Dying in and for a good book

Last week one of my students (from now on I will refer to her as Reader Rabbit* ) came up with sigh, slumped across the circulation desk and gasped "You gotta help me." Working in schools my mind raced and I quickly ran through the possibilities. Epi-pen? Diabetes? Swine flu?

"What is it?" I asked, maintaining calm.
Her cheek was flat on the desk, her hair flopped over her face and, in a weak voice, moaned "I need a reeeaally good book." Seriously, that is what she said.

The conversation that followed revealed that Reader Rabbit had just read a few books in quick succession and not one of them had been satisfying. She was seriously hungry for a really good book. She also said that she didn't want to have to hunt. She needed someone to give her a really good book. Just put it in her hands. I could relate, having had exactly that same experience myself.

As a reader you can go through a few titles and each seems better than the last, and then you hit a dry run. Nothing is really, deeply satisfying. When Reader Rabbit next comes by I am going to put this in her hands.

Going Bovine by Libba Bray

Sixteen year old Cameron just wants to get by in life. He has no direction, no ambition. Then he finds out he is going to die. This is a coming-of-age/road trip that involves gnomes, jazz, fire monsters, and Nordic Gods, to name a few themes. But really it is an analysis of society, religion and the meaning of life. And love.
Excellent.

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 The link is to my GoodReads account. Like Reader Rabbit, a lot of people respond better to a personal recommendation. They want that 5 star assurance that puts a book into their hands. As part of our continued effort to build our virtual learning commons I'll be assessing GoodReads, Shelfari and LibraryThing as tools to reach out to our students and act as a virtual reader's advisory. Gotta keep our readers satisfied!

*Reader Rabbit is a real student who has made a few appearances in past blog posts. She is a great kid who gives me a lot to think about.

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