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 fourth book in the Anita Blake series by Laurell
K. Hamilton is The Lunatic Café (1996).
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.
Anthill (2010) by E. O. Wilson and A Parchment of
Leaves (2002) by Silas House are both novels that would read like Prodigal
Summer. They have the same lyrical and descriptive writing with complex
characters and elements of environmentalism. Another popular option is Where
the Crawdads Sing (2018) by Delia Owens. It also features lyrical writing and
complex characters, but with less emphasis on environmentalism.
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 that it feels like I was there!
Laura Joh Rowland writes many historical fiction
novels set in Japan with rich details about the country and culture. Two of her
novels are The Shoguns Daughter (2003) and The Iris Fan (2014). Another great
historical fiction read set in Japan with a descriptive writing style is The
Pure Land (2007) by Alan Spence.
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 it creepy. I couldn’t finish it! Do you have any suggestions?
If you liked Well-Schooled in Murder, you may like
to try some of the other books in the Thomas Lynley series. The next book in
the series is A Suitable Vengeance (1991). Louise Penny writes similar police
procedural mysteries with the first in the series being Still Life (2006).
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?
Neil Druckmann is a popular zombie/apocalyptic
writer. One of his graphic novels is The Last of Us: American Dreams (2013). Justin
Cronin has a book called The Passage (2010) that features a post-apocalyptic
world with zombie-like characters they call “virals”. Another graphic novel
recommendation is Zombies: A Brief History of Decay (2017).
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.
Two books that came out in
2017 called A Simple Favor by Darcey Bell and The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
were made into feature films. The Land of Steady Habits by Ted Thompson was
recently made into a movie by Netflix.
7. I love thrillers, but I hate foul language and sex
scenes. I want something clean and fast paced.
For an older series, the
Hamish MacBeth mysteries by M.C. Beaton are clean and lighter reads. The first
book in the series is Death of a Gossip (1985). For more recent reads, The
Insider (2014) by Sian Ann Bessey has been found on many lists for top clean
thrillers. Bestselling author John Grisham write legal thrillers that feature
no foul language or sex scenes, such as The Firm (1991). Also, Mary Higgins Clark
writes clean mysteries/thrillers. Her novels border on the genres of suspense
and thriller, but are fast-paced great mystery reads like I’ve Got My Eyes on
You (2018).
HOW I FIND BOOKS TO READ
Mostly, I use word of
mouth to find great book recommendations. I like to get ideas from family
members, friends, and co-workers on great new books to read. For a class last
semester, we were required to get a Goodreads account and I have really enjoyed
finding new books from the recommendations based on my reviews and past books
read. I also get recommendations from Amazon and Book Page. Surprisingly, some of
the best books I read last year were ones that were suggested through the Reece
Witherspoon Book Club with her company Hello Sunshine. All the books featured
are written by strong, intelligent women and there were a lot of suggestions I
would have never thought to pick up and ended up loving! I haven’t used a lot
of the resources noted by Chelton, but I look forward to trying some of them
out.
For prompt 2, I also recommended Where the Crawdads Sing. When searching GoodReads for similar novels, this was one of the top picks.
ReplyDeleteFor prompt 6, I wasn't sure about The Hate U Give as a suggestion. That was the first novel I was suggesting as well, but then I thought this is more of a YA novel, than Adult, so I took it off my list. This is something to think about. The patron was pretty vague on if he/she wanted newer novels that were adapted into movies or just new adaptations. Because of this, I also suggested the recent Little Women and Far From the Madding Crowd.
I had a hard time with a few of the prompts because they were kind of vague. If this were a in-person interaction, I would have asked some more clarifying questions, such as if she was willing to read a YA book. I have heard of a lot of adults enjoying The Hate U Give, especially since the movie came out, so I figured that if this were a patron willing to try YA, then this would be a good suggestion. Again, I think the ability to engage in conversation to ask questions helps a lot with Readers Advisory!
ReplyDeleteI think most responses I have read so far recommended Where the Crawdads Sing. It's interesting how some books really stand out as a read alike. There were several times I found myself wishing it was an in person interaction- being able to ask specific questions to really hone in on what they are looking for. Can you imagine the first reader advisory based on magazines and then writing out a list for the patron and mailing it! Now we have tools like Novelist right at our fingertips!
ReplyDeleteI can't believe I forgot about The Passage for the Zombie question! It's on my list but I haven't gotten to it yet. Have you read it?
ReplyDeleteI also came up with Where the Crawdads Sing!
Hi! I personally am not a fan of zombie books, so I haven't read it. However, I ran the summary by one of my friends who does read these types of books and she said it sounded great!
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that Reese Witherspoon had a book club. I heard an interview with her on Fresh Air (on NPR) somewhat recently though, and I remember her mentioning turning books into movies that feature women in lead roles. I looked up the interview again just now and the page for it says, "Witherspoon's company spearheaded the adaptation of Gone Girl, Wild and Big Little Lies, among other titles" (NPR, 2020). I think it's really cool that her company made those books into movies, so I'd be really interested in checking out her book club as well!
ReplyDeleteNPR. (2020). 'From Book To Script To Screen,' Reese Witherspoon Is Making Roles For Women. Retrieved from NPR WFYI: https://www.npr.org/2019/11/14/778863995/from-book-to-script-to-screen-reese-witherspoon-is-making-roles-for-women
Great job on your recommendations! Full points!
ReplyDelete