Reader's Advisory Week 3 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 Lunatic Cafe , Jan. 1996, is the fourth title in the Anita Blake vampire hunter series (not to be confused with the Anita Blake graphic novels).

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.

For this reader’s advisory query, I’d ask the patron if they are interested in another title with an ecology theme. If so, I’d recommend Ecotopia by Ernest Callenbach, which shares some of the Kingsolver titles attributes, but also is plot-driven. If the patron is more interested in a faster moving, descriptively written work, I’d suggest Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series, which also is romantic and descriptive, but also fast-paced.

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 Tea House Fire by Avery Ellis is historical fiction, descriptively written with a strong sense of place. The book is about two women, one Japanese and one American, whose fates become entwined in 19th century Japan. The Japanese tea ceremony is central to the story about an American girl adopted by a tea master and raised as an attendant and surrogate sister to the tea master’s daughter.

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?

Since the patron loved Well-Schooled Murder, I’d suggest the first two books of George’s Thomas Lynley series - A Great Deliverance and Payment in Blood, or even the prequel, A Suitable Vengenance. If the patron seems happy continuing with this series, I’d let them know there are 19 titles to date, including the prequel, so it could keep them reading for awhile. If the patron is looking for a new author, I’d suggest P.D. James’ Adam Dalgliesh mysteries, which while a bit slower paced  and less violent, share several appeal factors with the George series, including a compelling writing style and a strong sense of place.

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?

For the zombie loving husband, I’d recommend The Living Dead by George Romero, with the thought that the director of the classic film Night of the Living Dead ought to be able to put together a solid zombie story. Also, 30 Days of Night: Rumors of the Undead by Steve Niles for another zombie tale, this one a novel based on a graphics series. Finally, The First Days by Rhiannon Frater is the first book in the As the World Dies trilogy tracing the efforts of a lawyer and a housewife to survive a zombie invasion.

My Reader's Advisory Sources:

My regular print sources for book ideas include: BookPage, Booklist, LibraryReads and especially Indie Next List. Some of BuzzFeed's book lists highlight titles that aren’t typically featured in more general sources. I look back on previous years’ “best of” lists and particularly enjoy NPR’s interactive Book Concierge because it includes a wide-range of titles and you can select a variety of parameters to sort the selections. It also often reminds me of books I noted as “interesting” when they first came out, but I didn’t get around to reading yet.

Each month I’m looking for titles for a book group I lead. We don’t have a chosen book to be read by everyone. Instead, I do about a half dozen book talks on titles relating to a theme. I use Goodreads’ listopia for these theme searches -- sometimes with great results and sometimes not. I also do a general Google search for the theme and sometimes come up with a great list on a library website. Thanks, librarians!

At our monthly gatherings, I not only present the titles I’ve collected for the month’s theme, but I invite everyone to share what they’ve been reading lately (no matter if it fits our theme or not). I get a lot of great suggestions this way, as well as from one-on-one conversations with patrons and my colleagues.

All of this wealth of book information leads to excessively long “to read” lists. As always, so many books, so little time.