Week Three Prompt

1. The fourth book in the Anita Blake series is The Lunatic Cafe published January 1996.
   
   I found this title by doing an author search for Hamilton, Laurell K. in Novelist.  I clicked on the Series tab and then chose the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series.
2. The majority of Barbara Kingsolver's fiction titles are leisurely paced.  One book I could suggest from the Read-alikes list for Prodigal Summer is The Queen of the Big Time by Adriana Trigiani.  The pace is fast and the storyline is character-driven. However, knowing that the reader specifically liked the descriptive writing style, a suspense novel such as The Twenty-Seventh City by Jonathan Franzen or The Miniaturist, a plot-drive historical fiction, by Kunal Basu might be worth checking out.
   
   In order to find the last two titles, I went out and did a search for books with a writing style of descriptive or lush that were fast-paced.
3. My first suggestion would be Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden about a girl sold into slavery and her journey from Japan to New York set in the early part of the 20th century.  The book was so popular it was made into a movie.  Another recommendation would be The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery.  It is a historical fiction set in late-nineteenth-century Japan about a tea advisor and an American girl, nine-year-old Aurelia who describes life as the tea advisor's servant.
   
   To find these titles, I did a search for Japan and used the refine options on the left hand side to choose Fiction titles for Adults - Genre Historical Fiction - Writing style - Richly detailed.
4. I may ask the patron more about why they liked Well-Schooled Murder.  It appears the patron likes suspense, but not violence or too much gore.  This tells me that they may do better with well-written witty mysteries.  A similar read would be the Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James mysteries by Deborah Crombie.  The first book in the series is A Share in Death.
   
   I used the Read-alikes list on the right hand side of the page after looking up the title Well-Schooled in Murder. I felt like some of the suggestions leaned more towards the violence and creepy-factor the patron didn't like.  I felt the Crombie series was the closest to the George series based on the deliminators (storyline, tone).
5.  I didn't really like the read-alikes I saw when I title searched World War Z.  I did a search for zombies, limited to adult fiction, and set the pace to fast.  One of the books that caught my eye was Omega Days by John L. Campbell.  The description lends itself strongly to the same sort of plot device used in World War Z and The Walking Dead.  I knew I was on the right track because World War Z was one of the read-alikes that came up under the title.

How I Find Books:

One of the sites that the librarians at the Mishawaka-Penn-Harris Public Library reference daily is Fantastic Fiction. (http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/).  We use it to help patrons find the next book in a series or other books/series a patrons' favorite author might have written.  We also reference the site (along with Amazon) to let patrons know when the next book in a series will be published.

I have begun to use Goodreads more, especially to help my teens find other books that interest them.  They seem to always want the latest and greatest.

While the Juvenile Series and Sequels database from Mid-Continent Public Library (http://www.mymcpl.org/books-movies-music/juvenile-series) contains children's selections, they have also included YA series and series as well as books that explode in popularity and end up spanning two or all three areas (Children's, Young Adult, Teens).  

Adventures in Secret Shopping

On Friday, January 23, I took my husband and daughter to a nearby library for my RA Secret Shopper assignment.  It was a library I had never been to before, so I felt that would add to my ‘lost patron’ persona.  Upon entering the building, I saw a large ceiling sign that said “Check-out” hanging over some self-check stations.  The Children’s area was to my immediate right.  The Teen area was found along the middle right of the room.  On the left hand side, another large ceiling sign said “Ask Here.”  Two staff members were seated below the sign at a desk.

I spent a few minutes roaming around.  The library is currently in the middle of shifting their collection.  I went in search of a book for the Mystery annotation assignment and the mystery shelves were empty.  I double-checked the computer to make sure the book I wanted was there.  I then spotted a staff member with a full cart and located the new area for Mysteries.  I made a comment about moving the mysteries.  The staff member smiled and nodded, but did not ask whether I needed any help finding a book.  I smiled, moved to the next range over and found my book, roamed around some more, and then headed to the “Ask Here” desk.

The staff member looked up right away and asked me how she could help me.  I explained that I had been on a reading spree lately and that I was having trouble finding something else to read.  I told her that I really loved romantic suspense and was hoping she would have some suggestions because I felt like I had read EVERYTHING.  She smiled and asked me to take a seat beside her.  Her computer was a large screen Mac so we were both able to see the screen.

She started off by pointing to my mystery book and telling me what a great book it was, giving me a synopsis without giving anything away.  She then told me that the library’s catalog was linked to Novelist which is a database that gives reading suggestions.  The first question she asked me was to give her the name of a title or author that I had last read.  I mentioned that I had gone through all of the Janet Evanovich books and had also read everything by Stephanie Bond.  She had not heard of Stephanie Bond so she started there.  I pointed out a title I had read and she clicked on it.  She went through the process of scrolling down and pointing out the Novelist information, including 4-8 suggested read-alikes.  Some of the read-alikes were farfetched and she agreed that it wasn’t perfect.

Above:  Screenshot of the Library Catalog - Novelist suggestions

For some of the read-alikes, I mentioned that I had already read them.  For others, I said that I had tried them, but I hadn’t really enjoyed them.  She asked me what it was about the Bond and Evanovich books I liked. I told her I enjoyed humor infused with the romance and suspense elements.  She switched from Bond to Evanovich and we went through a few more titles.  The suggestions were closer to what I like to read, but they were still limiting depending on the record.  She then showed me how to find Novelist via their database listing (http://libraryforlife.org/our-databases) to cross-reference books or titles the library may not own.

Before the interview concluded, the staff member also mentioned the Book Talkers book club that is held at the library the third Monday of the month at 11:00 a.m.  The book club is actually more of a readers’ advisory round table than a book club where a specific title is assigned.  I told her I might have to play hooky from work and check it out some time!  She gave me a post-card sized advertisement for the book club and I told her that I would try some searches myself on the computer near the mystery books.

Overall, I felt the transaction was extremely successful. I felt bad going in and being “sneaky,” so I don’t think my career will be in secret shopping anytime soon.  Towards the end of the interview, I did tell her I was working on my Master’s degree (I just didn’t specify library science however!).  The staff member was very pleasant, definitely not condescending in any way, and very interested in showing me the extras available in the catalog.  Admittedly, since MPHPL uses the same catalog, I had knowledge that Novelist was linked to the catalog, but I didn’t realize the full extent of its usefulness until today!  I’ve always showed patrons Novelist via our databases page rather than our catalog.  In the future, I will be incorporating more training via the catalog so the patrons do not have to leave one search tool for another or toggle between the tools.  The staff member/librarian listened very well to me and just from her calm, relaxed manner I do feel that she has a lot of experience and/or training in RA.  If there was really anything missing from the whole experience, it would be that she didn’t give me her name and I didn’t see a nametag. 

By the time the interview wrapped up, I had to pull my husband and toddler away from the teen area where my husband was teaching my daughter the fine art of playing NBA on the Xbox 360.  (Huge flat screen TVs – I’m so jealous!).  I went back to a catalog and did some trial searches myself.  I didn’t hang out at the catalog long and I left with only the book I initially grabbed.  The staff member had moved on to another project at this time. 

Overall, while the staff member/librarian did not use any print resources, I think the sources she offered were the best for my needs and she got bonus points for plugging a related program.  

Reading Profile

I love to read, but unfortunately between school, work, and being a mom to an active toddler, I rarely get the chance to get lost in a book just for fun.  My favorite genre is romantic suspense.  I stumbled across this genre about five years ago and I was instantly hooked. I also enjoy mysteries and the occasional classic.  My least favorite genre is westerns with historical fiction a close second.  The only historical fiction novels that I like have to have an additional element such as mystery to keep me invested.  Currently, I am reading Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell for the second time this year because it is the book we are discussing for my February YA Lit Lover's Goodreads Book Club.  You don't have to be a patron of the Mishawaka-Penn-Harris Public Library to join.  Check it out at https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/136034-mphpl-teens.

On the left, you'll find my top five books of the month.  It's a mix of children's, teen, and adult books because I like reading all along the spectrum.  I tend to read books in series rather than stand alone books. It's a good feeling to invest in characters and have something familiar to look forward to every year (or agonize over if the author is a slow writer!).  I have also started reading urban fiction so one or two of those titles might pop up on my top five list in the upcoming months!

My top five series of all time are:

1. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
2. Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich
3. Heather Wells series by Meg Cabot
4. Bodymovers series by Stephanie Bond
5. Dollanganger series by V.C. Andrews

My top five stand-alone books of all time are:

1. Landline by Rainbow Rowell
2. Dracula by Bram Stoker
3. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
4. A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks
5. The Other Side of Midnight by Sidney Sheldon (yes, it did have a sequel, but the first book can standalone!)

I'm looking forward to the genre exploration because it will give me a chance to read new authors in some genres I love as well as explore new genres that I've previously avoided.

YA Blockbusters: 2015 Movie Round-up Edition

2015 looks like it is going to be a HUGE year for teen movies.  A large number of these movies are book adaptations, others are sequels to popular franchises, and the remaining few just look like they're going to have wide-spread appeal.

So, without further ado, here's the 2015 awesome movie round-up:

• March 20, 2015 - Insurgent.  As long as I can continue to forget that Allegiant exists, I will love this movie.
• May 1, 2015 - Avengers: Age of Ultron.  
• May 15, 2015 - Pitch Perfect 2.  I can't count the number of teens who absolutely love Pitch Perfect.  No bets needed that the sequel will be just as popular.
• June 5, 2015 - Paper Towns.  Building off the success of Fault in Our Stars, Paper Towns should prove to be popular, but probably NOT as much so as FIOS.
• June 12, 2015 - Jurassic World.  Dinosaurs, action, blood, a decades-old successful franchise = enough said.
• September 18, 2015 - Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials.  
• November 20, 2015 - The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Pt. 2. While I hate that they went the Harry Potter and Twilight route, I can't wait to see Part 2!
• December 18, 2015 - Star Wars Episode VII:  The Force Awakens.  I admit I'm not a huge Star Wars fan, but I graduated with the new villain of the franchise (Adam Driver) so I'm going to play catch-up and join the legions who can't WAIT for this film to come out!

For the kid in all of us, other notable 2015 movies include the new Spongebob Squarepants film, Peanuts movie, Minions, Pixar's Inside Out and The Good Dinosaur.

Grab your 3D glasses, some popcorn, and kick back - it looks like a great year at the movies!