Anybody want a book?

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 19^th 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 3^rd or 4^th 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. 😊