Caitlyn's Reading Blog

Author: Mary Roach Title: Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife Genre: Nonfiction (Dewey number 129) Subject: Afterlife, death and paranormal phenomena Type: Science, Spirituality Publication Date: 2005 Number of Pages: 295 Geographical Setting: various Time Period: various Plot Summary: What happens when we die? This is the fundamental question Roach’s book explores. However, this book is not meant to debunk or prove definitively the existence of an afterlife. From the introduction Roach writes “this is not a debunking book. Skeptics and debunkers provide a needed service in this area, but their work more or less assumes an outcome. I’m trying hard to not to make assumptions, not to have an agenda. Simply put, this is a book for people who would like very much to believe in a soul and in an afterlife for it to hang around in, but who have trouble accepting these things on faith” (14). The book covers a wide period of time from the early Greek and Hebrew philo...

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed Reader’s Advisory Matrix: 1. Where is this book on the narrative continuum? Highly narrative 2. What is the subject of the book? The book’s author, Cheryl Strayed and the journey of self discovery she went on when she hiked the Pacific Crest Trail by herself. It is also about her coming to terms with her mother’s death. 3. What type of book is it? It is a memoir/autobiography 4. Articulate appeal:      a. What is the pacing of the book? The book is highly readable and fairly fast-paced      b. Describe the characters: Cheryl Strayed, the book author, is the main character. She is self reliant and strong. Other characters that feature in the book are her family and ex-husband. Her mother is the other character that is described well. She also is very strong willed, funny, and caring.      c. How does the story feel? The story is ...

Appeal terms for ebooks tend to be the same as for print books. A big difference however are the technical issues that can arise with using ebooks. With so many different formats and ereaders available it is difficult for the library to provide ebooks that match everyone’s devices. Another thing to consider is the actual experience of reading on the device. Certain devices may be less comfortable for patrons to read on or may be harsh on the eyes. On the other hand, being able to change the font, background color, or being able to immediately look up a word while reading are all things that could appeal to reluctant readers or readers with disabilities who could benefit from these modifications. The size of the device, whether or not it is touchscreen or has buttons, and the resolution all contribute greatly to the reading experience when using ebooks (Dunneback 327). These are all additional appeal factors when considering ebooks or ereaders. Audiobooks also have similar appeal terms ...

I attended the Harry Potter Book Discussion at one of my library system’s branches. I went in January and February. As the title of the group implies, they discuss the Harry Potter original books and the extended universe. When I attended in January we discussed Harry Potter and The Cursed Child parts 1 & 2 and last month we discussed Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (both the screenplay and the movie). We aren’t meeting in March unfortunately but for April we’ll be discussing Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald and for May we’re branching out to The Magicians by Lev Grossman. Even though I work in a library I have never participated in a book club or book discussion. I have almost zero experience with attending or facilitating a book club. However, I was very pleasantly surprised by this one! I planned to attend the January meeting to satisfy the class requirement but I liked it so much that I went back last month and plan to go to the future meetings. T...

The topic for my paper is exploring narrative nonfiction and how to use the readers advisory techniques we've been learning to suggest these books to our patrons. I chose this topic because I don't read a lot of nonfiction (but the nonfiction I have read reads like a novel) and I wanted to learn more about the topic. Here is an excerpt from my paper: "Conducting a readers advisory interview for narrative nonfiction is similar as for fiction. The only real differences we must keep in mind are the importance of the subject and type of book as well as the unique appeals for narrative nonfiction. Included in this paper are lists of websites for both popular and award winning nonfiction. The list of RUSA’s sure bets for each genre of narrative nonfiction is also included. Peruse these resources to get a quick primer on narrative nonfiction and the popular books in each category. The last (and perhaps most advantageous) workhorse in the world of narrative nonfiction readers a...