Here are my responses to the prompt for this week. Thanks for checking it out!
Scenario #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!"
In this scenario, I actually used the database Kent District
Library’s What’s Next database (http://ww2.kdl.org/libcat/whatsnext.asp). I
find that this is often a quick, easy way to find series lists. I searched
using the parameters of the author’s first and last name, and the name of the
series. The database generates a list that tells me that the next book in the
series (#4) is The Lunatic Café.
I know Novelist performs this same function but I think KDL
is cleaner and quicker which is why I prefer to use it for these types of
questions.
Scenario #2. "
For this scenario, I searched by title for the book in
Novelist, and clicked on “Read Alikes” in the right hand column. Nine books
were suggested, and based on the descriptions, I would choose A Rhinestone Button by Gail Anderson-Dargatz, or Anthill by Edward Wilson – both are
described as lyrical and/or lush novels, which seems to be an element that the
patron appreciated.
I also scrolled down to the bottom of the page on Prodigal
Son under “Search for More” and selected books that had lyrical and descriptive
language, as well as lyrical and lush, and shared similar themes. Based on what
else the patron liked and the categories available, more in-depth searches
could have been done to find other elements that the patron may have
appreciated (setting, theme, etc.) – however, since that wasn’t part of the
request, it may not be necessary.
Scenario #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!"
With this request, I started with advanced search in
Novelist. I used “Japan” as a keyword and “historical fiction” as the genre in
the Boolean operators. Once results were generated, I limited it to an adult
audience (as I am pretending I am working with someone who prefers adult books)
and I chose descriptive language as another limiter. Based on these results, I
would recommend The Teahouse Fire by
Ellis Avery or Kazunomiya, Prisoner of Heaven by Kathryn Lasky, which are set in Japan and have detailed language which will hopefully make the reader feel like they are there!
Scenario #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?"
For this example, I used a basic search in Novelist to find
title read-alikes for Well Schooled in
Murder and would recommend A
Possibility of Violence by Dror Mishani, which shares a suspenseful, multi-layered plot and has some violence, but not too much.
I also did an author read-alike for Elizabeth George. Based
on what was recommended by Novelist and the patron’s preferences, if they were
looking for a murder author that was less creepy/violent, I might recommend
trying books by P.D. James (for similar “classically constructed novels of
detection”) or Louise Penny/Erin Hart for complex characters that are relatable
and intriguing to the reader.
Scenario #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?"
For this request, I did an advanced search in Novelist,
using the limiters “zombies” as Subject and “NOT The Walking Dead” in title - this allowed me to eliminate them from the search early since they have been read. From
this search, I might recommend Affliction
by Laurell K Hamilton or Cell by Stephen
King, based on them being about zombies. Other recommendations mentioned apocalyptic settings, but since he is intrigued by zombies it seemed to go hand-in-hand.
