Passively Recommending Books

  The Portalist recently curated a list of 25 Must Read Space Operas . Diving into a subgenre like this is another way to showcase your collections' backlist in a book display or book list. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction defines a space opera as: "colorful action-adventure stories of interplanetary or interstellar conflict." (This page also includes the names of many of the authors who have worked in the subgenre.) These are not books with hard science throughout and may instead include more fanciful ideas of technology. These sprawling, epic adventures can be humorous or have romantic subplots. Goodreads has lists of titles as well a definition and related subgenres. Reactor has tagged their related articles and lists with space opera as well.  There are a lot of series that would fit into this sort of display or list. There is also ample opportunities to promote diverse books and authors within this subgenre.  You can include a definition on signage as well as l

  I've mentioned before that you can use ideas from the emails publishers and other vendors send you to create your own book displays or lists. Simon and Schuster recently sent me an email with a link to the following list: Anti-New Year's Resolution Reads . The idea behind the list is to promote books  "i f you’re done with setting life goals, check out these books filled with  excess, desire, and obsession." This is such a fun idea.  I am not a fan of New Year, New You displays. This would be a fun alternative. The publisher clearly is promoting  their own titles but you can look at the backlist in your library's collection and curate a display from what you own that could use a little more attention and promotion.  There are links to some lists below to get you started. Don't forget to look at your non-fiction especially cookbooks and biographies of those who lived with " excess, desire, and obsession." Also remember that people can become obsesse

You don't have to come up with new ideas every time you change out a book display or create a book list. Use the headlines from all of the marketing emails publishers send you as a jumping off point. Just take the basic idea and use what you have in your collection that is not moving and go from there.  As an example, Off the Shelf from Simon & Schuster offered these list ideas:  12 Addictive Reads You Can Finish in a Single Flight:  6 Upcoming Releases Everyone Will Be Talking About This Year 11 Books That Are Guaranteed Page Turners For the first one, you can add audiobooks or links to your eAudiobook collection. The theme could be a car trip or a single evening/weekend. If you decide to go with upcoming releases, the library's holds/reserve list can be promoted. Add cover images from those titles you want to promote and include a QR code to your catalog where patrons can place a hold. Upcoming titles does not mean those titles that are guaranteed to be a bestseller. Wo