Calling all bookish friends!
I'm writing this on Super Bowl Sunday night, sharing the sofa with my husband. He's quietly watching the action on TV while I pull this great big edition of The Bookbag together. Every once in awhile I'll glance over at the screen when there's lots of cheering going on or he mumbles a bit at the TV or a commercial appears.
But my real focus is you.
Because if it's mid-winter then we're reading more than ever. Historical fiction fits the bill. Settling into another time, another place suits this season where darkness comes early and we find ourselves more than ready to settle in with a hefty page-turner.
Coziness at its best, yes?
These four authors have become my go-to favorites. I'm quick to pick up anything they write. Many of their well-crafted storylines weave themselves together over great spans of time. Beautifully detailed and meticulously researched, these are generational sagas you just can't put down. They have proven to be fine burn-the-midnight-oil companions, their work worthy of your shelf space and fodder for interesting book club discussions.
I'm sharing 4 books, but I've read many more of their works. The title links invite you to visit their websites. Kindle links will give you the opportunity to get a free sample read. (I receive a small commission when you do your regular Amazon shopping after clicking the links ... at no extra cost to you. I so appreciate those of you who support my work.)
And I'm kinda jumping up and down a bit because 3 of these authors have brand new books hitting the shelves in the next few months.
I've tucked all kinds of goodies into the end of the post. You might find some hidden gems in there. And you always have easy access to all my book reviews any time - simply click on the bookbag tab at the top of the web page and you're good to go.
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Surviving Savannah
Patti Callahan Henry
From the author of Becoming Mrs. Lewis {remember our Book Club?} two women ask the question, 'how will we survive the surviving?'
Coming in June!
The Last Lifeboat
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Sally Cabot Gunning
The author muses, 'I can't tell you how excited I am about this novel. When I discovered a letter Martha Jefferson wrote to her father when she was fourteen, I knew I had to read more about her. I poured through her letters to her father and his to her and realized that she and I had embarked on a similar mission: to figure out her father. This now meant, of course, that my new mission was to figure out Martha. The relationships between father and daughter, between daughter and husband, between daughter and children, complicated by the reappearance of an old love who haunts her conscience kept me happily awake over many long nights.'
A Fall of Marigolds
Susan Meissner
Marigolds features a beautiful fragile scarf that unites the stories of two women in NYC - one in 1911, the other in 2011. From Ellis Island to the World Trade Center towers, these are powerful stories of tragedy and fire and bodies falling from buildings ... life permanently altered for women who've loved and lost, slowly making their way to the other side of grief.
Only the Beautiful
Lucy by the Sea: A Novel
Elizabeth Strout
The Power of Writing Things Down
Jean Wise
In Christian Publishing, 'Platform' Is Being Weighed & Found Wanting
Collin Huber
10 Ways to Start the Writing Process When You're Staring at a Blank Page
Ann Kroeker
Jane Mount
Philip Yancey
Sarah Young
Linda