LibraryReads: August 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....

Announcing the September 2020 LibraryReads list! When No One Is Watching A Thriller by Alyssa Cole (William Morrow Paperbacks)   "The gentrification of her beloved Brooklyn neighborhood has longtime resident Sydney Green mourning what's lost. Striking up an uneasy alliance with new neighbor Theo, she starts research for a walking tour to highlight the area’s rich history and diversity but quickly comes to realize that something far more sinister is going on. A sense of mounting dread and some startling twists and turns will keep readers turning the pages. Where HAVE all those old neighbors gone? For fans of An Unwanted Guest, The Woman in Cabin Ten, and Watching You." Beth Mills, New Rochelle Public Library, New Rochelle, NY  NoveList read-alike:  BTTM FDRS by Ezra Claytan Daniels And now the rest of the list for September 2020 Battle Ground by Jim Butcher (Ace) “Battle Ground has more at stake than any previous book in the Dresden Files series, and more changes for Harry. Filled to the brim with non-stop action, this entry has Harry and almost every supernatural being he knows coming to defend Chicago from a mad Titan bent on reshaping reality. For fans of Mercy Thompson series (Briggs) and the Iron Druid Chronicles (Hearne).” —Dan Brooks, Wake County Public Libraries, Raleigh, NC NoveList read-alike: The Brimstone Files series by Jason Sean Ridler The Midnight Library by Matt Haig (Viking) “At a seminal moment in her life, Nora visits a unique library. Every book she chooses is one that she becomes part of and is a possible life she might have led. There are adventures, close calls, and joy. Give this totally engrossing page turner to fans of Here and Now and Then (Chen) and Life after Life (Atkinson). “ —Deborah Margeson, Douglas County Libraries, Castle Rock, CO  NoveList read-alike: Or What You Will by Jo Walton Monogamy by Sue Miller (Harper) “Annie and Graham have been married for 30 years. When Graham unexpectedly dies, Annie finds out he had a recent affair. As she reevaluates her relationship and deals with feelings of anger and betrayal, a few secrets in her own past are revealed. This story of grief, sadness, and acceptance is perfect for fans of Hausfrau and Unsheltered.” —Laura Fowler, J.V. Fletcher Library, Westford, MA  NoveList read-alike: Shadow Tag by Louise Erdrich Piranesi by Susanna Clarke (Bloomsbury Publishing) “Piranesi is the sole inhabitant of a mysterious “house” with endless rooms full of statues and a surging ocean below. With lyrical and hypnotic writing in his journal, he guides readers through his beloved labyrinthine home and introduces “The Other,” a sporadic visitor and the only other living human being...or so he thought. For fans of The Starless Sea and The Bedlam Stacks.” —Catherine Tarver, Indian Prairie Public Library, Darien, IL  NoveList read-alike: Little, Big by John Crowley A Rogue of One's Own by Evie Dunmore (Berkley) "The second book in the League of Extraordinary Women series revolves around Lady Lucie and her old nemesis Lord Ballentine. Their love/hate relationship is passionate and steamy. For fans of the Royal Wedding series and Dukes Behaving Badly series." —Natalie Peitsinovski, Roselle Public Library, Roselle, NJ  NoveList read-alike: The Suffragette Scandal by Courtney Milan The Roommate by Rosie Danan (Berkley) "When Clara decides to move from New York to LA to live with her forever crush/childhood best friend Everett, he tells her he is going on the road with his band all summer, but not to worry, he has a roommate lined up for her. This roommate, it turns out, works in the adult entertainment industry. For readers who enjoyed My Favorite Half-Night Stand (Lauren)." —Afton Finley, Waseca Library, Waseca, MN NoveList read-alike: The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi (Knopf ) "Gyasi is a force of a writer and in her new novel, Gifty is a Ph.D student of neuroscience fueled by the need to understand her brother's addiction and mother's depression. For fans of Imagine Me Gone (Haslet) and Chemistry (Wang)." —Kari Bingham-Gutierrez, Olathe Public Library, Olathe, KS  NoveList read-alike:A Particular Kind of Black Man by Tope Folarin Well Played by Jen DeLuca (Berkley) "Upon hearing of Simon and Emily’s engagement, best friend Stacey is jolted into reevaluating her own life. Stacey reaches out to her old Ren Faire flame, Dex, but accidentally connects with Daniel, Dex’s cousin. When their friendly messages turn into something more, Stacey is faced with a surprise upon learning of the identity of her online paramour. For readers who enjoyed 99 Percent Mine (Thorne)." —Morgan Malyn, Clermont County Public Library, Cincinnati, OH  NoveList read-alike: Attachments by Rainbow Rowell The Writer's Library The Authors You Love on the Books That Changed Their Lives by Nancy Pearl & Jeff Schwager (HarperOne) "As someone who loves reading, books, and talking about books this was perfect for me. I found it fascinating to get a glimpse of what books influenced such an eclectic group of writers. It made me look at my own reading history and at books and reading in a different way. For fans of My Life with Bob (Paul)." —Joseph Jones, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Cuyahoga, OH NoveList read-alike: My Ideal Bookshelf by Thessaly La Force & Jane Mount

September 2020 Hall of Fame Authors

The LibraryReads Hall of Fame designation honors authors who have had multiple titles appear on the monthly LibraryReads list since 2013. When their third title places on the list via library staff votes, the author moves into our Hall of Fame.

Anxious People A Novel by Fredrik Backman (Atria Books)   Read-alikes: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby

The Book of Two Ways A Novel by Jodi Picoult (Ballantine Books)   Read-alikes:   Cries From The Lost Island by Kathleen O’Neal Gear My Real Children by Jo Walton The Bookseller by Cynthia Swanson

A Deadly Education A Novel by Naomi Novik (Del Rey)    Read-alikes:   Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo Vita Nostra by Marina and Sergey Dyachenko Magic For Liars by Sarah Gailey

Don't Look for Me by Wendy Walker (St. Martin's Press)    Read-alikes: The Chain by Adrian McKinty The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing

One by One by Ruth Ware (Gallery/Scout Press)   Read-alikes:   The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn The Guest List by Lucy Foley They All Fall Down by Rachel Howzell Hall

Tools of Engagement A Novel by Tessa Bailey (Avon)    Read-alikes:   The Boyfriend Project by Farrah Rochon The Honey Don’t List by Christina Lauren The Trouble With Hating You by Sajni Patel

RA for All on a 2 Day Break

I am taking a break from blogging until Monday. Please use the archives or head over to the horror blog to  enter this week's giveaway.

Back Monday with the September Library Reads list!

Can't Focus on a Novel? Try Poetry.

Let's be real today and talk about something that is still a problem in our industry. Many of us are still having trouble focusing on reading. There are a variety of reasons, and the feelings have fluctuated for some, but it is a very real issue.

Now, I am a huge advocate of the argument that reading about books is just as good as reading a books in order for us to do our job; in fact, often reading about books is better because you can learn about the appeal of so many more titles this way, espeically ones you might not enjoy yourself but you have patrons who would. [More details in my 10 Rules of Basic RA Service because that is an entire lecture on its own]

But I also know that many of you are struggling with the fact that you want to read more but literally cannot. To you, I am suggesting poetry, I am actually suggesting poetry to everyone for a few reasons, but in particular, to you, the library worker who wants to read but cannot focus. Look to poetry.

Here is why:

1. Poetry is way different today than the poetry you read in school. Just like fiction, there is a type of poetry for every reader. From an increase in novels-in-verse to options to an extremely diverse group of writers to genre poetry [Horror poetry in particular is phenomenal these days], there is literally a poem for every reader. Check out this excellent post on Book Riot, "Poetry for Beginners" for an introduction.
2. Speaking of Book Riot. We also have 2 excellent resources at our finger tips that regularly write about poetry from a RA and Collection Development standpoint. It used to be that we only saw these resources in April for National Poetry month, but The Millions has excellent, regular poetry coverage by clicking here. That coverage is mostly focused on new titles with a monthly report on the best poetry. While Book Riot combines new and backlist, lists and articles, essays and all ages of poetry by using this link*. Both resources offer timely and engaging coverage that you can use both to find poetry for yourself AND to suggest to patrons. Also, the display potential afforded by these resources is endless!
3. I mentioned an increase in novels in verse in #1 above. This is not a fad in teen literature, it is becoming something YA readers expect, a standard option. Popular novels like Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds and The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo are fueling this format revolution. And let's remember, today's teens are quickly becoming tomorrow's adult patrons. They are reading poetry in general at a higher rate-- both traditional poetry and novels in verse. We need to be ready to help them, and reading more poetry is a great starting point.
4. Finally, don't forget the readers. Click here for the Goodreads page on Poetry in general. This will include new releases, most popular, and reader generated lists. You can also click here for the specific page for books that users have tagged "Novels-in-Verse" or "Verse-Novels." Both are necessary because readers are not librarians and they don't use standard language. [And that is okay, by the way.]

Thankfully, poetry as a more mainstream leisure reading option was on the rise before Covid so we have these resources ready. If you are having trouble focusing, I bet many of your patrons are too. Instead of  feeling bad that they can't focus, let's remind them they can still enjoy reading by exploring a new format, one that is not what they expect, and one that comes in smaller portions without sacrificing storytelling.

And isn't this also a great way to remind our communities of how important our staff are, by suggesting titles our patrons would never find without us, the staff member. As I mentioned here, we need to broadcast the fact that the staff at our libraries matter because when budgets get tight, your community is going to demand layoffs. Again, go here for more nuance on this topic. Poetry is a great place to show your community of the power of staff in delivery of RA Service.

* Footnote: When Book Riot recently re-designed their site, the easy access to tags at the bottom of each post was lost. I want to give props to librarian and Book Riot editor Kelly Jensen for helping me to understand how to better navigate their site. She explained that you can still search categories that aren't available in the preloaded filters with the url book riot.com/catgeory/"insert genre here." So, for example, to get poetry you type in https://bookriot.com/category/poetry/. Thank you Kelly. 

Booklist's August Spotlight is on SF/F/H

The very best issue of Booklist is the August Spotlight on Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror [Don't @ me].

There is a noticeable increase in the number of speculative fiction titles reviewed for all ages [including 3 from me] as well as the following lists and articles available for free with one click:

• Top 10 SF/Fantasy & Horror Debuts: 2020 Adult
• Top 10 SF/Fantasy & Horror: 2020 Adult
• Core Collection: The Epic Fantasy Renaissance [Adult]
• Top 10 SF/Fantasy & Horror for Youth: 2020 Youth
• Booklist Backlist: Identity-Affirming Fantasies [Youth]

These lists will help you help patrons, but also don't forget the past spotlight issue, especially now that everything is FREE on Booklist Online.

Here are the quick links via Booklist Reader for the SF/F/H Spotlight issue content for:

• 2019
• 2018
• 2017
• 2016

Now get out there and help some speculative fiction fans finds a good read. 

NoveList and LibraryReads Crash Course in Literary Fiction

It is time for another LibraryReads and NoveList Crash Course. This time it is all about Literary Fiction. 

And don't forget all of the crash courses for many genres and Graphic Novels are available for FREE with this link.

Click here or see below for all of the details

Webinar: Crash Course in Literary Fiction

Do you have a go-to strategy for helping readers with literary fiction? Whether your readers are fans of ensemble stories or stylistically complex, unconventional novels — let NoveList and LibraryReads break down the best literary fiction has to offer your readers — from facing racism to suburban malaise. 

Join as they cover: 

• Why readers choose literary fiction  
• History of literary fiction  
• Classics, new titles/authors to watch, and awards to know   
• Subgenres and crossovers 
• NoveList insider information on genre headings, themes, appeal terms, and more 

We welcome anyone interested to stay for an additional 15-minute training to share search strategy tips and learn where to access genre-related information in NoveList.

Wednesday, September 16, 2020 

2-3 pm ET

Optional NoveList training from 3-3:15 pm ET

By submitting your personal information, you acknowledge that EBSCO Information Services will collect and process your information in accordance with its Privacy Policy, including the categories and purposes of use for such information as described here. 

      

Stephen Sposato is the manager of Content Curation at Chicago Public Library, overseeing selection and readers' advisory. He has over fifteen years of experience in collection development and readers’ advisory. He has written for Library Journal as a reviewer and as a contributor to the Reader's Shelf column. He has provided extensive RA training, given presentations at BookExpo, the Illinois Library Association and the American Library Association, and currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors for LibraryReads. He enjoys reading a wide variety of fiction and nonfiction. You can follow Stephen on Twitter @stephensposato 

Jessica Lin is an Engagement Specialist at NoveList and previously worked as a Technical Support Representative. Before working at NoveList, Jessica was a high school English teacher for five years, building up her classroom library and giving daily book talks to her students. She currently facilitates a book club that focuses on reading authors of color. In her spare time, she likes to write and walk, and she keeps a kite in her car in case of windy days!  

Moderator Halle Eisenman leads the Editorial Content Team which oversees the creation of the lists, articles, book discussion guides, and all the other amazing and informative content you can find in NoveList. Prior to working at NoveList, she spent a dozen years working for a public library system in a variety of roles, but no matter what her job title, her favorite part of any day was suggesting books to patrons. When not at work, Halle can often be found walking her dogs (they get lots of exercise when she’s listening to a particularly riveting audiobook), binge-watching TV shows aimed at teenagers, baking, or sitting on her back porch with a book. She is currently serving on the RUSA CODES Reading List Council.  

Today is the LibraryReads In Conversation: Actively Anti-Racist Readers' Advisory

A few weeks ago I announced this event here. But a reminder, it is happening TODAY!!!! 2-4 pm central

While it might be too late to register, there will be a recording and I will add the link to this post and also on my Recent and Upcoming Presentations page as soon as it is available.

VIDEO LINK: https://youtu.be/tvX_Qdxr6nQ

I am very excited to transition from lecturing you all about how and why you need to do RA with a EDI lens to the having a conversation with my colleagues about it and then including you. We are doing 1 hour of chatting and 1 hour of answering your questions. We want to know where you need help as we all try to be actively antiracist in our service to leisure reading patrons- from collection assessment to collection development to RA Service. Every stage will be covered by myself, Robin, and Annabelle. 

Also, we are purposefully NOT using slides in order to make this as conversation based as possible, but I did want to provide a link to the latest version of my slides for my 90 minute #OwnVoices for All Readers: Incorporating EDI  Values Into RA Service because these slides are filled with links where you can get more information on things I will bring up throughout the conversation.

I hope you can join us live or through the recording later as we talk frankly about a topic that has been ignored for FAR TOO LONG.

What I'm Reading: 3 Booklist Reviews

All three of these books are MUST adds especially because all three have wide cross-over appeal for non horror readers as well as plenty to satisfy core horror fans.

The Loop

by Jeremey Robert Johnson

Sept. 2020. 320p. Saga, $26.99 (9781534454293). 

First published August 2020 (Booklist).

Idyllic Turner Falls, Oregon, a town centered around a biotech company, one that attracts the best and brightest, is the perfect setting for one of the best supernatural thrillers you will encounter this year. In a high school classroom, a young man snaps, violently attacking and killing the teacher with his bare hands. Unfortunately this is not an isolated incident as a group of outcast teens, led by the narrator, Lucy, herself a survivor of trauma, quickly come to realize that the town’s rich kids have all been infected with something that is leading them to violence, a violence that is being driven by a very unnatural technology, one that wants to replicate itself at all costs. This is a fast paced tale, filled with action and tension, told over one desperate night, as our protagonists try to stay alive and stop the spread before it can leave town, even if that necessitates their own destruction. But Johnson gives readers more than a thrill ride. THE LOOP is also a cautionary tale, a satisfying, darkly humorous satire of, well, everything. This is a highly original, apocalyptic tale that is uncomfortably perfect for our current timeline. Imagine Blake Crouch and Mira Grant getting together to re-write Wanderers by Wendig but with a compressed time frame, and you can see the wide audience who will flock to this heart pounding and deeply unsettling tale.

YA Statement: Teen protagonists drive both the story’s emotions and plot so of course there will be YA interest, but more importantly, it is the novel’s themes of the creep of technology into every facet of our lives and bodies that will resonate uncomfortably loud for them, hitting teens in a space they navigate on a daily basis.

Further Appeal: This is an original and new take on the zombie trope. I really liked that. 

The pacing is intense and fast, but there are breaks in the action to develop the characters. The explanation is on the "hard SF" side but easily explained. The poor, brown kids vs the rich kids is also very well developed and explored. There is time for the characters to be filled out even though it is a brisk reading experience. 

I am not kidding when I wrote that this is one of the best supernatural thrillers of the year. You can suggest this book to your thriller/conspiracy readers, your supernatural thriller readers, your horror readers, your bio-weapon SF readers, and teens. That is a wide swath of appeal. I would order 2 of this one, especially if you have separate sections for any of the genres I mentioned. You need to have it where readers will find it. Definitely get the ebook and the hard cover for sure.

Three Words That Describe This Book: 

race against time, deeply unsettling, technology gone rogue

Readalikes: Besides the three in the review above, this remind me so much of Stephen King's Cell, just a more sophisticated technology. I would also suggest Survivor Song by Tremblay or Devil's Wake by Barnes and Due

Stoker’s Wilde West 

by Steven Hopstaken and Melissa Prusi

Aug. 2020. 288p. Flame Tree, $24.95 (9781787581968); paper, $14.95 (9781787581944). 
First published August 2020 (Booklist).

The sequel to the fun, original, and action driven historical horror Stoker’s Wilde, brings back vampires, secret societies, and of course, the odd couple, monster fighting duo of Bram Stoker and Oscar Wilde, expect this time, they have left their civilized London society for the American Wild West where they are enlisted by the government to root out vampires and help stop a rich land developer from trying to open another portal into a dark realm. While the first book followed the style of a Victorian novel, this one channels its setting through a cadence steeped in the traditions of the Western itself, utilizing the genre, its tropes, real life characters [such as Calamity Jane] and its overall mythology to serve as a foundation for the paranormal adventure to come. Once again, the epistolary style serves readers well, allowing multiple voices to emerge, revealing characters’ personalities, eccentricities, and feelings about one and other while also magnifying the immediacy of danger and suspense. Stoker and Wilde, and their amusing relationship, still take center stage, but Stoker’s wife, Florence also blossoms from a bit player into a major actor here, no longer simply a damsel in distress. Add in an ending that introduces the next dangerous adventure and readers will be clamoring for more. Fans of paranormal alternative history featuring well drawn characters and strong world building such as Molly Tanzer’s Diabolist's Library series, Robert McCammon’s I Travel by Night series or The Hunger by Alma Katsu will be lining up for this one.

Further Appeal: This is a highly entertaining and fun series. The second book builds perfectly off the first. There is depth here if you want it, with nods to genre traditions and the works of Wilde and Stoker themselves, but readers can also just read it as a western-paranormal. That's why it is great for a public library audience.

Three Words That  Describe This Book: vampires, alternative history, epistolary 

Readalikes: I have more readalikes posted here in my review of the first book. 

Children Of the Fang and Other Genealogies: Stories

by John Langan

Aug. 2020. 388p. Word Horde, paper, $19.99  (9781939905604). 
First published August 2020 (Booklist).

Langan presents another solid collection of immersive tales shrouded in dread and darkness that start off uneasy, quickly building to a full on horror that satisfyingly consumes the reader, entering their body, digging its claws deep, hanging on throughout the entirety of the page count. It is by soliciting these intense, elicit, and enticing emotions that Langan has earned numerous accolades and awards for himself; however, in assembling this collection he has also done something new. As described in the volume’s “Story Notes,” Langan realized that the stories he was including, while each very different standing alone, placed together, created a family tree, his “Genealogy.” He has assigned inspiration authors and filmmakers [Stephen King, Laird Barron, David Lynch, eg] to each story, resulting in a collection that reads like the very best fanfiction, stories with an admitted nod to a source, but yet, ones that also stand strongly on their own. The twenty-one stories include gems previous only produced as part of Con program books, the eerie and visceral fungus tale, “Hyphae,” the fascinating “The Communion of Saints” centered around a tired and defeated Albany detective and pop culture’s “new” horror monsters [Freddy Kruegger, Hannibal Lecter, et al], and many stories that reflect Langan’s lifelong literary conversation with Lovecraft and his contemporaries, such as the title story. While Langan freely admits that his “geneology” is currently too white and male for his liking he vows to work on that going forward, but in the meantime, you can suggest this collection to fans of an emerging class of stellar horror writers who have been inspired by Langan himself such as Usman Malik, Rachel Eve Moulton, and Silvia Moreno-Garcia. 

Further Appeal: Langan is an author whose collections should be in every library. His writing is extremely influential. Many of today's most popular horror authors cite him as a personal favorite. He is also asked to submit for every one of Ellen Datlow's award winning anthologies, and is one of the founders of the Shirley Jackson Award.

But this collection specifically, I cannot stress enough how impressed I was that he admitted his white privilege and bias, accepting it as problematic, and then resolved-- in print-- to move forward going forward.

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

Readalikes: Laird Barron, Stephen Graham Jones, Paul Tremblay are Langan's peers. But anyone you read in an Ellen Datlow anthology is a great option. She is very strict about the quality of short stories she includes and Langan is a master of the form.

Diverse Romance Poster Session with a Chance to Interact with the Presenters Online

My friend, colleague, and occasional partner in crime Robin Bradford alerted me to the virtual poster session she is currently "presenting" with her colleague Nancy Clark for the Pacific Northwest Library Association.

Entitled, "Love is a Battlefield," their goal was to "show why a diverse romance collection is important to the public library, who reads it, and why it matters to your community. And also, we aim to introduce library staff to the broad range of diverse romances available and where to acquire them." You can view the poster session slides here.

While the slides will be up for a while, if you visit the page this week and leave comments or questions, Nancy and Robin will  be there to interact with you. 

Their presentation a great resource on it's own, but to have access to these experts for free is an opportunity you don't want to miss.

So head on over today, tomorrow, or Thursday if you can.

And thanks to PNLA for sharing it with the world. You can check out all of the poster session at this link. There is quite a bit of interesting information. I am off to engage with the one about how to be a people person when there are no people.

Goodreads Asked Authors for Curated Reading Lists and Now You Have a Great Sure Bet Resource

Since April, Goodreads has been asking authors, from across the literary landscape, for curated reading lists. Click here to see them all. But, here is the page where they explained the project and an excerpt from that page:

Have more reading time these days, but don't know where to begin?

We're here to help! We've asked some of your favorite authors to suggest a list of books on a variety of topics to suit every mood. So whether you need a good laugh, a good cry, or an absorbing story to make you put down your phone, take a peek at their recommendations linked above each author's latest book.

We'll be updating this page occasionally, so don't forget to check back now and then for even more reading lists!

This type of resource is similar to what I describe in my 5 Resources You Cannot Live Without list on my 10 Rules of Basic RA page when I list the following as an essential resource:

Authors recs of other authors: There isn't a single place you can go per se, but do not forget that many patrons will love trying an author or book that one of their favorite authors recommends. Try searching for a patron's favorite author on Twitter [don't need an account to view] and then see what authors they are promoting there. Most established authors do this. Also the back of a book a patron liked-- does it have blurbs by other authors? Those can be readalike author options. And Fantastic Fiction tries to catalog as many of an author's blurbs or recs that they can. Search an author in the site and scroll to bottom of record for examples. Then use Novelist or Goodreads to find out more about any titles or authors you find.The point here is you are using resources and need to know nothing about any of the authors involved, just that the patron in front of you likes them.

If a patron has a book or an author they really love, handing them something that same author suggested or blurbed is usually a sure bet, even when the books do not share much in common.

Now, many of you are probably confused because I spend a lot of time writing and talking about how we have to match book's based on their appeal. But hear me out. 

For many readers enjoying a specific author and wanting more by them or, if that is not possible, more books that they also enjoyed, is an appeal. It is enough that this reader will be predisposed to enjoying the title suggested by a favorite author. 

I have seen it work hundreds of times especially with the more "picky" patrons. If you suggest an outside of the box title to them, they will refuse to read it or hate read it. But if  their favorite author suggest the same book, they almost always love it because they want to like it. Even if it  is  very different from said author.

This is an especially good way to find a suggestion you would never think of yourself. If the patron comes back and likes this very different book, you are in luck because now an entirely new lane of suggestions has just opened up right in front of you. 

You  can use the Goodreads list or my more general guidelines and let authors suggest the books to their fans through you. 

Update on Librarians' Day-- It's Now Virtual and FREE

Below is the message that went out to everyone who was registered for the in-person Librarians' Day.

As you can see, we are going virtual and will have a link for people to sign up in mid-August. Signing up gets you access to the email where you can ask questions of the panelists. 

Expect the signup link by the week of the  24th with the videos going live November 1-- a post Halloween treat. 

We are so thankful that the panelists listed below are willing to appear in this  virtual format. And we would also like to publicly thank our sponsors who did not pull their funds even though we changed our plans-- NoveList and LibraryReads. 

Along with the sign up we will also be releasing a major announcement from the Horror Writers Association that also involves ARRT, NoveList, LibraryReads, and RA for All. So stay tuned.

*****************************************

Hello!

Thank you so much for registering for the HWA Librarians’ Day 2020, and thank you also for your patience during this tumultuous time as this program has had to shift and change.

Unfortunately due to the continuance of the coronavirus pandemic, we have made the difficult decision to cancel the in person program that was set to take place at the Naperville Public Library on Thursday, November 12, 2020.

However, we are excited to announce that HWA Librarians’ Day will be moving to a virtual format and it will be completely free! You will have the opportunity to view the panels on your own time during the month of November and will also get a chance to ask the panelists questions. There have been some panel changes and the new panels being planned are as follows:

The Scary Truth About Horror Reviews (Sponsored by Cemetery Dance) - Featuring New York Times Book Review Horror Columnist Danielle Trussoni, Booklist and Library Journal Horror Reviewer Becky Spratford, and Cemetery Dance reviewer and owner of Night Worms Sadie Hartmann. Moderated by Ashley Rayner from the Chicago Public Library

Horror and Libraries: A Not So Scary Partnership - Featuring Gillian Cargile-King from Northern Illinois University, Konrad Stump from Springfield-Greene [MO] County Library, Cathleen Keyser from Novelist and Gregg Winsor from Library Reads. Moderated by Lila Denning from the St. Petersburg [FL] Public Library

Summer Scares: How to Feature Horror for All Ages at Your Library - Featuring members of the Summer Scares Committee and the announcement of the 2021 Summer Scares Spokesperson

The State of Horror Today: A Conversation – Featuring authors Daniel Kraus, Stephen Graham Jones, and Cina Pelayo. Moderated by Becky Spratford

Meet Flame Tree Press - Editor Don D'Auria and Flame Tree Press authors John Everson, J.G. Faherty, J.H. Moncrieff, Melissa Prusi and Steven Hopstaken in conversation with Emily Vinci of the Schaumburg Public Library

Registration for this new FREE event will take place mid-August and we will email you again when that registration goes live. The former event on EventBrite will be canceled and refunds will be issued shortly.

Thank you so much for your interest in this event and please email Becky Spratford at bspratford at hotmail dot com and Karen Toonen at ktoonen at naperville-lib dot org with any questions.

Sincerely,

The HWA Librarians’ Day 2020 Committee