Week Five Prompt: Book Reviews

When I purchase books, I tend to rely on a balance of professional reviews, patron demand, and personal reviews. Certain kinds of literature get reviewed more than others, and genre fiction and different formats often get ignored. I order graphic novels for my library, and I tend not to see too many of them in review journals. The graphic novels that are occasionally reviewed are standalone works that are not among the most popular items like series with multiple media adaptations. For those things I have to look at specific review sites like Comic Book Resources.

I don't think publications should adhere to a no negative reviews policy. I know they are interested in promoting books, but seems a little dishonest. That being said, negative professional reviews by themselves would not necessarily dissuade me from purchasing a title. I know that Bill O'Reilly's books are often not well-reviewed by professional sources. They are still seriously popular at my library, and I will still buy them.

I look at user reviews on Amazon for two reasons: I want to know what people who like this book like about it and what other people don't like about it. That way I get a sense for what genre or comics readers in general think about a particular work. The negative reviews were useful when I ordered teen fiction because I could anticipate where a library user might have a problem with a book. For example, if a parent left a negative Amazon review for a triple-starred YA book because they felt the content was not suited to age group, I could prepare myself.

That brings me to the example reviews. I would definitely purchase Angela's Ashes with those reviews. Consistently good professional reviews are an indication that something might get a lot of attention and be sought after by our patrons, and when something is in Kirkus, Library Journal, Booklist, AND School Library Journal, you know it's getting attention.

I am undecided about the e-book review. For that, I would probably look at aggregate user reviews. If most of them were 3 or 4 stars, I would purchase the item. I think it's important to listen to what genre readers like and judge those book son their own merits; formulaic is not necessarily a bad thing. Romance is one of the most-read genres at my library, and if we didn't have a subscription to Romantic Times or pay attention to review blogs, our collection would be rather limited if we went by professional reviews alone.

Kirkus-style Review

Proof of Angels

Mary Curran Hackett

William Morrow

A firefighter with a painful past follows an angel out of a burning building and into a mediocre story.    

Sean Magee has spent his life running from his problems. A broken relationship and the death of a nephew to whom Sean acted as a father figure led to a life of drug and alcohol addiction. By the time Sean follows an angel out of a deadly fire, his life is in shambles. While recovering from his life-altering injuries, Sean decides to right past wrongs, including reconnecting with his family and apologizing to the girlfriend he abandoned. He also immediately begins meddling in the lives of his friends, all in need of their own angel. Each person in Sean's life, past and present is a stock character, from his Irish Catholic mother to his therapy dog trainer, a recovering heroin addict.         

Proof of Angels is the author's follow-up to her debut, Proof of Heaven, also about people struggling with faith. Hackett admirably believes everyone is deserving of redemption, but she does not have enough respect for her readers to not spell it out for them. At one point our protagonist proclaims, "...ever since I followed that angel out of that building and took that leap of faith, I've started to believe that we're all in need of angels and second chances." Hackett attempts authenticity by adding curse words to her rougher characters' lexicon. While this book is billed as inspirational fiction and has a clearly religious message of forgiveness, the language will be off-putting to inspirational fiction readers used to lighter fare.   

What could be a poignant look at making amends and restoring faith is lost in an overly sentimental and predictable plot peppered with cliché characters.  

Readers' Advisory Secret Shopper Summary

I sought readers' advisory help at a small branch of a large county library system. It was a busy day, and there was no one at the desk when I initially approached. There were no signs advertising a readers' advisory service and no printed readers' advisory aids such as author or best-seller read-alikes.

The librarian on duty maintained a welcoming and professional demeanor throughout the interaction. She asked questions and used what I presume to be online readers' advisory tools to give me a suggestion based on my favorite authors. She did not recommend specify titles, nor did she offer more than one suggestion. There was a line forming behind me, and after ascertaining that I knew where I was going, the librarian concluded the exchange. She did not follow up with me.

While I consider this exchange to be successful, it is characteristic of some challenges to good readers' advisory service. The busyness of the public service desk put pressure on the librarian to finish the interview quickly. The librarian made no mention to me of appeal factors such as tone, pacing, or characterization, though if she were using an online tool like NoveList, those factors would be included in an author read-alike search.

Week Three Prompt: NoveList

• I am looking for a book by Laurell K. Hamilton. I just read the third book in the Anita Blake series and I can’t figure out which one comes next!
• Book 4 in the Anita Blake series is The Lunatic Cafe (Fantastic Fiction). 
• What have I read recently? Well, I just finished this great book by Barbara Kingsolver, Prodigal Summer. I really liked the way it was written, you know, the way she used language. I wouldn't mind something a bit faster paced though.
• I would recommend Kingsolver’s book Flight Behavior, if the user hasn’t already read it. It has Kingsolver’s characteristic descriptive, lyrical writing about ecological issues as well as complex characters (NoveList Plus). 
• I would also recommend Laura Groff’s Fates and Furies, a look at a “modern marriage”. It is “intricately plotted” and lyrically and compellingly written, but its high drama and perspective shift give it a quicker pace than some literary fiction (NoveList Plus). 
• I like reading books set in different countries. I just read one set in China, could you help me find one set in Japan? No, not modern – historical. I like it when the author describes it so much it feels like I was there!
• Takashi Matsuoka’s Cloud of Sparrows and Autumn Bridge are multi-genre works set in 19th century Japan. Part suspense, part love-story, they introduce readers to shogun-era Japanene culture (NoveList Plus).
• David Mitchell’s The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet is the exhaustively researched and “richly detailed” story about a Dutch trading clerk in 18th century Japan (NoveList Plus).    
• I read this great mystery by Elizabeth George called Well-Schooled in Murder and I loved it. Then my dentist said that if I liked mysteries I would probably like John Sandford, but boy was he creepy I couldn't finish it! Do you have any suggestions?
• For this one, I looked up the author read-alikes for Elizabeth George. I would recommend Deborah Crombie and P.D. James,  for literary, traditional mystery or police procedurals with “layered plots” and complex characters. Deborah Crombie’s Duncan Kincaid series would be my first choice for its English setting.
• My husband has really gotten into zombies lately. He’s already read The Walking Dead and World War Z, is there anything else you can recommend?
• Without knowing whether The Walking Dead books read were the graphic novels or the novels beginning with Rise of the Governor, I would recommend whichever this patron hasn’t read. Both the graphic novel series and the novels are bleak and gritty. (NoveList Plus). 
• If he enjoys graphic novels, I would recommend the series Revival by Tim Seeley. It’s a zombie/horror series with a rural setting and a police office protagonist. It has more of a mystery element than The Walking Dead, but it definitely delivers in terms of action and horror.  
• If he likes the action and sometimes gruesome horror of World War Z, he may enjoy Mira Grant’s Newsflesh series (Feed, Deadline, Blackout) (NoveList Plus).  
• I love books that get turned into movies, especially literary ones. Can you recommend some? Nothing too old, maybe just those from the last 5 years or so.
• For this one, I used NoveList Plus’s new genre “GX books into film” and filtered by publication date and literary fiction. The four selections are all descriptively written, but range from dark humor (Family Fang) to bleak war story (The Yellow Birds).
• The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers
• Room by Emma Donaghue
• The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson
• Billy Lynn’s Long Half-time Walk by Ben Fountain
• I love thrillers but I hate foul language and sex scenes. I want something clean and fast paced.
• I am looking for things that are plot-driven and fast-paced with little to no foul language and sex. I am looking at thrillers and romantic suspense writers with appeal terms like “fast-paced”, “suspenseful”, and maybe “mildly sensuous”. I don’t want anything “gritty”, “gruesome”, or “steamy”. 
• The Melody Lingers On by Mary Higgins Clark and The Obsession by Nora Roberts would be my go-to choices. Both are recent, plot-driven thrillers, but these author’s do not typically have a lot of swearing or sex. While characters may have sex, especially in Roberts’ romantic suspense novels, it’s not gratuitous (NoveList Plus). 

I have access to NoveList Plus through my home library, though the library I work in does not have a full version. NoveList’s list and definition of appeal terms was very useful to help me articulate my own tastes and to gain insight into why readers like certain authors. When I field readers’ advisory queries, it is often difficult for people to say why they like what they like. 

I also use Fantastic Fiction, a site that compiled authors’ work by series or by publication date for standalone titles. I use this site primarily to find series information and publication information for upcoming titles, though it does provide author read-alike links. I have used What Should I Read Next, but I honestly have no idea how they get their results. I think that site should only be used when readers like a variety of styles, genres, and subjects.  

Reader Profile

I have always been preoccupied with books and tend to panic if there is nothing to read within reaching distance. I will read just about anything, though my favorite genres tend to be literary fiction, horror, science fiction and fantasy. In the last two years I have taken to listening to audiobooks during my commute. Weirdly, audiobooks have helped me "read" outside my comfort zone, and I have begun listening to mystery series that I never would have picked up in print. I tend to enjoy books with a lot of description and insight into quirky characters. I also seem to be a fan of multiple voices, though I tend to prefer third person if I have to pick. I enjoy nonfiction, especially history, and graphic novels as well.

I am in two book clubs, one that I facilitate through my library and one with a group of friends. I enjoy the challenge of putting lists together to balance new, notable books with older titles that I or other attendees want to read and discuss. I also coordinate my library's delivery service which is largely reader's advisory. Many of my delivery users enjoy inspirational, cozy, and mystery fiction, and I like learning about those genres and authors.  

Favorite Books Read in 2016

The Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

The Witches by Stacy Schiff

Paper Girls Volume 1 by Brian K. Vaughan

Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell

White Trash by Nancy Isenberg

Sex Criminals Volume 1-3 by Matt Fraction     

Ms. Marvel Volume 1 by G. Willow Wilson

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Favorite Books Started in 2016 that I Intend to Finish in 2017

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Scott Snyder's Batman run