Vignette-style Historical Novels

Try these books if you're looking for:

• Vignette or non-linear style
• Historical stories
• Emphasis on relationships
• Non-sentimental stories

The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana
By Umberto Eco
F ECO
Yambo is an antiquarian bookseller who suffers a stroke and loses all his memories except for those about things that he has read and seen. He begins a process of going through a considerable collection of family papers, photographs, comic books, pop music, school books and record albums from his youth in an attempt to trigger his lost memories.

Broken For You
By Stephanie Kallos
F KALLOS
Margaret Hughes is an eccentric, elderly woman who lives alone in a large Seattle mansion. When she learns she has a malignant brain tumor, she refuses cancer treatment and takes in a boarder—a young woman named Wanda Schultz. Both women are deeply troubled by their past. The friendship which develops between these two women works to quiet the past and evinces hope for the future.

Suite Française
By Irène Némirovsky
F NEMIROVS
A compelling novel about the German occupation of France which was written during 1941-1942 from firsthand experience. The author's life and career were cut short after she and her husband were deported to Auschwitz. Beneath the larger story of invasion and occupation, Nérimovsky’s stories show how personal experiences and feelings pre-dating the war motivated either collaboration with or resistance to the Germans. She also demonstrates how and why French women fraternized with the German soldiers and the consequent feelings of resentment and humiliation.

Three Junes
By Julia Glass
F GLASS
An artful exploration of the relationships three main characters during three different Junes spread over ten years. First there is Scotsman Paul Mcleod, recently widowed, and on a group tour of the Greek Isles while he reminisces about his wife and raising his three sons. Second is Fenno Mcleod, one of Paul’s sons, who is a gay bookseller in New York City. Third comes Fern—an artist in New York City who met Paul years earlier during a tour of the Greek Isles. A story with unexpected twists and imbued with alternating episodes of joy and sadness.

Fall on Your Knees
By Ann-Marie MacDonald
F MACDONAL
This epic story of five generations of a family in the coal-mining communities of Nova Scotia features family history and the family secrets of four sisters and their father.

Spiritual Psychological Books

Try these books if you're looking for:

• Spiritual books
• Books that make you think

The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography
By Sidney Poitier
BIOGRAPHY POITIER
The acclaimed actor reveals the depth, passion, and intellectual fervor that have driven his life and career, citing the elements of his childhood that gave him his sense of worth, family, and ethics and how these qualities are essential to spiritual development.

Yours, Jack: Spiritual Direction from C. S. Lewis
By C. S. Lewis
BIOGRAPHY LEWIS
Yours, Jack features the best inspirational readings and sage counsel culled from C. S. Lewis's letters, offering an accessible look at this great author's personal vision for the spiritual life.

The Screwtape Letters
By C. S. Lewis
F LEWIS
A classic satire on human weakness features Screwtape, an elderly devil, who writes a series of letters to Wormwood, his apprentice and nephew.

The Peacegiver: How Christ Offers to Heal our Hearts and Homes
By James L. Ferrell
F FERRELL
The Peacegiver is written as an extended parable. It tells the story of a man struggling, with the help of a loved one, to come unto Christ. "My peace I give unto you," the Savior declared. The Peacegiver explores in a deeply personal way what we must do to receive the peace he stands willing to give.

The Soul’s Religion
By Thomas Moore
291.44 MOO
Spirituality should never be used as an escape route, according to Thomas Moore's Soul's Religion. Rather, it should be the catalyst that helps us face our everyday failures, angst, and emotional entanglements. This has always been Moore's anthem: that spirituality rests in the depths of experience, in the ordeals and challenges that initiate us into a stronger sense of life's meaning.

Teen Historical Fiction

Try these books if you're looking for:

• Teen books
• Historical fiction
• Female characters

Beware, Princess Elizabeth
By Carolyn Meyer
YA F MEYER
After the death of her father, King Henry VIII, in 1547, thirteen-year-old Elizabeth must endure the political intrigues and dangers of the reigns of her half-brother Edward and her half-sister Mary before finally becoming Queen of England eleven years later.

Daughter of Venice
By Donna Jo Napoli
YA F NAPOLI
Frustrated with the restrictions her gender imposes on her life, fourteen-year-old Donata, disguised as a boy, sneaks out of her noble family’s house to roam the streets of late sixteenth-century Venice and then must confront the repercussions of her actions.

The Striped Ships
By Eloise McGraw
YA F MCGRAW
Juliana, an eleven-year-old Saxon girl, loses her home and family when the Normans conquer England in 1066 and seeks to order her life by becoming involved in the creation of the Bayeux tapestry.

Matilda Bone
By Karen Cushman
YA F CUSHMAN
Fourteen-year-old Matilda, an apprentice bonesetter and practitioner of medicine in a village in medieval England, tries to reconcile the various aspects of her life, both spiritual and practical.

Dante’s Daughter
By Kimberly Heusten
YA F HEUSTEN
In fourteenth-century Italy, Antonia, the daughter of Dante Alighieri, longs for a stable family and home while developing her artistic talent and seeking a place for herself in a world with limited options for women.

Flygirl
By Sheri L. Smith
YA F SMITH
During World War II, a light-skinned African American girl "passes" for white in order to join the Women Airforce Service Pilots.

James Patterson read-alikes

Try these books if you're looking for:

• Action
• Thrillers
• Set in the U.S.
• James Patterson read-alikes
• Published in the last 10 years

Tell No One
By Harlen Coben
MYSTERY Coben
It's been eight years since Dr. David Beck's wife, Elizabeth, was murdered by a serial killer. When Beck receives a message containing a phrase only Elizabeth should know, he falls apart. Either someone is playing a sick joke, or his wife is still alive. After being warned to tell no one, Beck sets out in a desperate search which leads him toward a deadly secret.

The Murder Book
By Jonathan Kellerman
MYSTERY Kellerman
When Los Angeles psychologist and sleuth Alex Delaware becomes embroiled in a long-unsolved case of brutal murder, he finds his own life and that of his longtime friend, homicide detective Milo Sturgis, at stake. This book takes place in the middle of the Alex Delaware series, but enough background is given to make it a stand alone.

Relentless
By Dean Koontz
F Koontz
Unable to let go of a poor review of his latest best-seller, novelist Cubby Greenwich tracks down the reclusive critic, only to trigger a terrifying chain of events that reveal the critic's sociopathic tendencies.

13 Steps Down
By Ruth Rendell
MYSTERY Rendell
Elderly Gwendolyn Chawcer and her colorful group of friends become increasingly suspicious of her tenant, Michael "Mix" Cellini, an eccentric who idolizes serial killer Reggie Christie, as his odd behavior and obsessions take an ever darker turn. (This one is set in England, not the U.S.)

Fast-Paced Psychological Thrillers

Try these books if you're looking for:

• Thrillers
• Fast-paced books
• Dean Koontz read-alikes

The Vitals
By Greg Bear
SCIFI BEAR
When his life is threatened, scientist Hal Cousins suddenly finds himself caught in a deadly game of shocking revelations, murder, and betrayal due to his discovery of the key to immortality, which puts everyone on Earth at the mercy of one man's diabolical master plan.

In the Dark of the Night
By John Saul
F SAUL
The Brewster family's idyllic summer vacation at Phantom Lake turns to horror when their teenage son and his friends stumble upon a mysterious secret room in their rental home, a room that has a strange influence over the boys.

A Prisoner of Birth
By Jeffrey Archer
F ARCHER
A man framed for the murder of his best friend seeks revenge against the four men who put him in Belmarsh prison, the highest-security jail in the land, from where no inmate has ever escaped.

The Grid
By Philip Kerr
F KERR
During the grand opening of an ultra-modern, computer-controlled building in downtown Los Angeles, the architects discover to their horror that the computer has programmed itself to kill.

Fatal
By Michael Palmer
F PALMER
Dr. Matt Rutledge is convinced that the coal-mining company in his West Virginia hometown of Belinda is responsible for the gross skin abnormalities and dementia he's seen in some of Belinda's townfolk, but pathologist Nikki Solari isn't so sure. Things only begin to make sense when the doctors meet Ellen Kroft, who suspects a new supervaccine, soon to be approved for the public, is at fault.

Clean Romance Novels

Try these books if you're looking for:

• Romance
• Clean reads
  

Mr. Darcy’s Daughters
By Elizabeth Aston
F ASTON
While Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy are abroad, their five daughters stay with cousins in London where they find themselves involved in a variety of romantic entanglements.

Bishop’s Bride
By Elizabeth W. Watkins
ROMANCE WATKINS
A sweet, hilarious, and thoroughly enjoyable story of one man's faith and obedience, intertwined with a series of delightfully bizarre events that guide the right woman to him. Readers of all ages will love this rollicking, exciting novel.

Emeralds and Espionage
By Lynn Gardner
MYSTERY GARDNER
Romance, danger, suspense, murder, an explosion or two... it's all here, woven expertly into an action-packed romantic thriller you won't soon forget!

Wrong Number
By Rachelle J. Christensen
ROMANCE CHRISTEN
Aubree Stewart receives a mysterious phone call that places her life in danger as she becomes the unknown victim of a political racket that extends up into the highest ranks of government. Even Jason Edwards of the FBI is powerless to stop what is about to happen to her and her family – unless he is willing to risk his life.

How to Stuff a Wild Zucchini
By Heather Horrocks
ROMANCE HORROCKS
New York playwright Lori Scott feels like a failure when her producer boyfriend calls it quits on bother their relationship and her first play. On a dare, she throws a dart at a map and ends up moving to Brigham City, Utah, where she writes “The Garden Guru” column for the local paper and ends up falling in love with local firefighter John Wayne Walker.

Dark, Bleak Fantasy with Strong Characterization

Try these books if you're looking for:

• Fantasy
• Dark or bleak mood
• Strong Characterization
• 
  

The Briar King
By Gregory J. Keyes
SCIFI KEYES
Two millennia after humans were freed from the tyranny of slavery, the Briar King, a legendary portent of death, reawakens, and the fate of the kingdom lies in the hands of the king's woodsman, a rebellious girl, and a new-made knight. (Book 1 in the Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone series.)

A Game of Thrones
By George R.R. Martin
SCIFI MARTIN
The kingdom of the royal Stark family faces its ultimate challenge in the onset of a generation-long winter, the poisonous plots of the rival Lannisters, the emergence of the Neverborn demons, and the arrival of barbarian hordes. (Book 1 in the A Song of Ice and Fires series.)

Guardian of Honor
By Robin D. Owens
SCIFI OWENS
The Marshalls of Lladrana summon a savvy though average American lawyer from Earth to their realm, in hopes that she might save them from an impending monstrous evil. (Book 1 in the Summoning series.)

Fun, Easy Teen Books

Try these books if you're looking for:

• Teen books
• Published in the last 10 years

Graceling
By Kristin Cashore
YA FCASHORE
In a world where some people are born with extreme and often-feared skills called Graces, Katsa struggles for redemption from her own horrifying Grace, the Grace of killing, and teams up with another young fighter to save their land from a corrupt king.

I’d Tell You I Love, But Then I’d Have to Kill You
By Ally Carter
YA F CARTER
As a sophomore at a secret spy school and the daughter of a former CIA operative, Cammie is sheltered from "normal teenage life" until she meets a local boy while on a class surveillance mission. ** This is the first in the Gallagher Girls series.**

The Sweetheart of Prosper County
By Jill Alexander
YA F ALEXANDE
In a small East Texas town largely ruled by prejudices and bullies, fourteen-year-old Austin sets out to win a ride in the next parade and, in the process, grows in her understanding of friendship and helps her widowed mother through her mourning.

The Boyfriend List
By E. Lockhart
YA F LOCKHART
A Seattle fifteen-year-old explains some of the reasons for her recent panic attacks, including breaking up with her boyfriend, losing all her girlfriends, tensions between her performance-artist mother and her father, and more. ** This is the first in the Ruby Oliver series.**

The Goose Girl
By Shannon Hale
YA F HALE
On her way to marry a prince she's never met, Princess Anidori is betrayed by her guards and her lady-in-waiting and must become a goose girl to survive until she can reveal her true identity and reclaim the crown that is rightfully hers. ** This is the first in the Bayern series.**

Humorous Romantic Fantasy or SciFi

Try these books if you're looking for:

• Humor
• Romance
• Fantasy or Science Fiction
• Upbeat stories

The Eyre Affair
By Jasper Fforde
SCIFI FFORDE
In a world where one can literally get lost in literature, Thursday Next, a Special Operative in literary detection, tries to stop the world’s Third Most Wanted criminal from kidnapping characters, including Jane Eyre, from works of literature.

Going Postal
By Terry Pratchett
SCIFI PRATCHET
Sentenced to death for forgery and swindling, Moist von Lipwig accepts an offer of a pardon in exchange for revamping an ancient post office, but his efforts are thwarted by tons of undeliverable mail, an 18,000-year-old ghost postman, his shoe-wielding new girlfriend, and murderous characters who want the post office shut down.

Ella Enchanted
By Gail Carson Levine
By YA F LEVINE
In this novel based on the story of Cinderella, Ella struggles against the childhood curse that forces her to obey any order given to her.

Early American Historical Fiction

Try these books if you're looking for:

• U.S. setting
• Historical Fiction
• Strong Characterization

The Whiskey Rebels
By David Liss
F LISS
Hired by his onetime fiancee to find her missing husband, Ethan Saunders, a former spy for Washington during the Revolution, follows a trail that leads him to Alexander Hamilton and to rebellious whiskey-makers fiercely opposed to a tax on their products.

The Fifth of March
By Ann Rinadli
YA F RINALDI
Fourteen-year-old Rachel Marsh, an indentured servant in the Boston household of John and Abigail Adams, is caught up in the colonists' unrest that eventually escalates into the massacre of March 5, 1770.

Johnny Tremain
By Esther Forbes
YA F FORBES
Johnny Tremain, apprentice silversmith, takes on the cause of freedom as a message carrier for the Sons of Liberty in pre-Revolution Boston.

Boston Jane
By Jennifer Holm
YA F HOLM
Schooled in the lessons of etiquette for young ladies of 1854, Miss Jane Peck of Philadelphia finds little use for manners during her long sea voyage to the Pacific Northwest and while living among the American traders and Chinook Indians of Washington Territory.

The Witch of Blackbird Pond
By Elizabeth George Speare
YA F SPEARE
A young woman brought up in Barbados comes to live with her uncle in Connecticut, and finds their Puritan way of life difficult after her unconventional upbringing.

Adventurous Romances

Try these books if you're looking for:

• Adventure
• Romance
• Emphasis on plot

Keturah and the Lord Death
By Martine Leavitt
YA F Leavitt
All Keturah wants is to marry a kind peasant man, have a baby, and lead a simple peasant life. Instead, she becomes lost in the woods for days and upon encountering Lord Death makes a deal with him for her life. Keturah is given one more day to find her true love and if she does Lord Death will not take her. On her quest Keturah learns many new skills and inspires the townsfolk to make their small town better than it was before.

Daughter of the Forest
By Juliet Marillier
SCIFI Marillier
Sorah is spoiled, pampered, and protected by her six older brothers. When a sorceress turns her brothers into swans, it's up to Sorah to save them.

Book of a Thousand Days
By Shannon Hale
YA F Hale
Fifteen-year-old Dashti, sworn to obey her sixteen-year-old mistress, the Lady Saren, shares Saren's years of punishment locked in a tower, then brings her safely to the lands of her true love, where both must hide who they are as they work as kitchen maids.

Mr. Darcy’s Daughters
By Elizabeth Aston
F Aston
Picking up twenty years after Pride and Prejudice left off, Elizabeth and Darcy have gone to Constantinople, giving us an opportunity to get to know their five daughters, who have left Pemberley for a few months in London. While the eldest, Letitia, frets and the youngest, Alethea, practices her music, twins Georgina and Belle flirt and frolic their way through parties and balls and Camilla -- levelheaded and independent -- discovers what joys and sorrows the city has to offer an intelligent young woman.

Romantic Suspense Novels with International Settings

Try these books if you're looking for:

• Romance
• Suspense
• International Setting
• Mystery
  

Possession
By A.S. Byatt
F BYATT
"Literary critics make natural detectives," says Maud Bailey, heroine of a mystery where the clues lurk in university libraries, old letters, and dusty journals. Together with Roland Mitchell, a fellow academic and accidental sleuth, Maud discovers a love affair between two Victorian writers. At first, the discovery threatens only to alter the direction of their research, but as they unearth the truth about the long-forgotten romance, their involvement becomes increasingly urgent and personal

Rebecca
By Daphne Du Maurier
F DU MAURIER
A classic novel of romantic suspense finds the second Mrs. Maxim de Winter entering the home of her mysterious and enigmatic new husband and learning the story of the house's first mistress, to whom the sinister housekeeper is unnaturally devoted.

Ex-Libris
By Ross King
F KING
Hired to restore a once-magnificent library that had been ravaged during the English Civil War, London bookseller Isaac Inchbold leaves 1660s London to journey to a remote country estate, only to become embroiled in the search for a missing manuscript and a dark conspiracy of spies, smugglers, secret codes, and forgery.