Apparently I'm a Polygamist

Had I dated NoveList five years ago we would be happily married. Perhaps making low interest mortgage payments on a quaint three room bungalow near the beach. No kids. One happy retriever frolicking about. But in the bookselling world I started dating fantasticfiction.com. And really I was playing the field because I was also dating Ipage and B&Tonline. And when I was really desperate, and when no one was looking, amazon.com. I'm a tramp what can I say. So while I recognize the possibilities with NoveList it isn't my go-to book source.

Most of my Discovery Exercises happen first by randomly playing around with the weekly resource. I click to my heart's content and delve into the meat of the resource though trial and error. NoveList is great for this method because of the volume of info and opinion provided.

When I saw the faded "Describe a book. Ex. Japan 1930 woman" I thought two things. Thing one, Memoirs of a Geisha. Thing two, ooooh fun game! So I spent too many minutes trying to get the computer to guess my entries. "Lawyer, daughter, trial, ham costume" didn't immediately present To Kill a Mockingbird but lose the ham and substitute either "race" or "Alabama" and bam, spot on. "Boston, detectives, Bubba" was perhaps too easy as NoveList knew it could be none other than Dennis Lehane. "Antarctica, intersection rant, blackberry bush" comes up short. "Antarctica, mother, funny" lists Where'd You Go, Bernadette? as the top answer. (Check this book out. It's fantastically hilarious!) The lesson here is be specific without being too specific. Focus on the general themes and not a particular scene.

"Canadian Fiction" is a legitimate subset? I know every other patron through the door sings the praises of Louise Penny but really is there a call for fiction set in British Columbia? For maple syrups lovers? For Ehs? These aren't off-putting sections by any means, they just seem comically random. I did learn that Sara Gruen is of the North so there's that tidbit.

The Professional Resource "Award Winners" is a good grouping of titles. It's a handy feature as the local English teachers like to assign book reports from several award categories. A generic search engine can just as easily bring up a list of Caldecott Medal Winners, or Orange Prize nominations (I've been dating Google for years too.) but it's a smart move to have so many options in one location. I'll have to read a few of those Canadian Library Association Book of the Year for Children titles.

My favorite idea is an easily stolen idea so let me confess that I will be stealing myriad ideas for book displays from the Recommended reads lists. This thrills me.

Book discussion guides could be a great starting point for any book club. Current choices and intelligent discussions.

Playing around with a searchable series I turned to the peculiar 11 year old with a penchant for poisons and a bicycle named Gladys. Oh, Flavia de Luce, how entertaining you are. Detailed is my preferred visual as it gives both cover and synopsis.  With this option finding that "blue book, you know the one with the words on the cover" could be made less agonizing; a tilt on the monitor and the patron can pick which blue book exactly. The Grid option is pleasing visually as well and could perhaps be incorporated into a book display. I have a beef with the Title Only option as it's more than a simple list of titles. The fuzz is cut down in the print version, yes, but I'll stick with Fantastic Fiction on the print me a list date. I stuck with Volume as my sort by. There didn't seem to be a use for the other options. Granted my series has only five listings. I imagine Mr. Patterson would have pages and pages so the other options might be relevant. I'll spare you my Patterson rant for now but live in fear.

Read-alikes are a tricky beast. I get it, really I do. You like David Baldacci so you may like Stuart Woods. In addition to some of the suggestions seeming hit or miss, let's branch out. You just read this particular fast paced, sensitive comedy how about you now try this hilarious, action packed drama. Or -gasp- some nonfiction. My reading tastes are eclectic and I have always found this to be beneficial. It leads to the well-rounding of my suggestions. Read-aliking can be useful but I suggest pushing things a bit to broaden a patron's reading experience

Novelist is dandy for librarians but even dandier is NoveList in the hands of a voracious patron. It seems fairly user friendly as far as navigation goes. I see myself promoting the site more than using it personally. Appreciative patrons will be inspired to try new things, or revisit old series after browsing. Share the MARVELousity!

The moral of the love story is that I may stick with Fantastic Fiction but when he doesn't take out the trash, or he insists on wearing that hideous shirt out for drinks I will make room for NoveList in the dating rotation. Guess I'm moving to Utah with my polygamist ways.

Happy Reading & Cheers!