Week 7 Prompt

Although I have read several novels by James Patterson, I wouldn’t say I’m a die-hard fan.  Since he was cranking out so many novels in a short period of time, I began to wonder how good they could actually be.  So I stopped reading his works.  After reading the article by Zaleski about Patterson, it seems his top priority is to be a business man and secondly an author.  It looks like he has been sucked into the vortex of an author mill where he is the cash cow.  As I read further into the article, I found out how it was possible for him to churn out so many novels in a short span of time.  He uses co-authors and has the assistance of other writers.  When his co-writers are asked how much is Patterson’s work and how much is the co-writer’s work, these authors are reluctant to answer.  It makes me wonder if Patterson is contributing just enough to these novels to have his name on it, but his main focus it promoting the books and ensuring that they are entertaining.   Who knows maybe he is using ghost writers and taking credit for the work.  It’s just my opinion, but I find this type of behavior to be shady.  How is this any better than producing fake memoirs?   

Gentle Read Annotation: The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom

The Time Keeper

By

Mitch Albom

Synopsis

In this fable-like story Dor is exiled from the earth because of his obsession with time which inadvertently causes him to invent the first clock.  Dor is deemed to be Father Time and is banished to a cave to live in solitude until “Heaven meets Earth” which ends up dragging on for six thousand years.  Readers can’t help but feel the loneliness and the interminable grief that envelopes Dor with losing his wife during his last day on Earth to the centuries of solitude that loom ahead of him.  Through the years, Dor has to hear the cries of all those on Earth who are pleading for more or less time.  All the while he draws pictures on the cave walls to remember his life on Earth and keep his sanity.  When “Heaven finally meets Earth”, Dor is granted a span of time on Earth to accomplish a mission to help two people.  The first is a teenager named Sarah Lemon, who falls in love and wants time to pass quickly until the next time she can be with her boyfriend.  When she finds out that the boy has no interest in her, and she is the focal point of humiliation in her class, she becomes depressed and suicidal.  The second person is the eighty-something year old billionaire, Victor Delamonte, who is dying from cancer and seeking immortality by cryogenically freezing his body.  As the three lives intertwine, Dor as well as the other two learn about the importance of time which leaves readers with a lot to think about. 

Elements of a Gentle Read

Pacing –This is a gentle meandering story that lulls the reader into the characters’ lives with empathetic feelings.

Characterization – The characters in this novel are leading tragic existences which do not upset the plot; however, cause the reader to sympathize and relate with the characters.  These individual tragedies, which propel the characters into relationships with one another, are used to pull the story along for the greater good at the end. 

Story line – Unlike many gentle reads, each of the characters is going through a tragic situation; however, it is used to develop a moral to the story and conclude with a resolved ending. 

Frame/Tone – This story has a timeless quality in that it begins in a historical setting and gently crosses over into the present with a glance into the future.  All these time frames are used to tie the characters together and reach the moral of the story. 

Style – Although this book touches on a sexual relationship and goes to the edge of a violent occurrence, this novel’s main focus is on the straightforward feelings and emotions of the characters and their relationships with each other.      

Read-A-Likes

An Invisible Thread by Laura Schroff and Alex Tresniowski

When I found you by Catherine Ryan Hyde

For One More Day by Mitch Albom

Week 6 Prompt

Greetings! 

So many readers are inclined to seek out the latest romance or horror novel that gentle reads are overlooked.   A great number of these gentle read novels focus on relationships, and these days instead of reading about healthy and healing relationships, many turn on a popular reality television program to see how people interact. 

I would like to propose a new display in the library to promote gentle read novels.   How about an old school television with a wide frame?  The phrase “Read instead of reality T.V.” could be adhered on the front of the television screen.  

At first I thought it would be a good idea to have a television that wasn’t too old that a DVD player couldn’t be hooked up to it, and possibly show clips of a gentle read that had been made into a movie like “The Five People You Meet in Heaven”, but the idea is to get readers to turn off the T.V.  On top of this television, which would need to be fairly large, I would like to have a display much like the one shown below.  However, instead of the figures shown in the picture such as the apple and the Earth, I would like to replace all these with silhouettes of people interacting with others.  For example, a young couple who are standing close to one another, a mother with her baby, a father playing with his children, and an older couple sitting on a park bench.  In addition, I think segments of  gentle read audiobooks could also be incorporated as part of this display.  Lastly, I could surround the display with some of the most popular gentle read books.  

Kirkus Review

Vivaldi's Virgins by Barbara Quick

Eighteenth-century Venice is brought to life as orphaned, fourteen year old Anna Marie develops into a talented violinist living in the foundling home where Antonio Vivaldi is her maestro. 

In this historical fiction Anna Maria has been abandoned as an infant and is taken to Pieta where she grows up in the foundling home.  During her childhood she is recognized for her musical talent on the violin and soon comes under the wing of Antonio Vivaldi who becomes her maestro.  Many other orphaned girls live in the founding house as well; however, some of the girls have knowledge of their biological parents and are aware they were given up for a variety of reasons including destitute mothers or being the product of birth out of wedlock among nobility This surprisingly fast paced story follows the precocious Anna Maria as she consistently gets into trouble with her friends at the foundling house which causes her setbacks on her promotions in the choir.  All the while, Anna Marie is trying to find the identity of her mother which is instigated from a locket that has come into her possession.  Although the identity of Anna Maria’s mother is predictable before it is revealed, the story made for a very entertaining read. 

Although the identity of Anna Maria’s mother was predictable as the search was winding down, it was still an enjoyable read trailing Anna Maria and her friend’s escapades throughout the story.  For a historical fiction this read clipped along at a decent pace.

Week 5 Prompt Response

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 Ebooks do not get reviews from the professional sector, I would think they would only have partial success in getting selected for personal or public collections.  I believe it would have a slim chance with public library collections because it would seem library personnel would resort to using professional reviews rather than Amazon or blog reviews.  For those using it for personal collections, I think it would not reach far beyond those who are already (in this example) romance readers.  Those who prefer a certain genre will go to the RT Reviews, Amazon, Goodreads, and blog reviews.

Ebook only romantic suspense novel, one from a blog and one from amazon:   Look over the reviews - do you feel they are both reliable? How likely would you be to buy this book for your library? Is this ebook even romantic suspense?

Well I’m seeing two blog reviews after the Amazon review.  All the reviews are not remotely professional since there isn’t any appeal factors mentioned about the book.  It’s mostly small summaries and opinions on the story line.  Reading them sequentially, the Amazon review provides a spark of interest.  The first blog almost has me sold in wanting to purchase this book for my library; however, the last and mostly negative review snuffs out any interest I may have had previously.  I do not see any suspense involved with this Ebook.  The protagonist in the story doesn’t seem to be a heroine in danger, and I didn’t gather from the reviews that there are plot twists or strong language and violence.  In addition, the mention of the love interest being a billionaire insinuates that the protagonist is going to fall into some easy money at the conclusion of the story, and they will “live happily ever after”.

How do these reviews make you feel about the possibility of adding Angela's Ashes to your collection?

The reviews have a common thread that would compel me to want to add this read to my collection.  Initially the reviews all have descriptors of destitute such as “filth”, “deprivation”, “extreme poverty”, “starvation” throughout the synopsis of the story which would deter anyone from wanting to read such a depressing book.  However, it’s the “love conquers all” ending of these summaries that is the hook to get someone to read this story.  At the conclusion of each of the reviews not only is the power of love mentioned, but also the humor and Irish colloquialisms that provide balance to the story.    

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’s not fair because there are many hidden jewels that don’t get the publicity.  I have picked up books no one I know has read.  They are not on the popular fiction shelves at the library or book stores, but they are some of the best reads I have ever found.  It seems once an author starts cranking out novel after novel, their books are placed on the “popular reads” lists whether the story is decent or not.  This is not only true with books, but other sources of entertainment as well including music and television.  I’ve started dubbing these actions as McReads, McMusic, or McTV.  I think as readers become more finicky in their preferences for reading, libraries are going to have to dig deeper to find those less known books that are just as good if not better than popular fiction.  This includes having a librarian or staff members that are RA savvy as well.

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

It shouldn’t be all sunshine and bunnies.  I would like to have some constructive criticism about a book.  I think most readers want honesty about a read, and some of the negative points, for example strong language or graphic sex, should be mentioned.  Yes initially it may lose some readers that may have picked up that book to read, but in the long run, the reviewer will gather more of a following due to this honestly.  So for example, if I’m the type of person that doesn’t like descriptive sex in a novel, I go to what I consider a trustworthy review source, find a book that only mentions the positives, start reading the book, become ticked because it had so much graphic sex, and I just wasted my time reading part of this book, I may not return to that “trustworthy” reviewer for future reads. 

If you buy for your library, how often do you use reviews to make your decisions? If not, how do you feel about reviews for personal reading, and what are some of your favorite review sources?

I don’t work in a library, and before this class, I mostly relied on Amazon reviews, Goodreads, or family and friends to find new reads for personal reading.  This course is extremely insightful for me to become more knowledgeable on how to maneuver a gold mine of review resources to find new reads for my personal library.

Secret Shopper

The library staff for my secret shopper assignment was eager to help and friendly, but not knowledgeable on readers advisory skills.  In addition, there wasn’t an interview by the librarian asking what books or authors I preferred or what types of books I liked.  I had to resort by accidently seeing the latest novel of Kristen Hannah in the new fiction releases and stating that this book looked like something I would like to read.  The librarian attempted to find similar books by going to Google and finding Readers’ Advisor Online and Readers’ Advisory 101, but she didn’t know where to begin once she got into those websites.  She seemed lost as to how to help me and wasn’t even familiar with the authors’ genres.   However, she did go the extra mile by asking another librarian and contacting another staff member who was familiar with different fiction works.  The staff was friendly and really wanted to help, but it seemed like I could get more information myself by going online.  Even if I looked up a book I had read in the past on Amazon like Tuesdays with Morrie, viewed similar reads on the section of “Customers who bought this item also bought” , and dug down a couple of levels in that area, I could have found more than what was provided by the staff at my chosen library.   All in all, this library was in need of someone who was knowledgeable in readers advisory skills.