Moyer's Eight Steps to Reader's Advisory

Another tool to beef up my Reader's Advisory skills is to create a journal or log and follow Jessica E. Moyer's How to Read a Book in Ten Minutes: Eight Easy Steps*:

1. Start with the cover: all the colors, images, and text on the cover are meant to convey a message. These elements are critical in the publisher’s marketing of the book and can tell a reader a lot. What does the cover tell you about the book?
1. Do the cover images look like they are aimed at a particular sex or age?
2. Is the cover image off-putting to its intended audience or obviously dated?
3. Does it give you an idea of the potential readership or genre?
4. What does the cover say about the author? Has he or she won any awards?
5. Is the author’s name or title in larger print? A very large name is a good clue that this author might be a best seller.
6. Is an unusual font or color used? Bright red text that drips like blood would be a good indication that this is a scary book.
2. Open the book and read the jacket blurb or the back cover or both.
1. What does the blurb or cover tell you about the book? Is a plot summary given? Is the book directly compared to any other books?
2. What about the author? Is a bio given or a list of previous books?
3. What do other authors think of this book? Who are those authors? Use these to help you start making read-alike connections.
3. Flip to a random page. Check the typeface.
1. How easy is it to read?
2. Is the typeface better for younger or older readers?
3. Is there anything especially noticeable or unusual?
4. Is more than one typeface used?
5. Are there illustrations? Do they have captions or enhance the text? Do they add to the overall story? Are they an integral part of the story?
4. Check the physical characteristics.
1. Heft: Can readers easily carry the book? How big and heavy is it?
2. Will the intended audience be willing or able to hold the book and carry it around?
3. Is it hardcover or paperback or mass market?
4. Can the book be easily opened while reading?
5. Read a sample.
1. Read the first chapter. What happens at the very beginning? Which characters or what setting is introduced? How does the story start—with a description or with action?
2. Read some pages in the middle. Are the same characters or setting still present? What kinds of events are taking place? Is the text mostly dialogue or mostly description? How much white space is on the page?
3. Read the last chapter. How does the story end? Is the ending resolved? Left wide open? Left a little open with room for a sequel? Is it a cliffhanger that demands a sequel? Who is still alive/giving the final speech?
6. Consider the book’s appeal factors.
1. Pacing: How quickly are characters and plot revealed? Is there more dialogue or more description? Check for white space; the more dialogue, the more white space. Are there short sentences, short paragraphs, and short chapters? The shorter the sentences, chapters, and paragraphs, the faster it will read. Are there multiple plotlines, flashbacks, or different points of view, or does the book have a linear plot? Is the ending open or closed?
2. Frame: Is the background detailed or minimal? How is the book supposed to make the reader feel? Is a special background integral to understanding the story? Is the reader assumed to have certain types of knowledge—for example, subject information essential to full understanding or previous knowledge of the world in which the story takes place (e.g., books in a series)?
3. Story line: Does the story emphasize people or events? Is the focus interior/psychological or exterior/action? What is the author’s intent—serious versus light; comedy versus drama?
4. Characterization: Are characters fully developed or are they easily recognized types? Is the focus on a single character or on several who intertwine? Is characterization the most important aspect of the story? Are characters developed during the series or in one book? Are there memorable or important secondary characters?
5. What’s the most important or most dominant appeal factor?
7. Consider other factors.
1. Plot: What is the book actually about? Can you summarize the book in thirty seconds or less? If someone asked you, “What is this book about,” how would you respond?
2. Genre: Is the book part of a recognized genre? If so, which one? What about subgenre? Is it a genre blend? Does the book conform to genre formulas in terms of plot or characters, or does it break the rules?
3. Series: Is the book part of a series? First in a series? Must the other books in the series be read before this book, or does it stand alone? Based on the ending, how eager are readers going to be for the next one?
4. Author: Who is the author? What else has the author written? Does the author usually write in this genre, or is this a new direction for the writer? Is this book a return to a subject the author hasn’t written about for several years?
8. Using all the information gathered in the preceding questions, connect this book to other books.
1. What genre or subgenre might this book fit in?
2. What other books or authors share similar appeal factors?
3. What kind of reader might enjoy this book?

Moyer, J.E., & Stover, K. M., eds. (2010). The Reader's Advisory Handbook. American Library Association: Chicago, IL.