Mystery Annotation

Author: Ashley Weaver

Title: A Most Novel Revenge

Genre: Mystery (Amateur Investigators)

Publication Date: October 11, 2016

Number of Pages: 310

Geographical Setting: London, England

Time Period: 1930’s

Series: 3^rd in series (1^st -Murder at the Brightwell, 2^nd- Death Wears a Mask)

Plot Summary: Instead of a much needed trip to Italy, Ashley and Amory Ames are summoned by Amory’s cousin Laurel to come immediately to Lyonsgate, a country home owned by Laurel’s friend Reginald Lyons. Lyonsgate is the place that a murder occurred during a party several years earlier and coincidentally, the same group of people who were at the original party are assembled again during this long extended holiday, invited by socialite Isobel Van Allen. Isobel wrote a book about the first murder that caused quite a scandal and the guests are not happy to relive the experience, especially since she has written a second book that will probably result in more scandal. As Amory puts her amateur sleuthing skills to work, another murder occurs, leaving all guests suspicious and scared of each other, worried about who could be next.

Subject Headings:

Women private investigators-England-London-Fiction

Murder-investigation-fiction

Fiction-Mystery & detective-historical

Fiction-Mystery & Detective-Woman Sleuths

Appeal:

• Cozy mystery without the violence
• Two murders drive the plot and the reader knows whodunit by the end of the story
• Amory is an amateur detective
• Amory and Ashley are the main characters in the series along with Ashley’s housemaid Winnelda
• Lyonsgate country house setting frames the story set in the 1930’s aristocratic London
• Storyline is light-hearted and humorous, especially with the dialogue between Ashley and Amory
• Cast of quirky characters who are full of gossip
• Amory has a connection to a Scotland Yard detective

3 terms that best describe this book: witty, charming, delightful

3 Relevant Non-Fiction Works and Authors

Minding the Manor: The Memoir of a 1930s English Kitchen Maid by Mollie Moran

Biography of a young girl's adventures while working on an estate in England during the 1930's as a maid.

-Relates to Amory's housemaid.

The Long Weekend: Life in the English Country House, 1918-1939 by Adrian Tinniswood

Follow this account of the rise and fall of the English aristocracy during the early 20th century.

-Scandals ensued during stays in English country houses, as in the house similar to the country house in Murder at the Brightwell.

The Golden Age of Murder by Martin Edwards

A richly detailed narrative about the lives of three important authors, Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers and G.K. Chesterton, who changed the way mystery novels were written in Britain during the 1920’s and 1930’s.

-Ashley Weaver’s books have similar elements of the “Golden Age” mystery.

3 Relevant Fiction Works and Authors

Anything Goes: a Grace and Favor Mystery by Jill Churchill

A cozy mystery set in the 1930's, siblings Lily and Robert Brewster are set to inherit their uncle's mansion in England. The stipulation is that they have to live in the house for ten years before they become the owners. They soon discover that their uncle was murdered and set off to solve the mystery.

Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen

A British cozy mystery that takes place during the 1930's, Lady Victoria Georgiana is broke. When a Frenchman who is trying to seize the family estate is killed in Lady Georgiana's bathtub, she decides to find the killer herself.

Pride and Prescience, or, A Truth Universally Acknowledged by Carrie Bebris

Just returning from their honeymoon, Mr. and Mrs. Darcy (Pride and Prejudice) become entangled in a mystery surrounding one of their wedding guests, Caroline Bingley, who is engaged to an American. This is a cozy mystery that takes place in England.

Week 6 Prompt

I chose to promote romance at my library.  Displays and passive programming usually get the best response at my branch instead of active programming.  The branch does not get great attendance for the programs we offer for some reason. I decided that a good display integrating a variety of old and new materials like books, audiobooks, DVD's, and CD's would be a good start. 

I went to Pinterest for some ideas on passive programming activities. One idea that I found is that patrons who read a romance book over a certain period of time would receive an entry slip to enter a drawing for a chance to win a romance prize pack. Prize packs would be funded by the Friends of the Library or by donations from area businesses.

Another idea is for patrons to make origami heart bookmarks when they are visiting the library. I would provide materials and instructions and patrons could make the bookmark at their convenience. There would be a table close to the displays where patrons could sit and craft. Another alternative would be to have bookmarks and colored pencils available for teen and adult coloring. The bookmarks that patrons colored could then be laminated.

I saw an idea on Pinterest that people could look at a romance cover and come up with a creative caption for it. This made me think that it might be fun for patrons to make their own romance cover. I thought we could have a makeshift photo booth with different accessories available (plus a small fan for that blowing hair effect). Patrons can take pictures with their own phones or the library would have a camera available at the reference desk so that patrons could take pictures. The pictures could either be printed or uploaded to the library's social media apps like Facebook or Instagram. The patrons could then give their photos exciting (and clean) captions that they might read on a romance book cover.

Patrons might stop and look at the these displays and participate in some of the activities even if they do not normally read romance. They might even pick up a romance title whether it be a CD, DVD or book while they are browsing the displays.

Romance Annotation

Author: Jude Deveraux

Title: The Girl from Summer Hill

Genre: Romance (contemporary)

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Publication Date: May 3, 2016

Number of Pages: 370

Geographical Setting: Summer Hill, Virginia  

Time Period: Modern (current)

Series (If applicable): 1^st in a new series

Plot Summary: Chef Casey Reddick walks away from her famous restaurant in Washington D.C. and settles at Tatwell Plantation in Summer Hill during the summer for some peace and quiet while catering for the local production of Pride and Prejudice. Tate Landers is a famous Hollywood actor and unbeknownst to Casey, the owner of Tatwell Plantation. Casey and Tate have a run-in on Tatwell Plantation when Casey watches the gorgeous and very naked Tate shower on her front porch. Tate mistakes her for an obsessed photographer spying on him and they immediately take a disliking to each other. Before she knows it, Casey is cast to play Elizabeth Bennet opposite Tate, who is playing Mr. Darcy. Sparks will soon fly as they begin rehearsing for the play and Casey sees Tate as a down-to-earth guy instead of a Hollywood actor with an oversized ego. But just as Casey begins to warm up to Tate, Tate’s ex-brother-in-law Devlin Haines who plays Wickham will cause difficulty in their budding relationship.  

Subject Headings: Man-woman relationships- Fiction/Romance-contemporary/Contemporary women/love stories

Appeal Factors:

·         Readers are immediately drawn into the romantic tone of The Girl from Summer Hill.  

·         There is great dialogue and conversation between the characters. Readers are pulled into the emotions of the characters.

·         Both Casey and Tate (protagonists) tell their stories from their points of view.

·         Casey and Tate have a misunderstanding immediately in the story.

·         The Girl from Summer Hill is fast-paced, and the reader can easily pick back up into the storyline (Saricks, 2009).

3 terms that best describe this book: delightful, steamy, sweet

3 Relevant Non-Fiction Works and Authors:

Jane Austen: A Life Revealed by Catherine Reef

            -biography of Jane Austen, the author of Pride and Prejudice.

Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari

-A thoughtful and fun approach to exploring dating and finding your soul mate by comedian Ansari and research by Eric Klinenberg..

Weird Virginia: Your Travel Guide to Virginia's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets by Jeff Bahr

-unusual roadside attractions found in Virginia (travel guide).

           

3 Relevant Fiction Works and Authors:

Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Cruise

Sophie can only think of leaving Temptation, Ohio, until she meets Mayor Phin. -Romantic comedy with fun banter.

Come a Little Bit Closer by Andre Bella

A steamy romance where business manager Valentina makes a point of never dating actresses until he meets Smith Sullivan.

-A steamy, engaging, contemporary romance.

Big Sky Wedding by Linda Lael Miller

A contemporary western romance where an actor, Zane, meets and falls for Brylee who is more than reluctant of falling in love after being left at the altar.

-A steamy, engaging, heartwarming western romance.

Works Cited:

Saricks, J.G. (2009). The Readers’ advisory guide to genre fiction. Chicago: ALA.

Week 5 Prompt

Libraries are under budget constraints when purchasing titles for their collection. They have to decide the best way to spend money while meeting patron demand. Reviews from professional publications assist librarians in choosing titles. But ebook only books do not have adequate professional reviews. I think librarians would be less likely to add titles to the collection when ebooks have not been reviewed by professional reviews. It comes down to using the public tax money for the greatest quality of literature. It would be very difficult to grow an ebook collection without reliable professional reviews. Professional reviews will contain appeal factors, whereas other reviews may not utilize these factors. Without reviews, it would be difficult to discern the quality of literature written by unknown authors.

I would say that neither of the reviews for The Billionaire’s First Christmas seems reliable. We really do not know about the qualifications of these reviewers and even the blog review didn’t give it great reviews, even saying that the story was kind of odd. I would not add The Billionaire’s First Christmas to my library collection based off of these personal reviews. Besides, it is already free on Amazon, so readers with Kindles could purchase it that way. If it had some professional reviews, I might then give it consideration. I would not spend library money on purchasing titles based on reviews that I did not view as credible, such as those found on Amazon. I would have to do some checking about the blog reviewer to see about his or her qualifications, which would also take extra time. It is just faster (and reliable) to use professional resources for reviews. If an ebook title is not mentioned in professional reviews, then I would more than likely skip the purchase when using library funding.

The ebook does not look like romantic suspense. It does not have any of the appeal factors that make a romantic suspense. Appeal factors for romantic suspense include: the heroine is in danger in which she has to save herself; the heroine has to choose between two men; storyline is fast paced and told from the heroine’s point of view.  The Amazon review states that it is told from the point of view of both of the main characters, Robyn Hurst and Aaron Winters (the only man involved). The summary does not say anything about Robyn saving herself, nor is she ever in any danger. Both reviews list it as a romance and even the cover gives the appearance of a romance book.

The reviews for Angela’s Ashes are vastly different in the aspect that they are professional with rich detail and information. The reviews are from credible sources qualified to provide book reviews. It is interesting as well that all four reviews are comparable to each other. I would have no problem adding Angela's Ashes to my collection. 

Reviews that offer negative content can at times provide a more trustworthy evaluation. Since we all have different likes/dislikes, I think that negative comments help readers know what they might be reading and that they might consider that is not the book for them. Reviews that provide both positive and negative content allows for a more honest evaluation of the book.

Sometimes one type of book does get reviewed more often and it is unfair because you can be missing out on a really good book that just is not receiving any reviews. It affects collection development because libraries rely so heavily on the reviews that these other great titles are being missed, and leads to only providing titles that are heavily reviewed in our collections.

While I don’t purchase for my library, typically I will read Library Journal and occasionally Kirkus reviews. I also use reviews from Goodreads for a lot of my book selections. I do like to read personal opinions for my own reading and I like to get opinions from friends and other librarians. That being said, I still take reviews with a grain of salt, knowing they are based on someone else’s personal opinion. What one person likes (or dislikes) will be different from someone else’s viewpoint. If and when I get the opportunity to purchase for a library, I would rely on professional sources.

Kirkus Review

Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty

From Liane Moriarty (What Alice Forgot, Big Little Lies) comes this new title in domestic fiction where six adults and three children face a traumatic event during a friendly, neighborly barbecue.

Sam and Clementine have a busy life with their careers and their two daughters, two year-old Ruby and five year-old Holly. Sam and Clementine also struggle in their roles as husband and wife. Overly uptight Erika and her husband Oliver, both accountants, are hoping to start their own family. Clementine and Erika are longtime childhood friends that struggle to maintain their friendship, which is also met with a great deal of hostility. What begins as afternoon tea between the two couples soon evolves to a barbecue at Erika’s neighbors, Tiffany and Vid. Tiffany and Vid both enjoy living life to the fullest. Vid has adult children from a previous marriage and Tiffany is his “hot wife”.  But Tiffany and Vid, along with their ten year-old daughter Dakota are just as haunted about the traumatic event that takes place in their own backyard as are the other couples. They wish they had never thrown the barbecue as much as the other couples wish they had never attended. It actually takes a long time for the story to unfold before we find out about the mysterious event. Because there has been so much suspense and buildup to the event that when it actually occurs, it is anti-climactic. The book does not follow chronological order, but instead, jumps back and forth from before the barbecue to flash forwarding past the event, then jumps to the present and then back again in time. It is also being told from the points of view from the six main characters. Both of these style structures leads to confusion at times. Moriarty works to save the story by touching on key elements of marriage, friendship and parenthood, allowing the strengths of the six main characters to be revealed as they evolve through the story.

An overly long, disappointing journey.


Publication Date: July 26, 2016
Hardcover: 432 pages
Publisher: Flatiron Books
ISBN: 978-125006795

• 
  

Secret Shopper

I went to a library about a half an hour from my house. I have always wanted to visit this library and had great expectations since this library is well-known around my location for their wonderful book collection. When I first entered the building, there was the circulation desk and a few employees. I did not see any signs about it also being an information or reference desk, so I roamed around the building for a few minutes to see if there were any other desks that I missed. As I was heading back to the entrance, I noticed some displays for the library’s winter reading program with book suggestions. The sign guided people to the front desk if they needed any help with book title suggestions, so I finally knew where to go for assistance. 

I walked up to the desk and the librarian asked me if I needed any help. I told her I was looking for a good book. She did not speak at first and it looked like she was not sure what to do. Then she quite rudely snapped at me and told me she needed to know what I liked. She was very unfriendly at this point. So instead of her actually asking me anymore questions, she waited and stared. After being very uncomfortable, I finally said I like to read romance and some mystery. I was waiting to see if she would ask me any questions about either of these genres but she did not. She continued to wait for about a minute, no conversation and she seemed rather unsure of what to do. She made no eye contact either. After waiting, I told her a romance author that I liked, hoping she would find me a good read-alike book. The librarian still did not ask me any questions. She then pulled out a book list they had at the desk of new titles that the library had received. She started to hand this list over to me to view, but then she put it aside and instead took me over to the new book area. She pointed out the mystery and romance sections. The phone rang so she went to answer it, giving me the opportunity to browse a little bit. 

After her phone call, the librarian came back over to me. She asked me this question, “Do you like Sushi?” This was the first question that she had really asked me. I responded that it was all right. Then she asked me if I liked sports. Laughing, I said a lot better than sushi. She took me to another area, the Christian fiction section and gave me the book Sushi for One by Camy Tang. She told me that she was recommending this title because she had read the book series and it was a Christian book. She had never asked me in the course of our discussion if I liked Christian books. 

After this title, she then recommended a historical fiction title to me because it had a romance running through the story line. Her recommendation was based on the fact that, again, she had read the book. 

In ending our conversation, she voluntarily said she was tentative about recommending any books because we all have different tastes and it made her uncomfortable to recommend a book when she had not read it. A librarian only suggesting books that he or she has personally read is one of the biggest misconceptions about readers’ advisory services (Chelton, 2003).

The librarian never used any tools to offer me assistance. It would have helped if she would have searched Novelist, Goodreads or used some other tool. She only wanted to give me recommendations on books she has previously read instead of providing suggestions (Saricks, 2009). I felt bad for her and wanted to suggest to use one of these tools, but then it would have been me recommending to her how to do her job. She was completely flustered with the entire advisory service. So much of this interaction was uncomfortable, both for me and the librarian. 

I would not say that the librarian successfully found a 'good book' for me. I really did not care for the book that she suggested. I had told her the author I liked and was looking for something similar. I was very surprised about being handed a Christian fiction book, with her assumption that I would want to read it. While it did not offend me, I was thinking that it could be offensive to another patron. 

The experience was not what I was expecting. I thought that the librarian would do a better job at asking me questions and finding out what appealed to me in the romance genre (or mystery). The librarian did not actually ask me about any authors, but I provided her with one. She could have found read-alike titles to that author. The entire interaction left me with a bitter taste in my mouth. I felt like I was being ignored and any comments I made were dismissed by the librarian.

The librarian could have done a few things better. She could have asked questions and performed a readers’ advisory interview or had a conversation. She also could have been friendlier during the interaction. There are many tools at her disposal that she could have used. The librarian could do some self-training to become familiar with different genres (Vnuk, 2013). Finally, the librarian could have asked another colleague for assistance. 

I would not go back to this library to ask for another book. I thought the customer service was horrendous and I did not like the way I was treated. I did not appreciate the way she snapped and rudely spoke to me. Smiling, keeping a friendly tone and having a quality advisory interview/discussion are important components in keeping patrons coming back to the library.

Works Cited:

Chelton, M.K. (2003). Readers' advisory 101. Library Journal. Retrieved from http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2003/11/ljarchives/readers-advisory-101/

Saricks, J.G. (2009). The Readers’ advisory guide to genre fiction. Chicago: ALA.

Vnuk, Rebecca. (2013). Jack of all trades readers’ advisory: How to learn a little about a lot. Public Libraries Online. Retrieved from http://publiclibrariesonline.org/2013/05/jack-of-all-trades-readers-advisory-how-to-learn-a-little-about-a-lot/

Week 3 Prompt

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!

I looked in Novelist to find the Anita Blake books. I clicked on the series tab and found that the fourth book in the series is The Lunatic Cafe. Another site that would be quick to use is fantasticfiction.com.

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.

I searched Prodigal Summer using Novelist and found two read-alike books that I might suggest, both are described as richly detailed. The first is Ectopia by Ernest Callenbach. The second is Anthill by Edward Wilson. Anthill is suspenseful so it might be more of what you are looking for since it should be faster paced.

3. I like reading books set in different countries. I just read one set in China, could you help me find one set in Japan? No, not modern – historical. I like it when the author describes it so much it feels like I was there!

Using Novelist, I would suggest The Teahouse Fire by Elllis Avery. I searched using Japanese historical fiction and limited the search to descriptive. The Teahouse Fire is a story surrounding a Japanese tea ceremony and takes place in the late 19th century. It is described as richly detailed and nostalgic story.

4. I read this great mystery by Elizabeth George called Well-Schooled in Murder and I loved it. Then my dentist said that if I liked mysteries I would probably like John Sandford, but boy was he creepy I couldn't finish it! Do you have any suggestions?

I searched Well-Schooled in Murder on Novelist and found some read-alike titles that I could suggest. Still Life by Louise Penny has many similarities to the Well-Schooled in Murder such both are listed as being character-driven, intricately plotted mysteries. Another read-alike title is The Man with a Load of Mischief by Martha Grimes. It also has similarities to Well-Schooled in Murder but with some wit and charm. Neither of these titles should be creepy.

5. My husband has really gotten into zombies lately. He’s already read The Walking Dead and World War Z, is there anything else you can recommend?

I used Novelist to find a read-alike title called Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion. I searched for The Walking Dead and refined my search to zombies to find this title. Library Journal and Kirkus give this novel good reviews and it has 5 stars based on popularity. I also searched for World War Z and found a read-alike book, The Zombie Autopsies: Secret Notebooks from the Apocalypse by Steven Schlozman.  This book is written for zombie fans and enthusiasts about a zombie research project and it also has great reviews. I would suggest both of these titles for your husband to read. 

6. I love books that get turned into movies, especially literary ones. Can you recommend some? Nothing too old, maybe just those from the last 5 years or so.

I can suggest several movies using "Based on the Book". Two titles released in 2015 are Brooklyn by Colm Toibin and The Danish Girl by David Ebershoff, both are based off these literary titles with the same name.  Both books are richly detailed in language. There is also the movie The History of Love released in 2016 based on the book by Nicole Krauss. "Based on the Book" is a compilation of books made into movies compiled by Mid-Continent Public Library. http://www.mymcpl.org/books-movies-music/based-book 

After selecting some titles from "Based on the Book", I then looked at Novelist for the books that were considered as literary titles.

7. I love thrillers but I hate foul language and sex scenes. I want something clean and fast paced.

I checked GoodReads for a list of clean thrillers that does not contain foul language or sexual content. I would suggest Where Eagles Dare by Alistair MacLean. It is listed as a fast paced adventure thriller and has a high rating of 4 out of 5 stars.

How do I find my books? I have several sources. I occasionally look at Library Journal, School Library Journal and Book Page to find out about new books. I also like to peruse Barnes and Noble (or other stores that carry books) to see what they have on display. I check out the New York Times best seller list every week and also look at some other book lists. I sometimes look at Amazon and GoodReads for reviews about titles. Sometimes my patrons suggest books to read. But I find most of my books when I check in or shelve material, straighten shelves and when we receive new books at the library.