www.ShoptheLibrary.com

Friday, April 13, 2012

My response to the patron who said The Hunger Games was "The Best Book They've Ever Read"...

Yesterday a patron returned a copy of The Hunger Games at the check out desk.  When my coworker was checking the book in the patron remarked how "it was the best book she ever read."  The instant I heard this my face looked exactly like Fry's. 

"Are you kidding me!?!?

I wouldn't have reacted that harshly if the patron was a tween or teen who has not read much, but this was a middle-aged patron.  Unless you're Suzanne Collin's agent, we need to have a one-on-one Reader's Advisory session.  There are tons of other books on the library's shelves that are better written and tell a better story. 

Yeah, yeah, "to each their own," but it utterly depresses me to think that sometime in the distant future, because of the power of hype and the hive-mind, Twilight and The Hunger Games could potentially be considered the "greatest works of fiction" or "classics" of our time.

2 comments:

  1. Oh, I can definitely hear ya on that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's a sad day to think that vampire novels will be what your generation's literary legacy will be.

      Delete