten years ago, my first child entered Kindergarten and I was looking for ways I could volunteer at the school, but I didn't want to be a room mom or organize fundraisers. What I was looking for was an opportunity to provide help to the school in a way that best utilized my skill sets. What I found was that the LRC actively solicits parent volunteers. I started helping out and never looked back.

When I first got there I was not sure how much I could actually help beyond understanding how the books were shelved, keeping an eye out for messy and out of order shelves, and occasionally giving a book suggestion to the kids-- I was not as well versed in kid lit at that time.

Well flash forward ten years later and not only have I been able to contribute more, the LRC Director and her staff have made great, innovative changes without sacrificing their commitment to putting books in the kids' hands.

Yes we now have a green screen room and the kids all learn how to use a variety of computer programs through the LRC, but I have also been a part of projects to re-catalog entire sections of the library- making local changes to the standard Dewey Classifications to fit how the kids actually use the collection. I have also spent a lot of time working on cataloging. I take the standard preloaded records and clean them up. This is a help to the LRC Director because it is a professional job that needs a trained hand. By doing it for her, she is freed up to work with students and plan longer terms projects while still getting the new books on the shelf in a timely fashion for the hordes of hungry readers she has been cultivating.

[I have highlighted the work of this school library in this program. You can click through for some more examples.]

For me, professionally, working with the kids and their books has allowed me to become well versed in kid lit and, more importantly, I am now a pro at the RA conversation with kids. Getting a kids to talk about why they love a book is different than working with adults. In many ways it is harder, and yet, once you get them going, they can't stop sharing what they love.

The teachers seek me out for some of the harder to help children, the ones who need a little more one on one attention to find that perfect book- especially the reluctant readers and the older kids who need a lower reading level with high interest. With me helping those kids and giving them the more intensive attention, the LRC Director is free to work with everyone else.

I love it so much, even on those crazy weeks when I really should stay home and get some of my work done. Unless I am out of town, I always go. It recharges me and is helping my son's school community. And over the years, the LRC Director has become a colleague and friend. I have watched her grow, get her Master's Degree, and become a sought after presenter herself.

My son will be leaving for Junior High very soon, but I will be back at the elementary school next year. There are very strict rules about who can volunteer in schools and normally if you do not have an enrolled child, you cannot. Except....if you are a professional in the community volunteering your professional skills in the school setting. Bingo! 

As a result of my work with my school library, I have become much more cognizant of the great work being done, often alone and in a vacuum, by our school librarians all over the country. And last week, at StokerCon I met Kelly Powers, a school librarian in Southern, CA. 

Kelly works at a school where the average reading level that is below grade level. She works very hard to engage and encourage her students. Just because they are struggling does not mean they can;t fall in love with reading. In fact, Kelly is having great success because she works so hard to find them the right books, books that will keep them reading and as a result she is helping them to improve their literacy skills.  Kelly is also an author, so she understands stories from that perspective too.

Kelly gets the power of giving kids a great read, helping them to find books they enjoy for fun, and she writes about it on her blog The Write Time. Kelly writes persuasively and elegantly about why books and reading matter. Here is just a sampling of some of my favorite posts by her:

• Graphic Novels As Gateway Books
• The Male Reader
• 11 Tips For Encouraging A Young Reader

No matter the age of reader you help, from babies to senior citizens, Kelly's posts will help you to help your readers better. I would like to especially note The Male Reader. Everyone who reads this blog, needs to read that post.

I believe strongly in learning by stepping outside of your comfort zone and looking at things from a different perspective. This is how we grow as library workers and people. Therefore, I am going to have Kelly check in from time to time with more insight.

But right now, I am off to my school library to help get more books into those kids' hands- whether its by suggesting a specific kid a title, cataloging new materials, or helping to reimagine how we shelve the books, all of it helps to foster a love of both books and libraries in these kids-- our future funders and voters for libraries!

What I’m Reading: Gwendy’s Button Box and In the Valley of the Sun

In the current issue of Booklist, I have two star reviews of horror titles. One is the brand new Stephen King and Richard Chizmar novella that even I was surprised was so great, but the second was a total surprise-- a debut novel, by Andy Davidson, that knocked me off my feet. The King, that one your patrons will probably grab and inhale in one sitting on their own, but the Davidson...buy it, hand it out, even read it yourself. Trust me. This is one a wide range of people will enjoy.

As usual, I am including the full text of my draft review which always has a little more than ends up in the magazine plus the three words and such that I always include in my reviews.

Gwendy’s Button Box.

King, Stephen (author) and Richard Chizmar (author).
May 2017. 168p. Cemetery Dance, hardcover, $25 (9781587676109). 
First published May 1, 2017 (Booklist).

The fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine is known around the world for the strange things that always seem to happen there. It has been a while since King let his imagination wander back to this beloved location, but with the help of award-winning author, Chizmar, Castle Rock is not only back, but it has returned to reveal one of its best secrets yet. Beginning in the summer of 1974, we meet Gwendy as she climbs 305 Suicide Steps to the top of Castle View to find a man in a dark suit and hat waiting patiently for her on a bench. He has something to give her, something beautiful but sinister, something magical but dangerous: the Button Box. It dispenses valuable coins and amazing chocolate treats, but its buttons can also be used to cause world-wide devastation, and Gwendy is now charged with keeping the box safe for the foreseeable future. What follows is a novella, told in a tone that is both sweet and ominous, of Gwendy’s coming of age. From a plump twelve year old to a college graduate, her time as the steward of the box is filled with its share of utter happiness and crushing sorrow. It moves quickly, as life does during these seminal years for us all, but where this novella shines is in the universal questions it asks of the reader. How much of any of our lives is of our own doing versus being a result of intervention from an unseen force? And, how much power do any of us have to save the world, or conversely, destroy it? Readers will eagerly devour this thought provoking and satisfying tale, even as it leaves them unsettled in its wake. Like The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Gaiman or Every Heart a Doorway by McGuire, this is dark fantasy storytelling at its best, regardless of length. 

YA Statement: Like all of King’s works, there will be teens clamoring to read this novella. With its teenaged protagonist and thought provoking issues around growing up and finding yourself, this is an excellent option. 

Further Appeal: Look, I’m not going to lie, I was cautious when reading this. Would it be as good as people were expecting? The answer is yes! I am actually surprised by how much I really loved it considering I started this novella daring the pages to impress me.

I know you don’t need me to hand sell this title to patrons, but you CAN use it to hand other titles to people, books they would never know about without your help.  To help you, help them I have many readalikes linked through in the review above and below in my “Readalikes" section. So your marching orders are to use this title’s popularity to spread the word about other great reads.

Three Words That Describe This Book: coming of age, dark (yet also sweet), nostalgic

Readalikes: I mention two other novella readalikes above by Gaiman and McGuire. Both are great options and the links I added go to the reviews I wrote with more readalikes.  Click through above, especially with the Gaiman. The list of readalikes to Ocean at the End of the Lane works perfectly here too. All of the readalikes are novels, but they are not long and all move fairly briskly.

Another shorter title that is a tad bit more weird fiction than straight horror, but will appeal to people who like the thought-provoking story, coming of age themes, and open-ended nature of this novella is This Census-Taker by China Mieville. Like Gwendy and her magic box, here our young protagonist possesses darkly powerful keys.

Finally, if your patrons like this novella, they HAVE to read Chizmar’s novella found at the end of his most recent collection A Long December. The novella gives the title to the whole collection. You can read more about what I have to say about that novella here. Many may question how much Chizmar wrote in Gwendy’s Button Box, but if you have read A Long December, you won’t have any doubts as you can clearly see his skilled hand in this collaboration.

In the Valley of the Sun.

Davidson, Andy (author).

June 2017. 384p. Skyhorse, hardcover, $24.99  (9781510721104); e-book (9781510721111). 
First published May 1, 2017 (Booklist).

It is 1980 and the US is still reeling from the effects of the Vietnam War, especially in the harsh landscape of rural Texas. Travis is not a good man, he even wears a black hat. Haunted by his violent past, he takes it out on the women he meets. But one night, a strange, pale skinned girl leaves him bloodied and weak in his own trailer only to awaken with an inability to tolerate daylight and a strange and overpowering hunger. When widow Annabelle and her ten year old son Sandy, see the trailer in the parking lot of their long empty roadside motel, she offers the sickly cowboy some work around the place in exchange for his board. The three lonely souls soon strike up an awkward friendship, but not for long because a veteran Texas Ranger is following the trail of dead girls that leads right up to Travis’ doorstep, and no one, not even Travis, understands the monster they are truly up against. The shifting point of view smoothly moves between the major players, allowing the reader to sympathize with all, even the most evil ones. But this is not your typical vampire novel, rather it is actually a lyrical western, with a large dose of psychological suspense. Everyone has a secret here and no one is completely innocent. It is a story dripping with atmosphere, a hauntingly dark, yet oddly beautiful debut with wide appeal, where the plot and the characters play with your mind, and the pacing is like the harsh landscape, a slow but riveting burn. This is one that readers won’t easily forget after turning the final page. Hand it often to fans of literary, psychological suspense with a strong sense of place who don’t mind a subtle touch of the supernatural, and especially target fans of the film Hell or High Water and the novels of Cormac McCarthy or Stephen Graham Jones

Further Appeal: This book was amazing from the first page. First of all, talk about a flawed protagonist, Travis wears a black hat for goodness sake. The unease in this book starts from the dead, lifeless girl on page one and only builds from there; it is intense. The characters are all complicated and flawed. The setting is rendered perfectly-- both the beauty and savagery of the landscape and the time period [post Vietnam War]. And the whole vampire thing is so subtle. I normally dislike vampire stories, but for this one, it works perfectly both as a metaphor AND literally.

But what is the most striking thing about this book it the lyrical beauty of its language. This is a book you can give out to readers who read for language. Over the years I have found that there are a lot of those readers. They don’t care as much about plot or other appeals as long as the language itself captures them.

I was a little sad when I finished this book because I think I read the best debut horror book I will read all year and it is was only March when I finished it. Expect me to bring this one up A LOT in the coming months.

Finally, it is important to note that the Western is having a moment once again, but it is in this reimagined way. Pay attention to that because it is trend that is still on an upward trajectory.

Three Words That Describe This Book: lyrical, haunting, atmospheric

Readalikes: Seriously, if you could stuff Cormac McCarthy into Stephen Graham Jones- mix the old Texas master with one of the up and coming ones and have that newly created author write a book- you would get this novel. Mongrels by Jones and either No Country for Old Men OR The Road by McCarthy [depending on your personal preferences with storyline] are where you should begin.

Mentioning No Country for Old Men which is also a very good movie, brings me back to the fact that in the review I give a watch alike. This book is more similar to Hell or High Water than any book I have ever read. The setting of that Oscar nominated movie is more contemporary, yes, but otherwise the feel, characterizations, and bleak beauty are all there. I hand sold this title to best selling horror author Jeff Strand based on this comparison alone.

Finally, if you want a Southern Gothic classic that also has a monster storyline, but one that is not the crux of the story, try the often forgotten, but absolutely AMAZING The Reapers are the Angels by Alden Bell. It’s set in the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse, but the zombies are not why you read this novel.

ARRT Book Club Study: Yiddish Policemen’s Union is Today But This Post Is Only Tangentially About That

As I mentioned last month here, our next meeting of the ARRT Book Club Study is today and we are discussing The Yiddish Policemen’s Union.

Today I want to touch on a few issues regarding this meeting today and very little of it has to do with the book at hand. Rather, I thought I would use this opportunity to write about a few different things dealing with how and why we run the Book Club Study program.

But first, I want to mention how much fun re-reading this book was for me.  This was one of the best books I read in 2007! I listened to it this time to freshen up my memory, but as I did, I was trying to think back to the person I was when I read this book ten years ago. Honestly it seems like a lifetime ago-- for me and for the world and for our country.

Although I did not write up a new list of readalikes for this discussion, I did run a search of the blog to see when and where I used this Chabon novel as a readalike since 2007. You can click here to see all of the posts, but some titles that appeared were the Last Detective series by Ben Winters, The City and the City by China Mieville, and Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem. Click through for details on all of those titles.

Now back to the ARRT Book Club Study in general.

First of all, we run this book club study as both a training and a support group for book discussion leaders.  I feel very strongly that book club leaders need a place where they can not only get a chance to be a book club participant but also, have a place where they have a chance to complain and commiserate about their groups. For a more nuanced explanation of this point, click here to read my article on the topic from Booklist from December 2015.

But second, and more importantly, this group is my baby. I took our old, flagging, literary book discussion program and, with the help and support of the entire Steering Committee, not only completely changed what we were doing, but also reinvigorated it in the process. It has been rewarding and fun...

...but, now that I have done all the work and feel ownership of the program, I think it is the perfect time to let it go.

WHAT?!? I know that is what many of you are thinking right now. But hear me out.

I have loved creating this new discussion group about book discussion groups, but I also know that the energy I have expended is running low. I have plenty of people here in the organization who are hungry to take over what I revamped and run with it in their own direction. This is also paired with the fact that we are now getting a good core group that makes it to every meeting with a nice rotation of new people coming in and out.

Over the rest of this year, I will be slowly handing off the administrative duties of the Book Club Study to Elizabeth, a fellow Steering Committee member and a former student. She is more than ready to be in charge and I will happily step aside and be her #2. Not only does the organization need me to pass on this program which I revived to someone else, but I need it too. I am getting too busy to run this and it needs the attention it deserves. It is in good hands, yes, but Elizabeth will also be able to lead us into the future. My time to lead is past; I need to step aside.

Like I said, this post is only tangentially about our discussion today, but having the discussion means we will soon have notes on both the discussion of the book and the leadership discussion topic. I will let you know here on the blog when those are live.

But I think this point of letting things go once we get them off the ground is one which many of us need to tackle. I am hoping that my experience will help others to see the good that would come from cross training at a minimum, but also letting go and allowing others to take “your” thing to new places. Because it’s actually not yours, even if it feels that way, it belongs to everyone for whom you created it.

I will still be a member of the Book Club Study for the foreseeable future, and I will continue to update this blog with news and notes, but at least for the next few months, I will also report on the transition. I will be frank and honest about my feelings and actions. I hope it helps others both with their book groups and with any other programs they may want [or need] to hand off.

But until then,  I should tell you that the next discussion will be: Dream Land: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic by Sam Quinones Monday, August 7th from 2-4 pm at Deerfield Public Library and the leadership topic will be about how leading a book discussion on nonfiction is different from fiction. 

RA for All Roadshow: PCI Webinars Presents- The Horror Readers Advisory: How To Help Your Scariest Patrons

Today I have a treat for everyone. My brand new, fully updated Horror presentation which I will be presenting live for PCI. This presentation have just received a huge overhaul. I even tested out a draft version of it at StokerCon last week.

If you are not signed up to participate, don’t fret, PCI also makes the recordings available for you to purchase for your staff to watch on demand. You can click here for all of the details. For an individual they are not cheap, but it is a VERY good deal for your library or even your library system to buy a multiple login viewing option.

And, since it is only 6 months until Halloween, now is the time to start preparing your collections for the onslaught of horror hungry readers. You need to arm yourself with the knowledge on why people want a scary read AND get the details on the authors you should be adding to your collections.

Click here to access the slides.

I have also created this handout for participants which includes links from the presentation and a few brand new extras.

Today, over on the horror blog, I have also posted about this presentation but have included more information for those of you who want to do a little more digging-- some level 2 ghost hunting.

But for most horror newbies, the links in this post will serve you well right now and into the haunting season.

Remember, your horror patrons aren’t monsters, they just like to read about them.

National Library Legislative Day-- Don't Just Read This...Do Something!

I know you know that I just got back from StokerCon and you are eagerly expecting a bunch of posts about it, but today there are more important things.

Today is National Library Legislative Day and librarians from all over the country, including the Director of my home library, are in Washington, DC pleading our case to Congress. From the ALA Washington Office's email to members:

The focus of #NLLD17 this year will be federal library funding, and we will be specifically asking Congress to:

House: Save IMLS; Fully Fund the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) and the Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL) program

Senate: Sign the LSTA & IAL "Dear Appropriator" Letters 

House and Senate: Reauthorize the Museum and Library Services Act (incl. LSTA) 

Today, help us fight for libraries call, tweet, or email your Senators and ask them to sign the LSTA and IAL "Dear Appropriator" letters. 

Use the links below to find talking points, pre-written email and tweets, and other resources. 

 Send an Email  Make a Call  Send a Tweet 

Click here to learn all about the ALA Washington Office and here to sign up to join the Action Center which allows you to easily contact your elected officials while helping us spread a consistent message.

Please, if every single one of my readers takes just a few seconds to make 1 call, send 1 email, OR Tweet, that's tens of thousands of voices showing our power, our pride, and our importance in the lives of all Americans. Use the links I have provided and it will take you no time at all.

We know how important we are to every single person in this country, but our legislators do not understand. It is up to us to shout it from the rooftops.

Now go away and take action.

Back tomorrow with regular programming and lots of StokerCon roundups, including a brand new webinar that I debuted [in draft] at StokerCon and will be presenting tomorrow.