Your Doorway To Good Books
December 13th 2006 22:04
I was fortunate enough to attend a Nancy Pearl seminar for librarians recently, which covered reader advisory and library book clubs. ‘Right down my alley!’ was my first thought, but I always try not to expect too much from seminars, as you can quite often come away with little (or, dare I say it) no new knowledge on the topic you attend for.
Thankfully, Nancy was able to impart some great ideas, and concrete some of my own as being worthwhile in today’s libraries. If you are not familiar with her, Nancy Pearl is the author of Book Lust and More Book Lust, which could be described as ‘readers bibles’, when it comes to finding a good book. Rather than just give you lists of books in genres, Nancy talks to you about those worth trying, and maybe those that are not, depending on what you are looking for.
This is where I found her interesting. I love talking books, and I love helping people find good books, but one of my biggest challenges is working out what a reader is looking for, and supplying them with something suitable. This is where Nancy really helped me. First she talked about doorways into books and how these different doorways open up to the reader. There are four of them – story, character, setting, and language. Simple? Yes, it is. But from my perspective, (a librarian helping someone find a good book) it gets better. Everyone takes different doorways into their books. I, for example walk through the character or language door, for these are what stay with me after really enjoying a book. The story or where it takes place is inconsequential. Everyone has their own preferences with these doors and it may alter depending on their mood, but as Nancy points out, finding a person’s doorway is as easy as saying “Tell me about the last book you really enjoyed.”
Common responses are –
“There was this guy ….” – Character
“I had to stop myself from skipping to the end to find out what happens.” – Story
“I felt like I was there …” – Setting
“It was such a beautifully written book …” Language
These sorts of comments are universal among readers and although it may not be foolproof, I believe Nancy’s formula for targeting that next great book could well be your best shot, considering the number of titles there are to choose from.
So try it on yourself. Work out which of the four doorways led you into that last really good read, and ask a librarian or bookseller which books will give you your ‘doorway’. Or try reading the synopsis on a book and working out its doorways yourself. You’ll soon get to know which books give you the most pleasure and you can avoid anything that is just a waste of your time. A word of warning though. Never dismiss a book completely. You’ll never know what’s behind a door until you open it!
Image: nancypearl.com
This is where I found her interesting. I love talking books, and I love helping people find good books, but one of my biggest challenges is working out what a reader is looking for, and supplying them with something suitable. This is where Nancy really helped me. First she talked about doorways into books and how these different doorways open up to the reader. There are four of them – story, character, setting, and language. Simple? Yes, it is. But from my perspective, (a librarian helping someone find a good book) it gets better. Everyone takes different doorways into their books. I, for example walk through the character or language door, for these are what stay with me after really enjoying a book. The story or where it takes place is inconsequential. Everyone has their own preferences with these doors and it may alter depending on their mood, but as Nancy points out, finding a person’s doorway is as easy as saying “Tell me about the last book you really enjoyed.”
Common responses are –
“There was this guy ….” – Character
“I had to stop myself from skipping to the end to find out what happens.” – Story
“I felt like I was there …” – Setting
“It was such a beautifully written book …” Language
These sorts of comments are universal among readers and although it may not be foolproof, I believe Nancy’s formula for targeting that next great book could well be your best shot, considering the number of titles there are to choose from.
So try it on yourself. Work out which of the four doorways led you into that last really good read, and ask a librarian or bookseller which books will give you your ‘doorway’. Or try reading the synopsis on a book and working out its doorways yourself. You’ll soon get to know which books give you the most pleasure and you can avoid anything that is just a waste of your time. A word of warning though. Never dismiss a book completely. You’ll never know what’s behind a door until you open it!
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