Passively Recommending Books

  Crime fiction includes mysteries, thrillers, suspense, and spy novels. All of these have many subgenres and can easily be their own list or display. Remember that readers who enjoy one often will cross over to read another. If you check out the bibliographic record of some crime fiction titles, you will often see mystery, thriller, and suspense listed as genres.  Again, as with the previous posts, I am going to try to not repeat resources. Keep in mind, many of these resources have information about multiple genres. If you have suggestions, let me know! Crime Reads is run by Literary Hub and focuses on crime fiction and non-fiction. There are a lot of lists, read likes, interviews, and news about upcoming releases. Beyond fiction, they cover TV, movies, and true crime.  One annoying thing is that those who eschew other genres will promote crime fiction, even those who believe themselves to read only "serious" literature. Setting aside the snobbery and incorrect attitude ab

  True crime has soared in popularity thanks to podcasts and documentaries on streaming services. It is possible to highlight the parts of your collection that would appeal to fans of the genre while also being conscious of the victims, survivors, and their families. I'm not including a list of titles about the more famous serial killers because those are easy to find and likely get a lot of circulation in your library.  I'll link to the Goodreads reviews for the books so you can see what other readers thought since I've not read all of the titles below. Remember to include lists/signs/QR codes for your digital collections if you make a book display inside your library.  Setting up a book display or a book list is not a test; don't stress out over how close a read alike is. Every reader comes at a book from a different place. Also, Use popular titles to draw in readers to the other books on your display. You won't have every lower profile or smaller press/imprint bo

  February is Women in Horror Month . This is a great time to bring your library's horror out for a non-Halloween display. Again, I guarantee you that it will circulate all year.  Be broad and include non-fiction works like true crime if you need to. You can also grab some psychological suspense as there is a lot of crossover fans.  On the sign, I included the URL for the official Women in Horror Month website as well as RA for All - Horror, a great resource for any library worker looking to get more information about horror.  The Horror Writers of America have a great blog with i nformation about diverse authors . Authors' groups are very supportive of libraries and are a wonderful resource.  Mother Horror - Sadie Hartman is a horror reviewer and part owner of Night Worms Horror Book Box subscription service. Check out her Twitter and Instagram for more ideas.  Putting out genres like horror in February when your patrons might be expecting something else will draw their att

T he 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 listen