2010: The year of reading alphabetically

I had this really great idea last summer to read my way through some of the mysteries that are on the shelf at the library where I work. I was going to read one author for each letter. I made a whole bunch of rules for myself, like: Had to be a book on the shelf, should be a book I might at some point recommend to a library reader, had to be an author I hadn't already read, I had to stretch myself a little, and blah blah blah. One a week. I figured I'd get through the alphabet by the end of the year.

Well, listen to this: I made it to D! Wow, right? Actually, the good news is that the little experiment was immensely helpful to me already as I regularly recommend my B and C and D authors (Rhys Bowen for her historical mysteries set in 1900s New York; Robert Crais for being almost as good as Michael Connelly and being in L.A.; Lindsay Davis for the two people in the universe who like historical mysteries but haven't already read all of hers) to voracious readers at our library. Gosh, that parenthetical phrase seems all twisted when I mentioned Lindsay Davis. Let me try again: When it comes to detectives sleuthing the mean streets of Rome (circa 70 A.D.), there's no beating Marcus Didius Falco, the unforgettable lead character in 19 of Davis's novels.

Back to 2010 A.D. ... and the reason I'm blogging again: I'm going to do it all over again. And this time it doesn't have to be one a week (because that little rule will have me looking for short books). There is no time limit. And I can read whatever I want, although it will be good to stretch a little bit. And just to prove I'm not a slacker, I'm starting all over again. That's right. I'm in the A's.

Reading through the alphabet

Maybe if I say this out loud (or type it quietly) I'll have to actually follow through with something: I'm going to read a new author each week, for 26 weeks, right through the alphabet.

There are a few rules, and I'll make up more as I go along (and as I break the ones I already made):

1. Read consecutively through the alphabet, by last name.
2. Limit authors to the "Mystery" section of the library
3. I must select a book that is available at the library where I work.
4. It's best if the author has several titles.
5. It's okay to read bestsellers.
6. The author must be someone I haven't read.
7. I don't have to finish the book if I don't love it.
8. If I don't finish a book, I will have at least done the Joyce Sarricks' style of getting to know a book. (More about that later. Joyce Sarricks is a librarian, author, book reviewer and guru of good librarians.)
9. I do have to find good things to say about the book and/or author.
10. I will not be deterred from my alphabetical mission if someone should say something snarky, such as "What??? You haven't read THAT yet?"

Hmmm ... I'm going to work on those rules so they're a bit snappier.

Anyway, I'm doing this because I think I'm recommending the same mystery authors again and again to readers at my library. I feel only 38 percent confident when I recommend a book/author I don't know that much about; I always feel like I'm really talking out of my butt because I have no idea since I haven't actually read the book. My intent with this is to explore mysteries I might not usually read -- with the ultimate goal of being a better readers advisory librarian.

Oh, look at that! I just used library jargon. We talk about readers advisory a lot, and it's what we do all day (or at least most of the day) in the Fiction Department at my library. I kind of hate that I just dropped that term into a blog post. Let me rephrase: I want to do a better job of connecting people with books that they have a high likelihood of enjoying.