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! 

To begin this search, I would first go to the NoveList site and log in. On the homepage, I perform a ‘Series’ search for ‘Anita Blake.’ Surprise, surprise, two results pop up: one for the original series, and the other for the graphic novelization of the series. Just to confirm that I’m giving the patron the correct information, I ask the patron if they meant the original or graphic series. Assuming the patron is looking for the next book from the original series and not the graphic novel series, I select that series. NovelList shows that the third book (the one recently read by the patron) is ‘Circus of the Damned.’ I confirm with the patron that this is the title of the book they just finished reading – there is always the chance that the patron *thinks* they’ve just finished the third book, but it was really a different book in the series.

If the patron confirms that they just finished reading Circus of the Damned, the third book in the series, I inform them that Book 4 is titled ‘The Lunatic Café.’ To conclude the RA interview, I inquire if the patron would like the location of the book, or if the item is currently unavailable, if they would like me to help them place it on hold. If the item is unavailable, I can also ask if they would like suggestions for a book or series that is similar to 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.

To begin, I would first perform a NoveList title search for ‘Prodigal
Summer.’ Since the patron noted that they liked the way the book was written, I look at the ‘Writing Style’ descriptors, which are listed for this book as being ‘descriptive, lush and lyrical.’ I can explain to the patron that the book is descriptive, lush and lyrical, and that I can help them find a title that is similar in writing style but with a faster pace. As for the pacing of the book, I’m out of luck with NoveList – the pacing is not mentioned for this book. I could suggest to the patron one of the suggested read-a-likes from NoveList, ‘The Queen of the Big Time’ by Adriana Trigiani. It shares the genre of mainstream fiction and the ton is listed as ‘heartwarming,’ where as the tone of the other title is ‘romantic.’ However, this book is listed as being fast-paced, which might be of interest to this patron. I can use the ‘Search for More’ feature from the title page on NoveList, looking for books with the three writing styles featured here, along with the genre of ‘mainstream fiction.’ Performing a search using DE “Descriptive” DE “Fast-paced” returned 0 results, so instead I went with a search for DE “Descriptive” and selected the pace as being ‘Fast-paced’ from the advanced search options. Performing a search for a title that included the same three appeal terms came up with 0 results, but this broader search came up with significantly more hits.

I could narrow the search further by asking the patron about specific genres: do they enjoy historical fiction? Love stories? Mysteries? I could also ask them about the tone of the book and phrase the question around how some books are suspenseful or violent – would they be interested in those? If the patron is specifically interested in Eco-fiction (such as with the title they just read), I could also find more books that are faster-paced with a similar writing style from that sub-genre.

I could also suggest a different Kingsolver book to the patron, such as 2012’s Flight Behavior, which also shares the writing style of being lush and richly detailed. The genres are exactly the same as the other title, but the pace is not mentioned. I could offer the total page length to the patron as an indicator of pacing – perhaps one of these titles is shorter than the other in length. I could offer these suggestions to the patron, including a description of the titles to see if they might be interested before helping them locate the items. I would also end the interview by inviting them to return to the RA department if they needed further help.

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!

On the main NoveList homepage, I will use the Subjects/Appeals search to look for ‘Japan.’ Once I have selected this search term, I will narrow the search by looking for ‘historical fiction.’ Since the patron commented on how they enjoy a descriptive writing style, I will further narrow the search by looking for descriptive and richly detailed works.

The search results include the following titles:

 a.) The Great Fire – Shirley Hazzard. The setting of Japan is reflected in the story of a woman who tends to her dying brother. The writing style is descriptive.

b.) The Final Storm: A Novel of World War II in the Pacific – Jeff Shaara. This historical fiction title is descriptive and richly detailed.

c.) The Teahouse Fire – Ellis Avery. His title is historical fiction, and features a descriptive, richly detailed writing style. I could offer to print or show these results and more to the patron. If they were interested in any of the titles, I would offer to help them locate the items with the library’s location or place them on hold.

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 begin by telling the patron that I personally love the Elizabeth George books, and that this book was actually part of the Thomas Lynley mystery series, and were they aware it was also a television show, and we carry not only the books but the show, as well? I would search for suggestions for this patron in NoveList by performing a title search for ‘Well-schooled in Murder.’ Taking into account the fact that the patron found John Sandford titles ‘creepy,’ I would ask the patron several follow-up questions, such as: “Are you interested in mysteries and police/detective stories? Do you enjoy reading about violence, or just suspense, or both?”

Depending upon their answers, I could search by subject, genre and tone for further recommendations based upon those similar to Elizabeth George. I can also perform a read-alike author search for Elizabeth George. Several similar authors include Tana French, Ruth Rendell and Peter Robinson.

I could suggest more books in the Thomas Lynley series, or perform a similar series search on these titles, which includes the following similar series:

a.) Adam Dalgliesh Mysteries – P.D. James

b.) Nora Gavin and Cormac Maguire Series – Erin Hart

c.) Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries – Dorothy L. Sayers

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 would begin by searching NoveList with a ‘Subjects/Appeals’ search for ‘zombies.’ I would narrow this search by popularity to find more popular titles, such as the two that the patron said her husband had already ready. The second book that turned up in this search was actually ‘World War Z,’ and the third was ‘The Walking Dead Compendium’! I could offer more Walking Dead titles to the patron. I could also offer other books from the author of World War Z, such as ‘The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks,’ or ‘The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead.’ Based on the read-a-likes from NoveList that actually feature zombies (or zombie-like characters), I could also suggest the classic ‘I Am Legend’ by Richard Matheson (and the several film versions of the book from the AV department.) Another read-a-like provided is ‘The Zombie Autopsies: Secret Notebooks from the Apocalypse’ by Steven C. Schlozman. A truly great feature of NoveList is that it connects to GoodReads – I could also tell the patron the average user rating of the book from GoodReads without having to go to the site.

How I Discover New/Old Treasures

As for looking for materials for myself, I have a very rigid schedule and set of search tools that I use on a regular basis. I love finding out about new releases super early so that I can place them on hold at my library, or suggest them for purchase. Aside from Baker and Taylor and Midwest Tapes (the companies that my library uses for acquisitions,) I check Amazon.com every Tuesday (new release day) for new releases and upcoming releases for books, eBooks, audiobooks, Blu-Ray, DVD and music. I also browse GoodReads for new titles, and I use the ‘Forthcoming’ search filer on NoveList to find titles that are scheduled for publication pretty far out. I use these same resources to find materials for patrons, friends and friends. Being able to get instant read-alikes with so many search options and descriptors from NoveList is so nice, but Amazon also offers similar titles on product pages (just nowhere near as advanced an algorithm as NoveList – I hope…for what my library pays for it, anyway!)