BookChat, our live chat book recommendation service, just celebrated its second year of existence! For me, the heart of BookChat is the comprehensive expertise of our Specialists. We've had a wide array of questions from our users (or as I like to call them, our Chatters). Those chats highlight how BookChat Specialists get recommendations for both straightforward and tricky requests from staff and patrons.
To celebrate BookChat's anniversary, I thought I'd share the memorable questions we've received, and the recommendations our Specialists made for each reader.
When the reader is self-aware and knows what they want
The first Chatter had a clear idea of what they wanted from their next read when they asked for books. They asked for recommendations like, "Arthur Miller's The Crucible” or Gillian Flynn's Sharp Objects. I'm interested in stories about women and girls who may be unreliable and have secrets and how that affects their relationships."
The Specialist started by asking if there were any content dealbreakers like violence or gore. The Chatter didn’t have any. Then the Specialist suggested three titles that gave the reader well-written, complex women characters (some with dark secrets), intensifying or suspenseful moods, unreliable narrators, and dark humor.
Our Chatter was thrilled, saying, "If I ever find myself hitting rock bottom when it comes to finding book recs, you bet your librarian butt I'll be back."
When the reader is a kid learning the nuances and beauty of language
While we have found that most of the chats ask for help with adult books, we do love recommending books for other ages. In fact, some of our Specialists consider making recommendations for younger readers a highlight of their work.
For instance, we helped a library staff Chatter find "books for a patron and her son that will help with figurative language." Figurative language includes similes, metaphors, personification, hyperbole, and allusion.
To help narrow down the search, the Specialist asked some questions to find out the age of the patron’s son. He was 11 years old. However, the Specialist knew that books aimed at younger readers might work to explain the concepts.
The Specialist and Chatter decided that children's poetry could be a good fit. Our Specialist recommended some fun poetry collections with engaging illustrations, goofy wordplay, and plenty of fun to keep a young reader interested while they learn about figurative language.
When the reader is a teen longing for a story set far from home
We love Young Adult (YA) books of all genres. One of our Specialists was happy to find recommendations for a Chatter who wanted "books for teens with a strong female character in an urban setting outside of the United States." The Chatter said they specifically wanted more realistic fiction.
Since some realistic fiction books for teens deal with heavy themes, the Specialist checked in and made sure the reader didn’t have any dealbreakers. Then, they found great realistic fiction options that told the story of young women in various places outside the United States dealing with an array of life experiences.
When a reader wants a book that matches other media they enjoy
Sometimes a reader wants a book that has the same feel as a movie, show, or other type of media that they love. We had a Chatter who wanted help finding books that had “the same fall/autumnal vibes as the Cartoon Network TV show “Over the Garden Wall.” This reader went on to specify that they loved that "Over the Garden Wall" is a coming-of-age story about interpersonal relationships and a sense of self, set in a world of magical realism.
The Specialist found out that the reader preferred adult books but was open to well-written teen books and did not want graphic novels.
Not every recommendation needs to be an exact match. If you can find matches that have enough of the important appeals the reader wants, you’ll make an outstanding recommendation.
That’s what happened here: All three books our Specialist shared are character-driven, offbeat, coming-of-age tales that deal with different interpersonal relationships in magical realism settings. And, while two may not have the autumnal vibes of “Over the Garden Wall,” The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, centered on a boy raised by supernatural residents of a graveyard, certainly fits that bill.
When the reader needs you to solve a tricky mystery
BookChat Specialists use their experience using NoveList and doing complex searches (and sometimes, luck!) to help solve book mysteries.
Now and then, someone tries to remember a book but just can’t think of the title. This Chatter couldn't remember the name of a book “about a boy who was hiding from soldiers trying to make his way to safety. He has to hide in caves and rice paddies until he finally reaches safety.” They went on to share, “I am not sure what country it is based in, but I believe it is somewhere in Asia.” They also remembered the cover, that it was set in the past, and that they read it while they were in elementary school in the 90s. But they couldn't remember any other details.
Our Detective Specialist used a hunch that it might take place during World War II and used NoveList’s search options to look for books with subjects like “World War II” and “Asia” aimed at middle-grade readers (9-12 years of age). By going through the results and ruling out those with a female protagonist, they came across The House of Sixty Fathers by Meinder De Jong. This was the first suggestion the Specialist made, and it was right! The Chatter was elated.
I could share countless more examples of the wonderful chats we've had with BookChat users this year, but I hope these gave you a glimpse of the high-quality recommendations our BookChat Specialists strive to make with every interaction. We look forward to the fun, unique, and challenging chats we'll have in the next year!
Yaika Sabat, MLS, is the Manager of Reader Services at NoveList. She's currently reading Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay.
