Secret Shopper Summary

    I went to an unfamiliar library and asked the librarian for a good book. First, the librarian asked what I like to read, offering different genre options. I told them I like domestic fiction and psychological fiction, and Jodi Picoult is an author whose work I enjoy. The librarian took this information and searched their computer, explaining that they only wanted to offer recommendations of books they had in the branch. Then, they took me to the shelves. Before they explained their recommendations, the librarian asked me whether I was already familiar with or had read the author or book. During this interaction, the librarian suggested I use NoveList to find additional book recommendations. In order of first to last, the librarian recommended the teen fiction novels, Allegedly by Tiffany Jackson, Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins, Heads You Win by Jeffrey Archer, Josh Grisham’s books, Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, the . . . in Death series by J.D. Robb, and The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes.

    Children of Blood and Bone and The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes are fantasy/horror and dystopian novels, respectively, which are genres and subgenres I do not enjoy because I find it difficult to connect to the characters. Jeffrey Archer writes books within the realistic fiction genre; however, the book description did not interest me, nor did John Grisham’s books because I find legal thrillers, which is what Grisham writes, uninteresting and overly complicated to understand. Two other book recommendations that were unsuccessful were J.D. Robb’s . . . in Death series, which is a type of detective fiction, and Jojo Moyes’ historical novel, The Giver of Stars. Detective fiction is a genre I dislike for many of the same reasons I am uninterested in legal thrillers. Although the plot of The Giver of Stars sounds intriguing, from skimming the first few pages, I did not enjoy the writing style. Currently, I am unsure whether I would enjoy Kite Runner. The plot sounds interesting, but this factor does not guarantee that I will like the characters or the writing style.

    Although most of the library’s recommendations were unsuccessful, one fascinated me, and because of that, I believe the librarian was successful in finding me a good book to read. The book I want to read most is Allegedly by Tiffany Jackson. The plot reminds me of Toni Morrison’s Beloved, and the physical layout of the book, which seemed epistolary, intrigued me when I skimmed the first few pages.

    As I have not asked for any book recommendations from librarians or suggested many books to library patrons, I was uncertain what to expect when I asked the librarian for a good book, but I hoped the librarian would be kind and helpful; I also expected to find a book I wanted to read. An alteration the librarian could have made would have been to search databases, book and author lists, and so forth for additional recommendations. I would go back and ask this librarian for another book recommendation. However, rather than asking for a read-alike for a specific author or genre, I would ask for a read-alike suggestion for a particular book.