Prompt Response - Week 3

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!

Using the NoveList site and searching by series, I found out that the 4th book of the 
series is called “Lunatic Cafe.” By viewing the series list, I also learned that as of June 
2016, there are 25 books in the Anita Blake series.

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.

The writing style of Prodigal Summer is described as “descriptive, lush, and lyrical.”
 If you liked the style of this book but are looking for something a bit faster paced, I 
would suggest The History of Bees by Maja Lunde. It has the same kind of fascinating 
ecological message as Prodigal Summer, but Lunde’s book portrays different 
characters from across the world and through different eras in time!

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!

I searched NoveList with the keywords “Japan history.” I then updated the results 
to show only adult fiction, and I searched by popularity, not relevance. The novel 
about historical Japan that readers seem to like the most is Memoirs of a Geisha.
 It is described as, “one of Japan's most celebrated geishas describes how, in 
1929, as a little girl, she is sold into slavery; her efforts to learn the arts of the geisha; 
the impact of World War II; and her struggle to reinvent herself to win the man she
 loves.” This novel is quite popular and it was made into a movie.

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?

If you liked the storyline and pace of Well-Schooled in Murder, I would recommend 
reading the works of P.D. James. Her work is fast-paced, realistic, and modern 
without the creepy factor of John Sandford. Start with James’ book Cover Her Face;
 it is the first book in the Adam Dalgliesh series- if you love that book, you can look 
forward to an entire series to enjoy!

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?

If he enjoys reading about the way society could potentially deal with a devastating 
uprising of zombies, I would recommend Blackout  by Mira Grant. Her writing is post-
apocalyptic, but manages to have a twinge of humor. Like World War Z, this novel
is filled with horror and a look into what mankind if capable of, or not, when the 
zombies attack. If your husband enjoys reading a series, I would suggest The Night 
of the Living Dead graphic novels.                    

                               

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.

On the NoveList site, I searched Quick Links, which has a section devoted to books
that are being turned into movies, including books that are being turned into movies 
this year.  A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle has been made into a movie, as 
has Every Day by David Levithan. Personally, I enjoyed the most recent literary 
book-turned-movie Beowulf.

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

I checked with the readers on GoodReads, and if you are looking for something 
clean, fast-paced, and thrilling, I would recommend the author Mary Higgins Clark; 
her work is compelling, well-received, and known to be free of cursing and sex. I would 
recommend I’ve Got You Under My Skin, the first book in the Under Suspicion series.

Suspense/Thriller Annotation

Synopsis of The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchison: 

The Butterfly Garden is the first book of the Collector Trilogy. A young girl known as Inara, or Maya to some, is rescued along with several other kidnapped women from a beautiful garden. The women have been tattooed on their backs with intricate butterfly wings by their captor, known as The Collector. The novel alternates between the past, where Inara is still in captivity, to the present, where she is discussing their time in the Garden with the FBI. Inara is reticent due to her own past trauma, but the twists and turns throughout the story leaves the reader wondering- how deeply is Inara involved in the Garden?

Elements of Suspense: 

• The author writes in a way that makes you feel worry for the characters because you do not immediately know their fate. The novel starts with The Collector being caught, but you do not know how many of the women survived. This leads to a lack of certainty with the reader. 
• The tone of the book is full of anticipation- What happened to The Collector and who survived his wrath?
• Since the events of the novel occur sometimes in the past and sometimes in the present, the suspense builds until the end. 
• There is a rising action to the plot- it goes through Inara's time in the Garden and the things that befall her and the other women. There is also glimpses into Inara's life before the Garden that come into play at the end. 
• The story is weaved in a way that there are many paths that lead to the end. While you are reading, you can see several ways in which the story could end.

Read Alikes: 

False Hearts by Laura Lam 
Railhead by Philip Reeve
My Clockwork Muse by D.R. Erickson 
The Girl Before: by Rena Olson  

Reading Profile

My mom says that I when I was almost four years old, I handed her a book and said, "Teach me how to read this by myself." She did. I do not remember a time when reading has not been a huge part of my life. I spent a lot of my childhood reading, and getting into trouble for reading past my bedtime. The first books I remember reading more than once are The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, the Ramona books by Beverly Cleary, and The Babysitters Club series. As I got a little older, I wanted all the scary books I could get my hands on; R.L. Stine, Christopher Pike, Mary Downing Hahn. This is when I remember really starting to enjoy the horror genre (although, as an adult, I see these books as more fun than scary). I am not sure why I love horror so much, but I love to be scared when I am reading (I was terrified while reading The Shining and I loved it). When I was in 7th grade, I read 'Salems Lot by Stephen King and I was hooked. He is still my favorite author, and I have read many of his books or listened to them on audio. I read his book 11/22/63 and I could not read anything else for weeks- I loved it so much, I felt unable to read anything else.

Currently, I work full-time, I am a full-time student, and I have two children. I do not read as much as I used to, sadly. I rely mostly on audiobooks for reading, but I do find myself sitting with a book more lately- I prefer actual books over reading on a device, but I do both. I read for a book club I belong to which introduces me to books I might not normally read, and I read some YA- I work in a school library, and I see great literature come through there. I also enjoy reading biographies and books that make me laugh.
Last year, I read Lincoln in the Bardo (which I thoroughly enjoyed), Gone Girl, Into the Water, Needful Things, the Bill Hodges trilogy (King), The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo (Amy Schumer), and Yes, Please (Amy Poehler) to name what I remember.
I am looking forward to enjoying some books this semester that I might not normally choose to read.