Week Six Prompt - Booktalk and Baker response

The Ocean at the End of the Lane
by: Neil Gaiman
William Morrow and Company, 2013
192 pages 

What do you remember from your childhood? While you can probably recall major milestones, you've probably forgotten most of the details. Many things that used to be life-and-death matters to you as a kid probably don't affect your life as an adult, things you've long forgotten about. Sometimes, though, certain memories can reappear if you find yourself in an old familiar place, or with people you haven't seen in years. These can be pleasant experiences.

Sometimes, they can be much more sinister than we remembered.

Such is the lot of the unnamed narrator in Neil Gaiman's book, The Ocean at the End of the Lane. When he returns to the English countyside where he was raised in order to attend a funeral, our narrator recalls his friendship with a young girl named Lettie Hempstock. He is drawn to Lettie's home and the pond she called an ocean, when the past rushes back to him. I can't give out more details because this is a story that simply cannot be summed up in just a few sentences. What Neil Gaiman has created is a wonderful ode to childhood wrapped up with magic, innocence, and a proper fear of things that go bump in the night, in only 192 pages. While this fantasy is appropriate for young adult readers, this book is truly a fairy tale for adults. The Ocean at the End of the Lane will stay with you long after you finished reading, a book that is meant to be read over and over and appreciated more with the passage of time.


Response to Baker

I think in an ideal world, Baker's opinion is right: people should only do booktalks on books they have actually read and liked enough to be able to recommend it to other readers. However, most of us do not have the time to read every book on every booklist, so this scenario may not be feasible for many librarians. Since the structure of a booktalk demands we do not reveal the endings, I think it is perfectly fine to talk on stories we haven't read yet or haven't finished reading. I actually like the idea of giving a book talk on a book you haven't quite finished, because you can tell others what you like about the book with absolutely no danger of accidentally spoiling the ending. Personally, I would only be comfortable talking up books that I have either read or have started to read. And what are reviews for, if not to help librarians booktalk about books they haven't read yet!

Kirkus-style Review: The Book Thief

The Book Thief, Markus Zusak

Death can sure spin an enthralling yarn, even in humbling circumstances.

Though he is busy in Nazi Germany, Death still makes time to chronicle the adventures of a young girl who begins her career as a book thief on the way to her new foster home outside of Munich. Liesel Meminger learns to read with the help of her foster-father as a comforting activity to quell her nightmares that soon develops as a way to cope with the chaotic realities of war and fascist society. Other story lines weave in seamlessly with Liesel's which gives the reader greater context of the war without fully leaving our protagonist on Himmel Street. This unconventional perspective and setting of this story provides a refreshing, but no less devastating, picture of World War II from the experience of ordinary Germans. The wide range of characters are all carefully and often poetically defined no matter their position on the moral compass. It is no wonder Death utters, "I am haunted by humans."

Secret Shopper Assignment

I went to a library branch I had never been too, and was slightly surprised to find it a relatively small single-story building. As I walked in, I found the circulation desk directly in front of the entrance, and took a few minutes to familiarize myself with the layout. The children's area (with its own children's reference desk) was contained in its own area to the right of the circulation desk, while the rest of the library extended to the left. I found the reference desk along the right wall not far into this next area, so I walked past to see if there were any displays. Bookshelves lined all the walls except for the designated teen area in the back, which had a display of new teen books and read-alike suggestions for many popular YA novels. While there was one display featuring books and materials in honor of Black History Month, any space not occupied by bookshelves housed computers, tables and study cubicles for patrons' use.

I made my way back to the reference desk, where I noticed they had displayed a few current bestseller lists. The one librarian at the desk was a middle-aged woman who was typing something up as I approached. She stopped and smiled when she noticed me and asked if she could help me with something. I told her I was trying to find a good mystery book to read, something like The Cuckoo's Calling. She didn't quite understand the title I mentioned (I may have unintentionally mumbled) so I repeated it and added that it was a book J.K. Rowling wrote under a pen name. She started typing in a search in what I guessed was the library catalog, and confirmed the title and "Robert Galbraith" as the author. She then asked if I liked military subjects (most likely because the main character was a veteran of the war in Afghanistan). I told her I was more interested in a contemporary mystery like this book, something fast-paced. At that she got up and said she could show me their mystery section, which was located on the opposite wall. She pointed out a few popular authors that were "supposed to be good" like Janet Evanovich and Sue Grafton, authors that I have not had the chance to read. She then pointed out James Patterson as a possibility (which I haven't read any of his books either) and said she just loves his Alex Cross novels. I thanked her for her assistance and that I'd check her suggestions out, and she went back to the reference desk. I did look at some of books in these authors' series, but I couldn't find the first books in the series at this branch. I did take an Alex Cross book with the intent of putting the first book on hold.

I have mixed feelings about this RA interview. I think I caught the librarian off guard at the start, since she didn't initially understand the name of the book I mentioned and was not familiar with it once she did establish the title. While she did ask me if I liked a certain type of book, it seemed at that point in the conversation she was already trying to find a way to get the interview over with quickly. While I did appreciate her walking me over to the mystery section and recommending a few popular authors, she didn't necessarily highlight choices that aligned with what I was looking for. She did have a friendly, non-judgmental attitude and was willing to help, but since the interview had a rocky start I think she may have felt a little panicked about being asked about a book she had never heard of. Instead of brushing it off and digging in a little deeper, she looked for an easy way to end the interview by offering a few general suggestions. I do know that feeling of wanting to find a quick solution from working as a reference assistant in an academic library and fielding research questions in subjects I had never studied before. This was a good chance to gain perspective on the patron side of an interview, and it did drive home that taking a little extra time to fully understand the initial question and find a more specific answer can make all the difference in a readers' advisory interview.

Week Three Prompt - NoveList

Part I

1. 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!

In the NoveList database I searched 'Anita Blake' using the Series designation. Two series by Laurell K. Hamilton came up in the search, one for a graphic novel series and one for books. Since they didn't have the same titles and graphic novels weren't specified, I looked at the book series and found that the fourth book in the series is The Lunatic Cafe.

2. 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.

Since I haven't read any of Barbara Kingslover's books, I brought up the Prodigal Summer listing in NoveList to get a sense of its themes and tone. While NoveList didn't list any appeal words to search for similar titles, I did notice a list of read-alike novels in the right-hand column of the page. The first novel listed was Anthill by Edward O. Wilson, which is listed as an eco-fiction novel with a similar lyrical writing style as Prodigal Summer. Anthill is also marked as suspenseful, and about 100 pages shorter than Prodigal Summer, so it could potentially be faster-paced to suit your preferences.

3. 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!

Searching NoveList for 'Japan historical fiction,' I found a book called The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery, which seems to fit your preferences. It is set in 19th century Japan as the country begins a radical period of modernization and westernization. Its writing style is deemed to be both 'descriptive' and 'richly detailed,' which may come close to meets your specification for the descriptions fully immersing you into the story.
       
4. 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?

You may want to try other books by Elizabeth George since you liked her novel very much, she has published 20 books with another coming out this spring, so those may keep you occupied for a good length of time. Well-Schooled in Murder is actually part of a series focusing on Scotland Yard Inspector Thomas Lynley. You may want to try the first book of the series, A Great Deliverance.
       
5. 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?

If he hasn't seen the movie yet, he could try reading I Am Legend, which is about one man trying to survive in a world overrun by vampires. It is a older novel published in 1954, but it has inspired many of the apocalyptic zombie and vampire works that have come out in the last few decades.

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Part II

I find books to read using a variety of channels and ways to feed my addiction. I like to ask friends what they read, or what they would like to read in their spare time, and I enjoy taking their suggestions to broaden my horizons. As an avid Pinterest user, I follow several library and book boards and have found good reads from random pins in those boards. Browsing the shelves in libraries and bookstores is another way to find new releases and bestsellers for consideration. But for the last couple years, the easiest way I've found new books to read is by scoping out the book drop for interesting titles when I'm working circulation - and at the end of the day I usually head home with a pile of books in my hands!

However, these methods would probably not suffice for helping patrons find books interesting to them. I had heard of NoveList before and getting the chance to use it for this exercise was a fun way to practice looking for books I know very little or nothing about. I technically have a Goodreads account, but I don't use it that much because I tend to go through books quickly and always forget to use it. I think the tools Chelton has listed provide librarians and readers with a lot of options for finding books to read, and it would make a great backup go-to list for reader's advisory.