Week Three Prompt Responses (Late -- Sorry!)

 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 ones comes next!

For finding out which book is next in a series, I like to use Goodreads or go the author's website! In this case, going to Goodreads showed me that the Anita Blake series is also known as the "Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter" series. The fourth book is called Circus of the Damned.

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.

Another author is considered to have similar writing style and thematic presence to Kingsolver is Sara Gruen. You might enjoy her novel The Ape House, which is thought-provoking and detailed like Kingsolver's work. You could also check out Kristin Hannah's The Great Alone, which has a descriptive and engaging writing style but higher stakes that could increase the pacing.

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!

You might enjoy Craig Shreve's The African Samurai, as it takes place in the 1500s and follows the first foreign-born samurai. You'll also get a glimpse into other countries besides Japan in this novel. Maybe more on the nose though is Gai-Jin by James Clavell, which is more atmospheric and set in 1860. 

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 would suggest Louise Penny's Still Life, which is in the first in a series. It has a leisurely pace and takes place in a small town. It shouldn't give you that same creeping dread as Sandford's writing. Follow Me Down by Marc Strange is also the first in a series and is often compared to Louise Penny's series as they both take place in small towns.

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?

Your husband might enjoy The Zombie Autopsies by Steven C. Schlozman. It's a different take on the zombie theme as it follows some scientists on a remote island racing against time to find a cure for the zombie epidemic. Wicked Weeds by Pedro Cabiya focuses on how zombies might regain their humanity, delving even deeper into the ethical dilemmas of the partially animate. 

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 would recommend All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. His book was adapted into a film on Netflix. His writing style is so lush, it's like you're right there alongside the characters. I'd also recommend Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. This book was written by a zoologist, and her powerful descriptions of animals and the main character's own fascination rings with authenticity.

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

I found some books you might enjoy on a Goodreads user-created list called "Clean Mystery Suspense Books." Perhaps you might enjoy The Sleeping Girls by Rita Herron, D.K. Hood's Where Hidden Souls Lie, or Night Owl by Andrew Mayne.

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Anytime I see a book I might enjoy, I add it to a mega-list on my phone. This list is literally hundreds and hundreds of books long, and I just go down that list in order. I'll add books I see in the stacks at work, on TikTok, or in my friends' Goodreads posts, and just add them to my list.