Week 3 Prompt Response

 

• 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. Information found on Laurell K. Hamilton’s website.

• 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.

• Semiosis by Sue Burke. Descriptive, nature plays a significant role, complex characters (one of whom is a plant). It helps to have an interest in science, prior experience with science fiction not important. 

• 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 Snow Fox by Susan Fromberg Schaeffer. A Publisher’s Weekly review states that Schaeffer has been “Critically praised for her remarkable capacity to evoke time and place in her gorgeous novels,” which would certainly promise to sweep a reader along into medieval Japan.

• 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?

• Without knowing more about why you liked George’s novel, I’d suggest giving Tana French a try. Her Dublin Murder Squad police procedural series has complex characters, a character-driven plot, and a lyrical and richly detailed writing style.

• 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?

• If he likes video games, I’d recommend the Last of Us series. It has a lot of similarities to both of those books, and is a thrilling game. There is also a graphic novel series based on The Walking Dead that might be of interest. A possible novel is Colson Whitehead’s Zone One, which is a bleak and gruesome book about a zombie apocalypse.

• 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.

• Normal People (2018) by Sally Rooney

• Nine Perfect Strangers (2018) by Liane Moriarty

• The Flight Attendant (2018) by Chris Bohjalian

• I love thrillers but I hate foul language and sex scenes. I want something clean and fast paced.

• Give Mary Higgins Clark a try, she wrote fast-paced, suspenseful and clean novels. Mary Jane Clark would be another good author to try, as they are similar in more than just name.

How do I find new books to read?

I am very lucky in working at a public library, as I usually find books when I’m shelving or processing new material. Most of the time, this is how I find nonfiction to read. My tastes in fiction (when I’m not reading fanfiction, which is most of the time) are narrow. I occasionally go through Kindle Unlimited and browse the genres I enjoy, as I like finding self-published books to read. I also go through Hoopla and/or Libby from time to time to see if anything catches my eye. I am very much a “book cover” person: if a cover catches my eye, I’ll take a closer look. From there, I might look up reviews on Goodreads, but for the most part I prefer to read first without other people’s opinions in my head.