10 Books for Fans of [that popular tv show or movie]

This is an easy way to harness pop culture to move your backlist. There are no right answers as to what books fans of a certain show might like because what draws people to a television show or movie is different. Use your collection and involve staff, any staff, who are fans of that show or movie. If the first one you choose makes it difficult to find enough items, add a second one and create your own version of the Barbie/Oppenheimer mashup “Barbenheimer.” 

An alternative way to harness excitement about a show or movie is to come up with a display highlighting titles that characters from the show would like. Again, there are no right answers. You can allow patrons to suggest titles if you wish for it to be a passive program as well. 

You can also use the setting or time period from a particular show as the basis for a book display. Expand it to include other books and movies that take place in the same location as well as travel and non-fiction about that place. An easy example would be to use backlist titles about Maine if a Stephen King movie was trending. 

If the movie is based upon a particular title, use read likes for that book. I did that when Bird Box by Josh Malerman was on Netflix and again when It by Stephen King was popular. You can create a list with title suggestions for multiple shows because the internet loves a list.

 I will include some links to lists below so that you can find some inspiration. 

• If You Liked This Show, Read This Book: Recs Based On Popular TV Shows

• 24 Books To Buy ASAP If You Flew Through These TV Series And Movies

• Like These Movies? Here Are 100+ Things You Might Also Like ...

• The 17 Best Books Like ‘Bridgerton’

• Timey-Wimey Books for Doctor Who Fans

• Graphic Novels a Kaiju Would Read and So Should You

• Books with heroes like Jack Reacher

• 9 of the Best YA Books to Read if You Love The Hunger Games

StokerCon 2021 Librarians Day post

As part of the Horror Writers of America's StokerCon Librarian's Day, I am moderating a panel on promoting horror in libraries. I have posted some of the displays I have done which include horror. Don't forget that you can include horror titles in almost any book display. 

Don't get stuck in the box of only promoting horror in October. Don't strictly segregate genres because your patrons don't care as much as you think they do. (One huge exception is romance readers - romance has a happier ever after ending.)

One final tip is this- book displays in libraries are not a school project. The objective is to get materials into the hands of your patrons. Be broad with genre and theme. You don't have to be exacting as far as which titles you include as long as it's not a genre or subgenre specific display. Even then, I use the broadest possible definition. 

This display was easy to fit horror into. It's "Get Possessed by a Book". Include non-fiction titles and some movies. I included titles that were not horror because people will stop for an intriguing cover or a book they have read. This display included graphic novels, audiobooks, non-fiction and dark fantasy in addition to horror. 

Goosebumps - Always popular with kids, especially reluctant readers. While this was an October display, I would put it up during summer reading. It empties out very quickly. 

This display was "What to read next if you love Stephen King." King is always popular in my library and people did stop to pick up other titles because of the display. It would be a great theme to showcase some diverse authors who have written books that you can tie to King's bestsellers. 

Unhappy Families is a great theme to for horror. Mix up the genres because people who read psychological suspense will often read horror. 

National Alien Abduction Day is one of those holidays made for book displays. Include some cosmic horror and introduce your patrons to something new. 

HP Lovecraft is another solid theme as long as you remember to include diverse authors and add a variety of cosmic horror titles

World Goth Day - . Include music and DVDs but this is an anytime display that will be fun for patrons and staff.

Scary reads for the beach. People love to read horror in the summer. Guaranteed. "Beach Reads" does not really just mean light and frothy. 

Shapeshift into Fall. This can include romance as well as horror. By using the word shapeshift instead of werewolf, you can draw in people who "don't read horror." An intriguing cover will draw readers to books they might never have discovered. 

When It by Stephen King was released on streaming this was a great opportunity to showcase read alikes.

Creepy Crawlies includes science fiction. There are also some great films you might have in your collection. 

Zombies were a pop culture phenomenon. This is a great anytime book display. 

Genre blended display with witchy books. Include non-fiction and fantasy. 

Horror short stories are extremely popular. I would also drop horror collections into any short story display.

One of the most common readers advisory questions I get is "What do I read after Stephen King or Dean Koontz." This display is my answer. 

Conspiracy theories was as popular as any library worker would expect and lots of horror fits in. 

When Bird Box was on streaming, I set up a readalike book display. Not all of the titles are horror but people stopped because they had at least heard of the show. Let pop culture sensations help you market your collection. 

Podcasts as inspiration - True Crime Bulls**t

The popularity of true crime podcasts makes them a great source of inspiration for your book displays. Pick a few or more and pair them with books or movies with similar themes, subjects, or tones. Because book displays are passive readers advisory, we don't have the conversations with patrons that we would normally have to learn what they loved about the podcasts. By broadly interpreting what a read alike is, there is a better chance of catching what it is they love. 

I'll pick one podcast to use as an example. True Crime Bullshit  is hosted by Josh Hallmark on the Our Americana Network. TCBS is a serialized investigation into the life and crimes of serial killer Israel Keyes. (Of it's four seasons, three have focused on Keyes. The third season told the story of another serial killer.) Hallmark is a compelling narrator who focuses on telling a story about people: Keyes, his victims, and his friends and family. The story can seem intimate and personal at times. The listener feels as if they are following Hallmark on his journey and joining him in obsession about the case, possible, victims, and new clues. 

To get a sense of the podcast, as well as a similar one about a missing college student, Maura Murray, check out "Serial killers, brutal murder and the rise of the podcast detectives" by Clémence Michallon, The Independent,  12.13.20

Similar titles I would put on a book display:
I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara.
The late author takes her readers on her search for a then-unknown murderer and rapist who terrorised Californians for ten years. It's a mix of memoir and reporting that mirrors TCBS in a lot of ways. Both authors take pains to remember the victims lost, telling their stories, while still bringing their audience along as they dive deeper and deeper into a case. 
More: "Michelle McNamara hunted, and was haunted by, the Golden State Killer" by Alexandra Alter, The New York Times,  2.15.18

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote is the classic of the genre. His story switches between the victims, their friends and neighbors, and the murderers. Capote is an additional character in his story. 

More: "In Cold Blood, half a century on" by Ed Pilkington, The Guardian, 11.15.2009

My Dark Places: an L.A. Crime Memoir by James Ellroy is the novelist's telling of his own mother's unsolved murder, how it impacted his life, as well as his consuming search for her killer. While he investigates the case with a retired detective, Ellroy learns more about his secretive mother and her life. 
More: "Murder close to the heart" by Evan Roth, The Washington Post, 5.23.1995

A different sort of book with a similar deep dive into one case with a compelling narrative, and a sense of the very human tragedy in a murder would be Say Nothing: a True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe. This book uses the abduction and murder of a single mother to tell the tragedy of the conflict in Northern Ireland. The stories of individual members of the IRA including Gerry Adams and the murdered woman, Jean McConville, and her family drive a compelling tale of political murder and those left behind. 

More: "How Conflicts End—And Who Can End Them" by David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 3.3.2019

The most recent book written about Israel Keyes specifically is American Predator: The Hunt for the Most Meticulous Serial Killer of the 21st Century by Maureen Callahan. Fans of TCBS have been critical of the book but your patrons could be interested. 

You can fill in the display with titles about serial killers like Ted Bundy as well as novels with a similar theme and tone to the books listed above. While I don't know your collection, some ideas can be found in these lists: 

100 MUST READ BOOKS ABOUT SERIAL KILLERS/Book Riot

Sarah Nicolas, May 25, 2017

TOP TEN SERIAL KILLER NOVELS/The Strand Magazine
Elizabeth Heiter, January 4, 2016

The Best True Crime Books About Serial Killers/Novel Suspects
Greta Shull

Books to Read if you Loved The Witcher

Suggestions for what to read while you wait for those holds on the Witcher books or are done binging the series. Dark fantasies or books with similar main characters are what you should look for. Search for "read likes for..." when you want to put up a display based upon whatever the most popular show on the streaming services is. 

Roaring Twenties Book Display

People were thinking about the 20’s at the beginning of 2020 so I obliged them with a book display. First things to be taken from this display were books about fashion. In theory, you could put this up every year until 2030. 

Pay at least some attention to what is bouncing around in popular culture; you can mine it for ideas for easy book displays that let you faceout backlist lonely books. 

Neil Peart Memorial Book Display

Quick Neil Peart memorial book display. Fill in with books about drums, drummers, and rock music. Don't forget to add any CDs or DVDs that you have. Include info about digital services like Hoopla that have music available to check out would also be a great idea. 

Book to Movie Book Display

This is another easy book display that staff created. The titles will be familiar to your patrons, even if they are not readers. Sometimes patrons won't even realize that a popular movie was based upon a book. You can pair the books with DVD copies of the film if you have it. It's also a good idea to include a list of books and films that are in your collection, both digital and physical. 

Edgar Award Nominees

These are Edgar award nominees from the Mystery Writers of America. I always post the list with any display about awards as well. It can be filed in with other books by the nominated authors as well as winners and nominees from previous years. 

Women in Horror Month

Women in horror month is part of an international grassroots effort to promote the work of women in all parts of the horror industry. February is a great month to promote horror titles written by women in your library. People love to read horror all year so don't just put up a horror fiction display in October. 

I usually include some psychological suspense in horror displays because it will draw in those people who say they don't read horror but who would love books by authors like Jennifer McMahon or Paul Tremblay. This can also help you keep the display full and to increase the diversity of the authors you include. 

Other resources: 

Women in Horror Month official website

Ladies of Horror Fiction

RAforall:Horror 

Absinthe

Absinthe book display is fun and can be used at any time of the year. There is plenty of public domain artwork that can be used for signs. Historical fiction, historical romance,  and steampunk can be used to fill out the display. I was also able to find some cocktail books that included drinks that used absinthe. There are also non-fiction titles that review the history of the drink.

Other Resources: 

Absinthe Fact and Fiction from Discovery.com

Absinthe: How the Green Fairy Became Literature's Drink from BBC.com
Devil in a Little Green Bottle from the Science History Institute

The Art of Drinking Absinthe, the Liquor of Aesthetes from NPR.org

World Fragrance Day.

World Fragrance Day is March 21. This is a good display for mixing non-fiction and fiction, A/V materials and books. Perfume, fragrance, fashion, and lifestyle are all subjects to check in your catalog. Being more flexible with how the items fit into the theme helps keep displays like this filled. 

Adult fiction was surprisingly easy to find as perfume and fragrance are popular themes but fragrance/perfume is one of those themes that are present in popular non-fiction as well. I found guides to perfume as well as histories of fragrance and various fashion houses in our collection. 

Do some quick research on the history of perfume to find materials in your collection that is tangentially connected to the theme. The idea is to help people discover hidden gems in your collection not to strictly maintain a theme. 


Other resources: 
Perfume Society

Strange History of Perfume from Bustle.com

The Ugly History of Beautiful Things: Perfume from Longreads.com 


The Fragrance Foundation - World Fragrance Day