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!
I did a series search in NoveList for “Anita
Blake” and found the “Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter” series. The fourth book in
the series is The Lunatic Cafe, published in 1994.
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.
Before I tried NoveList, I checked with my
partner (who’s a big Barbara Kingsolver fan) and she recommended reading a
novel by Joanne Harris, who writes in a similar style to Barbara Kingsolver
(very lyrical and descriptive sensory details) but tends to write somewhat
shorter books than Kingsolver with a greater emphasis on plot. Good novels to
start with would include Chocolat and The Five Quarters of the Orange.
Checking NoveList, I found a few good options. State
of Wonder by Ann Patchett might be a good fit because it is a lyrical,
character driven novel by a female author that travels out of her comfort zone
for the sake of research. Frog Music by Emma Donoghue may also be a good
fit - although it’s a mystery, it involves a biologist and is fast-paced with
beautiful writing.
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!
Pachinko by
Min Jin Lee might be a good fit - it’s set in the early 1900s in both Japan and
Japan-occupied Korea. It tells a story of how people’s identities are formed in
relation to their home countries, and offers a look at Japan’s historical
relationship with its neighbors, which might give you a better understanding of
different countries’ relationships with one another. If you’re looking for
literature from a bit farther back in Japan’s history, you could try Shogun
by James Clavell, which is the first book in a historical fiction trilogy set
in and around Japan. If you’re looking for a riveting, fast-paced, and dramatic
read, this would be a book to try. Another option would be The Samurai’s
Wife by Gail Tsukiyama, which is historical fiction set in the 1930s that
follows a young Chinese man who moves to Japan as he recovers from
tuberculosis. (By the way, I hope you like tuberculosis, because it appears to
be a major plot point in most of the Japan-centered historical fiction!)
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?
Broadchurch by
Erin Kelly is a police procedural murder mystery about an 11-year-old boy found
murdered in a small British town. It lacks the graphic violence and gritty tone
of John Sandford novels, focusing instead on a character-driven story with an
atmospheric tone. Another mystery series you might enjoy is Martha Grimes’
Richard Jury books. Like Well-Schooled in Murder, these books follow police
officers investigating crimes in England, but they have a lighter, more humorous
tone to them. The first book in this series is called The Man With a Load of
Mischief. You might also consider Louise Penny’s Inspector Armand Gamache
series for a different locale - they are set in Montreal, and are highly
descriptive with a strong sense of place.
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?
He could try out The Zombie Autopsies: Secret
Notebooks from the Apocalypse by Steven C. Schlozman, which is another take
on the zombie apocalypse similar to World War Z, but instead of interviews with
survivors, it compiles medical notebooks from a doctor who is dissecting and
studying zombie anatomy and physiology. If he’s looking for something a bit
longer, he could try out the Newsflesh series by Mira Grant, a story of a
conspiracy to cover up a zombie outbreak and the journalists who try to uncover
it. The first book in the series is called Feed. Another option would be
The Reapers are the Angels by Alden Bell, a beautifully written survival
story about a band of people trying to find safety in a brutal, zombified
world.
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.
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman is a charming story about older man whose plan
to commit suicide after his wife’s recent death is put on hold as he gets
caught up in relationships with his neighbors. This book has been translated
from Swedish and was released as a movie in 2015. Another option is The
Children Act by Ian McEwan, a poignant story about a judge who must preside
over a difficult legal case involving a dying child while she experiences
difficulty in her marriage. The story was adapted into a movie in 2017.
7. I love thrillers but I hate foul language and
sex scenes. I want something clean and fast paced.
Need to Know by
Karen Cleveland is a new spy thriller that follows a CIA agent trying to expose
undercover Russian agents in the U.S. - it’s fast-paced, thrilling, and
suspenseful. Open Your Eyes by Paula Daly is a crime thriller that
explores the life of a woman after her husband, a thriller novel writer, is
attacked and put in a coma. It’s a suspenseful and intricately plotted page
turner. Both of these books avoid gritty realism and explicit sex scenes.
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When I’m looking for a book to read, I usually
start with Amazon, searching for a book that I’ve recently read and enjoyed,
then looking at the suggested books to see what catches my eye. When I’ve found
a few potentials, I usually head to Goodreads to see what people think of them.
I find that lots of Goodreads users compare books in their reviews, and this
makes reading reviews another good source for finding new reads. In the couple
years I’ve started following Tor.com’s publishing blog, which I have found to
be a fantastic source for learning about a wide variety of science fiction and
fantasy books, as well as sci-fi/fantasy-adjacent books that straddle genres
but often have one foot in the fantastical. I also enjoy looking through NPR’s
end of the year book concierge that picks out highlights from lots of different
genres published in the past year.
