Annotation

Author: Richard Bachman / Stephen King

Title: The Long Walk

Genre: Horror

Publication Date: 1979

Number of Pages: 253 pages

Geographical Setting: Maine, USA

Time Period: A somewhat vague totalitarian future.

Plot Summary: Raymond "Ray" Garrity participates in an annual competition known simply as "The Long Walk," against 99 other teenage boys from various places in the United States in an effort to win "the prize"--anything you want for the rest of your life. The book is set in a dystopian future version of America in which a shadowy, Castro-esque figure know simply as "The Major," has taken control of the country. In order to win, Ray must simply walk further than all of the other boys in the competition. The boys must maintain the pace of 4 miles per hour, and if they stop moving at this pace at any point during the contest, they are issued a warning by the contest monitors. Warnings are erased by an hour of walking without falling behind-- but upon the forth violation of this simple rule, the offender is shot and killed on the spot.

Subject Headings:

Teenage athletes -- Fiction.

Fascism -- United States -- Fiction.

United States -- Politics and Government -- Fiction.

Appeal: Fans of horror and dystopian teen fiction-- voted as one of the 100 best books for teenage readers published between 1966 and 2000 by the American Library Association in 2000.

3 terms that best describe this book: dystopian, sadistic, heart-wrenching

Similar Authors and Works:

Battle Royale by Koushun Takami -- The story of a group of Japanese middle school students abducted by a fictitious, authoritarian Japanese government and forced to battle to the death on a deserted island. This novel was also adapted into a graphic novel. 

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins -- Another story where teenagers are forced to fight each other to the death by a totalitarian government, this time after being chosen at random. 

The Taking by Dean Koontz -- The citizens of a small town in California are besieged by an unnatural storm and are soon running for their lives from a race of extra-terrestrials hell-bent on ending humanity.  

Week 6 Prompt Response

While I was looking for innovative ways to prompt the horror genre, I came across an article in American Libraries Magazine called Target Library Marketing: Get a Little Risky," which was basically an interview with Ben Bizzle who does library marketing for the Craighead County Jonesboro Public Library in Arkansas: http://americanlibrariesmagazine.dreamhosters.com/blogs/the-scoop/targeted-library-marketing-get-a-little-risky/

Bizzle created faux-ecards that mimicked the incredibly popular SomeEcards signature design and created advertisements for a program at his library called Concerts on the Lawn.  He also suggested incorporating cats into advertising-- I suppose this is because despite literally millions of images of cats all over the internet, people will still share a cute cat picture they've never seen before with every single one of their friends. So the first idea that I had was to use old horror novel covers or movie posters featuring cats, and change the text on them to library slogans, like "scare up a good book at the library," etc... or promote specific programs (Halloween programs, etc...) I found a few good images that would be fairly easy to alter in photo shop:

The library could then share them with followers on Twitter, Facebook, etc...

The second idea is a little more ambitious: create recreations of scenes from classic horror stories featuring cats.

So, for example, a cat turning away from a set of menacing headlights and some sort of appropriate text in a horror font that says: Stephen King's "Christine," Pg. 189 - brought to you by your local library. Or a cat dressed up as Dracula, about to suck the blood of another cat. It would be a labor intensive, but it could definitely be done.

Week 5 Prompt Responses

Reviewers are as unique as any business in America, and the diversity we see with models for review shouldn't come to a surprise to anyone. A publication like Booklist, who refuses to publish bad reviews, relies on a readership that appreciates their integrity and structure--the advantage here is that anyone doing acquisitions can simply flip to any page of the publication and find a worthwhile purchase for their library without having to separate the good from the bad themselves.  A publication like the Kirkus Review, on the other hand, might appeal to people who seek some guidance, but would ultimately like to make their decisions based on their own opinions. In regard to eBooks, the fact of the matter is that most main stream publishers have an extremely arduous process when it comes submission and acceptance--which represents a higher degree of quality control-- while eBooks are cheap and easy to produce through a vanity press that may have a universal, cost-based acceptance policy.  Major book reviewers understand this, and may shun unheralded eBooks in any genre-- not just romance-- because of the lack of any kind of editorial standards for self-published books. However, the success of books like "Fifty Shades of Grey," has proven that eBooks published through vanity presses can still gain traction on a grass-roots level and eventually turn into best-sellers.

Ultimately, both the Amazon review and the blogger's review of "The Billionaire's First Christmas," amount to one person's opinion.  While every person has the right to an opinion, and every person's opinion is valid, a review from an organization such as the New York Times--where the reviewer undoubtedly needed an educational background in a literary field of study--should (and typically does) hold more weight with consumers. I would likely buy this book for my library, but that has more to do with the fact that this genre of literature circulates extremely well at my library than how the book has been rated by these reviewers.

"Angela's Ashes," is a wildly popular memoir for a reason-- it met extremely stringent publishing standards and was positively received by major reviewers with substantial backgrounds in the literary field.  When books that come from major publishers are given more attention and granted more accolades it's typically because they are better books, plain and simple. Every book may be submitted to major publishers and they all stand the same change of being accepted.

I'm reminded of the the classic response given by the actor, author, comedian and musician, Steve Martin, when he was asked for advice on "how to make it" by an aspiring comedian: "Be undeniably brilliant." I believe that reviews from "credible" sources ("credible" meaning reviewers that only employ people with a substantial background studying the relevant field of discipline) are more important than they've ever been, given that it's easier to publish and distribute books to a large audience than at any prior point in history.  Ultimately, however, I think it is up to the librarians serving their communities to find books that will appeal to their patrons regardless of how positively they are reviewed, and that a review is only as reputable as the person writing the review.  

Kirkus Review

GONZO: A Graphic Biography of Hunter S. Thompson

By Will Bingley & Anthony Hope-Smith

Author Will Bingley and illustrator Anthony Hope-Smith pay loving tribute to the life of the legendary writer and journalist Hunter S. Thompson.

Told through a series of flashbacks, GONZO recalls a number of key events that shaped the demeanor and destiny of the controversial American author and originator of "Gonzo-journalism." Beginning with his first run-in with the law-- after destroying a mailbox and being interrogated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation as a pre-teen-- GONZO chronicles the evolution of the author until his eventual suicide in 2005. Hunter's best known work includes "Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail," a serial published for Rolling Stone magazine while covering McGovern's camp in the 1972 presidential election, "Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga," recounting his experiences with the Hell's Angels in the 1960's, and "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," which was eventually adapted for the big screen. The book also gives the reader an intimate look into his family life and his ill-fated campaign for Sheriff of Aspen, Colorado.

Beautifully illustrated and poetically versed, GONZO paints an unflinching, uncompromising portrait of one of America's most notable authors and pop-culture figures.

Published by SelfMadeHero, London, UK, 2010. 180 pages.

ISBN: 9781419702426

Adventure Annotation

Author: J.R.R. Tolkien

Title: The Hobbit

Genre: Adventure

Publication Date: Sept. 21, 1937

Number of Pages: 317 pages

Geographical Setting: Middle Earth

Time Period: The 3^rd Age

Series (If applicable): Prequel to the Lord of the Rings trilogy

Plot Summary:

Bilbo Baggins, an unassuming hobbit from the land of the Shire, gets a surprise visit from Gandalf the Grey—a powerful wizard harboring secrets that may have grave consequences for the fate of Middle Earth; he is soon recruited by a traveling party of dwarves on a mission to reclaim their ancient kingdom, beneath the Lonely Mountain, from the vicious dragon Smaug.  With danger lurking around every corner, armies of goblins and trolls in their way, and a vicious orc-lord named Azog hot on their heels, Bilbo and his companions must rely on their swords, their wit, and a mysterious magic ring that grants the power of invisibility to its wearer to keep them alive on their perilous journey.

Subject Headings:

Babbins, Bilbo (Fictional character)

Wizards - Fiction

Hobbits (Fictional characters)

Appeal:

A canonical adventure,  The Hobbit is appropriate for fans of action-packed fantasy of all ages.  

The 3 terms that best describe this book:

Epic

Adventure

Fantasy

Similar Authors and Works (why are they similar?):

C.S. Lewis : The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe  - An epic fantasy story that takes place, like The Hobbit, in a fantasy world in which the protagonists must do battle with a nefarious, magical villain for control of their world. 

J.K. Rowling : Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone – A tale of a boy wizard attending Hogwart Academy, a school for the magically inclined, navigating adolescence while also preparing for a battle to the death with Lord Voldemort, the wizardly world’s ultimate villain.

Ursula K. LeGuin : A Wizard of Earthsea - The story of Ged, an arrogant young wizard who - while experimenting with the dark arts at the school for magic on the island of Roke- unwittingly unleashes a demon hell-bent on devouring his soul, and must battle it to the very end of the world. 

Secret Shopper Assignment

            I approached the reference desk at the library I choose for this assignment and started simply by casually informing the librarian there that I was looking for a recommendation for a book to read.  The first question I was asked was simply, “what kind of books do you like?”  I informed the librarian that I had recently finished the Walking Dead graphic novels and the second book in the Veronica Mars series, Mr. Kiss and Tell, and that I liked them a great deal. I also told her that I had just finished binging on classic Stephen King novels, which included The Shining, Christine, and The Long Walk, as well as the novellas The Shawshank Redemption and The Body. 

      She asked me if I typically read horror, and I told her that actually, that wasn’t my typical first choice of genre to read. She asked me what was, and I said that I usually go for more literary books.  She asked me what I meant by “literary,” and I mentioned that John Irving, Kurt Vonnegut and Hunter S. Thompson were probably my favorite authors, mainly because of the language—especially in Thompson’s case—and the unpredictable plotlines and humor in Irving and Vonnegut’s books.  I mentioned that I liked books that were on the dark side, but not necessarily horror, and that Thompson’s book, Hell’s Angels, was one of my favorites.  I mentioned that I also really loved The Electric Kool-Aide Acid Test by Tom Wolfe, because it’s sort of a dark take on Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters, and I like reading about that decade, and I enjoy books about what people refer to as “the counter culture.”

            At this point she asked me if I’d ever read anything by Thomas Pynchon.  I told her that I hadn’t, but that I had actually always meant to.  Then she suggested a book by Pynchon called Inherent Vice and told me that there was a movie out about it. She gave me a brief plot description: there’s a sort of classic noir setup with a private investigator (like the film Chinatown), except that the investigator is constantly taking drugs which alter what he perceives as real, and it’s set in the late 1960’s in Los Angeles during the time that Ronald Reagan was the Governor and the Charles Manson trial was going on.  I ended up taking it home with me, and I loved it. It was the perfect mix of dark humor and action, it was well paced, and most of the book involves the main character, Doc, exploring the seedy depths of LA counter-culture.  Pynchon also does some interesting things with the language in the book that remind of Virginia Wolfe or William Faulkner—he writes the story in a way in which a lot of the sentences and the different character dialogues kind of blur into each other. It’s hard to explain without reading it, but the overall effect is that everything comes off hazy, and sometimes you don’t know if what is being described is real, or if it’s just the paranoid delusions of a junkie.  Overall, I was very, very pleased with the experience. 

WEEK #3 PROMPT

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!

         

The book you want is called The Lunatic Cafe. 

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.

Yellow Emperor's Cure by Kunal Basu, according to NoveList, is a "fast-paced" novel in which Basu writes prose that is, like Kingsolver's, "lush," "lyrical," and "richly detailed." Set in China prior to the Boxer Rebellion, the story involves a young Portuguese surgeon looking for a cure for his father's syphilis and falling in love with a native girl who also happens to be the assistant of an older, Chinese doctor who might hold the key to the cure.    

3. I like reading books set in different countries. I just read one set in China, could you help me find one set in Japan? No, not modern – historical. I like it when the author describes it so much it feels like I was there!

My immediate reaction is to recommend James Clavell's Shogun, which is a drama about a British explorer who ends up becoming the right-hand man of a Japanese warlord after getting shipwrecked there. It's set in the 17th century, and Novelist has it rated at 5 of 5 stars.  

4. I read this great mystery by Elizabeth George called Well-Schooled in Murder and I loved it. Then my dentist said that if I liked mysteries I would probably like John Sandford, but boy was he creepy I couldn't finish it! Do you have any suggestions?

Well-Schooled in Murder happens to be the 3rd book in Elizabeth George's series about investigator Thomas Lynley, and there are 18 books in the series at this point, so you have the option to read some more of her work.  Novelist also suggests Ruth Rendell's Wexford series of mystery's, and calls them both "literate" and "character-centered" with "psychological trappings."  

5. My husband has really gotten into zombies lately. He’s already read The Walking Dead and World War Z, is there anything else you can recommend?

The As the World Dies series of novels by Rhiannon Frater is a popular choice with Walking Dead fans according to Novelist, and takes place in a post-apocalyptic world that is infested with zombies.  If your husband really likes graphic novels, American Vampire by Scott Snyder and Rafael Albuquerque is an Eisner award-winning series of horror books featuring a lot of blood and guts-- not zombies, but still excellent.