Suspense Annotation: Lisa Jackson, Left to Die... Alvarez and Pescoli Series

How Do I Find Books to Read?

Well, the last three years I have been working on my Masters so I have not had much time for reading.  But when time does allow, I try to find a series with a lot of books in it.  I have used Amazon, Goodreads, book order lists at the library, Library Journal, and Google to find books I want to read next.

The last three years, I made my way through the Anita Blake series, Ruth Galloway series, and Alvarez and Pescoli series.  It has made it easier because I know the characters and I can pop into their world whenever I have a few minutes.  I tend to finish a series before I find the next one.  I also like to try other works by the same author.

One thing I am going to take time to do (sometime soon this semester) is use the Chelton's list to set me up a bookmark file on my desktop.  It would be great to click on the drop down list and have those links ready to use. 

Shannon Linsday

How may I help you today?

Something I do when I am helping patrons locate books is to tell them step by step what I am doing.  It helps keep the patron engaged while I am doing the search.  Also, it may give them tips on what can help them if they do a search on their own.  I will approach my answers as if I was helping a patron standing in front of me; I can’t convey tone, eye contact, or friendly voice in my answers but I will at least share my steps.

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!

I also read the Anita Blake series.  I will use NoveList to locate the next book in the series.   First, I will search for Laurell K. Hamilton.  In the results, there is an option to click on series.  There are three series total listed: Anita Blake books, Meredith Gentry novels, and Anita Blake graphic novels.  I clarify to make sure the patron is interested in the books.  I let the patron know that there are 26 books total in the series and that book number 4 is The Lunatic Café.  I offer to share the list with the patron either through email or by printing a copy.  I then check to see if we have the book in the library as well as what versions we may have: large print, audio, hardback, eBook, etc.  I let the patron know what the options are and have the patron decide on which format.  If it is in the library, I will procure the item and check it out to them.  I will request it from another library if we do not have it and let the patron know we will contact them as soon as it arrives.  (That is a standard I would do for the following books as well.)

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.

I look up Prodigal Summer by Kingsolver to get an idea of what the appeal terms are as defined by NoveList. The main terms the patron mentioned are writing style, tone, and the pace.  The book appeal terms that were mentioned about Prodigal Summer are: writing style is descriptive, lush, and lyrical; tone is romantic and thought-provoking; and although the pace was not listed, the patron let me know the pace was slower than desired.  “The Rule of Three” article mentioned that if adventure is included, that may help quicken the pace of the book.  I click on “read alikes” and look at the list.  Nine options are brought up that are possibilities.    I put the cursor over the book images and brief descriptions pop up with reasons why the books are read-alikes; focusing on the main appeal terms.  The two books that seem the most similar are Anthill and The History of Bees.  I click on Anthill and its tone mentions suspenseful so that might help the pacing while retaining the lush and lyrical writing style.   I click on The History of Bees and it does not seem to match as well as Anthill.  The writing style is considered engaging as opposed to the lush and lyrical prose of Prodigal Summer.  I let the patron know those reasons but present both options and let the patron decide on one or both. 

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!

Referring back to the “Rethinking the Readers’ Advisory Interview” article, I chose to engage in a conversational style approach.  I asked if the book set in China was fiction or non-fiction as that would certainly change my search approach.  We went with fiction and a book that came to mind was Memoirs of a Geisha.  I looked up the details and the ending of the book takes place in Manhattan and the patron preferred something entirely set in Japan as well as something before the 1900s (more historical).  I began the search for something historical.  Lush seems to be the word I am looking for as it uses descriptive language “making readers feel as if they are experiencing what is being described.   (NoveList Appeal Terms)  I used the search feature and began narrowing:  Japan, fiction, historical fiction, and descriptive (since lush was not an option).  The book that came up first was The Teahouse Fire, I clicked on Title Read-alikes and Memoirs of a Geisha was mentioned so I was on to something.  I read some of the description that included items such as “19^th century Japan”, “lush in details”, and “strong sense of place”.  This is the book I chose to recommend.

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?

This one was a bit easier!  I began the search with the book the patron really enjoyed.  I pulled it up and realized it was part of a series.  I recommended starting with the first book in the series and progress through the rest of them as there are 20 books total.  The patron had started with book 3 so it was exciting to realize that there was a whole series and she could begin with book 1, A Great Deliverance of the Thomas Lynley mysteries. (Not all reader’s advisory help has to be complex!)

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? 

I know from the titles she has mentioned, that he reads both books and graphic novels.  I start with World War Z read-alikes. The Zombie Autopsies is a similar read in that it is from a non-fiction type of storytelling with “found footage”.  I wanted to find a series that was similar so I did a search at the bottom of the page for diary novels, horror, and zombies.  The list came up with a series that was also told in a journal format called Day by Day Armageddon that has 4 books.  Next, I proceeded to look at graphic novels similar to The Walking Dead.   I pulled up The Walking Dead graphic novel series and clicked on Series Read-alikes.  An interesting one I found was Afterlife with Archie series based on the Riverdale characters.  There are only two books so far but it looks interesting.  Also, there is a self-contained two book series called Rage that tackles the zombie apocalypse as well.  I recommended all of these titles so the patron had items to choose from.

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.

I located the recommended reads Made into Movies: Fiction A-Z list and started a search there.  I would need to clarify is the movie was made in the last five years or if the books was written AND movie made in the last five years.  One title that stood out was The Ambassador’s Wife which was published in 2015 and made into a movie.  I next did a search for books to movies and literary fiction in which I also limited the publication date for 2014-2019.   I went with titles I recognized that I have heard good things about: Dumplin’, Bird Box, and The Martian.  I also recommended a few titles that have been made into a TV series in the last few years such as The Handmaid’s Tale, Sharp Objects, and Game of Thrones.  I figured that would give the patron several choices to fill her needs.

7. I love thrillers but I hate foul language and sex scenes. I want something clean and fast paced.

This one was a bit trickier for me.  There are a few options that might apply but nothing that is an outright category that I could find.  The options I presented are thrillers in the Christian fiction genre, cozy mysteries with suspenseful qualities, or gentle reads with suspenseful qualities.  I looked through the field codes to see if I could work it out a different way, but my best option still looked like cozy mysteries with suspenseful qualities.  I offered the three and the option chosen was cozy mysteries with suspenseful qualities.  I did the search for cozy mystery, fast paced, and suspenseful.  The help section in NoveList mentioned that many fans of thrillers also may enjoy mysteries.  It would be nice to have an option to choose language level and sexual content level, but realistically, not every little thing can be covered.  The term “cozy” lets the searcher know that there is little to no language and the same with sexual content.  A large portion of returned items are part of a series (which I personally love) so I recommended a few to try such as Lil Campbell and Ada Straus series, Bernie Rhodenbarr mysteries, and the Merriweather and Royston mysteries.  Based on the descriptions, the books read like they would have some thriller type qualities to them.  There were a few titles sprinkled in that were not associated with a series so I recommended them as well: Shedding Light on Murder, The Project, and Turncoat.  One other author that might have an appeal was listed in the text book, Mary Higgins Clark.  She was mentioned in the Suspense Gentle category listed on page 63.  She might be an option for this patron to try as well.

Sources:

Saricks, J. (2009). At Leisure: The Rule of Three. Booklist, 106(3), 25. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.

Saricks, J. (2007). At leisure: Rethinking the readers'-advisory interview. Booklist, 103(15), 24. Retrieved from Research Library.

Saricks, J. G. (2009). The readers’ advisory guide to genre fiction. Chicago: ALA.

My Reader's Profile!!!

My early choices for my 5 genres and books to annotate!

The genres and books I have chosen:

Week 3: Suspense

Left To Die

To Die Series, Book 1

Lisa Jackson

Week 5: Romantic Suspense

Naked in Death

In Death Series, Book 1

J.D. Robb

Week 6: Horror  

(One of the only books that literally scared me and had me a bit freaked out when I turned my light off at bedtime!)

The Strain

The Strain Trilogy, Book 1

Guillermo Del Toro )

Week 7: Mystery

The Crossing Places

Ruth Galloway Mysteries, Book 1

Elly Griffiths

Week 11: Fantasy

Guilty Pleasures 

Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 1

Laurell K. Hamilton