The next book in her series is 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.
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?
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.
A read alike book I would recommend is Where the Crawdads sing, sticking with the writing style of Kingsolver with a green theme, literary fiction and strong female characters. I would also suggest she try books by Christ Cleave because most of her books have a strong female protagonist dealing with conflict, relationships and often have a green nature to them.
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!
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!
By looking for historical fiction and a setting in Japan I would suggest Autumn Bridge, Jade Dragon Mountain and The Painting. The detail in each should draw the reader into feeling like they are there.
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?
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 suggest they try authors like Ruth Rendell, Jane Harper and Deborah Crombre. These focus on Scotland and Australia for locations, and include a leisurely pace for a crime/mystery storyline
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 suggest a variety of other zombie books including Zombies of Byzantium, Married with Zombies and War of the Worlds Plus Blood Guts and Zombies while trying to steer clear of more teen focused zombie books.
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.
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 love the feature of Novelist that gives lists of books to movies. Using that and the readers request of literary books I would suggest they try The Invisible Man, All the Bright Places, The After Math and Dancing on the Edge of the Roof.
7. I love thrillers but I hate foul language and sex scenes. I want something clean and fast paced.
I found this harder to select, maybe I wasn't finding the right way to filter language and sex scenes. I did tend to look at those that were teen books, but that isn't always an adequate way to filter. I would want to find out if the reader had specific themes within thriller they were looking for but would lean toward historical, legal and medical thrillers. A couple I would suggest are Deadly Cure and Mississippi Blood.
Second, after you get a chance to do the readings and explore Mary Chelton's list of tools, 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.
7. I love thrillers but I hate foul language and sex scenes. I want something clean and fast paced.
I found this harder to select, maybe I wasn't finding the right way to filter language and sex scenes. I did tend to look at those that were teen books, but that isn't always an adequate way to filter. I would want to find out if the reader had specific themes within thriller they were looking for but would lean toward historical, legal and medical thrillers. A couple I would suggest are Deadly Cure and Mississippi Blood.
Second, after you get a chance to do the readings and explore Mary Chelton's list of tools, 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.
The use of Novelist was a first for me with this assignment- and I am in love! I think it is a great tool to use for patrons but also for myself when I feel like I am stuck in a rut or I have finished all the books an author has written and I want more like it. Generally I rely on friends and family for book recommendations, I sometimes look at BookRiot for book lists and blogs that have reading recommendations. I also watch Goodreads to see what 'friends' are reading or what they send me for a recommendation. When I was doing readers advisory for elementary students I used our catalog to know what we had, ( I was in an international school overseas so library opportunites outside of the school was limited to one other library) and goodreads for read alikes. The tools shared by Mary Chelton are endless and I would have loved to know about many of them when I was in the school.
Hi Jennifer! You found so many great titles for question 5, I struggled with that one. Did you find them on Novelist? For question 7, I looked up "thriller" and "gentle reads" which was how I filtered out language and sex scenes. Novelist is such a powerful tool, I had no idea it existed until I started working at the public library. I use it quite often now! I really need to make a Goodreads account. I don't know why I have taken so long to make one because I use their user-generated lists often...
ReplyDeleteEmily- Yes I used Novelist to find the zombie books. Since it was pretty open ended I looked at read alikes of the two he read and tried to find some similar but also looked at other zombie books to expand on. Novelist is great- I wish I had it when I was in the school library. I had to make a Goodreads account for a class- and again I am so glad I did. It is a great way to track what I have read and my growing list of books I want to read.
ReplyDeleteFull points! You did a great job using novelist to find excellent suggestions! Emily had great advice on how to weed out "unsavory" themes. Fantastic work! Also, get a goodreads account! It's the only way I can keep on top of my TBR list and keep track of books I've already read.
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