Week 3

• 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 fourth book in the Anita Blake series is The Lunatic Cafe. I found this book by searching the author's name on Goodreads and found the correct series within the results.
• 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.
• I used Novelist to search for books with a few of the same appeal terms. I used fast-paced, lyrical, and thought-provoking to find similar books. I did not find any within the same genre, so I would suggest several. Atomic Anna (2022) has a similar writing style but is science fiction. It has a decent rating on Goodreads and was a nominee for Best Science Fiction in 2022. For my next suggestion, I searched for books that are fast-paced, lush, and thought-provoking. The Salt Grows Heavy (2023) by Cassandra Khaw was one result. The genre flexes between horror, dark fantasy, and is a retelling.
• 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.
• I would suggest Black Rain by Masuji Ibuse. It's the story of a young woman caught in radioactive black rain after the bombing of Hiroshima. I would also suggest An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro, a post-WWII story that explores the complexities of politics, memory, and art. Kazuo Ishiguro has won the Nobel Peace Prize in Literature and the Booker Prize. This one was difficult. I couldn't figure out how to get Novelist to search for historical fiction set in Japan.
• 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?
• I would try Blind Goddess by Hanne Wilhelmsen - a similar read that takes place in Norway. This was one of the results from Novelist's similar reads. I searched for police procedurals that are leisurely paced and richly detailed to find Louise Penny's A World of Curiosities. I'd also suggest the first book in the Ducan Kindcaid and Gemma James Mysteries, A Share in Death.
• 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?
• The Zombie Autopsies explores an apocalyptic world where a team of doctors have been sent to a remote island to find a cure. They attempt to find a cure by capturing zombies. This book is more of the medical side of a zombie apocalypse. Silent City is a recently published book that has a strong female protagonist. It sounds like a similar read.
• 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.
• I would recommend The Goldfinch by Donna Tart. The book was published in 2013 and the movie adaption was released in 2019. The Goldfinch won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2014. If you enjoy classics, the 2019 adaption of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott was fantastic. The Color Purple by Alice Walker just came out this past December.
• I love thrillers but hate foul language and sex scenes. I want something clean and fast paced.
• Fool Me Twice by Stephanie Black is a clean thriller. I found this by quite a bit of Google searching. It was difficult to find a thriller that I knew for sure was clean. This is suggested by LDS Living publishing house. A review on Goodreads reassures that it is clean and is not religious besides a few mentions. I am hoping others will have methods to share. I keep finding a lot of cozy mystery suggestions instead of thrillers. I thought this thread on Goodreads was kind of helpful.

How do I find Books to Read? 

I have an Instagram page solely dedicated to books and follow others who post book reviews. That's how I find a lot of popular books and TikTok has also been a huge source for new books. I always get a copy of Booklist whenever there's a new issue and that allows me to get a sneak peek at new books. I also use Goodreads and StoryGraph for browsing - I have more friends on Goodreads so that is where I usually turn to. In my home office, I have several bookshelves with books I haven't read on it, ha! I always have a new book when I need one. I used to subscribe to Book of the Month and that was a good way to keep up with new releases too. I stopped subscribing because it's gotten expensive and I don't have as much time to read now.