Calling on Novelist

Prompt Response: Week 3

1.       The fourth book in the series is The Lunatic Café published in January of 1996.

2.       This reader may enjoy starting the Maddaddam Trilogy by Margaret Atwood. The first novel is Oryx and Crake. This series is written lyrically and still deals with ecological themes, but delivers a faster paced story.

3.       The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery might be good choice. This story is set in 19^th century Japan and the author’s detailed style provides a strong sense of place.

4.       Obviously other Elizabeth George novels are good choices, but you might also enjoy Ruth Rendell or Deborah Crombie as they are not as “creepy” as John Sanford. They feature stories set in England and tend focus more on the process of solving the crime rather than the gory details. A Share in Death by Deborah Crombie might be a good one to try.

5.       I am Legend by Richard Matheson and The Dead Run by Adam Mansbach are good choices. However, if wanted to know the “science” behind zombies he might enjoy The Zombie Autopsies by Steven C. Schlozman, a book that is presented in a nonfiction fashion. Or if he wanted to read a classic without really reading a classic, there is always Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith.

Where I find my books:

                I, too, really enjoy Novelist. My library has had it for a bit, and I really like to use it both professionally and personally. I like how easy it is to narrow your search. It is almost impossible to be “picky” when comes to Novelist. It will find something very close to what you like.

                However, after reading Chelton’s list of tools, I gave allreaders.com a try and I liked it pretty well. I enjoyed how you could search by plot, character, setting, etc. It was a fun and easy way to generate a large list of books that have certain characteristics that I like. I did a simple search for stories set in jungles that deal with lost cities and quickly had a list of 66 for my perusal. I feel it might be good for helping patrons that don’t have specific requests, but desire a list to work their way through.

                Another way that I find books is just by browsing Amazon’s and Barnes and Noble’s websites. That is typically how I purchase books for myself and just can’t help but look at their recommended books before checking out. It’s definitely not perfect, but it does at least get me to branch out and try new authors. I tend to get stuck in a rut sometimes, reading the same author over and over.

                Lastly, my absolute favorite method of finding books to read is recommendations from my grandparents. They might love reading more than I do and we have similar tastes. We have recommended books for each other for years. It works well and it leads to some great discussions. They are the ones that first turned me on to Ted Dekker, who is now my favorite author. 

The Ranking System of the Highwater Review

First off, I apologize for not being able to restrain from playing off my last name. For those that don't know, my last name is Flood, just like lots of water. Hence, the Highwater Review. Get it, High Water.

Anyway, I have created a ranking system that I will use to reveal my personal feelings towards the books I read for this class. It is as follows:

The Highwater Mark: the highest ranking, easily one of the best books I've ever read

Rising Tides: An excellent read, would definitely recommend it to someone else, but just misses top marks

Low Tides: Not the worst thing I've ever read, but is not something I care for but others might love

Drought-like: You might as well waste your time reading another book

Anyway, I just wanted to give you all a heads up. Hope you enjoy the rest of this semester.

Prompt #1: First Annotation

I, Saul by Jerry B. Jenkins with James S. MacDonald

Synopsis:  A young professor at a small seminary school, Dr. Augustine Knox, finds himself drawn into a search for a priceless biblical document that may have been penned by the Apostle Paul himself. Transporting the reader between the modern day race to find and protect the document from black market antiquity dealers and the last days of the Apostle Paul in first-century Rome, I, Saul delivers a thrilling read any bookworm adventurer would enjoy.

Genre: This book falls into the broad category of Thrillers, but more specifically, it is a Christian Fiction Thriller.

Characteristics that make it a Thriller:

·         Story moves at a rapid pace, driven by the dangers faced by the protagonists

·         Large political focus and conspiracies

·         The protagonists face physical and mental challenges

·         The protagonists are well developed, but the secondary characters are lacking development

Read-a-Likes:

·         Obsessed by Ted Dekker (Christian Thriller)

·         The Last Templar by Raymond Khoury (Thriller)

·         Left Behind by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins (Christian Thriller)

My Thoughts:

    According to my personal ranking system that I will be following throughout this class, I, Saul falls into the “Rising Tide” category. I really enjoyed this read, but found the characters, even the main characters, to be a little underdeveloped for my tastes. I did, however, enjoy the historical tie-in to the modern day adventure, especially since it was biblically-based. There will be a sequel coming out some time this year, and I’m sure I will read it as well. For people like me that enjoy a good thriller without an overabundance of violence, sex, or profane language, then this is an entertaining book that will meet their needs. It just needs some more character development and a touch more action to thrust it into my highest rank, “The Highwater Mark.”