Prompt Response 16 – Past, Present and Future

Twenty years ago I was living in Spain. English paperback books kept my brain busy on the subway, and an occasional translated book really tried my Spanish skills. (Relámpagos by Dean Koontz, El Señor de los Anillos by Tolkien, and Yo, Robot by Asimov are examples.) I read late into the night fairly frequently, and I remember reading John Grisham, Michael Crichton, and Tom Clancy while I was there. Also, since I was working with an English speaking school, I would occasionally read kid’s books since they were available in English in the school library. I generally tried to save the beat-up paperbacks for trips on the subway since I needed to be able to put them in my pocket.

There was a time that I did quite a bit of shopping at the used book store. That has slowed down now that I work a regular schedule at the library. Also, I picked up the habit of listening to books in the car and at the house. That surprised me. While I am the computer guy at work and I teach classes on tablets and computers, I do not actually own a tablet or a smart phone. I do have an older e-reader. The thing about it that surprises (and disturbs) me is that I find the text is easier to read in larger sizes. I also like the fact that huge books fit quite nicely into an e-reader. Also, I’ve recently found myself doing less browsing even though I work at the branch. It is much more convenient and more informative to browse online. I’ve also found that I generally like to either read a series or listen to it completely. In other words, if I listen to book 1, I’ll try to listen to all the books in the series. If I read book 1, I’ll read the others. I’m not sure what would happen if I could check out the fancy books that can switch back and forth.

Looking twenty years into the future is difficult. In that period of time, computers should have doubled in speed ten to 13 times. That is to say, they should be 1000 to 8000 times as fast. The memory capacity of a computer should be roughly 2000 times what it is today. The computer should fit into a much smaller space, but there should be the option of having many processors in the same device (which will still be ridiculously small). If prices trend as they have, the price of a computer or tablet should be half what it is today even if the minimum wage doubles.

What will that mean for books? That is difficult to say. At the least, that will mean that my entire branch would fit nicely into the palm of my hand in twenty years. That isn’t just the books – the books, the CDs, and the movies would all fit. That doesn’t mean that I would be able to afford an entire library, but it would all fit. Also, for clarification, the entertainment of twenty years from now will be such that only a selection would fit on the device.

There are a few standard e-book formats, and they have been in use for a few years. However, the format will almost certainly have changed. At some point, the change will probably be fairly major. In about twenty years, we’ve gone from VCR to DVD to Netflix. In the next twenty years, the change from books to e-books will likely be made obsolete and irrelevant by a newer format superior to both. There isn’t anything particularly wrong with them necessarily, but twenty years is a long time. I’m not quite sure what will change, but something will. I’m also not sure what will push the change. My guess is that the change will either come about because of school textbooks or magazines. Both of those sorts of documents translate to digital formats with difficulty. However, both could make use of larger screens, high definition images, highly stylized layouts and regular updates of content. When someone works out how to update the seventh grade US History textbook with (for example) a video of the presidential inaugural address between one day and the next, books will change.

It is possible that books will still be printed twenty years from now. Actually, I find it highly likely that many will be. However, as time goes forward, I suspect that print books will begin to look more and more like a black and white movie. In twenty years, that change may have been complete. There are still occasional black and white movies made. Schindler’s List was nearly black and white, and The Artist was black and white. 

So, yes, I suspect that there will be books printed several decades from now, but in the same way that there are occasionally black and white movies made. Books will be numerous. I'm just not sure what form they will take.   

Prompt Response 15 - Book Promotion

My job has been as the computer guy. As such, one question worth consider is how can I promote books digitally? I’ve actually tried to think this through before, but I’ve actually made some recent developments that are work related.

I teach some computer classes at the branch, and I have talked about how to use the OPAC as part of computer classes. I have a class coming up on Wowbrary, LibraryThing and RottenTomatoes. I’ve done a class on GoodReads before. Mostly these are classes on how to use web sites that happen to mention library-related tools. They indirectly promote books. I’ve occasionally used actual books with the computer programs, but they tend to be props. However, indirectly promoting books by directly promoting review sites and explaining the OPAC is a start. If people sign up for updates from Wowbrary, there may be a very direct effect on circulation even though I’m not promoting a particular book.  

The other thing that I did for the first time just recently was that I wrote a staff pick and a kid’s pick. For a system our size, the staff pick is monitored by someone downtown, and individual branches only submit picks twice a year. It was interesting to write up a staff pick to post on the library blog site. (It hasn’t been posted yet. I have found myself checking on a regular basis.)  It was remarkably like creating a blog posting for this class. The kid’s pick had to be around 75 words, and that actually made it much harder to write.

I’m thinking about a Pinterest class down the road. While playing with my first Pinterest account, one of the things that I only recently noticed were the social media buttons on Overdrive’s book listings. It looks like you can post, pin and tweet a book. That might be a good way to have a digital presence to tie-in with an event or display. From what I’ve seen so far, it looks like I can pin an item then share it to Facebook. (Sharing it directly to Facebook generated a rather strange message. I have no idea why.) However, I may begin to create Pinterest boards that would serve as virtual book shelves. Whether this will help or not, it looks like it will be fairly entertaining to learn about it.

Screenshot of one of my tests. Facebook, Overdrive and Pinterest are all squished onto the screen.

In the non-digital world, I'm thinking that as a librarian I'll do displays and so forth, too. I'm thinking I'd do more movie, superhero and graphic novel displays than are normal in my branch currently. I would want to do fun topics rather than important ones. 

Prompt Response

On the adult side of the library, I would be against separating out GBLTQ fiction and African American fiction.

• One of the reasons not to separate out these two types of fiction is that the way that the organization for most items in the library is by primary content of the book. This extends to fiction in that genres are pulled out. For GBLTQ fiction, this would imply a mystery with an openly gay detective is no longer a mystery. If the sexual content of a mystery so overwhelms the other elements of the story that it is no longer a mystery, then perhaps it is really a romance novel or a work of erotic fiction.
• For African American fiction, if the definition applies to works by African American authors, this would imply that for purposes of organization, the physical characteristics of the author trump the content of the book that the author wrote.
• Another question would be one of degree. If books were separated out of the mysteries and science fiction section because of gay and lesbian encounters in the book, how much of the book would need to be dedicated to those encounters before it moved from one section to the other?
• How will the cataloger know about the GBLTQ content in the book if it has been reviewed as a Fantasy novel? Likewise, how will the cataloger know about the race of the author of a fiction book?
• If an African American author markets a book as a mystery, does it still go into the African American collection?
• Are we really sure that Heat Rises was not written by an African American author?
• Can someone born outside the country to Black parents move to the US and write African American fiction? It would seem that describing a book as African American fiction would be distinguishing a book by both the race and the national origin of the author. (This would mean that the cataloger could not merely look at the picture on the back cover to determine whether a book would fit into African American fiction.) Do Black Puerto Rican authors’ books go on the African American shelf?

If both types of books were pulled out, in which section does Sirena Selena: A Novel belong? According to Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/Sirena-Selena-Novel-Mayra-Santos-Febres/dp/0312263929) and Wikipedia.com (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayra_Santos-Febres and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Puerto_Ricans_of_African_descent), this novel is a work translated from Spanish. It is written by a woman who is Black Hispanic, born in Puerto Rico. She holds a Ph.D. from Cornell University. The book is about a homosexual male drag queen.

Young Adult Annotation - City of Fallen Angels

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

Young Adult. Published by Margaret K. McElderry Books in 2011.

City of Fallen Angels is the fourth book of a series, The Mortal Instruments, by Cassandra Clare. At the end of the third book, the Downworlders came together with the Shadowhunters for the Mortal War. Jace and Clary discovered their true family history, and Clary was able to save the life of Jace, her true love. Shadowhunters befriended Downworlders. At the end of book three, the world was saved.  

The fourth book starts a new story arc in the series.

Someone is killing Shadowhunters. Moreover, the bodies are made to implicate the Downworlders – the Seelie Court, the werewolves and the warlocks. The new accord with the Shadowhunters and Downworlders are fragile. Further, an old vampire has returned to New York, and she  has approached Simon for help in retaking control of the local group of vampires. Simon, a vampire who can walk in daylight and who does not want to drink blood, was marked by Clary with a powerful rune. Even though he wants no part of vampire politics, he is a powerful vampire and draws the attention of beings who crave power.

Perhaps more importantly, the relationships get complicated. Simon has two girlfriends – Mia, a werewolf, and Isabel, a Shadowhunter. Clary’s mom is getting married to the leader of Mia’s werewolf pack. Clary is still Simon’s best friend, and both Mia and Isabel will be at the wedding. Both expect to be at the wedding with Simon. Worse still, Clary feels that something is wrong between herself and Jace. Is Jace pulling away? Jace just knows that something is wrong – he can’t sleep, he can’t eat, and he just can’t be with Clary.  

The majority of the main characters are teens, and the story is basically an urban fantasy set in New York City. The fantastic creatures are a big part of the story, and there are a few scenes with fights involving magical creatures.  However, the relationships among the characters are the real focus of the story.

City of Fallen Angels ends in a cliff-hanger. The fifth book, City of Lost Souls, has been published. According to Amazon.com the sixth book, City of Heavenly Fire, is due out in May 2014.

Additionally, it is worth mentioning that City of Bones, the first book in the series, was recently made into a movie.  

Amazon.com suggested the following books (and other titles in their respective series): 

• Divergent by Veronica Roth 
• Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia 
• Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead 
• Matched by Ally Condie 
• Legend by Marie Lu

Prompt Response - Street Lit, Graphic Novels and Young Adult Books

Street Lit

My view of Street Lit is a strange one. I’ve never read any of the titles, but I’ve handled several as a member of the circulation staff at the library. I do not understand why, but for some reason the Street Lit books frequently look like they’ve been through a war. I do not know if they are made differently, but we consciously keep Street Lit titles in circulation which show quite a bit of wear. Otherwise, the books were being deleted for poor condition after very little use; then the books weren’t available.

Additionally, one branch (not my own) had a large, separate collection of Street Lit – even though the books were cataloged as general fiction and had to be manually pulled out by eye for shelving. The same branch had several anti-theft policies specifically for Street Lit.

Setting those impressions as a clerk aside, how should I look at Street Lit? Our library system does have Street Lit. There are a couple of things that would help. First, pulling the Street Lit out of the fiction would probably help. Currently, Street Lit is in the general fiction. That would also include the romances, the majority of classics, literary fiction, and Amish fiction.  Separating the Street Lit from Amish fiction would make sense in many ways.

Several titles are also included as e-books, and to the extent that there is a difference in the physical books themselves, collecting books in e-book format would tend to negate physical differences in a book.  

Graphic Novels

Graphic novels are an interesting case. The graphic novels discussed in the readings were curious in that only the manga titles mentioned were ones that I have seen circulate regularly. The “normal” (forward reading) adult and teen graphic novels that seem to circulate well at my branch are the Walking Dead and books related to comic book characters. Some of those comic book characters are older than I am, and the big name DC and Marvel characters are the main ones. There are a few of the comic strip-type comic books that circulate also. Garfield and Dilbert are examples of these.

Graphic novels seem to operate in a different sort of market than most other books since several of the “classics” are also collectibles. The other odd thing about graphic novels is that they seem to be poorly represented in digital formats for libraries. I can think of several reasons for this, but as titles become available, it would make sense to add e-book titles to the collection. This would make sense from an archival perspective at the least. I expect that digital versions of graphic novels will become increasing available to libraries. Specifically, the Disney Digital collection of e-books makes me think that some of the Marvel titles may be made available at some point starting with kids’ books and working upward. I would hasten to add that graphic novels and comic books (the magazine sort) in digital form would seem to work nicely in Zinio. If the publishers and Zinio figure that out, that could open a new type of item for libraries to collect. Currently, my system collects graphic novels and manga but not magazine-type comic books. Many of the reasons for collecting graphic novels over comic books would fall away in a digital format. It will be interesting to see if digital comics or graphic novels work their way into Overdrive or Zinio any time soon. So far there have been attempts, but they seem half-hearted.

Young Adult Books

First, let me just say that some graphic novels are also young adult books. To the extent that they are, the following also applies to them.

Popular young adult books are not the sort of books that the library needs to merely collect. These are the titles that the library needs to use as an enticement to visit the library in the first place. This might include give-away books as part of summer reading, inclusion of tie-in movie DVDs and TV show boxed sets in the collection, and posters from the movies on display. Divergent and Hunger Games have received quite a bit of buzz because of movies. Why not take advantage of the free press?

Young Adult books are an interesting collection of books. I’ve been trying to work out what puts a book into a particular section in my branch. Sometimes the line between jFIC and TEEN is narrow, and similarly, the line between TEEN and SF can be narrow as well. My sister and I chatted about young adult books this morning over coffee. Her take was that young adult books have broad appeal. They generally have little objectionable material – they tend to be safer than adult books. They are books that parents might read with or to their kids; moreover, they are also books that adults would enjoy by themselves. She went on to mention that several of these get made into movies and TV shows because they have broad appeal. She also talked about the Lord of the Rings being thought of as a young adult book when it was published even though it is shelved in the adult section (at my branch). It is unusual in that it doesn’t have anything objectionable that would force it to be in the adult section even if as a kid the black riders were scary. The prequel, The Hobbit, is shelved in both the jFIC and SF sections. (It has separate entries.) Does that make this a timeless, ageless story or does that just make it a silly kids’ book?

Further Thoughts on Young Adult Literature

Be warned, my view of the library is from a teaching background and a technical background. My background is not a literature background at all.

The truly, truly odd thing about not collecting young adult books is that it might be rather short sighted. Think of stories from your childhood that

• Were read to you or given to you by a teacher or parent. 
• Were enjoyed by the adult (first) and you (later). 
• Were wildly popular. 
• Have been made into movies or TV shows. 
• Are still popular today.

That narrows things down to an interesting, weird, scary list. It is a list of stories that have become part of our culture because they were told to us and because we are re-telling them to our children. The Cat in the Hat, Ebenezer Scrooge, Santa Claus, Spiderman, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, George Washington and Mickey Mouse are part of our heritage. They are stories to which we can all allude with the characters we all know. They are part of how our brains think and form thoughts. These characters were used to teach us how to talk and how to think. These are the stuff of commercials and coffee break chats. These characters are from classic stories whether or not they are called such.

The popular young adult books that are read by kids and adults are well on their way to becoming part of our culture. They are just this side of a classic if two generations have already enjoyed them and if they have transcended their original medium. Why would a library not collect them?

Would it be true to say most non-English majors read true “classics” at or before their first year of college? This might be in middle school reading class or on the bus to a high school game or as part of a class to fulfill the English requirement of a B.S. degree. It might be from a reading list, as part of a class or for fun. In any of those instances, the person doing the reading is very likely a teen – 13 (middle school) through 19 (freshman year at college). After all, how could a classic be used to pass on some part of our culture and heritage without exposing kids and teens to it? One of the weird requirements for a classic to be a useful classic is that it must be readable by teens. Eliminating young adult literature from the library would essentially eliminate the majority of the books that even have a chance of becoming a functional classic.

Put differently, while The Hunger Games may not ever be considered a classic, there is every reason to suspect that Katniss Everdeen will be teaching the English language to our grandchildren.

Prompt Response - Non-fiction Matrix

Killing Jesus by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard

Henry Holt and Company, 2013.

Narrative Continuum:  Parts of the book read in a narrative style, with a few sections straying more into the style of a magazine article or opinion column from a newspaper.

Subject: The subject is the death of Jesus of Nazareth. Part of this comes from the Gospels; however, there are other historical elements added to it. For example, the death of Julius Caesar is given some coverage. The question of how Jesus would have been viewed by the political and religious authorities who carried out his execution is also explored. The history and views of Roman, Jewish, and Galilean political authorities as well as Jewish religious ones are explored to give some insight into their perceptions of Jesus of Nazareth and his message.  

Type: This is largely a historical narrative. It is researched, but not academic. There are notes, maps, and lists of sources and such. It has both the feel of a history text and enough narrative elements to make it read fairly easily. The note to the reader at the start of the book make the point that the book is intended to be historical rather than religious in purpose. At the same time, it also states that both authors are Roman Catholic, and that the Gospels were used as historical source material.  

Pacing: The book reads rather easily. There are many facts, but they are not presented academically, but rather in an accessible way.

Characterization: The main characters in the book are Jesus and a variety of political and religious leaders. Julius Caesar, Tiberius, King Herod, and Caiaphas (the high priest) and Pontius Pilot are part of the book.

Storyline: The purpose is to be factual, but the book was made to be accessible and readable. The purpose is also one to set out a history of Jesus and his times.

Detail: There is a note at the beginning of the book that sets out the purpose. There are some pictures of artwork and a handful of maps throughout the book. Further, there are several lengthy notes on some pages. The source materials used are listed at the end of the book along with an index. While the approach of the book is not exactly scholarly, the approach does seem to be quite serious.

Learning / Experiencing: Part of the purpose seemed to be to lay out some elements of the Gospels chronologically and look at those elements with the addition of the history of Jerusalem, Israel, Galilee, and Rome.

Language:  The writing style is simple and accessible. When there is commentary, it tends to simply stated. As a consequence, most statements are stark and bold.

Setting – The book describes the city and time of the action as possible. The number of places includes Jerusalem and Rome, but several other locations are included as well.

Tone- The tone is not dark, but serious. Further, the book does not shy away from some of the grisly details of flogging and crucifixion.

Additional Note:  One side note concerns the audio book version of the book. The narrator is Bill O’Reilly. For some, that may affect their experience with the audio book.

 

Prompt Response - E-books and Such

Helping patrons with e-books and audio books is part of my job. Along with helping with computers and printing I also help with tablets and laptops. In part, that is helping with the Wi-Fi connection, and in part that is helping patrons load apps to use library services. This includes the Overdrive app, the Zinio app and the Kindle app. Part of the process with Overdrive is to pick a book to check out.

Screenshot of results from a search for "philosophy" in Overdrive

For me this has become almost a ritualized part of the process. As the patron enters their information into the Adobe site (a process that takes a few minutes), I ask who their favorite author is. Generally I get an answer. Occasionally I get a response that indicates a particular kind of book or a title. I search for that type of book in the downloadable catalog. If it something unusual – I had a patron say that he likes to read books on philosophy – I also try to determine how to find that kind of book for their device easily.

If they still dodge, I choose James Patterson. Partly this is out of convenience. There are several titles; he has e-books and audio books; and he has titles in fiction, mystery, teen, science and juvenile fiction sections of our library. For middle school age kids who doge, I normally use Rick Riordan (who wrote The Lightning Thief). For younger kids, I look for The Magic Treehouse (Mary Pope Osborne).  

When the device is authorized, I help them search for their kind of book on their device. Particularly for phones, I demonstrate on my screen as they search. I have them pick a book to check out. (This may actually take time, depending on the patron. Some take this choice rather seriously for what is essentially a system test.) Note that some kinds of requests may require training on how to find that kind of book. (Philosophy, for example, might require some special searching, and searching for Kindle books available now requires special searching also.)

Generally I hear from them again only when they have a problem. For some this is when they have with the second (or third) download. Occasionally it is a conversation on how to return books to get more. So far, the help that I have been given in picking books has been when installing the app. In fact the majority of help that I have given in reader’s advisory at the library has been while helping to install the app because in my role as the computer lab assistant “normal” reader’s advisory questions (ones not involving a tablet or laptop) would be referred to the librarian.  

There have been a few special cases with tablets. Some patrons have used downloadable materials to serve a particular purpose – one that a print version would not serve.

• A family member went to Europe. She quite happily told me that when she ran out of reading materials, she checked out more books in Europe. For her, that was timely and convenient.
• I have had one or two patrons that I have helped with setting the font size on an e-reader to be large type. Currently, many of the patrons who read large type books do not have tablets, and they like books. At some point, the folks who read large type will discover that all e-books can be large type. Some have. I know that I generally kick the font up a couple of notches when I read a book. For my library system this means that the selection of downloadable large type books (nearly the entire collection of e-books) is huge.
• I have a different family member who was a route driver. She talked about downloading audio books to listen to while driving her delivery route. While I never quite figured out where her route took her, she was driving back and forth across Indy for most of the day. She listened to the audiobooks while she drove. For her, the format – downloadable audio on a phone – was what made it possible to listen to the book. She really enjoyed the books.
• Several truckers (or trucker’s spouses) have come in to check out books on CD. One asked me to put a few items on hold. While doing that, I mentioned downloadable audio books. I demoed the site. The titles he was interested in were available. Something I said must have been compelling. He told me to cancel the holds, and put the items in his hand back on the shelf. He then said that he would be back. Later that day he returned with a brand new tablet. He loaded the apps onto it, and I helped him pick out an audio book. He was back a couple days later with a couple of questions while downloading his second audio book. He was happy with books on CD, but he was excited (and willing to spend money) on downloadable audio from the library.
• I have a family member who is younger than me and who is technically able. When chatting with her about library books and formats she explained her opinion: when she checks out a print version of a book it is because she couldn’t check out the e-book version. That either means that the number of holds was ridiculously long or that the copy didn’t exist in an e-book version. In any case, for her, each print book she brings home from the library is providing good but second-best service. She prefers the e-book. A print library book requires a trip to the library, and that isn’t always easy to work in.
• I regularly download audio books. I started listening to books on CD when I lived on the opposite side of town from my workplace. It was almost exactly one CD from my garage to work and back. Over time I decided that listening to an audio book while working on dishes and laundry was more productive than reading a book while not working on dishes and laundry.

There are two other appeal factors worth mentioning, both involve kids. First, on one of the visits to a Pike High School freshmen library, the librarians mentioned that they buy non-fiction for curriculum support in always available unlimited e-books whenever possible. They bought that format because it suited their particular need: they needed books that could be checked out and used by several classrooms of kids simultaneously. (If eight classes of kids are doing a Black History Month report, how many kids will be able to actually use even 100 print books? Would the kids in the last class to visit the library even have single book on topic to share among them? Books with the correct license would serve all the kids in all the classes.)

The second appeal factor is probably something appealing, but I’m actually not sure. There are a few e-books on the library’s site that have some additional features. They are kids’ books. I’ve demoed them to parents and teachers, and I’ve received some interesting reactions, but I’m not really sure what they think of them. Again, if everything goes well, I don’t hear anything. However, I regularly have Bueno Nacho (a Kim Possible story) and one of the Cars books in my bookshelf to demo some of the features of the books. Personally, I think they would make an excellent station in an elementary classroom or a nice way to include some reading time when kids are otherwise playing on the computer. However, I honestly don’t know. I’m intrigued, but I honestly don’t know if it is useful at all.

That’s what I’m seeing.

PS: Also, one of the most interesting searches I’ve done was the one for philosophy. I’ve included a screenshot of one of the results. I will freely admit that Dr. Who, Dr. Seuss, The Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Downton Abby and Mad Men all in the same set of results was a bit of a shock. I had to stifle a grin (and a chuckle) while asking the patron to choose a title.

Fantasy Annotation - Blood of Tyrants

Blood of Tyrants by Naomi Novik

Fantasy. Published by Del Rey in 2013.

Blood of Tyrants is the eighth and most recent addition to the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik. As in the other books in the series, the book is a mix of alternate history and fantasy. By this point in the series, the battle between Britain and Napoleon’s France is a global conflict. The battles take place on land, on the seas and in the skies. Dragons and a core of aviators add air support to battles fought with cavalry and muskets or tall ships and long guns.

The story begins with Laurence washing up on the coast of Japan without any memory of his time as an aviator and with no memory of Temeraire – his dragon. Temeraire is on the wrecked transport and desperate to find Laurence.  Their mission is not one to Japan, but to China. The need is to get the Chinese empire to align China with Britain against Napoleon’s aggression. Throughout most of the book Laurence is re-discovering himself and his role within the corp. This includes his previous experiences in China and his unusual and infamous reputation.

The language sounds or feels like something out of the 1800’s.  It sounded similar to The Time Machine or Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea. There are probably better comparisons among nautical adventures involving tall ships and battles on the high seas.

The novel is divided into three books. The first is set in Japan, the second in China and the third in Russia. The action picks up significantly with the second and third books. Also, as with the other books, there is a glimpse of the dragons unique to those areas along with the dragons’ cultures and customs.

Many of the characters return from previous books. There are some new characters added, and the dragons are the most varied and most interesting.

Novelist has several read-alikes for this book, among them are

• Mr. Midshipman Hornblower by C. S. Forester
• Son of Avonar by Carol Berg
• Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn

One title that I would add is Off Armageddon Reef by David Weber.

Book Talk

Book Talks

Picking a Topic

 My topic for the book talks as science fiction and fantasy novels that are in part something else. I had been thinking of some of these books as I had posted various topics. However, there were a few other topics that I had considered first. I considered doing book talks on superhero books. For this reason, my practice book talk was a superhero book. I own several, and some would be interesting to book talk. However, as a reasonableness check, I looked at whether the library owned any of them. They owned very, very few. I had considered doing book talks on three new science fiction books. This was in part to give me a reasonable excuse to read Like a Mighty Army by David Weber. This would fit with a couple of other books that I had read recently as well. I held the book in my hands, briefly, but one of the patrons in the branch got his name on the hold list first. At that point, the books that I had been thinking about for other reasons seemed a good idea. So, I shifted the topic to books that were a little harder to categorize.

Aside from the normal process of gathering information, this particular project needed an actual copy of the books. This was actually a limitation, as some books that I considered were only available as electronic copies from the library. This is a small thing, but it is something that will make book talks more challenging in the future. I actually had considered some a work-around for this, but I decided to stick with something where the physical books were available.

The Practice Book Talk

My practice book talk was enlightening. I had written it out fully and attempted several times to record myself using that talk. It really did not work well. There were several long dead spots, and the prepared talk just did not seem to work. For this reason I did the talks extemporaneously. However, I did do some of the talks in multiple takes.

The other problem I had was trying to write the way that I would actually talk. A spoken book talk should be fluid, but a written book talk can be edited and corrected extensively. Something recorded live is a different matter entirely.

The other odd problem I had with the practice was holding the book facing the camera; the result looked (and felt) somewhat silly. I contrived a stand to hold the book. It was cheating, but the result was better than the practice book talk.

The Technical Aspects

As part of this project I installed “Movie Maker” (a free program). Also, I set up a YouTube account. The process for editing the video was not hard to make out, but the options seemed somewhat limited with the capture settings. The built in camera seemed to have several assumptions, and many of them appeared to be wrong. Movie Maker did not seem to have any way of correcting those false assumptions.

There were a couple of interesting aspects to the filming. Owing to my lack of coordination with attempting to hold the book while talking, I set up a stand to show the book with me in the frame. It was more visible than my prior attempts.

While giving the book talks, I know that I add far too many “ums” and restarted my train of thought several times. I would happily switch both of those habits off if I only knew where to find the toggle.

Book Talks at Garfield Park

I thought about how books talks would work for me in the library. It would be possible (unlikely, but possible) for me to do a book talk in the computer lab. In that case, if I follow how I prep for other things, I would prepare a Power Point presentation with the information. While there are some extemporaneous events during the class, I tend to use Power Point even with relatively small classes to make sure that I don’t miss any relevant point. Further, its use might tend to make a small class feel more real (to the participants). For a book talk, it would like focus attention away from the book (or me) onto the screen, but I would probably do it that way anyway.

Outside of the computer room, that would be a different matter. In that case, the likeliest forum in our branch would be sitting around the table where patrons use laptops. In that case, the setting would be small and informal, and I would likely go through the books off the cuff there as well.

If I were to attempt a video book talk at Garfield Park, there are a few things I would do to try to make the attempt successful. First, I would choose a time when patrons are not in the branch. That would likely be a Saturday morning before opening. Second, I would use the branch iPad. I believe it has a better camera. (I suspect it has a better set of starting assumptions, also.)

Of all the ways I might do a book talk at the branch, a video book talk is the likeliest. I am presently a social media admin. My role has normally been to assist in resizing photos or converting files into pictures so that they can be posted.  Prepping video for posting would be a natural extension of what I have done before. However, performing for a video book talk on a regular basis would be stretching.

Science Fiction Annotation - The Lost Stars: Perilous Shield

The Lost Stars: Perilous Shield by Jack Campbell

Science Fiction. Published by Ace Books in 2013.

The Lost Stars: Perilous Shield is the second book in the Lost Stars series. The series is a follow-on series to the Lost Fleet series which began with Lost Fleet: Dauntless. Also, some parts of this novel show a different side of the action from the book Guardian in the Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier series. All three series are by Jack Campbell.  

Perilous Shield continues the story of the Midway star system. Midway sits at the edge of human controlled space and at the periphery of what was Syndicate space. Midway was a breakaway system that rebelled, and it is now under its own control. The leaders in the revolt now have given themselves new titles to reflect their new positions: General Drakon and President Iceni. The revolt happened after the Alliance legend, Admiral Black Jack Geary, lead his fleet into the Midway system and then beyond into space controlled by the aliens known as enigmas. As former Syndicate CEOs, their preparation for leadership was ruthless corruption. The Syndicate loyalists and the enigma both are poised and ready for attack.

The setting of the story is in deep space. In some cases the story is on remote planets or in spaceships travelling through the dark.

The tone is purposeful. There is always a mission, always something to guard, to attack or to flee. The language is descriptive.

The characterizations are interesting. The earlier series, Lost Fleet, had Black Jack Geary as a central figure. He was heroic, so much so that he was idolized by his own crews. In this case the majority of the central figures are Syndics, raised to their ranks by assassination, treachery and corruption.

Some read-alikes suggested by Novelist are

• Old Man’s War by John Scalzi
• Valor’s Choice by Tonya Duff
• One Day on Mars by Travis Taylor
• Starstrike by Kevin Dockery

Prompt Response - James Patterson

The James Patterson Controversy

There are several aspects to the James Patterson controversy. First, he has the audacity to write books that people enjoy reading. It seems that to some that is an affront. When he admitted that the sentences in his more recent books weren’t as pretty as previous ones because the better sentences get in the way of the story (Zaleski), one must admit that his writing is intentional. He did not set out to write thought-provoking books, or witty books, but he wants fast-paced entertaining books. Further, he stated in the article that the audience for fiction is important: it seems that he his writing is not about expressing something deep within himself, but rather his writing is designed to entertain his readers. For me, I suppose, this does not seem like a controversial thing. James Patterson is trying to write books that sell well, and he is succeeding.

The second part of the controversy is that he has co-authors. He does give the authors credit on the covers, so he is not hiding the fact that there are co-authors. However, he is not solely responsible for the books with his name on them. That is very true. He is not. There is an artist for the cover, the photographer for the back cover, and the accountants, and the shippers, and the people at Amazon and UPS who have handled his books. There are editors and publishers, and in his case there are other authors who assist. I suppose that may be somewhat unusual, but if one judges by results, his books are wildly successful.

I suspect that the authors would have had a difficult time selling as many books on their own. First, Patterson is supplying an outline (Zaleski). That might make a huge difference. The collaboration may have a huge affect on the mood of the other authors. The coauthored works may be substantially different from works written singly by either author. In any case, both authors know how the names will appear on the cover of Patterson’s books. Readers can (by squinting just right) make out both names on the cover. The coauthors my not get the same level of recognition, but they do get paid to write a book – and a best seller at that.

I can think of other coauthored books or series. David Weber and Anne McCaffrey have both co-authored books. Some of those collaborations were probably for different reasons. Perhaps there was an attempt to give a new author a chance. Perhaps there was a time crunch. Perhaps there was a personal crisis. Perhaps a series needed an infusion of new life. Some of those may apply to James Patterson. He seems to coauthor some books to focus his time on others. If Patterson has more ideas for books than he has time to write, what should he do? Should he simply forget the ideas for instant best sellers?

Again, I don’t see the problem. I will admit that after reading one of the later Daniel X books, the feel was different from the one before. After some examination, the later book had a co-author. So, in the future, I’ll avoid that particular combination of co-authors. I don’t blame James Patterson for trying.

James Patterson is also openly branding his books – the ones he authors and the ones he coauthors. He has given them a style and feel. They are full of action. They are easy to read. The chapters are short. I suppose that if there is a controversy here, it is that he is openly stating his books are not slow, are not weighty, and are not flowery. They do not require effort. So, consider two types of books. The first is the James Patterson style novel: fast, action-packed, and sells well. The second is a literary masterpiece, it has vivid imagery, it is thought provoking, the language is amazing, and nothing particular happens in the story. If the first type of book garners sales and the second sort of book wins awards, I would choose to write an action story – I’d write the one that sells.

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Zaleski, J. (2002). The James Patterson Business. Publishers Weekly, 249(44), 43. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.

Prompt Response - Book Talk - Batman: No Man's Land

Batman: No Man’s Land by Greg Rucka

Hi,

I’m Keith with Garfield Park Branch library, and I’m here to talk about Batman: No Man’s Land by Greg Rucka. Since Comic-Con is coming up, I thought I’d talk about a superhero book, and Batman is one of the long-time favorites.

This Batman story begins right after an earthquake that hits and destroys Gotham City. While some buildings are left standing, the repairs were going to be difficult, and the politicians were not interested. The result is that the US government orders the city of Gotham abandoned. After evacuating as many as they can, the government opens the doors to Arkham – the asylum for the criminally insane, mines the harbor and blows the bridges. The city is cut off from supply and handed over to gangs and criminals.

No Man’s Land begins at that point in Gotham’s history.

Many of the super villains from Batman’s rogues’ gallery are in the book as are several of the heroes who have strong ties to Gotham. For example, sections of the book are introduced with journal entries written by Barbara Gordon (a former Batgirl) to her father, Jim Gordon, the police commissioner, to be read in the event of her death. Jim Gordon and other members of the GCPD play a big role in the book as well.

It is a dark story of determination and a desperate and savage struggle to survive to just live and go on living in the continuing aftermath of a natural disaster.

No Man’s Land is a novelization of a story arc in the Batman comics and graphic novels that spanned several books. It is also available as an audiobook from Graphic Audio the “movie in your mind” people.

Thanks for your time!

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Also about the statement about only giving book talks on books I love and enjoy: I suspect that would be impractical. It would be ideal, I suppose, for me to have read the books I talk about. However, I know that I won't have enjoyed all the books that patrons ask about. While there is some little variety in what I read, for some audiences there would be little overlap with their tastes in books and mine. One of those audiences would be the typical "book club" that reads literary fiction books. I have read several kids books, fantasy books and science fiction books. I also read computer books. While I might have really enjoyed the fairies with the blasters in Artemis Fowl, and the battle against the vicious, hungry aliens in John Ringo's books, I don't think the ladies in the book club would be convinced in either case. (Their loss.) 

I suspect that some of them would secretly enjoy some fantasy, but it might turn the book club into a ten-step program: "Hi, I'm Nancy, and I enjoyed a fantasy novel this week. I didn't mean to, it just sort of happened. It seemed like a nice little story about times gone by, and then the dragon came, and I liked it. I don't know why." It would be interesting to see, but no. 

My intent is to find a way to describe what I know of the books, and what people have liked about books. I expect this knowing full well that the patrons and I will frequently disagree on nearly every point as to what makes a book a nice read. Strangely the one thing that the book club ladies and I would agree on would be to prefer novels over graphic novels. (I still have no idea why I don't like comic books more.)

I find myself more able to do reader's advisory for middle school kids in some cases.

As for the book club, my branch is unusual. When the branch was remodeled the community room was remade into the computer room. The number of public PCs grew, and the remodel included a projector and other equipment for computer programs. (This was good, as it was part of the reason they hired a computer lab assistant -- me.) However, the side-effect was that many kinds of programs either meet at one of the tables in the middle of the library or they don't meet in our physical building. This includes book clubs. I know there is one, but I'm not sure where they meet. If I do end up doing reader's advisory or a book club it might be virtual and geared for a different audience than the traditional book club crowd.

Prompt Response - Reviews

Ebook only books, which are increasingly popular especially in the romance genre, see little to no reviews in professional publications unless they have a big name author, and then still it's usually only RT Reviews (formally Romantic Times) or other genre heavy publications. How does this affect collection development?

If a book truly is e-book only, that would effectively eliminate several audiences for a book. When I think of some of the patrons at my branch, there are a couple of regular readers of romance novels who come to mind. They are older and do not have (or wish to have) an e-book reader of any kind. Likewise, I would ask about whether audiobook versions of the books would ever be created for these works. The other side of e-book only works is a technical one. There would need to be a mechanism for distributing the e-book along with the library’s other e-books. It is likely this would not be a problem, but if the publisher is a smaller one, that might not be the case.  Curiously, in an e-book environment, the books that are e-book only won’t be distinguishable from the other books. In online ordering sites noticing the format of a book takes effort, and over time the distinction in the book review sites may become minimal.

A similar distinction already exists in the library: some series are published directly to paperback. This would include Executioner, Star Wars, and Harlequin books, for example. For any of these a big name review for book #27 in a particular series would be surprising. Frequently in my system, these books are purchased as unprocessed paperbacks. Then (since the computer doesn’t know they exist) they disappear into the stacks.  Partly this is due to their status as a paperback-only series, and the lack of reviews may contribute to their being unprocessed paperbacks.

One is two reviews of an ebook only romantic suspense novel, one from a blog and one from amazon. Look over the reviews - do you feel they are both reliable? Do they follow the guidelines Erin talked about in her presentation? How likely would you be to buy this book for your library?

Both are short, and without reading the books it is difficult to judge if they give anything away. However, the blog mentions “Elise and Noel find passion in each others [sic] arms.” That might be giving too much away. Neither gives a sample from the book. While the Amazon review is clearer, both seem to say about the same things when boiled down to basics. As to whether or not to buy it – I have no earthly idea. These two reviews represent about my entire connection to the romantic suspense genre. However, I did learn that I would be unlikely to buy it for myself. After readings these reviews, I would be looking for “Large library romantic suspense package #1” when doing my ordering of romantic suspense novels. (I’m not looking for a position in purchasing any time soon.)

The other document contains some reviews of Angela's Ashes, by Frank McCourt, an incredibly popular memoir…. How do these reviews make you feel about the possibility of adding Angela's Ashes to your collection?

The first review did little. It was the combined review, and it was too long and for some reason the three books which were reviewed kept getting jumbled in my mind. That particular review was unhelpful.

I suspect that the book is already there. If I were in a purchasing position, I’d probably feel like the library would be obligated to buy a copy or five (for our twenty-three branches). I would further suspect that the book would see little circulation at my particular branch unless it was chosen for the book club.

Further, this another category of book that I do not read. The closest thing I have had read would be The Grapes of Wrath during US History in high school -- and that is not even a memoir. I would have little background to judge the contents of the reviews, other than that they say nice things about the book.

Do you think it's fair that one type of book is reviewed to death and other types of books get little to no coverage? How does this affect a library's collection?  

It is perhaps something that collection developers should keep well in mind. The review magazines are a business and will include reviews that their readership likes to read. That may or may not include the totality of what their readership may need to read to be fully informed collection developers. The other side to this is that it appears that some books are reviewed in comparison to some narrow ideal of a quality book. So, books like science fiction books seem to be picked and described in terms of their broader appeal and adherence to the standard of that ideal book. My preference would be that genre fiction like science fiction be reviewed as a work in that genre.

In a related note, there are only certain types of books that win awards. I tend to avoid books that receive certain awards, and I am suspicious of books that are universally well reviewed.

And how do you feel about review sources that won't print negative content? Do you think that's appropriate?

After thinking about this, it occurred to me that librarians do actually need to be able to say nice things about books that they know they would never willingly read. In that context, reviews which bring out the positive points of books (while perhaps leaving out some of the negative aspects) would line up with how books would sometimes need to be described to patrons. Also, the reviews may give some sort of advance warning of what is coming. However, it seems that the simpler way to create a magazine of positive reviews would be to ask publishers to submit the descriptions they provide. The service the magazine would provide would be nearly identical. It would be biased information, but if the reviews are uniformly positive, then the reviews are biased at present. Further, if the purpose is to inform readers on the content of the books, bias may play little part in the use of the material. To the extent that the reviews will be used to make determinations involving the quality of a work, a warning label should probably be put on the front cover noting that the reviews are all positive. Moreover, I suspect that while the reviews of some magazines may only say positive things, the silences may speak volumes to regular readers of the reviews.

If you buy for your library, how often do you use reviews to make your decisions?

I do not buy for the library other than toner and staples and such. At my branch the librarians do have an opportunity to buy books; however, the librarians at the branches are limited to selecting unprocessed paperbacks. They do look through reviews when making their selections. I suspect that I will look first to metrics of how popular the hardback versions of books were in the previous year, but that is just a guess. (If a math teacher and computer professional is put in a purchasing position, one would expect that computer reports full of numbers would be an important purchasing guide.)

If not, how do you feel about reviews for personal reading, and what are some of your favorite review sources?

Only recently have I started looking at GoodReads or LibaryThing. Other than that I generally do not read reviews. My branch receives Kirkus, Library Journal and School Library Journal, but they are held at the librarian’s desk. This week was the first time that I had really looked at Kirkus, and I have only flipped through the other journals on occasion. I do not seeing myself using the reviews in the magazines, but I will occasionally read the reviews (professional and otherwise) on Amazon when looking at items. I tend to see professional reviews as another form of advertising and treat them as such.  When looking at online sites, I frequently look the number of ratings, the rating and the popularity of an item along with other factors.

Kirkus Style Review - Live Free or Die

Live Free or Die

Ringo, John

Baen Books (404pp.)

2010.

Aliens have set up a gateway in space to provide Earth with a gateway that allows for interstellar travel, and along with the gate comes a set of rules governing its use. Among the rules is that anyone who pays the fee can make use of it – in either direction. The Glatun come to earth to find trade, and the Horvath came to find heavy metals. Quickly they offered an agreement: they would become earth’s benefactors and protectors in exchange for all of earth’s stores of heavy metal and all of its future production, or the alternative was to have all of earth’s major cities destroyed by bombardment from space.

Tyler Vernon was a wood cutter and grocery store clerk. He had been an IT manager and creator of a science-fiction themed web comic. However, after the arrival of aliens and alien technology, he worked where he could. Even with the Horvath benefactors watching from orbit, Tyler Vernon decided to try a little free trading with a Glatun. With Tyler firmly set against the Horvath, a resistance begins. It pits stubbornness, space engineering and unbridled capitalism against an unreachable, untouchable foe. There are lengthy discussions on the difficulties of extracting ores from asteroids and on the necessity of working around government bureaucracies.

Live Free or Die is the first book in the Troy Rising series by John Ringo. Owing to a focus on engineering and trade rather than military actions, the language is less gritty and the action is less gory than John Ringo’s long-running Legacy of the Aldenata series. The political and social commentary is also more plain.

Ringo’s fans will enjoy it if they like space battles fought with scientific ingenuity, determination and unabashed capitalism.

Adventure Annotation - Poseidon's Arrow

Poseidon's Arrow by Clive Cussler and Dirk Cussler

Adventure. Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons in 2012.

An out-of-control freighter interrupts Dirk Pitt’s vacation. A mine is attacked. Other freighters have gone missing. When researchers who are developing a prototype for a fast attack submarine vanish, Dirk Pitt and NUMA, the National Underwater and Marine Agency are called as consultants to assist NCIS agent Ann Bennett in the search. The search leads to an action filled adventure that has Pitt, Ann and NUMA teams hopping around the globe to exotic locations on land, on the seas and on the ocean floor.

The action is non-stop, and most chapters have someone or something being shot, stabbed, blown up, burned, wrecked or drowned. While it shows Pitt as happily married, there is not a romantic dimension to the story. The plot focuses instead on the action of the unfolding events and moves from one danger to the next.
The characters are fairly cut and dried. Pitt, Ann and NUMA are action heroes, and there is a villain with a world-spanning evil plot.

The tone is urgent: need to move, need to catch up, need to get away, or need to keep breathing.

The language is mostly uncomplicated. However, there are some descriptions of ships and naval equipment. Also, for a book with non-stop action, mayhem, and piracy it was notably devoid of profanity.
GoodReads.com has some information on this and other series: this book is the 22^nd in the Dirk Pitt series. Poseidon’s Arrow was co-authored by Clive Cussler and Dirk Cussler. There are related series with Clive Cussler as an author. The most recent in the related NUMA Files is Ghost Ship by Clive Cussler and Graham Brown. The most recent in the Oregon Files is Mirage by Dirk Cussler and Jack Du Brul.  All three series are marine adventures series.

On GoodReads.com some of the books mentioned as ones readers also enjoyed were:

• Threat Vector by Thomas Clancy
• Pandora’s Curse by Jack Du Brul
• Empire of Gold by Andy McDermott

Novelist has the following read-alikes:

• Terminal Run by Michael DiMecurio
• The Templar Legacy by Steve Barry
• Ice Station by Matthew Reilly
• Hawke by Ted Bell

Secret Shopping Experience

                First, to set up the situation, I’ll describe me. I like science fiction and fantasy. I also like YA and juvenile titles, provided that the titles are science fiction and fantasy. The textbook by Saricks says this about science fiction fans (about me):

Science fiction fans are among the most elusive yet outspoken readers who use our libraries. Elusive, because they often spurn our offers of assistance and certainly our suggestions; outspoken because they know what they are seeking and the feel it is unlikely that we can offer them new directions – unless they see us as fellow fans… They know what they like – the “good” Science Fiction—and ignore, reject even, everything else (251).

This is perhaps accurate – allowing for the fact that I also read fantasy. However, I am probably not an easy patron to help with reader’s advisory.

                The library I visited for my secret shopper assignment was a nice library, but it was difficult not to draw comparisons to my home branch and system. The library is a one branch system, and as such the library was bigger than my home branch, but smaller by far than my home system. That necessarily places a few limitations on the library: it has a limited selection (which all libraries do at some level) and there was only one librarian on duty that I could see. He was the children’s librarian according to his tag.

                When I asked for help finding a book to read, he asked what I like to read. I mentioned that I like science fiction and fantasy. He then mentioned that he was not familiar with science fiction, and he added the science fiction and fantasy was mixed into the normal fiction, and that it made it difficult to browse the collection. But, he said that he would be happy to take a look.

When he asked, I then mentioned two examples: Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance and Midst Toil and Tribulation. He quickly found that both are parts of series. (Actually, both are the most recently published books in their respective series.) He mentioned that the first book was by Lois McMaster Bujold, and that they had a fantasy title by her: The Curse of Chalion, and that that was the only title they had by her. I added that I had read that as well. The second title was by David Weber. He mentioned that this author was familiar to him. He also said that they had several titles available. I mentioned that I had read the books he mentioned. (In fairness, this was more than one series.)

He then mentioned John Ringo as another possibility. I mentioned that I had also read books by him. (David Weber and John Ringo wrote a series together, and I had discovered him in that way earlier.) However, he did mention that there were several titles by him.

He then mentioned Edgar Rice Burroughs and the series including Princess of Mars. This I had not read. I forget exactly what I said, but I might have asked if that was old enough to be in the public domain (or something like that). At this point I did ask where he was looking for his info. He mentioned that he was looking at tor.com (the publisher web site). I had looked at Baen’s site before, but not Tor’s site.

He also mentioned David Feintuch. Neither of us had heard of him, and they didn’t have any title by him, but he did say that both authors were mentioned as suggested authors for him. He also mentioned Elizabeth Moon, for whom they did not have any titles. However, I have actually read and enjoyed several books by her.

He then took me over to the shelves and pointed out the titles that they did have and the unprocessed science fiction (which was separated). He then left me to browse. I was struck by how much of a difference it made that the science fiction and fantasy were not separated. I believe that I had read all of the books available on the shelf by the authors he mentioned. I was sort of stuck at that point; I could either look through all the fiction or give up. At that point I  left without picking out a book.

However, interestingly, my system does have a couple of e-books available by David Feintuch, the first of which is Midshipman’s Hope. I might give it a try. So, I’d have to say he really may have helped me find a book. If I were a librarian at that branch, I would likely find the size of the collection frustrating.

The biggest thing that struck me during the interview was that he told me that the books were arranged in a way that made browsing difficult. As a secret shopper, that really made an impression. I mentioned this back at my branch because I have had to say something similar before: the urban fiction is not separated out at our branch. I mentioned this impression to my branch manager and we discussed it for a bit. The other category that some of our patrons occasionally ask about is Christian and Amish fiction. I was left wondering what the effect of categorizing the fiction (even imperfectly) might have on the patron experience.

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Saricks, J. G. (2009). The readers’ advisory guide to genre fiction. Chicago: ALA.