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!
In the Anita Blake
series, the fourth book is called The
Lunatic Café. It was published
in January 1996, and is now available in both hardcover and paperback.
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.
NoveList has a several books
listed that are similar to Prodigal
Summer. One, Anthill by Edward O. Wilson, includes a
language style similar to Kingsolver’s and a suspenseful tone. Another of Kingsolver’s books, Flight Behavior, has similar themes and
might also be a good fit, though it does not have a quicker pace.
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!
One suggestion for this
user is The Teahouse Fire by Ellis
Avery. It is a historical fiction
novel set in 19th century Japan, and the writing style is both
richly detailed and descriptive while the tone descriptors include strong sense
of place and nostalgic.
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?
There are eighteen books
in the series that includes Well-Schooled
in Murder (which is number three in the series), so I would first recommend
the fourth book in the series, For the
Sake of Elena. If the user
isn’t interested in continuing with the series, I would suggest Still Life by Louise Penny. It matches many of the appeal factors
listed for Well-Schooled in Murder, with
four out of five of the appeal categories matching almost exactly; however, the
novel does not include a gritty, menacing, or bleak appeal factors in tone or
writing style.
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?
Since The Walking Dead and World War Z have almost identical appeal
terms listed on NoveList, but those for World
War Z are more detailed, I based my suggestion on that title. Since men generally shy away from
reading novels with female protagonists, I would suggest either Red Hill by Jamie McGuire or Vacation by Matthew J. Costello. Both novels share many appeal factors
with World War Z and feature a male
protagonist and a fast-paced story.
_________________________________
I greatly enjoyed using
NoveList for more systematic reading suggestions and used it to find some good
reads for myself as well. The
descriptive appeal factors make it much easier for me to articulate exactly why
I loved a specific book and find similar titles that have the same
characteristics. Usually when
searching online, I rely on less formal recommendations from sites such as
GoodReads or (yikes!) Amazon. This
is especially true at work, since at the bookstore, we don’t have a searchable
database that will offer recommendations, and I’m frequently forced to rely on
my smartphone for questions I can’t answer off hand.
Most of what I choose to read comes from family and friends,
since I find myself frequently discussing my favorite books in everyday
conversation. I also find quite a
lot of new books as I’m shelving at the store – something will catch my eye and
I’ll make a note of it for later. Because
I see such a variety of books everyday at work, I rarely browse shelves at the
library, though when I do, I generally just check out if any of my favorite
authors have any new titles.
