I'm more than happy to help! Looks like the 4th book in the Anita Blake series by Laurell K. Hamilton is titled The Lunatic Cafe. That comes next after Circus of the Damned, just to double-check we're talking about the same series.
When I searched for the Anita Blake series in NoveList, I found the title of the fourth work. I verified that GoodReads shows the same result.
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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.
Oh, I love Barbara Kingsolver! She wrote Poisonwood Bible, right? I haven't had a chance to read much of her work yet, but I know her writing is very lyrical and lush. For a book that has a similar writing style with a quicker pace, have you read anything by Kunal Basu? Yellow Emperor's Cure and The Miniaturist are two of his works that you might find interesting. They are historical fiction, if that's something that agrees with you. Or you might also try Champion of the Scarlet Wolf by Ginn Hale if you'd prefer a fantasy.
From the NoveList page for Prodigal Summer, I selected the attributes that the patron liked -- a descriptive, lush, and lyrical writing style -- and used the "Search for More" function. I then refined results by pace to include only fast-paced works. I then compared a few results to the original work (Prodigal Summer) and chose a few that sounded promising.
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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!
For sure! Japan is super fascinating, and lots of books take place in historical Japan. Is there a historical period in particular you're interested in? If you're interested in 11th century Japan, for example, you might enjoy works by I.J. Parker, such as The Fires of the Gods. Or if you'd prefer the World War II era, you might like The Gods of Heavenly Punishment by Jennifer Cody Epstein or December 6 by Martin Cruz Smith.
I searched NoveList for keyword "Japan." I then refined results by tone to include "strong sense of place," as well as to include only fiction works and only works for an adult audience. I then selected a few eras under time period to show specified results, and I gave a few examples.
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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?
Sorry you had a bad experience! Let's see if we can find something you might enjoy a bit more. It seems like the suspense and violence wasn't an issue for you, but the gritty way in which Sandford writes wasn't your cup of tea. I'd recommend Dark River Rising by Roger Johns or The Night Hunter by Caro Ramsey.
Comparing the NoveList pages for Well-Schooled in Murder and for John Sandford, I looked for differences, reasons why the patron might have disliked Sandford. His gritty writing style was probably unappealing to them, but the compelling and richly detailed appeal factors didn't seem to bother them, and neither did the violent and suspenseful tone.
From the page for Well-Schooled in Murder, I used the "Search for More" function to find additional titles that are in the mysteries and police procedurals genres with a suspenseful and violent tone and a compelling writing style. From the results page, I selected the "Advanced Search" option so that I could use the Boolean operator NOT to exclude any results with "gritty" as an appeal factor. I stayed away from works by the same author since the patron has probably already considered or possibly even read other works by Elizabeth George.
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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?
Absolutely! There are lots of zombie books out there in many formats. Do you know if he was looking for more graphic novels (like The Walking Dead) or more novels (like World War Z)? For graphic novels, I'd recommend The Rage series by Pierre Boisserie; the first volume is titled Zombie Generation. If he'd prefer a novel, he might like the Newsflesh series by Mira Grant; the first one is Feed. He might also like Omega Days by John L. Campbell.
From the NoveList pages for The Walking Dead series and World War Z, I selected the series read-alikes and title read-alikes options, respectively. Since the patron mentioned both graphic novels and novels in their inquiry, I included both in my suggestions.
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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.
Oh, definitely! Plenty of books have been turned into movies. Is there a particular genre you like? You might like The Aftermath by Rhidian Brook. Another option might be The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins or Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. Also, Me before You by Jojo Moyes was a good one that left me in tears.
From the NoveList homepage, I selected the "Made into Movies: Fiction A-Z" list from the submenu "Fiction A-Z" of the Recommended Reads List sidebar. I then selected a few titles that seemed more "literary" and made sure their movies were released recently.
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7. I love thrillers but I hate foul language and sex scenes. I want something clean and fast paced.
No problem! You might like Smoke Screen by Terri Blackstock or The Jerusalem Assassin by Joel C. Rosenberg. Also, keep an eye out for The Water Keeper by Charles Martin; it was published in May 2020, so it might still have a list of people waiting for it.
Since works with a Christian message generally are devoid of explicit language and sexuality, I chose the "Christian Thrillers" list from the submenu "Thrillers and Suspense" of the Recommended Reads List sidebar.
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When I first started working in libraries, I was thrown every time someone asked me for a reading suggestion. Partly, this came from the self-imposed pressure to find a title that perfectly matches 100% of the reader's preferences. Oh, and the clock is ticking, so find it fast!
While my heart rate still swings up just a little bit even now, I've developed tools to rely on to help me find a good read at a moment's notice. When a colleague introduced me to NoveList early in my career, my paradigm shifted completely, and I knew I had an ace up my sleeve. I also use GoodReads and a personal spreadsheet to track and group books I've enjoyed and might want to recommend in the future.
These workhorses typically bear the brunt of my reader's advisory work, but I have also used Amazon to help me classify works into genres or according to audience. Departing from Chelton's list* of reader's advisory tools, I've also relied somewhat on Provo City Library's booklists for genres I'm less familiar with, and on their book order database in determining what book comes next in a series.
As for my personal recommendations, I've been squirreling away recommendations since I began working in libraries, and I have no shortage of books I want to read. While I occasionally peruse trade journals for ideas, most of my recommendations come from colleagues who are excited to share their latest finds. I store my To Be Read list on GoodReads and on the spreadsheet mentioned above. In a way, I hope my TBR never runs dry; I hope there's always something I'm looking forward to reading.
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