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I've come to hate giving book recommendations. When I was younger and more arrogant, I'd babble to anyone who listened what I thought were good reads. Now that I get asked on a daily basis, I realize what a chore it is, for the following reasons:
1. When people ask me, I get a brain fart and can't think of anything good. Sometimes they'll ask me out of nowhere ("I like so and so... do you have any recommendations?")
2. Sometimes I'll beat my shyness, give a long speech of something good I've read... and the patron will turn their nose up at it and ask for something else. To which I'll grit my teeth and coldly direct them to the reference desk.
3. This may have escaped everyone's attention, but EVERYBODY'S DIFFERENT!! What might be a wonderful, joyous reading experience for me might be a complete bore for you. Hell, I'm reading a book about hedgehogs! I for one am enjoying it, but how many other people would feel the same?!
4. Most people don't want any old recommendation, they only want what's new and to see if we've read them. Well, we can't always get our hands on the new releases, and besides, I think most of what comes out nowadays is... well, crap. Seriously, I think writers like James Patterson and Jodi Picoult suck. They write the same garbage over and over (just my opinion). Most of my patrons believe anything older than one year is trash that's not worth reading. Gotta love an open-minded attitude.
5. I've come to the chilling conclusion that asking for recommendations is just my patrons' way of absolving themselves of responsibility of thinking for themselves. Think of it this way, if I recommend a book or a movie and the patron hates it, guess who's fault it is? That's right, mine!
So maybe I'll give recommendations to my friends and loved ones (and perhaps the good people here at CS), but for everyone else? Think for yourselves, you lazy slugs!
1. When people ask me, I get a brain fart and can't think of anything good. Sometimes they'll ask me out of nowhere ("I like so and so... do you have any recommendations?")
2. Sometimes I'll beat my shyness, give a long speech of something good I've read... and the patron will turn their nose up at it and ask for something else. To which I'll grit my teeth and coldly direct them to the reference desk.
3. This may have escaped everyone's attention, but EVERYBODY'S DIFFERENT!! What might be a wonderful, joyous reading experience for me might be a complete bore for you. Hell, I'm reading a book about hedgehogs! I for one am enjoying it, but how many other people would feel the same?!
4. Most people don't want any old recommendation, they only want what's new and to see if we've read them. Well, we can't always get our hands on the new releases, and besides, I think most of what comes out nowadays is... well, crap. Seriously, I think writers like James Patterson and Jodi Picoult suck. They write the same garbage over and over (just my opinion). Most of my patrons believe anything older than one year is trash that's not worth reading. Gotta love an open-minded attitude.
5. I've come to the chilling conclusion that asking for recommendations is just my patrons' way of absolving themselves of responsibility of thinking for themselves. Think of it this way, if I recommend a book or a movie and the patron hates it, guess who's fault it is? That's right, mine!
So maybe I'll give recommendations to my friends and loved ones (and perhaps the good people here at CS), but for everyone else? Think for yourselves, you lazy slugs!
since that episode came out, I wonder how many kids have asked for that 
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