HORROR Annotation

The Fifth Child

By Doris Lessing


Synopsis: 

David and Harriett Lovatt fall in love at a work party and shortly afterwards they get married. Sounds like a happy ending? Not in this novel! Harriett is in for the surprise of her life: the birth of her fifth child Ben.

Her painful pregnancy serve as a foreshadowing of the misery to come. Ben's violent and destructive nature isolates him from his family, and eventually Ben is admitted into an institution. Harriet however feels guilty and brings him back home.

Although Ben tries to adjust to life with his family and others throughout the novel, his main characteristics remain the same. He makes friends with others like him, and his mother comes to accept his true nature, while giving up on her dreams and happiness.

Characteristics that fits it into horror: 

Dark tone: The narration style is told from a third person point of view, and although the narration seems objectives, it highlights the despair and misery that Ben's actions cause unto others.

Twist to the typical love story: People find comfort while reading about those who fall in love at first sight and dream about making a big family, however, this novel takes away those feelings to replace them with pure horror.

The asylum: Ben is admitted to an institution for children with mental problems, in which he is treated very badly along with the other children. That notion itself is horrifying.

Pregnancy made into pure horror: Pregnant women should not read this book!

Ben's paranormal, inexplicable behavior: Ben is constantly angry and violent, however, the ominous signs of his dark nature begins as early as when he was still unborn, giving his mother pains which she had not experienced anything like with her other 4 children.

Read-a-likes: 

1- A Week in December by Sebastian Faulks

2- The Piano Man's Daughter by Timothy Findley

3- The Spoils of Poynton by Henry James

4- Amsterdam by Ian McEwan

5- The Gravedigger's Daughter by Joyce Carol Oats

This is exactly how I felt after reading this novel:

 

Promoting Horror Books at Public Libraries

Who knew reading horror books can only happen during the month Halloween?

Truth is, the horror genre can be read anytime, and anywhere!

This link on Pintrest has amazing horror books display ideas !

https://www.pinterest.com/monsterlibraria/marketing-horror-at-the-library/

Also this marketing link gives neat marketing tips!

http://658point8.com/2012/02/06/ten-tips-for-better-book-displays/

Also libraries can publish book trailers on their website/social media! Check out this example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXya-LGEp3s

Don't let a good horror fiction collection collect dust! Promote it now :)

ASYLUM by Madeleine Roux

Fans of Ransom Riggs' Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children series might enjoy reading this book. 

This young adult horror story revolves around Daniel Crawford as he attends a summer program at a building that used to be a sanatorium. As expected, strange events begin to happen, and secrets begin unfolding. 

While the photographs add nicely to the plot, unfortunately the book lacks originality. The characters are typical, and the plot is predictable. The events seem to follow each other without giving readers the time to speculate their own theories. Because the plot lacks originality, it leads to no creativity from users. 

There is a sequel to this book, however, after reading the first book in the series, I wonder if the other books would be better.   

Week 5 Prompt

So this is how I feel right now.

My computer is failing me in the Middle East, moreover, the Internet here is VERY bad and VERY unreliable. Like paying 3 grand for an apartment which comes with BAD internet and cockroaches. 

So, let's get to business. Week 5 is about trusting reviews for the acquisition/recommendation at libraries. Personally, I trust reviews for personal purchases especially through Amazon, as it shows a check mark if the reviewer has made an Amazon Verified Purchase which helps with those who sabotage products for fun and ruin it for everyone else. 

About the romantic ebooks, not a fan, but as I said, I trust reviews so even though I don't read the genre, I go through reviews to make sure the perfect title is recommended to users. I trust reviews from consumers more than professional reviewers and the reason is simple, the consumers tell the truth but the professional reviewers can be purchased. From the review, it doesn't seem like this book is romantic suspense. 

About Angela's Ashes, I noticed how consistent all reviews provided are in terms of scope and quality, and I personally would add this book to the library collection based on these reviews. 

RA Secret Shopper Experience

Unfortunately, I currently reside in a country where public libraries are non-existent, and academic libraries are only to be used by students. In this Middle Eastern island, there is a huge public library attached to the Grand Mosque, and I have tried to conduct my reader’s advisory secret shopper assignment there, however, I was horrified by the unconcerned attitude of the staff and the limited collection to publications in Arabic and the dominance of shelves of Islamic Studies content everywhere. Therefore, I have decided to use the library on the US Navy military installation base for this assignment.

My feelings exactly at the library by the mosque

The base library consists of two floors, however, due to the scarce number of employees (only one librarian and two volunteers), the librarian sits downstairs and leaves the floor upstairs unattended. Each floor can only be accessed separately through an exterior stairwell. Every time I visit, I notice that the librarian is always busy running around and assisting people.  I had trouble finding where collections were because there were no signs, but the librarian was very helpful and explained to me where everything was.

The librarian sits at a desk and it is the first thing visitors see when they come in. Although she has no MLS, she has been maintaining the base library for years. The volunteers are also non-MLS.

I sat on a bench for a while reading a book but listening in to conversations around me. A group of kids approached the librarian and started chatting. The librarian was so good with the kids and she made them laugh as they told her stories about their day. Later, she discussed some books that she has on order and thought they may be interested in because they enjoy Pete the Cat series.

A few service members approached the desk and asked for assistance with the printer/copier. The librarian was happy to help. Other questions to the librarian were about getting a library card, or checking to see if items were returned to the library.

I genuinely needed a young adult book to read, and I decided to use this excuse to speak to the librarian and see if she can help me. She was extremely busy, so I felt bad when I was asking her questions. I asked first if she can help me find a good young adult book. She responded with, “You mean children books?” and I said “No, teens.” Instead of recommending a book, she told me where the collection was instead. She went with me to the shelf and pointed to the collection saying that for sure I would find something good to read there. I completely understand her response being the only librarian and lacking RA tools and databases. 

The librarian demonstrated excellent personal qualities suggested by Bopp in the book “Reference and Information Service”, because she was service oriented, patient, persistent, sensitive, self-controlled, flexible, had a sense-of-humor, had good judgment, had knowledge and confidence. I also admire her passion about the library she manages, and her willingness to stay open during holidays to accommodate armed forces personnel. So in truth, even though I did not get a good RA recommendation, I do not feel bad about it. I enjoy this library a lot and thank God for it in a place where reading and libraries are not appreciated. 

References:

Bopp, R. (2011). Reference and information services: An introduction (4th ed.). Santa Barbara, Calif.: Libraries Unlimited.

Prompt 1

So I just noticed that the first prompt is supposed to be published here, and not on the instructor's blog. Naturally, this is me right now:

However, I did publish my response to prompt 1 on the instructor's profile, but just in case, here are my answers! 

1. I searched Novelist by “Series” and I used the search term “Anita Blake” and the response is: the book you’ve read last was “Circus of the Damned” and the next and fourth one is “The Lunatic Café”


2. For this one I searched by “Title” and I used the search term “Prodigal Summer” for a title read-alike. Out of the 9 recommended read-alikes that share the same theme and genre, I would recommend the least descriptive since the reader enjoyed the book but not the pace. The answer is: How about your try Next of Kin by Joanna Trollope, o a Rhinestone Button by Gail Anderson-Dargatz? Both share the same themes and lyrical writing style, without the overly descriptive tone. 


3. For this one I did an advanced search and I looked for Japan as “subject” and historical fiction as “genre”. I also chose the time period to be 1940s and before. The recommended titles are Memories of a Geisha, The Final Storm, The Pearl Diver, Fire Flowers and the Typist. 


4. For this one I did a basic search and I typed the title Well-schooled in murder “title search”. Nine results are generated, some of them are: A possibility for violence, Blind goddess, Still life. All of them share the same genre and are not as violent as John Sandford’s books. 


5. For this one I searched by subject (zombies) and type (fiction) and particularly selected apocalyptic fiction as both of the titles that the patron has read are set in an dystopian society. My recommendations include: The girl with all the gifts, Autumn, To sail a darkling sea and Fractured.