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Rambunctious Readers ... final paper

Rambunctious Readers’ Loving Literature

                After reading Joyce G. Saricks book The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction approaching Readers’ Advisory in a different light is obviously easier and more logical!  “Learning to suggest, rather than recommend, was another major breakthrough.  Recommend is a word fraught with unintended meaning and emotion.” (Saricks 2)  Thus, these words assisted in Lab A and made life much simpler.

                Hence, when a teenage boy approached the reference desk two months ago, fear was not part of the equation.  Instead, listening to his frustrations about his favorite authors not being able to keep up with his demand encouraged me to locate some viable alternatives.  This intelligent high school senior said this had been the trouble with his reading history.  Quick and efficient reading skills left this young man with too few choices and a bad taste in his mouth.

                After interviewing him about his choices it was apparent he enjoyed Fantasies and Mysteries.  His favorites had been Stuart Woods (Stone Barrington series) and Lee Child (Jack Reacher series) from the Mystery/Suspense genre.  The male protagonists who kept the stories “fast-paced” and action-packed are what the young man seemed to enjoy the most.  He had read Tolkien and Eoin Colfer when he was younger and enjoyed the fantasy-aspect-world of these.  “Do you only enjoy the fast-pace and environment or do you also like character development?”  He commented he also enjoys mythology and had read numerous YA fable-like books.  Thus, I suggested he try Orson Scott Card and Piers Anthony for his love of fantasy and Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch series.  Since he had enjoyed two fast-paced “police-type” series this was a logical choice to fulfill his love of Stuart Woods and Lee Child. 

                A few days after sending this young man home with Black Echo he was back for Black Ice and Concrete Blond.  He was thrilled with the character and pacing of the tale and didn’t want to talk to me because he couldn’t wait to find out what exciting adventure Harry Bosch was going to live next!  How thrilling when a teenager can’t wait to get home to begin reading.  I had read some of these titles, like the Stone Barrington series and Lee Child series.  Thus, understanding why he enjoyed the books was easy.  After using NoveList for ideas on similar tales, the Harry Bosch sprung to life before my eyes and was a successful find.  The young man was almost done with the series last time I talked with him and he said he would be back for more ideas soon.

                Next, enters a red-headed young lady.  She is feisty like her fiery hair and I’m worried this might be a demeaning endeavor!  She explains I won’t be able to make her happy because if isn’t about a wolf (her current fascination) or another wonderful animal I might as well give it up now!  So, I picked her brain about why she actually enjoyed these stories - was it simply because animals were the “main characters?”  She didn’t say that was the only reason, but her smoky-blue wolf shirt and Siberian Husky bag told me she was slightly obsessed.  Furthermore, I’m not one to back down from a “fight” so I pulled up my big girl panties and asked more questions. 

1.       Would you be willing to tell me more about the stories and why you liked them?  What did you like about the storyline details?

2.       Can you give me an example from the book you enjoyed?

3.       If I could find the perfect book for you what would it entail?

4.       If an author could create the perfect character how would that unfold?

This young lady could now give me some amazing, helpful details.  Thus, moving on, I was able to utilize the Amazon and NoveList.  I was able to locate another wolf series she hadn’t read by Kathryn Lasky which described wolves and other animals by utilizing these animals with strong characters and beautiful descriptions of the landscape.  Wolves of the Beyond was a 5 book series that this young lady came back to tell me all about.  She read them all within 8 days and couldn’t wait to get my advice on even more!

Thirdly, I was greeted with a library patron who told me he had little time for reading (probably due to the little Karate Kid at his side).  Thus, when he read he wanted it to be worth his time.  In the past he had enjoyed Louis L’Amour and stated this was because of the action in a Western.  He said he also enjoyed the landscape and easy-living lifestyle these men enjoyed while traveling in an adventure.  I asked him more questions like, does a well-developed character matter, do you need fast or slow paced, and if he wanted it based on any historical figure from the past? His answers were brief and I suggested an author I had recently read … C.J. Box.  C.J. Box has a series about Joe Pickett which takes place around Yellowstone and involves romance, action, the “western-feel” and wonderfully described landscapes.

                Since I had also recently read the chapter about the Western genre, I also suggested he read Max Brand who was listed with Louis L’Amour in the Adrenaline section (Figure 16.2 p. 325) of Sarick’s book.  The next week, Karate Kid’s dad stopped by my desk all smiles.  He told me he loved the Joe Pickett series and was back for more, but that he also enjoyed Max Brand and asked if I had other Western suggestions.  After asking what he liked most about both authors, it was decided he should also give Loren D. Estleman a try because he liked the mystery-side of the Pickett series.

                He told me he would again stop and give me an update and possible ask for more suggestions.  This was a positive achievement because he told me from the beginning his wife wanted him to try to read more to influence his children positively.  Hence, I believe we have succeeded in this endeavor.  It is wonderful his wife recognizes the importance of having a good book in hand!

                Subsequently, an older woman stopped me or assistance.  She was flustered because of the all the series in the genre she usually reads and was tired of having to figure out what book comes next!  She said … give me a stand-alone & ONLY a stand-alone! 

1.       What have you liked most about the books you’ve read in the past?

2.       Well, if you liked historical fiction is that because of the time frame it covered?

3.       Oh, if you like more modern tales, what do you enjoy?  The era? 

4.       She said she was part Italian and would like to read some more about her “people.” 

Thus, I used NoveList and searched for an “Italian” aspect and found Lucia, Lucia by Adriana Trigiani.  This 1950 based romantic tale was rich in family “Italian” history and I discovered the family even visited the Motherland.  The feeling I received was this woman missed the “elders” from her family, so this family-loving book would just be what the doctor ordered.  Once I secured the book, she loved the cover and couldn’t wait to peruse the saga soon!  The next day, this vivacious, Italian rounded the corner almost knocking me down and gave me a big hug!  She was giggling and smiling from ear-to-ear.  The recommendation left this gray haired lady with immense pleasure and she had called a cousin who she missed dearly.  Her story bordered on an amazing book because this cousin hadn’t spoken to her in 10 years.  Tears dripped from her eyes as she relayed the phone conversation.  As she said goodbye, she hugged me again and said she was going to get another book by this author.  Pretty good day in the stacks!

Lastly, a 40 something woman stops to say she just has NO idea what to read and looks like she might begin to cry at any time.  Before she becomes more frustrated, I assure her we can locate a lovely piece of literature and not to feel flummoxed.  Thus, the interview initiates.  She said in the past she loved romance novels but now that she is older she wants to be more entertained than she did in her younger years.  She states, she doesn’t enjoy foul language in the tales and also doesn’t read to learn, but just to be side-tracked from the day.  After several more questions, like 1. Do you want to have well-developed characters?  Do you enjoy a light tone, or sordid tone?  Do you want a female protagonist?  Does the setting make a difference of whether you enjoy the story?  Do you enjoy a particular time period?  After she answered these and a few others, I used the Christy Awards site.  Since I had read several of these suggested ladies, I asked her a few more questions about whether she thought she would enjoy 1800’s or more contemporary.  She said she would like to try one of each.  Thus, I sent her on her way with a Francine Rivers and a Karen Kingsbury (and threw in a Chris Fabry) just for fun!  The next week, the frolic-y forty year old returned for more.  Her response being she would never have taken these three authors because the books looked too boring.  In retrospect the library patron was disappointed she hadn’t requested assistance before and said she was mentioning to her friends the worthwhile nature of her visit to the library.

These experiments allowed me to gain confidence in “learning to suggest, rather than just recommend.”  Patrons frequenting the library were surprised about the tools like NoveList and YALSA.  Sadly, more library visitors don’t feel confident in librarians and their skill sets.  But, hopefully after the word “gets out” that the “library lady” loves to read and encourage others to partake of the amazing world of books!

Works Cited

Christy Awards.  http://www.christyawards.com/ca_new/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&layout=blog&id=11&Itemid=56. Web, 20 April 2014.

Ebsco Host. NoveList.  Web, 12 April 2014.

Saricks, Joyce G.  The readers’ advisory guide to genre fiction. 2^nd ed. American Library Association.   2009.

YALSA.  http://www.ala.org/yalsa/ Web, 3 May 2014.