Help me get out of a reading rut
From everyday questions to more complex problems, we’re asking the experts to lend us a hand. Throughout the series "Professional Help," we’ll hear some direct advice, for us not-so-direct Minnesotans.
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We all need a little help to get through life sometimes. From everyday questions to more complex problems, we’re asking the experts to lend us a hand.
Throughout the series Professional Help, we’ll hear some direct advice, for us not-so-direct Minnesotans.
Winter is coming, a time of year that’s perfect to stay inside and cuddle up with a good book. But lately I’ve been in a reading rut. I love to read, but just need the nudge to help me find that book that I can’t put down.
Our ask: Help me get out of a reading rut
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Our professional: Jody Wurl, senior librarian with Hennepin County Libraries
Listen to more Professional Help segments here.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
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We attempt to make transcripts for Minnesota Now available the next business day after a broadcast. When ready they will appear here.
Audio transcript
[MUSIC PLAYING] ELISA KUZNETSOV: Winter is coming. A time of year that's perfect to stay inside and cuddle up with a good book. But lately, I've been in a reading rut. I love to read, but just need the nudge to help me find a book that I just can't put down. So I turned to get some professional help.
JODI WURL: I'm Jodi Wurl. I'm a Senior Librarian with Hennepin County Library.
ELISA KUZNETSOV: And how long have you been a librarian for?
JODI WURL: 25-plus years at this point. It means a lot of books have been read.
ELISA KUZNETSOV: Librarians like Jodi are more than just the people that check out your books.
JODI WURL: Many of us do get degrees in librarianship. The biggest thing I learned there was to ask open-ended questions so that we can really help people discover what they're looking for. Sometimes when folks ask for something, it's not exactly what they want.
ELISA KUZNETSOV: And there's actually a name for that process.
JODI WURL: Reader's advisory is a very jargony term librarians use. Basically, one of the things that we learn is how to listen to folks when they're describing something, so that we can pick out what's appealing in a book, whether it's tone, or pacing, setting, character, even mood.
ELISA KUZNETSOV: OK, so can we try a reader's advisory on me? Can I give you some thoughts of what kind--
JODI WURL: Sure.
ELISA KUZNETSOV: --of book I'm looking for. I do like a good mystery. I feel like for me to get out of a reading rut, I need something a little faster paced to really reel me in and pull me in. So I feel like the mystery can help with that because-- especially ones, I guess, that are quicker paced, that are like, oh my god, what's next? But I'm totally open to other novels and suggestions. Fiction, I mean, any fiction is great. I do like memoirs. And I also like things written by journalists. Yeah, so based on that--
JODI WURL: Oh, golly. I would look underneath mystery, which is a category that we have. And we actually have a link to humorous mysteries, an entire list that you could browse through.
ELISA KUZNETSOV: Those lists. Jodie mentioned are all on Hennepin County library's website, and include categories such as mystery, romance, or Minnesota authors. And you can find lists on sites like Goodreads, too, that are even more specific, like books that everyone should read at least once, or best book boyfriends. At Hennepin County libraries, Jodi helps curate their lists.
JODI WURL: We look at reviews to see what folks are saying in the professional sphere. But we also look at the community reviews to see what our readers are saying about books as we add them. Very often we end up doing a lot of internet searches, too, just to look for the blogosphere, what people are talking about online.
ELISA KUZNETSOV: Those lists also include other formats like audiobooks or digital collections.
JODI WURL: Magazines count as reading. Blogs count as reading. So there's different formats of reading that folks don't always make that connection to. A lot of folks who love podcasts would probably love our audiobook collection. And we have that in both physical format and digital format. So people can download an audiobook and listen to that on long car drives or while they're exercising or doing chores. There's lots of ways of building in reading whenever you're doing activities, actually.
ELISA KUZNETSOV: Sometimes I felt like audiobooks are kind of cheating. You're not actually reading a book. But it actually can be a really cool way to connect with an author.
JODI WURL: When we were little, we had folks read stories to us. And it was probably one of those formational things that could have happened to you, that connection with that person reading the story and you engaging with it. You can still keep doing that as an adult with audiobooks, have these amazing performers read these stories to you, and then just help transport your brain into different places. We actually have a list called "Awesome Audiobook Narrators" for that reason.
ELISA KUZNETSOV: The library has a lot of tools to get you back into a book, whether it's physical, digital, or audio. And your local librarian is here to help if you want to get back into the habit. Or maybe you just need an escape from reality.
JODI WURL: I love reading. And I love books because it gives me a window into other people and how they experience the world. And I think it's that sense of connection that is so important in reading. And so turning to books right now, I think, is a key survival strategy, at least for me. It keeps me thinking beyond me and keeps me curious. It keeps me engaged. It keeps me supporting artists.
ELISA KUZNETSOV: So grab your library card, get a free one if you don't have one, or head to your local bookstore. And you'll be sure to find someone who can help you find just what you're looking for. For Professional Help, I'm Elisa Kuznetsov.
SPEAKER 1: That's our senior producer. Thanks, Elisa. That was our series, Professional Help. You can hear the stories every other Thursday right here on Minnesota Now. If you missed one, find the whole collection of Help on MPRNews.org.
SPEAKER 2: Programming is supported by Atomic Data, helping businesses secure their data from cyber outages and ransomware attacks with backup as a service. Learn more at AtomicData.com.
JODI WURL: I'm Jodi Wurl. I'm a Senior Librarian with Hennepin County Library.
ELISA KUZNETSOV: And how long have you been a librarian for?
JODI WURL: 25-plus years at this point. It means a lot of books have been read.
ELISA KUZNETSOV: Librarians like Jodi are more than just the people that check out your books.
JODI WURL: Many of us do get degrees in librarianship. The biggest thing I learned there was to ask open-ended questions so that we can really help people discover what they're looking for. Sometimes when folks ask for something, it's not exactly what they want.
ELISA KUZNETSOV: And there's actually a name for that process.
JODI WURL: Reader's advisory is a very jargony term librarians use. Basically, one of the things that we learn is how to listen to folks when they're describing something, so that we can pick out what's appealing in a book, whether it's tone, or pacing, setting, character, even mood.
ELISA KUZNETSOV: OK, so can we try a reader's advisory on me? Can I give you some thoughts of what kind--
JODI WURL: Sure.
ELISA KUZNETSOV: --of book I'm looking for. I do like a good mystery. I feel like for me to get out of a reading rut, I need something a little faster paced to really reel me in and pull me in. So I feel like the mystery can help with that because-- especially ones, I guess, that are quicker paced, that are like, oh my god, what's next? But I'm totally open to other novels and suggestions. Fiction, I mean, any fiction is great. I do like memoirs. And I also like things written by journalists. Yeah, so based on that--
JODI WURL: Oh, golly. I would look underneath mystery, which is a category that we have. And we actually have a link to humorous mysteries, an entire list that you could browse through.
ELISA KUZNETSOV: Those lists. Jodie mentioned are all on Hennepin County library's website, and include categories such as mystery, romance, or Minnesota authors. And you can find lists on sites like Goodreads, too, that are even more specific, like books that everyone should read at least once, or best book boyfriends. At Hennepin County libraries, Jodi helps curate their lists.
JODI WURL: We look at reviews to see what folks are saying in the professional sphere. But we also look at the community reviews to see what our readers are saying about books as we add them. Very often we end up doing a lot of internet searches, too, just to look for the blogosphere, what people are talking about online.
ELISA KUZNETSOV: Those lists also include other formats like audiobooks or digital collections.
JODI WURL: Magazines count as reading. Blogs count as reading. So there's different formats of reading that folks don't always make that connection to. A lot of folks who love podcasts would probably love our audiobook collection. And we have that in both physical format and digital format. So people can download an audiobook and listen to that on long car drives or while they're exercising or doing chores. There's lots of ways of building in reading whenever you're doing activities, actually.
ELISA KUZNETSOV: Sometimes I felt like audiobooks are kind of cheating. You're not actually reading a book. But it actually can be a really cool way to connect with an author.
JODI WURL: When we were little, we had folks read stories to us. And it was probably one of those formational things that could have happened to you, that connection with that person reading the story and you engaging with it. You can still keep doing that as an adult with audiobooks, have these amazing performers read these stories to you, and then just help transport your brain into different places. We actually have a list called "Awesome Audiobook Narrators" for that reason.
ELISA KUZNETSOV: The library has a lot of tools to get you back into a book, whether it's physical, digital, or audio. And your local librarian is here to help if you want to get back into the habit. Or maybe you just need an escape from reality.
JODI WURL: I love reading. And I love books because it gives me a window into other people and how they experience the world. And I think it's that sense of connection that is so important in reading. And so turning to books right now, I think, is a key survival strategy, at least for me. It keeps me thinking beyond me and keeps me curious. It keeps me engaged. It keeps me supporting artists.
ELISA KUZNETSOV: So grab your library card, get a free one if you don't have one, or head to your local bookstore. And you'll be sure to find someone who can help you find just what you're looking for. For Professional Help, I'm Elisa Kuznetsov.
SPEAKER 1: That's our senior producer. Thanks, Elisa. That was our series, Professional Help. You can hear the stories every other Thursday right here on Minnesota Now. If you missed one, find the whole collection of Help on MPRNews.org.
SPEAKER 2: Programming is supported by Atomic Data, helping businesses secure their data from cyber outages and ransomware attacks with backup as a service. Learn more at AtomicData.com.
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