1. I am looking for a book by Laurell K. Hamilton. I just read the third book in the Anita Blake series and I can’t figure out which one comes next!
According to the website Fantastic Fiction, which I highly recommend for anyone starting a series, the next book in the Anita Blake series is The Lunatic Café.
2. What have I read recently? Well, I just finished this great book by Barbara Kingsolver, Prodigal Summer. I really liked the way it was written, you know, the way she used language. I wouldn't mind something a bit faster paced though.
Using NoveList’s appeal mixer, I searched for books that had both lush and lyrical writing, as well as fast-paced. Here are a few titles I found:
Frog Music by Emma Donoghue. It is fast-paced, lush, and lyrical.
Yellow Emperor’s Cure by Kunal Basu. Like Prodigal Summer, the writing is descriptive, lyrical, and lush, but this book is fast-paced.
The Gentleman Poet by Kathryn Johnson. This book is romantic, just like Prodigal Summer, and it has all the same writing appeals as well. This book is also fast-paced.
3. I like reading books set in different countries. I just read one set in China, could you help me find one set in Japan? No, not modern – historical. I like it when the author describes it so much it feels like I was there!
I would recommend a few titles, depending on how far back you want to go.
The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery. According to NoveList:
“The fates of two women--one American, one Japanese--become entwined in this sweeping novel of 19th century Japan on the cusp of radical change and westernization. The Japanese tea ceremony, steeped in ritual, is at the heart of this story of an American girl, adopted by Kyoto's most important tea master and raised as attendant and surrogate younger sister to his privileged daughter Yukako. Pasts shrouded in secrets and mysterious traditions rocked by modernization make The teahouse fire a compelling and provocative story, lush in details and epic in scope.”
I chose this book because it is set during the 19th century when traditional Japan was changing, and because the book is descriptive and richly detailed, the reader will be able to get a sense of that time period.
Another option is The Thousand Autumns Of Jacob De Zoet by David Mitchell. According to NoveList:
“Dispatched to the influential Japanese port of Dejima in 1799, ambitious clerk Jacob de Zoet resolves to earn enough money to deserve his wealthy fiancee, an effort that is challenged by his relationship with the midwife daughter of a Samurai.”
Again, this book is richly detailed, and it highlights a famous port, which can help one learn more about the country. The suspense and intricately plotted story should move the book right along.
4. I read this great mystery by Elizabeth George called Well-Schooled in Murder and I loved it. Then my dentist said that if I liked mysteries I would probably like John Sandford, but boy was he creepy I couldn't finish it! Do you have any suggestions?
John Sadford may not have been a great similar author, but similar authors to Elizabeth George according to NoveList are:
Louise Penny because she also writes stories with main characters as police investigators, and the main characters are just as complex as those who they are investigating.
P.D. James because both James and George write contemporary, dark mysteries.
Peter Robinson because he writes stories with a strong sense off place with contemporary issues, which are characteristics of Elizabeth George’s work.
On the right-hand side under read-alikes for Well-Schooled in Murder, the title A Possibility of Violence by Dror Mishani is a great choice because according to the review by Derek Keyser on NoveList, “Parents and administrators with complex motives are the prime suspects in these intricately plotted, atmospheric, and slow-building police procedurals, both featuring psychologically tense investigations into violent crimes occurring in school settings.”
5. My husband has really gotten into zombies lately. He’s already read The Walking Dead and World War Z, is there anything else you can recommend?
Looking at NoveList, series read-a-likes that include zombies include Rage by Pierre Boisserie and Night of the Living Dead by Jean-Luc Istin. I chose these series because they center around a zombie apocalypse.
Similar titles to World War Z are The Zombie Autopsies by Steven C. Schlozman and I am Legend by Richard Matheson. Both titles deal with zombies, although The Zombie Autopsies is more about finding the cure and not survivors trying to evade the dead, whereas I am Legend is a bit of both.
And as a personal recommendation, I recommend the series I Am a Hero by Kengo Hanazawa. It is about a manga artist in Japan, who suffers from hallucinations, who must suddenly survive as his fellow citizens suddenly become sick and tries to eat anybody! The outbreak is not very sudden, so most people do not even know anything is happening, which is a great contrast to zombie series that get into the thick of things at the very start.
6. I love books that get turned into movies, especially literary ones. Can you recommend some? Nothing too old, maybe just those from the last 5 years or so.
I chose the following titles using the search terms “literary fiction” and “books to movies” on NoveList.
Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman (2017 film)
In Secret by Emile Zola (2013 film)
Room by Emma Donoghue (2015 film)
The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers (2017 film)
The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes (2017 film)
Movies to look forward to:
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (2018 film)
The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn (TBD)
Doctor Sleep by Stephen King (TBD)
7. I love thrillers but I hate foul language and sex scenes. I want something clean and fast paced.
Using the website Rated Reads (http://ratedreads.com), which has a rating system of None, Mild, Moderate, and High to determine the amount of sex, foul language, and other undesirable content, a thriller that is clean and fast-paced I recommend is The Chase by Clive Cussler. It was rated Mild for a couple murders, but it does not have foul language. According to NoveList, it is fast-paced.
Part 2: How I Find Book to Read
I know we are to talk about websites that help us find new books, but I'd like to share all the ways I find new titles to read. I find books to read five different ways. One way I look for books to read is accidental, which is when I am at work and I stumble upon a book that looks interesting. First, either the book cover or the title catches my eye. I usually then read the inside cover to see what it is about. If I like what I see then I will check it out. Rarely I will follow up with reading a few reviews, but I usually trust my gut and check it out after reading the inside cover.
The second way I find new books is by staff or patron recommendations, but primarily through my fellow staff. The benefit of working at a library, especially a large library system like I work for, is that just about everyone is a reader. We regularly ask one another what we are reading or for some more suggestions. Occasionally a patron and I will chat about books we mutually enjoyed, and that sometimes leads to book recommendations from them.
The third way I find new titles is through websites like Goodreads, Kirkus Reviews, and New York Times Bestsellers. So far the only people I follow on Goodreads are coworkers, but I see what Goodreads recommends and I sometimes save them for later. I recently began using Goodreads religiously, meaning I scan all the books I want to read or have read, and I rate everything I read. I also plan to start reviewing everything I read.
The fourth way I find new titles is through reviews on School Library Journal, Library Journal, and Publisher's Weekly. We have routed magazines at work staff members can sign up and receive regularly for two days at a time. I usually skim these magazines and read whatever catches my eyes.
The fifth and final way I hear about new books is through the Next Great Reads service at my library, which involves patrons filling out a form asking for recommendations based off what they like and do not like to read. I am one of the staff who answers these forms, and occasionally I will hear about a book that sounds interesting. Also, because I use NoveList while answering these forms, I see books that look appealing.
