Creating Happy Endings
May 2, 2023 - In her blog post “Happy Endings: A Journey Through Pain,” my mother shared how reading has helped with pain alleviation (link to her post). My role of keeping her supplied with books has gotten a bit more challenging as the time she spends reading grows. Here are some resources that have helped me find what I hope will be her next great read.
Book Bloggers: My go-to book blogger is “Modern Mrs. Darcy.” Many of her recommendations end up at mom’s house. One of her lists in particular, “16 series to read after you’ve run out of Louise Penny novels,” has been a real godsend because a good series can keep mom happily reading for a long time! https://modernmrsdarcy.com/what-to-read-next-louise-penny-readalikes/
Fantastic Fiction: In addition to helping me keep track of the order of titles in the many mystery series she reads, I like to see what mom’s favorite authors recommend.
https://www.fantasticfiction.com/
Goodreads Lists: Goodreads has a list for just about anything! You can find not only relevant general-purpose lists, but also very specific ones (e.g., “novels set in Dublin, Ireland”). https://www.goodreads.com/list
Novelist: I use Novelist to find “readalikes,” books with similarities to ones that my mother loves. You can learn more about Novelist here: https://www.cityofcamas.us/library/page/resource-spotlight-novelist.
And can access it with your library card here: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=ip,cpid&custid=s8918591&groupid=main&profile=novplus.
Book Bundles from Camas Public Library: We offer a terrific service that I think is underutilized: - Book Bundles! Fill out an online form and Library staff will put together an assortment of books that they think you may like. I used this service and my colleagues created a great bundle of books for my mom — several of their selections were by new-to-her authors that she now reads regularly. Read more and create your own book bundle request here: https://www.cityofcamas.us/library/webform/book-bundle-request.
If you have a voracious reader that needs to be fed, all of us here at Camas Public Library are here to help!
Colleen Kawamura, Library Aide
