Talking About Mysteries

1
Talking About Mysteries
2
Karen Burns SW Iowa Library Service
Area kburns_at_swilsa.lib.ia.us
Katie Dunneback East Central Library
Services kdunneback_at_sls.lib.ia.us
3
Lets Review
4
Some Appeal Factors

• Pacing
• Characters
• Setting
• Period
• Tone (humorous, serious,..)
• Plot
• Style/Language

5
What makes a good talk?

• Talk about the appeal factors for that
  bookcharacter, pacing, time period
• Tell it in your own voice
• Choose the right length for the situation and
  patron
• Hook Dont tell the ending make them want to
  read it!
• May include If you liked

6
Talking About Books

• Traditional (in-person)
• Groups
• One-on-One
• Blogs and mini-blogs
• Podcasts
• Video talks
• Written (in house)

7
Talking About Talking About Mysteries

• Describe characteristics and appeal factors of
  the genre that are relevant to preparation of a
  talk
• Name 5 "sure bets" in the genre for the
  booktalking repertoire
• Discuss trends in the genre
• Crossing over into nonfiction
• Talk about at least one book in the genre

8
What is a mystery?

• Definition
• Subgenres, with examples
• detective (Whodunit)
• cozy (murder and violence offstage)
• hard boiled
• thriller/suspense
• caper
• police procedurals (more on plot, less on
  characters)

9
Appeal Factors

• The usual suspects Setting, Period, Pacing,
  Characters, Style
• Additional for mysteries
• Uncertainty and resolution
• Level of violence
• Type Hard-boiled, soft-boiled, classic

10
Setting
11
Period
12
Pacing
13
Characters
14
Style
15
Uncertainty/Resolution
16
Level of violence
17
Type
Whodunit Cozy Hard Boiled Thriller/Suspense Pol
ice procedurals
18
Some Mystery Sure Bets(and appeal factors to
talk about)

• Agatha Christie, Rex Stout
• David Baldaccis Camel Club
• Elizabeth Peters, Anne Perry
• Dashiell Hammett, Robert B. Parker, Sue Grafton,
  Sara Paretsky
• Ed McBain, P.D.James, Elizabeth George
• J.D. Robb, Mary Higgins Clark
• Diane Mott Davidson, Joanne Fluke, Cleo Coyle

19
Your Sure Bets
20
Trends in Mystery

• Series
• Historical
• Foreign places
• Split setting
• Supernatural
• Cozies
• Famous people as characters

21
Crossovers

• True Crime
• Science (history, technology)

22
Resources

• Stop, Youre Killing Me! Websitewww.stopyourekil
  lingme.com
• (Check out the various Indexes)
• Cozy Mystery List Blog www.cozy-mystery.com/blog
  /
• Bloodstained Bookshelf www.mirlacca.com/Bookshel
  f.html
• Iread wiki
• iread.pbworks.com

23
Lets Talk Celebrating Your Talks
24
Next session

• Read an inspirational fiction book
• Prepare a talk
• Review
• Blog post
• Podcast
• Oral talk
• Come prepared to Celebrate talks!
• For full credit (1 extra)

Inspirational 11/18