Adult Reader's Advisory

I think one of the best ways to capture new readers for a particular genre is passive reader's advisory, but with a media integration; for example, simple "If You Liked This, Try These" displays that showcase popular movies with recommended reads, including the book the movies are based off of. This allows customers to peruse at their own leisure, and take advantage of our recommendations while keeping the marketing experience low-contact, a preference for most these days.  Horror is a genre that has a lot or crossover, especially with science fiction and mystery. If you can draw in fans of those genres, it can be easier to market material that may get overlooked or introduce new authors. Many movie fans might not even realize that some of their favorites were originally books. The recent popularity of Stephen King's It  might make this a good time to introduce fans to his other works (though maybe some of the shorter one, It  is a very, very long book). Or Neil Gaima...

  Kirkus Style Review The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle  By Stuart Turton  Release Date September 18, 2018 Genre: Mystery, Fantasy Evelyn Hardcastle will die tonight. And tonight will happen again and again until Aiden can solve the mystery of who kills her; though along the way, he would like to know how he got here, who he can trust, and if there is anyone who isn’t hiding something at Blackheath Manor. Upon waking in the forest, a man finds himself lost with no memory of how he came to be here or even his own name. A stranger crashes into him, dropping a compass into his coat pocket and as he whispers just one word, “North”. Making his way to the imposing, though woefully neglected, Blackheath Manor, he discovers himself to be Sebastian Bell, a doctor who has been invited to the manor, infamous for his access to drugs, and one of many disreputable persons attending the lavish affair. All is not as it seems though and after a visit from the “Plague Doctor” he steadily...

  eBooks are more popular than ever, with the restrictions on in-person library visits and increases in time at home. According to the Editor-in-chief of Good e-Reader, Overdrive saw a 30% increase in digital book borrowing in May 2020, a trend that has continued through months of shutdowns. Expanding the eBook collection is something that has to continue, but with limited, if any, reviews, it can be difficult to choose what is worth adding to the collection. Unfortunately, many books available only in eBook format are typically far less costly and therefore more appealing, but spending any money at all, no matter how little, could be a waste if the book is terrible.   While both reviews of The Billionaire’s First Christmas have an informal approach, I feel like they are both reliable. These kind of books definitely have a specific audience they appeal to, like the first reviewer, an audience that wouldn’t go near it, and an audience that might find themselves with nothin...

 I really enjoyed this experience and got a great recommendation in the process! Between the limited in-person hours at my nearby libraries and my full-time job eating up most of my day, I opted to try a virtual experience and used an Ask-A-Librarian tool from my old hometown library.  She asked me a ton of great questions, took my info, and asked me to give her a couple hours. She emailed me over two recommendation based on my preferences for something thought-provoking, character driven, and somewhere in either the mystery or literary fiction genres.  My two recommendations: Ghosts of the Missing by Kathleen Donohoe  The Midnight Library by Matt Haig I already picked up the Matt Haig title a couple weeks ago and just haven't had a chance to read it yet but I was very intrigued by the other option and I am definitely planning to read it! I had a very good experience but I know it doesn't always go that way. After getting my chance I this side of it though, I feel in...

  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 love that series-I started reading it after I finished the Sookie Stackhouse books and couldn’t put them down! The fourth book is The Lunatic Café; we finally get some good werewolf action in this one! I used my own bookshelf to answer this question but double-checked on Novelist just in case mine was shelved out of order. I searched Anita Blake under series and selected the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series. 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. While I haven’t read Prodigal Summer yet, I’ve heard great things about it and I love Kingsolver’s other work, The Poisonwood Bible. For something similar, I’d recommend The Orchardist ...

       Dark Places   by Gillian Flynn 2010 349 pages Synopsis:  Libby Day is introduced to the reader as the sort of person you don’t like but you figure she can’t help that; after all, when your sisters and mother are murdered and at seven years old your testimony is what sends your brother to jail for the horrific crime, it can be hard to adjust to a normal life. Libby spends as much time as possible doing nothing at all but never lets herself think about that night, about the family she lost, and the family she put behind bars. At least, not until she runs out of money. Now Libby finds herself surrounded by true crime geeks, outsiders who have devoted hours to her family’s case and will pay her to help them access the people closest to the crime. Although reluctant at first, and defensive of their immediate claims on Ben’s innocence, Libby finds herself uncovering contradictory information and puzzling accounts of her family’s behavior in the...