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 Café or there is none yet. There are two Anita Blake series, one
is a novel series and the other is a graphic novel series. So, assuming the
person asked for the next book, not comic book or cartoon, The Lunatic Café would be the one. However,
I would either ask them to clarify which series, or just simply say the graphic
novel series only has three volumes at this time.
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.
The Bean Trees by the same author,
Barbara Kingsolver, or In the Midst of Winter
by Isabel Allende. If the patron liked “the way she used language”, they like
her writing style. Therefore, they be interested to read a different book she
wrote because it would be the same style, but a different story. The Bean Trees is also the first book
Kingsolver wrote and is said to be the most similar in style to Prodigal Summer. However, if they want
quicker pace but similar style and characters, Allende’s book would be my
second recommendation. Allende is a beautiful writer and I have not read this
book specifically, but I have read others of hers and her writing is often compelling.
She makes long stories seem short, but not in a slow wordy sense but because it
just flows so well that it quickens the pace but doesn’t move too fast where
detail is compromised. I could also recommend a few of Allende’s books I have
read like Daughter of Fortune, which
might also be a good fit, or The House of
the Spirits, which is my personal favorite.
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!
The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery.
This book is marked for descriptive writing style, set in Japan during the 19th
Century, and is in the historical fiction genre. The story is about a French American
girl being adopted and raised by a traditional tea masters family after her uncle
had died. Seems like it could be a good fit. A similar, but more popular
because of the movie production, choice would be Memoirs of a Geisha by Author Golden, however that one is more dark
and gritty.
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?
A
Great Deliverance by Elizabeth George or Blind Goddess by Anne Holt.
A
Great Deliverance is the first book of the Thomas Lynley
Mysteries, which based on the way the question was phrased, I would guess that
the patron didn’t know Well-Schooled in
Murder was part of a 20-part series. Therefore, suggesting the first book
in the series hits two ways, one, it’s the beginning, two, it’s going to rekindle
the love of the story and characters. Another suggestion would be Blind Goddess, because fans of the
Thomas Lynley series seem to also enjoy the Hanne Wilhelmsen novels, based on
reviews.
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?
The
Zombie Autopsies by Steven Schlozman, or Day by Day Armageddon by J.L Bourne.
The
Zombie Autopsies is about finding out what causes the zombie epidemic,
which is always the big question in the zombie apocalyptic world, and how do we
cure it? This one is research based because it is about finding the cure rather
than just surviving. It is a close read alike to World War Z. Day by Day is
a written like a diary, so it’s very first person, and it’s kept about the
things he has seen during his survival, makes it more real and fast paced,
which is something a zombie apocalypse would be. Might appeal to him because
its similar to the walking dead show where they sometimes have to sometimes blend
in with the dead.
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.
This one’s tough because there are so many I can recommend. This is my favorite
genre, type, species of book so I need more information to give a proper recommendation.
However, some of my favorites are Room
by Emma Donoghue, a story told from the perspective of a five-year-old boy whom
has been in captivity with his mother for his entire life. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness, a book about a boy coping with his
mother’s developing cancer symptoms which in turns brings a monster to help him
search for the truth. Lastly, The Martian
by Andy Weir. The book is very much like the film, very well adapted, but the
book gives you a little more insight to Watney’s humor and it’s a very fast
paced read. I just love both the book and the movie.
7. I love thrillers but I hate foul
language and sex scenes. I want something clean and fast paced.
Easy, Behind Closed Doors by B.A.
Paris. All language in the book is very formal, legal. I remember cursing out
Jack out loud to myself, but I don’t recall it happening in the book at all. There
are no sex scene and overall very little violence, mostly physiological. The book
was faced paced and fun to read. I enjoyed it.
I
want to hear about how you find books to read. It could be a site or a resource
you've just discovered or one you've used for years, one you use for yourself
or for your patrons or family and friends.
As a kid, I usually found books one of two ways. One, a book
store. My mom is a book worm, we went to book stores all the time when I was a
kid. Mom would go look for something and she would let me go find something. Mom
never really picked books for me, she let me pick my own. She would always read
maybe every 3rd or 4th book I did just so she could
secretly see what I was reading. A lot of my reading habits mirror my mothers,
you know, apple doesn’t fall from the tree and all that. I read a lot of young
adult books, some of which are still very close to my heart, that I just picked
off the shelf one day. For no reason other than mom said “Hurry up! LET’S GO!”,
or I liked the cover looked. The whole never judge a book by its cover did not
apply. The second way was by word of
mouth. I had friends that likes to read as well, I’ve lost a lot of books over
the years trading them with friends. My mom would get mad because she’s a
keeper of books, and I am too to a point, but I only keep absolute favorites
for now. The books on my shelves now are favorites, or ones I bought to read but haven't read them yet, so I don't know if I am going to keep them or not. It also might have been that mom paid for the books and I traded it
away for another, not always for the better. She may have saw it as wasting
money, but I usually traded rather than just giving them away. If I didn’t like
it, I would, just because I thought it was pointless for me to keep it. Those
two ways are still the dominate ways I choose books today. Of course, now I have
Amazon and Goodreads to help me so, that’s more than I can tackle. It’s always
a question of which on is next rather than what one is next, and I typically
decide by what mood I’m in. When I want to get out of my comfort zone or I’m
just not filling anything I already have set aside, I will usually sign up for
the Book of the Month club for like 3 months just to do something different. I
usually find one that might be interesting, I found Good as Gone that way. For others, its mostly just my family that
read and I know what they like, so its pretty easy to pick for them. I have one
friend whom reads the same books over and over, sticking with the same authors over
and over, never finding anything new. The other is in the same boat I am and doesn’t
have much time for pleasure reading, so we don’t get to talk about books as
much as we would like. That will change here soon once May comes. 😊
