Reader's Advisory

I'm adding a book to my list of titles to look out for, Book Crush by Nancy Pearl. Like Book Lust, only it covers children's and YA literature. I look forward to seeing this. For what felt quite a long time, but was really only about a year or so I felt very incompetent when it comes to reader's advisory. I still have my moments. All too often someone says they want a book like such and such and suddenly my mind is blank. Five minutes ago I could have answered perfectly. That's another thing, rarely is reader's advisory perfect, particularly with kids. I find that kids often don't have patience to go through the process of finding a book. The minute I pull out Series Books for Kids* or A to Zoo they run they other way.

Now I make a concerted effort to look at everything as it comes in and get a feel for it. They don't all stick in my brain, by any means, but it helps. More often than not it's a hit and miss game. I've yet to have someone come back and report that they liked (or didn't) a book I recommended. Perhaps all the adults just blend together, or they think I don't really mean it when I want to know what they think of the book, or they forget. Never will I forget the day I pulled (and quickly booktalked) five books for a girl and she took all five. Of course, she hasn't come back either. Or maybe she's just gotten lost in the crowd of kids.

*Ok, I remember using a book with this title, but I can't find a record of it anywhere.