Book Drop Results #2

Last month I tried a book dropping experiment to test my ability to match people with books I think they'd enjoy. This required the test subjects to tell me what sort of story they most liked to read, and then me sending them a book without telling them in advance the title or author. The first to report back was DeeCee, and you can read about the results here. My second matchmaking attempt was for SF and Fantasy author Margaret McGaffey Fisk, and she reported in yesterday on her experience.

First, Margaret's original comment from the book drop post:

Margaret M. Fisk 2:28 PM

Ooh, interesting concept :). I'm in it for the story, so it's hard to limit. I generally prefer non-modern except where urban fantasy and all shades of romance are concerned. I prefer stories with strong characters, though whether complex narratives or candy reads depends on my mood. It's easier to say what I don't like than what I do, because it's the smaller category. I'm pissed off by self-righteous or arrogant main characters who use the people around them without either noticing or caring. And I love being transported to different places or times, to see a bit of our world, or one that only exists in fiction, that I might not have experienced in real life. That's why in non-fiction I tend to prefer anthropology or historical biography over straight information.

I sent Margaret Michelle Moran's historical novel Cleopatra's Daughter because I felt it was a good match for her, basing the choice entirely on the eloquent description she gave of her reading preferences. Dropping historical fiction on someone can be tricky, in that it's generally not something I consider casual/light reading, and too often even the best historical fiction strays over to the dry/scholarly side.

Not so with Cleopatra's Daughter. Michelle Moran pairs superb research and artfully re-imagined history with a smooth storyteller's voice, and I thought Margaret would appreciate the excellent story and the chance to visit an important historic era and culture which (unfortunately) doesn't often appear on the fiction shelves.

Judging by Margaret's wonderful review of the novel, which you can read on her blog here, I'd say I made the right choice.

That's two down and one to go, and once I have the final results in from our third book drop winner I'll post them and wrap up this experiment.

Book Drop Results #1

Last month I tried a book dropping experiment to test my ability to match people with books I think they'd enjoy. This required the test subjects to tell me what sort of story they most liked to read, and then me sending them a book without telling them in advance the title or author. The first results are in, and here's what happened with my book drop for DeeCee.

First, the original comment from the book drop post:

DeeCee 3:31 AM

I like UF/PNR that have multiple book story arcs with fewer than 10 TSTL moments. :)

I sent DeeCee Rob Thurman's Trick of the Light, which I consider among other things to be the smartest urban fantasy I've ever read. In my e-mail to DeeCee, I also mentioned this: You were the toughest of my book drop winners to choose for, mainly because I think you and I read a lot of the same books.

I am psychic, it seems, as this was DeeCee's response when the package arrived (posted with permission):

I actually do already have Trick of the Light-I just finished reading it about 3 weeks ago. :) Trixa was a smart heroine, but I think Cal Leandros will still be my go to UF.

I wasn't about to give up, though, so I sent this:

I should have known! Ha. Okay, I've sent another book out, and hopefully this time I've managed to find one to surprise you. I'll check back with you once I return from my road trip.

And DeeCee's response to reading the second book, which was Sarah Addison Allen's The Girl Who Chased the Moon:

I can't thank you enough. You picked the perfect book. Allen's writing is so fast, the two contrasting voices kept the story moving and I couldn't put it down today. I can't believe Allen pulled off [censored by me, as it contains spoilers] -she didn't even have to explain the hows or whys. But I think Stella's scenes made me LOL the most, "Erase that." :) I've got to go track down The Sugar Queen and the Peach Keeper now.

I can't take credit for discovering Sarah Addison Allen, however, as two of her books were given to me by two different friends who thought I would enjoy them (and they were wonderful, and I loved them.) That's why book dropping works so well, I think. When someone gives me the gift of a great story, passing it along to someone else is as much fun as enjoying it myself. You don't have to stop at one person, either. Today while I was at BAM I recommended Allen's Garden Spells to the lady manning the cash wrap.

Although it took two tries I'm going to call this one a success, and my thanks to DeeCee for allowing me to share comments from our e-mail exchange. As soon as I have more results in, I'll post more updates.

Book Dropping

I read a neat article this morning about a dedicated knitter in Cambridge who participates in yarnbombing -- the practice of anonymously leaving or covering something in a public place with knitted or crocheted work. Some of these projects aren't small, either; I've seen a photo of a tank covered by a yarnbombing (which you can check out too if you scroll down here.) While some people don't care for the practice I think it's charming.

I've often handed out my books to strangers in public a few times, but I always ask first if they'd like one. Just shoving a book into someone's hands seems a bit rude to me. I've also read about releasing books in the wild, ala Book Crossing, but I've never purposely left books in a public place to be found by anyone (accidentally, however, I have -- and I apologize to whoever found my old copy of Brave New World on that park bench three years ago.) I think my main hesitation is the prospect of a child too young to be reading my adult fiction picking up the book and reading it without letting Mom and Dad know. Under those circumstances some books can be like Pandora's box.

I most like finding out what people enjoy reading and without warning giving them books I think they'll appreciate. I think of those as book drops -- the gift of a story I believe is suited to the recipient but that they don't expect. I have pretty good luck with matching the book to the person, too.

Today I want to try a controlled book drop experiment -- on you all, of course. In comments to this post let me know in general what sort of stories you enjoy reading (and it seems to work better if you don't tell me the names of your favorite titles or authors, but instead describe the type of story) by midnight EST on Sunday, July 15th, 2012. I'll choose three names at random from everyone who provides me with a description, and send the winners a book I think they'll enjoy reading. In return, I ask that the winners tell me after they've read the book what they thought of it so I can post the answers here on the blog. This giveaway is open to everyone on the planet, even if you've won something at PBW in the past.