Week Seven Prompt Response

Now more than ever, public figures like authors have an expectation of adherence to popular political thought. Celebrities that express problematic viewpoints, on either side of the political spectrum, can have their potential for future brand deals, acting jobs, hosting award shows, wiped away by a single irreverent Tweet or off-color remark. To an extent, this does result in the necessary ousting of bigots from positions of power. If I as a viewer, reader, or listener learn that the artist who produced that piece of media is a racist, homophobe, xenophobe, Zionist, or otherwise, I would not personally want to monetarily support their work. Is it true that people with horrible views can make compelling, beautiful art? Of course. Look no further than the controversy surrounding passionate Harry Potter fans who have divorced the work in their minds from J. K. Rowling's vocal criticism of trans women. 

However, this cancel culture can often be at odds with empathy--but not in the way the political right often portrays it. Freedom of speech is essential for a democracy--but that doesn't mean everyone has to like what you say. If I were to choose not to buy any more Harry Potter merchandise because of J. K. Rowling's views, even though I loved the series, that is the "consequence" of Rowling's actions. This strong desire to champion the causes of the marginalized can lead to bad faith takes. If I read a social media post or hear a sound bite of someone saying something that's not politically correct, I don't think my first assumption should be that the individual is a bigot. (Unless, of course, the statement is blatant). Someone not using precisely the right language to describe a situation, or speaking on a situation without full context, might be simply unaware of the harm they are doing. Public outcry and the assumption of purposeful cruelty on the part of the offender should not happen. If someone makes a harmful statement, they should be given the tools to educate themselves before public opinion damns them forevermore.

Of course, there are power imbalances at play here, as there are everywhere.

Sometimes, people with genuinely hateful platforms are given a voice. One such case was that of Milo Yiannopoulos' book deal with an imprint of Simon & Schuster, one of the most powerful publishing houses. In our culture of hyper-visible celebrities, fans will pressure their favorites to state their opinion on everything from trans rights, gun reform, Black Lives Matter, and the genocide taking place in Gaza. (I have personally seen many viral TikToks informing other readers of authors who have been "silent" on various causes, and how they should no longer be supported). As Roxane Gay stated after she pulled her own book deal with Simon & Schuster as a result of them amplifying Yiannopoulos' bigoted voice, "...Not everyone [can afford to take this stand]. Remember that" (O'Brien, 2017).  

Certainly, many authors debuting with Simon & Schuster in 2017 may have had strong objections to Yiannopoulos' book deal. Yet, they had just landed a book deal with a Big Five publishing house. They were on the cusp of perhaps being able to follow a dream of writing for a living. Speaking out against this book deal could have stomped those publishing hopes into the dirt. Of course, BIPOC writers who have had to work the hardest to secure a book deal in the first place, would be hurt the most by speaking out against their publisher. As someone with aspirations of traditional publishing myself, I cannot imagine the anguish. 

We turn to celebrities to speak out against injustice on our behalf. As those with the most power, money, and influence, they can be igniters of cultural change, or champions of the status quo. We yearn to see our own views and hopes reflected in them. Too often, they let us down. As librarians, we are privy to the opinion of the common man more than those who are "chronically online." We owe it to our patrons to understand these nuances and to honor patrons' personal choices when it comes to the literature they consume. What is important to us may not be important to a patron, and vice versa. 

References

O'Brien, Sara Ashley. (2017). 'Bad Feminist' author Roxane Gay pulls book deal over Milo Yiannopoulos.     CNN Business. https://money.cnn.com/2017/01/25/technology/roxane-gay-simon-schuster-milo-                yiannopoulos/

Science Fiction: This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone

 

Author: Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone

Title: This Is How You Lose the Time War

Genre: Intellect (Science Fiction)

Publication Date: 2019

Number of Pages: 198

Geographical Setting/Time Period: myriad landscapes, planets, and time periods both past and future

Plot Summary: Red and Blue are time-traveling agents on either sides of a conflict, each trying to mold the future their superiors envision into being. Red belongs to a technoscape, and many of her body parts have been replaced by machinery. Blue hails from an ecoscape, grown and nurtured like a prized, lethal plant. The agents circle each other for the millennia, undoing each other's work and finding beauty and meaning in the struggle and tactics of their opponent. 

Blue reaches out to Red, and the her answering letter begins a series of correspondence that draws the two women closer and closer together until their handiwork is all over each other time threads. Messages are left behind in plants, on bodies, in the literature of famous writers. As their feelings for each other grow, they are forced to hide their love from those in control. With nearly omnipotent superiors and the curious idiosyncrasies of time travel, their love could be doomed, predestined, or something else entirely.

Subject Headings (per Novelist):

• Competition
• Enemies
• High technology
• Imaginary wars and battles
• Letter writing
• Romantic love
• Secrets
• Space and time
• Time travel

Science Fiction Appeals: 

Characterization - "Although attention is paid to characterization at the more literary end of the genre, generally the issues, story, and frame are given greater attention than the creation of dimensional, fully realized characters" (Wyatt & Saricks, 2019).

    This Is How You Lose the Time War has a memorable, rip-your-heart-out story and dilemma. Are beings created as a means to an end entitled to make their own decisions about their future? If you're able to prevent death by going into the past to change the future--what happened to the you that died in another thread of time? Red and Blue's courtship and romance grapples with these questions, but their individual personalities are not necessarily well understood. This is partly a by-product of the formatting of this book, as it mostly takes places within letters Red and Blue write to each other. We know that Red is rash, and Blue is more artistic. We can inform they are somewhat erudite as they discuss literature together. However, we don't really see them interact in person within the core timeline. This does not hinder the story, but rather empowers the narrative to the ride full-force towards the ethical dilemmas.

Frame/Setting - "Science Fiction is consistently evocative and visual" (Wyatt & Saricks, 2019).

   

    The prose in this novel is lush. The details are precise and vivid, even though we leap as readers between space and time frequently. The night-describable presence of these details allows the reader to craft vast landscapes in their mind's eyes, creating a visual for Red's Agency and Blue's Garden even though we don't get a thorough tour. This individual title trends literary, and is in some ways more of a soft sci-fi than a hard one. There are few, if any, technical explanations on how the time travel works or how it came about. We don't get steep worldbuilding or complicated societal structures. We bask instead in the love story made possible through time travel, rather than in the time travel itself.

Time Travel/Alternate History - "They offer the pleasures of speculation--of what the future may hold and how such travel may be possible--as well as the fascination of the past, mixed with the thought-provoking and mind-expanding possibilities of differing worlds" (Wyatt & Saricks, 2019).

    This is firmly a time travel novel. Red and Blue remake worlds with an eye towards the Agency or Garden's goals. These are presented as sweeping, inviting possibilities, but also impossibilities; Red and Blue are both thousands of years old, often staying in a particular thread of time for a dozen or more years to cement their place in a movement or to be in the right place at the right time. Red and Blue are more often to be the catalyst than the cause; they could give a revolutionary piece of literature to someone who becomes a great leader influenced by that work handed to them by a trusted friend. In many ways, while this novel has few concrete scenes "anchoring" it and feels rather abstract, we do get a lovely birds-eye view of how history's trajectory can be altered by one person, be they a time traveler or an everyday commoner.

Three terms that best describe this book:

• Literary
• Romantic
• Complex

Fiction Read-alikes:

Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell

Maxwell, E. (2021). Winter's orbit. New York: Tor.

Common appeals: Romantic, queer, intensifying, compelling

The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz

Newitz, A. (2019). The future of another timeline. New York: Tor.

Common appeals: Time travel, female characters, intricate

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Niffenegger, A. (2002). The time traveler's wife. San Francisco: MacAdam/Cage Pub.

Common appeals: Time travel, literary, romantic, moving

Nonfiction Read-alikes:

A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking

Hawking, S. (1998). A brief history of time. New York: Random House Publishing Group.

Common appeals: Theoretical discussion, possibilities, parallel dimensions

So You Created a Wormhole by Phil Hornshaw & Nick Hurwitch

Hornshaw, P., & Hurwitch, N. (2012). So you created a wormwhole. New York: Berkley

Common appeals: Time travel, physics, possibilities

It's Really About Time by John Oliver Ryan

Ryan, J. O. (2019). It's really about time. Tahilla Press.

Common appeals: Time travel, physics, possibilities

References

El-Mohtar, A., & Gladstone, M. (2020). This is how you lose the time war. New York: Saga Press.

Wyatt, N., & Saricks, J. G. (2019). The readers' advisory guide to genre fiction. American Library Association.

Horror: The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

 

Author: Stephen Graham Jones

Title: The Only Good Indians

Genre: Emotion (Horror)

Publication Date: 2020

Number of Pages: 310

Geographical Setting: Montana, North Dakota, Blackfeet reservations

Time Period: Present Day

Plot Summary: Four Blackfeet men, once close childhood friends, grapple with the poverty, drug abuse, and crime on their reservation in different ways. None of them can truly shake the literal or metaphorical ghosts of their pasts. They are each pursued by an entity of their own creation, borne from a misguided hunting trip on forbidden land. 

As the mysterious being continues its killing spree, it orchestrates a grand finale. The men are drawn back towards each other, forced to confront what it means have ever wanted to leave the reservation and tradition behind.

Subject Headings (per Novelist):

• American people
• Belief and doubt
• Elk
• Families
• Guilt
• Hunting
• Identity
• Indigenous men
• Indigenous peoples of North America
• Indigenous reservations
• Intergenerational trauma
• North American people
• Revenge
• Rural life
• Siksika (North American people)
• Tradition (Philosophy)

Horror Appeals: 

Tone - "The atmosphere in Horror novels must evoke an emotional response: dread and chill, a sense of menace, a feeling of terror" (Wyatt & Saricks, 2019)

    Jones' book creeps into the reader's psyche, dangling dread like a carrot to a horse, until the readers practically begs for the pin to drop. The stage is set early on with sections of the book receiving titles like "The House that Ran Red" and "Sweat Lodge Massacre" (Jones, 2020). One of the doomed men in the book, Lewis, has left his reservation behind to marry a white woman and pursue work at the post office. He orbits a Crow woman, Shaney, and dips into her knowledge as a fellow Indigenous person to unravel the visions he's seeing of a dead elk. The situation with Shaney escalates so gradually the reader is almost unaware of it at first, until Lewis has attributed his mental decay to Shaney's presence, and much blood is spilled in very fast succession by Lewis' hand. Jones allows his character Lewis to entertain multiple theories about his mental troubles -- perhaps his wife is possessed, perhaps the elk he shot had never died at all, perhaps it is possessing Shaney. The stakes accelerate at a breakneck pace, until they madden both Lewis and the reader, until the sweet release of the anticipated bloodshed.

Framing - "...the conventions and characters of the genre...come with baked-in elements that readers have also learned to expect and look for...such details also carry the story forward and create (or subvert) the key elements of the plot" (Wyatt & Saricks, 2019).

  

    At its core, if one were to strip The Only Good Indians of its cultural context and place it in a sociopolitical vacuum, one would find a monster story. Like many monster stories, the beast kills and kills until it stands before a final victim. Genre convention would have this remaining character either best the monster, or be killed, allowing the reader to extrapolate their own sinister epilogue. In many ways, (spoiler alert!) The Only Good Indians follows these genre conventions. Elk Head Woman, the eponymous monster, leaves a trail of carnage in her wake, as vengeance for her forbidden killing while she was pregnant with an unborn calf. The four original men have been killed, leaving only Gabriel's "calf", teenaged Denorah, and another teenager sent to get help. The moment of the final confrontation with Elk Head Woman arrives, Denorah seemingly hopeless, until the other teenager arrives with help. Genre convention would have Elk Head Woman slaughtered, punished for her crimes. But the narrative takes a different turn. Denorah opts to spare Elk Head Woman, ending the cycle of violence. Elk Head Woman returns to her original completely elk form, her dead calf now alive beside her, and leaves to rejoin the herd. Denorah thus symbolically breaks free of the intergenerational trauma that plagued her father and his friends, and is able to lead a fulfilling life.

Characterization - "The main protagonists in these books are usually haunted, shattered individuals" (Wyatt & Saricks, 2019).

    The four main men who dominate this story are classic horror characters trying (and failing) to outrun their pasts. All of them are cursed by their foray into the elders' sacred hunting ground, and travel there by truck rather than on traditional foot, further compounding their sins. Ricky and Lewis both try to build lives outside the reservation, but cannot escape their own traumas or the perceptions of others. Cassidy is on the precipice of turning his life around, but is still judged by his father. Gabriel has lost custody of his daughter and is addicted to multiple substances. The narrative voice connecting all four suggests that had they stuck together, and not split after their hunting trip, perhaps they could have weathered this storm together.

Three terms that best describe this book:

• Richly detailed
• Thought-provoking
• Unsettling

Fiction Read-alikes:

Piñata by Leopoldo Gout

Gout, L. (2023). Piñata. New York: Tor Nightfire.

Common appeals: Own voices, North American people, richly detailed.

Hearts of the Missing by Carol Potenza

Potenza, C. (2018). Hearts of the missing. New York: Minotaur Books.

Common appeals: Indigenous peoples of North America, violation of sacred laws, strong sense of place.

Sisters of the Lost Nation by Nick Medina

Medina, N. (2023). Sisters of the lost nation. New York: Berkley

Common appeals: Indigenous reservations, identity, intergenerational trauma

Nonfiction Read-alikes:

Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits by Chip Colwell

Colwell, C. (2019). Plundered skulls and stolen spirits. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Common appeals: Intergenerational trauma, modern Indigenous lives, Indigenous spirituality

Living Ghosts & Mischievous Monsters by Dan Sasuweh Jones

Jones, D. S. (2021). Living ghosts and mischievous monsters. New York: Scholastic Nonfiction.

Common appeals: Indigenous spirituality, Indigenous lives, modern Indigenous people

American Indian Ghost Stories of the West by Antonio R. Garcez

Garcez, A. R. (2010). American Indian ghost stories of the west. Red Rabbit Press LLC.

Common appeals: Indigenous ghost stories, hauntings, own voices

References

Jones, S. G. (2020). The only good Indians. New York: Saga Press.

Wyatt, N., & Saricks, J. G. (2019). The readers' advisory guide to genre fiction. American Library Association.

Week Six Prompt Response

Passive displays are an excellent way of appealing to almost every person who comes to the library. If they come to the library for books--rather than to print, for example--they are likely to take the time to examine an attractive display. I've often seen on social media "Blind Dates" with romance books. The books would be completely wrapped in pretty paper and bows. Only a small snippet of information would be visible on the paper, usually handwritten for that personalized feel. I think a cool variation of this would be to do it with horror novels. 

I envision the horror novels would be wrapped in spooky, somber paper. Perhaps a nice black with gold accents. Bonus points for skulls or tombstones. Then, there could be notes attached to the books that hint at the theme, the monster, or the conflict. For instance, the book that I am going to annotate this week, Stephen Graham Jones' The Only Good Indians, follows four Blackfeet men pursued by the manifestation of their past mistakes. This book could be given a variety of notes to appeal to the reader...

• "Your mistakes are always watching." - theme
• "Ever been chased by an herbivore?" - monster (also kind of parodic)
• "Can we ever truly outgrow our childhood friends?" - conflict

Given that these would be horror novels being promoted, I would recommend non-spoiler content warnings be written on the back. On the back of The Only Good Indians, I would list:

• Gore
• Violence
• Animal death
• Guns

While the effectiveness of trigger warnings/content warnings is sometimes debated, I don't think they would be out of place here.

Week Five Prompt Response

I think the "review game" is multi-faceted. When I read reviews, I only put a lot of stock into them for my personal taste if the reader is someone who reads similarly to me. A lot of theme choices and stylistic differences could lead one reviewer to say that they did not enjoy the book, and they might leave a one star review. Some people review-bomb debut titles by authors whose personalities they don't enjoy, or with subject matter they find offensive. Platforms like Goodreads and Amazon are great for taking the general "temperature" of opinion on a book--but only if that book has lots of reviews so a kind of consensus can be reached. 

Books that struggle to get reviewed, like self-published books, can have their debuts irreparably damaged by a few one star reviews. In the writing groups I'm in on Facebook and the like, there is at least a post a week by someone upset because a reviewer left a one star review of their book. (My personal opinion is that authors should not be reading the content of random reviewers to protect their mental health, and also because reviews are for readers, not authors, but I digress). The damage this does to a fledgling book could prevent it from getting into a library or bookstore in the future. Personally, I don't leave any reviews lower than three stars on Goodreads, but that's only because I know my taste is subjective and that a book might be someone else's favorite five star read. Genre conventions I don't enjoy might also influence how I would personally perceive a book for how frequent readers of that genre would see it. For instance, when I read It Ends with Us and It Starts with Us by Colleen Hoover. I rated those five stars because I think Hoover has a command of the contemporary romance genre, and writes well to her specific audience. Do I think they would be five star literary fiction? Of course not. But for readers of contemporary romance, I think they are five star.

My library has a generous collection development budget, and we will often purchase books with poor reviews if enough patrons request that title, or if that title is cheap enough to justify buying for one patron. We will often buy books by indie authors if a patron requests them. I do feel if a book is getting tons of positive press, we should be buying more copies of that than of random one star books, but those one star books might have an audience as well whose needs we can meet with those books. 

In regards to reviews like that for Angela's Ashes, if I were in collection development, reviews like those done by Kirkus would sway my opinion more than that of "random" people. Not that the average person's opinion isn't valid. But sometimes people get nitpicky and enjoy tearing down popular TV shows, movies, books, video games, etc., just because they are popular. I don't necessarily think that's the case here with Angela's Ashes, though.

I think it's fair that some books are reviewed to death and others are not. That might be controversial, but I think we have to provide more reviews for popular books versus unpopular books. Not that those who are unpopular should never get a chance, but why should we have one hundred reviews for a book that's only sold one thousand copies? As the market shifts, the flow of reviews will cycle around to different genres and authors. As a writer, this reality does intimidate me for when I eventually pursue traditional publication, but I think writers find ways to adapt, such as through finding street teams to promote their books and giving out free ARCs to laypeople.

Kirkus Style Review: You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi

 

You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty

By Akwaeke Emezi | Release Date: May 24, 2022

Searing, gorgeous prose couples with fierce ethical dilemma.

Five years after the traumatic death of her husband, young artist Feyi Adekola is still putting herself back together.

Encouraged by her best friend Joy, Feyi seeks a meaningless physical connection with a man at a party. That moment of ecstasy and release catapults Feyi into a desperate search for meaning, echoed by Emezi's evocative mantra that Feyi is alive and she can deny herself joy no longer. Feyi believes herself to be on the precipice of a romantic love and an unveiling of her heart with a second man, Nasir. Nasir is patient and kind and everything a man should be--Joy encourages her to go for it. Indeed, Joy and Feyi's relationship is one of the true delights of the novel, bolstered as much by their shared background (both women are queer and the daughters of African immigrants) as by Emezi's touching dialogue that rings with authenticity and voice. This contemporary romance takes a turn for an ethical exploration when Feyi meets Nasir's father, Alim, and feels an instant soul-aching connection between the two of them. Feyi's rich inner voice coils and coils around itself with guilt. Nasir has just taken her on the vacation of a lifetime to his vividly described Caribbean island home, complete with a showcasing of her art at the local installation. What sort of woman, the narrative begs, falls for the father of the man who has given her so much? Emezi does not shy from this burning question, and tackles it with all the vitality of their main character, and the animal hunger of someone who has lived in darkness for too long.

Searing, gorgeous prose couples with fierce ethical dilemma. 

Secret Shopper Experience Summary

 My secret shopper experience was not wholly good or bad. The employee working the circulation desk did not greet me when I entered the building as she was working on something at her computer. I browsed around for a bit and noticed the shelves were well-maintained and the displays were attractive. I noted to myself that if I were a patron who preferred to discover things on my own, this library would meet my needs. I eventually approached the circulation desk and asked if the employee could recommend me a good book. 

The employee was welcoming in that moment and directed all of her attention on me. This did make me feel appreciated as a patron. She asked me what I usually like to read and I told her I enjoy science fiction and fantasy novels. Almost immediately, the employee seemed to get a little nervous and told me she doesn't read that genre. I thought she might turn to NoveList or Google, but she instead directed me to the appropriate place in the stacks. She pointed out how the books were labeled and showed me where new books versus older ones were. I thanked her. 

I think this interaction would satisfy some patrons. Truthfully, if I were there as a patron and not as a student observing, I imagine this would have felt sufficient as I prefer to discover books on my own. However, if I were a patron who wanted a hands-on, personal feel, the interaction could have benefited from the employee asking me some follow up questions, such as inquiring what authors I've enjoyed reading in the past, what specific books I've loved, and going from there. This would have given a stronger impression that the employee cared about the outcome of the interaction and my experience as a patron.