Week Three Prompt

This week I'll be exploring several situations where NoveList, an online database that helps make book suggestions.  Here are the five scenarios!  

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 19^th 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. 

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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.