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New historical fiction sitting next to the book that inspired it.

‘THE PARIS BOOKSELLER’

February 20, 2022 /

As if this title wasn’t compelling enough – Paris + Books – this new historical fiction chronicles the history of the famous bookstore Shakespeare and Company, a literary home to American expatriates and famous writers in the 1920s, focusing on the life of its founder Sylvia Beach.

The book was additionally fascinating to me because it tells how Beach published Ulysses when it was banned in America. (I wrote my master’s thesis on Ulysses.) Very rarely – maybe once before – can I recommend a modern work of historical fiction that is related to the excruciating, yet brilliant book that I studied in detail.

‘NIGHT ROAD’

January 29, 2022 /

This is an “older” Kristen Hannah book (2011) that is not necessarily my favorite of all her books but it possibly affected me more than any of the others. It is an explosive and emotional work of fiction.

TWO HISTORICAL FICTION RECOMMENDATIONS

January 22, 2022 /

I need to get caught up on my posts/recommendations so I’m sharing two books I enjoyed recently. Both books fall into my favorite historical fiction genre (mostly WWII), and both have an often-used plot of granddaughters chasing grandmother’s secrets across Europe. It has become obvious and funny to me how many variations of this plot keep coming up, and I keep reading (and enjoying) them! Oh well! Happy reading!

WISH YOU WERE HERE – modern historical fiction

January 9, 2022 /

Reading the new Jodi Picoult novel was a unique experience because it is historical fiction set in the very recent past, New York City early 2020 when COVID hit.

Wish You Were Here: A Novel

Now you may be thinking “I am not ready to read a novel about COVID” and I can understand that but I would still ask you to consider because this novel offers some perspective that most of us didn’t have, and it’s also just a really good read.

‘RADAR GIRLS’

January 3, 2022 /

The book I’m recommending today was also enjoyed by my two friends who read more than me and both of my parents. So it’s a crowd-pleaser if you like the WWII historical fiction genre:

Radar Girls: a novel of WWII

BEST OF 2021 – FAVORITE BOOKS & MOST POPULAR POSTS

December 29, 2021 /

Towards the end of 2021 I ran into some reading blocks and didn’t recommend any new books for a couple of months. At that point I was feeling a bit let down about the year’s reading UNTIL I looked back over my posts from earlier in the year and remembered I did read a lot of really good books.

Here are my favorite books published (and links to posts about them) in 2021 in no particular order:

I was so excited to add this new book to my bookcase!

‘THE LINCOLN HIGHWAY’

December 17, 2021 /

Because this author’s previous book is one of my favorite of all times, I had very high expectations for

The Lincoln Highway: A Novel by Amor Towles

See my previous posts on: A Gentleman in Moscow and his first book, Rules of Civility.

This new title refers to the first road to stretch across America. The intro pages included a map, which I always appreciate.

TEN NEW BOOKS THAT ARE STILL ON MY FALL READING LIST

October 17, 2021 /

I haven’t posted much lately because, sadly, I haven’t read anything I wanted to recommend. UGH! On my Goodreads you’ll see more more “2 star reviews” than usual. And I’ve had a hard time committing to finishing longer, potentially epic reads while the shorter books have left me skimming the endings. But, I still have all of these new fall releases on my to-read list, so hopefully there will be something good here (descriptions from publishers notes).

TWO BOOKS BY EMILY ST. JOHN MANDEL

August 29, 2021 /

I don’t usually join book clubs because I prefer not to have a schedule/commitment for reading but when my alumni association from my Alma mater announced a new book club, I was inclined to consider it…

The University of Illinois alumni book club gives readers two months to read a book which I appreciate (because I’m usually reading several at once).

Their first selection was a book I had previously read, loved, and written extensively about so I skipped that one. When they announced the next book I decided to read along, and I’m so glad I did.

GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK

July 27, 2021 /

To feel like you are on another planet without leaving this one, plan a stop at Great Sand Dunes National Park.

This magnificent and fun destination was the third stop of our Colorado summer vacation.

Some related posts:

Stop 1: Mesa Verde National Park

Stop 2: Durango

The 4 books I read on vacation!

Great Sand Dunes can be experienced in one day but I would recommend staying in the area overnight because the weather is so volatile it is good to have some extra time.

For example, when we arrived late afternoon it was raining with an impending storm and it rained all night, but we did get a few hours in the next day before we were chased out by another storm, which come so quickly in this area. Also if it is not raining, the sand will get really hot so you probably want to be there during late evening or early morning.

Leslie's Bookcase

Page 4 of 29

‘THE PARIS BOOKSELLER’

‘NIGHT ROAD’

TWO HISTORICAL FICTION RECOMMENDATIONS

WISH YOU WERE HERE – modern historical fiction

Wish You Were Here: A Novel

‘RADAR GIRLS’

Radar Girls: a novel of WWII

BEST OF 2021 – FAVORITE BOOKS & MOST POPULAR POSTS

‘THE LINCOLN HIGHWAY’

The Lincoln Highway: A Novel by Amor Towles

TEN NEW BOOKS THAT ARE STILL ON MY FALL READING LIST

TWO BOOKS BY EMILY ST. JOHN MANDEL

GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK

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