Sunday, January 29, 2017

Week Three Prompt

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 next book in the series is The Lunatic Cafe. If you like this series you are in luck because it looks like there are 25 books in the series so far!

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.

You might want to try Yellow Emperor's Cure by Kunal Basu. The writing style is lush, descriptive, and lyrical much like Prodigal Summer, however the pace of the book is much faster moving! 

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!

The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery uses good descriptive language and is set in 19th century Japan. It sounds like it may be a great fit for what you are 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?

Elizabeth George has many other mysteries if you want to read more of her! But, if you want to find some other mystery authors I think you may like The Music of the Spheres by Elizabeth Redfern. It is a suspenseful mystery novel with detailed and compelling writing without being too violent or scary. It is definitely more mystery and suspense than horror. 

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?

Mira Grant writes a lot of fast-paced zombie novels. If you want to check her out I would start with Feed. If this does not look like a good fit you might try The Rising by Brian Keene. It is another fast-paced zombie novel that also won an award for best first novel.

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.

Inherent Vice the movie came out in 2014 and the novel was published in 2009. It is a literary book while still being suspenseful and funny. It is considered experimental literature, is that something that you are interested in? 

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

Mary Higgins Clark is an author of thrillers who often writes fast paced and suspenseful novels without sex scenes, excessive cursing, or gore. Luckily for you she also has many novels. I might recommend starting with I Heard That Song Before which has received great reviews. 




What a great list of resources Mary Chelton provides! I will have to check some of these out. The tool I use most frequently to find books to read is Goodreads. I love to read books that friends I admire rate highly. I also will use Goodreads book lists to find books people rate similar in some way to books I enjoy. Beyond Goodreads I mostly just talk to people in my life and ask for book recommendations often!

Thursday, January 19, 2017

Reading Profile

A special memory I have from childhood is going to my small hometown library with my mom every week. We would walk to our separate sections and often spend an hour flipping through titles trying to find the perfect book (or books) for the week. I loved the freedom and responsibility I felt by being able to choose my own books without anyone's input or judgement. Although at times I was embarrassed about the book I was interested in reading, my mom never asked to see what titles I had picked. This childhood experience has served me as an adult because to this day I do not feel hesitation if I want to read something that other people may find 'embarrassing'. I read voraciously and continuously as a child, but as an adult, I often go through reading 'waves' where I read many books all at once then go a couple months with very little reading.

A few of my favorite genres are autobiographies, graphic novels, non-fiction, and short stories.  I also typically gravitate towards women authors and contemporary works. To stay up-to-date, I like to try to keep up with current popular books no matter the genre. For example, right now I am reading The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead. This is not a book I would normally pick for myself, but with such a big buzz around it I decided to give it a try!

Some of my favorites:
Just Kids by Patti Smith (autobiography)
Saga by Brian Vaughn (graphic novel series)
The Lonely City by Olivia Yaing (non-fiction)
Birds of America by Lorrie Moore (short stories)