Week Fifteen Prompt Response

Three ways that we promote our collection at my library are the following: 

1. Themed book lists. I'm pretty sure every library under the sun does this, but a list of related titles is just such a great way to pique reader interest. When we have done One Book programs historically, these always included read-alike titles to the One Book.

2. "Hot Book" videos. Occasionally, we partner with Communications to produce videos highlighting a trending book or a book that our staff is enjoying and create a BookTok style video for our socials. We try to follow current social media trends when doing these.

3. Next Great Read service. Patrons can fill out forms at our circulation desks or online and receive five tailored book recommendations from our readers' advisory committee via email! This service waxes and wanes in popularity, but I think it's super neat. Its die-hard fans are huge advocates for the service.

Week Fourteen Prompt Response

If I were tasked with the decision whether to separate urban fiction and LGBTQ fiction from more generalized fiction, I would be in favor of separating urban but not LGBTQ fiction. Urban fiction describes a specific genre with its own conventions and expectations. Patrons looking for urban fiction will have a better browsing experience if all of the urban fiction is in one place. This is what my library actually has done; we have our own well-loved urban shelves at our main branch. I can understand why some would fear this being seen as discriminatory; however, I think it would actually decrease patron access and circulation to have the urban books spread throughout general fiction. 

Conversely, with LGBTQ fiction, I don't feel that should be a separate section as LGBTQ fiction is less of a genre and more of a theme or appeal factor. While urban fiction also has common thematic threads of life in the inner city, poverty, violence, exploitation, and "rags to riches" storylines, the books are more strongly united stylistically. This is apparent from title conventions, cover presentation, and lyricism of the text. This unites urban/"street lit" as a genre, whereas LGBTQ fiction, as of yet, does not have a unified "feel" the way genres do. LGBTQ fiction certainly can share thematic elements, e.g. feeling "othered", coming out, found family, and beyond, yet, these works tend to feel stylistically distinct and can transcend genre. LGBTQ is not a genre that should be separated from general fiction as that does not improve the patron browsing experience. Separating LGBTQ as a genre also bows to censorship efforts, which libraries seek to combat.

However, I would support pop up displays highlighting both urban fiction, LGBTQ fiction, and urban LGBTQ fiction to increase circulation and patron awareness of these titles.

I would make these decisions because:

1. Condensing urban fiction together will make for a better browsing experience for lovers of the urban genre, same as with science fiction or Western readers.

2. Separating LGBTQ fiction from general fiction bows to censorship efforts and the suppression of marginalized voices in a way that separating urban fiction does not. LGBTQ fiction also does not have a cohesive feel the way urban lit can.

3. If urban readers feel othered by the separating of their genre from general fiction and do not find the action to enhance their browsing experience, we could instead indicate via spine label that a title is urban and return it to the general fiction stacks. 

Diverse Read: You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi

Author: Akwaeke Emezi (they/them)

Title: You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty

Genre: Emotion (Romance)

Publication Date: 2022

Number of Pages: 288

Geographical Setting: New York, Caribbean islands

Time Period: Present Day

Underrepresented Author Voice: Black, African, nonbinary transgender, ogbanje

Plot Summary: Beautiful young artist Feyi Adekola is just beginning to live again after the premature death of her husband. Her intense grief has permeated her artwork and plagues her thoughts. Encouraged by her best friend Joy, she seeks out romance again. Her first promising connection, Nasir, is perfect on paper. Nasir is patient and kind, and says they can be friends first. Feyi's tentative interest mixes with obligation when Nasir lands her an art exhibition in his home country in the Caribbean. 

Feyi's world begins anew when she meets Nasir's father, Alim. The connection between the two is palpable, as Feyi does her best to nix it. Guilt, grief, and yearning ignite Feyi's soul on fire as she must choose if she will deny herself someone who just might be the first step on her path to healing.

Subject Headings (per Novelist):

• Grief
• Healing 
• Love triangles
• May-December romance
• Self-discovery

Romance Appeals: 

Language/Style - "Romances are full of lush and expressive language, pulling readers into each scene and into the overarching tone of the novel" (Wyatt & Saricks, 2019).

    As I wrote in my Kirkus style review for this title, Emezi's prose is as searing as it gorgeous. Feyi's inner world feels as if it is our own as we experience her trauma and resetting of her person. Food, locale, and the senses are all engaged when the narrative takes Feyi to Alim and Nasir's tropical home. Alim is a master chef, and we taste each of his foods. The heat of the rising sun and Feyi's sweat-soaked shirt is within our reach when she makes that first pivotal climb up the mountain with Alim. It is gloriously rich text, and readers can settle into a chair and stay awhile as they fall in love with Alim alongside Feyi.

Contemporary Romance - "They [are]...simply assumed to be current because authors do not go to great lengths to specifically identify the period; they let details of technology, work environments, and modes of travel and dress indicate when the book is set" (Wyatt & Saricks, 2019).

    Feyi and her best friend, Joy, use slang and technology befitting the modern age. They FaceTime each other while Feyi is out of the U.S., and use vernacular language exclusive to their cultural groups in many ways. Both are the first generation queer daughters of African immigrants, and they use terms unique to all these communities. Feyi travels by plane and enjoys the simple pleasures of a modern life. No time is wasted unnecessarily explaining the precise date of when the story takes place. Such details would feel too mechanical. 

Characterization - "Novels turn on the relationship between the two central characters" (Wyatt & Saricks, 2019).

    Feyi is fully fleshed out and experiences vivifying highs and crushing lows. As an audience, we know abundant details about Feyi: she is insightful and unafraid to speak her mind, she is a poor cook, she uses unconventional mediums in her artistry, and she loves her friend Joy fiercely. She is afraid to hurt others and is not using to prioritizing herself. Alim, her love interest, is deeply emotional, poignant, and calm. We connect with Alim alongside Feyi as their dynamic deepens: both have lost a spouse, both are bisexual, both love the arts, etc. In this way Feyi begins to feel like our friend, and Alim our own "book boyfriend."

Three terms that best describe this book:

• Lush
• Emotional
• Moving

Romance Read-alikes:

Seven Days in June by Tia Williams

Williams, T. (2021). Seven days in June. New York: Grand Central Publishing.

Common appeals: Black lives, artists, trauma

Family Meal by Bryan Washington

Washington, B. (2023). Family meal. New York: Riverhead Books.

Common appeals: LGBT, grief after the death of a spouse, rich dialogue

Mostly Dead Things by Kristen N. Arnett

Arnett, K. N. (2019). Mostly dead things. Portland: Tin House Books.

Common appeals: LGBT, grief, psychological exporation

Nonfiction Read-alikes: 

I'm Not a Mourning Person by Kris Carr

Carr, K. (2023). I'm not a mourning person. Hay House Inc.

Common appeals: Grief, life after trauma, mortality

Widower to Widower by Fred Colby

Colby, F. (2021). Widower to widower. Front Range Press.

Common appeals: Death of a spouse, life after trauma, coping

It's OK that You're Not OK by Megan Devine

Devine, M. (2017). It's ok that you're not ok. Sounds True.

Common appeals: Grief, coping, cultural attitudes around loss, discussions of death

References:

Emezi, A. (2022). You made a fool of death with your beauty. New York: Atria Books.

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

Week Twelve Prompt Response

Author: Evette Dionne

Title: Weightless

Genre: Nonfiction (essay collection)

Publication Date: 2022

Number of Pages: 245

Geographical Setting: New York City

Time Period: Present Day

1. Where is the book on the narrative continuum?

Highly narrative (reads like fiction)

2. What is the subject of the book?

Weightless explores the intersection of the fat, Black, and chronically ill experience, through the lens of the highs and lows of Dionne's life.

3. What type of book is it?

This book is a collection of essays on different topics. The essays include tidbits from Dionne's personal life that highlight her persuasive argument.

4. Articulate appeal:

• Pacing: The pacing is leisurely and reflective. There are moments of tension, but we know at the onset that Evette is at a greater place of acceptance with her body and life than at the lowest times of her life.
• Characters: The book is autobiographical and follows Evette's journey with chronic illness and fatness, interlaced with her Black identity. Evette manages several chronic conditions, including mental illness (especially agoraphobia), heart failure, and pulmonary hypertension. Evette is able to reflect on her perspective at different times of her life with clarity and stark honesty. She does now shy away from condemning her past actions as self-destructive, harmful to others, or weak. Evette's supportive family also play a role, as do various boyfriends, though they serve more as representatives of the effect of Evette's mindset on others and as stand-ins for society than actual charactesr with arcs.
• How does the story feel? The story feels as if you are reading journal entries.
• What is the intent of the author? Dionne's intent is to share her lived experience and to build community with readers like herself. The book can also function as a long persuasive argument that fatness is not a morally corrupt state of being, but rather a neutral fact of life that deserves accommodation. Dionne argues that fatness should not be overly medicalized, and that doctors should not default to diagnosing a patient with simply "fat" and not further investigate their health conditions.
• Does the language matter? The langauge matters less than the emotional resonancy of the material. Dionne's prose is not overly poetic, but it does strike a chord narratively.
• Is the setting important and well described? The setting is sparesely described and is perhaps beyond tertiary to the overall structure of the book. Dionne's interactions with others take center stage, and whether she is talking to another disengaged boyfriend on a city street, in a park, or in a club is irrelevant.
• Are there details and, if so, of what? Dionne shares lot of medical details about her various chronic illnesses. These serve to illustrate that Dionne's primary heath problem is not her weight, but rather the illnesses she was predisposed to and got by seemingly random chance. Dionne also shares startlingly emotional and thought patterns that would potentially isolate her from the body positive movement, but she does so with honesty and bravery.
• Are there sufficient charts and other graphic materials? There are no graphs, but the book didn't need them.
• Does the book stress moments of learning, understanding, or experience? This book stresses understanding and experience. Dionne grows to accept herself and her place in society, but also elicits a call to action to challenge the status quo of white supremacy, capitalism, and the thin ideal. 

5. Why would a reader enjoy this book (rank appeal)?

1. Body positivity
2. Black lived experience
3. Social commentary

References: 

Dionne, E. (2022). Weightless. New York: HarperCollins.

Nonfiction: The Right to Be Cold by Sheila Watt-Cloutier

 

Author: Sheila Watt-Cloutier

Title: The Right to Be Cold

Genre: Nonfiction (memoir)

Publication Date: 2015

Number of Pages: 337

Geographical Setting: Canada, both in villages like Kuujjuaq and in the southern cities

Time Period: 1953-2015 

Summary: Sheila Watt-Cloutier tells her life's story as an Inuit woman driven to preserve the traditional lifestyle she had as a child. Watt-Cloutier opens her memoir with vignettes from her childhood, ranging from traveling by dog sled to being sent to a residential school in Churchill. Watt-Cloutier is separated from her childhood home of Kuujuaq for a time, and upon her return discovers countless detrimental changes to her village. The dog sled teams have been replaced by snow mobiles, alcoholism, violence, and disease plague her beloved village. Watt-Cloutier changes the trajectory of her life to be one of cultural renaissance, leading many initiatives to safeguard the way of life of the circumpolar Indigenous peoples. 

Watt-Cloutier tackles every topic with nuance and integrity, opening the door for multiple interpretations of events. She discusses how her white-passing appearance perhaps enabled her to be a more palatable voice for her people to the white power majority, but how this also at times affected her self-perception of her identity. Another such example is Watt-Cloutier's shunning by environmental NGOs like Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund, even though all three had the goal of stopping climate change. Watt-Cloutier attributed this to the popular movements against hunting of Arctic wildlife, which was at odds with her people's subsistence hunting relationship with their land. Other divisive topics she tackles are the white father who abandoned her family, intra-community debates on how to adapt to a changing world, education, and drug abuse.

Subject Headings (per Novelist):

• Climate change
• Environmental protection
• Environmentalists
• Inuit women
• Watt-Cloutier, Sheila
• Weather

Nonfiction Appeals:

Characterization - "Nonfiction characters tend either to be quickly defined and remain relatively constant or to be slowly revealed as they develop over the life of the story" (Wyatt, 2007).

    Watt-Cloutier comes into her own as a politician and change-maker throughout the book. She initially is somewhat adrift in terms of what she envisions her life's mission to be; at first, she dreams of becoming a doctor, but her grades don't allow it. She tries her hand in education but faces too much friction with her co-workers. Eventually, several chance meetings allow her an avenue into politics, where she quickly becomes globally recognized. An introvert at heart, being thrust into the spotlight is hard for Watt-Cloutier, and she faces several personal tragedies as she grows older. Several family members die in quick succession, and her marriage falls apart. Nonetheless, Watt-Cloutier describes herself as having found clarity and resonance in the work she does. 

Story Line and Subject - "Story line provides a place in the appeal construct to consider how the subject is approached" (Wyatt, 2007).

    As Watt-Cloutier realizes the depth of the suffering ravaging her childhood home, the reader comes to this conclusion alongside her. It hits with the needed impact to provide the emotional connection needed to invest in Watt-Cloutier's viewpoint and ideology. When she learns of a new way that climate change has impacted her people, we as readers are devastated alongside her. This is reflective in a meta way of Watt-Cloutier's strategy of appealing the political elite of the globe to understand the human cost of climate change felt foremost and strongest by Indigenous communities.

Detail - "Details are the canvas on which the book is set; they bring out a richness in the book and create a backdrop to the reading experience" (Wyatt, 2007).

    This book is laden with details both cultural and personal. Many words in Watt-Cloutier's native Inuktitut language are introduced and then used in place of the English the rest of the text is written in. Watt-Cloutier includes information about other Indigenous human rights movements happening concurrently with her tenure in office, such as those by Amazonian Indigenous populations and by Samoans. This adds to the feel of this being a a truly global movement that Watt-Cloutier was a part of, and adds to the gravitational feel of the book. It made it feel like a revolution. Which, of course, is exactly how Watt-Cloutier aimed to frame it.

Three terms that best describe this book:

• Memoir
• Cultural history
• Emotional

Nonfiction Read-alikes:

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Kimmerer, R. W. (2013) Braiding sweetgrass. Minneapolis: Milkweed Editions.

Common appeals: Indigenous knowledge, environmentalism, human interactions with the environment

The Archipelago of Hope by Gleb Raygorodetsky

Raygorodetsky, G. (2017). The archipelago of hope. New York: Pegasus Books.

Common appeals: Indigenous knowledge, Canadian literature, climate change

Storms of My Grandchildren by James Hansen

Hansen, J. (2020). Storms of my grandchildren. New York: Bloomsbury.

Common appeals: Climate change, environmentalism, call to action

Fiction Read-alikes:

Yellow Earth by John Sayles

Sayles, J. (2020). Yellow earth. Chicago: Haymarket Books.

Common appeals: Community activism, Indigenous land, pollution

The Book of Rain by Thomas Wharton

Wharton, T. (2023). The book of rain. Toronto: Random House Canada.

Common appeals: Pollution, Canadian literature, humans and nature

The Overstory by Richard Powers

Powers, R. (2018) The overstory. New York: W. W. Norton & Co.

Common appeals: Environmentalism, humans and nature, women activists

References 

Watt-Cloutier, S. (2015). The right to be cold. Toronto: Penguin Canada Books.

Wyatt, N. (2007). The readers' advisory guide to nonfiction. American Library Association.

Week Eleven Prompt Response

Audiobooks and ebooks are really important for broader accessibility. Being able to listen to a book, while of course being convenient on long drives or otherwise on the go, is also amazing for those with low vision. Some of the most avid users of ebooks at my previous branch were senior patrons who needed the flexibility to make the text larger. My library system has a robust collection of ebooks and eaudiobooks on Libby and Hoopla; unfortunately, I feel like we struggle to entice patrons with no natural interest in this medium to give it a try, and I put in a lot of collection development requests for physical copies of books we have digitally. 

I think print books have a kind of hidden appeal factor we don't often talk about; the physical appearance of the book. Books with sprayed edges are super popular right now (see A Fate Inked in Blood, Gothikana, or Sanctuary of the Shadow). The font choice, cover design, and intangible feel of the book can lead someone to pick it up and take it home. Ebooks sacrifice this appeal to gain flexibility. Some patrons in our service area own property locally but travel a lot or move to Florida during the winter, and they will use our Libby from afar while they are out of town. 

The effectiveness of a narrator in an audiobook cannot be overemphasized in terms of appeal. Many of my coworkers have been reading the A Court of Thorns and Roses series. One coworker listened to the dramatized audiobook for all the books, and found herself not enjoying one of the main characters because she found that narrator annoying, and it affected her overall enjoyment of the books. Additionally, I have seen some people in my romantasy Facebook group discussing deleting certain audiobook downloads from their devices without ever listening to them because the narrator was found out to be predatory towards his fans. (Imagine being that author and having someone so beyond your control negatively impact your work!). 

Overall, ebooks and audiobooks are an essential, valued form of reading and storytelling that make reading accessible to more people. Some purists will argue that the only reading that counts is reading a print book, but I couldn't disagree more. 

Book Club Experience

This semester I attended my library system's book club "Books on Tap." This is a more informal book club kind of similar Professor Cataldi's Stout Stories as the meetings take place at restaurants and have a focus on being able to drink recreationally while discussing books. Unlike Stout Stories, Books on Tap does not require or even ask patrons to read a specific book before attending. Rather, patrons (and the librarians who attend) are given a question pertaining to reading to discuss. Librarians bring ARCs that have been sent to the library for patrons to optionally take home. Books on Tap is advertised on my library's website, Facebook, and also via a Facebook group and email mailing list.

When I attended Books on Tap, I invited my best friend. I helped the librarians who regularly run Books on Tap set up, as I was also there to learn how to moderate the club should there ever be an emergency. Those librarians had already arranged with the restaurant for us to have a table in the back of the room, cut off from the main dining area by a partial wall. We spread the ARCs that Collection Development had given us around the table for patrons to look at and choose from when they arrived. Patrons were allowed to take multiple ARCs as we receive so many it is, quite candidly, a great way for us as a library to get use out of the ARCs and also not to accumulate too many. 

Patrons started to arrive. Eventually, the table was completely full. There were probably around 15 patrons, plus myself and the two librarians who usually run Books on Tap. There was a staff member there who was attending as a patron to socialize. All were women. One of the regular librarians gave a small introduction welcoming everyone to Books on Tap and sharing this week's question: "What are your reading goals for the year?" This question was discussed briefly, then patrons quickly transitioned to talking amongst themselves and with staff about what they were reading, ordering food and drinks, and welcoming someone to the group that hadn't attended before.

I talked at length with my best friend and the staff member who had attended on a social level about the book I was currently reading, The Only Good Indians, as she had also read it. I asked those sitting near me if they had to give birth to animal that was not a human, what would it be? (This was because of a plot point in The Only Good Indians and succeeded in amusing those who had read the book, but those who hadn't, like my best friend, were just grossed out. Whoops!). I also talked with those near me about reading preferences, the ARCs that had been brought, and about other things going on in the city. My best friend realized someone in the club knew her mother, and it became a moment of "oh you know this person? So do I!" for all of my best friend's family friends.

Books on Tap had a warm atmosphere and, in many ways, is most aptly characterized as a social club bolstered by a shared love for reading by the participants. I intend this to be read as glowing praise! We are experiencing an epidemic of loneliness in our society and an influx of artificial, stilted connections with others. Ironically, as I'm writing this post, I recall a TikTok I saw this month posted by the user @starsandthecosmos. I could not find the original post as this user posts multiple times a day. Regardless, this user discussed the epidemic of loneliness in our society and how clubs and social gatherings advertising "come here and make friends!" can often fall short of meeting that goal. They framed this as a heightening of expectations and an increased chance for participants to feel like they "failed" if they don't walk away from the experience feeling like they made authentic connections. Rather, an event advertising an activity or shared interest, like Books on Tap, is more successful at creating genuine connections between community members since there is that foundation of shared interest. 

I hope my personal schedule lightens up a bit so I can attend Books on Tap again soon!

Special Topics Paper Summary

I wrote my special topics paper about book influencers. More specifically, I discussed BookTok, since it is undoubtedly the most powerful. I approached the topic from the perspective of a reader and as a wannabe author. I established in my first section that BookTok is a powerful force coveted by publishing houses, but that they are unable to truly replicate. I accredited this to the inability of those trying to sell a product to replicate a user's genuine joy regarding that product. Someone gushing about their favorite book is going to describe it sloppily and not use the "proper terms"; but that makes their review all the more appealing to a layperson. As a librarian, I love Kirkus, but I get book recommendations for books I truly want to read from my friends or those with similar taste to me, not from faceless reviewers I don't actually know. Even if I only "know" these influencers in a parasocial sense.

In my second section I discussed some of the divisions within the BookTok community. For instance, its detractors will try to argue that if someone reads hundreds of books a year and does not remember the fine details, that book either can't have been all that great, or the reader in question is not truly absorbing the content of the book. Personally, I don't think everyone has to read highbrow literary fiction all the time, or come away from each reading experience ready to write a five paragraph essay. I do believe diversity in thought and in voice is important, but I don't think all our recreational time should be spent enriching ourselves. Sometimes I think reading for pleasure is needed and acceptable. Constant self-improvement feels capitalist in a way I don't want it to.

In my third section, I talked about how authors feel pressured to have a presence on BookTok because of its power to catapult an author's career into the stratosphere. In lots of my online writers' groups, people complain about the "unearned" success of authors like Colleen Hoover, Sarah J. Maas, and Tessa Bailey, because these unpublished authors feel their books are better than these famous women's. (Yes, I do find these viewpoints often coming from men critical of romance as a genre, but I did not directly touch on that in my paper as it was anecdotal at best). To that end, I encouraged prospective debut authors not to put all their eggs into one basket and to instead send out lots of ARCs to generate genuine enthusiasm and love for their books. 

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.

Thriller: The Horsewoman by James Patterson & Mike Lupica (Late -- Sorry!)

 

Author: James Patterson & Mike Lupica

Title: The Horsewoman

Genre: Adrenaline (Thriller)

Publication Date: 2022

Number of Pages: 433

Geographical Setting: Wellington, Florida

Time Period: Present Day

Plot Summary: Three generations of women have been raised in the business and passion of equestrianism. Grandmother Caroline owns a struggling horse barn. Her superstar daughter Maggie is right on track to go to the Paris Olympics on Coronado, an elite horse they've quite literally bet the barn on. Maggie's wayward daughter Becky is naturally talented, but does not yet have the keen focus of her mother. 

When Becky makes a mistake that causes her mother to get injured, Becky seems to be the only one who can save the family's honor and barn by riding Coronado. However, Maggie soon starts riding again against doctor's orders, and she wants her horse back. Hanging over them all is a manipulative businessman with the lion's share of financial stake in Coronado, and Becky's close friend and trainer Daniel, who is in danger of being deported. Becky, Maggie, and Caroline must overcome decades of tension to make it to the Olympics and save their barn.

Subject Headings (per Novelist): 

• Mothers and daughters
• Olympic games
• Horses
• Competition
• Humans and horses
• Equestrians
• Equestrianism
• Olympic athletes
• Interpersonal conflict

Thriller Appeals:

Pacing - "Thrillers move at a rapid pace, driven by the danger faced by the protagonist" (Wyatt & Saricks, 2019).

    This book clipped along extremely fast. The book was divided into 130 short chapters, which were  themselves made of short sentences and paragraphs. This structure lent itself into a quick reading experience. Almost every chapter ended on a cliff-hanger, so that the reader would be compelled to turn the page immediately. Chapters also jump between points of view to quickly move readers around the setting of Wellington without wasting time on traveling scenes.

Language - "These cinematic stories center on the plot" (Wyatt & Saricks, 2019). 

    This book sustained itself on sparse details. For instance, the reader never learns the coat color of Coronado, the horse at the center of the novel's plot and conflict. He is a large horse, but we know nothing else. When the bulk of the characters are introduced in the first chapter, the majority of them have no descriptive text attached. When Becky first mentions her trainer and love interest Daniel, it is by name only, in a scene stripped of any background setting: "It was why my trainer, Daniel, had taken to calling me Maverick, after the character Tom Cruise played in Top Gun" (Patterson & Lupica, 2022). This tied in with the pacing, in that it made for a quicker reading experience, since the reader was not tripping over superfluous description that would slow down the plot.

Characterization - "Secondary characters are less well developed and may even be caricatures" (Wyatt & Saricks, 2019).

    The characters in this book were trimmed down the bare essentials of personality. Becky is a party girl who must tamed. Maggie is ambitious. Caroline is standoffish. Daniel is level-headed and supportive. This is nowhere more apparent though than in that of the antagonist, Gorton. Gorton occasionally receives his own point of view chapters, where we see that he is misogynist, racist, classist, and more. While on the phone with a rival equestrian he is conspiring with, he describes the women he is in business with as such: "I actually kind of like Maggie. Might have tried to hit that under different circumstances. It's the kid and the old lady who piss me off. The kid especially. She looks at me like I'm old loser trying to hit on her" (Patterson & Lupica, 2022). Gorton has so little depth as an antagonist because any further depth would slow down the plot. While there are definitely ample plot twists and the "[essential] double crosses" (Wyatt & Saricks, 2019) delivered by these characters, they are in part in able to pivot so quickly because they are not bogged down by constant internal conflict.

Three terms that best describe this book:

• Fast-paced
• Compelling
• Suspenseful

Thriller Read-alikes:

The Ballerinas by Rachel Kapelke-Dale

Kapelke-Dale, R. (2021). The ballerinas. New York: St. Martin's Press.

Common Appeals: Competition between women, suspense, women athletes, ambition.

Daylight Second by Kelly Ana Morey

Morey, K. A. (2016). Daylight second. Auckland: HarperCollins Publishers

Common Appeals: Horses, sports rivalry, engaging.

Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Jenkins Reid, T. (2022). Carrie Soto is back. New York: Ballantine Books.

Commons Appeals: Sports rivalry, women athletes, winning and losing.

Nonfiction Read-alikes:

Out of the Clouds by Linda Carroll & David Rosner

Carroll, L., & Rosner, D. (2018). Out of the clouds. New York: Hachette Books.

Common Appeals: Equestrianism, horse sports, horse training.

The Ride of Her Life by Elizabeth Letts

Letts, E. (2022). The ride of her life. New York: Random House Publishing Group. 

Common Appeals: Horses, human-animal relationship, women athletes.

Let's Ride by Sheila Varian.

Varian, S. (2018). Let's ride. Independently published.

Common Appeals: Horses, horse sports, women athletes.

References

Patterson, P., & Lupica, M. (2022). The horsewoman. New York: Little, Brown and Company

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