Secret Shopper experience

        It was fun and a little weird to go into a library as a secret shopper. It made me realize that it's really important to have a patron experience, and to reflect on that experience as a way to improve myself as a librarian.

        My visit was largely what I expected. The librarian at the desk that I approached was really busy (she was the only one there, though), and she asked me to wait a minute before helping me. I appreciated that and did not feel ignored - and that's a good reminder to myself that it's OK to tell a patron I'll be with them in a minute. Almost immediately another librarian came out from the back room and she helped me.

        I am a little disappointed in myself that I offered TOO MUCH information about the type of book I was looking for. I should have made her pull it out from me to see how she did it, but I just couldn't manage that. Anyway, she was typing away on her computer while I talked and I really wanted to see what she was doing! She said she was looking in the catalog to see if books were on the shelves or not. But do you think maybe she was also looking up books? So what tool did she use?

        After a bit we went for a walk in the stacks and she browsed a bit and we talked - it was very relaxing and fun. And of course, who doesn't love to talk about books they like? She found several books that were interesting to me. I was looking for mysteries (of course), and one thing she did was to pull a book she had read that was in the general fiction section. She said she thought it would be a good mystery as well. It does look interesting to me and now it's on my TBR list. I know Wyatt and Saricks (2019) talk about how genres are kind of fluid and writers don't always stay within those bounds. So I think as advisors we have to think a little outside of whatever genre the patron is asking us about.

        I definitely felt awkward doing this exercise, partly because I had to go to a place I wouldn't normally go to (and where I don't have a library card), and partly because I just feel guilty "bothering" the librarian. I have experienced that at my own library with patrons, where they apologize for asking for help. I always tell them how much I enjoy helping them and I hope they believe me. I do think the librarian who helped me had a nice time - though maybe she was wishing she could finish whatever project she had been working on!

Book Annotation #1 - Adrenaline

Author:  Nalini Singh

Title: There Should Have Been Eight

Genre: Thriller/Suspense

Publication Date:  Nov. 21, 2023

Number of Pages:  408

Geographical Setting:  New Zealand

Time Period:  Present day (2023)

Series (If applicable): N/A

Plot Summary:

Seven friends gather for a reunion of sorts in a secluded partially destroyed gothic mansion in New Zealand. It’s been nine years since their lives changed forever because of the death of one of their group, and this reunion may be the chance for Luna to understand what happened. Luna is searching for understanding while losing her sight, and as a photographer she is photographing everything around her to try to capture the memories in her mind forever.

The reunion begins happily but there are always menacing undertones surrounding the death of their friend. As the long weekend continues the tension builds. People have accidents that are life-threatening, the weather worsens and communication with the outside world is cut off. Darkness is descending on the group.

Luna must find out who is causing these “accidents.” Could it be one of the seven friends? The new fiancé of one of the friends? An outsider hiding in the huge mansion? Or has the dead girl somehow returned, to exact revenge on her friends?

Subject Headings:     Friendship – Fiction

                                    Blizzards – Fiction

                                    New Zealand - Fiction

 

Appeal:           

Pacing:  “The rapid speed at which the story unfolds is the contral appeal of these novels; all else is secondary” ( Wyatt & Saricks, 2019, p.5).

The pacing of the story intensifies as the story proceeds, and the timeframe is only a few days. The author does use memories by the main character to give the reader background information, but we stay "in the dark" about what happened in the past until the end of the book.

 Story Line:  “The common story element of all Adrenaline novels is survival” ( Wyatt & Saricks, 2019, p. 6).

Singh uses an interesting parallel to develop the story line. Initially Luna is concerned about losing her sight and resolving what happened to her friend. But as the story develops and the pace intensifies she is focused on staying alive as her sight continues to diminish. As the story ends Luna knows what has happened to her friend (she “sees” the answer to her original question), and her eyesight has become very limited.

Setting: Physical setting is “used to great effect to enhance the feeling of danger and threat that authors want to establish in their novels” ( Wyatt & Saricks, 2019, p. 9).

The story takes places largely within a decaying gothic mansion built in a remote mountain area. This bleak and brooding setting, along with the blizzard that develops during their stay, creates a mood that adds to the tension the story line and pacing create.

3 terms that best describe this book:        

    atmospheric, suspenseful, foreboding

Similar Authors and Works:

Shiver, by Allie Reynolds

Friends are stranded when attending a small reunion; psychological thriller, fast-paced, locked room.

Common appeal: intensifying pace, suspenseful and atmospheric tone

One By One, by Ruth Ware

Co-workers are stranded in a mountain chalet. 

Common appeal: intensifying pace, suspenseful and atmospheric tone

An Unwanted Guest, by Shari Lapena

Guests are trapped in a hotel and are being killed one by one. Trapped room, suspense,

Common appeal: suspenseful, locked room mystery

 

3 Relevant Non-Fiction Works and Authors

Blind Spot, by Teju Cole

Explores photography and memory, touching on semi-blindness.

Where Hell Freezes Over, by David A. Kearns

Genre: adventure writing

Common appeal: suspense, snowstorm, survival

The Great Pretender: the undercover mission that changed our understanding of madness, by Susannah Cahalan

Genre: science writing, history writing

Common appeal: mental illness, mental institutions

3 Relevant Fiction Works and Authors

A Mansion for Murder, by Frances Brody (historical mystery)

Common appeal: atmospheric and suspenseful tone, mansions

Before You Knew My Name, by Jacquesline Bublitz 

Common appeal: suspense, New Zealand author.

Rebecca, by Daphne DuMarier

Genre: gothic fiction

Common appeal: atmospheric and moody tone

 

References

 

Wyatt, N.  & Saricks, J. G. (2019). The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction (3rd ed.). ALA Editions.

Prompt Response #1

 Prompt Response #1

1. I am looking for a book by Laurell K. Hamilton. I just read the third book in the Anita Blake series and I can’t figure out which one comes next!

            The next book in the series is The Lunatic Café. 

I found that by going to the Fantastic Fiction site and searching for the author. I use this site often at work and it’s what most of my colleagues use as well (that’s where I first learned about it). I did try to find the series list on NoveList and didn’t find it. 

2. What have I read recently? Well, I just finished this great book by Barbara Kingsolver, Prodigal Summer. I really liked the way it was written, you know, the way she used language. I wouldn't mind something a bit faster paced though.

            I wonder if you might be interested in Anthill  by E.O. Wilson. It is listed as having a suspenseful tone, so it might be faster paced. It is a considered a green read and the writing style is lush and lyrical, similar to Prodigal Summer. Or you might enjoy Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. It has a romantic tone like Prodigal Summer, but is leisurely paced. Another possibility is Wayfaring Stranger by James Lee Burke. It has a similar writing style but is a faster pace, and has complex, flawed characters. Would you like to try one of those novels?

I found this information by searching in NoveList. I searched for Prodigal Summer and looked at the read-alikes presented. I read their appeal factors and chose some that I thought matched well. I found Wayfaring Stranger by doing an appeal mixer using lyrical writing, intensifying pace and complex character.

 

3. I like reading books set in different countries. I just read one set in China, could you help me find one set in Japan? No, not modern – historical. I like it when the author describes it so much it feels like I was there!

            The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery might be interesting to you. It’s set in 19^th  century Japan and has a tone with a strong sense of place and has a sweeping storyline. The Pure Land by Alan Spence might also be a good fit. It has a sweeping storyline and a thoughtful writing style. It’s sent in the 1800’s. Child of Vengeance by David Kirk is another option. It’s set in 17^th century Japan. It will have more violence in it.

I entered “historical fiction” and “Japan” in the search bar in NoveList. I selected adult and fiction as limiters, and then set writing style as strong sense of place. Then I scrolled through the list looking for books that were set in the 1800’s or before, just to get out of WWII history. I would normally ask the patron more about the time frame, but using the “not modern” term I decided to go further back in history.

 

4. I read this great mystery by Elizabeth George called Well-Schooled in Murder and I loved it. Then my dentist said that if I liked mysteries I would probably like John Sandford, but boy was he creepy I couldn't finish it! Do you have any suggestions?

You could certainly read the rest of the books in the Lynley series. So if you haven’t read the previous ones I would suggest starting with the first, A Great Deliverance. Another author you might enjoy is Martha Grimes and her Richard Jury series. The first of those is A Man With a Load of Mischief. She does bring more humor into her books and they are not quite as dark as George’s are. Another book to consider is Still Life by Louse Penny.  Like George, her characters are complex, her stories are leisurely paced and the storyline is character-driven. 

This was a fun question because I love Elizabeth George and read lots of mystery (never ready John Sandford, though). Anyway, I went to the Fantastic Fiction site to see the list and suggest the first novel in the series. Then I went to NoveList and looked up Well-Schooled in Murder to see what they suggested. I saw Martha Grimes and agreed (since I like them both). I also saw Louise Penny and agreed (again, from my own experience). I realize I have a lot to learn about RA because even though this is my area, those two author’s names did not immediately jump into my head when reading this prompt!

5. My husband has really gotten into zombies lately. He’s already read The Walking Dead and World War Z, is there anything else you can recommend?

            I suggest he tries Rise again: a zombie thriller by Ben Tripp. It is about the zombie apocalypse with a plot-driven storyline, is face-paced and has a compelling writing style. Another possibility is The Passage by Justin Cronin. It’s the first of series so if he likes it he’ll have a few more books to read (there are three books in the series).  He might also try Quiver by Jason Fischer. It’s set in England and has a strong female character but is also fast-paced with a compelling writing style.

For this search I typed both titles into NoveList. One is a graphic novel and the other is not. I decided to look at read-alikes for World War Z. I wanted ones that were fast-paced, with a plot-driven storyline and a compelling writing style, but I didn’t see any like that. So entered “zombie apocalypse” in the search bar and then limited it to adult, fiction, and those above appeal elements. I did go to the Fantastic Fiction site to check on the series The Passage is in.

6. I love books that get turned into movies, especially literary ones. Can you recommend some? Nothing too old, maybe just those from the last 5 years or so.

            You might try The Woman in the Window, by A.J. Finn. The book was written in 2018 and the movie made in 2021. It’s a psychological suspense novel. Another book would be Where the Crawdads Sing (2018) by Delia Owens. It’s a coming of age novel and is more leisurely paced. You might also try Dune by Frank Herbert. This is not a new book, but a movie version came out in 2021. The movie doesn’t actually make it to the end of the book! But there are several movie adaptations available.

I wasn’t sure how to find this information. I played around in NoveList a bit and then went to Google and typed in “books made into movies.” I found Bookbub.com had an article “43 of Our All-Time Favorite Book-to-Movie Adaptations” (https://www.bookbub.com/blog/best-movies-based-on-books-all-time). Those were all too old. So, I went to ChatGPT and asked it what are recent movies made from literary books. After reminding me that its last update was Jan., 2022, it gave me a list of five. I then put those titles in NoveList and learned that there is a genre “Page to screen”. I entered that in the keyword search and found a few more options.

7. I love thrillers but I hate foul language and sex scenes. I want something clean and fast paced.

            I would suggest you try The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown, which is definitely fast-paced and you should find it free of foul language and sex scenes. Another option is The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, which is a mystery, but action-packed. It has a creepy tone but it should be clean. A third possibility is The Reversal, which is a legal thriller. It is about a child murderer but it apparently is considered a clean read.      

Once again, I wasn’t sure how to search for this with NoveList, or in Goodreads or Fantastic Fiction. So I turned to ChatGPT (since I felt it helped on the previous question). It gave me a list of 9 books. I then took those to NoveList and tried to figure out if they would be clean and fast-paced. I am not so confident about the “clean” aspect. I found that Goodreads does tag books as clean reads, but I couldn’t really find thrillers.

Part 2 – How do I find books to read?

 

            I find books for myself in a lot of different ways. Sometimes I just browse the shelves of the mystery section (my favorite genre) or fiction (when I’m in that mood). Sometimes I search in my library’s catalog. I’ve been working on reading books set in NYC in the early 1900’s so I have searched for those. I'll put in search items like subject headings, and sometimes if I find a book that I like then I'll click on that subject heading to find more like that one. I do this for fiction and non-fiction. I do track my reading in Goodreads so it will give me ideas. Sometimes a friend will recommend something on Facebook and I’ll add it to my “want to read” section. I really look forward to hearing what others do because I feel like I’m really behind in this area. I haven’t done very much RA in my job so far and I want to get good at this!

 

Reading Profile

 Janna's Reading Profile

 

    I love to read, and I read a variety of types of books. My go-to genre is mystery, and I have read all of Agatha Christie’s novels, many of them more than once. I love the way she creates a puzzle, I love the glimpse into life in the 20's and 30's (and later) in England and other countries. I love her characters, even though some people say they are quite flat. They never seem to be flat to me.

    As I read about the different aspects of novels in The Secret Language of Books (Coleman, 2020), I was able to analyze my reading tendencies some. I tend toward cozy mysteries because I like solving a puzzle and getting to know characters. I love books that show good character development. I also love history and learning about other times and places, so I read historical  fiction and historical mysteries. I am currently working on writing a novel set in 1910 in NYC, so I’ve been reading books set in that time period.

    I do enjoy reading non-fiction, and generally have a fiction and a non-fiction book going at the same time. I love to learn and non-fiction feeds that desire. I love science and have a background in biology (my first career), but I also love history. Connected to my love of history, I also enjoy reading biographies, and I have more recently started reading some memoirs. Memoirs sometimes seem to mix a little fiction into their non-fiction.

    I am not a huge fantasy or science fiction fan, but recently read “Fourth Wing” and enjoyed that, as well as Ursula Le Guin’s “The Left Hand of Darkness.” I liked that last book quite a bit – but I liked when the characters were having conversations more than the descriptions of the action, which seemed rather tedious to me. I do try to stretch my reading interests, especially as I embark on my library career. I am trying to read some young adult fiction because that is the area where I have the least knowledge. I currently work in the youth area much of the time and would like to have a better handle on what is available there.

    I'm curious to know if any of you have particular favorites in the historical fiction/mystery area. If you have some, be sure to mention them in your comment!

Coleman, E. (2020, December 7). The secret language of books: A guide to appeal. Novelist.

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5c06ab74da02bc6a8954dab1/t/5ee1411f4e1dae403d9d60dd/1591820576584/NoveList-Guide-to-Story-Elements.pdf