Week Three Prompt

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 used Novelist to answer all these questions. I searched by the Author, then went to the series tab and found the fourth book, called The 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.

     The Poisonwood Bible by Kingsolver offers the same characteration, attention to setting, but demands more of the reader. (Novelist, 2015) I located this by searching read a likes. By doing a basic search on Kingsolver and changing the tone to moving and making sure to check writing style to lyrical. It suggested this title.


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 would probably ask the patron if they want Fiction, Non-Fiction or both. I assumed it was Fiction and searched Novelist. I changed to descriptive writing style and Japan. I would recommend Ingrid Parker who wrote two titles, The Convicts Sword and Island of Exiles, both about historical Japan.


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 searched Read a likes on Novelist for Elizabeth George. Because Sanford was to creepy for the patron I chose a good old mystery and would suggest Crombie Series by Deborah Crombie.

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 did an advanced search for this one because a basic search for zombies didn't return any results. Several came up, so I sorted by newest and found The Last American Vampire by Seth Grahame-Smith.



For my own personal reading and for RA needs up to this point, I have used various things to find books. I am always on the look out for titles to suggest to people. I take every chance I get to ask patrons when they return their books if they liked the book. I suggest books to others I know have similar tastes purely by hearing what patrons have stated they liked or disliked about a book. I also find authors and titles on the Bookpage, from list serves that I subscribe to, GoodReads, LibraryThing, Wowbary and from the app on my phone called Flipboard. After using the RA tools on Novelist I think I will start using this site on a regular basis. I enjoyed the different ways in which to search, the option to change the categories. I was not impressed however with the RA tool available on IUPUI library site. I didn't find any easy way to search.