Brandy's Reads

Title: Six of Crows Author:   Leigh Bardugo Publisher:  Henry Holt and Company Publication Date:  September 29, 2015 Page Count: 462 Genre:  Young Adult, Fantasy Fiction, High Fantasy Time Period:  Location: Ketterdam Welcome to Ketterdam, where the streets are dark and the deeds are darker. When Kaz is offered a an irresistible amount of money to steal something from the impenetrable walls of the Ice Court, he knows he will need to assemble the perfect crew to do so. A crew that will be willing to follow him to certain death and those he will know will have his back when things go awry. The inner circle of misfits include a trigger happy gambling addict, a runaway with a past no one knows about, a knife wielding Wraith with ninja quietness, a Heartrender, a convict, and Kaz himself. According to the man who hired Kaz and his team, the fate of the world  as they know it rests on their success. Can they manage the heist without killing thems...

The prompt this week reads as follows: Though this week's group of "genres" all seem very different, they all have in common the fact that many people don't feel that they are legitimate literary choices and libraries shouldn't be spending money on them or promoting them to adults. The common belief is that adults still don't or shouldn't read that stuff. How can we as librarian, work to ensure that we are able to serve adults who enjoy YA literature or graphic novels? Or should we? I can't wait to read your thoughts on this. Thanks! Seriously. Are we not here to serve the patrons who walk in our doors no matter what they want to read, without judgment?  I wanted to stop there but I felt that probably didn't qualify as a thorough answer. However, when patrons walk through our door they are expecting to find materials they want to read. It is our duty as librarians to help them in every possible way, no matter their age or the materia...

I've read a few non-fiction books lately and I also keep re-reading Furiously Happy  by Jenny Lawson. I don't mean that I re-read it in its entirety all the time, but I re-read certain passages or I pick it up and just randomly turn to a part and read from there. Sometimes... it's just what I needed. It's weird how that works. So I chose to use that book for the matrix for the prompt this week. Here we have it:

Title:  Is Everybody Hanging Out Without Me? Author:   Mindy Kaling Publisher: Crown Archetype Publication Date: November 1, 2011 Page Count: 222 Genre:  Nonfiction Time Period:  Present Day Location:  N/A Mindy Kaling has written a witty and self-deprecating memoir about what it was like growing up as a chubby Indian girl in California and eventually coming to the realization that being yourself is better than pretending to be someone else. She engages us with stories of making it (and not making it) in the industry and makes us laugh with tales of dating and growing up. At times you will feel like you're sitting with your best friend having a conversation while at others you will feel like you are reading stories from who great up in LA. Either way, you are in for an enjoyable read. Women comedians Celebrities Comedians Adult Books for Young Adults Pacing Fast-Paced Tone Self-deprecating Writing Style Candid Conver...

The expanding horizon of formats for materials available to readers only help to broaden the scope of what they choose from. Obviously there are pros and cons and you will always have your naysayers on one side or the other. I could digress, but I won't.  With audiobooks, a major appeal factor I have found that isn't present in print or ebook form is narrator. This one is a huge factor me. I'm a recent(ish) audiobook listener and I will same listen to dozens of audiobooks before choosing. (Sidenote: I was also super excited when I learned of Audible's return policy. I did not know you could return  an audiobook for any reason!) As Mediatore states, some things to consider when thinking about factors of audiobooks are the following: Narrator's pacing vs. the pacing of the novel Characterization - How does the narrator interpret and differentiate between characters? Frame - How does the audio set the tone, mood, and atmosphere? What are the audible extras? (3...

Teens. Working with this age group seems to come with an all or nothing attitude. There is no ambivalence allowed. They are at in between space in their lives, discovering their independence and who they are. They come from varying backgrounds and home lives, some have friends that come with them, and some come to make friends. I love working with teens. I decided to keep this paper focused on general teen advisory rather than diving into one of the many holes I could have gone down. In 2015, the Institute of Museum and Library Services reported that there were 7.2 million attendees at teen/young adult programs. That means that there were 7.2 chances to interact with teens/young adults. To get to know them, to provide a library service to them, to recommend a book to them. While there are similarities, of course, between providing Teen RA and Adult RA, there are differences. Teens generally will need to be approached first, but with open ended conversation (while this is not a...

Title:  Mayhem Author:   Sarah Pinborough Publisher:  Jo Fletcher Publication Date:  April 25, 2013 Page Count:  339 Genre: Horror Time Period:  1880's Location : London, England London, 1888. Jack the Ripper is terrorizing the fine, and not-so-fine, citizens of the city. As inspectors and scientists work tirelessly to discover who is doing the dirty work, another madman is on the loose committing his own murders. This murderer seems to enjoy mutilating the body of his victim's differently, however, and leaves parts of her, wrapped neatly, behind for detectives to find - but never the heads. Detectives are baffled, including forensic scientist Dr. Bond. While they are sure it isn't Jack the Ripper and they have dubbed this killer the Torso Killer, they struggle to find more clues for both killers in order to catch either of them. As the story progresses it becomes clear that their may be supernatural elements at work and, if Dr. Bond can ...

I visited a library I had never been to for my Secret Shopper experience. I walked in and the staff members working the check out desk pointed me toward the reference desk (yes, pointed). After finding the reference desk, I had to wait a few moments before a librarian showed up. Once she did, she asked me if she could help me. When I told her I was looking for a horror novel, she let me know that she normally worked in the teen area but she would do her best to help me. The interaction itself was fairly short, maybe five minutes. She asked what type of horror novel I was looking for and I told her I didn’t want a Stephen King novel because I’m not fan of his writing. She asked if I was interested in ghost stories and I replied that I did like ghost stories and that zombies were okay as well. The only bonafide horror novel she suggested was The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, but it was checked out. After that, she suggested In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware and a De...

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 book they are looking for is The Lunatic Cafe . I chose this title using Fantastic Fiction and going to Laurell K Hamilton's page. 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. Using NoveList, I brought up the title. When I didn't find any of the read-alikes to fit the Writing Style and  to be Fast Paced, I clicked on the 'descriptive', 'lush', and 'lyrical' Writing Styles and clicked search. Once I did that, I added clicked advanced search and added 'fast' to the search. I would recommend The Miniaturist  by Kunal Basu. 3. I like reading books set in different countries. I ...

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