Week 7 Prompt: The Oprah Effect

I don’t think any of us would be surprised by the findings of Butler, Cowan, and Nilsson in their article, “From Obscurity to Bestseller: Examining the Impact of Oprah’s Book Club Selections.”  I’m not a statistician, but I managed to squint and squirm my way through the tables and the conclusions are clear.  Getting the Oprah seal of approval resulted in dramatic sales spikes and sustained high sales for nearly every one of the books selected for her book club.

I was especially interested in the evidence that books selected earlier in the run of the book club tended to fare better than books chosen later (Butler, Cowan, and Nilsson, p. 29).  While Oprah’s influence was undeniable, there was also a backlash effect.  In an article I found called “Reading as a Contact Sport: Online Book Groups and the Social Dimensions of Reading,” Barbara Fister recalls that Marketing departments also experienced a flip-side to the “Oprah effect.”  A book that became popular because it was being embraced by middle-class women (Oprah’s stereotyped audience), took the risk of being intentionally shunned by highbrow and/or male readers.

Fister also reminds us that “The power of a television celebrity to influence reading practices has made some critics worry that book groups, often supported by chain bookstores and big publishers, are commodifying reading – that we are witnessing a corporate takeover of literary practices that engages readers in formulaic, shallow analysis of texts” (Fister, p. 303).

Personally, I loved the idea of Oprah’s Book Club more than the books themselves.  I probably read about half a dozen before deciding that my taste and Oprah’s were not in sync.  (Yeah, not even close.)  But I applaud the fact that – lover her or hate her – Oprah re-popularized the idea of talking about books.  Not just reading them, but talking about them.  Reading in contemporary society is so much more individualized and personal than it used to be.  Don’t get me wrong, I love curling up alone with a great book.  But it’s important to remember that reading can also be a social experience.  Book discussions bring with them an inherent sense of community, broadening participants’ critical perspectives and providing them with connections to others in a reading world. 

I guess I’m just a believer in the transformational power of book discussions.  So if a celebrity can inspire the public to talk about books, I’m on board.  (Although I might politely suggest that getting some RA guidance from Nancy Pearl or Mary Chelton could result in better book selections!)

References:

Fister, B. (2005).  Reading as a contact sport: Online book groups and the social dimensions of reading.  Reference & User Services Quarterly, 44(4), p. 303-309.  Retrieved from Academic Search Premier.

Butler, R.J., Cowan, B.W., and Nilsson, S.  (2005).  From obscurity to bestseller: Examining the impact of Oprah’s book club selections.  Publishing Research Quarterly, 20(4), p. 23-24.  Retrieved from Academic Search Premier.

 

Booktalk & Week 6 Prompt

 
2-Minute Booktalk

I, Claudius by Robert Graves

I have a confession to make.  Most of what I know about ancient Rome was learned from watching movies like “Spartacus” and “Gladiator.”  I haven’t encountered names like Tiberius and Agrippa since World History classes in high school.  Yikes!  But I, Claudius by Robert Graves brings those names alive in a very engaging way.

Written in the style of a tell-all autobiography, the ageing emperor looks back on his life as part of the imperial family of Rome.  Born with a speech impediment and a limp, Claudius is dismissed by his powerful family, who consider him nothing but an embarrassment.  We soon see that it’s their scorn that provides him with a degree of safety.  Known as “Claudius the Idiot,” he remains in the background of power and manages to outlive most of his family members, who fall prey to accidents and poison at an alarming rate! 

Through the observant eyes of Claudius, we meet historical figures like: Augustus, who sees himself as a benevolent god; Tiberius, the frustrated general with serious anger-management issues; and Caligula, whose madness reaches shocking extremes – even by Roman standards!  The family ranks continue to thin, and to his extreme distress, Claudius is eventually declared Emperor in 41 A.D.

You might expect a classic like I, Claudius to read like a stuffy history book, but it’s actually an eyebrow-raising family soap opera played out in decadent style.

In 1976 the book was adapted as an unforgettable 12-part television drama by the BBC, starring Derek Jacobi and featuring future stars like John Hurt and Patrick Stewart -- with hair!  The series was shown on PBS in the U.S. and makes a great companion piece to the original book.  There is also an outstanding unabridged audiobook version read by Derek Jacobi.

It’s become traditional to include a word of warning when recommending I, Claudius to new readers or viewers,
so I offer these parting words of advice: 

Don’t eat the figs!

 

 

Week 6 Response

In her RUSA article, “Booktalking for Adult Audiences,” Jennifer Baker tells us that it is important, when preparing a booktalk, to "choose only books you have loved and actually read."

Theoretically, I disagree with both elements of Baker’s statement.  Yes, a librarian who is endorsing a book he/she has read and loved might convey more genuine enthusiasm.  But I believe that many librarians are capable of doing a great job promoting books beyond their comfort zone.  In fact, it’s probably not unusual for a librarian to be put in the position of needing to give a booktalk outside his/her genre of preference.  A professional who has prepped appropriately and can point out appeal factors that will click with the audience at hand can certainly market a book they did not particularly love or may not have read at all.

Having said that, I also think that the validity of Baker’s advice might depend on the librarian and the circumstances.  Some librarians may have a difficult job plugging a book they strongly disliked with any degree of authenticity.  Professionalism aside, some people just aren't good at feigning enthusiasm. (Is there an elective Acting 101 class in the SLIS catalog?)  And, of course, it would be awkward to be in a Q&A situation and be “caught” implying that you’ve read a book that you haven’t.  It’s important that we NEVER mislead people.  Personally, I might quote a phrase or two from reviews to let listeners know that I’m conveying information from an outside source, or even mention that the book is on my future reading list.

Book Annotation: Gentle Reads

Home to Harmony (2000)

By Philip Gulley

ISBN: 978-157673613X

Genre:  Gentle Reads
              (also Christian or Inspirational Fiction)

Summary:  Quaker pastor Sam Gardner relates humorous and uplifting tales of life in small town Harmony, Indiana, where we encounter memorable characters such as: Uly Grant, a direct descendant of Ulysses S. Grant and current owner of the Grant Hardware Emporium; church deacon Dale Hinshaw, an evangelical enthusiast with doomed ideas (salvation balloons?); and Fern Hampton, who never stints in her critical analysis of sermons.  As Sam navigates his first year of leading the church, he shares his wry and often inspirational observations about what it means to be a community.  With a setting reminiscent of Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon Days and a tone that warms the heart, Home to Harmony has already become a classic of its genre, a book to snuggle into and take comfort from.

Appeals:          

·         First-person point of view provides a gentle, folksy narrative voice

·         Optimistic, heartwarming tone, with touches of spiritual introspection

·         Humorously colorful characters that many readers can relate to

Aspects of the book which are characteristic of the Gentle Reads Genre:

·         Evokes a comforting sense of well-being, in this case involving a degree of nostalgia in a small town Indiana setting

·         Emphasis on relationships, as the new pastor gets acquainted with his parishioners

·         No profanity, explicit sex, or violence

·         Gentle or unhurried pacing, short vignettes

·         Storylines offer few surprises, and may feel like familiar territory to readers

 

Read Alikes:

·         At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon (1998) & other titles in the Mitford series

·         The Welcome Committee of Butternut Creek by Jane Myers Perrine (2012)

·         Telegraph Days by Larry McMurtry (2006)

·         Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven by Fannie Flagg (2006)

·         The Irresistible Blueberry Bakeshop and Café by Mary Simses (2013)

·         The Lumby Lines by Gail Fraser (2007) & other titles in the Lumby series

·         Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind by Ann B. Ross (1990) & other titles in the Miss Julia series

·         Staggerford by Jon Hassler (1977)

·         Big Stone Gap by Adrianna Trigani (2000)

·         I Love You Miss Huddleston, and Other Inappropriate Longings of My Indiana Childhood by Philip Gulley (2009)

Books in the Harmony Series by Philip Gulley:

·         Home to Harmony (2000)

·         Just Shy of Harmony (2001)

·         Signs and Wonders (2002)

·         Christmas in Harmony (2003)

·         Life Goes On (2004)

·         A Change of Heart (2005)

·         Almost Friends (2008)

 

Week 5 Prompt: Book Reviews

The Chosen One 

The two reviews approach the book from very different angles.  The blog review confines itself to a plot outline, while the Amazon reader review provides opinions about the quality of the story and the characters.   

The blog review provides useful information to let the reader know what the book is about.  It’s hard to say whether or not it is giving away too much when it tells us that “Elise and Noel find passion in each other’s arms,” since we don’t know if that happens early in the story or is the climactic scene of the book.  The review doesn’t provide any opinion about the book or describe any of the appeal factors that we’ve been discussing in this course.  Overall, it doesn’t tell us anything that we couldn’t get from the book jacket, a synopsis on Amazon, or other sources. 

The Amazon reader review, on the other hand, doesn’t provide any plot summary but confines itself to character analysis and opinion.  Though it can sometimes be difficult to judge whether or not another reader’s opinion would jive with your own, this reviewer notes several important appeal factors – psychologically complex characters, brisk pace, evocative style.  These are positive characteristics that tell me a lot about the book’s tone, pacing, and style and would definitely steer me toward purchasing the title for my library’s collection. 

Angela’s Ashes 

The lengthier reviews for Angela’s Ashes certainly make me see it as a must-have book for my library.  While I think shorter, quicker-to-read reviews are more practical for making purchase decisions, I do find in-depth critical reviews useful when selecting a book for book discussions.  

It does seem unfair that books from mega-publishers that can devote money and time to saturate the market with pre-pub publicity tend to generate tons of reviews, while books from smaller independent presses get little or no attention from critics.  A parallel situation might be Hollywood blockbusters that have film critics waiting in line, while indie films don’t get as much press.  That puts the publishing giants in a much stronger position to get their books on library shelves. 

Review Sources 

I enjoy browsing publisher catalogs, but really . . . who has the time?!!  My academic library spends very little on fiction purchases (sigh), and what we do buy is mostly restricted to items specifically requested by faculty.  I tend to accumulate issues of Booklist and Library Journal in my car, of all places.  That way they are handy to browse in the lobby of the doctor’s office or while getting my hair cut – or even just waiting at a RR stop for a train to pass.  And after all this time, I’m embarrassed to admit that I had no idea that Booklist has a policy against negative reviews!  I thought of it as generally less critical than Kirkus, but never realized that I hadn’t encountered any negativity at all.  Since most of my fiction book vetting is geared toward book club selections, I also follow several online sources like http://bookpage.com/ and http://www.readinggroupguides.com/ that focus on newly published titles that are particularly good choices for book discussions. 

I do have a pet peeve when it comes to book reviews.  I value reader opinions on Amazon and GoodReads.  Published reviews are great, but I also like to hear from the reading public.  BUT, it drives me crazy when I read a scathing review, only to find in the last line that the reader didn’t finish the book, or even worse, “I couldn’t get past the second chapter!”  It’s worthwhile knowing that this particular reader disliked the book enough to give up on it; most of us have snapped closed an unsatisfying book and laid it aside with a grimace.  I just wish the reviewer would tell us that at the start.  If you didn’t like the book, I do want to know that.  But I don’t want character assessment  from someone who doesn’t know how the character might or might not have developed by the end of the book.  I don’t want plot analysis from someone who doesn’t know how the storyline resolved itself.  To return to the movie analogy, it’s like getting in-depth film criticism from someone who only sat through the first 10 minutes. And that’s my rant for the week.

Kirkus-Style Review: Longbourn by Jo Baker

Longbourn: A Novel


By Jo Baker
Knopf Doubleday Publishing
October, 2013
978-0385351232

What was happening downstairs in the servants’ quarters while the Bennets, the Bingleys, and the exasperatingly romantic Mr. D’Arcy were immersed in the events of Pride and Prejudice?  Oh, it seemed like such a good idea for a book.

Jo Baker (The Undertow, 2012) paints a grim and darkly-detailed portrait of the lives of household servants at Longbourn, the family residence of the Bennets.  Housemaid Sarah suffers from chilblains while she toils at cleaning, laying fires, laundering, and mending in a household of five daughters.  We see Lizzie, Jane, and the other Bennet sisters through Sarah’s eyes, and the view is rather depressing. (“Perhaps that was why they spoke instructions at her from behind an embroidery hoop or over the top of a book; she had scrubbed away their sweat, their stains, their monthly blood; she knew they weren’t as rarefied as angels, and so they just couldn’t look her in the eye.”)  When a new manservant, James, is hired to assist the household, his controversial presence is a fascination to the unworldly Sarah.  James, however, bears the scars of a wanderer’s life and too much of the second half of the book is spent on the more gruesome details of his painful history.  While the servants are only scantly aware of Jane Austen’s plotline taking place upstairs, readers may be surprised at the downstairs view of familiar characters such as Mr. Collins, Lydia Bennet, and George Wickham. And Mrs. Hill, the tough-minded cook, holds a jarring secret that connects the two worlds.  The downcast tone of Baker’s narrative voice creates a hopeless atmosphere which may be appropriate for the dismal lives of the servants that people her pages.  However, it is a discordant shift from the wit and keenly-observed attitude of its source novel, and that dissonance is hard to ignore.  Readers unfamiliar with Pride and Prejudice may be unaware of the contrast, but will be weighed down by the uninviting grimness of life at Longbourn.

Read-alikes, sequels, and even zombie-themed tributes to Jane Austen have a good track-record, so expect strong initial sales.  Additionally, fans of “Downton Abbey” may relish the idea of seeing the Bennets from a below-stairs angle.  Longbourn, however, is a better concept than it is a novel.

[Disclaimer to my classmates:  Although I'm an admirer of Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice is not on my list of favorite novels.  So I'm not automatically primed to dislike any detour from the original novel.  This just didn't work for me, so I thought I'd try my hand at a Kirkus-style slam.  I am, however, in the minority here.  Longbourn received rave reviews almost across the board.  Somewhat ironically, the real Kirkus review calls the novel "irresistible."]

Secret Shopper Assignment

I had a terrific and very engaging secret shopper experience.  I am, however, a dismal failure at the espionage game. (Sigh.)

The assignment was to visit a library where we could play the role of an anonymous patron seeking readers' advisory help, and then record the experience.  My intention was to venture abroad to a library outside my hometown.  However, I happened to be attending a committee meeting at my local library on Monday, and on my way out of the building I noticed an employee that I wasn't familiar with.  I decided to seize the moment and play my part.

I approached the staff member and asked for assistance finding a good book to read.  She responded with enthusiasm, saying that she loved this part of her job.  Then she surprised me by asking, "If I asked you to recommend one book to me, something that you loved, what would it be and why?"  I thought that was a great way to phrase a question that would provide her with info on my reading tastes!  Unfortunately, since I am not a good actress and had not expected to do my "secret shopping" that day, I hadn't actually planned out what genre I would pretend to be seeking.  (Spy blunder #1. Next time, think ahead.)

I decided to choose something a bit outside my usual reading tastes (historical fiction, fantasy, Victorian lit), so I blurted out, "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was a great read.  I liked the insights into the lives of the investigators and the northern European setting.  It had a dark tone and it was fast-paced and suspenseful."  Ha!  I probably should have gone a bit slower and waited for her to ask me some questions instead of spilling out so much of the required info in one long rush.  (Spy blunder #2. Next time, less nervous jabber.)

I knew that the library did not subscribe to NoveList, so I was curious what RA tool(s) the librarian would use to make suggestions.  To my surprise, she immediately printed out the call # for a book called The Blackhouse by Peter May.  She told me that the book is about a detective from Edinburgh that goes to investigate a dark murder on the Isle of Lewis.  Like Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, the book is suspenseful and fast-moving, and the story focuses a lot of attention on the life of the investigator.  Also like GWTDT, it is the first book of a trilogy.  It sounded to me like she had nailed it on her first try and without referring to any resource!

At that point in the interview we were approached by a librarian that knows me very well -- we have friends in common and have served on community boards together.  So my covert status as an anonymous patron was busted.  Oh, snap!  (Spy blunder #3. Next time, wear a disguise?)  I fessed up to both of them that I was working on a "secret shopper" assignment, and asked the first librarian how she had come up with such an on-target recommendation without NoveList or other RA tools.  She just smiled and said that she reads a lot of books. 

This led to a really good conversation between the three of us.  My friend knows that my book club reads Historical Fiction and we talked about some great titles.  Then I asked what they would recommend as a good series for a subgenre like Historical Mysteries.  They asked a one word question in unison: "Where?"  I tossed out a quick reply: "England."  Both of them wrote down a recommendation for me -- it was like a race!  Their suggestions were Instruments of Darkness by Imogen Robertson (suspenseful, 18th century, lots of period detail), and Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear (lighter, suitable for teens, elements of romance).  Both are the first book in a series.  Again, these were recommendations made from their own reading experience, without the aid of any resource.

While I was impressed by their RA skills and enthusiasm, I think it would be difficult to be consistently effective without more tools at hand.  Both librarians were familiar with NoveList and wished their library had access.  They reported that they use Amazon and social media sights (Goodreads, Library Thing) to search for ideas when necessary, and often share good web resources with each other at the Reference desk.  From their point of view, the best way to be able to recommend good books is to a) read books, and b) talk about books.

But I think my good experience also had a lot to do with the fact that I was talking to two librarians who genuinely enjoy matching up readers and books.