Week Three Prompt Response

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!

To ensure I recommend the correct book in the series, I would clarify with the patron the title of the book they recently read in the series. Once I have that clarification, I can be confident that I recommend the next book in the series. 

Through Novelist, I searched "Laurell K. Hamilton" and "Anita Blake." In the drop-down menus, I chose Author and Series. This pulled up the entire Anita Blake series in order.  I would recommend the fourth book in the series, The Lunatic Cafe.

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.

I searched for books on Novelist that are lyrical and thought-provoking, similar to Prodigal Summer, but added the term "fast-paced" to my search terms. I would recommend the novel Atomic Anna by Rachel Barenbaum. Its writing style is similar to Prodigal Summer but is a more fast-paced read. 

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!

I would recommend The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery. I searched the terms "Japan," "historical," and "descriptive." This novel meets all those requirements!  

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?

I would first ask if the patron has read any other books in the Thomas Lynley series by Elizabeth George. I would suggest the next book in the series For the Sake of Elena. If they are looking for something written by another author, I would recommend Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James Mysteries. This series is listed in the "read-alikes" column on Novelist. 

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?

I would recommend Daybreak by Brian Ralph. This is another graphic novel that centers around a zombie apocalypse and is suggested for fans of The Walking Dead. 

If the patron's husband is not interested in a graphic novel, I would suggest The Zombie Autopsies: Secret Notebooks from the Apocalypse by Steven Schlozman. I found this suggestion by typing "zombie apocalypse" on Novelist. 

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.

I was unsure of how to search for this at first. I tried "books to movies" on Novelist but was not having much luck. I then saw an article titled "page to screen." I tried that and received many results! I set the time frame from 2018-2024. 

I would recommend The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins if the patron does not mind reading a YA novel. It is the prequel to the Hunger Games series and its movie counterpart came out in 2023. If a YA novel is not what the patron is looking for, I would suggest Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. It is a fiction novel from 2018 and the movie was released in 2022. 

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

For this request, I searched for thrillers that are described as "cozy" and "gentle reads." I would recommend Cynthia Riggs for someone looking for thrillers without sexual content and foul language. I would recommend her novel Deadly Nightshade. It fits all the categories the patron is looking for!

I used to find books to read through Goodreads but stopped using the app over a year ago. Since then, I usually get book recommendations from social media (Tik Tok and Twitter) as well as recommendations from friends. I am always curious as to what they are reading and will add the titles to my TBR list.