Each month, we host Facebook Friday Recommendations online. You can get personalized recommendations — all you need to do is find our Facebook Friday post and comment with two or three books or authors you like, and we’ll help you find your next great read! Here are the recommendations from March 2017.
Request: Off work today and looking for a good read. I really enjoyed Liane Moriarty’s “Big Little Lies.” What authors like her do you recommend? Thanks!
Recommendation: Hey there! Another author known for her character-driven stories about women’s lives is Elin Hilderbrand. Start with her book “The Blue Bistro.” If you’re in the mood for something historical, give “The Ship of Brides” by Jojo Moyes a try. Another page turner about female relationships you might enjoy is “Sheer Abandon” by Penny Vincenzi. Hopefully one of these authors will strike your fancy!
Request: Mark Gimenez … Texas-based attorney with good story development and Texas issue background.
Recommendation: Howdy, if you enjoy Mark Gimenez you might like Richard North Patterson, Gordon Campbell, and Lisa Scottoline; they all write legal suspense thrillers that center around lawyers.
For a Texas-specific mystery, you should check out “Death at the Black Bull” by Frank Hayes. Another is “Snapshot” by Lis Wiehl. Happy reading!
Request: “Shantaram” by Gregory David Roberts. “Anthem” by Ayn Rand. “Lords of Light” by Deepak Chopra. “Ender’s Game” by Orson Scott Card. These are my read and re-read. Repeatedly.
Recommendation: Hi there! If you enjoyed “Shantaram,” you might also like reading “The Scarlet Pimpernel” by Emmuska Orczy as they are both adventure stories with the “secret identity” element.
“The Heart Goes Last” by Margaret Atwood and “Children of Men” by P.D. James are both great science fiction dystopian novels, similar to “Anthem.”
Lastly, I recommend you check out “Book of Strange New Things” by Michel Faber. It’s a thought-provoking science fiction story with complex characters. Happy reading!
Request: John Flanagan’s Brotherband/Ranger’s Apprentice series, Elizabeth Kostova’s “The Historian,” Gerald Lund’s “The Undaunted.” GO!
Recommendation: Hello. Fans the Ranger’s Apprentice series are likely to enjoy Nancy Farmer’s “Sea of Trolls” trilogy. Another series of high fantasy and war that might appeal is “Crown of Three” by J.D. Rinehart. “Vlad” by Carlos Fuentes is a fast-paced novel built on the story of Vlad the Impaler, and should be fun for fans of “The Historian,” as should “A Love Like Blood” by Marcus Sedgwick. “People of the Book” by Geraldine Brooks is a brilliant work of historical fiction, and might scratch that “The Undaunted” itch.
Request: “The Girl With the Lower Back Tattoo” by Amy Schumer, “Second Chance” by McComb and “Origins Scroll” by Robert Tuttle.
Recommendation: Hi. Jessi Klein is a writer for Schumer’s tv show, and her memoir “You’ll Grow Out of It” should be worth a read for Schumer’s fans. “Crazy Salad & Scribble Scribble” by Nora Ephron is a collection of humorous essays, and seems likely to hold some appeal as well.
The “Stoneblood Saga” series by Robyn Wideman is enjoyed by fans of Tuttle’s work, as are “The Dragon Mage Wars” series by Dean Cadman.
I’m having trouble finding information about “Second Chance” by McComb. If you have more information about it, we’d be happy to dig a little more. (Perhaps the author’s name is misspelled?)
Request: Barbara Kingsolver, “A Man Called Ove,” “All the Light We Cannot See,” Kent Haruf, “The Bartender’s Tale,” Erik Larson
Recommendation: Good morning! Like Kingsolver, Joanna Trollope writes character-centered novels with stories of intertwined lives; if you haven’t read any of Trollope’s books, start with “A Spanish Lover.”
Fredrik Backman has written a number of other feel-good books, in addition to “A Man Called Ove,” so check those out! Other books that you might like are “This Is Your Life, Harriet Chance!” by Jonathan Evison and “The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry” by Rachel Joyce. Both of these are bittersweet and heartwarming.
Based on “All the Light We Cannot See,” I highly recommend “Crooked Heart” by Lissa Evans; it’s set during WWII, but it has more dark humor as it’s set in Britain’s seedy criminal underworld — something a little different!
And last but not least, I think you might enjoy the nonfiction writings of Jon Krakauer. Both he and Larson write in a straightforward style with lots of intriguing detail. Enjoy!
