Database Spotlight: NoveList

Are you looking for a book, but can't quite remember the title? Do you need to know what order to read the books in that popular vampire mystery series? Is your favorite author not writing new books fast enough for you? Stop by the Recommendations Desk on the first floor of Carnegie-Stout, give us a call at Ph: (563) 589-4225, or fill out a Personal Recommendations form, and we'll be happy to help you!

But if Carnegie-Stout is closed and you need an answer now, we have a database that can get you started! NoveList has information on thousands of books and authors, and it's one of the first places we check at the Recommendations Desk. Anyone can access NoveList from one of Carnegie-Stout's computers, or from your home if you have a full service library card.

To find NoveList, go to the library's homepage: www.dubuque.lib.ia.us and click on the "Research Tools" link on the left-hand side of the screen. This brings you to an alphabetical list of our research databases from which you will be able to open NoveList. If you are outside of the library, you will be prompted to enter the bar code from the back of your library card and your PIN (usually the last four numbers of your phone number).

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Once NoveList has loaded, you can use the search box at the top to look for books by author, title, series name, or a combination of keywords. The home page also links to suggested reading lists arranged by genre, and read alike suggestions for currently popular books.

Let's try a practice search. If you read a book with a dog named Chet last month that was part of a mystery series, but you can't remember the title or author and you really want to read the next book, NoveList might have the answer. We'll change the search settings to Series and enter the search terms "Chet" and "dog." Happily there is only one series in NoveList featuring a dog named Chet, so Spencer Quinn's series appears with the books in series order.

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If you've done a search in Carnegie-Stout's catalog recently, you may've noticed that NoveList also provides the series order in the item record, if you scroll past the part where we tell you if the book is checked in. The best part is that you can click any of the other titles in the series to see if they are on the shelf!

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NoveList also provides read alike suggestions both in our catalog and on their website. When you are looking at a book, series, or author that you enjoy, look to the upper right hand corner for "Read-alikes from NoveList." You can either click on the suggestions to learn more, or if you hover over a title or author, a pop-up will appear to give you more information.

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This should get you started in using NoveList, but if you have any questions, the librarians of Carnegie-Stout are here to help you find the answers!

Best Seller Read-Alikes for the Week of September 23rd

Can’t wait to get your hands on the latest best-seller, but the hold list is too long? To tide you over, every week we’ll offer similar titles and authors to the week’s fiction and nonfiction best sellers.

Fiction

At #1 on the best seller's list for fiction is A Wanted Man by Lee Child. The 17th installment in the Jack Reacher series find ex-MP Reacher hitching a ride with three strangers to Virginia. Unknown to him, the two men and one woman who are riding with him have just left the scene of a brutal murder, with the woman as their hostage. Or at least that's what they appear to be. Reacher quickly finds himself drawn into a massive conspiracy, as he finds himself both hunted and the hunter.

Authors similar to Lee Child include:

Barry Eisler - The Japanese-American hero of Barry Eisler's plot-driven and atmospheric novels, John Rain, is a paid assassin and military veteran who follows his own moral compass, despite the danger to himself. The first book in this fast-paced and richly-detailed series, Rain Fall, finds Rain protecting the daughter of a Tokyo politician.

James Lee Burke - Burke's first-person mystery novels are not always as fast-paced as Child's novels, but his hardboiled heroes, like P.I. Dave Robicheaux, are no strangers to action. In the first book of the series, The Neon Rain, someone in New Orleans wants Robicheaux dead, and there are no shortage of suspects.

Ace Atkins - Atkins' Quinn Colson suspense series follows the retired Army Ranger as he attempt to bring law and order to his violently corrupt Mississippi hometown. In the first novel in the series, The Ranger, Colson returns home from Afghanistan and investigate his uncle's alleged suicide, revealing shocking personal secrets. Atkins' fast-paced writing style adds to the suspense, creating a dark, atmospheric tone, with some dry humor sprinkled in.

Click here for more fiction bestsellers... 

Nonfiction
At #1 on the nonfiction best seller's list again this week is No Easy Day: The Autobiography of a Navy SEAL by Mark Owen and Kevin Mauer. At #2 is Bob Woodward's latest book, The Price of Politics. Woodward recounts his findings over the course of 18 months of reporting on the U.S. economic crisis and the effects on and actions of the federal government during the recession. Woodward critiques the actions of both the Democratic and the Republican leadership, as well as the White House, using memos, email and in-depth interviews.

Books similar to The Price of Politics include:

The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis (330.973 LEW) - In his latest examination of the U.S. economy, Lewis shares insights into the recent economic crisis, citing such factors as expanded home ownership and risky derivative elections in the face of increasing shareholder demands, and profiles responsible parties in government, financial, and private sectors.

Too Big to Fail by Andrew Ross Sorkin (330.973 SOR) - New York Times financial reporter Sorkin presents a moment-by-moment account of the recent financial collapse that documents state efforts to prevent an economic disaster, offering insight into the pivotal consequences of decisions made throughout the past decade. The book was also the basis for the HBO movie by the same name, starring James Woods, William Hurt and Cynthia Nixon.

Click here for more nonfiction bestsellers ...

If you'd like more recommendations, stop by the Recommendations Desk on the first floor, check out NoveList Plus on the library's website, or visit W. 11th & Bluff next week for more reading suggestions. Or submit a Personal Recommendations request, and we'll create a reading list just for you!

Drama by Raina Telgemeier

Uncharacteristically, I was actually planning to write this week’s review on something that was neither a comic book nor a fantasy novel, but then fate intervened and handed me a book that’s simply too good not to write about. Drama is a new graphic novel by Raina Telgemeier, author of 2010’s award-winning Smile. Drama does not continue Smile’s autobiographical tale (not explicitly, anyway), but does match the earlier book’s endearingly honest and kind tone as it documents main character Callie’s year of seventh grade.

The book’s title reflects the two plot threads that dominate Callie’s year: the school play and Callie’s love life. The school play plot was instantly appealing to me, as it echoed my own scholastic experiences. At one point, Callie explains that she’s loved the theater ever since she saw Les Miserables as a small child. At first she dreamed of being on the stage, playing the part of Cosette, but her artistic skills (and lack of singing talent) eventually steered her toward building and painting sets. This year she’s in charge of set design, a responsibility she embraces readily.

For a lot of kids, an event like a school play is their crack at success in something largely self-directed. It’s exhilarating, rewarding, and terrifying. Telgemeier does a great job of conveying the jitters and the joy, both increasing steadily as we near the performance. It’s not easy to draw a comic that captures the magic of a successful live performance, especially a middle school production with cheap sets and lo-fi special effects. Telgemeier shows the excitement in the faces of the actors and the response of the audience rather than breaking from the reality of the scene for some sort of splashy production number. She’s made a clear choice to find the honest drama at the core of life rather than injecting melodrama by constructing a grandiose plot.

This same simple and effective verisimilitude informs the romantic storyline. It’s obvious that the ups and downs of her love life are very important to Callie, but Telgemeier keeps them in proportion, never forgetting that romance is just one part of a young adult’s life. In this respect, Callie’s a great role model. It’s not easy for her, but she manages to make good choices, voice her feelings, and handle disappointment with maturity. The extent to which things are not drawn out of overblown is immensely refreshing when compared to other YA books.

This is a fairly contained book, without a lot of spectacle and explosions. That may not suit all readers, but it was right up my alley. The quiet sincerity and emotional honesty were what I enjoyed in the author’s previous work and are what I look forward to in whatever she does next. You can see some nice samples of Telgemeier's work on her website.