Tag Archives: Kate Morton

Seventeen of my Favorite Books from 2017

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Looking back over 2017, I can’t say I’ve accomplished all my goals, but I did meet and go beyond my goals for reading. Okay, I manage to accomplish that goal every year–through college, having babies, homeschooling, working on my masters, etc. No matter what my year may bring, I will always squeeze in some reading time.

So, what were my top reads of 2017? Trying to cull my favorites was challenging, but thanks to Goodreads (my memory is not so great), I have come up with my top 17 from various genres. Some of these have been mentioned in previous posts and one I plan to review later, but I didn’t want to leave them out.

Historical fiction: The House of Riverton Kate Morton; The Alice Network by Kate Quinn; The Women in the Castle Jessica Shattuck; Small Island by Andrea Levy; Wiley Cash The Last Ballad

Suspense/mystery: The Dry by Jane Harper; The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino; India Black by Carol K. Carr; Midnight at the Bright Lights Bookstore by Matthew Sullivan. All of these books were suspenseful, entertaining, and not what I was expecting. (I know; maybe if I read the blurbs? But sometimes they are so full of spoilers.) I picked up Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore because a book group I’m in was going to read it and because, well, a great cover. If I knew it would start with a suicide in a bookstore, and something terrible happened to the main character as a child, I probably wouldn’t have started it. But, once I did, (except for the night I knew the bad thing was about to happen, so I closed it until morning), I could hardly put it down. Great story. 

Historical Romance: The Painter’s Daughter Julie Klassen

Christian Living: Crossing the Waters by Leslie Leyland Fields

History/Biographical: Clementine: The Life of Mrs. Winston Churchill by Sonia Purnell; Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard (assassination of James Garfield); Ice Ghosts: The Epic Hunt for the Lost Franklin Expedition by Paul Watson. 

Literary Fiction: Bel Canto by Ann Patchett. I’ve heard for several years about what a great book this one is, but a book about some terrorists taking over a party of VIP guests in a South American country? Just didn’t sound appealing, but Ann Patchett is such a great writer, I finally had to try it. It took me a few chapters to get into it, but once I did, I was engrossed.

Young Adult: The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon. I listened to this one, and the narration is superb. 

Best Series: Shetland Island by Ann Cleeves (Read the first six; also belongs under Mysteries)

What about you? What were your favorites this year? What books are you looking forward to in 2018?

Sixteen of My Favorite Books from 2016

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I probably should have worked on this post last week, but better late than never. I did take a few days away from writing during the holidays, but I spent the last few days of 2016 trying to start my next book which I suppose I should call “The Continuing Saga of Solomon”. Well, it’s just a working title.

So, I’ve been reading blog posts on everyone’s favorite books of 2016, so thought I would go to goodreads and find out what were my favorite books this past year. All of the books I’m going to mention were either four or five star for me but that does not mean there weren’t a few others that hit that mark. Trying to keep it down to sixteen was a challenge. Sometimes, though, I think I’m too generous with my stars (especially if I’m struggling with my own writing and feel that any writer who actually finished writing a book should receive at least two stars for that accomplishment alone), but, regardless, I will only mention books today that were either my top favorites or were by a new author for me.

For my top fiction, one of the first books I read in 2016 was Kate Morton’s The Lake the-lake-houseHouse. I loved it and wonder why I still haven’t read more of her books. But I will.

Looking over the fiction books I read, I noticed I read several books which are the first in a mystery series. This makes these books even more special as it means there are more books by these authors that can I look forward to in 2017. (And I actually have already read the second in a few of these series). These books (in no certain order): What Angels Fear by C.S. Harris; The Anatomist’s Wife by Anna Lee Huber; Raven Black by Ann Cleeves; The Merchant’s House by Kate Ellis; and The Lewis Man by Peter May. I also read two by Tana French (the second and third in her series). I don’t think you can go wrong with her. Looking forward to reading the next in her series soon.what-angels-fear-240h

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I’m doing a reread of Robin Hobb’s Farseer series. I read both Assassin’s Apprentice and Royal Assassin in 2016. She is an amazing writer and though her books are fantasy, I feel can learn a lot about writing historical fiction from her writings. She is great at both setting and characters.

Other favorites in fiction: The Marriage of elephant-whisperer Opposites by Alice Hoffman; The Architect’s Apprentice by Elif Shafak; Plainsong by Kent Haruf; and Beneath a Golden Veil by Melanie Dobson.

Not counting the two by Tana French, that’s twelve. Since the Robin Hobb books are rereads, maybe I shouldn’t count those, but didn’t want to leave her out.

Obviously, I can easily mention more than sixteen, but I will round this out with my top four non-fiction: None Like Him by Jen Wilkin; An Editor’s Advice by Betty Lerner; The Elephant Whisperer by Lawrence Anthony; and A Woman of Contentment by Dee Brestin.

How about you? Any books that stood out for you in 2016? Have you set any reading forest for the treesgoals for 2017 yet?

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Those Dual Story-Lines

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Midnight RoseI recently finished reading Lucinda Riley’s The Midnight Rose, one of those dual timelines or two intersecting timelines, or (what I prefer) a dual story-line.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/879379687)

This got me to thinking about how many such books I have read lately and why these dual story-lines have become so popular, and can they really be considered historical fiction in the truest sense? And how different are these from the traditional plot/subplot?

For those of you who may be wondering what in the world is a dual story-line–it is two stories told in the same book or a story within a story. The stories usually take place in the same setting but with quite a few years (approximately a hundred seems rather popular) separating the two.

The Lake House by Kate Morton was one of the first books I read this year and I just loved it. This one moved back and forth between an unsolved mystery in Cornwall in the early 1900’s and then to a woman who was visiting her grandfather (in Cornwall) in 2003. This woman stumbled upon an abandoned house which had obviously been a rather magnificent house at one time, and decided to use her journalistic skills to solve the mystery of what had happened there almost a hundred years before. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1518062106?book_show_action=false

Then there was The Bookman’s Tale by Charlie Lovett. An antique bookseller from North Carolina moves to England and ends up in a familiar quest to prove Shakespeare’s authorship. This book’s dual timeline goes from Hay-on-Wye in 1995 to the time of Shakespeare and is complete with both book and art forgers. Another four star for me.

Two of my favorite authors who write the dual timeline quite well are Susan Meissner and Susanna Kearsley. My most recent reads from these two are: A Fall of Marigolds, (New York in Sept. 1911 and Sept. 2011) and A Desperate Fortune (London and Paris in 1732 and present day).

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These type of books are often listed as historical fiction, but I consider true historical fiction a work that is based on actual events and people. Both The Midnight Rose and The Lake House are totally fictional concerning their characters and events. I don’t enjoy them any less for that, and, of course, they are historical in the way they portray the ways people lived, the clothes they wore, the way they talked, used transportation, etc.

What do you think? What makes a book “historical fiction”? And, do you enjoy dual time-lines? Read any good ones lately?