Book Display Inspiration Using One Book - This Cursed House by Del Sandeen

 

Another in the series of demonstrating how you can both approach a book in many ways and that when you create a display or list, it’s not necessary to stress over how well an individual book fits a theme. These are marketing tools for your backlist and getting them attention will help your overall circulation. Today, we are going to work with a debut -  This Cursed House by Del Sandeen. From the publisher:

In this Southern gothic horror debut, a young Black woman abandons her life in 1960s Chicago for a position with a mysterious family in New Orleans, only to discover the dark truth: They’re under a curse, and they think she can break it.

In the fall of 1962, twenty-seven-year-old Jemma Barker is desperate to escape her life in Chicago—and the spirits she has always been able to see. When she receives an unexpected job offer from the Duchon family in New Orleans, she accepts, thinking it is her chance to start over.

But Jemma discovers that the Duchon family isn’t what it seems. Light enough to pass as white, the Black family members look down on brown-skinned Jemma. Their tenuous hold on reality extends to all the members of their eccentric clan, from haughty grandmother Honorine to beautiful yet inscrutable cousin Fosette. And soon the shocking truth comes out: The Duchons are under a curse. And they think Jemma has the power to break it.

As Jemma wrestles with the gift she’s run from all her life, she unravels deeper and more disturbing secrets about the mysterious Duchons. Secrets that stretch back over a century. Secrets that bind her to their fate if she fails.

This is a great book to center in a display or list because it’s a debut which would benefit from the spotlight.

Where to start? There are many options even in this description from the publisher. We have:

Southern novels
Gothic fiction
Southern gothic
Fiction about black women
Fiction about young adults
1960’s
Chicago
New Orleans
Spirits/ghosts
Starting over
Moving/relocating
Tenuous hold on reality
Eccentric families
Family secrets
Curses

Most of these are themes that would lend themselves to titles that are outside of horror. I would bet that at least a few of them are themes that you could fill a display with using the titles in your collection. Adding non-fiction and DVDs are encouraged. At the very least, most people who read fiction will pick up biographies and memoirs so keep that in mind.

To get you started, I have put some book lists below. Have fun creating your own book display with one book as inspiration!

Decay, Rot, and Plenty of Hauntings: The Best Gothic Novels of 2024 – Crime Reads
So You Want to Read Southern Gothic: Here’s Where to Start – Penguin Random House
Best Southern Gothic Literature – Goodreads Listopia
Fiction Set in Chicago – Chicago Public Library
New Orleans: A City Whose Truth is Stranger (and Better) than Fiction – New York Public Library
7 Novels About Very Dysfunctional Families – Electric Lit
The 5 Best Books About Dysfunctional Rich Families – Crime Reads
10 Unputdownable Books About Big Family Secrets – Celadon Books
23 Books with Family Secrets We Still Can’t Believe – Epic Reads
Five Books Where Curses Are Magically Inherited – Reactor

 

 

 

Book Display Inspiration Using One Book (or show) - The Lincoln Lawyer

 While I usually base these posts on a book, today I am going to use a popular show from the streaming service Netflix to talk about creating a book display with one title as inspiration. The Lincoln Lawyer is based upon the book series by Michael Connelly.  From the author’s website: 

Haller is a Lincoln Lawyer, a criminal defense attorney who operates out of the back seat of his Lincoln Town Car, traveling between the far-flung courthouses of Los Angeles to defend clients of every kind. Bikers, con artists, drunk drivers, drug dealers — they’re all on Mickey Haller’s client list. For him, the law is rarely about guilt or innocence — it’s about negotiation and manipulation. Sometimes it’s even about justice.

While it will seem as if it makes sense to use the easiest option and simply grab titles from the author’s backlist, Connelly’s books already circulate well in public libraries and are bestsellers. It’s a better use of the book display space to harness the popularity of the Mickey Haller series to shine a light on some other titles which would benefit from some attention. 

There are several easy ways to approach this title from the brief description above. It’s legal fiction about a defense attorney, for starters. Beware of lists you find online that only suggest other bestselling authors. Don’t forget to look at fiction and non-fiction about the legal system in other countries. There may also be biographies in your collection which would fit. 

You can even use phrases like guilt or innocence in your display, putting up fiction and non-fiction which 

Another option is to look at books and movies which have a focus on automobile or in which cars feature in the plot or even on the cover. It’s good to remember that a display with a loose connection like a car on the front cover will be easy for anyone to fill in. Some months that is what you will need due to other obligations or staffing issues. 

Los Angeles as a setting opens a lot of options for titles to include. There are many books about the darker side of the City of Angels. Bring in movies and non-fiction as well. It’s been a popular fiction setting for a long time. Don’t forget to include books which cover the depth and breadth of Los Angeles’ population. 

I hope I have demonstrated that it's possible to use a popular title as inspiration for a number of different displays. Remember that just like with a book display, a reader can approach a book from a number of different ways. 

Book Display Inspiration Using One Book - Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix

Best selling author Grady Hendrix has a new book coming out on January 14, 2025. Witchcraft for Wayward Girls is another great book which will likely have a lot of holds at libraries. He does an amazing job of creating a diverse group of young women and their complex relationships. While being increasingly more frightening as the book progresses it does include the humor that has made Grady's books so distinctive. I also was fascinated by the version of witchcraft he created for the novel.  It's a great opportunity to promote other books in your collection. As part of a regular series, I hope to show you the many ways that you can use one title on a display while promoting your holds list and digital collection. 

Here is the summary of the book from the author's website:

Set in a home for unwed mothers in 1970, Witchcraft for Wayward Girls, is about four teenage
girls who are sent away to have their babies in secret. Trapped in a maternity home in St. Augustine, Florida, they’re helpless, powerless, and in despair, until they discover the power of witchcraft.

There are a number of ways that you can approach this book. It's about witchcraft but it's also about young women and their group dynamic. It is set in a particular time as well. The home for unwed mothers also has somewhat of a boarding school vibe which creates yet another path you can take. If you set up this display, regardless of which themes you use, put up a sign or bookmarks in each book with information about your holds list and how patrons can add the title to it. You can also put in a bookmark with details about a program or service you offer. 

The book is set in 1970 and the time frame of the book plays an important role in the book.  Some other books about the same basic time and which feature relationship between women as as a plot point include: 

The Girls by Emma Cline
Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll
Beautiful Revolutionary by Laura Elizabeth Woollett
The Summer We Got Saved by Pat Cunningham Devoto
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

In addition, you can use these links: 

Historical Fiction Set in the 1970s - Penguin Random House
Historical Fiction 1970s Books - Goodreads
28 Groovy Books About the 1970s - Booklist Queen
Making History: Six Books that Embrace the 1970s - LitHub

Another historical element in the book is the issue of pregnant young women in the era before Roe vs Wade became law. 

What Life Was Like Before Roe V Wade - PM Press
Selected Books on History of Abortion - University of Wisconsin -Madison

Also check the subject headings of the books in your collection to find other titles. Don't forget to include your non-fiction. You should have books about the 1970's in your collection, including in your local history collection. Also, check for movies made in and about the early 1970's. 

Witchcraft is possibly an easier tie-in for the book. I have some lists below to get you started:
Horror Witches Warlocks Books - Goodreads
Popular Witchy Books - Goodreads
8 Horror Books About Witches That Are Truly Scary - Book Riot
Spells and Superstitions: 13 Horror Books About Witches: Read By Dusk
New Book Bonus Annotations: Chapter 7- Witches, Curses, and the Occult: RA For All: Horror

Don't leave out paranormal romance or historical fiction while you are assembling your display. There are also non-fiction titles that you can pull out related to witchcraft and the occult. 

As you can see, a display that focused on the time period in which the book was sent would be different than one that focused on the witchcraft aspect of the book. Either would create a great book display. 

I mentioned boarding schools above so I will add some lists with title suggestions: 
50 Must-Read Books Set in Boarding Schools - Book Riot
The Best Boarding School Novels - FIve Books

You can mix all of these ideas and include some of Grady's previous works. Try to make the display focus on the lesser known authors and those titles that can use a little more light.