Week Three Prompt

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 in the Anita Blake series by Laurell K. Hamilton is The Lunatic Café which was published in January 1996. I searched in Novelist under Author for Laurell K. Hamilton then clicked on “Series by this Author”.  I clicked on the series Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter and found the fourth book in the series, The Lunatic Café.

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 in Novelist for Prodigal Summer then clicked on Title Read-alikes. The number one title read alike is Anthill by Edward O. Wilson. The tone is listed as suspenseful which may pick up the pace. Anthill’s writing style is listed as lush and lyrical and the genre is listed as eco-fiction which is the same as Prodigal Summer. Ecotopia by Ernest Callenback is also listed as eco-fiction and described as richly detailed; however, there is no information that the pace is faster.

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!

First, I searched for “historical fiction” – Japan” then narrowed results on the left side of the screen to descriptive and also richly detailed. The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery has a writing style of descriptive, engaging, lyrical, and richly detailed. It is listed as historical fiction and set in 19^th Century Japan. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden is set in Japan from 1929 through World War II and is described as richly detailed.

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?

First, I looked up the author John Sandford to see how his novels were described. I noted that the novels were described as “gritty” due to graphic violence so I wanted to avoid that term while searching. I searched for title read alikes for Well-Schooled in Murder. Still Life by Louise George was listed first and shares the genres mystery stories and police procedurals. There was no mention of “gritty” in the description. Number two on the list is The Man with a Load of Mischief by Martha Grimes which is a mystery set in England like Well-Schooled in Murder and has no gritty description. Other books by Elizabeth George may be a good option.

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? 

Walking Dead read-alikes:

I searched the read-alikes and descriptions for the novels and came up with the following:

• The rest of the Walking Dead series – ask patron if he knows Walking Dead is a series
• Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance--Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem by Seth Grahame-Smith
• Boneshaker  by Cherie Priest

World War Z read-alikes:

I searched the read alikes and descriptions for the novel and then searched in the right hand column, checking apocalyptic fiction, horror stories, science fiction, zombie apocalypse and zombies and came up with the following titles:

•          Ashes by Lisa Bick
•          Autumn by David Moody
•      Monsters by Lisa Bick

      I mainly use Novelist to find books to read along with Book Pages, Library Journal, Goodreads, and Publishers Weekly. I also check out Amazon Reviews and Your Next Read.com. In addition, I find asking friends and co-workers their recommendations very helpful!