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Marketing Fiction

While I am relatively new to the library profession, being exposed to a world of reading and practicing readers' advisory firsthand has given me the gumption and inspiration to create new ideas for marketing our fiction at the library.  One idea is to create a program for adults and teens (separate meeting times) to share a book with the other attendees they are reading and loving, or a favorite book from the past. The club's goal is to create excitement for continued reading and allow the community to make friends with those who share similar interests. Attendees can read an excerpt, give a plot summary, or share what they liked about it within five minutes. For another five minutes, the others can ask questions about the book. Attendees are encouraged to share a book in the library collection, but it is not required. The staff member running the program will place fiction books they have read and recommend, and other staff picks on tables in the room to be available for check
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Separating Genres?

In a library collections scenario, some patrons have requested that the library separate their LGBTQ+ and Urban fiction into its own spot. This situation has made many members of the staff uncomfortable, and I understand why. By separating them, it is almost like we're saying that those books are too different to be included in the main collection. While I understand the viewpoint from some readers of those genres that it makes the books easier to find, that is not necessarily a proper argument.  A great quote I read in this article comes to mind, from diversity advocate Vernā Myers: “Diversity is being invited to the party. Inclusion is being asked to dance.” By separating the books, how are those books supposed to dance with the others? How are patrons who have yet to discover the beauty of those genres supposed to find them unless they're included with the books they normally read? If we put them in their own section, some patrons may never find them because they might neve
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The Woman in the Library

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  Listen to the perfect playlist while reading: Author:  Sulari Gentill Genre:  Mystery; Thriller Publication Date:  2022 Number of Pages:  267 Geographical Setting:  Boston, Massachusetts Time Period:  21st century Plot Summary:  When the Australian fellowship writer Winnifred "Freddie" Kincaid enters the Boston Public Library one day to get a start on her novel, she hardly expects a woman to die in the same building. Impossible, even, for one of her three new friends to be the murderer. But for such a puzzling mystery, anything is possible. The story's fictional author, Hannah, leads you through the weeds to the striking conclusion. Subject Headings:  Boston Public Library -- Fiction. Friendship -- Fiction. Murder -- Fiction. Boston (Mass.) -- Fiction. Appeals Storyline:  Intricately plotted An almost necessary aspect of the mystery genre, Gentill utilizes the engine of "spotting, following, and weighing each clue", choosing to "focus on the intricacies o
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In Defense of Young/New Adult Novels

This is a topic that I feel I can speak on from personal experience. As a new 24-year-old, I have found that most of my taste tends to be YA/NA novels. I like reading books with young protagonists and books that don't promote a lot of physical sexuality. With YA/NA, sometimes physical sexuality occurs, but with YA it rarely ventures beyond closed-door intimate scenes. And, YA/NA protagonists just get me . I don't own a house, I'm not married, I like doing "young person" things, I use young person slang, and I don't know much about life yet. In adult books, many characters are married, divorced, or have children of their own while tackling more mature topics in their homeowning, taking-kids-to-school, decades-of-dating-experience kind of lives. I find it hard to relate to those characters, which affects my enjoyment of those books. Even the characters in books who are still teenagers match closer to my current place in life than adult novel characters. Even tho
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Reader's Advisory Matrix: Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China by Ezra F. Vogel

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1. Where is the book on the narrative continuum? Highly fact-based. 2. What is the subject of the book? Deng Xiaoping, the second leader of the Chinese Communist Party, from his personal life to his policies and impacts. 3. What type of book is it? A biography and history of overall Chinese politics and policies. 4. Articulate appeal -What is the pacing of the book? It is a leisurely pace. -Describe the characters of the book. It is heavily focused on Deng Xiaoping, the man who took over leadership of the Chinese Communist Party after the death of Mao Zedong. The book also mentions other politicians (Chinese and international) during Deng's leadership, figures in Deng's personal life, and other citizens of the Republic of China. -How does the story feel? Scholarly, highly detailed, politically impartial. -What is the intent of the author? To educate the reader on Deng Xiaoping. -What is the focus of the story? The life and career of Deng Xiaoping, as well as the effect his care
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Non-Fiction: The Devil in the White City

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Listen to the perfect playlist while reading: Author:  Erik Larson Genre:  Non-Fiction; True Crime; History Publication Date:  2003 Number of Pages:  390 Geographical Setting:  United States Time Period:  Late 19th century Plot Summary:  On the eve of the four hundredth anniversary of Christopher Columbus' arrival in the New World, Chicago hastily plans a fair that will put Paris' Universal Exposition of 1889 to shame. At the same time, an unknown villain puts his own plans into action that will make the Windy City, and the World's Columbian Exposition, infamous for years to come-- plans that will claim the lives of over two dozen people before he's finished. Subject Headings:   Serial murderers -- Illinois -- Chicago -- Biography. Serial murders -- Illinois -- Chicago -- Case studies. Appeals Narrative:  Moderate While true crime offers much to keep readers entertained, Larson offers a compelling story to go with it. Moderate narratives "mix story with facts and a
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Ebooks and Audiobooks

I have rarely listened to audiobooks because my brain travels to different places all the time and I cannot pay attention. Most of my time spent listening to audiobooks is pressing the rewind button! However, my dad is an avid audiobook listener because his office is a two-trailer semi-truck, and it helps him to pass the time while expanding his mind. He loves to tell us all about what he's reading, whether it's a piece of classic literature, a thriller, a mystery, or a history book. One regular patron at the library is blind, so he comes in to check out over ten audiobooks at a time. He keeps a binder of all the authors and books he's read and marks all the authors he and his wife (who is also blind) do not like so that we no longer give them that author. He and his wife love thrillers and mysteries and know practically every author publishing in that genre. Those two patrons and my father are a fantastic example of the power and necessity of the audiobook, and how despite
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