Week 3 Prompt Response

 Part One: 


  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!

    1. If you are reading the traditional novel format, the fourth book in the 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. 

    1. I’m going to give you two recommendations to check out, depending on what you are in the mood for. The first is Where the Crawdads Sings by Delia Owens. The second is The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. Both of these books offer the same lush, lyrical writing style as the Prodigal Summer. Where the Crawdad Sings is closer in writing style and storyline to Prodigal Summer, whereas The Starless Sea offers a mystery component that might be exactly the pace you’re looking for. 

  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!

    1. I would recommend Fifty Words for Rain by Asha Lemmie. This story takes place in 1948 Kyoto, Japan and features a lot of compelling and richly detailed storytelling you might be looking for.

  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? 

    1. I would recommend the book The Man with a Load of Mischief by Martha Grimes. This mystery features some police procedural plotlines. It is plot-driven, atmospheric, funny, and suspenseful, so the lightheartedness should help nullify some of the suspense aspect for you. 

  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? 

    1. I would recommend The Living Dead: A New Novel by George A. Romero and Daniel Kraus. This is a fast-paced, suspenseful zombie-apocalypse style novel and it’s written by the man who brought us Night of the Living Dead.

  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.

    1. I would recommend The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennet. This book was published in June of 2020 and features a story about twin sisters who were inseparable as children, but have grown into two very different lives across the world from one another. It’s a complex, engaging, character-driven story. 

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

    1. One thriller I would recommend is Lock Every Door by Riley Sager. Riley Sager is a master of modern-day thrillers. However, this story in particular centers around a young woman who accepts a job opportunity as an apartment sitter in an elite New York City apartment. She is to return to the apartment every night, never have guests over, and never interact with the other tenants. This is a psychological thriller that does not feature any foul language or sexual content that focuses on the life of one character as she gets more than she bargained for at her new job. 


Part Two: 


There are several ways in which I find new books to read. Before working at my local library, I was the manager of a bookstore, so I had to learn how to find read-alikes quickly for any customer who asked. My searches for new reading material include: 

  • Amazon searches

  • GoodReads recommendations

  • Book Birds searches (this is a website comprised primarily of new YA fiction that can be found here https://www.booksbirds.com/)

  • Card Catalog searches for specific authors or subjects

  • Google searches


The two I use with the most frequency are amazon and GoodReads. On Amazon, I search for a title I really like and see what others bought with it or what other buyers recommend. It’s an interesting way to find new books, that’s for sure. One GoodReads, I do much of the same, or I read through their featured articles for the month. For example, this month is “Readers’ Most Anticipated New Romances for 2024.” 

At work, I usually use my vast reading history to assist, and when that fails, I use amazon. 

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