[OPLINLIST] NOVELIST NOTES (Feb 05): What We're Reading!

[Lynne Rohweder]

NoveList Notes							February,
2005
Please share by forwarding to any other colleagues who would benefit from
this content. Please note that the "What We're Reading" feature is not
currently available in NoveList K-8.

		What a great addition to our library's services!  This is
really exciting!  Finally an on-line guide to current fiction in the 'What
We're Reading' articles with excellent synopses.  I particularly will be
following Ms. Chelton's advice as her tastes seem to parallel mine.

		~A patron at the Timberland Regional Library System
		Tidewater, Washington

 What We're Reading - Our Newest Feature in NoveList

Have you ever wondered what Joyce Saricks or Patrick Jones is reading?  Or
who Nancy Pearl's favorite authors are?  "What We're Reading" provides you
with lists of "current reads" by your favorite experts in the field of
Readers' Advisory and Young Adult and Children's Literature. 

		When the Emperor was Divine by Julie Otsuka 
		This was a novel that took my breath away. Its simplicity
and powerful message makes it a story to be shared and discussed. The novel,
told from the points of view of an unnamed mother, her daughter, her son,
and finally her husband, chronicles their lives as respectable
Japanese-American citizens in California at the beginning of World War II,
followed by the husband's arrest and removal in the middle of the night, and
the rest of the family's experiences in a Utah camp, waiting for the war to
end.

		Joyce Saricks
		What We're Reading

Clicking into this feature will allow you to read about five of the current
titles being read by well-known readers such as David Carr, Mary K. Chelton,
Merle Jacob, Sarah Johnson, Patrick Jones, Nancy Pearl, Joyce Saricks and
Lynne Welch, with new names being added monthly.  

What We're Reading Stays Fresh and Up-to-Date

		The Art of Deception by Ridley Pearson
		"I can't remember how I got on to Pearson, and I still
haven't read all of his stuff, but his 'Matthews-Boldt' series, of which
this is the eighth book, and the first of the series I read, is just great!
Basically, the series is about an ensemble cast of characters in the Seattle
Police Department: Lou Boldt, a captain, Daphne Matthews, the department's
forensic psychologist, and one of my favorite fictional characters of all
time, Jon LaMoia, the department's womanizer and crack detective."

		Mary K. Chelton
		What We're Reading

Our contributors for this feature will be sending us newly updated lists of
what they are reading every quarter so that the site stays fresh with their
current reading lists.

Favorite Authors

Each of our contributors lists their favorite author with a brief statement
about why the author is one of their favorites.  For example:

	*	Nancy Pearl loves Jasper Fforde. "I love his wacky sense of
humor, his inventiveness, and his joyful vision of a world in which books
matter more than just about anything else."

	*	Patrick Jones lists Chris Crutcher among his favorites
because he is "simply, the best of the best for his ability to explore how
teens get through hard times by making connections with their community."

	*	Merle Jacob really likes Lisa Scottoline because "there have
been a number of female lawyers in legal suspense, but Lisa's characters are
the most realistic, sympathetic, and interesting. I get involved with the
story and the characters."

By visiting the What We're Reading page for a specific contributor, you will
see a box at the top right with links to their favorite authors.  Clicking
on the link will retrieve a list of that author's works in NoveList.
Clicking on the link "why they're my favorites" will take you to their brief
notes about why the author is a favorite.

Connecting with a Contributor's Taste and Style

		The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark
Haddon. 
		Some books we stand in awe of, thinking after the first
chapter ends: "How can the writer possibly sustain this level of engagement?
How can it continue to work from chapter to chapter?" Motherless Brooklyn
(by Jonathan Lethem), Bel Canto (by Ann Patchett) and The Lovely Bones (by
Alice Sebold) are examples of books whose delight comes in part from that
rare kind of sustained genius spoken in an authentic voice. In this case,
the bravery of Michael Haddon's novel makes me gasp twice, first for its
precision and consistency, and second for its intuition and compassion. Is
there anything more compelling for a reader? The heroic Christopher John
Francis Boone is autistic, which is to say, complex, private, intense,
literal, self-terrorized and isolated. Haddon gives us Christopher -- who
writes his own investigation beginning with the death of a dog -- as a human
mind processing and interpreting the signs and information of the world as
they appear to him.

		David Carr
		What We're Reading

Some of our contributors read an eclectic mix of fiction (Joyce Saricks,
Nancy Pearl, Mary K. Chelton), some read more from one genre (Merle Jacob -
mysteries; Patrick Jones - young adult literature; Sarah Johnson -
historical fiction). You or your patrons will find certain contributors that
speak to you either through their list of favorite authors, their style of
writing or their current reads.  This is the real beauty and value of What
We're Reading.  You and your patrons find contributors whose reading you
want to follow, and just as you check the library shelves for a new book by
a favorite author, you will be coming back to What We're Reading to see
what's new.

Where to find What We're Reading: Currently, What We're Reading is featured
on the homepage so it is easy to find.  You can also access its link by
clicking on the New Search button and scrolling down to the "Read About
Popular Titles and Topics" section.  When the tabbed version of NoveList
comes out (Spring 2005), you can find What We're Reading at the For Readers
tab.