Week Three: RA Conversations

Conversation 1

It sounds like this customer is looking for compelling, reflective, and descriptive story - perhaps also a memoir like the book she describes, Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert - which should, ideally, also have some humor to it. She's looking for something for a book club, so it should be a book with enough substance to make a good discussion, as well. Here's what I'd pick:

Wild: from lost to found on the Pacific Coast Trail by Cheryl Strayed

• Like Eat, Pray, Love, Cheryl Strayed's travel memoir follows the author through a personal crisis, has plenty of humor, and as an added bonus, was also selected for Oprah's Book Club 2.0.

All Over the Map by Laura Fraser

• All Over the Map is also a travel memoir, this time with a focus on relationships, wanderlust, and self-discovery. It has been praised for its lush descriptions of food and foreign locales.

Conversation 2

This customer wants vampires minus teenage angst (the anti-Twilight). She's also looking for something fast-paced. Since the customer asks about reading any vampire good stories lately, I'd also be looking for books that have been published recently (or perhaps have new titles out in an ongoing series). Here's my picks:

Bloodshot by Cherie Priest

• The first installment in Cherie Priest's Cheshire Red series follows vampire and thief-for-hire Raylene Pendle as her carefully planned life gets tangled up in conspiracy theories, vampire politics, and . It's fast-paced and the narrator has several decades on Twilight's Bella, plus it's got a sequel, Hellbent, with room for more titles in the series.

Sunshine by Robin McKinley

• Sunshine takes place in the near future after vampires and other supernaturals have taken over the human world. The main character, Rae Seddon, AKA Sunshine, must pit her wits and burgeoning magical talent against a sinister group of vampires. It's a gothic-style romance in a vividly drawn urban fantasy setting that keeps readers on their toes.

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

• Charlaine Harris wrapped up her Southern Vampire series this month with the 13th Sookie Stackhouse book, Dead Ever After, making now a great time for readers to catch up on all of Sookie's previous murder-mystery romps. The books are quick-reads with plenty of humor, steamy romance, and authentic Southern charm.

Conversation 3

Fascinating, fast-paced, and amazing true stories are the stand out appeal terms in this customer's description of their previous read, The River of Doubt by Candace Millard. They may also like  survival stories, expedition stories, or murder mysteries, especially related to historical events or figures. I kind of want to ask this customer more questions because I feel like this could go in one of several directions, but based on just this much, I have a couple of recommends:

Devil in the White City: murder, magic, and madness at the fair that changed America by Erik Larson

• This title is another true, historical murder mystery, this time set at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893 and focusing on both on the planning and executing of the Fair as well as the grisly exploits of notorious serial-murderer H. H. Holmes. Erik Larson is a celebrated non-fiction writer, and the story is suspenseful, absorbing, and chock-full of well-researched detail.

Lost City of Z: a tale of deadly obsession in the Amazon by David Grann

• David Grann's engrossing account documents the life of Percy Harrison Fawcett, a turn-of-the-century British explorer who vanished into the Amazon jungle in 1925. Grann writes himself as narrator of the search for Fawcett (or his final resting place) in the modern day, culminating in the author's own Amazonian expedition. The setting is richly detailed in this personal search for historical truth that is both part-unsolved mystery and part-survival story.

Destiny of the Republic: a tale of madness, medicine and the murder of a president by Candice Millard

• Another book by the author of River of Doubt, Destiny of the Republic has the same attention to detail as Candice Millard's other works, with plenty of drama to keep the reader engaged. This historic narrative focuses on U.S. President James A. Garfield and the assassination attempt that ultimately took his life.