Secret Shopper Assignment Summarized

For this assignment, I went to one of my local libraries where I am not familiar with the librarians.  Normally, I would feel uncomfortable approaching someone I don’t know and asking for help, but I worked the adult reference desk for about two years and my favorite part of my job was when people would ask me for book recommendations.  Having this experience made this a more comfortable assignment.

I approached the reference desk where a woman a bit older than myself was working. I told her that I had just finished reading the book In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware and was looking for something else.  She started by asking me if there was a specific book I had in mind or if I was looking for a specific genre.  I told her that I had nothing in mind, but I normally read fast-paced thrillers with strong female leads. She then asked me if I wanted to stick with this style, or if I wanted  something different. I told her I was open to anything, but suggested maybe keeping a little suspense or mystery in the plot. She consulted her computer for a few minutes, and then told me she found three titles that I might be interested in.  She read off three books that were definitely interesting to me, but it was the final book she named that I was most excited about.  The final book she chose was a new one called An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen. I immediately told her I had read The Wife Between Us by these authors and loved it.  I didn’t know they had a new book out! 

My readers advisory transaction was a successful one, because I was excited by the recommendations I was given.  I’m definitely going to read An Anonymous Girl, and I added the three other options she gave me to my Goodreads “to read” list.

Week 3: Prompt Response

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!
Hello! The fourth book in the Anita Blake series is called “The Lunatic Cafe”. A great resource for following book series is KDL’s What’s Next. You can search by your favorite author’s name, or by the series/book title!

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.
Another book you might be interested in is Anna Quindlen’s “Blessings”. Anna’s writing, like Barbara, is descriptive and lyrical, and the plot is about an elderly couple who find a baby on their doorstep and decide to raise it in secret. The plot definitely seems fast-paced! If “Blessings” is too dramatic, another book you might be interested in is “The Little Paris Bookshop” by Nina George. Nina’s writing style is also descriptive, and the plot is a heartwarming love story.

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 seems like it would be right up your alley. It is told from an American orphan’s point of view when she is adopted into a Japanese family in 19th century Japan. The writing is descriptive and engaging, and told at a leisurely pace.

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?
I’m not sure if you are aware, but Well-Schooled in Murder is actually part of a series (book 3) by Elizabeth George - Inspector Lynley Series. If you’d like, I could print you out a list of all the books in this series. If you’re looking for something different, “The Man With a Load of Mischief” by Martha Grimes could be fun. Similar to “Well-Schooled in Murder” this book is also a murder mystery, but with a little bit of humor to counteract the scary!

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?
“Feed” by Mira Grant is part of a trilogy of zombie books. It’s fast paced, suspenseful, and violent, like all good zombie reads. If he hasn’t read “I Am Legend” by Richard Matheson it is a great read, and was made into a movie in 2007 that gained a lot of popular attention.

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.

• “The Children Act” by Ian McEwan is about a Judge who is forced to rule on if a seventeen year old boy must get a blood transfusion that might possibly save his life, or respect his religion and let him die. This book was made into a film in 2017.
• “Bel Canto” by Ann Patchett is another one you might be interested in. This one is based on a true story about terrorists hijacking a politicians party. The film came out in 2018.
• “A Man Called Ove” by Fredrik Backman is the story of a grumpy old man who, after the death of his wife, decides he no longer wishes to live. He is set on taking his own life, until quirky neighbors move in to the house next door and give him a new outlook on life. This book was adapted into a film in 2015, and received raving reviews!

7. I love thrillers but I hate foul language and sex scenes. I want something clean and fast paced.
Two authors that come to mind are Agatha Christie and Mary Higgins Clark. How about you try “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” by Mary Higgins Clark. It is book one of her popular Under Suspicion series, and I think you will really enjoy this series! If you want to try Agatha Christie, she has a few books that have been recently made into movies - “Crooked House” and “Murder on the Orient Express”. Once you finish reading these you can check out the movies and see how well they compare!

_____________________________________________________

I personally use Goodreads for my book recommendations. I like to see what my friends are reading, and see if any titles just jump out at me. I love and trust the GoodReads rating system, and I feel like this website never lets me down. Another way I find books is by looking on Amazon’s best sellers list for anything that stands out. Sometimes, I just browse the shelves at local bookstores or libraries and just see if a cover grabs my attention. I’m guilty of pre-judging books by their covers when browsing like this. If a cover looks interesting and well done, I’ll likely check it out!

Week 3 Annotations: “The Real Michael Swann” by Bryan Reardon

The Real Michael Swann

By Bryan Reardon

Synopsis:

The Real Michael Swann asks the question, how well do you truly know the person you decided to spend your life with. 

 Julia Swann is on the phone with her husband who informs her his train has been delayed and he is stuck inside Penn Station.  Moments later, the conversation is cut short as Julia hears through the phone a loud noise, and the call is suddenly disconnected. Julia knows something is wrong when Michael’s phone goes directly to voicemail – but can’t quite figure out what. Later that evening while reluctantly watching television with her sons, BREAKING NEWS comes across the screen to inform her and the rest of the watching world that a bomb had gone off in Penn Station and it is a suspected terrorist attack.  As if that isn’t terrible enough for Julia, she finds out that her husband is the suspected terrorist, and he might still be alive. Julia races to the city to find her husband and help clear his name – but is he really the same man she started a life with?

Characteristics of Thrillers:

·     * Pacing: As with all thrillers, The Real Michael Swann hooks you from the beginning with news of a terrorist attack at the exact location of the protagonists’ husband.  The book continues at a fast pace as Julia Swann races to find out if her husband is truly alive, and if so, where he is and what really happened in Penn Station.

·     * Frame/Setting:  The professions of Michael and Julia Swann are discussed throughout the book, as Michael is struggling at work and coming home from a job interview pre-explosion. Julia left her promising career to be a stay-at-home mom to their two children.   However, readers aren’t introduced to an insider’s look at the characters’ professions, as they would be in most thrillers.  We are given a lot of details that explain how the characters got to be where they are in the story, and the details are so thorough that you can fully picture the setting in your mind while reading.

·    *  Storyline:The storyline jumps around a bit and is told from two different points of view.  Each chapter rotates from a man who was in Penn Station at the time of the explosions point of view, to the protagonists point of view.  Thrillers are layered puzzles that end with a big plot twist, and The Real Michael Swannfits this criteria to a T.

·     * Characterization:Throughout the book, Julia is trying to find her husband who might still be alive and is going against the law and against police orders to do this.  That is a commonality in thriller books, where the protagonist follows their own moral code that clashes with common practice or laws.   Another commonality The Real Michael Swannshares with the thriller genre is that Michael Swann might be a terrorist, and readers don’t figure out if he’s the good guy or a bad guy until the very end.  Thrillers often use terrorists as secondary characters, and it’s also common for the reader to not know if they’re undercover good guys or if they are actual terrorists.

·     * Tone/Mood:  The mood of this book is dark, filled with mystery and questions, but also a big energetic with the protagonist in a rush to find her husband and learn what really happened in Penn Station.   Without giving away the ending, The Real Michael Swannfollows trend with thrillers whereas no victory comes without a cost.  This is extremely true for one of the most final scenes in the book and most readers will be left shocked and dejected.

·     * Style/Language: The story was told from two point of views, as I mentioned before, one of those characters is experiencing amnesia from the blast of the bomb at Penn Station. The style and language is confused as he is trying to figure out who he is throughout the entire book.  The second character is wife and mother Julia Swann.  Her style and language are more frantic, but that of a stay at home mother and wife. Nothing about the language of this book stuck out to me.  However, the book meets the criteria of a thriller by opening with a prologue that piques the readers interest and pulls them into a storyline of investigation.   

Read-A-Likes:
If you enjoyed reading The Real Michael Swann, you might also enjoy these similar books:

-      - Defending Jacob by William Landay

-      - The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager

-      - The Things We Wish Were True by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen

-      - Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

-      - Finding Jake by Bryan Reardon

Reading Profile

My (very limited) free time these days is spent reading.  I tend to gravitate towards the thriller genre, but I’ve been trying to break that habit and branch out into other genres.  I just find thrillers to be so much fun, quick, and easy reads, and with toddler at home I need these kinds of reads!  However I do have to mention I just read an amazing science fiction book called Dark Matter by Blake Crouch that I think everyone should try right now.

Harlan Coben

My all-time favorite author is a man named Harlan Coben. His books can be categorized as suspense/thriller and they are always so much fun to read. I’ve read every adult book he has written (he also has a young adult series that I haven’t read... yet) and he currently has two shows on Netflix that he produced, and I binge watched almost immediately. I am just completely obsessed with him and all of his works.

I attend a monthly book club with a large group of women who have completely different interests, where I am introduced to books I normally wouldn’t pick out myself.  Some of these books I have to force down, which is very different from how I normally read.  If a book outside of Book Club doesn’t catch my interest within the first few chapters, I put it down and don’t pick it back up.  There are way too many good books in the world to waste time on ones that don’t capture your interest - or at least that is how I feel about it.



The book genres I’ve chosen for this class are:
Week 3 - Thrillers
Week 6 - Horror (also love that Horror and Romance are grouped together this week - but I digress)
Week 8 - Womens Live’s & Relationships
Week 12 - Non-Fiction
Week 13 - Young Adult