Women's Lives and Relationship Annotation

Three Daughters of Eve

by Elif Shafak

Publisher: Bloomsbury New York (Dec. 2017); Hardback, 369 pages.

Geographical Setting: Istanbul and Oxford University; Time Period: 1980s to the present day (2016)

Summary:

Over the course of a few hours in modern Istanbul at a luxurious dinner party, Peri is reminded of her childhood in another part Istanbul and college years at Oxford.  There she befriends two girls - Mona, the religious Egyptian American and Shirin, the atheist Iranian Brit - and the popular yet controversial Professor Azur. Amidst scandal at Oxford, Peri loses their friendship and returns to Istanbul to eventually marry and have a family.

The novel alternates between Peri’s night at the dinner and her thirty plus years of memories.  At the party, talk revolves around religion, economic disparities, politics, and governments while outside in the city there is chaos and threats.  Peri’s memories are of her polar opposite parents (alcoholic father and religiously devout mother) and the conversations of Islam and feminism with her friends at Oxford that led to them taking Prof. Azur’s ‘God’ class.  Over the course of the evening, the chaos of modern Istanbul will collide with the opulence of the dinner party. But, as Peri has been uncertain throughout her life, the readers are left uncertain about Pari’s fate.

Women’s Relationships Read-A-Likes:

Fiction:

Disgruntled by Asali Soloman

Girls of Riyadh by Raja Adb Allah Sani

The World We Found by Thrity Umrigar

NonFiction:

Midnight at the Pera Palace: The Birth of Modern Istanbul by Charles King

Turkish Awakening: A Personal Discovery of Modern Turkey by Alev Scott

Visible Islam in Modern Turkey by Adil Ozdemir and Kenneth Frank

Elements of a Women’s Relationship:

• Tone: Difficult yet serious issues, such as politics, religions, poor vs. rich, feminism, and violence are discussed and debated throughout the novel by Peri and her parents, Peri, Nora, Shirin, and Professor Azur, and at the dinner party. These issues although emotional are discussed with empathy and insight. Readers will get an intimate glimpse and be pulled into the lives of Peri, Nora, Shirin, and Prof. Azur.
• Story Line: Readers will intimately see the conflicts within Peri's family and how she tries to remain neutral. They will read how she befriends Mona and Shirin and their conflicts with religion and feminism and their unique relationships with Prof. Azur. Readers will learn over time why Peri sees a shadow figure at key moments in her life, who it represents and how it influences her decisions.
• Frame/Setting: Predominantly set in contemporary Istanbul at a dinner party of a very rich businessman just outside the city, the author takes us back thirty years to a less opulent part of Istanbul where Peri grew up.  Peri then studies at Oxford for two years. The novel’s final chapters are set in present day (2016) Oxford and Istanbul. At the dinner party there are several other rich and important people (a bank CEO, an architect, an interior designer, an American hedge fund manager, a plastic surgeon, a journalist) who contribute to the discussions.
• Pacing: Although the reader is introduced to Nora, Shirin, and Professor Azur at the start of the novel, we don’t actually meet them until much later.  Likewise with the shadow figure and the scandal; we learn in the last few chapters what both are and mean to Peri.

Prompt #4 - Readers' Response on Book Controversies

My reader’s response will be over the article about Roxane Gay pulling her book deal from a major publisher because of Milo Yiannopoulos’s book.  

In January 2017, famous feminist author Roxane Gay pulled her book How to be Heard (which was scheduled to be released in March) from publisher Simon & Schuster.  Her reason for doing this was because the publisher had just made a deal with the controversial speaker and writer Milo Yiannopoulos to publish his book, Dangerous, also in March.  Yiannopoulos was famously known for working as the tech editor at Breitbart, the alt-right conservative website, where he used his position to promote hate speech against feminists, African Americans, Muslims, and the LGBTQ communities just to name a few.  “His unapologetic, politically incorrect and provocative online persona got him kicked off Twitter in July {2017}” and later FaceBook {2019} (O’Brien). Gay simply stated that she could not work with a publisher who supported Yiannopoulus’s type of speech and criticized them for making the deal.

Since this article was published in 2017, I needed to find out if these two books were eventually published and by whom.  How to be Heard was published in 2019 by Harper and Dangerous was self published in 2017.  Simon & Schuster ended up dropping Yiannopoulos’s book deal after much backlash from other authors and the public.  Later Yiannopoulos sued the publisher, but then dropped the suit.

Many argue that this is a violation of freedom of speech which everyone knows is guaranteed in the First Amendment.  However, there are some exceptions. In simple terms, Nilsson lists these as: obscenity, perjury, inciting violence, students’ speech, offensive, and expressing political views.  It is clear that Yiannopulos’s speeches and posts on Twitter and Facebook were both offensive and possibly incentive towards violence. Gay was correct in pulling her book from Simon & Schuster because their deal with Yiannopoulos showed that they supported what he stood for and said (as mentioned above, they later withdrew, but only after much negative publicity).  I remember when UC Berkley cancelled his event after violence broke out on campus protesting his visit; the same occurred one month earlier at the University of Washington where one person was shot after he gave a speech. The same happened later in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia. A pattern seemed to have emerged that wherever Yiannopoulos went, there was violence.  As Gay stated in the article when she pulled her book deal “she can afford to take this stand. Not everyone can. Remember that” (O’Brien). This is so true, because she had the financial means and connections, Gay was able to pull away from Simon & Schuster and sign with another publisher. Yiannopoulos was also able to do this, but because he was banned from several social platforms and controversial, no publisher was willing to take his book.  So what did he do? He created his own publishing company in order to get his book out. With all the negative publicity, curiosity increased and Dangerous ended up on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today’s best sellers list for several weeks.

Works Cited:

Nilsson, Jeff (2017). The Saturday Evening Post. ‘6 Surprising Exceptions to Freedom of Speech’.  Retrieved from https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2017/03/6-exceptions-to-freedom-of-speech/

O’Brien, Sara A (2017). CNN Business. ‘Bad Feminsit’ author Roxane Gay pulls book deal over Milo Yiannopoulus.  Retrieved from https://money.cnn.com/2017/01/25/technology/roxane-gay-simon-schuster-milo-yiannopoulos/

Prompt #3 - Integrated Advisory

The Gentle Reads books aren't checked out as often as the Horror or Romance in our library.  In order to encourage circulation, a display can be created to integrate many of these novels with our other library resources.  Many of the adult gentle read novels in our collection have been adapted into made for TV movies (for example, The Hallmark Channel).  Several of our CD’s in the ‘soft’ music collection can also be tied with these novels and movies. The display will have the novels, its corresponding movie, and music in a bundle and will be called “Read the Book, Listen to the Music, Watch the Movie … Which is Better?”  At the display will be a box where patrons will answer which bundle was checked out and what resource they liked best - the novel, music, or movie? There will be no limit on the number of entries; however, each entry must be for a different bundle. At the end of the month, a name will be drawn and the winner will receive a prize.  The good thing about this is that it can easily be adapted for other age groups and genres. Children will love this contest as they can read about their favorite characters and then watch a movie (for example, Winnie the Pooh or Stuart Little).

Historical Romance Annotation

Kirkus-Style Review

PIECES

by Afshan Malik

Category: Teen/YA, Fiction

Publisher: Daybreak Press

Published: Jan. 2019

Page count: 185, with Discussion Questions

Paperback: $19.99

ISBN: 978-0-9992990-1-2

In this powerful and riveting debut, Malik tackles the ongoing socio-political environment of an American Muslim family dealing with trauma and everyday life at work and school.

Hannah and Noreen are typical teenage sisters (frenemies) growing up in Houston.  They have track practice, yearbook committee, and roller coaster friendships while still maintaining their culture and religion.  Their parents, Dahlia and Adam, were childhood sweethearts and are doctors with busy practices, but have always made time for their daughters.  However, their once tight-knit family is now falling to “pieces” after Adam returns from a Doctors Without Borders mission in war-torn Syria with physical and emotional scars.  Shy and quiet Hannah won’t visit her father in the hospital anymore after he ‘attacks’ her and has told her friends he’s dead. She buries herself in her art, lately thunderous clouds, and track practice.  Dahlia now relies on Noreen more and more to pick up the slack at home while she deals with not only her patients, but her husband’s PTSD and well-meaning, albeit traditional in-laws. When not helping her mother, friendly and outgoing Noreen juggles volunteering, college applications, yearbook assignments and new friendships with Felicia and football jock Keith.  Now the trio must squeeze in weekly visits to the hospital until Adam can go home believing their world will go back to normal. Once at home, Adam refuses to see friends and family, closes in on himself, sleeps all the time and struggles to make his girls understand what he feels. Until one stormy night, Dahlia and Noreen return home to find blood and glass all over the kitchen, Hannah hiding in the closet, and Adam out of control.

A must read for youth and adults, this poignant novel delves into the effects of PTSD on all family members.

Prompt #2 - Review Types

Look over the reviews - do you feel they are both reliable? How likely would you be to buy this book for your library?  I would buy this book for my library, just because it fits easily into the romance, chik-lit genre, it’s short and possibly a fast read, plus I wouldn’t be ‘buying’ it since it’s a free download.  Yes, I do find both reviews reliable. As all reviews go, these are a matter of opinion, especially those on Amazon and a personal blog. As far as we can tell, neither reviewer got paid for what they wrote about the book so have no reason not to give their honest opinion.  I did find the blogger’s review hard to read and cringe- worthy with all the spelling mistakes and grammatical errors - not very professional.

How do these reviews make you feel about the possibility of adding Angela's Ashes to your collection?  Since all these reviews come from professional publications, I wouldn’t hesitate to add the book to the library’s collection.  Readers love a good book about WWII and it doesn't hurt that this book is about both the depression in Ireland.

Do you think it's fair that one type of book is reviewed to death and other types of books get little to no coverage?  I don’t think it’s fair that one type of genre is reviewed to death and others get little to no coverage.  How does this affect a library's collection?  I believe this would greatly affect the library’s collection, especially if it’s small and has a small budget.  The collection would be biased towards resources that have mainly professional reviews. And how do you feel about review sources that won't print negative content?  Do you think that's appropriate?   I think review sources should print negative reviews along with the positive ones, as long the language is appropriate and not demeaning.  I don’t think that’s appropriate because if a publication gives only positive reviews of a resource, patrons and libraries get only one point of view and it’s ultimately biased in its favor.  If you buy for your library, how often do you use reviews to make your decisions?  As of now, I don’t work in a library.  If not, how do you feel about reviews for personal reading, and what are some of your favorite review sources?  For my personal reading, I do use reviews for authors I haven't read before.  If I have read the author before, then I usually don’t rely on reviews, especially if the novel is part of a series.  I usually find reviews on GoodReads and BookPage, sometimes Amazon. I also love to listen to NPR reviews and interviews. Since starting the MLIS program, I have used Kirkus, Booklist, and the NYT Book Review as well. Another review source is one of my librarians. She loves reading romance novels and has attended several RT conventions.

Secret Shopper

My Observations

What questions was I asked?  I was only asked two questions: “Can we help you?” and “Anything specific?”

What tools if any did the librarian use to help me?  The only tool she used was the ‘Read- a-like’ binder that was pulled out from behind the circulation desk.  She showed me how to use the EverGreen online catalog.

Did the librarian successfully find a “good book” for me to read?  Why not?  No, she did not.  She really just showed me several authors who wrote Women's Literature.  She did show me the book she read several years ago, but her description was not so appealing that I would want to read it.

Was this the experience I was expecting?  The experience I was expecting was something like Saricks described in the introduction of the text.  “Advisors have the pleasure of helping readers find titles that they will enjoy, that will enrich their lives, and that will speak to them about their life concerns and dreams.  Advisors respect readers’ choices, listen and respond to their interests, and help them navigate the fascinating and fulfilling world of stories” (page xv). I would have to say that I was very disappointed with my experience at this library.  I don’t believe the assistant had a bad day because she jumped right in after I asked my question and she was pretty perky and talkative throughout the whole encounter. I had asked to find a good book and what I got was a list of authors, but no specific book or a few to choose from.  It might be my imagination, but the assistant seemed to assume I had never been in a library before. She explained how to use the EverGreen Catalog (albeit very briefly) and how the fiction books were organized in alphabetical order.

Would I go back and have them recommend another book?  Yes, I would go back just to see if they would do anything differently, like ask me more specific questions.

Could they have done anything better?  According to Vnuk, “It’s important to get to know what your reader is in the mood for.  All readers’ advisors should be aware of different appeal factors and what they mean: mood/tone, language, story, character, and so on (pg. 1).”   I believe this experience could have been much better. The assistant should have asked more specific or leading questions after finding out I know nothing of this genre. A few questions to ask should have been: “What have you just finished reading?”, “What are some of your favorite authors/books?”, “What time period are you wanting to read, contemporary or historical?”, “What geographical location(s) would you like in the novel?”, “Any specific type of relationship you want to read about (Male/Female, LGBTQ, Interracial, Family oriented)?”, and a follow up to the last one could have been “Do you like your relationships to be ‘steamy’ or ‘clean’?”  I also think she could have used more tools to help me find a ‘good book’ to read. With answers from the above questions, the assistant could have found some books in the binder, but a better tool would have been NoveList or GoodReads or even Amazon.

On a side note, I learned that J.D. Robb and Nora Roberts were the same person, just writing different subgenres under Women’s Literature.

Works Cited:

Saricks, J.G. (2019). The Readers' Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction. Chicago: ALA

Vnuk, Rebecca. (2013). Jack of All Trades Readers' Advisory: How to Learn a Little About a Lot. Public Libraries Online.