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Jodi Picoult’s signature subjects are good solid citizens and the complicated relationships of family, friends in thought-provoking extraordinary situations. Set in familiar New England communities, her characters are immediately recognizable – a pragmatic diner cook; a passionate lawyer; a taciturn stonemason; a kindly veterinarian – placed in situations falling under the heading “it could never happen to us.” Picoult likes to take controversial newsworthy issues and examine them through the eyes of common folk. Readers find much to discuss and ponder in Picoult’s novels.

Below are some recommended authors and works you may wish to explore:-

- Chris Bohjalian (Call No: BOH)
“The author who most closely matches Picoult in writing style, characters and subject matter is Chris Bohjalian. Another New England author who favors close examination of hot button issues in small town settings, Bohjalian has taken on midwifery, transsexuality and homeopathy just to name a few topics.”

Some recommended titles written by Chris Bohjalian, which are available from the public libraries:-
[01] Skeletons at the feast : a novel
[02] The double bind : a novel
[03] Before you know kindness : a novel

- Jacquelyn Mitchard (Call No: MIT)
“Mitchard is best known as the debut novelist Oprah Winfrey plucked from obscurity with her first book club selection, The Deep End of the Ocean. Sophomore effort A Theory of Relativity is equally satisfying. Readers with a preference for observing how families in turmoil deal with shocking situations will appreciate this novel of grieving grandparents locked in an anguished custody battle for the sole surviving daughter of parents lost in a car accident.”

Some recommended titles written by Jacquelyn Mitchard, which are available from the public libraries:-
[01] The midnight twins
[02] All we know of heaven : a novel
[03] Now you see her

- Luanne Rice (Call No: RIC)
“Concentrating less on controversial topics and more on family and personal relationships, Luanne Rice’s novels, particularly the earlier titles, are another good match for Picoult. The authors’ use of characters is similar; strong, intelligent women who find themselves consumed by life’s everyday and irregular tragedies but work out solutions with help from family and friends. Home Fires is a fine title to start with.”

Some recommended titles written by Luanne Rice, which are available from the public libraries:-
[01] Light of the moon
[02] The edge of winter
[03] What matters most

- Ann Hood (Call No: HOO)
“For a quieter, more lyrical tone, readers should consider Ann Hood. Like Picoult, Hood’s small town female characters are well developed but their problems are closer to home — infidelity, sisterly rivalry, and cold feet at an impending marriage. Hood employs a little more introspection and personal drama in her stories. Readers should take a look at one of Hood’s later efforts, Properties of Water.”

Some recommended titles written by Ann Hood, which are available from the public libraries:-
[01] How I saved my father’s life (and ruined everything else)
[02] The knitting circle
[03] An ornithologist’s guide to life

- Sue Miller (Call No: MIL)
“Fans of Picoult must not let Sue Miller escape their notice although her stories have a more literary quality and delve more deeply into character’s emotions. Her debut novel, The Good Mother, is a modern classic, but readers shouldn’t miss one of her other novels, While I Was Gone, an Oprah Book Club selection.”

Some recommended titles written by Sue Miller, which are available from the public libraries:-
[01] The senator’s wife
[02] Lost in the forest : a novel
[03] The world below : a novel

Retrieved from Novelist. Website last accessed on 4 Nov 08.

Originally answered by Huang Su San, Librarian, Adult and Young People’s Services

 Posted by Yen Yen Toh, Librarian, Adult and Young People’s Services

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If you have a different question, please email to ask@nlb.gov.sg instead of sending a comment

ASK! about Fiction

Here are some series on spies and espionage:

Spy High series by A.J.Butcher (Book No. 1: The Frankenstein Factory or Mission One)

Call no.: Y BUT

Maximum Ride series by James Patterson ( Book No. 1: The Angel Experiment)

Call no.: Y PAT

Young Bond series by Charles Higson ( Book No. 1: Silverfin)

Call no.: Y HIG

Here are some other titles that you may wish to check out:

Map of Bones by James Rollins

Call no.: ROL-[TH]

More than Courage by Harold Coyle

Call no.: COY

Soar: a Black Ops Mission by John Weisman

Call no.: WEI -[TH]

To check the availability and locations of the above titles, use our online catalogue.

  Answered by Ms Jillian Lim, Librarian, Adult and Young People’s Services

Posted by Yen Yen Toh, Librarian, Adult and Young People’s Services

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If you have a different question, please email to ask@nlb.gov.sg instead of sending a comment.

ASK! about Anything & Everything

Enjoy reading war novels or politics-centric novels such as ‘The Firm’ by John Grisham?

Below are some non-fiction books on the topic of war and politics

Title: All the Presidents’ Men by Carl Bernstein, Bob Woodward

Call no.: 364.132BER

Title: Challenger revealed: an insider’s account of how the Reagan administration caused the greatest tragedy of the space age by Robin C. Cook

Call no.: 363.124COO

Title: 1912: Wilson, Roosevelt, Taft & Debs –  the election that changed the country by James Chace

Call no.: 362.97CHA

Title: See no evil: the true story of a ground soldier in the CIA’s war on terrorism by Robert Baer

Call no.: 327.12BAE

Title: An army at dawn: the war in North Africa, 1942-1943 by Rick Atkinson

Call no.: 940.54ATK

Title: We were soldiers once – and young: La Drang, the battle that changed the war in Vietnam by Harold G. Moore & Joseph L. Galloway

Call no.: 959.70MOO

Originally answered by Ms Ng Kiak Peng , Librarian, Adult and Young People’s Services

 Posted by Yen Yen Toh, Librarian, Adult and Young People’s Services

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If you have a different question, please email to ask@nlb.gov.sg instead of sending a comment.

ASK! about Fiction

Here’s some recommendations that hold similar plots to “To kill a mocking bird” :

1) Title: Beautiful dreamer : a novel
Author: Christopher Bigsby
Call number:English BIG [TH]

Abstract: “A Faulknerian parable set in early twentieth-century Tennessee follows a tragic evolution of race relations along the claustrophobic forests, rivers, and railroads of the region’s back country.”

2) Title: The Madonna of Excelsior
Author: Zakes Mda
Call number: English MDA

Abstract: “A new novel by one of South Africa’s most talented authors takes readers deep into the heart of apartheid in the early 1970s, focusing on a mixed race family that is trying to survive on the closely regulated line between black and white.”

3) Title: Pushkin and the Queen of Spades
Author: Alice Randall
Call number: English RAN

Abstract: “Explores the racial divide in America through the character of Harvard-educated African American professor Windsor Armstrong–a liberal black woman who is troubled by her son’s romantic interest in a white Russian stripper.”

4) Title: Daughter : a novel
Author: Asha Bandele
Call number: English BAN

Abstract: “Miriam finds her world shattered when her daughter is shot by a white police officer in a case of mistaken identity, a situation that forces her to confront her past, her identity as an African American woman, and her widowhood.”

5) Title: The legend of Buddy Bush
Author: Shelia P. Moses
Call number: Y English MOS

Abstract: “In 1947, twelve-year-old Pattie Mae is sustained by her dreams of escaping Rich Square, North Carolina, and moving to Harlem when her Uncle Buddy is arrest for attempted rape of a white woman and her grandfather is diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor.”

6) Title: The road to Memphis
Author: Mildred D. Taylor
Call number: Y English TAY

Abstract: “Sadistically teased by two White boys in 1940′s rural Mississippi, a Black youth severely injures one of the boys with a tire iron and enlists Cassie’s help in trying to flee the state.”

Source: Novelist, last accessed on 11/07/07.

Please use our online catalogue at www.nlb.gov.sg to check for availability in library holdings.

Contributed by Norah Binte ISMAIL, Librarian, Public Library Services

If you need further fiction-related information or reading suggestions, drop us an email at ask@library.nlb.gov.sg.

Found this question interesting? What do you think? Post your comments.
If you have a different question, please email to ask@library.nlb.gov.sg instead of sending a comment.

ASK! about Fiction

Here’s some recommendations that hold similar plots to “To kill a mocking bird” :

1) Title: Beautiful dreamer : a novel
Author: Christopher Bigsby
Call number:English BIG [TH]

Abstract: “A Faulknerian parable set in early twentieth-century Tennessee follows a tragic evolution of race relations along the claustrophobic forests, rivers, and railroads of the region’s back country.”

2) Title: The Madonna of Excelsior
Author: Zakes Mda
Call number: English MDA

Abstract: “A new novel by one of South Africa’s most talented authors takes readers deep into the heart of apartheid in the early 1970s, focusing on a mixed race family that is trying to survive on the closely regulated line between black and white.”

3) Title: Pushkin and the Queen of Spades
Author: Alice Randall
Call number: English RAN

Abstract: “Explores the racial divide in America through the character of Harvard-educated African American professor Windsor Armstrong–a liberal black woman who is troubled by her son’s romantic interest in a white Russian stripper.”

4) Title: Daughter : a novel
Author: Asha Bandele
Call number: English BAN

Abstract: “Miriam finds her world shattered when her daughter is shot by a white police officer in a case of mistaken identity, a situation that forces her to confront her past, her identity as an African American woman, and her widowhood.”

5) Title: The legend of Buddy Bush
Author: Shelia P. Moses
Call number: Y English MOS

Abstract: “In 1947, twelve-year-old Pattie Mae is sustained by her dreams of escaping Rich Square, North Carolina, and moving to Harlem when her Uncle Buddy is arrest for attempted rape of a white woman and her grandfather is diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor.”

6) Title: The road to Memphis
Author: Mildred D. Taylor
Call number: Y English TAY

Abstract: “Sadistically teased by two White boys in 1940′s rural Mississippi, a Black youth severely injures one of the boys with a tire iron and enlists Cassie’s help in trying to flee the state.”

Source: Novelist, last accessed on 11/07/07.

Please use our online catalogue at www.nlb.gov.sg to check for availability in library holdings.

Contributed by Norah Binte ISMAIL, Librarian, Public Library Services

If you need further fiction-related information or reading suggestions, drop us an email at ask@library.nlb.gov.sg.

Found this question interesting? What do you think? Post your comments.
If you have a different question, please email to ask@library.nlb.gov.sg instead of sending a comment.

ASK! about Fiction

So, this could be the end. What’s a Harry Potter fan going to read if JK Rowling doesn’t reconsider continuing the series beyond The Deathly Hallows?

Here are some suggestions of other Fantasy titles that you may enjoy if you liked the Harry Potter series. Some books for kids can and do appeal to all ages. So re-ignite your belief in magic with these selected reads! All book descriptions from Amazon.com.

Please check our online catalogue for availability of titles. You can also find out more about the Fantasy genre with our Genre Guide.

Stardust
By: Neil Gaiman
Publisher: New York : Spike, 1999
Call No.: GAI –[FN]
Description: “Young Tristran Thorn will do anything to win the cold heart of beautiful Victoria – even fetch her the star they watch fall from the night sky. But to do so, he must enter the unexplored lands on the other side of the ancient wall that gives their tiny village its name. Beyond that wall lies Faerie – where nothing, not even a fallen star, is what he imagined.”

The Golden Compass [First title of the His Dark Materials trilogy]
By: Philip Pullman
Publisher: New York : Alfred A. Knopf
Call No.: Y PUL
Description: “A world as convincing and thoroughly realized as Narnia, Earthsea, of Redwall, wherein lives a half-wild, half-civilized girl named Lyra Belacqua, whose carefree life among the scholars of Jordan College is about the shattered by the arrival of two powerful visitors. “ Followed by: The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass

Dark Lord of Derkholm
By: Diana Wynne Jones
Publisher: New York, N.Y. : Harper Trophy
Call No.: Y JON
Description: “Derk, an unconventional wizard, and his magical family become involved in a plan to put a stop to the devastating tours of their world arranged by the tyrannical Mr. Chesney.” Followed by: Year of the Griffin

A Wizard of Earthsea [First title of the Earthsea series]
By: Ursula Le Guin
Publisher: Various
Call No.: Y LEG
Description: “Sparrowhawk, a reckless youth, hungry for power and knowledge, tampered with long-held secrets and loosed a terrible shadow upon the world. This is the tale of his testing, how he mastered the mighty words of power, tamed an ancient dragon, and crossed death’s threshold to restore the balance.”

So you want to be a Wizard [First title of the Young Wizards series]
By: Diane Duane
Publisher: San Diego : Harcourt, 2001
Call No.: Y DUA
Description: “Thirteen-year-old Nita, tormented by a gang of bullies because she won’t fight back, finds the help she needs in a library book on wizardry which guides her into another dimension.”

The Amulet of Samarkand [First title of the Bartimaeus trilogy]
By: Jonathan Stroud
Publisher: London : Doubleday, 2003
Call No.: Y STR
Description: “As an apprentice to the great magician Underwood, Nathaniel is gradually being schooled in the traditional art of magic. When Simon, a rising magician, brutally humiliates him, he decides to speed up his magical education. Eventually, he masters one of the most difficult spells of all: summoning the all-powerful djinni, Bartimeus. But summoning Bartimeus and controlling him are two very different things.” Followed by: The Golem’s Eye and Ptolemy’s Gate

Artemis Fowl [First title of the Artemis Fowl series]
By: Eoin Colfer
Publisher: New York : Hyperion Books For Children
Call No.: J COL
Description: “Twelve-year-old Artemis is a millionaire, a genius-and above all, a criminal mastermind. But Artemis doesn’t know what he’s taken on when he kidnaps a fairy, Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon Unit. These aren’t the fairies of bedtime stories-they’re dangerous!”

Magyk [First title of the Septimus Heap series]
By: Angie Sage
Publisher: [New York] : London : Katherine Tegen Books ; Bloomsbury
Call No.: J SAG
Description: “The seventh son of the seventh son, aptly named Septimus Heap, is stolen the night he is born by a midwife who pronounces him dead. That same night, the baby’s father, Silas Heap, comes across a bundle in the snow containing a newborn girl with violet eyes. The Heaps take this helpless newborn into their home, name her Jenna, and raise her as their own. But who is this mysterious baby girl, and what really happened to their beloved son Septimus?”

Skulduggery Pleasant
By: Derek Landy
London : HarperCollins Children’s, 2007
Call No.: J LAN
Description: “Meet Skulduggery Pleasant, Ace Detective, Snappy Dresser, Razor–tongued Wit, Crackerjack Sorcerer and Walking, Talking, Fire-throwing Skeleton — as well as ally, protector, and mentor of Stephanie Edgley, a very unusual and darkly talented twelve-year-old. These two alone must defeat an all-consuming ancient evil. The end of the world? Over his dead body.”

Whispering to Witches
By: Anna Dale
Publisher: New York ; London : Bloomsbury Children’s Books
Call No.: J DAL
Description: “When Joe is traveling to stay with his mother and stepfather for Christmas, little does he imagine the excitement and magical intrigue that awaits him when he falls headfirst into an evil plot to rid England of witches. With great bravery and more than a little help from his half sister, Esme, and a new friend, Twiggy, he has to muster all his courage and ingenuity to solve the riddles surrounding him and save his newfound friends.”

Contributed by Jillian Lim, Librarian, Public Library Services

If you need further fiction-related information or reading suggestions, drop us an email at ask@library.nlb.gov.sg.
Found this question interesting? What do you think? Post your comments.
If you have a different question, please email to ask@library.nlb.gov.sg instead of posting a comment.

ASK! about Fiction

Jodi Picoult is definitely a hot author at the moment. No matter how many copies of her books we get, they all fly off the shelves in no time. Trust me, we are getting more copies in. ;p

Why can’t readers get enough of Jodi Picoult?
Barnes & Noble’s “Meet the Writers” feature describes her as being “known for expertly blending provocative themes with family conflicts and difficult moral choices, Jodi Picoult keeps her readers riveted with heartfelt yet impeccably researched novels”. From this reader’s review of The Pact, it’s easy to see that Picoult really manages to get you to feel for her characters.

Someone recently asked for suggestions for other authors which would appeal to fans of Picoult. So we tried looking for authors that dealt with similar things: provocative themes, family conflicts, moral choices, poignant/heartfelt relationships. Here’re some authors that came up in our search:

ASK! about Fiction: The Devil wears Prada readalikes

Read the book or watched the movie? Or maybe you’re still waiting for your copy at the libraries. This readalikes (ie. similar books) listing provides information on authors and titles that may appeal to you if you’ve read (or are waiting to read) The Devil Wears Prada.

According to the Straits Times Bestseller List (as of 10 Sep), DWP is the bestselling fiction title in Singapore, the movie is also tops at our box office (as of 3 Sep). And according to this USA Today article, this genre (chick lit) is here to stay! In fact, check out this Library Journal article which even describes the various chick lit subgenres (bride lit, mystery chick lit).

For those who are not sure what constitutes chick lit:
“What puts the chick in chick lit?
The heroine is either looking for Mr. Right or getting over Mr. Wrong.
She’s in a dead-end job or is looking to climb the corporate ladder.
She often works in public relations, advertising or for a women’s magazine.
The tone is often light and funny.
The story usually is told in the first person.
By novel’s end, the heroine usually has worked out all her problems and has learned important lessons about life.”
Source: USA Today

Read on for the list of suggested readalikes!

Read more »

ASK! about Fiction: Da Vinci Code readalikes

Read the book or watched the movie? Or maybe you’re still waiting for your copy at the libraries. This readalikes listing provides information on authors and titles that may appeal to you if you’ve read (or are waiting to read) The Da Vinci Code. These novels combine history, mystery and/or religious intrigue.

Book descriptions are adapted from the book descriptions, or reviews from Amazon.com and Novelist.

Authors

Lewis Perdue (Call No.: PER –[TH])
Unsuccessfully sued Dan Brown for plagiarizing his novels, Daughter of God and The Da Vinci Legacy. Lewis Purdue writes mostly thrillers and was formerly an investigative reporter.

Daughter of God
New York : Forge, 2000
Click here for item availability.
“Evidence of a female messiah executed by the Church in the fourth century has been stolen from its safe hiding place in the Vatican, and now all hell is breaking loose in the modern world as a result.”

The Da Vinci Legacy
New York : Tor, 2004, c1983
Click here for item availability.
“The Da Vinci Codex is a priceless collection of Leonardo’s original work– or is it? When Da Vinci scholar Vance Erikson discovers that several of the Codex’s pages are forgeries, the search is on for the genuine documents, which may hold startling secrets and revelations. He soon finds himself the target of a murderous conspiracy that dates back to the dawn of Christianity itself.”

Steve Berry (Call No.: BER –[TH])
New York Times bestselling author of historical thrillers.

The Amber Room
New York : Ballantine Books, 2004
Click here for item availability.
“When her father dies under suspicious circumstances, Rachel Cutler finds everything she loves threatened by the rival quests of two art collectors who seek one of the world’s greatest treasures.”

The Romanov Prophecy
New York : Ballantine Books, c2004
Click here for item availability.
“After the Russian people vote to bring back the Tsar, to be chosen from the distant relatives of Nicholas II, attorney Miles Lord heads for Moscow to perform a background check on one of the candidates, but his assignment turns unexpectedly dangerous.”

The Third Secret
New York : Ballantine Books, 2005
Click here for item availability.
“Haunted by the secrets revealed in 1917 in Fatima, Portugal, the obsession of Pope Clement XV leads to intrigue at the Vatican as Alberto Cardinal Valendrea, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, plots to bring down the troubled pontiff.”

The Templar Legacy
New York : Ballantine Books, c2006
Click here for item availability.
“Cotton Malone is enjoying his quiet new life as an antiquarian book dealer in Copenhagen when an unexpected call to action reawakens his hair-trigger instincts. It begins with a violent robbery attempt on Cotton’s former supervisor, Stephanie Nelle. Armed with vital clues to a series of centuries-old puzzles scattered across Europe, she means to find the legendary cache of wealth and forbidden knowledge thought to have been lost forever when the order of the Knights Templar was exterminated in the fourteenth century. But she’s not alone. Competing for the historic prize is Raymond de Roquefort, a shadowy zealot with an army of assassins at his command.”

Individual Titles

The Last Templar by Raymond Khoury
London : Sydney : Duckworth ; Pan Macmillan Australia, 2005
Call No.: KHO –[TH]
Click here for item availability.
“When the opening gala of a Vatican exhibit attended by archaeologist Tess Chaykin is stormed by four horsemen dressed as Templar Knights who steal an artifact, FBI anti-terrorist specialist Sean Reilly and Tess team up for an investigation.”

Labyrinth by Kate Mosse
London : Orion, 2005
Call No.: MOS
Click here for item availability.
“Alice, a volunteer at an archaeological dig, becomes a target after discovering a pair of crumbling skeletons in the Pyrenees mountains, while eight hundred years in the past, Alaèis, the daughter of a crusader, must safeguard the location of the Holy Grail.”

Map of Bones by James Rollins
New York : Morrow, c2005
Call No.: ROL –[TH]
Click here for item availability.
“When several people are burned to death during the theft of a religious artifact, Gray Pierce, a new member of the U.S. SIGMA force, pursues a clandestine fraternity of alchemists who would use the artifact to establish a new world order.”

Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason
New York : London : Dial Press ; Century, 2004
Call No.: CAL –[TH]
Click here for item availability.
“Trying to decipher an ancient text that weaves a mathematical labyrinth within a love story, two researchers obtain a diary that may contain the key to the code, but when a fellow researcher is killed, they realize that the book contains a dangerous secret.”

The Intelligencer by Leslie Silbert
New York : Washington Square Press, 2005, c2004
Call No.: SIL -[TH]
Click here for item availability.
“London, 1593: It is three weeks before the murder of Christopher Marlowe, playwright and spy in Queen Elizabeth I’s secret service — a crime that remains unsolved to this day. Marlowe is hoping to find his missing muse as he sets off on a new intelligence assignment…and closes in on the secret that will seal his fate. New York City, present day: Renaissance scholar turned private eye Kate Morgan investigates a shocking heist and murder involving a mysterious, antique manuscript recently unearthed in central London. What secret lurks in those yellowed, ciphered pages…and how, centuries later, could it drive someone to kill?”

For more similar authors and titles, read on!

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