Have you ever finished a really good book and then wondered what you were going to read next? Sometimes there's a stack of things you've been meaning to read and sometimes there's only that strange, slightly uncomfortable feeling of freedom. The Daily Herald is here to help.

We asked a handful of local readers who work in book-related fields -- libraries, English teaching, and writing or publishing -- to recommend a good book. Here's what they told us, in their own words.

Lance Larsen

• Age: 47

• Lives in: Springville

• Occupation: Professor of English at Brigham Young University

• What he recommends: "Leaping: Revelations and Epiphanies" by Brian Doyle -- "In this vivid and moving essay collection by one of America's most original religious writers, Brian Doyle leaps from accounts of Sept. 11, to a summer spent as a camp counselor, to the sometimes surreal experience of teaching children, to what it means to eat dirt. Even the titles grab you by the lapels: 'Joey's Doll's Other Arm,' 'Children Are Verbs' and 'The Sudden Flight of Wilhemina Kettell, in Summer.' "

Shari Thayn

• Age: 47

• Lives in: American Fork

• Occupation: Romance novelist ("The Chocolate Heiress" and other titles) and co-owner/operator of Grammar Punk, a company that sells grammar teaching tools

• What she recommends: "A Daughter's a Daughter and Other Novels" by Mary Westmacott -- "Recommending a favorite book is no small thing, especially to a writer; there are entirely too many choices. Therefore, the book I've chosen is actually three books in one: 'A Daughter's Daughter and Other Novels' by Mary Westmacott, better known as Agatha Christie. Primarily known for her 80 mystery novels, Christie is not nearly as noted for her romantic fiction, but she should be.

"Writing as Mary Westmacott, she was able to explore a very different side of her incredible talent. Christie's sharp observation of her characters, their ambitions and their conflicts brings new dimensions to stories about relationships of a very different type and tone than her detective novels.

"Fans of Agatha Christie's mysteries -- and well-written books in general -- will enjoy her superior command of the language, her tight pacing and her unending ability to keep her characters, and her readers, expecting the unexpected."

Gene Nelson

• Age: 56

• Lives in: Provo

• Occupation: Director, Provo City Library

• What he recommends: "The Underneath" by Kathi Appelt -- " 'The Underneath' was recently recognized with a John Newbery Honor Award and is one of my favorite books of the year. Although it's classified as a 'children's book,' the depth and lyricism of the writing can be enjoyed by teens and adults as well. A calico cat, about to deliver her kittens, is befriended by a lonely hound dog. He urges her to follow him to the 'underneath' of a front porch and a mutual friendship is struck. The kittens are warned of the man, Gar-Face, who lives above them and told to never leave the safety of the underneath. Other storylines are cleverly intertwined that involve a large alligator and a lamia (a mythical bloodsucking demon with the head and torso of a woman and the lower body of snake).

"This multilayered tale is a dark story of love and hate, failure and redemption. It's truly a wonderful story to be savored. Small warning: Despite the cover, this book is not for the younger audience."

Brandon Mull

• Age: 34

• Lives in: Highland

• Occupation: New York Times best-selling author of the "Fablehaven" series of young adult fantasy novels

• What he recommends: "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card -- "The futuristic story follows a boy named Ender as he travels to a space station and is trained to become a military leader. It may be a little harsh for younger or more sensitive readers, but it is a great book to prove to reluctant boys that reading can be awesome."

Denee Tyler

• Age: 44

• Lives in: Orem

• Occupation: English teacher at Utah County Academy of Sciences

• What she recommends: "Bone" by Jeff Smith -- "I would like to recommend the 'Bone' series of graphic novels by Jeff Smith. 'Bone' is a nine-volume series (available in a whopping one-volume edition) about the adventures of three 'Bone' characters, cousins, who are escaping from the effects of some poor business decisions and accidentally end up in a hidden valley. Once they arrive in the mysterious place of the rat people, the Bones are caught up in an epic struggle between good and evil. This story has cow races, talking bugs, ghosts, warriors, dragons, mystery and, of course, a beautiful princess in disguise. Even reluctant readers will be caught up by the humor and action, while they learn about loyalty, the true nature of heroism, the pitfalls of greed, and, most of all, not judging people by the way they look, but rather by the depth of their hearts."

Ben Crowder

• Age: 25

• Lives in: Provo

• Occupation: Web designer for Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University and publisher of online magazine "Mormon Artist"

• What he recommends: "Amusing Ourselves to Death" by Neil Postman -- "When I first started thinking which book I'd recommend, I realized that the book I'd finished just a few hours ago fit the bill and was quite pertinent to our time. Postman lays out a convincing case that television has fundamentally changed the way we think, turning everything -- education, politics, religion, you name it -- into entertainment, where we're amused but not terribly informed.

"Along with this illusion of knowledge comes a gradual loss of our ability to think complex thoughts, Postman says. Instead, we think in sound bites and find it hard to pay attention to a train of thought that lasts much longer than a 30-second commercial. While I don't agree with everything Postman says (he was writing in the '80s, I should add, before the Internet era), his ideas are a breath of fresh air."

Marianne Wiemer

• Age: 60

• Lives in: Orem

• Occupation: Assistant librarian (Children's Department) at Orem Public Library

• What she recommends: "Uprising" by Margaret Haddix -- "The story of 'Uprising' is centered on the lives of three girls from different social situations in New York City of 1910. Each girl's story is told in alternating chapters, and we learn of the struggles they all have with the plight of the workers in sweatshops, and their role in the American labor movement. The action revolves around the historically infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, and the reader is drawn deeply into the life of each girl, feeling her pains, struggles and hopes. 'Uprising' is a superbly crafted novel that may inspire the reader to learn more about the events of that era."

Marilyn Brown

• Age: 70

• Lives in: Springville

• Occupation: Novelist, poet, playwright and theatrical producer

• What she recommends: "Massacre at Mountain Meadows" by Ronald W. Walker, Richard E. Turley Jr. and Glen M. Leonard -- "For 50 years, the Mountain Meadows Massacre tormented me. After I had thoroughly digested Juanita Brooks's 'The Mountain Meadows Massacre,' along with other references, I wrote my novel 'The Wine-Dark Sea of Grass' (Cedar Fort, 2000) to abate my pain. Knowing what it is like to be a believing LDS person, I wanted to enter the hearts of those persecuted people and discover what really happened.

"About this episode, I feel this book -- impeccably researched and written -- may truly be the 'final word.' "