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 fourth book is The Lunatic Café. In order
to find this, I searched for series and entered Anita Blake which brought up
the regular series and graphic novel series in Novelist Plus. Ordinarily, I would go to the Fantastic
Fiction website (http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk
) in order to find this information. It
is really quick and easy.
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.
After searching in Novelist Plus, I am
recommending The Fever Tree by
Jennifer McVeigh. Like Prodigal Summer, this novel has a
writing style of descriptive, lush and lyrical and a romantic tone. Prodigal
Summer’s tone is additionally described as thought-provoking. Although neither novel had the pace listed in
Novelist, this one sounds more exciting and has a dramatic tone.
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
recommend The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery. In order to find this I searched for Japan
Historical Fiction Descriptive using the Keyword Field.
Listing for The Teahouse Fire in Novelist (retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=neh&tg=UI&an=149383&site=novp-live
):
Description:The
fates of two women--one American, one Japanese--become entwined in this
sweeping novel of 19th century Japan on the cusp of radical change and
westernization. The Japanese tea ceremony, steeped in ritual, is at the heart
of this story of an American girl, adopted by Kyoto's most important tea master
and raised as attendant and surrogate younger sister to his privileged daughter
Yukako. Pasts shrouded in secrets and mysterious traditions rocked by
modernization make The teahouse fire a compelling and provocative story, lush
in details and epic in scope.
Book Appeal Terms:Definition of Appeal Terms
Genre:Coming-of-age
stories; Historical fiction
Storyline:Sweeping
Pace:Leisurely
paced
Tone:Bittersweet; Moving; Nostalgic; Reflective; Strong
sense of place
Writing Style:Descriptive; Engaging; Lyrical; Richly detailed
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
recommend A share in death by Deborah
Crombie which is the first Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James mystery. Like Well-Schooled Murder, this is a British mystery
and police procedural. In addition, it
has similar pace, writing style and tone.
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?
After
searching Novelist for Adult Fiction Zombies and browsing the results, I recommend
Zone One by Colson Whitehead.
Description:In a post-apocalyptic
world decimated by zombies, the U.S. government has retreated to
Buffalo, New York, and survivor efforts to rebuild are focused on lower
Manhattan. With several others, Mark Spitz works as a "sweeper" --
eliminating zombie stragglers as he struggles with PASD (Post-Apocalyptic Stress
Disorder) and recalls humanity before the apocalypse. -- Description by Dawn
Towery.
Book Appeal Terms:Definition of Appeal Terms
Genre:Adult books for young adults; African
American fiction; Horror stories; Satirical fiction
Pace:Leisurely paced
Tone:Bleak; Darkly humorous; Gruesome
Writing Style:WittyPersistent
I find books myself a lot of different
ways. If I am reading a series, I
usually go to Fantastic Fiction to find the order or the next one in the
series. I really like to get personal
recommendations from people. That is one
of the great benefits of Goodreads! In
addition, I browse Amazon, read reviews, look at book awards lists, browse the
shelves, get recommendations in my Facebook feed, and talk to my
coworkers.
When helping patrons, what I use depends on the
situation. Sometimes, they want a quick
suggestion and don’t want to wait for a typical RA interview. I have several books in different genres, I
recommend depending on what I can glean from the patron. I often use Novelist, Goodreads and Google to
find additional recommendation.
