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Backlist July

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Backlist July

 

Last year, I finally put into process a thing I’d been wanting to make a tradition in my reading life. I dedicated an entire month to reading nothing but backlist titles. Backlist titles seem to fall to the wayside, especially when it comes to blogging, since so many new and upcoming titles hit my doorstep everyday. I want to read them and talk about them, since that’s part of why they show up in the first place.

But there’s a special place in my heart for backlist titles. Backlist, as I define it, is anything published a year ago or further. I prefer to go deeper than a year, but a year is a good yardstick, as it allows for some “catching up” on the reading of big books from not-too-long-ago.

I dedicated last July to rereading (or as it turns out, first-time reading) the entire “Little House on the Prairie” series. The fact that I gave myself a month of no-pressure reading let me dig into the books in a way that’s often harder for me with new books. Since much of my reading life is public, I am less emotive than I am critical. That’s not to say I don’t express love or distaste, a moment that made me happy or angry. But rather, I don’t necessarily give a blow-by-blow of what I’m thinking or considering as I read. But going with backlist, especially digging into a series, allows me to have a totally unique experience in reading. I’m more emotive, as well as more willing to toss out theories and ideas, as well as share some harsh assessments of the characters which represent little more than my feelings about the characters on a reader-response level. It leads to thinking about and enjoying books in a different way. This, for example, pretty much sums up how I felt about the “Little House” series last year.

The backlist reading started a little earlier this summer for me, as one of my goals was to finally read all of Harry Potter. I’ve read the first three books before, but after that, I let the series go. This year, I wanted to go all in, start to finish, and have the experience I hadn’t yet let myself have — whatever that experience might be. Without the expectations upon reading The Series Everyone Has Read, I’m getting to enjoy what I like, hate what I hate (Ron), and have those ups and downs in a no-pressure way. As July rolls nearer, though, I’ve realized I might be mostly done, if not completely finished, with the series by then.

So it’s onto thinking about a series which would make an excellent Backlist July read, alongside the pile of other books on my list.

This year, it’s “Ramona Quimby.”

I remember reading these books as a kid and loving them. But I’ve been told again and again, for years, that they’re worth revisiting not only because they hold up, but also because they’re SO GOOD and there’s so much that, as an adult, resonates really strongly. I scored my copies off Etsy for really cheap, and am eager to take that ride.

My July list also includes a little bit of fantasy, some nonfiction, and a few YA titles I keep meaning to pick up but haven’t yet. I’ve been reorganizing and weeding my personal bookshelves, and stumbling upon some of these older ARCs has been motivating. I want to read them, then recycle them. And without the pressure to talk about them in any meaningful way, I am eager to see if what I think matches what was said about them initially, and I’m curious if there’s anything new I can add to the discussion.

From the writing perspective, it’ll be fun to find those tiny threads or sparks that encourage a whole post. Little things that might get missed during that pressure reading often make for some of the most interesting research projects which may or may not manifest into a blog post or two.

I always read backlist, but there’s something really rewarding in doing nothing but reading these older titles. It’s slower, more leisurely, and, as I discovered last year, actually encourages me to read more than I normally do. Maybe it’s the long, lazy days of July. Maybe it’s also knowing I get to be a reader first, then someone who talks about books second.

Backlist July is one of my favorite new reading traditions, and I’m excited to see where it takes me this time.

Tell me: do you dedicate specific time to backlist reading? What have been some of your favorite backlist binges lately? What should I consider for my list for this coming month and/or for future series reads? Let’s talk backlist traditions, since backlist always deserves more time and attention.

Slowing Down for Summer

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Summer has been the time I’ve always used to “catch up” with things, in part because summer always meant Summer Reading Club at the library, which was frantic, fast-paced, and energy zapping. I’d find it incredibly therapeutic to spend free time speeding through book after book in order to be ahead of the reading game. I wanted to be well-read for when fall approached so I could write about the newest and hottest, as well as be prepared to give great reader’s advisory on those new titles.
This is the second year, though, I haven’t been at a library during the summer. I…can’t say I miss it much. I certainly miss working with the teens, and I definitely miss the opportunities afforded in working with people and books, but I don’t miss things like the over-programming, the stress about budgeting, about bureaucracy, about time and energy and being “on,” even when I felt completely and utterly “off.” 
Whereas last summer I was new to my job and learning the ropes, this year, I’m firmly into my routine and my projects. I know how much time is needed to accomplish the necessary things, as well as how much time I have to work on new things. Being away at BEA was an opportunity to think a lot about what I want for this summer, and in reflecting, I realized how valuable summer is not for getting ahead, but instead, for slowing down. 
I’m not going to spend this summer trying to plow through things. I’m not going to pile my to-be-read plans with miles-high stacks of everything coming out this fall so I can be the first to talk about it or know about it. 
Instead, I’m slowing down and investing in reading those back list titles that I’ve always intended to read but have yet to pick up.
I want to slow my roll — and my role! — a bit. There are so many things to know, to read, to think, to reflect, and to share. And the truth is, as much as I’d love to be ahead of the game where I can be, it’s important to realize that this is a thing I can’t and can never control. I don’t have the time to be first, and my prioritizing of energy over time management means that sometimes I don’t have the reserves in me to give everything I want to do the attention it deserves immediately. What’s best for me, I realize, is having a plan but allowing myself plenty of opportunities to be flexible within that plan. 
Despite having read abundantly in middle and high school, despite majoring in English, despite my library science background, there are still so many classics, especially more contemporary titles, I’ve missed out on. I’ve never read Toni Morrison, for one, and this summer I’m changing that, picking up The Bluest Eye. I’ve never read Margaret Atwood’s classic The Handmaid’s Tale, despite knowing how many books I adore reference it or are modern takes on the story. I’ve yet to crack open Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah, even though it’s a book I admire on my shelf every single time I walk by, thinking about how much people I know absolutely adore it. 
There are less “classic-y” titles on my reading plans agenda this summer, too. I just picked up one of Megan Abbott’s earlier noir titles, This Song Is You, after reading and thinking about this great piece on the rise of feminist noir (I read and enjoyed the Larssen series, even though the writing itself left so much to be desired). I’ve got Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects to get through, as well as Night Film, which I think I talked about reading months and months ago. Maybe now is the time to follow through with that plan. 
A handful of unread Haruki Murakami titles are sitting on my shelf, too. I’ve always loved his strange, surreal, magical worlds. I want to fall back into one. 
I went through a big phase of buying backlist YA titles over the last couple of years, too, and I’m eager to dive into them headfirst. Bad Apple by Laura Ruby is one, as well as Rebecca O’Connell’s Myrtle of Willendorf (a recommendation from Liz from years ago I bought and let languish on my shelves) and Laura Kasischke’s Boy Heaven — I read Feathered years ago and still think about it. I admit to never having read S. E. Hinton’s The Outsiders, despite having read some of her other work, and perhaps it’s time to break that tradition, and I should certainly pick up one of the Francesca Lia Block bind-ups I’ve got on my shelf, too. I’m also still working through some Sarah Dessen backlist; I think I have just three left. 
Do I admit here, too, that perhaps I need to finally sit down and read Harry Potter from beginning to end? I made it to book 5 or 6 one summer while I was teaching middle schoolers about Shakespeare — they pressured me to — but it’s become such a cultural reference point that I feel obligated to revisit with a different, perhaps more excited, mindset. 

I’m feeling way less pressure when it comes to reading now, and a big reason is that I’ve made the conscious decision to not just slow down, but to not feel obligated to read everything that’s new. While that still makes up the bulk of my reading diet, I’m much more intentional about my choices. I’m not picking something up just because. Instead, I pick it up because I’m interested in it; I’m reading far more books across genres and styles not because of that. Perhaps it’s changed how I’m blogging a bit, since I don’t write reviews as much as I once did, but it’s changing my reading life for the better. Choosing to be intentional about reading backlist this summer and slowing down to drink in the words, language, and stories makes me even more excited to discover new favorites.

Without doubt, making this choice will encourage more excitement and engagement with those fall titles when I’m ready for them.

What are you reading this summer? What backlist should I be looking into? I am open to YA and adult fiction, as well as really solid, engaging non-fiction — memoirs by people of color or microhistories are especially appealing to me. Tell me your reading plans and what should be on my radar.

Baby Got Backlist and Don’t Ever Forget It

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One of the questions I got earlier this year on my panel at Book Blogger Con at BEA was what I thought one of the trends in blogging was. That’s a tough question, partially because my view of the blogging world is skewed by what blogs I read, and the blogs I read tend to be written by librarians or educators (though not all — I read a number of reader blogs, too). But the answer I had didn’t take a whole lot of thought: I think backlist blogging is one of the trends that continues to pop up in discussion of blogging trends, but also in the actual content I’ve read in the blogs I frequent.

At Kid Lit Con in 2011, one of the panels was all about backlist and defining what made a book backlist. According to the publishing representative, it’s any book older than six months.

You read that right: six months.

Books published prior to April this year are what could be considered “backlist” titles. They’re no longer getting the push from publishers or the sort of marketing and publicity bucks that books out this season or in the coming season will be getting. It’s not that they’re forgotten; it’s that they’re no longer the focus of dollars — there are caveats to that, of course.

I think six months is a pretty short period of time to consider a book backlist. But I say that from the librarian perspective. As much as I may be familiar with a book or series prior to its publication and during the initial six months it’s out for purchase, most general readers are not. Even if they’ve seen a review in The New York Times or they’ve seen advertisements in any magazines, they aren’t necessarily thinking in terms of the book being brand new or the book being old. The general reading population isn’t as caught up in the newest or the latest as many of us who blog or write or work in classrooms and libraries are. For most readers, a book is a book. Even those who want the latest book from a favorite author (think Nora Roberts, James Patterson, and so forth) don’t necessarily know the titles or plot lines of the newest book or even when it came out. They just know there’s a book they haven’t yet read and they want it.

Many readers, in my experience, find an author early on and discover they really enjoy the work. Many times it IS a new book that gets them hooked — in the library setting, this might be because they pick up the book on the new shelves which are way less intimidating to browse than the general fiction area. And once they find those great new books, the next thing those readers want to know is what else that author has written and where to find it.

Books that were published 6 months ago or longer aren’t old to those readers. They’re brand new.

For teens especially, backlist titles aren’t old news. New teen readers discover YA as an entirely new world to them when they’re ready to read them — and because they discover new authors and series and stories they love, they aren’t concerned about those books being the latest and the greatest. In fact, aside from some of the huge titles (think the Divergent or Legend series or anything by Cassie Clare), many brand new books end up on the new books shelf in my library when they come out. They don’t always stick around long, but teens aren’t clamoring to get their hands on those books as soon as they possibly can.

Backlist is crucial for reader’s advisory. It’s not only enough to know what’s come out this week or last. You have to always be aware of the books that came out six months ago and maybe even six years ago. No, you don’t need to know them all, but you should have a solid idea of big name authors and series, as well as keep up with the standalone titles published more than six months or a year ago in order to offer strong next reads to those who want them. For many readers who have been with YA for a while, it’s really not that difficult. In fact, it can be advantageous because the titles you read a few years ago can become handy when faced with the need to offer a read alike to someone. Need to offer ideas for a reader who loves books about teen pregnancy? Though a handful have published this year, you’d have to work through backlist titles in order to give that reader a strong list of ideas. This extends further when your reader wants something very specific in their teen pregnancy fiction. You can’t find many books that explore abortion in the last six months, but broaden your range to the last 8 or 10 years, and you can offer quite a few options.

Books don’t expire. And while there can be challenges to acquiring some backlist titles — books do go out of print — there’s a real value in not just reading, but in also talking about backlist titles. Even publishers are finding some backlist titles strong enough to repackage and republish. Look at what Lizzie Skurnick is doing with her imprint at IG Books.

Finding older titles featured in blog reviews or other blog spotlights excites me not only as a reader (I get to find new-to-me stuff to read) but it excites me because it means I have more titles to think about and make connections to and among when I’m faced with RA opportunities. After I wrote about female sexuality in YA books that featured very new titles, for example, I got a lot of recommendations for backlist titles to look at. My reading interests don’t change because the book is 10 years old. Instead, my reading pile grows.

Who is blogging about backlist? Technically, any blogger who talks about books older than six months is covering backlist, but there are plenty of bloggers who intentionally cover backlist titles. Many book bloggers write about older titles through the “Throwback Thursday” meme, which you can Google blog search and catch up on, since there appear to be a few different takes on it.

Some other excellent sources for backlist reading:

  • Leila at Bookshelves of Doom. I am sure you’re already reading her blog, but she offers such a great mix of newest books and older books you shouldn’t overlook. Aside from when she posts newer reviews of older titles, she’s got years and years worth of archives of older reviews and book lists — earlier this year, she did a bunch of runs of booklists that were entirely backlist titles about a niche topic that are excellent. Not to mention her book list guest posts are also great. I’d go as far to say as her blog is one of the best resources for backlist in YA. 
  • Liz does a good job of reviewing a mix of newer and older titles over at Tea Cozy, but her real gem when it comes to backlist blogging is her “flashback reviews” feature. 
  • Tessa and Rebecca over at Crunchings and Munchings write some of the most creative book lists in the blogosphere, and they do so by including a real mix of new and backlist titles. I love how they pair things up. 
  • The ladies over at The Readventurer blog have done a few “Wall of Books” features that are mega lists of books on a given topic. Of course, those mega lists include both newer books and plenty of backlist titles. Check these out if you haven’t. 
  • YA Reading List is Jennie Rothschild’s project for the year, and it is awesome. If you’re looking for a YA book list, this is a go-to, and it is primarily backlist. 
Whether you’re a blogger or a reader, the backlist shouldn’t feel off-limits to you. Explore. Engage. And then most importantly, talk about what you’re reading — sometimes the perfect book for the next reader isn’t the one that came out last week or the one that’ll be out next month. It’s the one that came out in 2006. There is no timeframe for the act of discovery. List those older books on your book lists. Write a review of a book that came out years ago. 
If you know of other great YA backlist blogs or resources, I’d love to know. I’d also be curious to know your take on the definition of backlist. How long ago does a book need to have been published to be considered backlist?  If you’re a reviewer, do you share your backlist reviews with publishers, if you are one to share your reviews? And if you’re someone who does reader’s advisory, do you share publication date information when you book talk, make displays, or write book lists? 
Let’s make this a huge backlist resource post.