Wednesday, April 9, 2014

A to Z April - H: Historical Fiction





So yesterday I discussed a quick list of "all" of the genres of book that there are, or that I mainly read from or think about.  Today I am going to talk about one that is often my favorite, historical fiction.  While I wouldn't say that I read a lot of historical fiction titles, the ones that I do tend to be really good and make me want to learn even more about that time period or historical figure.  So today I will share 5 of my favorite historical fiction titles, in no particular order.


1.   

The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory is one that I probably only started because of the movie.  But the movie really got me interested and so I got the book and read it, and became even more intrigued with Henry VIII.  As always, the book was much better than the movie.

2. 

Prisoner of Night and Fog by Anne Blankman is a book that I just finished this past week and loved.  I won't say too much in this post, because you can read my review HERE.  But it is a book about Hitler and his "friends" told from a girl who was a favorite family friend from the time when Hitler was first working to take over before World War II. 

3. 

Playing with Matches by Lee Strauss is also a book I read lately that was very good.  Like the last one I talked about, it took the German history of WW II and told it from the German point of view, as opposed to what we usually get from the Jewish survivors side.  Not that this is any better, I'm just saying it is a different and interesting way to read about that time period.  You can read my review of this one HERE

4. 

The Coffin Quilt by Ann Rinaldi is a recent favorite of mine.  While the Holocaust has fascinated me probably since I first read The Diary of Anne Frank, I have recently become fascinated by the Hatfield and McCoys Feud, thanks to the History Channel's recent movie.   You can read my review of this title HERE

5.  

The Help by Kathryn Stockett is one that I also am a huge fan of.  It is a time period that again I hadn't read much about, and only knew what little I feel I learned about it in school.  It is one that I decided to read before the movie came out, and fell in love with how great of a book it was.  And it is a movie that I feel they did a great job of staying close to the book.

Wow, as I finish this post I am just left thinking of all the ones that I wish I could list, because I guess there are a lot more historical fiction that I read than I thought.  What are your favorite historical fiction, or maybe do you have a period in history that you are fascinated with learning as much about as you can?