I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger is so absolutely fabulous that I'm shocked not to see it more! It's especially wonderful if you are familiar with the Minnesota / Wisconsin shoreline of Lake Superior.
I have read other books by him. He is a beautiful writer. Not good if you want a fast pace, but excellent if you want to bathe in beautiful storytelling and memorable characters.
Ella Minnow Pea: a progressively lipogrammatic epistolary fable by Mark Dunn
Recounts what happens when the citizens of an island must rely on all their ingenuity to communicate in an increasingly limited language when the government progressively bans letters from the alphabet.
I have a friend who has been after me to read that book for YEARS. I will read it....as soon as I understand what the heck it is about! 😆 j/k. I am going to try and get to it this year.
The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows by John Koenig, The Lost Spells by Robert Macfarlane (ugh, the art by Jackie Morris is STUNNING), A Charm of Goldfinches by Matt Sewell (all small little delightful books with interesting writing.) Oh, and the picture book The Lonely Mailman by Susanna Isern - very touching and gorgeous illustrations.
The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson. Great Character writing. Helen of Pasadena by Lian Dolan. Laugh out loud hilarious and strong sense of place (😉) if you are familiar at all with Pasadena
The Fortunes of War by Olive Manning, a six-book series made up of two trilogies about a young married British couple who were living in Bucharest in the early years of WWII. A TV series was made of it starring Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh in the late 1980s.
Also, Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner, about a historian who explores the lives of his grandparents, and the challenges faced by his grandmother, a pioneer in the American West. And lastly, I enjoyed The Rules of Civility by Amor Towles the most of all his books so far.
Dear Fran, Love Dulcie: Life and Death in the Hills and Hollows of Bygone Australia by Victoria Twead. This was based on two penpals from Australia and US and their letters. It is one of those (shortish) books that just stays with you as the stories shared are so descriptive of those early times (1950s).
Truthfully a LOT of people know about it, but Garth Nix's Sabriel is in my top and I re-read for comfort: Sabriel is a tom-boyish teenage girl protagonist saving the world (by being smart and a dose of magic) with her ornery magical cat named Mogget.
The three books written by my grandmother, Betty Merrell, written under her pen name Leigh Merrell that are now out of print: Tenoch, Mary in Command and Prisoners of Hannibal. You can still find some on Amazon. They are fabulous historical fiction novels!
I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger is so absolutely fabulous that I'm shocked not to see it more! It's especially wonderful if you are familiar with the Minnesota / Wisconsin shoreline of Lake Superior.
I have read other books by him. He is a beautiful writer. Not good if you want a fast pace, but excellent if you want to bathe in beautiful storytelling and memorable characters.
I hadn't heard of this one - thanks for the rec!
Ella Minnow Pea: a progressively lipogrammatic epistolary fable by Mark Dunn
Recounts what happens when the citizens of an island must rely on all their ingenuity to communicate in an increasingly limited language when the government progressively bans letters from the alphabet.
I enjoyed this book so much
I have almost picked that book up several times! Such a creative idea! Thanks for the rec. :)
Address Unknown by Kathrine Kressman Taylor. Great little book (only 67 pages) that will show how fascism took over in Germany.
It blew me away!
No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister is so so good. It’s like a love letter to books and the power of reading the right book at the right time
Is it sappy? I don't like Hallmark-y books.
Not at all
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
I have a friend who has been after me to read that book for YEARS. I will read it....as soon as I understand what the heck it is about! 😆 j/k. I am going to try and get to it this year.
The Bible. True story.
And stranger than fiction! Can't make these truths up!
The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows by John Koenig, The Lost Spells by Robert Macfarlane (ugh, the art by Jackie Morris is STUNNING), A Charm of Goldfinches by Matt Sewell (all small little delightful books with interesting writing.) Oh, and the picture book The Lonely Mailman by Susanna Isern - very touching and gorgeous illustrations.
I second Lost Spells.... the art work and writing are so well matched.
there’s a beautiful song based on The Lost Words https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Hg1xFYpXuWA
Based on the titles alone, I'm going to look into those!
The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson. Great Character writing. Helen of Pasadena by Lian Dolan. Laugh out loud hilarious and strong sense of place (😉) if you are familiar at all with Pasadena
I have heard The Summer Before the War is good, too.
The Fortunes of War by Olive Manning, a six-book series made up of two trilogies about a young married British couple who were living in Bucharest in the early years of WWII. A TV series was made of it starring Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh in the late 1980s.
Also, Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner, about a historian who explores the lives of his grandparents, and the challenges faced by his grandmother, a pioneer in the American West. And lastly, I enjoyed The Rules of Civility by Amor Towles the most of all his books so far.
Oh wow. Those sound really good! Just added them on goodreads. Thanks!
Dear Fran, Love Dulcie: Life and Death in the Hills and Hollows of Bygone Australia by Victoria Twead. This was based on two penpals from Australia and US and their letters. It is one of those (shortish) books that just stays with you as the stories shared are so descriptive of those early times (1950s).
Hope in the Dark by Rebecca Solnit because…well…
Love Hope in the Dark. It's about time to reread it.
Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange
Also "There, There" by the same author and dealing with the same narrative arc.
There There was good. Hard to read, but good. He has talent.
Those are sooo good
Truthfully a LOT of people know about it, but Garth Nix's Sabriel is in my top and I re-read for comfort: Sabriel is a tom-boyish teenage girl protagonist saving the world (by being smart and a dose of magic) with her ornery magical cat named Mogget.
The audio book is narrated by Tim Curry and it's just great
I feel the same way about Lirael. 💕
YES me too. I mean, I like all of them, but the first two were truly delightful.
The three books written by my grandmother, Betty Merrell, written under her pen name Leigh Merrell that are now out of print: Tenoch, Mary in Command and Prisoners of Hannibal. You can still find some on Amazon. They are fabulous historical fiction novels!
84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff. It's always next to my bed.
Cinnamon and Gunpowder by Eli Brown. Lady Pirate, kidnapped chef, adventure on the high seas and characters I think about daily even five years later!