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!

I was initially leery of eBooks, but my family bought me a Kindle and am I happy they did! I still prefer physical books, but as I read so much - going on a week long vacation meant 7 or more books and they are heavy! Especially fantasy novels, they can weigh a ton. Now I can toss in 2 books and my Kindle and I am good to go. As I read a lot of romance, and am one of those that is not ashamed, I could care less what people think of my reading choices. So that isn't an issue for me.

I can also get books cheaper, which helps my wallet. The choice to buy a book at 2am is nice, too. I have found many authors in different genre's that I would never have read if not for eBooks, mainly because of the price. I have not downloaded any from the library, and a few patrons told me they get annoyed waiting, not being able to renew, or realizing that a new book that came out is not available on that platform. Since most of the patrons that only want to download items don't come in too often, I don't hear much feedback other than the issues above.

I have only listened to one audiobook so far. I have read the book, but heard the narrator was fabulous so I downloaded it. It was great. I like the option of speeding the narration and tried reading while listening. It was pretty cool. However, I work very close to my home and when I am driving more than an hour I usually have my minions with me and I know they wouldn't want to listen to my books. Plus, with some books I don't want them listening either!  I also don't like the idea of wearing headphones or buds, even just one in an ear because I would feel "cut off" from any conversations that may arise. 

Audiobooks are a bit hit with our patrons. Many use on their daily drives to work (usually to Chicago which may be an hour each way), these patrons may take out 10-20 at a time. Or when people are going on vacation, then they may take more family oriented books, checking out 3-4 for variety. I have noticed a rise in the use with kids, some that have developmental issues or have a harder time reading. Another thing I have noticed is that for some patrons, audiobooks have the flip-flop affect. Either they have read physical books by an author and want to "hear" in audiobook format, or they may usually only "listen" and if we don't have the next book in a series - they will take out the physical book to keep up. At my branch, many of the audiobook listeners like series, so we have been trying to make sure we have the whole set.   

True Grit

 True Grit by Charles Portis

Originally published in 1968, this publication 2010

by The Overlook Press, New York

Genre: Western

Pages: 235

Setting: Arkansas

Time Period: 1870s

I read this book for the first time two weeks ago, and oddly, could not even remember the narrator's name when I sat down to write this. It is especially odd because Mattie, who's tale this is, is one of the strongest woman protagonist I have ever read and she's only 14 when the events occurred. 

Mattie's father was murdered by a hired hand while the two were 70 miles away in a town, Fort Smith, to look at some ponies. Mattie leaves her mother and two younger siblings at their farm and travels alone to Fort Smith to have her father's remains shipped back by train. Or so she told her mother and the family's lawyer that was her purpose. What she really wants is justice - the murderer caught. And if not caught? Killed wouldn't be a bad option either. Mattie knows she can't find the murderer herself, so she decides to hire someone to find the murderer. She chooses a middle-aged one-eyed lawman Rooster Cogburn who has a shady past, and reputation, for the job as she feels he has "grit". She also makes it clear that she will be going along on the quest to supervise and assist.

The whole story takes place within a few weeks and Mattie tells it when she is an old woman. However, the crisp descriptions of the landscape, people and events would have the reader wonder if things really happened the way they are depicted if it weren't for the somewhat pious and matter of fact tone the narrator uses. To me, Mattie is the one that embodies the title of having "true grit". It is a interesting and very short book - full of revenge, justice, and adventure.

Read-a-likes (from NoveList):

The Outcasts by Kathleen Kent
Butch Cassidy by William W. Johnstone
The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt  

Classic fantasy

The Once and Future King by T. H. White

Genre: fantasy 

Publisher: Putnam and Sons edition, NY 1965

Ace edition: June 1987

ISBN: 0-441-62740-4

Pages: 639

Setting: Mythical England 

Time Period: Medieval Era

Summary: This is a story of the mythical Arthur and his court, how he grows up, is trained by the magician Merlin, and pulls the sword from the stone to become the greatest King of England. Arthur marries the beautiful Guenever and creates the famous Round Table as he gathers a group of the best and loyal knights in the land - including Lancelot, Gawain, and Galahad - to his side.

Appeals: epic story; great characterizations; wonderful world building

Tone: There are many moments that are very funny and light, but is also serious and weighty.

Pace: slow to build, then steady 

Opinion: White does a fantastic job of giving the characters depth, and the reader is given a different perspective, to possibly dislodge set preconceptions, on their actions and behaviors. He uses comparisons between these mythical beings and the real world so the reader can relate and understand. For example, when White writes about Guenever and her lot in life and offers a possible explanation for her continual attraction to Lancelot:

"People are easily dazzled by Round Tables and feats of arms...Yet Guenever could not search for the Grail. She could not vanish into the English forest for a year's adventure with the spear. It was her part to sit at home, though passionate, though real and hungry in her fierce and tender heart. For her there were no recognized diversions expect what is comparable to the ladies' bridge party of today. She could hawk with a merlin, or play blind man's buff, or pince-merille. These were the amusements of grown-up women in her time. But the great hawks, the hounds, heraldry, tournaments - these were for Lancelot. For her, unless she felt like a little spinning or embroidery, there was no occupation - except Lancelot" (473).

  

White weaves these explanations in gracefully with many of the main characters, and they do not interfere or slow down the movement of the plot - that keeps at a steady pace. The pacing is also moved forward by the huge cast of characters and all of their antics and many adventures. White's full descriptions of the time period and setting immerse the reader in Arthur's world. The Once and Future King is a book full of bravery, action, humor, quests (always the quests in fantasy!), battles, chivalry, love, honor, magic, reflection, loss and hope. Lest I forget - the love triangles, good versus evil, Christianity versus Paganism or Faery, and the mythical Camelot. It is a great work of fantasy and deserving of being called a "classic".

Read-a-likes: 

• Lady of Avalon (prequel) and The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley (Arthurian tales told from the women's perspective) 
•  The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien (epic fantasy)
•  Knights of the Roundtable: Lancelot by Gwen Rowley (historical fantasy romance)
•  Merlin by Steven Lawhead (Arthurian tale)
• The History of the Kings of Britain or Historia Regum Britanniae by Geoffrey of Monmouth translated by Lewis Thorpe (one of the first accounts of Arthur)
• Avalon High by Meg Cabot (the characters are reincarnated and are in a modern high school setting)
• The Summer Tree by Guy Gavriel Kay (first in a trilogy about 5 college students, epic Arthurian fantasy)

 

Note: If you have read any Arthurian stories, you will see references popping up in the most random places: newspaper articles, political blogs (Kennedy/Camelot), crossword puzzles, books that have nothing to do with fantasy, etc. I can only read so much of the Arthurian myths because with the majority of "romantic" or "heroic" literature before the 15th c. - or thereabouts - the story may end on a hopeful note, but not necessarily a "happily ever after" ending. And the latter are my book crack. It says something about White's writing that I fairly breezed through this lengthy book - even though I knew exactly what was coming next.

 

Booktalk

I used my daughter's laptop, recorded myself, and when I had the final version that I could cope with, I stopped. I am not sure why this made me so nuts, but it took so long that I had to do them in sections. Otherwise, I would've had to kick everyone out of the house for days.    

I

Week 7 Prompt

Thankfully, I wasn't working at a library during the Oprah years, although I was a faithful patron. I didn't watch her show either, but many of my neighbors and friends did and were sucked into the frenzy of the book club books. I have only read a few on her "list" but when my friends would tell me how one made them cry throughout the entire book, all I could think was, Why would I want to be depressed, too? The Frey book fiasco didn't really affect me. I didn't read it so I wasn't emotionally invested (or financially as I didn't buy it), and the only thing I wondered about was if he had plagiarized - which he apparently hadn't. He was just a dishonest jerk in a different way.

In regards to Patterson, it boggles my mind that people still put in requests for his books, then after they return them, tell me the book wasn't good. Especially if it was "written" with another author. This happens constantly, and I'll ask them if they want to find another author, or another series, and they just say no. Then they'll put in another request. Wash, rinse, repeat.  Patterson's books and his "empire" reminds me of Tom Clancy's. His Net Force series - which bears his name in huge letters, is written by Steve Perry and the latter's name is in very small print, which isn't lying, just seems sneaky.

There are always going to controversies about books and authors. Here is one that happened a few days ago and is still being talked about. 
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/lynn-shepherd/jk-rowling-should-stop-writing_b_4829648.html


 

Science Fiction novel

The Last Hour of Gann by R. Lee Smith

eBook

Publisher: A Red Hot Romance Erotic Novel (September 12, 2013)

1929 KB (1500+ pages?)

*Edit: I was criticized by a friend (kindly) for the length of this review - scroll to bottom for short version.

This book is like nothing I have ever read. It was so compelling I stayed up until 5am before having to go to work. It took me three days to finish it, and that is unusual. It is a long novel. Epic long. But even now, a few weeks after reading it, I still think about it often. I am not sure why it's published by an erotic publisher because it is not an erotic romance.

The story begins on a futuristic Earth, when resources are scarce and Amber Bierce doesn't have many options to survive. Her life has been pretty awful on Earth. After her drug-addict mother dies, she signs up to travel on a spaceship that is being sent to an earth-like planet for colonization and forces her younger sister along. None of the would-be colonists are prepared when the ship crashes on an unknown planet, the majority of them die, and then try to determine who will be in charge and how to survive.

The first character in the dual storyline is that of the human heroine Amber. She is stubborn, strong, loyal, practical and is quite fierce, and these qualities alienate most of the surviving humans against her, including her useless sister who blames Amber for dragging her to this "awful" planet. The other main character is the hero Uyane Meoraq, who is from a noble house and is an important priest/warrior/judge in his society. He is a zealot, can be a self-righteous jerk but also protective and caring and is thoughtful in his interpretations from his god. He is one of the best heroes I have ever read about. The author introduces these characters to the reader before they meet, so you feel you have a good grasp of their personalities. 

Meoraq is on a pilgrimage to a holy shrine, delaying his responsibility to take over as the head of his house and having to get married, when he comes across the humans. He is more than shocked to find these creatures, but believes god has put them in his path for a reason and decides to take them with him on his quest. Meoraq sees the humans as unintelligent, selfish and ugly. The humans view him as a dumb primitive and think he should help them because they are human and he is a lizardman. Yes, a 6 foot tall lizardman. Amber is the only one that realizes he is intelligent and that he refuses to learn their language because of his religion. Plus, it's hard because he has a snout. She alone tries to figure out how to communicate with him and slowly learns his language.  

Over time, Meoraq begins to respect Amber and her determination and willingness to adapt, unlike the other humans. She is opinionated and never gives up, and is nothing like the meek, silent women he knows. Amber respects him and his knowledge, and is thankful he is willing to show her how to take care of herself and her sister on this hostile planet. After a lot of prayer and meditating, the arrogant Meoraq comes to believe that god has sent Amber to him to be his wife. Amber isn't so sure, as she is an atheist, and their arguments about faith are amusing. The love story between them unfolds very slowly, as they are initially tentative allies, then friends. The transition is completely believable, humorous and is filled with a lot of reluctance - he still thinks she's ugly and she can hardly forget that he's a lizardman - but they fall for each other anyway. The trials they face on their journey are many and some are brutal - awful things happen, mainly with Amber - but even in the bleakest moments, they still have absolute faith in each other. Many of the secondary characters are annoying, mostly the humans as they are poorly drawn out, or just so whiny or cruel I was irritated that Amber kept caring about them. I found myself hoping a few would be killed off.

The world building is amazing! The author does a great job of showing us the world, as opposed to telling us about it.  As the reader sees this world from both Amber and Meoraq's perspectives - Amber thinks it's barbaric and can't shake the feeling there is something "off" about the planet. Meoraq only knows this world, so for him, it's normal. The reader is completely immersed in the alien world. You can easily visualize the animals, plants, landscapes, and colors, what the cities look like, how the alien society functions and it's religion, and even the slightest physical gestures by the lizard people is understood. The reader is reminded they are in fact lizard people, but that becomes unimportant, the alien aspect of their features becomes familiar.  Some themes touched on in the book are technological, biological and environmental disasters, faith, love, familial bonds, society, and compassion. The ending of the novel ties the recurring themes together, and leaves the reader full of hope.

This book is hard to categorize. It is very intense and not an easy read. People either love this book, or they hate it. It definitely is not for everyone. It deals with many issues that the squeamish may want to avoid - violence, rape and torture. I do not consider those aspects to be gratuitous or titillating in the least. These actions seem plausible in the context of the book and did, in fact, propel the plot along.  Romance readers may shy away from the violence and the scifi elements, and hardcore scifi readers may be put off by the romance aspect, but to me, they are missing out on an amazing book if they let those prejudices get in the way. The author described this novel as a "scifi/horror" story. I would only partially agree. It's much more than that. I would say it is also a book about strength, faith and love. It just happens in a completely different society, 6000 light years away from Earth, on an alien planet, and yes, with lizard people. While it has it's flaws, I loved this book and will be rereading it soon.  Rating: It is intended for mature audiences as it contains graphic violence, strong sexual content and explicit language.


* Since said friend told me this review is epic (and she did read book and loved it), here is the short version. Human woman leaves Earth and spaceship crashes. On alien planet she meets a lizardman and he helps her survive. World building is awesome. They go on a quest. They fight, become friends, fall in love, and yes, have sex. And no, it's not gross. Read it to believe it. Good things happen. She gets kidnapped, bad things happen, she saves herself. They save each other, the end is crazy and ties things up. There are other characters in the book. It's intense. Loved the book. I can't come up with any read-a-likes because I don't know of any. Dark scifi/romance perhaps? End of mini-review.

Mystery annotation

Cocaine Blues by Kerry Greenwood
Genre: Mystery
Published: First Paperback Edition edition (April 1, 2007)
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Number of pages: 175

Phyrne Fisher is wealthy, fashionable and smart. She is also bored of London society and when an acquaintance asks her to travel to Australia to check on his daughter, Phyrne acquiesces to go back to the place of her birth.

Taking place during the late 1920s, Phyrne (pronounced Fry-knee) settles in at Melbourne's posh Windsor Hotel, meets her colorful and recurring band of cohorts, Mac, Dot, Bert, Cec, and Inspector Robinson and quickly is immersed in dealing with a poisoning, a cocaine ring, a back-alley abortion racket, corrupt cops and communist cabbie sympathizers. She solves her mysteries with aplomb, all while dressing fabulous, finding an exotic lover, and having a true empathy for the working class, as she was once one of their members. Phyrne is sometimes called a "female James Bond" and that comparison is apt as she can do most anything, and look good while doing it. Cocaine Blues is the first of twenty mysteries featuring Phyrne. These books have been turned into a TV series. Rating: PG13.

Appeals:

• fast-paced
• unique setting
• satisfying cozy mystery

Series read-a-likes:

• Lord Peter Wimsey mystery series by Dorothy L. Sayers - set during the 1930s, initially focuses only on Lord Peter but later the series incorporates his love interest, Harriet Vane. The first in the series is Whose Body? Several of these novels have been adapted into radio and a TV series.
• Lady Georgiana Rannoch in the Royal Spyness series by Rhys Bowen, set in the 1930s amongst England's aristocrats, the first is Her Royal Spyness.
• Other classic cozies are those written by Dame Agatha Christie. One series stars the English amateur sleuth Miss Marple and another with the Belgian private detective Hercule Poirot. Most of the novels take place between the two world wars. These books have adapted into radio programs, TV series, movies, comic books and video games.