Week Seven Prompt Response

For this week I have been tasked to explore authenticity within the realm of book culture. As one can imagine, the concept of authenticity can take many forms. However, for the sake of focus, I will be discussing the controversy surrounding the fiction book, American Dirt - a book staring a Mexican woman that was written by a white woman. Throughout the narrative in the book, readers noted that there were issues in how Mexico was represented in addition to how the book reinforces hurtful stereotypes about Mexican individuals.

While this controversy is not new, interestingly, it is new to me. When this book was first published, I was working at a library, but I was simply a shelver at the time, and admittedly, I was not well-versed in modern fiction books, as that has never been a literary interest of mine. If I do read fiction books, I prefer urban fantasy or YA fiction instead of relationship fiction, which seems to be the most popular form of fiction.

In a Texas Monthly articled called The Real Problem with American Dirt, the headline reads "No, it's not that the author is white" (Santos, 2020).

Actually, and if I can be so bold, that is exactly the problem.

White authors can, in no way, fully understand the complexities of what it means to be Mexican. There are also many authors who are not white who struggle to have their story told. Why should we listen to stories about Mexican life through a white lens when we can listen to stories about Mexican life through a Mexican lens? 

This discussion brings me to the topic of cultural appropriation.

White people have a long history of appropriating culture narratives for literature and other forms of art. While this was more socially acceptable a hundred years ago, it is less socially acceptable now (although it was never appropriate). White people have more opportunities, and they often experience less hurdles in getting their voice out there or heard. 

As information professionals we must actively advocate for the inclusion of non-white voices in literature. Subsequently, we must also speak out against authors who appropriate non-white narratives. In each fiction novel we encounter, there are still grains of truth within them. With this line of thought in mind, fiction, in many ways, is still based in reality. And this is a wonderful thing - those small grains of truth are truly the elements of a novel that make it come alive, that make it memorable and immersive. When information professionals advocate for more "truthful" fiction, we are advocating for, quite simply, a better reader experience.

References

Santos, R. (2020, February 5). The real problem with 'American Dirt'. Texas Monthly. 

Horror Annotation (Elsewhere by Dean Koontz)

GENERAL DETAILS

• Title: Elsewhere
• Author: Dean Koontz
• Published: October 6th, 2020
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Length: 365 pages
• Series or Stand-alone: Stand-alone
• Genre: Horror/thriller
• Geographical Setting: Suavidad Beach, which is a fictionalized version of Laguna Beach, CA
• Time Period: Present day 

BOOK SUMMARY

Jeffy and Amity have a pleasant life and home in Suavidad Beach. But one day, a local vagrant, Ed, instructs Jeffy to take care of a mysterious box - "the key to everything," as Ed calls it. Initially, Jeffy takes the box to appease Ed, thinking that this eccentric old man must be on the verge of dementia, but a fleet of special agents show up to Jeffy's house the next day. As Jeffy and Amity begin to realize that this box may actually be the key to something, they accidentally activate it. Other worlds and realities become possible, and as the father-daughter team traverse the multiverse, their world becomes increasingly dangerous. 

CONNECTIONS TO THE HORROR GENRE

• Elsewhere was written by Dean Koontz, who is one of the most famous living authors in the horror genre alongside Stephen King
• While this book has a strong science fiction overlay, such as an exploration of parallel worlds, there are still elements of the horror genre (a potential big evil, for example) that are organically woven into the plot
• This book has a strong foreboding sense, even from the beginning of the book, which fans of the horror genre will appreciate
• The villain in this book has overtly sociopathic and sinister tendencies that readers will note throughout this character's cruel and persistent inner dialogue
• SPOILER ALERT: Many of the worlds that Jeffy and Amity explore are darker than our own, which further fuels the story's horror overlay

KEYWORDS AND THEMES

• Fast-paced
• Horror
• Science fiction
• Parallel universes
• Unsettling
• Thriller
• Father-daughter relationships
• Suspense

READ-ALIKES (FICTION)

A note: All of these book include an exploration of parallel worlds combined with suspense and family relationships - all major themes of Elsewhere.

A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray (2014)

All the Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai (2017)

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch (2016)

READ-ALIKES (NON-FICTION)

A note: The following books are all focused upon the science behind and the feasibility of parallel worlds, which may be of interest to readers who enjoyed this particular aspect of Elsewhere, especially since parallel universes played such a significant role in this book. Additionally, each of these books is by a well-known scientist who specializes in this concept.

The Hidden Reality by Brian Greene (2011)

Parallel Worlds by Michio Kaku (2004)

Parallel Universes: The Search for Other Worlds by Fred Alan Wolf (1989)

Week Six Prompt Response

For this week I will be presenting a creative way to promote horror novels to local library patrons.

Interestingly, when I worked part-time in the adult services department at a previous library, I actually pitched a horror book club to my manager, and I still believe that this is a fantastic way to engage a large group of library patrons and introduce them to the horror genre. 

It's important for book clubs to have names that are either interesting or descriptive. With this in mind I decided to call my horror book club Twisted Roots: A Journey into Horror and Speculative Fiction.

Throughout my time as a librarian, several patrons have asked me about horror book clubs, so there truly seems to be a need in my area for one. Additionally, since horror novels can contain distressing topics, a book club can provide a "safety in numbers" appeal when approaching literature that can be highly disturbing. For this reason, I would propose that this book club has a social component - a private Facebook group for people who attend the book club or simply want to discuss horror literature with other local library patrons.

Kirkus-Style Review

 MY DARK VANESSA

BY: TIFFANY SHAW-DIAZ - RELEASE DATE: MARCH 10, 2020

A smart and ambitious 15-year-old enters into a relationship with her 42-year-old English teacher.

"I want it to be a love story. I need it to be that," lamented Vanessa Wye, when reflecting upon her relationship with her significantly older English teacher, Jacob Strane. When Wye was only 15, Strane began to groom her within the walls of her school, "From the way you write," Strane mused, "I can tell you're a dark romantic like me. You like dark things." What ensues throughout the narrative is a heartbreaking and gut-wrenching account of a doomed relationship that is rife with an unsettling amount of graphic detail. "He touched me first, said he wanted to kiss me, told me he loved me," Wye commented. "Every first step was taken by him." Wye's account of her abuse is woven into a non-linear plot that mixes present with past, all with the backdrop of the #metoo movement and other women, specifically former English students, who have come forward about Strane. As Wye begins to fully understand the psychological impact of her relationship with Strane, everything she thought she knew, including her perception of her relationship with Strane, begins to unravel. "I was an obvious target," Wye noted. "He chose me not because I was special, but because he was hungry."

This is a stunning debut novel that will haunt you for months, if not years.

Week Five Prompt Response

For this assignment I have been tasked to answer some questions posed by my instructor. I will post a summary of those questions along with my responses in italics. 

Ebook-only publications often do not receive many reviews, unless that book is published by a well-known author. How does this affect collection development?

Naturally, this bias towards well-known authors can push collection development towards an overrepresentation of popular authors and an underrepresentation of lesser-known authors, who may be a member of a minority group. It is difficult to become a published author, and there are certain groups of individuals who simply may not have the connections and resources to publish their books through traditional means. When libraries embrace ebook-only releases, they are narrowing the privilege gap in the publishing industry.

Based upon the provided reviews for an ebook-only romance novel, would you buy this book for your library? Why or why not? Are the reviews reliable? 

First, I would like to emphasize the silliness of the romance genre. Many of the review pointed out the outlandishness of the plot (a sexy billionaire who is the CEO of Winter Inc. but, for some mysterious reason, does not like Christmas himself); however, most romance novels have outlandish plots, so I do not view this as a particularly cutting critique of this romance book in question. 

The people who reviewed this book are fans of the romance genre, I suspect, and based upon the amount of spelling and grammar errors in some of the reviews, these reviews seem to be from average (i.e. non-scholarly) readers - a typical library patron. I would consider this a reliable source. Public libraries directly serve non-scholarly individuals, and it is important to consider the perspectives of people who do not have advanced degrees or any degree, for that matter. 

I cannot emphasize this enough: The opinions of non-professional readers are just as important as professional readers. 

Now, would I personally add this book to my library's collection? Sure, I would. While the reviews are not glowing, they are still positive overall. This book seems to provide a cozy and clean Christmas read, and this is something that many library patrons like.

After reading some reviews about the popular memoir, Angela's Ashes, how do you feel about adding this book to your collection? 

Each review is good, glowing even. Why wouldn't I add this book to my library? While this book does not particularly interest me, as I am not a fan of memoirs, I see the historical and cultural value of this book, and it appears that this book has emotionally moved many of its readers. If I did not add this book to my library, I would be robbing my patrons of a potentially powerful, if not life-changing, read.

Is it fair that some books are reviewed to death while other books receive almost no reviews? How does this affect a library's collection? How do you feel about review sources that refuse to print negative content? Is that appropriate? If you buy books for your library, how often do you use reviews to make your decisions? If not, do you use reviews for personal reading? What are your favorite review sources?

To answer the first two questions, it is absolutely not fair that some books receive extensive coverage while other books do not receive any coverage. By promoting some voices more than others, this can cause people and institutions (including libraries) to overvalue certain books and authors more than others. While it is important to purchase a new Stephen King book, for example, as anything he publishes would be in high-demand, what about underground authors? What if a young Native American woman has been trying to publish her poetry, but she keeps encountering racism and other roadblocks towards publishing an in-print book from a major publisher? It would be important for librarians, who have purchasing power, to ensure that they build a collection that is diverse, and as a result, librarians must read reviews from casual readers and additionally seek out books with few reviews.

In terms of publications that do not publish negative reviews, I personally find this to be concerning. Essentially, this is a form of censorship. What if a book has an overtly sexist or racist tone? What if the book's plot is, quite simply, sloppy? These are important things that must be discussed by casual and professional readers.

While I do not purchase books for my library, I still read reviews to inform my own personal reading choices, including ones for this class. Generally speaking, and perhaps embarrassingly, I most often refer to Goodreads. This is usually my first choice for reviews, since there are both non-professional and professional reviewers on Goodreads. However, ratings on Goodreads can be manipulated. I have read many underground poetry books throughout my career as a semi-professional reader, and for one book in particular that was written by a college professor, I noticed an alarming amount of five-star reviews without, well, a review. Did the professor use his influence to push his students towards giving his book five-star ratings? 

A confession: I actually never read professional reviews. My secondary review source is usually Amazon or library colleagues who recommend books as they read them. Perhaps as I grow as a librarian, and especially when I begin to have purchasing power, I will broaden my book review pool and begin to include professional review sources into my book-purchasing decisions. 

Secret Shopper Assignment

For my secret shopper assignment, I went to a small library branch within Montgomery County, Ohio. I was greeted when I neared the main desk with a smile and “How can I help you?” I asked if the librarian at the desk could recommend a good western book to read - preferably one that does not have a colonial or sexist worldview. I specifically mentioned this was for a grad school assignment. The librarian nodded in understanding, as if she had similar concerns about this literary genre. She began to look in the library’s catalogue and then walked to the paperback western section.

I thought that this genre would not be so popular, but it is, and especially in paperback form. The librarian picked up a book and read the back. She chuckled and handed me this book, which was from an incredibly popular and long-running western series. I read the back and began to laugh, too. What an absolutely hilarious summary, written in a fairly self-aware and silly tone! Perfect, I thought.

The librarian, not too long after we began to discuss my book query, even texted her husband to ask for a western recommendation, since he is a fan of the genre. Once we returned to the desk, her husband had texted her back and recommended a book from a subgenre of westerns called “neo westerns.” The book he recommended from that genre was No Country for Old Men. I remembered that book was made into a film, and from what I could recall, the film was supposedly fairly violent. Since I wasn’t interested in reading something suspenseful, I chose the first book she picked.

Soon after I checked out the book from the library, I began to read the first page. Within two paragraphs, the author graphically referenced sex and referred to women as the “weaker sex.” Considering that I did not want to read a western that is sexist, I was surprised to discover that this particular series is well-known for being an example of the “adult western” genre, which often includes graphic sexual descriptions - a natural hotbed of sleaze and sexism. 

I am not a prude by any means. I wear colorful wigs and have visible tattoos, after all, but I was a little surprised that she would steer me into that direction, especially since graphic sexual content can be triggering and/or off-putting for patrons. I would assume that an important question to ask during the reference interview would be, “Are you okay with a book that is a bit over-the-top raunchy but overall silly?” In defense of the librarian, I do seem like the type, based upon a visual assessment, that I am an open-minded reader, and that is correct, but I simply wanted to make a note of the potential oversight in this readers advisory interaction. 

One other potential oversight is that she didn’t consult any other database other than the library’s OPAC. Perhaps Goodreads has a list that might be relevant to my query? What if she had typed in “modern” or “feminist westerns” in Google? Perhaps that search would have yielded some interesting results that approach the western genre in a fresh and diverse light? Even though I am not familiar with the western genre, I have heard about the anti-western subgenre before, in which the protagonist is often Native American or a woman. If the librarian had performed a quick Google search, she may have encountered that western subgenre. 

Despite that I have addressed some minor concerns in the librarian’s readers advisory service, I am still pleased with the overall interaction. She was personable (greeted me immediately, smiled, and seemed interested) and also seemed to care about establishing a relationship with me as a reader and library patron. The fact that she checked with her husband for a book recommendation is quite sweet, actually. There are few environments like a library, where I can interact with a service professional for an extended period of time, and feel no pressure to buy or like anything. Interactions like these are gems, and for the most part, these are the types of interactions that I often have with other librarians, even as a patron.

As someone who has worked in libraries for nearly five years, and two of those years have been in reference-related fields, I can attest to the fact that the service I received at this library branch is probably similar to what I would give as well on a “good day” of mine. Libraries are a highly fluid environment where staff are often overworked and deal with one unexpected crisis after another, especially during a pandemic. When I visited this branch, it was actually quite busy, and I was thankful for the amount of time that the librarian gave me. She mentioned two books and used different means to find both of them - that’s a decent amount of personalized attention in a busy and potentially understaffed library branch. 

When she mentioned her second recommendation, if I recall correctly, I actually did not mention my displeasure of intensely violent books out loud. I merely quickly thought that and picked the first book without probing further in the neo western genre. Perhaps my nervousness with social interactions prohibited me from being an ideal patron in that particular instance? With that in mind, one must always approach each interaction in a live environment as wonderfully imperfect; however, with each interaction, both the librarian and patron grow as readers and humans.