Week 16 Prompt

Both of our readings this week talk about the culture of reading and the future of the book. So I have two questions for you as readers, pulling on your own experiences and all of the readings we have done over the semester: First, how have reading and books changed since you were a child, for you specifically? Second, talk a little about what you see in the future for reading, books, or publishing - say 20 years from now. Will we read more or less, will our reading become more interactive? What will happen to traditional publishing? This is  a very free-form question, feel free to wildly extrapolate or calmly state facts, as suits your mood!

Back in my day we had to walk twenty miles uphill both ways.  This isn’t really true, but I feel really old when I think about all the advances in technology over the years.  As a child, I didn’t grow up with e-readers and smartphones with reading apps.  If I wanted a new book my mom would drive me to the library or we would buy one at the grocery store.  I remember getting books each month from mail order book clubs.  The books were always in a series, so my mom would subscribe until I received each volume.

When the first generation of Nook and Kindle were released while I was an undergrad, I was very stubborn and I refused to give in to holding a tablet instead of feeling the physical weight of a book.  As technology advancers, I expect these devices to make reading more interactive.  In the future, I think we will continue to see brick and mortar books stores fail because eBooks will continue to grow.  As this happens, publishing companies will be forced to change how they market and they will utilize online strategies.   I think self-published books will continue to rise and flood the market since companies like Amazon make it easy for people to sell their work.  Publishers may be forced to drop the prices of books to compete with cheap self-published books.   As a result, readers will have to be more selective of their reading material since self-published books often contain many mistakes. 

Week 15 Prompt

There are many ways to market a library’s fiction collection.  Here are three ways to market a library’s fiction books:

1.       Create a reading challenge – Promote a genre through a reading challenge program and then reward those who met the challenge.  Reading challenges are fun and it’s a way to introduce people to new books they may not have read otherwise.  The reading challenge is also a way to have all different ages and ability levels participate in the same challenge. 

2.      Social media/web page – Update social media pages often with information with whatever is being promoted to entice users.

3.      A read-a-like display – I found this idea on Pinterest and I love this idea!  Using popular, well known books, the library can display lesser known read-a-likes to get users to try something new.  Each shelf could focus on a different popular book with lesser known titles.

Week 14 Prompt

Consider yourself part of the collection management committee of your local library, or a library at which you would like to work. You must decide whether or not to separate GBLTQ fiction and African American Fiction from the general collection to its own special place. Some patrons have requested this, yet many staff are uncomfortable with the idea - saying it promotes segregation and disrupts serendipitous discovery of an author who might be different from the reader. Do you separate them? Do you separate one and not the other? Why or why not? You must provide at least 3 reasons for or against your decision. Feel free to use outside sources - this is a weighty question that is answered differently in a lot of different libraries.

I would not create a separate section in a library collection to devote to LGBTQ or African American literature.  I do think librarians should catalog items that are LGBTQ or African American Fiction with keywords so borrows can identify them easily.  My reasons for not wanting to separate African American Literature and LGBTQ literature are the following:

1.      The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) upholds the principles of intellectual freedom and uninhibited access to information, asserting that libraries should “acquire, preserve and make available the widest variety of materials, reflecting the plurality and diversity of society” and should not discriminate on the grounds of age or for any other reason (IFLA, 1999).

2.      Some people are very private and I would not want to take the chance of exposing their private lives.  If I kept this section separate people wanting literature from this area may not feel comfortable being caught in that section. 

3.      Keeping these items from general circulation creates a stigma. 

While trying to decide how to respond to this question, I did find an interesting news report about an Oklahoma library that was criticized for how they handled a situation.  It can be found at this link: http://newsok.com/article/5522007 . 

 

Week 13 Prompt: Young Adult

                Maybe I’m a weirdo, but I love young adult literature!  It’s so fun!  I like being caught up in the teenage angst.  I think it’s fun to feel young again and being reminded of those times I struggled with difficult situations and getting to re-experience milestones through a character’s perspective.  I think libraries should be spending money on young adult novels and promoting them to both teens and adults.  Like the romance genre, young adult has a bad rap.  I realize young adult is kind of a new genre and it hasn’t been around as long many of the others, but that doesn’t make those works lesser.  Young adult novels like The Book Thief, Go Ask Alice, and Thirteen Reasons Why should never be referred to as a lesser work because of their genre.  They are not simplified kid versions of adult books. 

Young adult novels appeal to young people because the themes and issues that arise in the story are what they are experiencing, so it’s relatable.  Being a teenager is hard!  Providing books about these issues are helpful and even more importantly it gets teens interested in reading.  I’m not going to stop reading young adult novels.  Instead, I will continue to suggest them.  I think as librarians we should promote young adult literature to young and old alike.  We can promote this genre during reference interviews and creating attractive displays that appear inviting to adults.  

Young Adult

 

 

The Wrath & the Dawn

By Renee Ahdieh

 

Synopsis

            Based on One Thousand and One Nights and The Arabian Nights, this tale is an exciting story of love, conflict, murder, and mystery.  The Caliph of Khorasan has been cursed for his sins.  “One hundred lives for the one hundred lives for the one you took.  “One life to one dawn.  Should you fail but a single morn, I shall take from you your dreams.  I shall take from you your city.  And I shall take from you these lives, a thousand fold” (Ahdieh, 2015, p.80).  Each night Caliph Khalid takes a new virgin bride and each time the girl does not live past the next morning.  Shahrzad is a rebellious, headstrong, young woman who watched her best friend marry the murderous caliph.  She plots revenge for her best friend.  As part of her plan,  Shahrzad marries Caliph Khalid.  To everyone’s amazement, she survives the first night.  The longer she stays in the palace the more she realizes there is more going on than just a murderous prince.  Her clever plan is to stay alive and get revenge, but her plans change as she realizes she is falling in love with the boy prince who killed her best friend. 

 

Elements of Young Adult

Tone/Mood

        The story is a mystery with a bit of romance and magical elements.  Readers will easily fall in love with Shahrzad and become understanding of Khalid as the plot unfolds.  

 

Characterization

        The characters seem real, are well developed, and likeable.  The characters often speak in English with bits of Arabic mixed into their conversations. 

 

Pacing

The story moves at a quick pace with romance and magical elements.  It has many cliff hangers and ends abruptly.  You’ll want to read the sequel to see how the story ends.

 

Read-A-Likes

·         The Rose & the Dagger (The Wrath & the Dawn book 2), Renee Ahdieh

·         A Court of Thorns & Roses, Sarah J. Maas

·         The Star-Touched Queen, Roshani Chokshi

·         An Ember in the Ashes, Sabaa Tahir

·         Three Dark Crowns, Kendare Blake

·         Red Queen, Victoria Aveyard

·         The Kiss of Deception (The Remnant Chronicles book 1), Mary E. Pearson

Readers' Advisory Matrix

The Readers’ Advisory Matrix for When God Doesn’t Fix it, by Laura Story

1.     Where is the book on the narrative continuum? Highly narrative (reads like fiction)

2.     What is the subject of the book?  Learning to rely on Jesus in order to live through situations that might not ever change or get better

3.     What type of book is it? Christian book about Christian life and suffering.

4.     Articulate appeal:

a.     What is the pacing of the book?  The reader is immediately pulled into the story from the first sentence.  Laura begins the book with a life changing phone call from Martin.

b.    Describe the characters of the book.  Laura is a full time music minister and her husband Martin who is a full time college student and campus director of college ministry.  Both characters are young and just beginning their careers when Laura and Martin decide to move to Atlanta for Laura’s new job. 

c.      How does the story feel?  Laura’s fairy tale life is no longer possible.  Through Martin’s medical issues Laura finds humor in their sad situation and is able to learn to lean on others for help. 

d.    What is the intent of the author?  The author examines heroes of the Bible and is able to show that God is able to use them despite their flaws. 

e.      What is the focus of the story? Laura’s husband, Martin is diagnosed with a brain tumor.  He loses his short term memory.  Laura and Martin’s lives are changed forever. 

f.      Does the language matter?  The writer uses a conversational tone mixed with humor to draw the reader into the story. 

g.     Is the setting important and well described?  Yes, the setting is in Atlanta Georgia and the characters are often at the church or around church goers.

h.    Are there details and, if so, of what?  Details are provided about Biblical characters.  The author provides quotes from scriptures to back up her points. 

i.       Are there sufficient charts and other graphic materials?  Are they useful and clear? No charts or graphic materials are present.  They are not needed. 

j.       Does the book stress moments of learning, understanding, or experience Throughout the novel, the author learns to rely on God and the Bible. 

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

1.      Learning/Experience

2.      Tone

3.      Detail 

Western

Alone Yet Not Alone

By, Tracy Leininger Craven

Synopsis

Two German sisters are taken captive near their log cabin home after the Allegheny warriors storm through Buffalo valley.  The sisters make a promise to one another that they would not separate from each other.  Days after being kidnapped, the promise is broken and the girls are taken to two different places.  Barbara is taken into the wilderness with hope that she will be reunited with her sister.  Barbra is adopted into the Allegheny Indian Tribe with plans to escape and is eventually is successful.  This is the story of two Christian sisters who must rely on their love and strength of God to survive.  Ten years later, the girls are reunited with their family.  It is based on the true story of Barbara and Regina Leininger. 

Elements of Westerns

Tone/Mood - Offers a wide range mood and tone, sometimes within the same novel

The book is conservative and Christian.  It has a very simple tone and often keeps the reader hopeful that the sisters will be reunited.  This optimistic tone is entwined with many suspenseful moments as Barbara tries to find a way escape.

Characterization – The hero is similar to the medieval knight-errant as a champion of justice

The story focuses on Barbara who is trying to find a way to escape with three other young people who were also kidnapped.  The Indians are cruel and do not believe in God.  Barbara tries to proselytize the Allegheny Indians but is unsuccessful in her attempts.  The point of view is from Barbara so the descriptions of the Indians are very biased and unflattering. 

Frame/Setting – Landscape dominates and is often is a character itselft

The American frontier and its vast openness is an important aspect of this novel.  Throughout the novel, the landscape is an obstacle that Barbara must overcome to escape.  She is unfamiliar with the landscape and the trails. 

Pacing – May be breakneck that features action packed stories

          The first chapter of the novel is very brief and provides background information.  By the second chapter the girls are taken captive and Barbara’s story begins.  Once Barbara settles into the Indian camp the story’s pace slows and then picks back up during the escape. 

Read-A-Likes

·         I am Regina, Sally M. Keehn

·         Slave of the Sioux: The fanny Kelly Captivity Narrative, 1864, Fanny Kelly

·         Lottie Moon: Giving her all for China, Janet Benge

·         To Have and To Hold: A Tale of Providence and Perseverance in Jamestown, Mary Johnston

·         Thick as Thieves, Susan K. Marlow

·         Where the Trail Ends, Melanie Dobson

·        Left by the Indians: Story of My Life, Ethan E. Harris