Using Awards Lists As a RA Tool: Bram Stoker Awards Edition

This is part of my ongoing series on using Awards Lists as a RA tool. Click here for all posts in the series in reverse chronological order. Click here for the first post which outlines the details how to use awards lists as a RA tool.

I am sorry to be a broken record, but Awards Announcement are THE BEST RA tool. You can use these to create displays [virtual on in library], for collection development, as a suggestion resource, and for backlist suggestions.

Thankfully the Bram Stoker Awards has an easy to use database of all of the past winners and nominees here.

You can also click here to watch the video of this year's awards announcement with winner acceptance speeches.

Now to the official press release of the winners.

2019 Bram Stoker Awards® Winners

Los Angeles, April 18, 2020

The Horror Writers Association (HWA), the premier organization of writers and publishers of horror and dark fantasy, announces this year’s Bram Stoker Awards® winners after a ceremony held via Live Stream. “This year’s winners reflect a great showing of impressive works from a wide range of competitive finalists,” said John Palisano, HWA President. “This year’s winners truly represent a broad spectrum of titles in the horror and dark fantasy. HWA members and awards juries have again shown objectivity and dedication to the selection process for outstanding works of literature, cinema, non-fiction, and poetry.”

We proudly provide the list of talented winners along with the finalist nominees. 

Superior Achievement in a Novel

Winner: Goingback, Owl – Coyote Rage (Independent Legions Publishing)

Also nominated:

Malerman, Josh – Inspection (Del Rey)

Miskowski, S.P. – The Worst is Yet to Come (Trepidatio Publishing)

Murray, Lee – Into the Ashes (Severed Press)

Wendig, Chuck – Wanderers (Del Rey)

Superior Achievement in a First Novel

Winner: Read, Sarah – The Bone Weaver’s Orchard (Trepidatio Publishing)

Also nominated:

Amor, Gemma – Dear Laura (Independently Published)

Guignard, Eric J. – Doorways to the Deadeye (JournalStone)

Lane, Michelle Renee – Invisible Chains (Haverhill House Publishing)

Starling, Caitlin – The Luminous Dead (Harper Voyager)

Superior Achievement in a Young Adult Novel

 Winner: Nzondi – Oware Mosaic (Omnium Gatherum)

Also nominated:

Bérubé, Amelinda – Here There Are Monsters (Sourcebooks Fire)

Dávila Cardinal, Ann – Five Midnights (Tor Teen)

Gardner, Liana – Speak No Evil (Vesuvian Books)

Marshall, Kate Alice – Rules for Vanishing (Viking Books for Young Readers)

Salomon, Peter Adam – Eight Minutes, Thirty-Two Seconds (PseudoPsalms Press)

Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel

Winner: Doran, Colleen & Gaiman, Neil – Neil Gaiman’s Snow, Glass, Apples 

(Dark Horse Books)

Also nominated:

Bunn, Cullen – Bone Parish Vol. 2 (BOOM! Studios)

Liu, Marjorie – Monstress Volume 4: The Chosen (Image Comics)

Manzetti, Alessandro – Calcutta Horror (Independent Legions Publishing)

Tanabe, Gou – H.P. Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness Volume 1 (Dark Horse Manga)

Superior Achievement in Long Fiction

Winner: LaValle, Victor – Up from Slavery (Weird Tales Magazine #363) (Weird Tales Inc.)

Also nominated:

Manzetti, Alessandro – The Keeper of Chernobyl (Omnium Gatherum)

Taborska, Anna – The Cat Sitter (Shadowcats) (Black Shuck Books)

Tantlinger, Sara – To Be Devoured (Unnerving)

Warren, Kaaron – Into Bones Like Oil (Meerkat Shorts)

Superior Achievement in Short Fiction

Winner: Kiste, Gwendolyn – “The Eight People Who Murdered Me (Excerpt from Lucy Westenra’s Diary)” (Nightmare Magazine Nov. 2019, Issue 86)

Also nominated:

Chapman, Greg – “The Book of Last Words” (This Sublime Darkness and Other Dark Stories) (Things in the Well Publishing)

Landry, Jess – “Bury Me in Tar and Twine” (Tales of the Lost Volume 1: We All Lose Something!) (Things in the Well Publishing)

O’Quinn, Cindy – “Lydia” (The Twisted Book of Shadows) (Twisted Publishing)

Waggoner, Tim – “A Touch of Madness” (The Pulp Horror Book of Phobias) (LVP Publications)

Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection

Winner: Tremblay, Paul – Growing Things and Other Stories (William Morrow)

Also nominated:

Chiang, Ted – Exhalation: Stories (Knopf)

Jonez, Kate – Lady Bits (Trepidatio Publishing)

Langan, John – Sefira and Other Betrayals (Hippocampus Press)

Read, Sarah – Out of Water (Trepidatio Publishing)

Superior Achievement in a Screenplay

Winner: Peele, Jordan – Us (Monkeypaw Productions, Perfect World Pictures, Dentsu, Fuji Television Network, Universal Pictures)

Also nominated:

Aster, Ari – Midsommar (B-Reel Films, Square Peg)

Duffer Brothers, The – Stranger Things (Season 3, Chapter Eight: The Battle of Starcourt) (Netflix)

Eggers, Robert and Eggers, Max – The Lighthouse (A24, New Regency Pictures, RT Features)

Flanagan, Mike – Doctor Sleep (Warner Bros., Intrepid Pictures/Vertigo Entertainment)

Superior Achievement in an Anthology

Winner: Datlow, Ellen – Echoes: The Saga Anthology of Ghost Stories (Gallery/Saga Press)

Also nominated:

Brozek, Jennifer – A Secret Guide to Fighting Elder Gods (Pulse Publishing)

Golden, Christopher and Moore, James A. – The Twisted Book of Shadows (Twisted Publishing)

Guignard, Eric J. – Pop the Clutch: Thrilling Tales of Rockabilly, Monsters, and Hot Rod Horror (Dark Moon Books)

Wilson, Robert S. – Nox Pareidolia (Nightscape Press)

Superior Achievement in Non-Fiction

Winner: Kröger, Lisa and Anderson, Melanie R. – Monster, She Wrote: The Women Who Pioneered Horror and Speculative Fiction (Quirk Books)

Also nominated:

Beal, Eleanor and Greenaway, Jonathan – Horror and Religion: New Literary Approaches to Theology, Race, and Sexuality (University of Wales Press)

Earle, Harriet E.H. – Gender, Sexuality, and Queerness in American Horror Story: Critical Essays (McFarland)

Heller-Nicholas, Alexandra – Masks in Horror Cinema: Eyes Without Faces (University of Wales Press)

Kachuba, John B. – Shapeshifters: A History (Reaktion Books)

Superior Achievement in Short Non-Fiction

Winner: Kiste, Gwendolyn – “Magic, Madness, and Women Who Creep: The Power of Individuality in the Work of Charlotte Perkins Gilman” 

(Vastarien: A Literary Journal Vol. 2, Issue 1)

Also nominated:

Liaguno, Vince A. – “Slasher Films Made Me Gay: The Queer Appeal and Subtext of the Genre” (LGBTQ+ Horror Month: 9/1/2019, Ginger Nuts of Horror)

Renner, Karen J. – “The Evil Aging Women of American Horror Story” (Elder Horror: Essays on Film’s Frightening Images of Aging) (McFarland) 

Robinson, Kelly – “Film’s First Lycanthrope: 1913’s The Werewolf” (Scary Monsters Magazine #114)

Weich, Valerie E. – “Lord Byron’s Whipping Boy: Dr. John William Polidori and the 200th Anniversary of The Vampyre” (Famous Monsters of Filmland, Issue #291)

Superior Achievement in a Poetry Collection

Winner: Addison, Linda D. and Manzetti, Alessandro – The Place of Broken Things 

(Crystal Lake Publishing)

Also nominated:

Cade, Octavia – Mary Shelley Makes a Monster (Aqueduct Press)

Lynch, Donna – Choking Back the Devil (Raw Dog Screaming Press)

Scalise, Michelle – Dragonfly and Other Songs of Mourning (LVP Publications)

Simon, Marge and Dietrich, Bryan D. – The Demeter Diaries (Independent Legions Publishing)

Wytovich, Stephanie M. – The Apocalyptic Mannequin (Raw Dog Screaming Press)

Named in honor of the author of the seminal horror novel Dracula, the Bram Stoker Awards® are presented annually for superior writing in eleven categories including traditional fiction of various lengths, poetry, screenplays and non-fiction. Previous winners include Stephen King, J.K. Rowling, George R. R. Martin, Joyce Carol Oates and Neil Gaiman. 

Active and Lifetime members of the organization are eligible to vote for the winners in all categories. For more on the Horror Writers Association, please visit www.horror.org.

Flashback Friday Reads: Swamplandia!

My daughter and I were discussing a Tiger King read alike list she found. She pointed out Swamplandia! by Karen Russell on the list as looking pretty good.

Anyone who has read this blog for any amount of time know how much I love Karen Russell. [Click here for all the love; warning, it's a lot love.]

I book talked Swamplandia! to her and did a super fast Libby check and saw it was ready for immediate download as an ebook or an audio book at my library. She's busy with school reading now, but put it on her list for the future.

But, she also gave me the idea to re-post my original review of the novel today. I have also recommended or mentioned the work of Russell dozens of times here on the blog. So while below and here you can find my review of Swamplandia! from 2011, I want to also remind you that this link will bring you to my other reviews of Russell's story collections and the other times I have suggested her as a readalike for other books

Every one of her books I have read have subsequently ended up in that year's "Best Books I Read This Year" list too.

Finally, click here to run a Google search for Tiger King Readalikes

______________________________________

CLick here for original post

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011

What I'm Reading: Swamplandia!

I recently finished the heralded Swamplandia! by Karen Russell.  This is one that I felt lived up to the hype.  But a disclaimer here, Swamplandia! is exactly the type of book I adore:  dark, odd, completely character driven (almost without a plot really), quirky, and just plain fascinating.

This book is more of a character sketch of a family in transition, during said transition, than it is a typical story.  The plot follows the Bigtree family, owners of a shabby alligator wrestling tourist attraction called Swamplandia!, deep in the Ten Thousands Islands of the Florida Everglades.  When we meet the Bigtree's things have taken a grave turn for the worse.  The mother, the star of the show, has recently died of cancer and their grandpa has just been put into a nursing home.  Left is the father, Chief, and three siblings: oldest brother Kiwi, middle sister Osceola, and our main narrator, 13 year old Ava.  We also do get some alternating view points from Kiwi when he goes off to take a job at an amusement park on the mainland.

The story stretches over a few months period as the family completely falls apart.  Chief goes to the mainland in an effort to raise funds to save Swanplandia, Kiwi leaves, Osceola tires to elope with a ghost, and Ava goes on an adventure to try to save her sister, getting more than she bargained for along the way.  Each must come to terms with their grief and face reality; some just take longer than others.  As the novel ends, they have been reunited and there is a plan to finally move forward again as a family, albeit probably without Swamplandia!.

This "slice-of-life" quality of the story is one of the reasons someone would either love or hate this novel.  All we see is this transitional period.  As readers we do not see the glory days of the past or know what will become of the Bigtrees once they are reunited.  We are just along for the ride during the most trying period of their lives.  I enjoy this type of book.  It is more like a big character sketch; however, many readers will be frustrated by the lack of a clear plot.

This novel's sense of place is the next big appeal.  Russell nails the descriptions here.  I could feel, see, smell and hear the Everglades.  She meticulously describes the islands, the waterways, the vegetation, the animals, the humidity....everything.  I felt like I was there.  It is beautiful and secluded, but also sinister and creepy.  She relayed that dichotomy perfectly.  It almost made me want to visit.

The time period here is unclear too.  It seems like it is set in the recent past, but that feeling could be from their isolated home too.  No matter when it is supposed to be set, the story has a timeless feel which I enjoyed.

Other key appeals are the methodical pace, the magical feeling of the story without any actual supernatural elements, the two adolescent narrators, and the open ending.  This is a character centered story about loss, mourning, and independence.  It is ultimately about growing up and being forced to face the real world.

Before I finish, I should also say that there is one fairly disturbing scene involving Ava in the last third of the book.  It is not graphic, but it is upsetting.  It may taint the book for some readers.  I thought it made sense and pushed the novel from the magical realism realm firmly back into the cold hard truth.  I thought it made sense as a symbol of Ava's maturation from dreamy to serious.  Although I wish she could have been spared the hurt, I think the story needed it as a plot development for the reader to believe that she too was ready to move on.  Everyone else in the family had their reality check moments, hers was just the most disturbing.


Three Words That Describe This Book:  slice-of-life, sense of place, quirky

Readalikes:  I have been suggesting Swamplandia! to my readers who enjoyed The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff.  Click here (and scroll down) to see my report on when I read this novel.  Also from that report, I would also suggest these readalikes for Swamplandia!:

But in terms of readalikes matched by the overall appeal of The Monsters of Templeton, I would suggest 3 novels: The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield which is a Gothic novel that also recounts a twisted family history (click here to see my take on this novel); Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl in which a Yale Freshman (with a narrative voice eerily similar to Willie's) recounts her life history as if it were a class in Western Literature including her interesting family history and the death of a high school teacher (again, click here to see my take); andThe Stolen Child by Keith Donohue which is a magical tale of a 7 year-old who is kidnapped by a pack hobgoblins to be replaced by one of them. It is the story of the two boys' experiences and their concurrent struggle to find where they came from.

Two other novels that come to mind are Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer and Edwin Mullhouse: The Life and Death of an American Writer 1943-1954 by Jeffrey Cartwright by Steven Millhauser.  Both are quirky, slice-of-life novels about times of transition involving young people.  These two novels also happen to be 2 of my favorites of all time.  I don't think Swamplandia! is in that tier for me, but it was very good.

If you loved the setting and want to read more books set in Florida, no one describes the place better than Carl Hiaasen.

For nonfiction, try Washington Post writer Michael Grunwald's The Swamp: The Everglades, Florida, and the Politics of Paradise.  It is the perfect book for people who want to learn more about the region depicted here.  It received starred reviews when it came out in 2007 and Grunwald is an award-winning journalist.  We even own it at the BPL.

I was also reminded of Susan Orlean's The Orchid Thief: A True Story of Beauty and Obsession which also takes place in the Everglades and has a similar magical, timeless feel to it.

Look for more reviews of What I'm Reading the rest of this week leading into the holiday weekend.

RA for All Virtual Roadshow Brings the Horror to Reaching Across IL Library System

Today is the American debut of my new Horror training for library workers at 1 PM central. I have no idea if you can still signup, but give it a try. Viewing live is free to all but the recording will be only available to RAILS members. 

Speaking of RAILS, I am so proud to be offering this to my home library system. Click here for more information about RAILS. [And if you are a RAILS member, click here because I am currently running for the RAILS Board and your Directors can vote for me.]

Below is the description and live slide access for all. Please note, the slides have animation, so you cannot see everything in the edit view. Run the slides to watch the presentation and get access to all of the links.

Hope to see some of you there.

And if you do join me, I will be actively seeking feedback as this presentation represents the detailed outline of the new book which I will begin writing in earnest very soon. Click here to see all the ways you can contact me.

Horror Readers' Advisory: How to Help Your Scariest Patrons
A recent poll of thousands of library workers identified Horror as one of the Top 5 genres they were “most scared of,” and yet, the genre is basking in a popularity among our patrons that hasn’t been seen in decades. We cannot ignore it any longer. It’s time to stop worrying that your horror readers are monsters, and start remembering they only like to read about them. The library world’s horror expert, Becky Spratford, is here to help you conquer your own fears and walk you through today’s horror landscape. In this webinar she will explain how to talk to fans, break down the appeal of horror, identify what resources will serve you best, and most importantly, give you dozens of authors and titles to start suggesting with confidence, immediately. Becky will break it all down for you so that you can get up to speed on this fast growing genre. As people look for an escape from the horrors of real life, the interest and demand in the genre will only continue to grow, you need to stop cowering in the corner and start leading the horror charge. And, Becky promises, you won’t have to terrorize yourself in the process, not even for a second. Let’s have some fun, talk books, help patrons, and learn about the scariest genre together.

Click here for slide access

LibraryReads: May 2020

It's Library Reads day and that means four 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 through this archive OR the sortable master list allowing you to mix and match however you want.
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.
4. Every upcoming book now has at least 1 readalike that is available to hand out RIGHT NOW. Book talk the upcoming book, place a hold for it, and then hand out that readalike title for while they wait. If they need more titles before their hold comes in, use the readalike title to identify more readalike titles. And then keep repeating. Seriously, it is that easy to have happy, satisfied readers.

The LibraryReads Board has also started another great book discovery and suggestion tool for you, a monthly What We're Reading column. This means there are even more library worker approved titles, new and old, for you to choose from. 

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.

Please remember to click here for everything you need to know about how to participate. Click here to see a database of eligible diverse titles sorted by month.

And finally, here is LibraryReads' extremely helpful Resources page.

Now let's get to that list....

Click here for full access to the May list

Something to Talk About

by Meryl Wilsner

(Berkley)

"Jo, a successful producer and screenwriter, asks her assistant Emma to attend the SAG awards with her as a buffer to field questions. But after a red carpet photograph, rumors start spreading about their romantic involvement. A sweet, slow burn romance that gets steamy at the end between two people who obviously respect and value the other, despite various communication issues that arise. Give to readers who liked Girl Gone Viral (Rai), The Hating Game (Thorne), and Red, White & Royal Blue (McQuiston).”

Julie Graham, Yakima Valley Libraries, Yakima, WA

NoveList read-alike: When Katie Met Cassidy by Camille Perri

And now, the rest of the list....

All Adults Here
A Novel
by Emma Straub
(Riverhead Books)

“The ripple effects of choices linger for years and ultimately shape matriarch Astrid and her children. As several generations grapple with their own truths, an opportunity to begin again ultimately draws them all closer. This book asks the question, “Who is truth ultimately for, who benefits from it, and who does it hurt?” For fans of Clock Dance (Tyler) and The Most Fun We Ever Had (Lombardo).”

—Jesica Sweedler DeHart, Neill Public Library, Pullman, WA 
NoveList read-alike: The Precious One by Marisa de los Santos

Beach Read
by Emily Henry
(Berkley)

“Hooray for smart, emotional, well-written romance! Two old enemies meet by chance and decide to solve their writer’s block by swapping genres: Literary writer Augustus will trade his cynicism for a happily ever after, while January will try a “serious” novel where everyone ends up realistically miserable. What could go wrong? For readers who like Susan Mallery and Jennifer Crusie.”

—Sharon Layburn, South Huntington Public Library, Huntington Station, NY
NoveList read-alike: Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn

Big Summer
by Jennifer Weiner (Atria Books)

“Daphne is a plus-size Instagram influencer who is lovable, funny, and honest. She is surprised when her former best friend--rich, beautiful, mean girl Drue-- asks her to be in her summer wedding on Cape Cod. Readers of modern romance, women's fiction, mystery, and beachy chic-lit will all find something here to ponder. Perfect for fans of Marian Keyes and Emily Giffin.”

—Kathleen Redfearn, Attleboro Public Library, Attleboro, MA 
NoveList read-alike: Save the Date by Mary Kay Andrews

A Good Marriage
A Novel
by Kimberly McCreight
(Harper)

“In Park Slope, everyone has a “good marriage.” Yet after an annual party that often involves partner swapping, one wife ends up dead. Her husband might not be the best spouse, but he claims he didn’t kill his wife. If being a bad husband doesn't make you a murderer, then who in this idyllic community is responsible? Liane Moriarty fans will love this one.”

—Selena Swink, Lake Public Library, Lake, MS
NoveList read-alike: The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena

Happy & You Know It
by Laura Hankin (Berkley)

"Claire is a musician whose former band became famous without her. She takes a gig singing nursery rhymes for a playgroup, and her life takes a couple of sharp lefts from there! For fans of Elin Hilderbrand and Elizabeth Berg."

—Danielle Hansard, Westland Public Library, Westland, MI 
NoveList read-alike: The Perfect Mother by Aimee Molloy

The Jane Austen Society
A Novel
by Natalie Jenner
(St. Martin's Press)

'Set in the small village of Chawton where Jane Austen lived at the end of her life, just after WWII. Add in a small farmer, the local doctor, a heart- broken widow, a movie actress and other assorted characters all of who love Jane Austen. For readers who enjoyed The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler."

—Claudia Silk, Fairfield Public Library, Fairfield, CT
NoveList read-alike: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer

Network Effect
A Murderbot Novel by Martha Wells
(Tor.com)

"For the unfamiliar, The Murderbot Diaries is an action- packed, smart science fiction series about a self-hacking robot searching for the meaning of life. This is the first full-length standalone in the series. Given time to develop characters, the peril was even more suspenseful. More than any of the other titles, this one has me hoping for a sequel. For fans of Ancillary Justice by Anne Leckie."

—April Lammers, Huntington Beach Public Library, Huntington Beach, CA
NoveList read-alike: The Cassandra Kresnov novels by Joel Shepherd

Recipe for Persuasion
A Novel
by Sonali Dev
(William Morrow Paperbacks)

"Ashna is trying to keep her father’s restaurant, Curried Dreams, from failing. An opportunity is presented to her to be a chef on a reality show, paired with a celebrity. Little does she know that the celebrity, Rico, a soccer star, maneuvered on the show to be paired with her. For fans of Jasmine Guillory."

—Ellen Firer, Merrick Library, Merrick, NY 
NoveList read-alike: Savor You by Kristen Proby

The Wife Stalker
A Novel
by Liv Constantine (Harper)

"Piper Reynard has moved to Connecticut to start over. She meets Leo, a handsome and successful lawyer who is married to Joanna, who has been waiting for Leo to start focusing on her and the kids again for quite some time. Joanna is determined to find the truth out about Piper, but no one wants to believe what she uncovers. For fans of B.A. Paris and A.J. Finn."

—Laura Sanders, LaFourche Parish Library, Thibodaux, LA 
NoveList read-alike:The Temp by Michelle Francis

Click here to access the Hall of Fame

Rodham
A Novel
by Curtis Sittenfeld (Random House)

“What if Hillary Rodham heeded the red flags that came with dating Bill Clinton in the 1970s? Sittenfeld really captures the voice of a strong, brilliant, independent female narrator in this warm, whip-smart take on what could have been.”

—Lindsay Jensen, Nashville Public Library, Nashville, TN

Read-alike: The Senator's Wife by Sue Miller 
Read-alike: The Hopefuls by Jennifer Close 
Read-alike: Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin

Virtual Book Discussion Books and Resources: The Invention of Nature

I have been asked by a few libraries to help them find good titles to use for their Zoom book discussion meetings. Not only are regular book discussion attendees eager to get back to their book clubs, but many new people are interested in joining. One library worker told me they had double the number of participants sign up in the first day when they announced the virtual discussion!

The obvious key right now is to pick books that are easy to procure digitally [text or audio] through our streaming services and find ways to add them for multiple views at one time through OverDrive or Hoopla. Looking for older, award winning, extremely popular titles [again from a few years ago] is a great bet.

But one other important consideration that many are forgetting is to also find titles that can be discussed without someone having finished it.

[insert awkward silence]

Ahem....Yes, I did just say to pick books that can still be discussed by patrons who haven't read them.

Why? Well, in our current situation not only will we have newbies signup-- patrons who meant to finish the book but bit off more than they can chew-- but we will also have people for whom the idea of a virtual, live discussion with new people is just what they need in their quarantine life. They may not even try to get a copy of the book.

But guess what, if you choose the right book, that is okay.

Today I have a suggestion that I have used with success in a nontraditional book discussion setting AND lead a discussion where some people did not read the book and yet, still contributed positively to the discussion because they had knowledge on the topic.

The book I am talking about is the nonfiction title, The Invention of Nature: Alexander Von Humboldt's New World by Andrea Wulf. You can click here to read a series of posts I did about this book and the discussion I led of it at the Chicago Botanic Garden. There is even a post with the questions I created for this discussion and a long recap post of what happened during the discussion.

I discussed this book with a non-traditional book discussion audience. These were regulars at the Chicago Botanic Garden and volunteers for their library. These were fans of Humboldt and/or nature, no regular book club attendees. Most read the book, all had opinions about nature. We had plenty to discuss both from the book and through topics which the book touched on,

[FYI, I also did Lab Girl by Hope Jehren with this group. Click here for those posts and details.]

Feel free to use this book, my questions, and even my summary of our discussion as a guide. Or pick your own title. At the very least, consider that the book club participants right now are not all going to be those who are even familiar with how a book discussion works these days. It will be different, and not just because you are on Zoom.

In general, choose older titles, both so you can get multiple e-copies and because some people might have read the book previously. In fact, if you have a potential participant who doesn't want to re-read, provide links to in-depth reviews, interviews with the authors, Goodreads entry, and more; places people can go to "jog" their memories.

Also, nonfiction and/or books based on real event will also work well in an environment where not everyone reads the book because participants can discuss the situation, they can look up details, or they might have a connection to the source material outside of the book you are reading [that is what happened at my Botanic Garden discussion of Wulf's book; we had a published Humboldt scholar show up who didn't even try to read this book].

If you need more help running a Zoom book discussion or you need crash course training for new book club leaders, contact me. In the meantime, you should also check out the ARRT Book Club Study [which I helped to reboot a few years ago] or my "book discussion books" tag where I have archived hundreds of summaries of book discussions I have moderated over the years.

Call to Action: It's Not About You!

On Friday, I was chatting with my FL colleague and IRL friend, Lila [click here to learn more about her from her previous appearances on the blog] about libraries rushing to serve leisure readers virtually right now and how some important basics of RA Service are not being communicated to new practitioners of the service.

As we have both noticed, many of the staff across the country, who are being asked to provide RA Service for the first time, have not only had zero training on the principles behind RA, but they also are missing one of the main tenants-- that RA is about what the patron is looking for NOT what you think they SHOULD read.

Readers' Advisory is not about you, ever. The way I teach RA Service is to reconnect library workers with themselves as readers. To get them to take the time to look at themselves and their own preferences, analyze why they like the things they like, and then learn how to articulate that to others.

As we all get better at understanding WHY we like certain stories and why we dislike others, we can become better at helping others.

Because RA service is about thinking like a reader. When you understand your own leisure reading motivations, you can begin to ask the right questions of your patrons to help them uncover theirs. We use ourselves as a reader to understand the process. Where our patrons need your help is in the interruption of their preferences into actual title suggestions.

Never should you be telling them what they should read. RA is a no judgement zone. RA Service is about helping connect readers with the right book for them at that moment. We have access to the resources to help them once they can articulate why they like what they like. And it helps is to help them better if we already understand what it means to find that perfect read for ourselves.

Here is great example from my own life. My least favorite genre to read is Romance. However Romance readers are my favorite patrons to help. Why? Because they are so good, as a group, at articulating why they love the books they do. They understand the genre tropes and can assess the types that work for them personally, while also acknowledging others that do not.

I would never try to force a romance fan to read a book that they wouldn't enjoy. What good would that serve me or them. My job is not to get them to read something "better," rather it is to find them the "best" book to fit their particular preference and desires at that moment. Helping them find the right read for their current needs is 100% my job-- and yours if you are providing RA Service, in person or virtually.

So today's Call to Action is a reminder of the basic rules of RA Service. I direct those of you being thrown in to RA for the first time to go look at my 10 Rules of RA Service page and to check out the other posts in this Call to Action series. You can learn quite a bit about the basics with those links.

And if you are a library or a system with staff who are struggling to provide RA for the first time, contact me. I have basic RA Service webinars or even interactive smaller group classes I can do virtually, immediately.

In the meantime, just remember that it is not about you! It is about the reader in front of you. Remind yourself of this by thinking about your own reading preferences. You wouldn't want someone forcing you to read a book you had no interest in. Leisure reading is for fun. RA is all about leisure reading. There is no forcing here. Only the joy of a great read!

For past Call to Action posts, click here.

For Becky's Ten Rules of Basic RA Service, click here.