Read On...Crime Fiction: Reading Lists for Every Taste (Read On Series) - Softcover

Trott, John Barry

Softcover

ISBN 10: 159158373X ISBN 13: 9781591583738

Publisher: Libraries Unlimited, 2007

Synopsis

Mystery and crime readers looking for great new reads, and librarians looking for fresh reading lists for patrons will love this new resource. It categorizes hundreds of popular crime fiction titles according to five broad features: character, setting, story, language and mood-and then into thematic lists as Reading the Bones, Dynamic Duos, Love you to Death, and Bright Lights, Dead Bodies. For each title, you'll find bibliographic information and a brief, punchy description, designed to spark reader interest. Use these lists to advise readers; create thematic reading lists for library Web sites, flyers, and newsletters; and as checklists or reading plans for those who enjoy mystery fiction. Buy two copies―one for the reference or readers' advisory resource shelf and another to circulate!

About this title

About the Author

Barry Trott is Adult Services Director, Williamsburg Regional Library, Virginia. He is Chair of the RUSA CODES Readers' Advisory Committee, edits the RA column for RUSQ, and develops read-alike lists for NoveList.

Reviews

The latest entry in the Read On series, written by series editor Barry Trott, tackles the behemoth that is crime fiction. There are nearly as many ways to categorize crime novels as there are crime novels themselves, and Trott wisely ignores most of the befuddling and often imprecisely used labels (thriller, for example) that are frequently bandied about, turning instead for his organizing principle to five “appeal characteristics” commonly employed by RA professionals: story, character, setting, mood, and language. Under these broad categories, he offers an assortment of creatively titled reading lists (“Serf and Turf: Medieval Mysteries”) that illustrate aspects of one of the appeal factors. Arrows designate one title per list selected as a good starting point for that category. Wisely acknowledging upfront that this approach is not meant to be comprehensive, Trott provides not only a host of meaty reading lists but also illustrates just how appeal works in determining reading tastes for mystery fans. It might seem silly, for example, to group (under the language appeal factor) crime novels that happen to be very long (“High-Page-Count Mysteries”), but in fact, it proves quite an effective way to bring together a group of ambitious, genre-benders that walk the line between literary and crime fiction (The Name of the Rose and The Yiddish Policemen’s Union have little in common in terms of story or character or mood, but Trott is right on the mark in thinking that readers who liked one are probably going to like the other). Both readers’ advisors and crime-fiction fans will find all sorts of inventive ways to use this book, including, of course, compiling their own lists of titles or categories that should have been represented. Reading lists should be considered conversation starters rather than answer providers, and Trott’s contribution is perfectly designed for this application. --Bill Ott

Edition details

• Publisher: Libraries Unlimited
• Publication date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 159158373X
• ISBN 13: 9781591583738
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 164