Worth Your Time

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Background and Procedures

Background and Procedures

As a professional librarian, I try to remain objective when writing a review.  The opinions and recommendations on this website are mine only and do not represent the views of the library, the publisher, or the author.  In the spirit of full disclosure, I will always attempt to inform the reader of any background information that might affect my review (e.g. the book was a gift from the publisher, I know the author personally, I especially enjoy a genre, etc.).

Recommendation Scale:

Highly Recommended -- Recommended -- Average -- Poor -- Not Recommended

When formulating my Down and Dirty assessment I am looking for subject matter to which an audience might be more sensitive: violence of any kind (sexual, physical, personal, emotional, etc.), harsh language, illegal activity (drug use, crime, etc.), and depictions (implied or explicit) of sexuality.  I have been a librarian in a variety of environments and countries and know that different cultures have different sensitivities; as always, weigh your values independently before selecting a book.

When recommending an age for readership, I take into consideration the subject matter, the target audience, the ages of characters, the vocabulary, etc.  These are a guideline only: my attempt to offer more information to assist you, the reader or guardians of the reader.  My personal reading habits are not limited by age recommendations, and I hope you might also sample a broad range of materials. 

No stranger to living in multi-language environments, I always try to note the English language reading abilities necessary for a text.  When possible I will also include the Lexile Level as well. Lexile levels are an approximate measure of English reading abilities, on a scale from 0L or 2000L.  Lexile measures do not take into account the maturity of the subject matter of a book, and only analyze the difficulty of the vocabulary contained therein.

The 20 is my attempt to honestly and succinctly summarize the book and my review in 20 words or less.  Under Read-Alikes I also try to include similar materials for your consideration.  I might also choose to include my favorite quotations from the book, should a turn of phrase or passage resonate with me.

About Me

About Me

My name is Bethany and I am a professional librarian with experience in university, public, and school libraries.  I earned my Bachelor’s degrees in English (2003) and Religious Studies (2003) from the Pennsylvania State University, with a minor in Middle East Studies and honors in Language and Literacy Instruction.  I studied Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and received my Master’s degree in 2004. For my most up-to-date curriculum vitae, please click here.

I love traveling around the world, and have lived in a variety of places: New Mexico, USA; Texas, USA; East Anglia, England; Rheinland-Palatinate, Germany; Virginia, USA; Pennsylvania, USA; Illinois, USA; New Jersey, USA; and County Antrim, Northern Ireland.  I currently live in Northrhine Westphalia, Germany.

When I am not working or reading, I enjoy knitting, making music, biking, swimming, creative writing, and spoiling my niece and nephew.