Week 11: Prompt Response

I personally love e-books. I love how I can keep an entire library in purse and bust it out whenever I want to. I also love physical books. I love having books covering my bookshelves at home. I love looking at them, seeing them, and smelling them (yea, I'm weird). I know a lot of people who avoid e-books because they don't want to give up physical books, and I say why can't we have both? A library on the go and a library at home? I don't think reading an e-book affects a persons knowledge of the genre at all. Why would it? It's the same thing, just more compact and portable. I think having the ability to change the font, spacing, and color of text is beneficial to readers because not everybody reads the same way. It's nice to be able to customize the book to your liking, and I think it helps a persons ability to read it quicker. Large Print lovers can make any book large print, rather than waiting for the Large Print to become available at the library.

I know a lot of people who prefer audiobooks to e-books because they feel like they can listen easier than they can read. It's nice to have the ability to "read" while driving or even at work.  I began listening to Amy Poehler's Yes, Please! because I heard it's more fun to listen to the author read the book to you.  I thought it was funny, but didn't finish it in my rental period time (too much rewinding) and never went back to it.  I think a lot of people enjoy listening to comedians reading their books

because it is a little like listening to a comedy show.  I personally do not have much experience with audiobooks and I have a harder time finishing them than e-books. I think it's easier for me to get distracted while listening, and then have to rewind and listen again. I honestly think I've never finished an audiobook in its entirety before. One of my close girlfriends is the complete opposite, and will not read books, she will only listen to the audiobook format. To each their own!

Book Club Experience

            I attend a monthly book club with a sometimes-large group of girlfriends.  The size generally varies as some months more people can make it than others.  It’s usually one of the only times I get out of the house each month, so it’s something I very much look forward to.  It also allows for me to read books that I normally wouldn’t pick up for myself and forces me to finish them so that I can participate in the discussion.  This past month I attended a book club for the book I read for our week three annotations, The Real Michael Swann.  I did not pick this book out, it was chosen by one of the other ladies (we rotate picking the books) but it happened to fit in well with this class!

            This week’s book club started with a small socialization over the food and drink table, as it normally does while we wait for all the members to arrive.  Once everyone is there (or majority of people – usually there are a few late comers) we start.  We started this month on time at approximately 7pm and gathered in the living room of one of the members houses.  The house always rotates as well, so we’re at a different place each month.

            Our book clubs are led differently each month, as the host generally determines how the night will go.  The host this month decided to prepare a list of questions that she put into a jar for each member to pick out and ask the group.  She started by removing a question and reading it to the group and waiting for the other members to chime in their responses.  Then the person next to her would pick her question, and the same would occur.  If the question picker wanted to answer the question, they were able to, however it was not required that they give an answer.  All of the questions were based on the plot – some “what if?” questions, some “what did you think about…” questions, but all of the questions were open-ended, no simple “yes” or “no” answers could be given.  Everybody participated in the discussion because everybody read a question out of the jar.  Some of the ladies had not finished the book, so they participated a little less than the ones who had read the entire thing.  This is also a common occurrence at book club as most of the ladies in the club are working moms who find it hard to finish a book in the allotted time period (and no judgment from anybody else – finishing the book is not a requirement, just appreciated more).  There are always two members who seem to speak up more than the rest of us, and a lot louder at times, but I wouldn’t say that they steal the spotlight of the club – they’re just more passionate about some of the books we read.  One of the rules we have for our club is that you can’t pick a book that you have already read.  In the past, there has been some awkwardness where a person will choose their “favorite book EVER!” and a lot of people actually really disliked it.  It causes a lot of tension during the club, and some people are generally afraid to speak up if they didn’t like it because they don’t want to hurt the book choosers choice.  I really do like this rule and I feel that since enforcing it we’ve had more positive experiences during book club.

            This month’s book was completely different from the books people generally choose for the club, which was a nice change for me because it was a really quick read, and a thriller.  (Two things I am always seeking out when choosing a new book).  We read a lot

Please not another WWII book, Violet!

of non-fiction books (one of our women is obsessed with World War II based books so those have been chosen quite a few times) and a lot of cultural and contemporary reads.  I have to admit, I struggle to finish a lot of the books for our book club because they are usually a lot longer and more difficult than I am used to, but it opens me up to so many books I would normally pass over.

            As I’ve stated previously, book club is my favorite day of the month.  I love that each month is a totally different experience, due to different hosts and a variety of different material.  I feel that attending a book club monthly has helped me with my readers advisory at the library and has given me experience in a lot of different genres I normally wouldn’t have picked out for myself.

Special Topics Summary: The True Crime Boom

True crime has been discussed for centuries, and it doesn’t seem to be going away any time soon. We are currently experiencing a True Crime Boom, where documentaries, podcasts, television series, books, and audio-books are being released at a record pace. There are many ways in which libraries can capitalize on this trend, but it’s important to also understand where this trend is coming from and what is drawing people to the true crime genre in order to do so.

True crime has always been something that fascinates people. The history of the true crime genre dates way back to the 1550’s in Britain, when authors and printers would release pamphlets describing shocking murders that happened in the area. Truman Capote can be credited with modernizing the true crime non-fiction genre, with his work In Cold Blood.  This book was released in 1965 and it deliberated the murders of four family members in Holcomb, Kansas. 

Flashforward nearly fifty years to the year 2014 when the podcast Serial by This American Life was released and reignited a flame in what is currently known as the True Crime Boom.  Serial is a true-crime investigative podcast about the 1999 murder of eighteen-year-old Hae Min Lee.  Lee’s ex-boyfriend, Adnan Masud Syed, was charged with her murder and sentenced to life in prison.  The popularity of this show skyrocketed partially due to the commotion it caused all over social media.  Within a short period of time, you couldn’t go anywhere without hearing about this podcast.  

Following Serial, the docuseries Making a Murderer was released by Netflix in the year of 2015.  This ten-episode series told the story of Stephen Avery, a man who was wrongfully convicted of rape and attempted murder and spent eighteen years in prison, and then was charged again for the murder of someone else shortly after being exonerated. What drew most viewers to this show was the investigative aspect of it.  

Libraries can capitalize on this growing trend by promoting their materials in ways that attract patrons.  Catchy displays would be a simple and easy way to promote materials, but there are so many other things that libraries can be doing.  Programs that are centered around showing true crime documentaries at the library followed with a discussion about the documentary that was watch could gather support of community members interested in true crime. 

 

Week 8 Annotations: All We Ever Wanted by Emily Giffin

All We Ever Wanted

By Emily Giffin

Synopsis:

Nina Browning was born into a middle class family, but married into riches.  Her husband sold his tech company, and now her family has more money than she had ever dreamt of.  Nina attends fundraisers and charities with the towns upper-class, but since acquiring this extra cash, has felt like an outsider in this world.   Nina’s pride and joy is her high school aged son, Finch, who was recently accepted into Princeton University. 

Lyla Volpe was raised by her contractor/Uber-driving father after her mother ran out on them when she was only a toddler.  They live paycheck-to-paycheck, yet, Lyla is able to attend the towns most prestigious high school on financial aid.  She has been crushing on Finch since first laying eyes on him, and when he invites her to a party at his best friends place, she happily agrees.

It was at this party where every ones lives were turned upside down.  After having too much to drink, Lyla wakes up in the morning to find out a semi-nude photograph with a racist caption was taken of her at the party and sent around the school.  The photograph was sent from Finch’s phone.  

This book is about how one persons terrible decision, can affect so many lives around them.

Characteristics of Women’s Lives and Relationships:
- Tone/Mood: The tone of All We Ever Wanted is realistic AND provocative.   It is emotional, and relatable.   It delves deep into issues that teenagers face in this day of age, and doesn’t hold back. 
- Characterization:  This book is centered around two female characters, Lyla and Nina and the relationships with the people around them.  Lyla’s focus is her relationship with her father, who is trying to protect her throughout this scandal.  Nina is definitely the primary focus in this book, as she is at a crossroads trying to figure out if this is the life she wants for herself.  Lyla’s the secondary focus, and is tied in when the scandal occurs. 
- Storyline:  A sentence from The Reader’s Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction particularly stood out to me because of its exact depiction of All We Ever Wanted, and that was “This sprawling story examines how life changes people and how people change with life’s vicissitudes...” (p. 158).  This is so true of All We Wanted because Nina is convinced that she and her family would be a lot better off had her husband not sold his tech company and brought them into riches.  She believes that this huge life change changed her husband and her son.
- Frame/Setting: The issues discussed in this book are current issues that teenagers and their parents face today.  Issues involving technology, social media, revenge porn, online bullying, rape, and abuse are all discussed in this book.  This is a characteristic of the genre because, as discussed by Saricks, “Currency of issues constitutes part of the appeal of this genre” (p. 159).  We also learn a lot about the background of the characters (the story of Lyla’s mom running out; Nina’s high school sweetheart and the end of that relationship) which helps to frame the story. 
- Style/Language: The story is told from three different points-of-view, Nina, Lyla, and Tom (Lyla’s father).  Email exchanges and text messages are thrown into the chapters, making it a more modern style. 
- Pacing: The pace of this book is a leisurely pace.  The timeline of the book seems to be about a month long, maybe less, with some flashbacks thrown in for good measure.  The read is completely engaging and quick, due partly because of the twists and secrets and keep coming out. 

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Read-A-Likes:

If you enjoyed All We Ever Wanted, you might also enjoy these similar books:

• The Perfect Couple by Elin Hildebrand
• Not My Daughter by Barbara Delinsky 
• The Goodbye Year by Kaira Rouda
• Testimony by Anita Shreve
• A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult

Week 7: Prompt Response

I, for one, am a huge fan and supporter of celebrity inspired book clubs. When I’m struggling to find something to read, I’ll google “Reese Witherspoon + Book Club” and see her latest picks and suggestions. As the article Celebrity Book Clubs Create Virtual Reading Community by Angela Liao noted, she also has an Instagram page for her book club recommendations, which I happen to follow. Never for once second had I questioned her motive behind posting these books publicly. Reese Witherspoon is a producer, an actor, and an avid reader. She isn’t posting these books so that she “looks intelligent” to her followers — she IS intelligent.  I’m also certain she is posting about books that she loved in order to see how many other people feel the same about a certain book.  As a producer of films and television series, this is an intelligent move for her.  Not only is she getting her fans to read more often, but she is also planning for future moves in her career.  

Also, if celebrity book clubs are getting more people reading books... then I’m 100% for that.