Week 12 prompt

An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth: What Going to Space Taught Me About Ingenuity, Determination, and Being Prepared for Anything
by Chris Hadfield

Where is this book on narrative spectrum?

• A mix (combines highly narrative moments with periods of fact-based prose)

What is the subject of the book?

• Commander Hadfield explains his life as an astronaut--all the training on Earth, three trips to space--and how it impacts his philosophy towards life on Earth.

What type of book is it?

• Memoir, with bits of investigative science

Articulate appeal:

1. What is the pacing of the book?

• Leisurely.  A mix of personal perspective and interesting facts make the book engaging, but not the quickest read.

       2. Describe the characters of the book

• Chris Hadfield is the "main" character.  He participated in two space shuttle flights, and acted as commander of the International Space Station during his third trip to space.  He became famous after uploading a series of videos to Youtube in which he demonstrated simple tasks (such as playing his guitar) in zero gravity.  He writes of his family and the other astronauts he flew with, all shone in a positive manner.

        3. How does the story feel?

• Educational, inspiring

        4. What is the intent of the author?

• To share not just the scientific side of space and astronomy, but also the attitude and work ethic that goes into being as astronaut--how they must be trained and prepared for anything to happen in space, where they are alone with themselves and finite supplies

        5. What is the focus of the story?

• Hadfield's career as a Royal Canadian Air Force pilot and as an astronaut, and how this work has influenced the way he views life.

        6. Does the language matter?

• Yes, technical terms are often, but always explained.

        7. Is the setting important and well-described?

• Settings range between labs and training facilities, and outer space.  The settings are important, especially the International Space Station, and all are well-described.

        8. Are there details and if so, of what?

• There are plenty of details throughout the book as the author explains his highly-technical career so that the average reader will understand.  Details may be over technology, engineering and science.

        9. Are there sufficient charts and other graphic materials?  Are they useful and clear?

• There are no charts or graphs.  There are some pages of pictures of Hadfield's life or photos he took from the space station.

       10. Does the book stress moments of learning, understanding or experience?

• All three, as it is the intent of the book to explore Hadfield's career which is full of unique experiences, and to learn and understand more intimately about what it means to be an astronaut.

Why would a reader enjoy this book?  (rank appeal)

1. learning/experiencing
2. detail
3. author's perspective

Non-Fiction annotation

Travels with Casey
by Benoit Denizet-Lewis

Publication date: July 22, 2014

Number of pages: 352

Series information: n/a

Geographical setting: United States of America

Time period: contemporary

Subject headings: dogs--United States; dogs--effect of human beings on--United States

Summary: Author Denizet-Lewis confesses to a psychologist that he believes his Labrador Retriever named Casey doesn't love him.  In an attempt to bond with his dog, Denizet-Lewis rents an RV and plots out a cross-country examination of America's dog culture.  They spend the day at a dog park in NYC, with a couple of homeless teens and their dogs in California, and the afternoon with a woman who taken to court over dog poop.  They visit Cesar Millan, a dog clinic that rehabilitated the dogs confiscated from Michael Vick, and the headquarters of PETA.  It is an enlightening journey, not just into how Americans feel about their dogs, but for Denizet-Lewis personally.

Librarian's Opinion: Throughout the book, Denizet-Lewis' humor and positivity shines as he navigates the country and his relationships with Casey and other humans.  I enjoyed reading his perspective.  As a dog person myself, I appreciated this comprehensive view into America's dog culture.  Not every story is cute, some are depressing, and some are surprisingly revealing about humans.  Portions of the book focus on relationships, both platonic and romantic, that the author makes along the way but the vast majority is focused on all aspects of dog culture.  While a good book in many regards, a strong interest in the subject matter is necessary.

Elements of the book

Narrative

This book is written more towards the narrative end of the non-fiction spectrum.  Readers new to non-fiction may enjoy that this is written more as a story of one man's roadtrip rather than a series of facts about dogs and their effects on their human owners.  In order to make seem more like a story, the author breaks up his dog-related visits with anecdotes about friends he meets along the way, the man he begins dating halfway through his roadtrip and their efforts to meet up at different locations in the country, and talk of his own family, human and canine.

Pacing

While readers are bound to find some topics more interesting than others, the books flows at a good pace.  Denizet-Lewis does not bog his readers down with long sentences, and he typically goes from one roadtrip stop to the next.  Occasionally, however, the pacing may seem off when he relates a story out-of-order.  He may have stopped somewhere or met someone that did not have enough of an impact to be related in full, but he may bring up this event in an anecdotal paragraph during a more noteworthy event that occurs weeks later.

Author's voice

Denizet-Lewis writes in a conversational, personable fashion.  As stated earlier, his humor and positivity shines through in his stories.  Even when he comes across dogs (and sometimes people) in horrible circumstances, he tries to find an optimistic angle if at all possible.  The author's voice helps blend this travelogue with animal nonfiction, and keeps readers turning the pages.

Subject matter

While the author has a personable writing style and this narrative non-fiction flows at a good pace, if the reader is not at all or only slightly interested in dogs, this may book may not be for them.  The author plans out the roadtrip stops to explore all aspects of dog culture.  He speaks to owners, breeders, and professional walkers.  He speaks with shelter workers, dog psychologists, and one of the world's leading dog toy designers.  He has two pet photography sessions, attends a dog yoga class on the beach, and stays overnight in an inn shaped like a massive beagle.  The book will delve into topics readers expect and may introduce them to new aspects of American dog culture, and amaze them with how much people love their dogs.

Similar Reads

• Off the Leash: A Year at the Dog Park by Matthew Gilbert--Another non-fiction memoir that revolves around dogs.  Similar to the beginning of Travels with Casey when the author stays a day at an NYC dog park, Gilbert spends a year visiting a Boston dog park.  A reluctant first time owner of an enthusiastic Lab puppy, Gilbert is exposed to dog culture and the pack of wacky dog owners who visit the park along him.
• My Old Dog: Rescued Pets with Remarkable Second Acts by Laura T. Coffey & Lori Fusaro--This book may be a good recommendation for those readers interested in dogs yet unsure about non-fiction.  The stories of these rescue dogs, some who were rescued from extreme situations (such as Ground Zero) and some who were adopted in to extraordinary families, are told in an anecdotal fashion accompanied with full page photographs.  The book can be read entirely or flipped through at leisure.
• A Dog's Purpose by Bruce W. Cameron--Delving back into fiction, Cameron is well-known for his dog-centric novels.  This humorous book is the first in a series.  The story follows a dog who keeps reincarnating into a new life, meeting and loving new owners.  Viewing life through a puppy's eyes, Cameron explores the great mystery of "why are we here?" and the worth of companionship.

Sorry, we talked about dogs again.  Here's my boy Zero!

Week 11 prompt

Ebooks and audiobooks are a part of our landscape. What does the change in medium mean for appeal factors? If you can't hold a book and feel the physical weight of it in your hands, how does that affect your knowledge of the genre? How about readers being able to change the font, line spacing, and color of text - how does that affect pacing and tone? How about audiobooks? Track length, narrator choice, is there music?  For this week, I want you to think about how ebooks and audiobooks affect appeal factors - also think about appeals that are unique to both mediums. Please feel free to use your own experience and that of your (anonymous of course) patrons. I look forward to reading these!

The story-focused appeal factors that Saricks uses remains the same, but these new formats introduce new, unique appeal factors.

Audiobooks are perhaps more straight forward in terms of their appeal factors, but I also admit that I don't have a lot of experience with them.  I use my phone to listen to music and podcasts, and my commute to work is two minutes if I hit a traffic light.  (Yay for only living a couple blocks away!)  I suppose a Playaway would solve the tech issue, but I would still find the "time required" too daunting.  I'm not one for sitting still, and I'm worried I will miss details if I split my attention to do another task while listening.  Yet I know for many others, listening to audiobooks is relaxing.  My mother listens to one for about an hour every night while she puts together a jigsaw puzzle.  I also know they're popular with people who commute to the city for work, and they're also lifesavers to the avid readers whose eyes are going bad.  (One of our patrons was declared legally blind a couple years ago, and every week her daughter comes in to pick up anywhere from four to eight audiobooks for her!)

Although I did listen to the BBC radio adaption of Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett, and I was surprised how fun it was.  They had sound effects, music, and celebrity to voice the different characters.  I had it in my head that audiobooks were bland.  Writing this, I'm starting to think I'm just making a bunch of unfair assumptions about audiobooks....  :)

The audiobook's hours daunt me because then I feel like I'm locked into it until the chapter or the disc ends.  A book that's thick with hundreds of pages doesn't daunt me, because I know I can read a few at a time.  Yet I know it's usually the opposite for my patrons.  There's one who's reading through George R.R. Martin's series who would normally never pick up a book that's 1100 pages, but he'll laugh about how Storm of Swords is 39 discs!  I imagine it'd be the same for ebooks...the physical size isn't there to scare patrons away from trying something new.

Ebooks are also cheap.  One of our readings touched on this and the sampling feature, and how these factors influence their reading habits into becoming more diverse.  I've done the same..."eh, it's $1.99, I wouldn't be out much to try it."  I'll use my e-reader for books I only have a slight interest in reading, or to bypass the long hold list for a physical copy at my library.  As for patrons, most questions about our Overdrive app begin "So I'm going on vacation..."  I've also noticed a growing number of busy mothers using ebooks because it cuts out adding a trip to the library from their schedule, or just reduces the number of physical lending material they need to keep track off.

I do like many of the unique appeal factors of ebooks, such as being able to look up a word's definition by holding it, or being able to search for a particular word within the text.  (Helpful in fantasy novels when I don't remember what a made-up word means or who this character with a weird name is.)  The ability to change font size is also a benefit to patrons with weaker eyes.  But I'm sure these capabilities may be daunting to others, who don't consider themselves tech-literate.

Each reader can argue pros and cons of a format.  But these unique appeal factors give readers so many more options than just the traditional book.  Between books, audiobooks, and ebooks, readers can pick the storytelling that works best for them.  As we RA librarians get to know our patrons, we may be able to help them find a way to read (or listen!) that will enhance their enjoyment and set them up to become even more avid readers.

Fantasy annotation

The Way of Kings

by Brandon Sanderson

Publication date: August 31, 2010

Number of pages: 1007

Series information: The Stormlight Archive, #1

Geographical setting: the fantasy world of Roshar, landscapes most often similar to that of deserts

Time period: n/a

Subject headings: manuscripts; slavery; kings & rulers; imaginary wars & battles; imaginary places; magic

Plot summary: Roshar is a world reduced to stone and sand after centuries of near-constant storms.  Only the most diligent scholars remember the history of the Knights Radiant, who used to protect its people, yet all fight for their legacy--mystical sets of weapons and armor, that turn the bearer into near-invincible warriors.  A war rages in the Shattered Plains between the nation of Alethkar and the peoples of Parshendi, who claimed responsibility for the assassination of Alethkar's king.  The Way of Kings follows several characters as they fight for their way in this savage world.  Lord Dalinar, brother of the late king, is plagued by visions of the past and the Knights Radiant; he becomes obsessed with an ancient philosophical tome that he believes may better civilization.  His son, Adolin, now doubts his father's ability to lead the war against the Parshendi but must stand strong with him against other lords who would see him disposed.  Meanwhile, a slave in their fighting force named Kaladin daily witnesses the true horrors of war until he realizes hidden powers within and he becomes a valuable asset to Dalinar's war effort.  And making her way across the ocean towards these men is Shallan, a young scholar who is on the path to discovering the truth between the Knights Radiant.

Librarian's Opinion: The Way of Kings is a masterpiece.  It will be a great recommendation for experienced Fantasy readers who love their genre.  However, it may not be a good spring board into the genre for new readers.  Sanderson's world is simply staggering in its amount of detail.  In order to describe all these fine details, the story is slow paced.  It picks up as the book goes on, building to a climatic battle scene worthy of the big screen, but it can be a lot to ask of a reader unfamiliar with Fantasy to wait until they are 600-700 pages in before forming any opinions.  The size is daunting and the pace does stretch to fill it out, but all those words pay back in the form of a fully realized and unique world and well-rounded, balanced characters, all of which Fantasy enthusiasts will appreciate but new readers to the genre may find taxing.

Elements of the Book

Fantasy world

To repeat, Sanderson creates a world that is staggering in its level of detail.  Roshar is a completely fantastical world, grabbing at the reader's imagination.  However, it may fail to latch on to the reader's brain.  Roshar is populated with strange crustacean creatures, spirits called spren that are manifestations of everything (from substantial things like rocks to the abstract, like creativity), and vicious weather patterns that scour the earth.  Because it is so foreign from real life, it can be difficult to picture in one's mind and thus appreciation for what Sanderson builds can be late in developing.  The book helps this issue by including art at chapter breaks supposedly done by the character of Shallan, so readers can see exactly how horses have been replaced by giant crab-like creatures.

Specialized language

Like many fantasy authors, Sanderson creates words and phrases to fit his world.  A character may wear armor and bear a sword, but this is not the same as donning Shardplate and wielding a Shardblade.  Words like "spren", "brightlord", and "artifabrian" (which is someone who creates fabrials, of course) are thrown around and may not be explained right away, if at all.  Sanderson, again like many fantasy authors, prefers to tell his story and let his readers puzzle out his world from context clues.  Perhaps the most unique thing about his language is that it is shaped by the world around it.  Storm creeps into familiar phrases, as storms are the daily curse of everyone's lives.  "Stormfather" replaces any god they might swear to and it's not unusual to hear someone say "that storming man!" when angry.

Morality tale

Fantasy tales are usually ones of good versus evil.  Way of Kings is no different, but sides are not clear.  Of course it makes for good story-telling to have betrayals, but the evil is not clearly defined.  The heroes are confused on how they might stop the coming calamity.  The evil is not confined to one person, but the sense of impending disaster is there.  The book's title is taken from a philosophical manuscript within the story which teaches lords how they should rule their subjects.  (It is not a popular text because it argues for a more compassionate rule.)  Main character Dalinar struggles to bring these teachings into practice, and in his struggle to be a more righteous man readers again see how the book is a morality tale.

Beyond mortal characters

Following the recent trend in fantasy novels, the story is told from the point of view of multiple characters, each in diverse situations.  These characters often have special gifts, which may be intrinsic or the result of magical items.  For example, warriors bearing Shards are exceptionally strong in battle and near impossible to defeat.  Shallan is gifted (or cursed) with visions of the true nature of spren.  Kaladin is also gifted with abilities that allow him not only to survive horrific conditions, but to inspire his fellow slaves.  Szeth the assassin holds strange magical powers that have not been seen for centuries.  Each character by the end of the book will find themselves and their newly-uncovered abilities tested.  (It also becomes obvious by the end that this theme of discovering hidden powers will build the main plot of the series.)

Similar Reads

• The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss--Like Sanderson, Rothfuss is another author reviving the epic fantasy genre, yet this book may be more accessible to new Fantasy readers.  Although of similar size, it is told from the point of view of only one character and its setting is much more similar to Earth.  The main character attends university, albeit a magical one, yet still panics over tuition cost and how to talk to girls--much more relatable.
• Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin--This book also introduces a fantasy world rich in detail, and tells a story through the eyes of multiple characters in a variety of situations.  Similar to Way of Kings, evil is not wholly contained to one person, but everyone can feel an impending sense of disaster as an unnamed threat gathers.  War and politics are major themes in both.
• Eye of the World by Robert Jordan-- This is the first in the fifteen-volume Wheel of Time series, which is considered a staple of the epic fantasy genre.  It also features a highly detailed world and multiple characters.  Eye of the World was published in 1990 and unfortunately Robert Jordan passed before finishing the series, but Brandon Sanderson picked up book 12 in 2010 to complete the saga.

Book Club Experience

For this observation, I attended the book club.  This club meets at 1:30 on a Monday, so I wasn't too sure what to expect.  Who would have the afternoon free...young adults who were students like myself, stay-at-home moms whose kids were in school, seniors?  Turns out it was all retirees!  (One actually was the retired librarian whose job I replaced, and I was told that another absent member was a retired reading specialist from the local high school.)

Since we mentioned him, here's my dog
 with his collection of decapitated heads
 I found under the sofa.

There were only two participants and the leader, perhaps due to the fact that it was bitterly cold outside.  (This meeting was back on February 8.)  The first ten or so minutes were spent socializing, of which I mostly to blame, because someone asked about my dog.  And I have a lot of stories about my dog.   Oops!

The members all seemed to be friends outside of the book club as well ("So-and-so isn't coming today, she told me last night at cards that she wasn't going to make it...") so the atmosphere was very relaxed.  It wasn't surprising that the conversation strayed away from the books on occasion.  In this sort of situation, the book club could have seemed clique-y, but they were very welcoming.  Maybe that's because there were so few of us, but I was asked to come back.  Neither member dominated the conversation, and everyone was careful not to talk over anyone.  One lady told me she actually worried about the club when the retired reading specialist joined, because she thought the woman would take it too seriously.

Bookmark with their schedule detailed

For this month, participants were to read a book of their choosing by Kenneth C. Davis.  If you're not familiar, he writes non-fiction on American history.  There were no repeats, and one woman (the one who was worried about the book club being taken too seriously) actually read a couple of the children's books he wrote because she "wasn't really a reader, I'm here for the socialization."  The leader had each person speak in turn about the book they read, herself included.  One lady had print-offs of the extra research she had done, so she could make her own decision on a president's career first, then see if it matched Davis'.  They all had questions for each other, and seem particularly fascinated by Jefferson's personal life.  I noticed that during this middle portion of the meeting that even though they were focused on discussing what they'd read, it was all about the content.  No one, not even the leader, talked about his writing style, or quality of his research, or anything specific to the author.

Eventually the discussion turned to recommendations of other unrelated books and movies/shows.  For example, I was asked if I had read All the Light We Cannot See and what my opinion of it was.  Then there was discussion on 12 Years a Slave, Love Actually, and another movie I can't remember that a lady had just recently watched.  Then it turned to the surprise birthday party they had all attended last weekend.  ...And then somehow got into their past love lives and current relationships of relatives.   After about twenty to twenty-five minutes of this, the leader decided to wrap up the meeting with some discussion about next month.  Everyone was to read a book by Margaret Atwood, and the leader had brought up a cart of all the available Atwood material, and let us know what was available at other branches or to be placed on hold.  One member was concerned that she wouldn't find anything to enjoy, as Atwood slants toward dystopia.

Here are pictures of the handout given to each member.  It features a review from NPR on Atwood's latest and the second sheet is a full bibliography of her works.

This book club really just felt like a social thing, a group of friends getting together for lunch (but minus the food).  There wasn't much emphasis placed on the reading(s) at all.  To be fair, there were only four of us (and I hadn't read anything) and the nature of the material also meant that discussion could easily stray from being specifically focused on Kenneth Davis to just over American history in general.   The book-focused discussion really only lasted perhaps 30 minutes of the hour and a half the club met.  How would the discussion go if everyone were to read the same book?  (If you enlarge the above image of the bookmark, you'll see that only one month actually requires members to read the same book.)  In that situation, the librarian might have tried to bring more structure to the group with prepared discussion questions.  But then again, I was specifically told that a member preferred the socialization.  Perhaps more structure, while making it a more effective book club, would have made it less enjoyable for the membership.  While I don't feel any urge to attend another meeting, I do wonder about going back and speaking with that librarian, if she feels this to be a challenge--balancing members' casual, comfortable expectations with structured discussion and reading selections that push boundaries.

RA Special Topics paper (condensed)

I explored the integration of graphic novels into Reader's Advisory.  It seems to me that graphic novels and comics are often ignored by librarians when a patron asks for a good book to read.  I argue that readers are more prepared to branch out into graphic novels now than they maybe have been in the past, and that there may be unexpected benefits to reading comics.  While there are a few unique considerations to keep in mind, we can use the same appeal factors as we do with traditional novels to match up our readers with new stories.

Librarians may be wary of recommending graphic novels.  This may be because of the negative stereotypes that have persisted ever since the 1940's.  You probably know the ones...the comics are for kids, that comics are perverted (a reaction to when graphic novels reach out to audiences who are not children).  Librarians have either avoided graphic novels themselves because of these stereotypes, or they assume their patrons hold them.  Yet if you look at popular culture, there has never been a better time to recommend graphic novels to new readers because they're probably already watching them!  Look at the popularity of superhero movies and of The Walking Dead.  Check out Comic-Con's soaring attendance numbers.  Readers may be more suggestible to graphic novels than we think.

Thriller

(Borrowing from some old projects I have done in the past, if you're interested, you can read more about persistent stereotypes here  and more about the effect graphic novels have had on popular culture here.)

Horror

Saricks appears to look at graphic novels as a genre in our textbook.  I argue that we should not, and instead we should view graphic novels as a format for storytelling, the way we do audiobooks, ebooks, and movies.  Within the format of graphic novels, we find all the genres we find among traditional novels.  This will require the librarian to be passably familiar with various materials, but that is the challenge presented by all genres.  As Saricks advises with the more niche genre of Science Fiction, fans are often enthusiastic about what they enjoy reading and are willing to share titles.  Many review sources and organizations such as YALSA publish "best of" and "top" lists of graphic novels, and there are always the Eisner Awards to consult.

While librarians can carry over the appeal factors for traditional novels to illustrated ones, there is a unique factor to now consider as well--art style.  Art is as subjective as any of these other factors, and can easily make or break a patron's decision to try a title.  For example, some will avoid any and all manga because they don't like the cartoon style.  Others may avoid hyper-realistic art if they find the sheer amount of detail too distracting.  Coloring may be an issue.  The Walking Dead is completely black and white...will a patron enjoy that?  On the flip side, would they enjoy the colorful 'splotch' pattern that overlays the pages of Scott Synder's Wytches, meant to convey the horrific hallucinogenic dream state that characters are in?  It would be best to be prepared with either the graphic novels at hand or a device handy with examples of the artwork to show the patron ahead of time.  Because while an art style may the be reason someone sets a series back on the shelf, it may also be the reason someone picks it up in the first place.

Mystery/Superhero

Graphic novels often blend genre.  When the author is not restricted to words, when their imagination can be illustrated as well, why not follow through with whatever their mind creates?  Humor is often blended into other genres, and we have begun seeing more venturous titles out of Image that blend several incongruous genres (see the caption for Saga) together.  Graphic novels could function as a way to ease readers from one genre to another, a way for them to experiment without realizing it.  We've talked about how Romance is a hard one to convince readers to try, yet when its appeal factors are dressed by those from Science Fiction?  Men read Saga for its space battles, yet they're reading about love and family, themes often found in Women's Live books.  An RA librarian could use this genre blending to help readers push their boundaries.

Sci-fi/Romance/Women's Lives

A warning when recommending graphic novels, however--any considerations like sex or violence need to be re-considered.  You may already be familiar with a patron's tolerance level on these matters.  But that tolerance may change when it comes to seeing instead of reading.  A reader may be okay with some gunshots in the climatic ending of their Thriller novel, but that doesn't mean they'll be okay with Rick Grime's blood-stained face every other page in the Walking Dead.  Sex might be alright in a book as long as its between a loving couple, but what about when those sex scenes are illustrated?  It's understandable that some readers may be much less tolerant of sex and violence in this format, but there are plenty of titles without either.  Again, it just requires the librarian to have a passable knowledge of the material.

I just quickly covered the key points of my paper, but I hope I gave you an idea of how we can bring graphic novels into RA.  If we don't lump them into one genre, but rather look at graphic novels as a format alongside traditional books that share the same appeal factor, I believe we can connect readers with more of the stories they desire.  And we know that many readers desire them, just by looking at pop culture trends!  There are new, unique appeal factors to be considered, yes, but the benefit readers may have of being able to explore a new format and perhaps a new genre in a blended title would make that extra effort worth it.