Week Three Prompt Response

Recommendations Using Novelist 

• 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 Lunatic Cafe. This is listed as the fourth book on Novelist, and is confirmed by a few other sites, including the author's site. 
• 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.
• Try Yellow Emperor's Cure by Kunal Basu. This matches a search for a lyrical, descriptive, and lush writing style, but has a faster pace than Kingsolver's book.
• 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!
• Try The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery. Th book has is based in historical Japan, is said to have an engaging, descriptive, and lyrical writing style. 
• 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?
• Try A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny. It's similar in writing style, and also has an intricate plot while still being character driven. Another book along these lines would be Believing the Lie by Elizabeth George, which is part of the same series as Well-Schooled in Murder. 

• 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?
• Try A People's History of the Vampire Uprising by Raymond A. Villareal. This might be about vampires, but it's similar in style to World War Z and is often recommended for fans of the novel. 
• OR try The Zombie Autopsies by Steven Schlozman. It is similar in style, "masquerading as nonfiction." 
• If you're looking for another zombie graphic novel graphic novel series, try the B.R.P.D. Series by Mike Mignola, starting with B.R.P.D: Volume 1, Hollow Earth & Other Stories. 
• 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.
• Try Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. This movie was released in 2022. 
• The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt was adapted into a movie in 2019. 
• While not a movie, The Power by Naomi Alderman was adapted into a tv mini-series on Amazon Prime that released in 2023. 
• I love thrillers but I hate foul language and sex scenes. I want something clean and fast paced.
• Try Played for a Fool by Stephanie Black or Dead Heat by Joel Rosenberg. Both are fast-paced thrillers and have indicators they should be clean. 

How do I find books to read? 

Finding new books to read is definitely not a struggle for me. Rather, I'm constantly struggling with having too many options. So here are some of the ways I find my books: 

• I'm on Goodreads nearly every day, seeing what my friends are reading and constantly adding to my "want-to-read" shelf. Sometimes, I don't even read what the book is about, it just gets added to my list based on the cover or who marked it as read/want-to-read/is reading it. 
• My librarian friend at work will often come over to me, hand me a book, and tell me that I'll like it. I have always listened to her suggestions and she has never steered me wrong (she has been a librarian for 40 years, so I guess that makes sense). I'll also visit her desk at work and browse her stock of books for the bookmobile and check out whatever I find interesting. 
• If I'm in a slump, I'll peruse my library's Libby page and see what historical romances are available because those often help me get out of a slump. 
• If I just can't decide what to read next, I'll work my way down my to-read lists and see what comes up as available with my library. Often, many of the books I want to read have hold lists, which is again where I just find an available historical romance.
• Because of this class, I've discovered Novelist and I've already added a number of books to my to-read lists. 
• My friends and I at work have inadvertently started informal book club conversations anytime we've read the same books and we're all in the same space together. This leads to plenty of "OH you should read THIS book, you'll love it" (I do, I love them all).