Historical Fiction Annotation

                    The Romanov Empress

Written by C.W. Gortner

Narrated by Katharine McEwan

Run time: 17h:49m:58s 

ISBN: 9780525593652

Plot Summary

     This story is told from the point of view of Maria Feodorovna, the mother of Russia's last Tsar. Readers meet Maria when she is about fifteen years old in her home land of Denmark and follow her until she and her family flee Russia as rebels dismantle the Romanov monarchy. Readers who are familiar with Russian history will know of what becomes of Maria and her family. However, C.W Gortner tells tragic end of the Romanovs with such elegance that listeners will undoubtedly be hooked on the narrator's every word until the very end. 

What Makes This Novel Historical Fiction

Frame/Setting
     With Historical Fiction novels, authors emphasizes a sense of place. The concept of 'world-building' is crucial in these types of novels. Customs, habits, culture, and so much more are drawn from the world from which the story takes place. Many readers find themselves drawn to type of framing when its foundation is based on these. It is a way for the reader to learn about a different culture without them even knowing it.

Tone
     Another important factor for Historical Fiction is the tone. It can leave the reader feeling hostage to the story, when if they already know the outcome of that particular historical event.

Storyline
    Unsurprisingly, the story lines of Historical Fiction novels emphasize a certain event, person, or time period.

Pacing
     Generally, because of all the world-building and attention to details, Historical Fiction books often are hearty reads. Even when the book is centered around an action filled or adventurous time in history, Historical Fiction books are not considered fast paced reads.
Language
     The language in a Historical Fiction story depends on where and when the story takes place. It speaks to the historic cultural accuracy of the piece. 

Great For Readers Who Enjoy

*Compelling Writing Styles
*Illustrates Life During War Times
*Has An Atmospheric Tone

Read-A-Likes
1. Sisi by Allison Pataki
2. The Romanov bride by Robert Alexander
3.Enchantments by Kathryn Harrison

A Funny Thing About Book Clubs

In the library system that I work for, there are many different book clubs run by the librarians. Each one is tailored to that specific branch because different branches serve different audiences. What might be successful at one location may completely fail at another.
I ended up shadowing a book club that was located at one of the city branches. The name of this book club is "Book Talkers" with attendance averaging roughly five to twelve participants each meeting. There is no formal attendance taken but the number of participants is recorded for statistical purposes. However, there is the option to give your email address to the librarian at the end of the meeting to receive a copy of the notes that were taken and get a reminder when the next meeting was coming.
What makes this book club, and the majority of the book clubs that the library system hosts, unconventional from others is that members are not asked to read a specific book or certain genre. Members are only asked about what they have read since the last time they met and to give their thoughts about it.
Everyone in the book club sits in chairs arranged in a circle. The librarian who is leading the group goes first to share what books she has read, along with a short summary of what she did or did not enjoy. From there, members take turns going around the circle to share the same. If a member has not read anything noteworthy or anything at all in the past month, there is no shame for them to admit it to the group. The group seems kind to one another and offer no judgment during the discussion. It appears to be a safe place for people in the group.
Because there is no set book for the group to read, a member’s share time depends on how much they read since the last meeting. No one member seemed to hog the spotlight because everyone had an opportunity to speak. If the librarian found the book a member was discussing to be interesting, she would ask more probing questions. Some examples of the questions would be “Is this the first book you read by that author? Who would you recommend this book to?”. Mostly, the librarian would play the part of a facilitator in order for all members to have the opportunity to participate. 
The book club does not offer snacks but the members do not seem to mind that. The members seem to look forward to coming back month after month. It is actually one of the libraries few events that do not offer refreshments. However, sometimes the librarian is able to give away advanced copies of books for the group to choose from.
I spoke with the librarian after the meeting and she stated that members would come up to her to talk about books and ask for more book recommendations. Before this group started, the members would not stay in the library long at all. But now they seemed to have formed a small community amongst themselves.

Special Topic: Audiobooks

For my Special Topic Paper, I choose to do it on audiobooks and explain how it is not "cheater reading". For myself, I enjoy listening to audiobooks and it is actually my preferred medium (second to Graphic Novels). In this paper, I provide three different articles to explain how audiobooks are not cheating but just another way for people to take in the story or information.

BookRiot's Dana Lee explains that audiobooks are able to elicit more of an emotional response from the reader.  They have the able to do that because the listener is able to hear the narrator's change in pace, tone, and other nuances that come with speech. Because of this, listening to audiobooks can be considered a more social experience than just reading the book in print.

 Cognitive psychologist Daniel Willingham, uses the simple model to describe how reading books and listening to books are fundamentally the same. The simple model was developed in 1986 and dealt with the key main functions that take place when an individual is reading---decoding and language processing. In this aspect, reading and listening to a story are the same but Willingham explains that it is easier for a person to take in the information from an audiobook if the text is written similar to oral speech. A person who is trying to study or take in research from an audiobook may have a more difficult time because these types of books typically are written in a more formal matter.

The goal of any story is to be heard and understood by the reader. Everyone is different which means that everyone has a different way that they best take in information. It should not matter how something is understood as long that it is. That is why books are offered as audiobooks in the first place, in order to reach and be understood by as many people as possible. 

First Impressions and Online Mobs

Ramin Ganeshram, author of A Birthday Cake for George Washington, explains her side of her book being banned. She points out that the reservations she had prior to the book's release but they were ignored by the publisher. That how, despite some of the reviews going against policies, Amazon did not take down the more inappropriate reviews posted. 

It is disappointing that Ganeshram's race was called into question by an internet angry mob. It is also upsetting that people who did not even read her book took it upon themselves to harass the author while she, herself she was told to stay silent by the publishers. 

When I first read over the synopsis and the complaints, I was quick side with public opinion and blame the author. However, after reading the author's response, I now sympathizes with her. After hearing her point of view and how she was treated, I thought about the book in a different way. Before hearing about this book, I didn't know anything about Hercules. I think I will see if I can get this book on Inter Library Loan to learn about more and draw my own conclusions. 


Source:
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/why-banning-a-birthday-cake-george-washington_b_9210992