Novelist Questionnaire

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!

Lunatic Cafe is the next book in the Anita Blake series.  I found the answer by typing the author's name under keywords in the search box on Novelist.  I chose the series tab and a list of her books organized be series appeared.  I clicked on the cover of the Anita Blake Series and the series was arranged in the order. The fourth book was Lunatic Cafe.

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 chose Quick Links from the options tab at the top of Novelist.  I then chose Author Read Alikes from the drop down menu.  I added Barbara Kingslover in the selected field and hit search.  Two books were recommended by Kaite Mediatore who is the Readers' Services Librarian at the Main Library of Kansas City, Kansas Public Library and chair of the Metro Area Reader's Round Table.  The two books that she recommended are A Chance to See Egypt and Walking Dunes both written by Sandra Jean Scofield.  I checked Goodread for other titles and Now Is the Time to Open Your Heart by Alice Walker was recommended.  I also typed Prodigal Summer in the keyword search box and hit enter. On the left hand side of the webpage I clicked on the pace option and Evan Help Us by Rhys Bowen and Death in Paradise by Robert B. Parker appeared as additional reading options.

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 was not sure what genre the request was for so I search a sampling of books from suspense, thriller and romance catagories. I typed the words historical-suspense-Japan in the keyword search box and several titles appeared along with a brief summary of the book contents.  I found The Iris Fan: a novel of Fuedal Japan by Laura Rowland and The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet by David Mitchell.  I found The Snow Fox by Susan Fromberg Schaeffer and Autumn Bridge by Takashi Matsuoka for Japan historical romance. The Solomon Curse by Clive Cussler and The Pillow Book of the Flower Samurai by Barbara Lazar were recommended under Japan-historical-thriller search.

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?

I chose the advance search option and typed Gentle Reads in the first box and chose mystery for the second search option and hit enter.  On the left side of the page I was able to choose subgenre, character types, pace, tone, writing style, subject and location. Several suggestions appeared such as books written by M.C. Beaton, Terrie Farley Moran and Donna Andrews.

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 came up with I am Legend by Richard Matheson, Blackout by Mira Grant, and The Dead Run by Adam Mansbach after typing World War Z in the keyword search box and checked adult for audience type on the left side of the screen.  I clicked on the Read Alike link under the book title and the above suggestions appeared.

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 went to Goodreads to find books that were made into movies at https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/books-made-into-movies.  The quickest way to find the link is to type books made into movies 2012 in the Google search engine and a link to the URL address appears.  I searched for recent titles such and found Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen and Paper Towns by John Green.

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

I check the advance search option and typed Gentle Reads in the first option box and chose GN (Genre) in the second option box and typed thriller for the genre of choice. Hit enter and a list of possible titles appear.  I could then fine tune my choices by selection options on the left side of the page.  Choice selections include subgenre, storyline, tone, writing style, time period, subject and location. The selections available were books by Jodi Lynn Anderson, Mary Jane Behrends Clark, Lisa Scottoline, and Rick Moody.

Reading Resources:
My main source for books are referrals from friends and family, Booklist magazine, Goodreads, Fantastic Fiction and the New York Times Best Seller List.  I never really used Novelist until this assignment and I have found it quite useful. I will add it to my arsenal of resources.