Jan 28, 2020
Prompt Responses - RA Questions
My library doesn't have Novelist, so for prompts #1 - #5 I used GoodReads. For prompt #6, I used BookBub, and for prompt #7, I used the novel I just finished for my Thriller annotation.
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!
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 Lunatic Cafe is the fourth book in the Anita Blake series.
2. I just finished this great book by Barbara Kingsolver, Prodigal Summer. I really liked the way it was written. I wouldn't mind something a bit faster paced though.
I would suggest you read Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owen. The novel is set in 1969, in a small beach town of North Carolina. I believe it would be a bit faster in pace than what you just read because it deals with a possible murder and the accused is a young girl who lives alone in the marsh. Many patrons who have read Kingsolver’s novels like Owen and especially this novel because it is a coming of age story and focuses on the natural wonders of the local beauty.
Retrieved from https://www.goodreads.com/book/similar/718772-prodigal-summer
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.
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.
Blossoms and Shadows by Lian Hearn is set in the mid 1860s during the Japanese revolution. The novel is about a young woman who defies all traditional stereotypes of Japanese women of that time by taking on society. She wants to marry for love, wantsa career as a doctor, and fights for what she believes in. This is the beginning of modern day Japan.
Retrieved from https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9350510-blossoms-and-shadows?ac=1&from_search= true&qid=ktAQxu2fLE&rank=2
4. I read this great mystery by Elizabeth George called Well-Schooled in Murder and I loved it. Then my dentist suggested John Sandford, but boy was he creepy I couldn't finish it! Do you have any suggestions?
I believe either Martha Grimes or P.D. James would be more to your liking as neither are gruesome. Both authors set their mysteries in the UK, same as Elizabeth George, and have several series you can choose from. P.D. James has been on the NYT bestselling list.
Retrieved from https://www.goodreads.com/book/similar/859452-well-schooled-in-murder
Retrieved from https://www.goodreads.com/book/similar/859452-well-schooled-in-murder
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?
As the World Dies series by Rhiannon Frater. GoodReads has this series on its ‘Popular Zombie Books’ list. I’m not a zombie fan, but from the description of the series, there’s lots of gore and killing, which sounds like your husband is into right now.
Retrieved from https://www.goodreads.com/genres/zombies
Retrieved from https://www.goodreads.com/genres/zombies
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.
Well, this is tricky. There have been several recent adaptations of great classic novels, such as Little Women (2019), Far from the Madding Crowd (2015), and The Great Gatsby (2013) just to name a few. However, more recent novels that have been turned into movies would be The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2018) based on the novel (2008) by Mary Ann Schaffer and Annie Barrows. The Hate U Give (2018) based on the novel (2017) by Angie Thomas, If Beale Street Could Talk (2018) based on the novel (1974) by James Baldwin, The Girl in the Spider’s Web (2018) based on the novel by David Lagercrantz (2015), and Mary Queen of Scots (2017) based on John Guy’s My Heart Is My Own: The Life of Mary Queen of Scots (2004).
Retrieved from https://www.bookbub.com/blog/book-adaptations-2018-movies
Retrieved from https://www.bookbub.com/blog/book-adaptations-2018-movies
7. I love thrillers but I hate foul language and sex scenes. I want something clean and fast paced.
I just finished reading We All Fall Down by Daniel Kalla. His books are exactly what you are looking for. They are fast paced and clean. This one had no sex scenes, just one intense kissing incident in a taxi that goes on for a few sentences, but nothing else. I can’t stand foul language as well and try to steer clear. This one does have a few, maybe less than ten, but considering what was being discussed, the words were well placed and understandable for the circumstances. I really think you’ll enjoy his books.
How I find books to read:
I have several different ways of finding books to read. I use GoodReads and follow several authors and friends where I get recommendations from. I also subscribe to several mailing lists, such as ‘New and Notable Books’ from Barnes and Noble, BoobBub, author mailing lists, Booklist Webinars, and Penguin Random House. I receive a weekly email from my local library regarding new acquisitions within all their collections. I like to review the yearly ‘Reading Challenge: Book by Women of Color’. I also pick up the print edition of BookPage from my local library and get recommendations from NPR reviews and interviews.
Jan 18, 2020
Reading Profile
I love books! I would have to say reading is my favorite pastime. No matter how tired I am or how late it is, I have to rad a few pages before bed. Several times the novel has been so engrossing that I'm up for the the rest of the night (even knowing I have to go to work the next day). A few years ago I joined the GoodReads challenge. In 2018, my goal was 75 books and I passes it with 94; last year my goal was 75 again, and I passed it with 85. This year my goal is 85 books.
My all time favorite author would have to be Jane Austin. I have reread her novels numerous times and have seen many of the movie/min-series adaptations. Along with Jane Austin, I love reading anything from the 'classics' section (if it's still called that). I started reading these back in middle school when we were assigned them in English class. During the summer months, I would read other novels by the same authors I had read that school year. I have always considered 'The Classics' as a genre, but as Saricks and Wyatt state in the introduction of the textbook, "A genre can stand alone, can be part of a larger appeal matrix, and can be blended with another genre, which expands its appeal even wider. The advantage to considering the larger appeal of genres is that it provides a broader perspective" (page xix).
I also enjoy reading historical fiction and historical romance. I have always loved history as a subject (my undergrad major), so period novels dealing with historical references are my go to when I'm not in the mood for actual history. However, I will research the actual time period I just finished reading about. I particularly like to read about the Subcontinent (Pakistan, Afghanistan, India), and anything pertaining to the Ottoman Empire.
A new genre that has recently piqued my interest are novels by Muslim authors. Currently these are mainly YA novels, but many are children's books. I make it a point to read the children's books my public library has and post reviews on GoodReads. I have read a few of the YA novels to try to understand the author's perspective and stay in touch with today's youth as I have two teenage boys, a tween son, and an older daughter. I know my kids and I would have loved reading books by Muslim authors growing up. It would have allowed us to see ourselves in these novels and have someone or similar topics to relate to.
Once in a while, I'll venture into other genres. If I know an upcoming movie I want to see is based on a book, I'll read it before the movie comes out. A few have been Gone Girl, Time Traveler's Wife, The Hunger Games series, Little Women, Anne of Green Gables, and of course, the Jane Austen adaptations. When the latest adaptation of A Wrinkle of Time came out, my son and I had just finished the book. I make it a point to read the novels my kids are reading for school. This is a way I can keep up today's (sometimes) interests and its a great way to bond and have discussions with them.
Saricks, J. G., & Wyatt, N. (2019). The Readers Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction: Third Edition. Chicago, IL: American Library Association.
My all time favorite author would have to be Jane Austin. I have reread her novels numerous times and have seen many of the movie/min-series adaptations. Along with Jane Austin, I love reading anything from the 'classics' section (if it's still called that). I started reading these back in middle school when we were assigned them in English class. During the summer months, I would read other novels by the same authors I had read that school year. I have always considered 'The Classics' as a genre, but as Saricks and Wyatt state in the introduction of the textbook, "A genre can stand alone, can be part of a larger appeal matrix, and can be blended with another genre, which expands its appeal even wider. The advantage to considering the larger appeal of genres is that it provides a broader perspective" (page xix).
I also enjoy reading historical fiction and historical romance. I have always loved history as a subject (my undergrad major), so period novels dealing with historical references are my go to when I'm not in the mood for actual history. However, I will research the actual time period I just finished reading about. I particularly like to read about the Subcontinent (Pakistan, Afghanistan, India), and anything pertaining to the Ottoman Empire.
A new genre that has recently piqued my interest are novels by Muslim authors. Currently these are mainly YA novels, but many are children's books. I make it a point to read the children's books my public library has and post reviews on GoodReads. I have read a few of the YA novels to try to understand the author's perspective and stay in touch with today's youth as I have two teenage boys, a tween son, and an older daughter. I know my kids and I would have loved reading books by Muslim authors growing up. It would have allowed us to see ourselves in these novels and have someone or similar topics to relate to.
Once in a while, I'll venture into other genres. If I know an upcoming movie I want to see is based on a book, I'll read it before the movie comes out. A few have been Gone Girl, Time Traveler's Wife, The Hunger Games series, Little Women, Anne of Green Gables, and of course, the Jane Austen adaptations. When the latest adaptation of A Wrinkle of Time came out, my son and I had just finished the book. I make it a point to read the novels my kids are reading for school. This is a way I can keep up today's (sometimes) interests and its a great way to bond and have discussions with them.
References:
Saricks, J. G., & Wyatt, N. (2019). The Readers Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction: Third Edition. Chicago, IL: American Library Association.
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