Week Three Prompt Response
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 book they are looking for is The Lunatic Cafe. I chose this title using Fantastic Fiction and going to Laurell K Hamilton's page.
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.
Using NoveList, I brought up the title. When I didn't find any of the read-alikes to fit the Writing Style and to be Fast Paced, I clicked on the 'descriptive', 'lush', and 'lyrical' Writing Styles and clicked search. Once I did that, I added clicked advanced search and added 'fast' to the search. I would recommend The Miniaturist by Kunal Basu.
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!
Without being able to clarify what the China book the patron read was about in order to get more of a feel of the type of book he/she may be wanting (such as a gentle read, a war book, a relationship book, etc), here is what I might suggest using NoveList:
First I searched for "Japan" and "historical" with "fiction" and "adult" checked in an advanced search. Once the results came back, I quickly realized that the majority on the first page didn't have the greatest stars for popularity. So I sorted by popularity. Doing so led me to Pachinko by Min Jin Lee. With its starred Library Journal and Kirus reviews, it's setting in Japan, and it's historical nature, it fits the minimum requirements for the request.
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?
Using NoveList, I would recommend to this patron Whose Body? by Dorothy L Sayers because while much is the same (both are mysteries, involve murders and nobility, take place in England, and have the same strong sense of place), Whose Body? is lacking any darkly humorous, suspenseful, violent, or offbeat tones that are often included in John Sandford titles.
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?
Using NoveList, I would recommend The Hatching by Ezekiel Boone. World War Z and The Hatching are horror and apocalyptic fiction and are plot-driven.
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.
*If the patron were in front of me, the first thing I would want to do is clarify if he/she is wanting the book or the movie to be from the last 5 years or so (or both).
That being said (😉) using Based on the Book, I would recommend Room by Emma Donoghue. According to Saricks, she is one of two "examples authors known to Literary Fiction fans who have also written complex and highly regarded Psychological Suspense" (84).
7. I love thrillers but I hate foul language and sex scenes.
I want something clean and fast paced.
In NoveList, I did an advanced search for 'thriller' and not 'profanity' and not 'steamy'. Based on the results, I would recommend the Jack Reacher novels by Lee Child.
As far as how I find books myself, I mostly use Goodreads and Amazon. I get suggestions from actual people on Twitter, but as far discovering them myself, I use Goodreads the most with Amazon falling into second place.
Works Cited
“Based on the Book.” Mid-Continent Public Library,
www.mymcpl.org/books-movies-music/read/based-on-the-book.
"Fantastic Fiction."
https://www.fantasticfiction.com, Webmaster@fantasticfiction.com -. “Laurell K
Hamilton.” Fantastic Fiction, www.fantasticfiction.com/h/laurell-k-hamilton/.
Saricks, Joyce G., and Neal Wyatt. The Readers Advisory
Guide to Genre Fiction. ALA Editions, An Imprint of the American Library
Association, 2019.
For the question about book for 'historical Japan' theme, I wss unhappy with the suggestions Novelist and Goodreads gave. Some of the books and read-alikes did not make a distinction between China, Korea and Japan which was frustrating. Luckily I am familiar with some older and classic books that I know are a must read like Memoirs of a Geisha and Shogun.
ReplyDeleteI find it hard to suggust sometimes when I am not familiar with the genre or it is something I am not interested in myself. I do not want to recommend the wrong book, when I do not have the feel for it.
I did feel as if the suggestions for historical Japan were lacking in NoveList. In a 'real life' situation I would dig deeper for sure. I'm not a reader of those books, so I am not familiar with them at all. I would definitely be reliant upon the resources at hand. In those situations especially I strongly urge the patrons to give them a try and to not hesitate to let me know if they're not working out for them and we'll continue looking.
DeleteI like how, for question 6, you stated that you would ask the patron to clarify the question before responding, but you didn't mention which one it was you were responding to, or both lol. I went the movie being released in the last 5 years route because it is rare, at least in my perspective, for a movie to be made from a book in such a short time. With all the time it takes for Hollywood to write a script and film, its not common that the two be so close to one another. I assume you did as well because Room (the book) was released in 2010 while the movie was released in 2015. Room is an exception, as well as The Martian, of books that have been made into movies within 5 years of their release, but they were close to that 5 year mark. I do like that we mentioned the same book for the patron. I added a few others for options because if books made into movies was a genre, that would be my genre. That was one of the questions that I didn't have to search for an answer for. :)
ReplyDeleteYou are right! I never went back and edited that most books aren't turned into movies quite that quickly! :) I did try and look for more recent(ish) books, tho. I went back and re-read your post - you are quite passionate about books-to-movies! Do you have a favorite? I don't know that I do, although I do enjoy them a lot now. When I first started watching them I had a hard time differentiating them as something 'different' from the book. But now that I can do that, for the most part I like to see what the film makers do with them. :)
DeleteExcellent prompt response! Thank you for being o detailed with how you found your answers, you did a great job using a variety of resources. Full points!
ReplyDelete