Keep your large print collection up-to-date with a curated set of Buzz Books, New and Noteworthy Reads, and other popular titles, hand-selected by librarians from across the country.
Our Peer Picks titles are curated each quarter by librarians who recommend the titles and share their views on large print collection development, tips on placement, and more.
Jan-Mar 2018 Peer Picks Selector:
Kaite Mediatore Stover is the Director of Readers’ Services for The Kansas City Public Library. She holds Masters degrees in Library Science and English Literature from Emporia State University. Stover is the co-editor of The Readers’ Advisory Handbook (ALA Editions 2010) with Jessica E. Moyer and currently writes the “He Reads, She Reads” column for Booklist with David Wright and “Under the Radar” for Public Libraries. She serves on the Penguin Random House Library Advisory Board and is a Steering Committee member for LibraryReads. Kaite was named a Library Journal Mover & Shaker in 2003. Follow her on Twitter @MarianLiberryan and Instagram @KaiteStover.
Kaite’s January Peer Pick Selections:
ALL THE UGLY AND WONDERFUL THINGS by Bryn Greenwood
A beautiful and provocative love story about two unlikely people and the hard-won relationship that elevates them above the Midwestern meth lab backdrop of their lives, All the Ugly and Wonderful Things challenges all we know and believe about love. Bryn Greenwood’s debut is a powerful novel readers won’t soon forget.
- A New York Times Bestseller
- A USA TODAY BESTSELLER
- BOMC 2016 Book of the Year
- On Multiple Best Book Lists
Kaite’s Review:
Here is a book that defies easy description but makes for absorbing reading. Bryn Greenwood’s third, and breakout, novel will generate strong reactions in readers.
I spent an entire Saturday glued to this book when a friend suggested it to me. It has book club pick written all over it and is sure to generate lively discussion.
These are nuanced realistic characters with flaws and strengths. They will both delight and infuriate readers, just like real people we love.
THE THINGS THEY CARRIED by Tim O’Brien 
Depicting the men of Alpha Company, The Things They Carried opened our eyes to the nature of war in a way we will never forget. It is a life-changing meditation on war, memory, imagination, and the redemptive power of storytelling. In the decades since its publication, it has never failed to challenge our perceptions of fact and fiction, war and peace, courage, longing, and fear.
- A New York Times Bestseller
- A 2017 NEA BIG READ
- A National Book Award-winning Author
- Featured in the PBS series The Vietnam War by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick
Kaite’s Review:
“It feels true,” is what I hear most from readers of this work of fiction. It is a compelling, atmospheric work that is both easy, and difficult, to read. O’Brien writes with brutal honesty and precision in sentences as simple and sharp as a fencing sword. It doesn’t take much for the reader to connect to the young soldiers, bewildered and jaded by their time in the war-torn jungle.
O’Brien may be playing with the reader by constantly challenging the notion of truth and story. Readers will gladly accept the challenge to examine truth in fiction and war.
Kaite’s Best Practice for January:
Social Media Calendars
Rare is the library that is not engaging in some form of social media. More often, libraries have a presence on multiple social media channels in order to reach different audiences. Juggling Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, and YouTube can be daunting. (And the experts are still trying to figure out SnapChat.)
The social media world is a whirlwind of constant activity and connectivity. One of the greatest challenges I hear from library social media account managers is balancing content across multiple platforms. As the owner/operator of multiple channels, I’ve found one solution that helps—a social media calendar.
Let’s make this a simple process. First, choose the type of calendar that works best for you. It can be as detailed as this calendar (https://www.rebeccavandenberg.com/ultimate-2017-marketing-planning-calendar/) and as plain as a Google calendar. Have a list of all the social media accounts for your library.
Next, plug in all the major holidays and any library “holidays” (Banned Books Week, National Library Week, Teen Read Week). Get a little closer to your community and list any dates of significance (founders’ day, annual festivals or celebrations, community observances). Include any important dates for your library (annual Friends of Library book sale, first day of summer reading program, day library opened).
Step back and look at all the content you just plugged into your library’s social media calendar. It will be far more full than you expected and now you have a plan for what and when to post to your library’s accounts.
If the calendar doesn’t look full enough for you, add library events such as story times, book clubs, board meetings, programs, after-school activities, or computer classes. Have a little fun and add birthdates of favorite authors.
With all these ideas for content scheduled, it is much easier to craft the posts for multiple platforms and get accompanying photos or links to other websites. Having a schedule for the obvious material also frees up the library’s social media staff to pay attention to trending topics relevant to the library’s interests.
The most time-consuming part of the social media calendar is starting it. Adding to it will become easier once it’s in place. Keep it open or available for all library staff so they can stay up to date on the library’s social media posts and add their own ideas.
Learn more about Kaite’s favorite titles >>
If you would like to be a Peer Pick selector for Thorndike Press, please contact Lisa Joyce.Trava Mista Cano Alto