Western Annotation (The Gunsmith #363: The Death List by J. R. Roberts)

A NOTE: This is easily one of the worst books I have read in my life, so while this annotation is not a typical one (scholarly and formal), I hope that people who read this annotation find my inserted critiques of this book to be somewhat humorous.

GENERAL DETAILS

• Title: The Gunsmith: The Death List #363
• Author: J. R. Roberts
• Published: February 28th, 2012
• Publisher: Penguin Random House/Berkley
• Length: 192 pages
• Series or Stand-alone: #363 in an ongoing series
• Genre: Western
• Geographical Setting: Various locations throughout the Old West
• Time Period: Old West 

BOOK SUMMARY

Clint Adams is an ex-lawman who is known throughout the Old West for his adventures...and women. This is, until he is handed a list of 10 people who will die, and supposedly in the order in which they will die. Naturally, Clint Adams is instructed to not tell anyone about this list. 

The names on the list appear to have no connection, and in addition, these people span a large geographic area of the Old West. As the story unfolds, so does Clint's curiosity about this mysterious killer, along with this killer's connection to such a motley crew of people.

CONNECTIONS TO THE WESTERN GENRE (AND CRITIQUES)

• This book, although almost completely void of any landscape descriptions, does take place in the Old West. It is my understanding, however, that many other western books do feature more lush descriptions of America's former landscape
• While women are included in the book, they are seldom truly important to the plot and usually only serve as temporary love interests (i.e. one-night stands), mother figures, and damsels in distress to the main character, Clint Adams. Unfortunately, this is a hallmark of a typical adult (i.e. sex-filled) western
• Even though the plot of this particular book is fairly involved (multiple murders throughout multiple states) there is a significant lack of character development, to the point where this book feels more like a summary of a book than an immersive experience
• Like many westerns, this book is a part of a much larger series, which will appeal to fans of the genre
• The plot of this book is primarily delivered through quick and stilted dialogue, which means that Clint Adams is a very serious man of few words 

KEYWORDS AND THEMES 

• Fast-paced
• Old West
• Sexism
• Romance 
• Murder
• Detectives
• Horses
• Suspense
• Saloons
• Booze 
• Outlaws
• Crime
• Chauvinism 

READ-ALIKES (FICTION)

Here is a list of other popular western authors that is alphabetized by last name:

• Robert Harvey
• William W. Johnstone
• Ron Schwab
• Robert Vaughan
• Frank Wheeler

READ-ALIKES (NON-FICTION)

All of these books are about the Old West from a historical perspective. The first two books, in particular, focus upon American expansion/settler colonialism from a Native American point of view, which is often completely disregarded in the overwhelmingly chauvinistic western genre.

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown (1970)

Empire of the Summer Moon by S. C. Gwynne (2011)

Blood and Thunder by Hampton Sides (2001)

Week Eleven Prompt

For this week I have been tasked to explore ebooks and audiobooks within the landscape of book culture. Like many of the other prompts, there is much to unpack with these two items, so I would like approach these forms of literature from the angle of accessibility.

EBOOKS

Thanks to advances in technology, ebooks have become increasingly popular within global library ecosystems. This could be most prominently witnessed during the height of the pandemic, when traditional libraries temporarily closed their doors and virtual ones expanded their reach. To alternately word the previous sentence: Virtual libraries (or virtual representations of libraries) still provided library patrons with access when in-person libraries were unavailable due to unforeseen circumstances. 

Before the pandemic, patrons who experienced mental and physical health issues also utilized ebooks when they were unable to physically visit a branch. As someone who has regularly used library services throughout my adult life, I am incredibly thankful for the times when I have been able to rent and request ebooks. 

Additionally, busyness can also prevent one from visiting a branch. As someone who is currently both in graduate school and employed, I can certain attest to the fact that, if I did not work at a library branch, I certainly would not have time to visit a library - or at least frequently!

AUDIOBOOKS

When I first began to work in the public library system, I was surprised to see how many people use audiobooks. As someone who prefers to learn things via a visual manner, audiobooks are not something that I traditionally use to absorb literature. 

With that being said, I have seen and helped patrons who are blind. As the numbers of people who can read braille regularly decrease (due to the time-consuming process of teaching braille coupled with advances in technology), the importance of audiobooks has dramatically increased. As such, I believe it is important to create audiobooks with the highest possible standards, including professional narration and music, since those things create a more lively final product.

Book Club Experience

For this assignment I attended a book club that my political group hosts. We have been reading one or two chapters of a political theory book every two weeks, so we meet every two weeks to discuss and debate the content. 

My professor asked the following questions about each student's book club experience, so I will answer the following questions in a Q&A format.

Who asks the questions? Is there a leader or do people take turns? 

There is a leader who asks questions, and so far, no one else has lead the discussion. The leader, however, does regularly ask engaging, open-ended questions in order to include other people into the dialogue.

If there is a leader, does the leader answer the questions first or let other people answer first? 

It depends. Sometimes the leader will expand upon a question with a personal reflection first and then let other people answer. This is not a bad thing, actually. Some questions can be particularly dense or personal, and by breaking the ice by talking first, the leader can inspire others to jump into the discussion as well. However, the downside to this is that if the leader talks for a long time (which can happen), then other people may not feel as if they have time to participate. 

What types of questions are asked? Any yes or no questions?

This topic has already been broached in a few other answers, but no, there are no simple yes-or-no questions with this group. The leader of the book group creates questions that ask the readers to explore personal reflections upon fairly heavy political content. It should be mentioned here that this group is a little different than most other book clubs, as most other book clubs primarily read fiction instead of non-fiction.

Do all members actively participate?

Unlike most other book clubs, this book discussion group exists in a hybrid format: A larger group meets in-person, and a few other members "join" the discussion remotely through Zoom. The in-person group is quite lively. The remote group can participate verbally or through text, but for the most part, the remote group views this book club as a sort of podcast - something familiar and educational that one can listen to while doing other things.

Are there any members that steal the spotlight?

Generally, no. The leader of the group, however, can talk a lot, but the leader is aware of this tendency of his and will try to monitor how much he talks.

What is the atmosphere of the discussion? Where does it take place?

The main group (the in-person portion of this book club) takes place at someone's house. The remote members of the book club tune in through Zoom. The atmosphere, in both aspects, is still friendly and welcoming. 

Are snacks or drinks provided?

Yes! The in-person group had a pizza party the last time to coincide with the book discussion.

What types of books does this group normally discuss?

Since this is a book club that is an offshoot of a Marxist-Leninist political group, we only study books that have a Marxist-Leninist worldview. While this may seem incredibly dry and/or niche, there are a surprising amount of books that fit into this category, which is often referred to as "leftist lit" or "red lit" within political and academic circles.

Relationship Fiction Annotation (The Bromance Book Club)

GENERAL DETAILS

• Title: The Bromance Book Club
• Author: Lyssa Kay Adams
• Published: November 19th, 2019
• Publisher: Penguin Random House/Berkley
• Length: 352 pages
• Series or Stand-alone: 1st in an ongoing series
• Genre: Relationship/romance fiction
• Geographical Setting: Nashville, TN
• Time Period: Present day 

BOOK SUMMARY

After Thea Scott asks her husband and Nashville Legends second baseman, Gavin Scott, for a divorce, Gavin is thrust into a world of depression and self-destruction. That is, until a group of well-known and powerful local men invite Gavin into a secret club in which they read romance fiction together, all in an attempt to be better partners and regain lost love. What unfolds throughout this book is a story about redemption mixed with humor that highlights the lengths we will go to mend relationships and families. 

CONNECTIONS TO THE RELATIONSHIP FICTION GENRE

• This book focuses upon male-male friendships in a light and heartfelt manner, to the point where this is ultimately one of the most dominant themes of the book
• While there is a heteronormative romance element to this book, this book is not a typical raunchy romance read that focuses solely or mostly upon the romance (or sexual) aspect of the narrative
• The characters often make decisions that are not ones people would make in real-life, so there is an element of silliness to this book, which provides a nice counterpart to some of the more serious elements in this book (i.e. divorce and discussions about toxic masculinity, for example)
• Since this book is about a divorce, and the the two characters who are getting divorced have twin children together, this book also focuses upon parent-child relationships in the midst of trauma
• The wife in this book has a strong relationship with her sister, so there is a notable focus upon sibling relationships as well
• Throughout the plot there are regular heartfelt (and non-sexual) conversations that explore a variety of relationship dynamics

KEYWORDS AND THEMES

• Fast-paced
• Light-hearted
• Male-female relationships
• Male-male relationships (specifically friendships)
• Sibling relationships
• Family relationships
• Parent-child relationships
• Comedy
• Romance
• Divorce
• Sports (specifically baseball)
• Multiple character viewpoints
• Book clubs

READ-ALIKES (FICTION)

A note: Since sports culture is a prominent theme of The Bromance Book Club, I have decided to select books that include relationships within the context of modern sports culture.

Additionally, if readers enjoyed the first book in this series, then I would recommend the rest of the books in this series.

Intercepted by Alexa Martin (2018)

When Stars Collide by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (2021)

The Devil in Denim by J. M. Scott (2014)

READ-ALIKES (NON-FICTION)

There are several interesting themes within The Bromance Book Club, so I have decided to focus upon the following ones: Sports culture (baseball), divorce, and book clubs.

If you would like to read more about baseball: Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis (2003)

If you would like to read more about how to cope with divorce: Too Good to Leave, Too Bad to Stay by Mira Kirshenbaum (1997)

If you would like to learn more about book clubs: The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe (2013)

In Defense of Adults Who Read Children's Nonfiction

This week I submitted a paper to my professor about adults who read children's nonfiction. Instead of posting the entire paper here, I will share a few pertinent paragraphs.

From the introduction:

A few days after the recent devastating earthquake that struck Syria and Turkey, a patron, who appeared to be in his 60s, approached the main desk at my library. "Do you have any books about earthquakes?" he asked. I told him that we did, and not only that, another staff member and I were just reviewing the Wikipedia article regarding the science and types of earthquakes since we were also discussing that recent event. The patron then lowered his voice, and with a prominent touch of sadness, said: "They are still pulling people out of the rubble."

I quickly looked at my library's catalogue and mentioned that, while we did not have books specifically about earthquakes for adults, we did have books about that topic in our children's section. The patron mentioned that was fine; he said he only wanted basic information, especially since he was not well-versed in earthquake science. When I escorted him to the children's section and pointed out all of the books we had about earthquakes and other various tectonic movements, he took each book we had.

From the meat of the article: 

In an article by the artist and writer, Austin Kleon (of Steal Like an Artist fame), Kleon even touted the benefits of reading books targeted for a younger demographic by sharing a picture of all of the children's nonfiction books he recently checked out from his local library - a towering stack of astronomy books (Kleon, 2019). Kleon then highlighted a quote from Jeopardy! winner, James Holzhauer, who stated: "I was thinking, what is the place in the library I can go to to get books tailored to make things interesting for uninterested readers? Boom. The children's section" (Kleon, 2019).

Have you ever explored children's nonfiction? If so, what have been your experiences with it?