I have been learning all semester about how to link readers to their next great book. Recently I was given an assignment where my learning was really put to the test. I had to provide five readers with book titles that they would be interested in. This task was much more difficult that I could have imagined. The following post includes information on the people I helped, their interests, my search strategy and the results of each.
Reader #1
Hal is a 28 year old lover of adult comic books, graphic novels and is also a Batman devotee. He likes anything written by Grant Morrison, Garth Ennis, Brian Azzarello, Allen Moore, Bill Willingham and his favorite illustrators are Jim Lee, Jae Lee, or Brian Bolland.
Strategy: I began by asking Hal a number of questions, including, “What type of characters do you enjoy reading about?” and, “What type of stories are you interested in?” For Hal these questions were too daunting and he could only say that he liked well written characters and stories. I felt as if I was getting no where and had to adapt my questions. Finally I asked him, “What do you look for in a great graphic novel?” and he began listing off a slew of authors and illustrators that he enjoyed. I was happy to be getting somewhere and went to the computer to search those authors for him. I used Novelist, Amazon, and Reader’s Advisor Online to find works similar to what he was interested in.
Results: I found several Batman comic books and graphic novels that Hal might enjoy, only to learn that he already owned each of them. As he told me, “It’s very hard for someone to show a nerd something they don’t already know when it’s something they love.” As I understood it, I wouldn’t be able to introduce him to anything Batman related that he hadn’t already discovered himself. I was able to recommend for him a Garth Ennis book that he hadn’t heard of called, Adventures in the Rifle Brigade that seemed to pique his interest. He also seemed interested in Transmetropolitan and Loveless, two series that he had already heard of but he had forgotten that he had wanted to read. Hal was also interested in the House of Mystery series because it was written by one of his favorite authors. I also asked Hal if he would be interested in exploring novels, but he said that he no longer enjoyed reading novels and is interested in the artwork of graphic novels as much as he is the content. He seemed happy to come away with the few suggestions that I offered. Currently Hal is reading the Preacher series based on our discussion.
Reader #2
Sophia enjoys reading works by Charles de Lint, Phillip Pullman and Neil Gaiman and Roger Zelazny. She is interested in dark to light fantasy and was in the mood for “feel good” books.
Strategy: In searching for Sophia I used a number of resources. I relied heavily on Novelist and also used Reader’s Advisor Online and some materials that we reviewed in class in order to find recommendations. My reading advice for Hal was all in person and we reviewed my recommendations together, while Sophia and I communicated by email only, making it easier in some ways and more difficult in others. I asked her a number of questions, which were:
1. What is the last great book that you read?
2. Do you have any favorite authors?
3. What type of book (s) are you in the mood for?
4. What genre's do you like most, i.e. suspense, historical fiction, urban fiction, horror, non-fiction, etc.?
5. What are the qualities (if any) that you do not like in a book, i.e. sex, violence, romance, etc.?
For Sophia I made her a list of recommended titles and summaries of those titles.
Results: For Sophia I recommended works by Terri Pratchett, Hilari Bell, Peter S. Beagle, and the House of Mystery series, and a few other titles as well. Sophia stated that I did an excellent job and that she had heard good things about Peter S. Beagle, and would read Hilari Bell’s book based on my suggestions. She stated that my recommendations all seemed like they were things that would interest her and she even owned one of them already.
Reader #3
Kayla is a 33 year old mother of three. She loves Sylvia Browne, The Secret Language of Birthdays, and books about Buddhism, astrology, and/or with a spiritual slant. She told me that she was not really looking for fiction but was more interested in non-fiction books that she could read in pieces or flip through quickly.
Strategy: Initially I spoke with Kayla on the telephone, asked her the same questions that I asked Sophia and wrote down her responses. In searching for Kayla I relied most on Amazon.com. The reason for this is because I found it more difficult finding things on spiritual subjects in many of the other resources that were available to me. I also used Reader’s Advisor Online for a few of my searches but only found a few things that seemed to fit her interests. Finding quick, easy reads was my main difficulty and wanted to be sure to serve her individual reading needs.
Results: For Kayla I suggested Buddha in a Teacup by Todd Walton. It is a collection of short and spiritual stories. I also suggested Personology by Gary Goldschneider, the author of her favorite book, and How to Meditate: A Practical Guide by Kathleen McDonald. Each of these titles seemed to be the kind that you could easily browse through for information. I also suggested a few novels for Kayla, even though I wasn’t sure if she would have the time or the desire to read them. I supposed that it wouldn’t hurt and I suggested Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert and almost anything by Elizabeth Berg. Kayla said that many of the books I recommended seemed interesting and she would check them out the next time she was browsing through the library.
Reader #4
Some of Reily’s favorite authors include, Zane, Maya Angelou, Eric Jerome Dickey, and Sister Souljah. She enjoys fast paced books that have a lot of drama and suspense.
Strategy: I found Novelist to be a great help when searching for books similar to Zane’s. It had a long listing of similar titles, including summaries and qualities. I also used Novelist to find works similar to those of her other favorite authors.
Results: From the list of Zane read-alikes, I selected three titles that met Reily’s criteria for unusual characters, fast pacing and lots of drama. Because Reily also loved Maya Angelou’s poetry I recommended Nikki Giovanni, a poet with similar style and subject matter and a collection of short stories and poems by African American female writers that I thought might also be of interest to Reily. Reily was most interested in reading my recommendation of, Let That Be a Reason by Vicki M. Stringer. I’m still waiting to learn if she is enjoying it.
Reader #5
Staci’s favorite authors are Marianne Williamson, Eckhart Tolle and Aristotle. She enjoyed reading Aristotle and the Secrets of Life by Margaret Doody and Glenn Beck’s Common Sense.
Strategy: I searched Novelist to find suggestions similar to Margaret Doody’s Aristotle mysteries and looked to Amazon for some of the more current non-fiction works similar to Glenn Beck, Marianne Williamson, and Eckhart Tolle, who are both authors of self-help type works. The self-help genre was difficult for me to search, I must admit and I was only able to find her one good recommendation in this area.
Results: For Staci’s self-help interest I found her Miracles by Stuart Wilde. I chose this due to its similarity to Marianne Williamson’s works. I had less trouble finding books along the historical mysteries that Staci seems to enjoy. I suggested a few things along these lines and even found a series, A Mystery of Alexander the Great by P.C. Doherty. I have received little feedback from Staci other than, “Thank you”. I am still waiting to hear if she liked/ disliked any of my recommendations.
Overall, I must say that I learned a great deal about how to ask the right questions and to search within someone’s interests and a little bit outside of them. A few of the people that I questioned regarding their reading interests were confused or overwhelmed with my questions. In person I was able to adapt my questions in order to provide more specific recommendations, however through email it was much more challenging. Also, for each person that I helped I was able to provide them a list of recommendations that were based on some of the authors that they stated they were interested in and a, “You also may try” list if they would like to branch out. Sophia seemed to find some things on that list that she really liked. So, while sometimes people know exactly what they like and stick to it, other times they may appreciate something a little different.
