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.
If you get a chance to try Novelist I recommend it! I didn't realize our local library had it as a resource until this week- and I love it! It is interesting to see how some of us came to the same conclusion for a recommendation while for others there were a lot of choices.
ReplyDeleteI will definitely try Novelist. I was very disappointed to find that my library doesn't have it. Once I become a librarian, I will make sure the library I work at has this on their database list.
DeleteIt's interesting you took #6 to mean recent movies; I took it to mean recent books! This goes to show you need to ask even more questions to get exactly what they're looking for!
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree with you more. If this was a face-to-face conversation, I definitely would have asked more questions to understand what the patron was looking for. This can go so many ways - recent books; recent movies; older novels, but recent movies. Take your pick, there's lots to choose from!!
DeleteI understood it to mean recent movies as well and then second-guessed myself. After thinking it through, I decided it must mean movies, since having a book come out and then having it turned into a movie all within five years or so can be a tight timespan (but I realize it does happen). You provided a good range of movies, but yes, more follow-up questions would have really helped narrow the scope of this request!
DeleteI hadn't even thought about "recent" just meaning movies! I was thinking "wow, that's a really specific request," but that interpretation makes way more sense. I also like how you got a lot of different genre options in that question- that's a great variety!
ReplyDeleteMy biggest struggle, though, was the 2nd and 4th questions- it's hard to tell what they liked about the first books (aside from how Prodigal Summer was written)- what about them did they want us to translate over? I definitely agree that follow-up questions would have been a huge help, and I think you handled those two questions really well (Martha Grimes and PD James are great choices!).
Julie and Susan,
ReplyDeleteYes, follow up questions would definitely have helped with being more specific with all these questions. Some were pretty straight forward, like #1, #5, and #7, but all the others were pretty vague.
Excellent job! Full points! You did a good job utilizing online tools and personal expertise to find great recommendations. Good job going the extra mile on the movie adaptation one, it was vague and I like that you answered it two different ways! Keep it up!
ReplyDelete