1. Ziners’ Advisory!
A zine for every reader
Kelsey Smith
Olympia Timberland Library
Joshua James Amberson
Ms. Valerie Park Distro
Sage Adderley
Sweet Candy Distro
3. We’ll be talking about…
• Readers’ advisory, aka librarian blah blah
• The relationship between book appeal and
zine appeal
• How to introduce zines to readers who
aren’t necessarily zinesters
• Displays
• Writing reviews
• Online versus realtime ziners’ advisory
• What’s popular and why
• Your questions
4. Readers’ Advisory
• The question: “Tell me about a book
you’ve read and enjoyed”
• Identify appeal characteristics
• Consult reader advisory resources
• Readers advisory conversation
Flickr user U-EET
5. Appeal Characteristics
• Story
• Character
• Setting
• Language
• Format
http://judgementalbooksellerostrich.tumblr.com
6. Why read a zine?
• Short, quick reads
• Unique points of view
• The long tail
• Unfiltered, unedited creativity
• Strong visual appeal & aesthetic quality
• Subject matter not always available in
books
• Highly personal
http://www.skylightbooks.com/la-zine-week
10. Ilse Content, volume 11
tags: personal, travel, literary
Written in the spaces between France and Olympia,
England and Hungary, this issue of Ilse Content is
as much travel writing as it is a study of the
symbolism in daily life, daily myth. The temporary
homes we make. Our connection to history, family,
and continents. How Alexis does this using so few
words is a mystery to me, but something I keep
picking up to re-read, hoping to find out. Illustrated
throughout by the ever-amazing Rose Oliveira. 36
pages, quarter-size.
11. I Love Bad Movies #1
Tags: media, reviews, humor, compilation zine
Through a little bit of sweet-talking, we were able to
land some copies of the issue that started off this
amazing, hilarious, zine series. Before the well-played
themes of later issues began, they traversed the
cinematic spectrum of Road House to Showgirls,
Sleepwalkers to The Pick-Up Artist, all in one issue.
Well-written and able to appeal to just about
everybody. 52 pages, half-letter size.
12. Free to Choose: a
Woman's Guide to
Reproductive Freedom
Tags: feminism, history, activism, Eberhardt Press
A pretty amazing history of, largely, pre Roe Vs Wade
America. Stories about tons of incredible women who
took matters into their own hands. A lot information
packed into these 24 pages. “This is not just another
pro-choice zine. It is an introduction to the history of
underground abortion and a call to learn our history
and to take matters in our own hands.” -Eberhardt
Press. 24 Pages, A5 size.
* STORY- Readers like action—nonstop! Writing dominated by fast-moving and complex plots have story appeal. You’ll hear people describe these as “page-turners.” They race to turn the pages because they need to know ‘what happens next. In describing the writing, readers will usually talk about the events, about what happened. Story dominates, character development matters less than keeping things moving. Most writing for kids and teens is story driven. * CHARACTER- readers start describing the characters as well-developed, quirky, unique, compelling, etc. phrases such as well-developed, three-dimensional, they jump off the pages. It doesn’t mean that readers have to like the characters as people—they can be heroes or villains—but what you like are characters. Writing featuring characters whose thoughts and feelings are the focus of the story have character appeal. Some readers look for books that feature particular types of characters. The way in which the character experiences the story is more important than the mechanics of the story. * SETTING- Readers like places or time periods described in great detail, to the point where the place or time period itself becomes like a character. Writing dominated by place or time period have setting appeal. The setting may be familiar, and so readers have the pleasure of recognize a place or time period they know well. Or the setting may be unfamiliar, and so readers have the pleasure of exploring a new place or time period. Historical fiction and mysteries have setting appeal, as do minutely described imagined worlds of fantasy and science fiction. * LANGUAGE- Reading dominated by the style of the writing have language appeal. The writing reflects the author’s mastery of language, and it enriches the entire work, whether the author’s focus is on story, character, setting, or all three. The tone can be comic, thoughtful, lyrical, nostalgic, angry, etc. The language doesn’t have to be “literary,” although people will tell you if they are looking for that specifically. * FORMAT- when we’re doing readers advisory training in the library, we often talk about format in conjunction with audiobooks. Zines could definitely be considered as a unique format for people who like a highly visual and handmade aesthetic.
DIY/How-to zines: anything Raleigh Briggs (Nontoxic Housecleaning, Make Your Place, Herbal First Aid, etc), Chainbreaker bike zine, Dwelling Portably, Stolen Sharpie Revolution, Radical Mycology, I Was a Teenage Vegan Cookbook, Hot Pants (Isabelle Gautier), Joshua Ploeg (Fire and Ice, etc) Nonfiction zines: Think it Over: an Introduction to the Industrial Workers of the World- Tim Acott, Show Me the Money- Tony Hunnicutt, Free to Choose: a Woman’s Guide to Reproductive Freedom, 949 Market- Erick Lyle Poetry: Peaches and Bats Humor: East Village Inky (Ayun Halliday), Hot Milk Presents (Tyler Hauck), 28 Pages… - Christoph Meyer, Hippie Watching in North America- Jaded Review, Mishap- Ryan Mishap Literary perzines: Ilse Content (Alexis Wolf), Mend My Dress (Neely Bat Chestnut), I Dreamed I Was Assertive (Celia Perez), Ghost Pine (Jeffrey Miller), A.M. O’Malley, Katie Haegele