Reader's Advisory Blog

For me, reading has always been a special activity. As a kid, my relationship to books was mostly just that I devoured them and was constantly looking for new worlds to explore. Today, that element is the same, but I've gained an appreciation and knowledge of how those books come into the world and how the world views them. I love the ability to grab a book at the drop of a hat on my phone or iPad, but that's never going to replace the wish to read that book in print or to own print copies of my favorites (...or multiple copies). Books have only become more special to me as time has gone on, and those worlds I fell in love with as a kid will always be some of the most special. The world of reading and books feels as if it's gotten both smaller and larger at the same time. It feels like maybe the readers are fewer, but the number of books and the ways to access them are so much more. I loved how Ursula K. LeGuin put the perspective on reading, though, and recognized that a...

In doing all of the readings this week, I started to think about what kinds of marketing I actually paid attention to when I visit a store or the library. Personally, I'm a big fan of recommendations I can take with me, like bookmarks or annotated book lists, but I also like a themed display. Displays I think one of my favorite ways to market books would be displays. They can be quick and easy to set up--so if you're short on time, you can do something informal, or if you have the time, you can take it much more in depth. I loved Joyce Saricks' Books You May Have Missed cart, because so much attention is paid to new releases and the backlist books seem to get forgotten. Featuring books that may have fallen by the wayside is a great way to expand reader's horizons, too. I love a lot about how Barnes & Noble makes use of all their space with endcaps, but their book selection is the worst. Because of the corporate sway (publishers often pay for their placement on pr...

This is the kind of question where I have to decide what idea I like slightly more than the other, because I can make an argument in either direction for either urban fiction or LGBTQ works to be subdivided out. However, if I had to make the decision today, I'd likely separate urban fiction out while keeping LGBTQ integrated into fiction as a whole. My biggest basis for this is, first and foremost, experience. In my job at Barnes & Noble, at least a couple of times a week I'm asked for the urban fiction, in some form or another. Often it's where our African American books are, but every time I've delved further, it's been urban fiction they're looking for. We keep African American non-fiction separated out, but not the fiction--and no one is ever looking for the non-fiction when they ask. On the other hand, if I'm asked for LGBTQ books, it's the non-fiction people want, which is also separated out. I've not once been asked for fiction by or abo...

I am a huge reader of YA, simply because I love it. (I'm a kid's lead at Barnes & Noble, so keeping up with middle grade and YA is part of my job--but I'd do it anyway!) I get really defensive when people start to disparage YA--especially when it's aimed at adults who read it. Because, as adults, most of the reading we're doing is leisure reading, why should every book we pick up be a work of literary fiction or a classic? Just because a book is written for teenagers doesn't inherently make it inferior. Can't we all agree a book like The Giving Tree is exceptional work? Yet was it written for adults? Nope! Does that mean I'm not allowed to read The Giving Tree  ever again, just because it wasn't written for an adult? I think there are lots of ways to help adults in their interest in YA, but I think encouragement is huge. I know in my own job I try to be aware of when adults are looking at or buying YA and find out why they're doing so. If i...

Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian Ash Princess trilogy #1 Synopsis: When Theo was just 6 years old, her country was invaded, her mother, the queen, murdered in front of her, and her entire life changed. Now, 10 years later, Theo's spirit is nearly broken. Living in her rightful home alongside the people who destroyed her world, Theo has resorted only to surviving, appeasing the kaiser to avoid trouble. That is, until the day the kaiser forces her to kill someone important from her former life. With that act, the fire is lit in Theo's heart. She joins the rebels in their mission to take down the kaiser, plotting to seduce and betray the prinz. Even so, at each step, it feels as if the kaiser and his reach is ahead of Theo with every move. With the biggest risk yet to take, Theo wonders if their work will be worth the sacrifice. Characteristics of young adult fantasy: Detailed setting depicts another world : Theo's world is largely unspecific in terms of location ...