Week 11 Prompt Response: Matrix

 

Title: Confessions of an Unlikely Runner

Author: Dana Ayers

1. Where is the book on the narrative continuum? Highly narrative

2. What is the subject of the book? The funny adventures of someone who never considered herself a runner, yet has run in many, many races.

3. What type of book is it? Memoir

4. Articulate appeal

1. What is the pacing of the book? Fast paced.

2. Describe the characters of the book. Author Dana Ayers is very funny and relatable. Reading about her adventures in running truly made me (a non-runner) want to sign up for a race. Although she occasionally mentions other friends who joined her in her running journey, the book is mostly stories she is telling about herself.

3. How does the story feel? The book is made up of a lot of chapters which cover individual running events. Some chapters feel as if they could have been stand-alone blog entries, but when placed in the book, they add to the complete story of Dana’s running journey. It feels very much like a friend sitting down and sharing funny stories of her running mishaps and adventures with you.

4. What is the intent of the author? To share her journey of becoming a runner and to inspire others to try running, even if they don’t consider themselves athletic.

5. What is the focus of the story? Dana’s experiences running in different races and events.

6. Does language matter? Dana is a very funny writer, and her way of describing some of the things that happened to her when participating in these different events had me laughing a lot.

7. Is the setting important and well described? As a non-runner, I didn’t feel lost when reading this book because Dana clearly described shoes, gear, trails, races, etc… that I did not know about before.

8. Are there details and, if so, of what? There are lots of details about different running races.

9. Are there sufficient charts and other graphic materials? No charts, but there were some images of Dana participating in different events, and it was nice to see those after reading about the events. 

10. Does the book stress moments of learning, understanding, or experience? As a reader, you definitely learn about different races and group running events, and it’s the kind of book that really makes you want to sign up for a race so you can have the same kind of fun Dana did.

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

1. Tone

2. Language

3. Detail

Annotation #4: Non-fiction

 

Title: Oliver: The True Story of a Stolen Dog and the Humans He Brought Together

Author: Steven Carino

Genre: Nonfiction

Publication Date: 2021

Number of Pages: 251

Geographical Setting: New York

Time Period: 2019

Series (If applicable): n/a

Plot Summary: Steven Carino’s beloved dog - Oliver - was stolen from Steven’s car one day in February 2019. Devastated, Steven sets out to discover what happened to Oliver and to see if he can get him back. Along the way, he crosses paths with people from all walks of life. The search for Oliver grows, attracting the attention of TV news stations and social media outlets. Oliver is the story of how people came together in person and online to assist Steven in his search, and ultimately reunite him with Oliver.

Subject Headings: Dogs, New York, Lost Pets, Hope

Appeal: Feel-good, Heart-warming, Relatable

3 terms that best describe this book: Hopeful, Believable, Sympathetic

3 Relevant Non-Fiction Works and Authors: (titles link to goodreads pages)

1. Craig & Fred: A Marine, A Stray Dog, and How They Rescued Each Other by Craig Grossi. This true story is about U.S Marine Craig Grossi, the stray dog named Fred he found in Afghanistan, and how the two eventually became inseparable.

2. Rescuing Sprite: A Dog Lover's Story of Joy and Anguish by Mark R. Levin. A memoir about the Levin family and the rescue dog they adopted - Sprite.

3. Good Dog: True Stories of Love, Loss, and Loyalty by David DiBenedetto. An anthology of essays about how people’s lives are enriched due to having a dog. 

3 Relevant Fiction Works and Authors:

1. One Good Dog by Susan Wilson. The story of how a stressed-out executive’s world falls apart. Adam meets a dog named Chance, and the two of them help each other find their way back to what is important.

2. A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron. The story of a dog named Bailey and his search for what his purpose is in life. He is reborn multiple times throughout the story, living in a different dog body and with a different family each time, ultimately making it back to his original owner Ethan.

3. Dog by Michelle Herman. The story of a woman who was never expecting to own a dog, and the dog who came into her life and changed it for the better.

Week 10 Prompt Response

Like many others, I tend to prefer reading physical books most of the time. However, whenever I have to travel, I love the convenience of being able to read on my Kindle - both for the tiny amount of space it takes up in my bag, and for the giant number of books I can store on there. At the beginning of every month, Amazon sends out an email to Prime members, letting you choose a kindle version of a book for free. They usually have 5-6 different options and they display the cover and a quick summary in the email. I have read books I never would have picked up before simply because I had free access to them with just the click of one button. (To be completely honest, sometimes the books they offer for free are not so good - either the plot or the actual editing, but sometimes there are winners in there!)

Another appeal of ebooks, to me, is that when a new title is released and the library only has so many copies, you can sometimes be on hold for a very long time before your turn comes up. In this kind of situation, I check to see if there is an ebook version of the title available. Also, more than once, my kids have forgotten books needed for Language Arts homework at school and we don’t discover that until Sunday when the libraries around here are closed. We have usually been able to check out ebook versions of the titles they need so they can access the text for their homework. So nice!

I learned early on in my life as a parent that audiobooks were the key to road trips without my kids fighting. Over the years we have listened to countless books in the car - sometimes for long road trips where we finish an entire 8-hour book in one day, and sometimes just to and from school where it takes us months to get through a story. At first we were limited to the audiobooks that our local library carried on CD, but then when libraries started offering audiobooks to download through Libby, we primarily started using that. It used to be frustrating to be mid-way through a story on CD to discover that the next CD was scratched and we couldn’t hear that part of the story. I love that a digital download eliminates that issue. 

Audiobooks are also really great for people who don’t love to sit down and read. My son has always been a reluctant reader, and listening to audiobooks has been a way for him to hear stories that he never would have chosen to read on his own. Here are some of our favorites we have listened to over the years in the car:

The Harry Potter series, by J.K. Rowling, narrated by Jim Dale

The Willow Falls series by Wendy Mass, narrated by Kathleen McInerney

Bounce by Megan Shull, narrated by Caitlin Davies

The Candymakers by Wendy Mass, narrated by Mark Turetsky

The Emerald Atlas series by John Stephens, narrated by Jim Dale

Annotation #3: Historical Fiction

Title: The Paris Library Author: Janet Skeslien Charles Genre: Historical Fiction Publication Date: 2021 Number of Pages: 351 Geographical Setting: Split between Paris and Montana Time Period: Split between WWII and the mid-1980s Series (If applicable): n/a

Plot Summary: Told in a split-timeline fashion, The Paris Library tells the story of 1) Odile Souchet, a young librarian working in the American Library in Paris during WWII, and 2) Odile’s life in Montana 40 years later, and her connection to her neighbor, 12-year old Lily. The bulk of the story focuses on WWII-era Odile and the efforts the American Library made to stay open and serve their patrons, despite Nazi pressure to close and/or not allow Jewish patrons access to books. Many of the people and events that are mentioned in the book are based on true stories that the author discovered during a stint working at the American Library. The chapters of the novel that take place in Montana deal with Lily working through challenges with the help of Odile. Their connection helps Lily to persevere, while at the same time allowing Odile some closure to her dramatic past.

 

Subject Headings: Libraries, Paris, WWII, Montana, Intergenerational friendships

Appeal: Moving, Non-linear, Hopeful

3 terms that best describe this book: Courageous, atmospheric, character-driven

3 Relevant Non-Fiction Works and Authors: (titles link to goodreads pages)

1. When Books Went to War: The Stories that Helped Us Win World War II by Molly Guptill Manning. History of how librarians in the USA shipped books to soldiers fighting in WWII.
   
   

2. Paris at War: 1939-1944 by David Drake. Stories of ordinary Paris citizens during WWII. Lots of diaries and other personal accounts are used to tell the stories.
3. Les Parisiennes: How the Women of Paris Lived, Loved, and Died Under Nazi Occupation by Anne Sebba. Real-life accounts of women who survived Nazi-occupied Paris, and how they managed to go about their day-to-day lives amidst the awful circumstances.

3 Relevant Fiction Works and Authors:

1. All the Flowers in Paris by Sarah Jio. Another split-timeline story of a young woman living in WWII-era Paris, and a young woman living decades later. Their stories are connected by an apartment and a diary.

2. The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel. Again, a split-timeline story dealing with WWII. This book has the interesting aspect of the main character being a forger, and it goes into detail about how she makes identity documents for Jewish children.
3. Code Name Hélène by Ariel Lawhon. Yet another split-timeline story (very popular with this subsection of this genre!) of a brave young woman in WWII-era France. Protagonist Nancy works as a reporter, spy, and resistance fighter. Based on a true story.

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I love reading historical fiction, so it was hard to choose the title I wanted to annotate for this genre. I wanted to mention 2 other books I have read recently that are also classified as historical fiction. Both are really good!

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah - takes place during the 1930s Dust Bowl era.

The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan - a cooking contest in a small town outside London during WWII. I loved this book so much I would actually consider purchasing it to own, and that's saying a lot since I am normally 100% team library checkout for my reads.

Book Club Experience

I participated in an online book club through the Indianapolis Public Library called Young @ Heart. I attended a virtual session on February 17th (the club meets on the third Wednesday of every month, and I wanted plenty of time to do this assignment, which is why I attended weeks ago. I was afraid if I waited until their March meeting, I wouldn’t have enough time to write up my experience by the assignment due date.)

Young @ Heart is a book club for adults who like to read Young Adult books. I love YA literature, so I was excited to find this club. I learned about this book club on www.indypl.org. The online description did not mention a particular book being discussed, so I thought maybe the participants were just going to talk about all kinds of YA books. However, when I was emailed the zoom link the day of the meeting, that email had some more information, including a book title - A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow. I hadn’t heard of the book before, and there wasn’t any possibility of reading it and being able to discuss it on the same day, so I logged into the zoom call prepared to just listen to the other participants discuss the book.

The book club had a moderator, a librarian from IndyPL named Nicole. I learned during the course of the call that Nicole had started Young @ Heart 2 years before - in fact, the evening I attended was the club’s 2-year anniversary. Including myself, there were about 7 people on the call. I think attendance varies from month to month, and was probably higher when the club used to meet in person. One unexpected fun thing I learned is that one of the regular attendees of Young @ Heart is in S524 with me (Hi Naomi! ☺).

 

Who is asking the questions, is there a leader or do people take turns?
Nicole asked most of the questions, allowing plenty of time for participants to respond and for conversation to develop based on their responses.

If there is a leader, does the leader answer the questions as well or let the attendees respond first?
Nicole let the attendees respond first, but she did weigh in with her opinion when people asked her. During the call, it was revealed that none of the other participants had finished the book yet (besides Nicole). When she asked for thoughts on the ending of the book, she was the only one who could respond because she was the only one who had finished.

What type of questions are asked? Any involving just yes or no answers?
Here are some of the questions asked. There was plenty of time between questions for conversation about different parts of the book and how attendees connected aspects of the book to real life.

• Did you finish the book?

• Have you liked what you’ve read so far?

• Did you feel like the magical creatures added to the story?

• How is the audio version of the book? (one person had been listening to it)

• How did the ending make you feel?

• Is anyone reading anything good right now?
  
  

Do all attendees actively participate?
Most of the attendees participated at some point during the call. I did see one person who didn’t say anything, though, and just listened. 

Do any attendees swoop in and steal all the spotlight?
No.

What is the atmosphere of the discussion, where is it taking place at?
As stated above, the call was held via zoom. The members of the book club were really open and friendly. I told them I was observing for a library school class, and they were very welcoming. I was actually surprised to learn that there were 3 current librarians on the call, one former librarian, and just one non-librarian patron. I had been expecting more patrons and fewer librarians, but I guess that’s just the make-up of this particular club. 

Are snacks or drinks provided?
I think they used to have snacks when they met in person because, during our meeting, someone referenced how they missed those.

What types of books does this book club normally discuss?
Young @ Heart discusses YA books, ones that were published in the last few years. They have worked out a calendar for the year and regular members have a list for the entire year, so they know which books are coming up and can read them as they are ready. Nicole mentioned that when they chose the list of books, they specifically asked the attendees if there were genres they wanted/didn’t want, and elements of the books that they wanted or wanted to avoid. Then, based on that feedback, they chose the list of books for the year.

Overall, my book club experience was very positive. I’m glad I had the chance to check out Young @ Heart!

Special Topics Paper Summary

For my Special Topics Paper, I focused on passive readers’ advisory options - ways that librarians can suggest books to patrons without having a face-to-face RA interview. This topic is really interesting to me because 1) I’m an introvert and if I can find out information on my own without having to ask someone, hooray!, and 2) I love finding creative displays in libraries that showcase new and different titles. I am much more likely to pick up a book from a clever display than to pick one at random off the shelf. I normally just put books on hold and then pick those up without doing any browsing, but if a librarian has created a display that catches my attention, I will stop and look. 

My full paper showcased all kinds of options that librarians can use for passive readers’ advisory. In this summary version on my blog, I am just going to write about a few of my favorites so it’s not overwhelming. Since my MLIS specialization is Youth Services, many of the ideas I am focusing on are ones that could be used in a school library or in the children’s/teen area of a public library. 

Bookmarks

Bookmarks are an easy way to share titles with patrons. Lists of titles can be created by author, by genre, by readalikes, etc… The bookmarks below were created by one of my favorite library bloggers - The Book Wrangler. Mike is a K-5 librarian who created these bookmarks with the teachers at his school. He asked teachers for a few book recommendations each (which they put into a google spreadsheet). Then he formatted yearbook photos of the teachers to create bookmarks. When one book gets checked out, he just moves the bookmark to another of the titles recommended by that teacher.

Shelf Displays

Shelf displays are an easy way to grab patrons’ attention without a lot of work on a librarian’s part. The displays are endlessly customizable. Showcased books can be a pairing of a novel and graphic novel, a fiction and nonfiction book on the same subject, readalikes, books by the same author, etc... Below is an example from a librarian in California, Heather Gruenthal. She has paired the book Legend with the graphic novel version of the title, inserting a simple sign in the middle saying “If you like this (arrow to one book), try this (arrow to the other book.)”

Wall Displays

Wall displays are a great way to set up a really large passive readers’ advisory option. A blank wall, a bulletin board, or even a bank of windows can be used. Since there is much more space than, say, a shelf display, a wall display can contain lots of colors, graphics, and text to catch a patron’s eye. The interactive flow chart below was created by Ontario-based librarian Karissa Fast to help patrons find a YA title to read. At each yellow box, patrons make a decision - aliens or dragons? Harry Potter or Batman? The corresponding decisions lead patrons farther down the chart until they end up at a title that matches all of their choices. This kind of flow chart could easily be customized for different age groups (even using just pictures and no text for the youngest patrons), and could revolve around any genre or theme.

I hope you have enjoyed reading a little about passive readers’ advisory options. If anyone would like to see the other examples I showcased in my paper, just let me know and I can forward the info to you.

Week 7 Prompt Response

I’m intrigued by the concept of celebrity-inspired book clubs. Having a celebrity select and promote an author’s book (especially if the author is just starting out) seems like a fantastic way to make the author’s name known and to increase book sales. I’m not part of any celebrity book club, but I can imagine that if I was, and I was reading a book recommended by, say, Reese Witherspoon, it would make me feel some sort of connection to her. Like “Oh this book? It was recommended by my good friend Reese. You know, we’re in the same book club. We’re besties.”

My MLIS specialization is in Youth Services, so I’m always interested in ideas that relate to kids and reading. After reading this week’s article about celebrity-inspired book clubs, I started wondering if there were any book clubs for kids that were created and run by a child celebrity. For example, my daughter (11) was completely obsessed with JoJo Siwa a few years ago. If JoJo had a book club and recommended a title for kids to read, my daughter would have been super interested in reading the book. I did some research, and I couldn’t seem to find any book clubs run by child celebrities. I think this is kind of an untapped market. If a current child star (of TV, movies, YouTube, etc…) created a book club and promoted it to their fans, I think it would be an instant hit. I know there are lots of reluctant readers in elementary and middle school. Maybe they would be more inspired to read a book if it was part of a book club by their favorite YouTuber? 

In doing research for any possible celebrity-inspired kids’ book clubs, I did come across the Andrew Luck Book Club. Former NFL player Andrew Luck is not a child, but he does showcase 2 books each month: a “rookie” book (a children’s book), and a “veteran” book (for adults). And of course there is Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, where kids ages 0-5 get free books each month. However, neither of these was quite what I had in mind. I’m thinking Sasha and Malia Obama - circa 2009 - picking a book each month and encouraging kids to read it and discuss it. As the celebrity host grows up, the books could go from picture books to middle grade books to YA books. Since most young kids don’t have social media accounts, the host could provide a list of discussion questions that the kids could use to talk about the book with their family and/or friends. Anything that gets kids reading is a win in my book, and I think lots of kids would eat this idea up!

Annotation #2: Science Fiction

Title: Crosstalk

Author: Connie Willis

Genre: Science Fiction

Publication Date: 2016

Number of Pages: 498

Geographical Setting: California

Time Period: the not-too-distant future

Series (If applicable): n/a

Plot Summary:  In the future, couples wishing to be more in-sync with their partners can opt to have an operation to implant a device called an EED into their brain. This allows them to sense the emotions of their partner, so they know how the other is feeling. Briddey Flannigan and her boyfriend Trent elect to have the EED operation. However, it turns out that Briddey connects to someone else, and not only can she sense that person’s emotions, but she now has the power of telepathy and can speak to this other man with her mind. Additionally, Briddey discovers that she can hear the thoughts of everyone around her, including her well-meaning but very pushy Irish-American family. This mad-cap science fiction adventure story follows Briddey as she learns to navigate her newfound powers of communication.

 

Subject Headings: Science Fiction, Romantic Comedy, Telepathy, Irish Families

Appeal: Thought-provoking, Sardonic, Intricately plotted 

3 terms that best describe this book: Fast-paced, attention-grabbing, quirky cast of characters

3 Relevant Non-Fiction Works and Authors: (titles link to goodreads pages):

1. The ESP Enigma: The Scientific Case for Psychic Phenomena by Diane Hennacy Powell. Explores scientific concepts and brain research dealing with the possibilities of telepathy and psychic connections.

2. The future of the mind: the scientific quest to understand, enhance, and empower the mind by Michio Kaku. Explores the human brain and the possibilities that might exist in the future for tapping its full potential. 

3. Extra sensory: the science and pseudoscience of telepathy and other powers of the mind by Brian Clegg. Scientist Clegg discusses the research done to-date on ESP, and explores the possibilities from a scientific research standpoint.

3 Relevant Fiction Works and Authors:

1. Followers by Megan Angelo. Similar to Crosstalk, this story deals with relying on social media and technology too much, only to have unintended consequences for the heroine.

2. The Circle by Dave Eggers. A giant internet company monitors and tracks everything that people do in the near future. The main character is similar to Briddey in Crosstalk in that she quickly discovers that more connectedness is not always better. 

3. Nexus by Ramez Naan. Thanks to an experimental drug, people in the future can now communicate telepathically. This book explores the dangers of this ability.