Promoting Gentle Reads: Week 6 Prompt Response

There are many patrons at my library that love gentle reads, but they rarely, if ever, check out anything except fiction books.  I think a great way to promote gentle reads with integrated advisory would be through a catchy Amazon.com-style display.  Since gentle reads often encompass other genres, such as romance and mysteries, I think that this would be a clever way to promote the various genres represented with gentle reads, as well as non-book materials.  I would have this sign at the top of the display:

On the display would be 8 or 10 fiction books with Amazon.com-style descriptions next to them.  Then I’d have a sign next to each one recommending an audiobook, nonfiction book, DVD, or other non-book item that is similar to the fiction title.  The display of each pair of items would look like this:

This kind of display would feature gentle reads from different genres, which would draw patrons’ attention to the fact that there are softer books in all kinds of genres without explicit sex, violence, or language. The “People Who Read This Book Also Liked” recommendations are non-book items, which could help patrons to explore stories in different formats they might not have ever tried.  Next to each pair of materials could be a list of more “read”-alikes—more books, DVDs, et cetera that are similar to each fiction book that is featured on the display.  These lists would be arranged by material type and include call numbers for patrons to more easily find materials on the shelves.  This display as a whole would be a creative way to introduce new ideas to patrons of gentle read materials to read (or listen to or watch).