Prompt #1 Response - Week 3

Prompt #1 Response - Week 3 

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!

The quickest way I’ve found to find the next book in the series is to use Goodreads, which is a great site for those who love to read and are looking for new books, while also trying to find a book in a series. Goodreads allows you to search by author or series. In searching for Laurell K. Hamilton as the author, I was able to find the Anita Blake series and from what I can see, it looks as though Circus of the Damned is the third book in the series, so your next book would be 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 the library’s NoveList database, which is free to all patrons who have a library card with us, I searched for Prodigal Summer by author. I then narrowed the choices down to the use of language and made sure to include that you wanted something a bit faster paced, and I believe this one might be a good fit for you. Might I recommend The Wolf Border by Sarah Hall?

The Wolf Border focuses on a zoologist who returns home to England after six years of living in Idaho monitoring the status of wolves as part of a wildlife recovery program. When she returns home, Rachel learns that her mother, a tough yet emotionally distant woman, is dying, and that her new boss who can only be described as ‘eccentric’ has come up with a controversial plan to reintroduce the grey wolf back into the English countryside. The book has an intrinsic, fast paced plot focusing not only on conservation of wild animals but also on familial relationships, one woman’s struggle to become independent and happy, and deals with political issues and environmental restoration. 

    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!

Great! I’d be happy to help you. May I ask you a few questions to help narrow down what it is you may be looking for? Are you wanting historical fiction or historical non-fiction? Is there a specific place or location in Japan, or just Japan in general? What age range are you looking for specifically (adult, young adult, juvenile, children)?

If we’re looking for adult, I’ve got a few recommendations for you. One of the nice things about NoveList is that you can narrow down by subject, so for you it would be Japan, and then it also allows us to pull the writing style, so I’ve selected ‘richly compelling’ and historical as the genre. Results are:

-         The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery

-         The Ginger Tea by Oswald Wynd

-         Dreaming Spies by Laurie R. King

-         Nagasaki: Life After Nuclear War by Susan Southard  

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?

Well-Schooled in Murder is the fourth book in the Thomas Lynley and Sergeant Havers series. Have you read the previous ones? Some other authors or books you may enjoy that are similar is Martha Grimes, Dorothy Sayers, Lillian Graves, and Lee Matthew Goldberg. If you like series, Louise Penny’s Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series are intriguing and very similar to that of Elizabeth George.

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?

Some great titles your husband may enjoy that are similar to World War Z would be The Living Dead by George Romero, which gives readers a look at the rise, fall, and rebirth of humanity in the face of zombies rising, and The Hatching by Ezekiel Boone, which focuses on flesh eating arachnids around the world, mad scientists, and mayhem. 

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.

There are quite a few books that have been turned into movies or are in production! Some of these currently in production include:

-         Taylor Jenkins Reid, Daisy Jones and the Six

-         Judy Blume, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret

-         Paul Tremblay, Knock at the Cabin (or The Cabin at the End of the World)

-         Colleen Hoover, It Ends With Us

If I may recommend some personal favorites:

-         Where The Crawdads Sing

-         The Hate You Give

-         Bridgerton (series on Netflix)

-         To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before (series turned into movies on Netflix)

NoveList has a great ‘Page to Screen’ option as well, but I recommend doing a general Google search for ‘books that have been made into movies.’ You are given many more options than NoveList alone. Results come from popular magazines, blog sites, and podcasts. 

7.      I love thrillers but I hate foul language and sex scenes. I want something clean and fast paced.

I too love a good thriller! Who are some of your favorite authors? What about the most recent thriller you’ve read? What did you like or dislike about it?

My recommendation would be Mary Higgins Clark and the “Under Suspicion” series. Mary Higgins Clark is known for her fast paced writing and suspenseful, compelling novels that do not contain sex, violence, or coarse language. Agatha Christie’s ‘And Then There Were None’ is another good book to check out. Christie is the original queen of mystery and thriller, and though her novels are set in the early 1800 to 1900s, they are fast paced and intricately plotted.

 

How I find books to read... and add to my ever growing TBR list...

I use a variety of tools and resources to find new books, authors, and series to read. What I used to do, and sometimes still do, is go to my local library on the weekends and browse the shelves. I would spend hours browsing the shelves in different genres to see what titles or authors would ‘speak’ to me. Unfortunately, I do not have as much time to do this and one of the drawbacks I’ve discovered to working in a library is you don’t want to spend as much time in the library as you once did in your off hours.  

I don’t use Goodreads as much as others; I don’t find it very helpful to me. The majority of where my recommendations come from now is my ‘bookstagram’ page on Instagram. I follow a lot of authors and fellow bookworms, as well as librarians, library staff, podcasts and sites such as Friends and Fiction, Kirkus, BookRiot, and What Should I Read Next? In following a variety of individuals and sites, I’ve been able to expand my reading palate beyond my typical cozy mysteries.

Another method I use now to find new books to read is my job as a processing clerk in our Collections Management and Development department. I get to see new and re-ordered items as they come in before anyone else in the library. I will typically spend 10-15 minutes browsing my own cart or other carts and orders as they are unboxed, take a photo of the book or make notes in my phone (I have an ever growing TBR list).

I have also joined a few book related communities through Facebook to find new reads, including: Friends and Fiction, POPSUGAR Book Club, McKinlay’s Mavens, What Women Read, Between The Chapters Book Club, Cozy Mysteries Once a Month Book Club, Mystery and Thriller Mavens, Scene of the Crime, and the Ladies Book Club.