Week Eleven Prompt: eBooks and Audio Books

I love eBooks. I am so happy that my library has embraced this new format. There is nothing better when a book comes to mind and I pull up OverDrive or 3M Cloud Library and download the book moments later. I am an eBook hoarder. Many Kindle books are fairly inexpensive and it is just so quick and easy to push the 1-click checkout button. After I watched Divergent, I just had to get the books. The series was only $15 as a Kindle book, so I couldn't resist. (Have I read yet? No, not yet. But it's there when I want to! Like I said, I'm a hoarder...)

When it comes to readers' advisory, eBooks make things somewhat difficult. Many authors seem to be writing books that are only available as eBooks. I get a lot of requests for books that are part of a series, but they are short novellas that the author only releases online. I don't read a lot of series, so I am not sure how much is missed in a series when a reader doesn't read these extra novellas.

Even though I am an eBook junkie, I feel for those who are not. If people prefer physical copies, they should be able to read a series' entire cannon. Veronica Roth wrote some shorter novellas that were about the character Four. While they began life as eBooks, they were eventually released together as a print book. I think that is the smart way for authors to go. Another option might be to release the eBook novella first, and then include it as a print copy bonus when the next full novel in the series is published.

One of the things my patrons love about eBooks is the fact that the font can be increased to very large sizes. With eBooks, a patron doesn't have to wait for a large print copy because the regular copy's font can be changed to accommodate those with limited vision. I have helped many older patrons in their 70s and 80s setup their OverDrive accounts and have shown them how to make the font bigger. They are thrilled when they see how large the font can get. It's also nice that a tablet user can oftentimes change the default font to one that is easier to read.

There is one thing I don't like about eBooks: page numbers, or the lack thereof. Sometimes it is difficult to gauge where you are in the book. Amazon Kindle books at least have a general time left estimate, but it is very difficult to cite eBooks in a paper. Kindle books also include a Kindle location number, but who knows what that really means?

Audio books are an entirely different animal. Some patrons who listen to audio books only listen to audio books and do not read the book. Some patrons use audio books because of vision issues and others listen to them while driving in the car. The nice thing about audio books is a person can multitask and do two things at once while listening to the story.

I haven't really thought much about how audio books differ from print books, but I think there is actually more than I ever assumed. The narrator can make or break an audio book. My mom loves audio books and there have been a few she wouldn't listen to because she didn''t like the sound of the narrator. The story might be great, but if a person doesn't like the narrator's voice, the person will stop listening to it. "For some listeners the kind of audio book may not even be the most important element of the next book they listen to. A listener may want any book on tape narrated by their favorite voice regardless of the subject matter," (Mediatore).

I haven't listened to many audio books and for the most part I prefer to read a book. There is one exception: David Sedaris. My mom actually introduced me to David Sedaris' books through audio book. She listened to Me Talk Pretty One Day and told me I had to listen to it. I actually can't imagine reading his books because listening to his narration is just such a joy. Because these stories are parts of his life, he both tells the story and seems to relive the moments at the same time through his narration. I think authors make excellent narrators because the story is a part of them. It also gives the reader a chance to hear how the author envisioned the story being read.

Another aspect I hadn't thought of is books that just don't work as audio books. I assumed every story would work as an audio book, but Mediatore makes a good point: "Some stories, due to structure, might work better on the page than on the CD. There may be some visual arrangements of the text that a reader needs to see to understand an author's intention. A book with newspaper article excerpts, diary entries, e-mails, or letters might not make the transition to tape as well as a book with a straightforward story line," (Mediatore).

Before reading Mediatore's article, I had never heard of frame when it comes to audio books. "In an audio book, frame is the feel or tone of the book the reader garners from the narrator. The frame may also be enhanced by music, sound effects, or additional readings. These audible frills elevate the quality of the recorded book," (Mediatore).

Overall, when it comes to eBooks and audio books, I think it's important to realize that there is more to recommending a book than simply the story. Before this week, I didn't even realize this! I am going to have to listen to more audio books to get a better sense of these differences. Also, if you haven't listened to a David Sedaris audio book, I highly recommend it!

Work Cited

Mediatore, Kaite. "Reading with Your Ears: Readers' Advisory and Audio Books." Reference & User Services Quarterly 42.4 (2003): 318-23. JStor. Web. 29 Mar. 2015.

Book Club Experience

The Fulton County Public Library hosts Book, Bagel, and Brew on the first Monday of the month at 10:15am in one of the library’s meeting rooms. (Brew refers to coffee, not beer.) I attended the March meeting on March 2, 2015. Becky, Assistant Director/Children’s Librarian, runs the book club. I had told her I was planning on attending a week or two before the actual meeting; I didn’t want her to be caught off guard. The book chosen for this meeting was Fannie Flagg’s The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion. I have not read this book, so I was strictly an observer.

I arrived at the meeting about ten minutes early. The members were trickling in. While everyone was arriving, chitchat ensued. One woman has a Kindle and was discussing the pros. She likes the portability and the ability to have multiple books in her purse without having to haul them around. Another woman was talking about her past experience as a teacher. Another attendee’s cute shoes was a topic of conversation. From my listening, I could tell the meeting would be rather casual and not too serious.

Of the thirteen attendees, all were women over 55. Many of the members were retired professional women. Coffee, milk, and cake were provided by Becky. She also made a whole wheat coffee cake with walnuts that was quite tasty.

Becky began the meeting by introducing me to the group. They were super friendly and very welcoming. She announced some of the programs that are occurring at the library during March and April. An attendee updated the group on the health of a couple of mutual acquaintances. Becky also brought copies of the next book for the April meeting: James Patterson’s Cross My Heart. The book club seems to read different genres and doesn’t stick to just one. Nonfiction, memoirs, mysteries, and Oprah’s Book Club picks have all been represented in this club’s selections.

I have never been a part of a book club, so I was not sure what to expect. Becky moderated the discussion; she came prepared with a list of discussion questions. Having a list helped move the discussion along. If one question was not attracting much conversation, Becky moved on down the list.

Many of the members offered some interesting perspectives on the book. One woman listened to the Book on CD version and thought one of the female characters was male because of her strong personality. Another question brought up courage. The group agreed that there are different types of courage, and courage is sometimes quiet and takes time. Turtles and skunks were used as an analogy: turtles pull in their heads and think things over, skunks just spray.

I was unfamiliar with the WASPs of World War II. WASP stands for Women Airforce Service Pilots. This plot point created much discussion. One women even brought in a book that was a first-hand account written by one of the WASPs from Fort Wayne, Girls Can't Be Pilots: An Aerobiography by Margaret J. Ringenberg. She also brought additional information about a poem that is featured in Flagg’s book.

From the questions and discussion, family and relationships are heavily featured in the book. The questions that had more of a personal slant elicited strong emotions. Some tears were shed. The idea of friends being family sparked some great conversation. A heritage question was interesting because one woman was from Germany. Becky talked about her German heritage. A few women said they don’t know much about their heritage and they don’t need to, they are American.

The conversation about the book wrapped up with the theme of kindness. As Becky said, “When in doubt, do the kind thing.”

Overall, there didn’t seem to be anyone who hogged the limelight. Becky made sure to allow everyone a chance to speak and she didn’t hurry or rush the questions. She would let a question settle to see if anyone else would chime in before she did. The conversation followed a natural flow. The discussion that followed some of the questions was allowed to go on for a bit, while other questions were passed over when no one seemed too interested in it. Only one or two questions were yes or no questions, and they were always followed by a more open-ended question.

As the meeting was wrapping up, one of the attendees told me that they all had been attending the book club for many years and that they genuinely care about each other. The funny thing is, the woman didn’t even have to tell me that; I really got the sense that this group truly cared for each other and already had it written down in my notes. 

Attending this book club was a really interesting experience and was different than I expected. The group was not serious and quite lighthearted. Some of the ladies were pretty funny. One woman admitted she hadn’t finished the book because she just got back from Florida.

I enjoyed observing this meeting. The only problem I had was the fact that I haven’t read the book. The discussion made it sound really interesting; all of the attendees seemed to really enjoy the book. Once life slows down a bit, I might have to check out the book.

Special Topic Paper: Genrefication of the Library Collection

         While the vast majority of public libraries utilize the Dewey Decimal System, there has been a movement, especially by school library media specialists, to get rid of Dewey and use an alternative classification system. Reader-interest classifications, including genrefication and BISAC (Book Industry Standards and Communications), are one way libraries are switching up library classification. “Both with reader-interest classifications and BISAC, a common reason given for their adoption was the rejection of the established classification scheme, Dewey, as an obsolete and inadequate system to organize the collections that does not meet the users’ needs—it is not user-centric,” (Martínez-Ávila).

            What are genrefication and BISAC? Genrefication involves separating fiction and/or nonfiction by genre. “Another alternative is the ‘mash-up’ solution of Dewey and browsable zones – often referred to as ‘genrefication’ – combining the browsable book shop-style zones and the precise find-ability of the Dewey System,” (Bateman). Genrefying the library collection allows a librarian to place books together that share the same common theme, regardless of where they would normally be located based on Dewey. “The entire sequence of Dewey numbers has been mapped to each zone, bringing related, but normally physically separate, topics together, such as gardening (635) and landscaping (712) coming together in the home and lifestyle zone,” (Bateman).

While some librarians create their own genre categories, others use BISAC to mold the collection. BISAC are the categories book publishers and book stores use to sort and market books. “BISAC comes from the Book Industry Study Group’s Subject Codes Committee. The Committee updates BISAC every year, and you can view the current edition online at the BISG website. American and Canadian publishers assign the subject headings as part of a complete metadata record that is used to market the book,” (Tarsala). These categories were not created with library patrons in mind, but some libraries use these categories as the basis for their genrefication project.

Browsing the shelves for books can be stressful for patrons. As a librarian, I am familiar with Dewey and can easily use the OPAC to help a patron find a book. Patrons are not as knowledgeable about Dewey and some are not technologically literate, so they can be intimidated and downright confused when walking through the stacks. I have taken a cataloging class and even I do not know all of the intricacies of Dewey or understand them; at times, the numbers seem arbitrarily assigned. Computer books are near the UFO and numerology books. That makes sense, right?

Why are two categories that are very similar not in the same area, and why are categories that are seemingly unrelated next to each other? School libraries often see this problem, and genrefying the collection has helped organize the chaos. “Our discontent with Dewey arose after years of confronting train books in the 380s and transportation items in the 620s; crafts scattered throughout the 600s and 700s; pets stuck next to cooking; and double-digit Dewey numbers for our extensive folktale collection. More important, we had the sense that for all the energy that we and our students were spending on teaching and learning Dewey (all those scavenger hunts and online library games), even our most advanced students still struggled to navigate smoothly from their initial request through the catalog to the item’s correct place on the shelves,” (Kaplan).

Genrefying a library collection could help with readers’ advisory, especially for those patrons who visit the library looking for specific genres or author read-a-likes. “Another reason I began considering the change was admittedly personal. I hated being unable to make recommendations when student inquired about books in areas about which I had limited knowledge. I knew the popular and d award-winning titles of most genres, but I was afraid some great ones were getting lost in the shelves. If the majority of the library was divide by subject using Dewey, why not the fiction section? Why can't all the romance, mystery, sports, and "books like The Hunger Games" be shelved in their own categories?” (Sweeney).

            Many of the studies indicate that circulation increases when a collection is genrefied. “Our circulation has increased sixty-nine percent over the same period since last year. The increase in student population would only account for a small portion of the increase in circulation. I attribute the increase to the switch to genre shelving. I think the students who select books simply by browsing the shelves will be disappointed when they get to high school and return to traditional shelving, but they won't be disadvantaged,” (Jackman). Multiple articles mentioned very similar statistics.

Genrefication has some great benefits, but there are some negative aspects. There are a number of patrons who read by author rather than by genre. Some authors write books that fall into more than one genre. “One situation I had not anticipated was the number of authors who write in multiple genre. For example, the John Green books are scattered in several sections—Romance, Realistic, Mystery, etc.—and this can be a bit confusing for students,” (Sweeney). If an author is spread across genres, patrons and librarians will have to wander around the library trying to find books by one author.

While some libraries use BISAC to sort their collection, others have created their own categories; this has led to some confusion because there is a lack of uniformity between libraries. “As more collections are being transformed into access by genre for non-fiction, who determines the topics and subtopics used for the collection? Upon examining the literature, there are a myriad of ways that library media specialists have developed tags for their materials. Some have used BISAC industry standards, some have developed their own system based on their curriculum, still others have “borrowed” topic headings from neighboring school districts. Authority control is lost among various types of libraries,” (Snipes).

Using BISAC standards might add some uniformity, but the problem with the standards is the fact that they were not created by librarians for patrons.  “BISAC's design and the development of its headings is based on market needs. Reader-interest classifications, when not directly borrowed from bookstore classifications, were based, in theory, on readers’ interests. The arrangement of categories within each are not systematic, as in Dewey, but basically alphabetical in BISAC (after the first version, BISAC's alphanumerical code had no hierarchical or systematical meaning), and usually alphabetical or random in reader-interest classifications,” (Martínez-Ávila).

Another potential issue is the books that fit into multiple categories. “Some titles were hard to place since they could fit in many genres. If I had multiple copies of a book that fit in more than one genre, then I put one copy in each. For example, I put a copy of Water for Elephants in the Romance and Historical Fiction sections,” (Sweeney). If more than one copy is already available, Sweeney’s solution is great. But libraries do not own multiple copies of every book, so a decision has to be made one way or another.

            An interesting solution to this genre conundrum is to let the patrons help in the decision making. Because the purpose of genrefication is to ultimately help patrons more easily find books, it makes sense to see what the patrons think. One school library let students vote. “We turned this into a lesson for all our students by putting a sticky-note on those books, listing 2-3 genres we thought would fit best. We kept these books on a table with some pencils, and students in the library could read the book blurb and vote (on the sticky note) on which genre they thought it should be. Since the whole point of this project was to help students find books where they were looking for them, the genre receiving the most votes for that book was the one that stuck,” (The Library Genre-fication Project).

My library separates science fiction and westerns. We used to separate mysteries, but added them to the general fiction collection a few years ago. I think sometimes readers get too locked into genres. There is probably no way to change this fact, but exposing them to other genres might help. If all genres are separated, readers are going to go straight to the genre they read and never look at the others. Mixing genres into one collection allows patrons to see books they might not have considered if they were separated into Science Fiction or Romance. Even if some patrons never pick up a mystery, they have at least seen that the library offers the category.

Some people read books they might not want their neighbor to know about. If the collection is all together, a patron can look at romance novels without anyone knowing exactly what she is browsing. This patron might feel uncomfortable going over to the romance section.

            I do think genrefying the library would help when patrons are looking for a book about a certain topic. If a patron was looking for dystopian novels, it would be nice to walk him over to the dystopian section. It would make things easier and would demonstrate great customer service. It would also be useful if a patron was looking for read-a-likes. Tools like Novelist help accomplish this feat without moving and shifting the entire library.

Because many people have grown up with the Dewey system (even if they do not understand it), I think abandoning Dewey completely is not the answer. While I see the pros and cons of Dewey, I think a hybrid of Dewey and genrefication might be useful for nonfiction. By using the Dewey categories, books covering related topics could be placed together despite the Dewey number. “Librarians are early adopters. We readily embrace innovations in technology and social media. It’s time we started to look at the way our collections are organised and applied the same level of ingenuity to our library layouts. It’s time we organised our collections to enable our users to easily discover more great books to read. It’s time we made Dewey work for us,” (Bateman).

Even though the majority of the research and anecdotal evidence I found shows that most patrons and students were happy with the transition to genrefication and circulations increased, I am still not completely sold on the concept. I think it really depends on the patron-base. If patrons generally look for books by genre, than it could work very well. If most patrons search by author, genrefication might be problematic. Because the transition is meant to help patrons, involving them in the decision is key. Surveying patrons would be a good idea before making the dramatic switch.

Works Cited

Bateman, Shirley1, shirley.bateman@melbourne.vic.gov.au. "Dewey Or Don't We?." Incite 34.8 (2013): 16-17. Library & Information Science Source. Web. 8 Mar. 2015.

Jackman, Becky. "Genre Shelving: Why And How I Made The Leap." Library Media Connection 32.5 (2014): 22-24. Library & Information Science Source. Web. 8 Mar. 2015.

Kaplan, Tali Balas, Andrea K. Dolloff, Sue Giffard, and Jennifer Still-Schiff. "Are Dewey's Days Numbered?: Libraries Nationwide Are Ditching the Old Classification System." School Library Journal. 28 Sept. 2012. Web. 8 Mar. 2015. <http://www.slj.com/2012/09/librarians/are-deweys-days-numbered-libraries-across-the-country-are-giving-the-old-classification-system-the-heave-ho-heres-one-schools-story/>.

"The Library Genre-fication Project." Mrs. ReaderPants. 10 Sept. 2011. Web. 8 Mar. 2015. <http://www.readerpants.net/search/label/Library Genrefication Project>.

Martínez-Ávila, Daniel, Rosa San Segundo, and Hope Olson. "The Use Of BISAC In Libraries As New Cases Of Reader-Interest Classifications." Cataloging & Classification Quarterly 52.2 (2014): 137-155. Library & Information Science Source. Web. 8 Mar. 2015.

Snipes, Phyllis. "Perspectives on Organization: Dropping Dewey for a Few Words." GLEAN. Georgia Public Library Service, 19 Nov. 2014. Web. 8 Mar. 2015. <http://glean.georgialibraries.org/perspectives-on-organization-dropping-dewey-for-a-few-words/>.

Sweeney, Stephanie. "Genrefy Your Library: Improve Readers' Advisory And Data-Driven Decision Making." Young Adult Library Services 11.4 (2013): 41-45. Library & Information Science Source. Web. 8 Mar. 2015.

Tarsala, Cheryl. "BISAC Basics." The Feral Cataloger. 16 Nov. 2014. Web. 8 Mar. 2015. <https://cbtarsala.wordpress.com/2014/11/16/bisac-basics/>.

Week 7 Prompt: Book Controversies

"For our prompt this week, I want you to think about fake memoirs, author mills, and celebrity inspired book clubs. Basically write a readers' response to one of the articles you are reading for this week - or talk about a time when a book or author that made headlines affected you personally or your work."

The world of fake memoirs and author mills is very strange to me. I find it really interesting that James Frey is involved in both of these categories. I will never understand why people write outrageous stories that they claim are true. People like Frey make readers question all memoirs and authorship. Frey seems to be a writer who is all about making money, no matter what it takes. 

Have you heard of Full Fathom Five? It is a book company run by Frey. “Full Fathom Five is a book packager, which is basically a company which pays authors a flat fee (and possibly a royalty) to write commercially viable books. While we won’t make the blanket statement that all book packagers are slowly killing literature, it’s pretty safe to say that Full Fathom Five is,” (Read This Not That). 

You might have heard of I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore. A movie adaptation was released a few years ago. “I Am Number Four was “written” by Pittacus Lore – also known as Jobie Hughes and James Frey. The pseudonym Pittacus Lore is part of the deal that Hughes struck with Frey upon signing with Full Fathom Five. In fact, all Full Fathom Five authors can expect limited (if any) name recognition for their work as the company’s standard contract includes a clause specifically prohibiting authors from discussing their work,” (Read This Not That). 

Something about this situation just doesn’t sound right. I hate that I purchase this series for my library, but teens request the sequels. At least teens are reading, I tell myself; I just wish they were reading something written through true author collaboration in which young writers are not getting screwed over. Jobie Hughes wrote most of I Am Number Four and his contract was very restrictive: “Hughes wrote the novel without any compensation and signed a contract, without consulting a lawyer, that specified that he would receive 30 percent of all revenue that came from the project. The book would be published under a pseudonym, and the contract stipulated that Hughes would not be allowed to speak publicly about the project or confirm his attachment to it. There was a $250,000 penalty Frey could invoke if Hughes violated his confidentiality terms,” (Mozes). Many readers don’t know about the secrets, lies, and backhanded deals, and many of them probably don’t care, but it bothers me as a librarian.

Writing books that fall into popular genres in order to make money shows me that the writers don’t care about the quality of the book or think much about the readers. I understand that the young writers see this deal as their big break, but it doesn’t seem to work out that way. I would highly suggest reading the Suzanne Mozes article. It discloses more information about Full Fathom Five and made me angry. Mozes pitched a story idea to Frey and one of the first things he mentioned was merchandising the story: “He encouraged me to start imagining product placement—“think Happy Meals”—because merchandise is where you make money in these deals. He mentioned the Mogadorian swords in I Am Number Four, which were described with unusual specificity. “We added that after Spielberg told us he needed stuff to sell,”” (Mozes). I would think product placement would not even be on an author’s mind while writing a story. 

Maybe I am just a romantic and think authors write because they are compelled to do so. Money isn’t necessarily why they do it, they do it because it is in their bones. They would write regardless of a publishing deal or merchandising potential. Frey is the antithesis of this, and it makes me sad.

Works Cited

Mozes, Suzanne. "James Frey’s Fiction Factory." NYMag.com. New York Media LLC, 12 Nov. 2010. Web. 1 Mar. 2015. <http://nymag.com/arts/books/features/69474/>.

"Read This Not That: Full Fathom Five." C2 Education. 23 Feb. 2012. Web. 1 Mar. 2015. <http://www.c2educate.com/read-this-not-that/read-this-not-that-full-fathom-five/>.

Science Fiction: Station Eleven

Author: Emily St. John Mandel

Title: Station Eleven

Genre: Science Fiction 
(Future History/Apocalypse and Post-Apocalypse)
Publication Date: 2014
Number of Pages: 352
Geographical Setting: Toronto, Severn City Airport
Time Period: Past and Future

Synopsis:  

From Amazon.com:

“An audacious, darkly glittering novel set in the eerie days of civilization’s collapse, Station Eleven tells the spellbinding story of a Hollywood star, his would-be savior, and a nomadic group of actors roaming the scattered outposts of the Great Lakes region, risking everything for art and humanity.

One snowy night Arthur Leander, a famous actor, has a heart attack onstage during a production of King Lear. Jeevan Chaudhary, a paparazzo-turned-EMT, is in the audience and leaps to his aid. A child actress named Kirsten Raymonde watches in horror as Jeevan performs CPR, pumping Arthur’s chest as the curtain drops, but Arthur is dead. That same night, as Jeevan walks home from the theater, a terrible flu begins to spread. Hospitals are flooded and Jeevan and his brother barricade themselves inside an apartment, watching out the window as cars clog the highways, gunshots ring out, and life disintegrates around them.

Fifteen years later, Kirsten is an actress with the Traveling Symphony. Together, this small troupe moves between the settlements of an altered world, performing Shakespeare and music for scattered communities of survivors. Written on their caravan, and tattooed on Kirsten’s arm is a line from Star Trek: “Because survival is insufficient.” But when they arrive in St. Deborah by the Water, they encounter a violent prophet who digs graves for anyone who dares to leave.

Spanning decades, moving back and forth in time, and vividly depicting life before and after the pandemic, this suspenseful, elegiac novel is rife with beauty. As Arthur falls in and out of love, as Jeevan watches the newscasters say their final good-byes, and as Kirsten finds herself caught in the crosshairs of the prophet, we see the strange twists of fate that connect them all. A novel of art, memory, and ambition, Station Eleven tells a story about the relationships that sustain us, the ephemeral nature of fame, and the beauty of the world as we know it.”
(Synopsis from Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Station-Eleven-Emily-John-Mandel/dp/0385353308)

Characteristics of Science Fiction:

• Story line is speculative, set in both the past and the future
• Explores what the world could be like after a flu epidemic
• World building: Reader gets to know this new world through the Traveling Symphony and the various towns they pass through.
• Is not full of jargon or technical descriptions.
• Story is more literary and places emphasis on the characters.
• Fairly fast paced. Characters always on the move.  

Station Eleven Read-a-likes: 

• The Dog Star by Peter Heller
• On Such a Full Sea by Chang-rae Lee
• The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood
• Find Me by Laura Van den Berg
• The Stand by Stephen King

Author Read-a-likes: 

• Nalo Hopkinson
• Albert Camus
• Justin Cronin
• Jose Saramago

Thoughts: 
I used the synopsis available on Amazon because I thought it did a great job describing the story. There is a lot going on in the book and I thought that summary succinctly included many of the main points without spoiling anything. 

I don’t regularly read science fiction, but every once in a while I will find one that intrigues me. I noticed Station Eleven recently because it was on many of the Best of 2014 lists. I am not big on the hardcore science fiction that is full of technical details. Station Eleven is much more my type of science fiction. It reminded me a bit of The Road and Blindness but a bit less bleak. I also got flashes of The Walking Dead because the Traveling Symphony was always on the move and they were never sure if they were safe. I liked how many of the characters were linked together and I thought St. John Mandel did a good job switching from the past to the future. The transition between the past and the future was never jarring and seemed natural. 

I think this novel would appeal to those who don't read science fiction because the story is very character-driven and isn't filled with jargon and aliens. It is a very human story. Sometimes I think people get too attached to genre labels. A number of people might not pick up this book because it is located in the science fiction area. Being open to genres outside your norm can lead to some great reads.