Book Talking vs. Book Suggesting

Why is Book Talking so much funner than Book Suggesting?

Today and tomorrow I get to go to the local junior high and high schools to talk about teen books as a way of promoting all the great authors that are coming to the Library's first ever Teen Book Fest.

I forgot how much I like to talk about books. I love talking about why I liked reading a book and why you should read it too. Sometimes I have to restrain myself when I am in book stores to keep from going up to people and telling them why the book they are looking at is so good.

Book suggesting, however, is not as much fun. It's stressful for a number of reasons when some one comes up to the desk and asks for a good book to read.

1. My mind immediately goes blank.
2. The patron usually wants something they can take with them right then and all the books I can think of are checked out (or in other words all the good books are usually checked out)
3. In order for me to give a good recommendation, I need to know a little about what kinds of books the patron personally likes to read, but they are usually not very forthcoming.

They always ask for your favorite book. Please take my advice and DON'T ever ask this of a Librarian.

1. When it comes to Book Suggesting (not book talking), it doesn't matter what I like to read. It matters what you like to read. I am trained to be able to find books that will suit your tastes and personality. Please, let me do my job.
2. Most librarians have very eclectic tastes and most people looking for a good book are looking for something a little more mainstream.
3. Most of us DON'T have a favorite book. We have lots of books we like and asking us to name one book is like asking us to choose which is our favorite child.

So I guess Book Talking is better than Book Suggesting because it has all of the fun parts but not of the draw backs.

Incidentally the two books I am talking up to the schools are these to two excellent reads.