Categories
Past Tense

Incredible Casts in Historical Fiction Audiobooks

Hi, historical fiction fans,

I didn’t get as much reading done this last week as I hoped, but I did manage to dive into a new physical book and audiobook while I was traveling over the weekend. Travel days are some of my best reading days since there’s not much else I can focus on except a good book and getting where I’m going. When do you have your best reading days?

Want to make your book club the best club? Sign up for our In the Club newsletter. In the Club will deliver recommendations for the best books to discuss in your book clubs. From buzzy new releases to brilliant throwbacks, the books highlighted in this newsletter will drive your book club discussions. We’ll also share some book club-friendly recipes and interesting bookish updates from all over. If you become a paid subscriber, you get even more recommendations, plus community features. In other words, we’ll keep you well-met, well-read, and well-fed. Sign up today!

Bookish Goods

Canvas tote bag featuring a teal colored vintage typewriter with a paper coming out of it with typed text that reads "no matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world."

Typewriter Tote Bag from Fly Paper Products on Etsy

I love a good tote bag, especially a bookish one. Just think how many books you could carry around in this typewriter tote bag! $20

New Releases

All the World Beside book cover

All the World Beside by Garrard Conley (March 26, 2024)

In Puritan New England, two men develop a bond that exists beyond words and beyond the norms of a religiously restrictive society in 18th-century America. Torn between their families, their dogmatic beliefs, and their feelings, they try to imagine a future beyond the confines of life as they know it.

Double Lives book cover

Double Lives by Mary Monroe (March 26, 2024)

Twin sisters with a penchant for getting up to trouble in Depression-era Lexington frequently switch places to fool boyfriends, bosses, family, and even racist police. But when Fiona wants a break from her passionless marriage, wild child Leona finds she doesn’t mind the security of having a husband and home. Meanwhile, Fiona is finally able to explore what it means to be independent and maybe even fall in love.

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

I love a good audiobook—and I’ll brook no arguments that they don’t count as “real reading” from pedants—especially when they feature compelling narrators and large casts of characters. Here are two I particularly recommend.

cover of Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange; teal blue with orange stars and black font

Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange

Books with multiple POVs are often very fun to listen to in audiobook format because they really distinguish between the voices and personalities of the characters. Wandering Stars follows generations of a Cheyenne family from the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864 to the Carlisle Indian Industrial School and beyond, charting the inheritance of systemic trauma.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society Book Cover

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

This is another book I was introduced to the first time in audio, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Some books are just particularly suited to being read aloud, and this is one of them. The epistolary format is perfect for audio, and the narrators really bring the eclectic cast of characters to life.

That’s it for now, folks! Stay subscribed for more stories of yesteryear.

If you want to talk books, historical or otherwise, you can find me @rachelsbrittain on various social media platforms.

Right now, I’m reading A Sweet Sting of Salt by Rose Sutherland. What about you?

Categories
Past Tense

Real Women in Historical Fiction

Hi, historical fiction fans,

Did you know March is Women’s History Month in the U.S.? It’s a great time to read fiction by and about women, whether that’s usual for you or something you want to be more intentional about in the future. I’ve got some great recommendations to get you started!

Want to make your book club the best club? Sign up for our In the Club newsletter. In the Club will deliver recommendations for the best books to discuss in your book clubs. From buzzy new releases to brilliant throwbacks, the books highlighted in this newsletter will drive your book club discussions. We’ll also share some book club-friendly recipes and interesting bookish updates from all over. If you become a paid subscriber, you get even more recommendations, plus community features. In other words, we’ll keep you well-met, well-read, and well-fed. Sign up today!

Bookish Goods

A set of seven wooden bookmarks set against an open book featuring various famous female authors with their portraits on top and quotes from them in pretty script below.

Famous Female Authors Bookmarks from Fly Paper Products on Etsy

Celebrate Women’s History Month with these bookmarks featuring famous female authors throughout history. $40

New Releases

A Home for friendless Women book cover

A Home for Friendless Women by Kelly E. Hill (March 19, 2024)

At the Home for Friendless Women in Victorian-era Louisville, Kentucky, three young women consider what it means to spend time here for very different reasons. Ruth, a college student, is simply biding her time before getting her life back after a sexual assault. Belle, a queer sex worker, came by choice for a safe place to stay before she can set out to find her lost lover. Minnie, as the daughter of the home’s founders, is meant to view the women living here as a cautionary tale. But is it really the women themselves that are the problem or is it the society that condemns them?

James book cover

James by Percival Everett (March 19, 2024)

In this reimagining of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Jim takes center stage. After overhearing that he’s going to be sold to another plantation away from his wife and daughter, Jim flees, hoping to buy time to figure out a plan. It’s then that he meets a young Huck Finn, who recently ran away from his abusive father. Together they take off down the Mississippi on a journey toward the Free States that you may think you’re familiar with—but you’ve never heard the tale from Jim’s perspective.

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

Let’s celebrate Women’s History Month with three great historical fiction reads based on the lives of real women.

Carolina Built Book Cover

Carolina Built by Kianna Alexander

Born on a plantation, Josephine N. Leary is determined to build a good life for herself and her family after emancipation. Balancing her duties as a wife, mother, daughter, and granddaughter is never easy, but Josephine teaches herself finance and makes smart investments, eventually becoming a North Carolina real estate magnate.

Resistance Women book cover

Resistance Women by Jennifer Chiaverini

When Mildred Fish marries a German economist, it seems a bright future awaits. Art and culture thrive in 1930s Berlin, but the rise of the Nazi Party soon changes everything. Mildred and her husband are determined to resist the new regime, and soon, Mildred begins gathering intelligence for her American contacts. The network of German women she brings together works for years to target Nazi officials at the highest levels. But when a radio signal exposes them, the consequences are deadly.

Sister Mother Warrior Book Cover

Sister Mother Warrior by Vanessa Riley

During the Haitian Revolution, two incredible women from very different backgrounds, one a kidnapped and enslaved warrior and the other a free woman of color, help change the course of history. On a plantation, Toya raised the boy who would one day become the revolutionary Jean-Jacques Dessalines as well as join the front lines of revolution herself. Despite her life of privilege and a marriage of convenience to a Frenchman, Marie-Claire would eventually become wife and empress alongside Dessalines. Together and apart, Toya and Marie-Claire play a pivotal role in ushering in a free Haiti.

That’s it for now, folks! Stay subscribed for more stories of yesteryear.

If you want to talk books, historical or otherwise, you can find me @rachelsbrittain on various social media platforms.

Right now, I’m reading The Woman With No Name by Audrey Blake. What about you?

Categories
Past Tense

What If History Didn’t Happen That Way?

Hi, historical fiction fans!

This week we’re talking about women acting as spies, saboteurs, and codebreakers in WWII, as well as great alternate history books. You know, the kind that makes you rethink everything about how history went down. I was inspired by reading You Dreamed of Empires this past weekend. Now, I can’t stop thinking about what it would’ve been like to actually tour Tenochtitlan.

Want to make your book club the best club? Sign up for our In the Club newsletter. In the Club will deliver recommendations for the best books to discuss in your book clubs. From buzzy new releases to brilliant throwbacks, the books highlighted in this newsletter will drive your book club discussions. We’ll also share some book club-friendly recipes and interesting bookish updates from all over. If you become a paid subscriber, you get even more recommendations, plus community features. In other words, we’ll keep you well-met, well-read, and well-fed. Sign up today!

Bookish Goods

A framed print of artwork featuring an illustration of Elizabeth Bennett alongside iconic moments from the book and movie such as her such as boiled potatoes, Darcy's hand, and the English countryside along with short descriptions of each.

Elizabeth Bennett Art Print from Carrington Story Art on Etsy

Can you ever have enough bookish art? I don’t think so! If you love Pride and Prejudice, this is definitely a print worth adding to your collection. $34

New Releases

The Woman With No Name book cover

The Woman with No Name by Audrey Blake (March 12, 2024)

After being faced with the devastation of war, a middle-aged woman joins up as Britain’s first female saboteur. She’s soon sent to France with a new name and a mission to cause chaos amongst the Nazis. With her skill for explosives, it doesn’t take long for her to become infamous. But will she be able to complete her mission without losing herself in the process?

Lady Codebreaker book cover

Lady Codebreaker by K.D. Alden

Based on a true story, Lady Codebreaker follows Grace Smith, a woman who used her codebreaking skills to take on Prohibition-era gangsters and WWII Nazis before helping to found the CIA. Through it all, she balances life as a wife, mother, and works as a pioneering member of the U.S. government’s cryptanalysis program.

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

I lost track of time this weekend getting lost in Álvaro Enrigue’s richly reimagined Tenochtitlan in You Dreamed of Empires, which made me want to look into even more great alternate history stories. These stories reimagine history by changing one death, one detail, or one moment that completely alters the course of events to come.

The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln book cover

The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln by Stephen L. Carter

What if Lincoln survived the assassination attempt made on his life in 1865? Now, two years later, he’s facing impeachment for overstepping his constitutional authority during and after the war. Abigail Canner is a young Black woman working for the law firm taking on Lincoln’s defense. She’s already lived a life that defies society’s norms. But when Lincoln’s lead counsel is found murdered just before they go to trial, Abigail has to dig even deeper into the lengths some people will go to keep the country divided.

Pages from the Textbook of Alternate History book cover

Pages from the Textbook of Alternate History by Phong Nguyen

This short story collection doesn’t just explore one alternate history; it explores dozens of them! Stories imagine a timeline in which Hitler died in WWI, Jesus was never crucified, and the atomic bomb was never dropped on Hiroshima.

That’s it for now, folks! Stay subscribed for more stories of yesteryear.

If you want to talk books, historical or otherwise, you can find me @rachelsbrittain on various social media platforms.

Right now, I’m reading Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett. What about you?

Categories
Past Tense

Women Endure Through History

Hi, historical fiction fans!

I got to enjoy some gorgeous weather this past weekend, and I took full advantage with a picnic with friends and lots of time outside. I’m definitely ready for sunnier spring weather to break me out of my winter blues. Spring has always been one of my favorite seasons—probably for that very reason. But while we wait for the first signs of spring, at least we have books to keep us company!

Want to make your book club the best club? Sign up for our In the Club newsletter. In the Club will deliver recommendations for the best books to discuss in your book clubs. From buzzy new releases to brilliant throwbacks, the books highlighted in this newsletter will drive your book club discussions. We’ll also share some book club-friendly recipes and interesting bookish updates from all over. If you become a paid subscriber, you get even more recommendations, plus community features. In other words, we’ll keep you well-met, well-read, and well-fed. Sign up today!

Bookish Goods

A framed print of four vintage book covers in shades of teal, mint, and green. The book covers are Anne of Green Gables, Jane Eyre, Pride and prejudice, and Little Women.

Vintage Book Cover Art from Lit Lover Merch

I’m not swooning over this gorgeous wall art collage of vintage book covers; you are. No, but seriously, I’m in love with how these Anne of Green Gables, Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, and Little Women book covers look together. $20

New Releases

Inside the Mirror book cover

Inside the Mirror by Parul Kapur (March 1, 2024)

Sisters in 1950s Bombay face the dual pressures of society and their father’s expectations as they work to satisfy his desires for them to become a doctor and a schoolteacher with their own artistic ambitions. When Jaya leaves home to pursue her art, her reputation as an unmarried woman is shattered, and her relationship with her sister is shaken. Inside the Mirror is a beautiful portrait of womanhood, family, and times of jarring political change.

Can't We Be Friends book cover

Can’t We Be Friends by Eliza Knight and Denny S. Bryce (March 5, 2024)

Can’t We Be Friends is the story of the enduring friendship between a rising star of Hollywood and a renowned singer held back only by society’s racist limitations. Marilyn Monroe and Ella Fitzgerald’s friendship came as a surprise to everyone but the two of them; both women were underestimated by all those around them and determined to succeed in spite of that. It’s a beautiful story of the divides friendship can cross and the determination and endurance of two incredible women.

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

When I noticed a theme of women enduring turbulent times and difficult conditions in the two new releases featured this week, I knew I wanted to highlight even more books featuring those themes. So, let’s continue to celebrate women enduring and overcoming throughout history this week!

Mademoiselle Revolution Book Cover

Mademoiselle Revolution by Zoe Sivak

After surviving—and escaping—the Haitian revolution, Sylvie de Rosiers flees to France with her brother. But despite their intentions, they haven’t managed to leave the revolution behind. A revolutionary fervor is growing in Paris, too, and soon Sylvie is caught up in it herself, torn between the radical ambitions of Robespierre and the equally compelling love and understanding of his mistress, Cornélie Duplay.

Woman of Light Book Cover

Woman of Light by Kali Fajardo-Anstine

Luz begins seeing visions of her ancestors, five generations of Chicano women forced from their Indigenous land in the American West, come to light. Now, she must fight to preserve their stories from disappearing in the ever-changing landscape of 1930s Denver.

That’s it for now, folks! Stay subscribed for more stories of yesteryear.

If you want to talk books, historical or otherwise, you can find me @rachelsbrittain on various social media platforms.

Right now, I’m reading You Dreamed of Empires by Álvaro Enrigue, translated by Natasha Wimmer. What about you?

Categories
Past Tense

Historical Fiction in Translation

Hi, historical fiction fans!

Today is a good day for reading, but what day isn’t really? I’ve been doing a lot of audiobook crocheting/knitting recently as I’ve finished up a baby blanket for my sister and various other projects. I crochet a lot like I read, which is to say I’m always juggling multiple projects and switching back and forth between them as the mood strikes. However and whatever you like to read, I hope this week is bringing you lots of good books and reading time. And just in case it’s not, I have a few recommendations I think you’ll enjoy.

2024 is the tenth year of the Read Harder Challenge! Join us as we make our way through 24 tasks meant to expand our reading horizons and diversify our TBRs. To get book recommendations for each task, sign up for the Read Harder newsletter. We’ll also keep you informed about other cool reading challenges, readathons, and more across the bookish internet. If you become a paid subscriber, you get even more recommendations plus community features, where you can connect with a community of passionate, like-minded readers in a cozy and supportive corner of the internet. Sign up today!

Bookish Goods

Framed watercolor painting of a woodland forest with a wooden signpost in the center featuring the names of literary locations like "Narnia" and "Middle Earth."

Literary Locations Signpost Painting from Fox and Wild

How lovely is this watercolor print featuring directions to your favorite literary locations like Narnia and Middle Earth? $25

New Releases

The American Daughters book cover

The American Daughters by Maurice Carlos Ruffin (February 27, 2024)

After being separated from her mother, a young enslaved girl meets a society of Black women working as spies to undermine the Confederates. Doing so helps her discover the strength to fight for herself and for freedom.

No Better Time book cover

No Better Time by Sheila Williams (February 27, 2024)

In this novel about the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, the only Black division of the Women’s Army Corps during WWII, a librarian joins the WAC hoping to help out with the war effort and find adventure overseas. What she and the other women find is both terrible and wonderful, as they face extreme discrimination but also untold freedoms abroad.

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

I love reading translated works of fiction. They open up a world of ideas beyond our own limited cultural context. Here are two that are on my TBR right now, and I think all you historical fiction fans might find interesting, too.

You Dreamed of Empires book cover

You Dreamed of Empires by Álvaro Enrigue, translated by Natasha Wimmer

Described as a “colonial revenge story,” You Dreamed of Empires reimagines the conquistadors’ arrival in Tenochtitlan. What if Cortés and his men hadn’t won and conquered Mexico? What if the Aztec Empire hadn’t fallen? What if history as we know it took a different turn?

A Woman of Pleasure book cover

A Woman of Pleasure by Kiyoko Murata, translated by Juliet Winters Carpenter

Based on the lives of sex workers in turn of the 20th century Meiji-era Japan, Murata paints a vivid portrait of the good and bad of life in Japan’s red-light district in Kumamoto. Ichi Aoi is only 15 when she’s sold to a brothel, eventually becoming the protégée of one of the highest-ranking courtesans. It’s here and from her mentor that she begins to understand the fundamental link between sex, power, and money.

That’s it for now, folks! Stay subscribed for more stories of yesteryear.

If you want to talk books, historical or otherwise, you can find me @rachelsbrittain on various social media platforms.

Right now, I’m reading Mister Magic by Kiersten White. What about you?

Categories
Past Tense

Short Stories, Surrealism, and Palestinian Historical Fiction

Hi, historical fiction fans,

I’ve been struggling through an upper respiratory infection for the past week, and I’d love to say I spent the time reading, but, uh, no. It was mostly sleeping, TV, and knitting as I tried to keep my mind off the searing pain in my throat. That said, if you’re in the market for a great cozy show to watch, I highly recommend The Great Pottery Throw Down. It’s The Great British Bake Off, but for pottery.

2024 is the tenth year of the Read Harder Challenge! Join us as we make our way through 24 tasks meant to expand our reading horizons and diversify our TBRs. To get book recommendations for each task, sign up for the Read Harder newsletter. We’ll also keep you informed about other cool reading challenges, readathons, and more across the bookish internet. If you become a paid subscriber, you get even more recommendations plus community features, where you can connect with a community of passionate, like-minded readers in a cozy and supportive corner of the internet. Sign up today!

Bookish Goods

A green stamp with two open-winged birds flying toward each other with within a circle with the words "ex libris" and a place to personalize your own name around the outside on the inside of a book

Personalized Ex Libris Stamp from Every Stamp

This gorgeous ex-libris stamp would look at home in any book cover and what a way to make your home library collection stand out. $25

New Releases

Ours book cover

Ours by Phillip B. Williams (February 20, 2024)

In the 1830s, a powerful conjurer destroys plantations across Arkansas and creates a magically concealed community north of St. Louis for all the people she’s helped free. Despite her best intentions, the magic and memories keeping this secret haven going begin to go awry, leaving them open to intrusions from outsiders with agendas of their own.

The Vanitas book cover

The Vanitas & Other Tales of Art and Obsession by Jake Kendall (February 22, 2024)

This collection of short stories follows art and artists through 300 years of history, exploring Cubism, Surrealism, and Baroque styles through his inventive writing. Meet Monet, Van Gogh, and Michelangelo through their art and the lives they changed because of it, for better or for worse.

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

I’ve been wanting to feature Palestinian historical fiction here in the newsletter for a while now, but was having a hard time finding the right titles until I stumbled across this excellent article on Lit Hub. I highly recommend checking it out for more great Palestinian books to read as well as this article on Palestinian fiction from Book Riot.

Salt Houses book cover

Salt Houses by Hala Alyan

Generations of a Palestinian family are uprooted following the Six-Day War of 1967, fleeing first to Kuwait and then Beruit, Paris, and Boston when Saddam Hussein’s invasion in the 1990s displaced them again. It’s a story of family, belonging, and the heartbreak of being unable to return to the place you call home.

Passage to the Plaza book cover

Passage to the Plaza by Sahar Khalifeh, translated by Sawad Hussain

Originally published during the 1987 Intifada, this book explores the experiences of women during conflict. When a house of ill repute suddenly becomes a sanctuary for those in need in Nablus, Palestine, after fighting breaks out, ideas about gender, respectability, and Palestinian identity are brought to the fore.

That’s it for now, folks! Stay subscribed for more stories of yesteryear.

If you want to talk books, historical or otherwise, you can find me @rachelsbrittain on Instagram, Goodreads, and Litsy.

Right now, I’m reading Facemaker by Lindsey Fitzharris. What about you?

Categories
Past Tense

Historical Romance for Valentine’s Day

Hi, historical fiction fans, and Happy Valentine’s Day!

I got to spend the week with friends at AWP, which I’ll admit involved more good food and hanging out than conferencing. I did pick up some literary magazines from the book fair, and I am particularly excited to read F(r)iction Arcana and the Rainbow Issue of Fairy Tale Review. Good reading and good times.

2024 is the tenth year of the Read Harder Challenge! Join us as we make our way through 24 tasks meant to expand our reading horizons and diversify our TBRs. To get book recommendations for each task, sign up for the Read Harder newsletter. We’ll also keep you informed about other cool reading challenges, readathons, and more across the bookish internet. If you become a paid subscriber, you get even more recommendations plus community features, where you can connect with a community of passionate, like-minded readers in a cozy and supportive corner of the internet. Sign up today!

Bookish Goods

Pink crew neck sweatshirt with a grid of six red cartoon hearts reading books in various cute poses.

Valentine’s Book Hearts Sweatshirt from Studio Esme Rose

Okay, this sweatshirt may sell itself as Valentine’s specific, but let’s be real—it would be perfect for any time of the year. $47

New Releases

Neighbors book cover

Neighbors and Other Stories by Diane Oliver (February 13, 2024)

In this posthumous short story collection, Diane Oliver brings stories of the Jim Crow era to life in 1950s and ’60s America. From haunting portraits of integration and interracial relationships to parents willing to do the unthinkable to protect their children, these stories are a rediscovered gem of American literature.

The Fox Wife book cover

The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo (February 13, 2024)

A fox woman seeking revenge against the man who murdered her daughter and a detective hunting down clues about a series of dead women trek across Manchuria and Japan in search of the answers they’re looking for. As their stories intersect, the complicated relationship between humans and fox spirits—and between justice and revenge—slowly comes to light.

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

Happy Valentine’s Day, historical fiction fans! Here are two historical romance novels to celebrate.

To Catch a Raven book cover

To Catch a Raven by Beverly Jenkins

The feelings in a fake marriage become all too real for a grifter tasked with spying on a former Confederate official who may have stolen the Declaration of Independence. Raven and Braxton each have their reasons for taking on this job, but what they’ll get out of it is more than they ever could’ve imagined.

Aphrodite and the Duke book cover

Aphrodite and the Duke by J.J. McAvoy

Aphrodite Du Bell may live up to the goddess of beauty she was named after, but that didn’t stop the man she loved from marrying another woman. The Duke of Everly has his own complicated reasons for rejecting Aphrodite, but now that he’s a widower free to marry again, will he be able to win back her trust? Or will the reasons they were torn apart in the first place come back to haunt them?

That’s it for now, folks! Stay subscribed for more stories of yesteryear.

If you want to talk books, historical or otherwise, you can find me @rachelsbrittain on Instagram, Goodreads, and Litsy.

Right now, I’m reading Uranians by Theodore McCombs. What about you?

Categories
Past Tense

Historical Fiction for Black History Month

Hi, historical fiction fans!

2024 is the tenth year of the Read Harder Challenge! Join us as we make our way through 24 tasks meant to expand our reading horizons and diversify our TBRs. To get book recommendations for each task, sign up for the Read Harder newsletter. We’ll also keep you informed about other cool reading challenges, readathons, and more across the bookish internet. If you become a paid subscriber, you get even more recommendations plus community features, where you can connect with a community of passionate, like-minded readers in a cozy and supportive corner of the internet. Sign up today!

Guess who went into a bookstore and came out with three unexpected books in their hands? That’s right; it was me! I’d say it was a surprise, but we all know that wouldn’t really be true. What kind of bookworm can leave a bookshop empty-handed? Not this one, at any rate. All three books I picked up were new-to-me short story collections I’m very eager to read: Hag: Forgotten Folktales Retold, Love After the End: An Anthology of Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer Speculative Fiction, and Uranians. Check them for yourself to determine if you, too, are unable to pass them up. Fair warning: the covers alone may get you.

Bookish Goods

Picture of two black bookmarks covered in small white text listing Black authors like Toni Morrison and Maya Angleou set on a black book against a marble background

Black Author Bookmark from Pounded Yam Pro

Celebrate your love of Black literature every month with these cool text-heavy bookmarks listing names of significant African American authors. $4

New Releases

A Sign of Her Own Book Cover

A Sign of Her Own by Sarah Marsh (February 6, 2024)

A Deaf student who studied under Alexander Graham Bell is torn between the loyalty she feels for her former teacher and confidant and betrayal when she discovers how his actions—and inventions—have harmed the Deaf community. The story is inspired by actual journal entries kept by Bell’s Deaf students.

The Uncharted Flight of Olivia West book cover

The Uncharted Flight of Olivia West by Sara Ackerman (February 6, 2024)

Inspired by real events, The Uncharted Flight of Olivia West tells the story of a woman who sets out to join the Dole Air Race. It’s a dangerous 2,400-mile crossing from the West Coast to Hawaii, and Livy is determined to be a part of it, even if it means joining in as a navigator and not a pilot.

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

February is Black History Month in the U.S., so let’s highlight some great historical fiction by and about Black Americans.

The Queen of Sugar Hill book cover

The Queen of Sugar Hill: A Novel of Hattie McDaniel by ReShonda Tate

Hattie McDaniel was the first Black person to ever win an Oscar, but it didn’t bring her the acclaim she hoped. Instead, she found herself adrift, viewed only for her role as Mammy by white people and shunned for the portrayal by the Black community. But Hattie’s story doesn’t end there. Her determination to pave a path for Black people in cinema and fight against housing discrimination while also helping with the war effort in the 1940s are the true heart of her life story.

Night Wherever We Go book cover

Night Wherever We Go by Tracey Rose Peyton

Rebellion doesn’t have to be obvious to be effective. When the owners of a Texas plantation decide to increase their profits by impregnating six enslaved women, the women meet together in the dark of night to plan a covert rebellion. It’s one that won’t save them from what’s to come but at least puts some of the power back in their own hands. If all goes well, no one will be the wiser. But if they’re found out, the consequences will be dire for all the women.

That’s it for now, folks! Stay subscribed for more stories of yesteryear.

If you want to talk books, historical or otherwise, you can find me @rachelsbrittain on Instagram, Goodreads, and Litsy.

Right now, I’m reading At Night All Blood is Black by David Diop. What about you?

Categories
Past Tense

It’s Always a Good Time to Support Your (Historical) Local Library

Hi, historical fiction!

I’m excited to have some fun bookish opportunities coming up in the next few weeks, including a local event with the author of Chain Gang All-Stars, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah. Life is busy, and I haven’t had the opportunity to go to many author events, but I hope this one will be the first of many more to come in 2024. After all, what’s better than being in community with other bookish folks?

2024 is the tenth year of the Read Harder Challenge! Join us as we make our way through 24 tasks meant to expand our reading horizons and diversify our TBRs. To get book recommendations for each task, sign up for the Read Harder newsletter. We’ll also keep you informed about other cool reading challenges, readathons, and more across the bookish internet. If you become a paid subscriber, you get even more recommendations plus community features, where you can connect with a community of passionate, like-minded readers in a cozy and supportive corner of the internet. Sign up today!

Bookish Goods

White canvas tote bag filled with fresh flowers with the saying "LOCAL LIBRARY LOVER" in black print across the front.

Local Library Lover Tote Bag from Glad Folk

I’m a tote bag person, for sure, and I can just imagine carrying library books around in this one. $20

New Releases

The Mayor of Maxwell Street book cover

The Mayor of Maxwell Street by Avery Cunningham (Jan. 30, 2024)

The debutante daughter of the wealthiest Black man in America is also an undercover journalist, and when her latest assignment leads her into the underworld of Prohibition-era Chicago, she must enlist the help of a Speakeasy owner who shows her a different side to life.

Hard by a Great Forest book cover

Hard by a Great Forest by Leo Vardiashvili (Jan. 30, 2024)

When Irakli returns to the former Soviet Republic of Georgia decades after he fled the violence there with his two sons, he disappears, leaving only a cryptic message behind: “I left a trail I can’t erase. Do not follow it.” But what else can Sandro and Saba do but try? It’s a journey that will lead them into the very heart of a conflict that has torn apart so many families, including their own.

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

I don’t know about you, but I love my local libraries. Most of the ebooks and audiobooks I read come from them, and there’s no better treat than a little (or long) trip to the library to see what’s new. So, let’s celebrate libraries this week with two historical fiction books about libraries and librarians.

The Lions of Fifth Avenue book cover

The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis

Set generations apart at the New York Public Library, a grandmother and granddaughter confront similar problems when rare and valuable books are stolen from the library right under their noses. Are the thefts connected? And what will the investigation into them uncover about this family who has so long called the New York Library home?

Book cover of The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

The personal librarian to J.P. Morgan, Belle da Costa Greene, has become one of the most important people in the literary and art communities of New York because of her position. But she’s also hiding a secret that could unravel her life: she’s the daughter of the first Black man to graduate from Harvard and is only passing as white. Belle has sacrificed so much to get where she is, but what else will she have to give up to protect herself, her family, and her position in a racist society?

That’s it for now, folks! Stay subscribed for more stories of yesteryear.

If you want to talk books, historical or otherwise, you can find me @rachelsbrittain on Instagram, Goodreads, and Litsy.

Right now, I’m reading The Water Outlaws by S.L Huang. What about you?

Categories
Past Tense

Stars of the Stage and Screen in Historical Fiction

Hi, historical fiction fans!

I hope you have a warm beverage and some free time because you’re not going to want to miss the historical fiction titles we’ve got for you this week. We’re talking historical stars of the stage and screen, from a Greek opera house to New York’s Great White Way. If you’ve ever secretly dreamed of stardom, you’ll love living vicariously through the stars of these historical fiction books.

2024 is the tenth year of the Read Harder Challenge! Join us as we make our way through 24 tasks meant to expand our reading horizons and diversify our TBRs. To get book recommendations for each task, sign up for the Read Harder newsletter. We’ll also keep you informed about other cool reading challenges, readathons, and more across the bookish internet. If you become a paid subscriber, you get even more recommendations plus community features, where you can connect with a community of passionate, like-minded readers in a cozy and supportive corner of the internet. Sign up today!

Bookish Goods

Book Lover Sweatshirt from Tindallclose

Keep cozy in this “book lover” sweatshirt that comes in a variety of comfort colors. $33

New Releases

Diva book cover

Diva by Daisy Goodwin (January 23, 2024)

Before he married one of the most famous women in the world, Jackie Kennedy, Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis introduced another woman to his world of glittering excess: an opera star named Maria Callas. Raised in Nazi-occupied Greece by a mother who exploited her beautiful voice, Maria learned early to protect herself from others. But she believed Aristotle Onassis saw through the star to who she really was. She was wrong.

Kinning book cover

Kinning by Nisi Shawl (January 23, 2024)

In this sequel to Nisi Shawl’s alternate history novel about a free state in colonial Congo, Everfair, peace has finally come. The Great War is over. A sister and brother spread empathy-generating fungus around the world from an aircanoe while the prince and princess of Everfair vie for the throne after the death of their father. Will the country remain a symbol of hope and freedom now that peace has come to its borders?

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

In Diva, you can explore the life of a star, but opera isn’t the only venue you can read about in historical fiction. These books feature stars of the stage and screen that will sweep you away with stories of both the glamour and harsh reality of life in the limelight.

A Tender Thing book cover

A Tender Thing by Emily Neuberger

A small-town girl with dreams of Broadway, Eleanor O’Hanlon is elated when she catches the attention of a famed composer putting together a new show. Now Eleanor is a leading lady. But “A Tender Thing” has a provocative storyline for 1950s America, featuring a white woman and a Black man falling in love. As the public gains wind of the show, tensions rise, and Eleanor is forced to confront the realities of life in the pre-Civil Rights Movement United States.

Did you hear about kitty karr Book Cover

Did You Hear About Kitty Karr? by Crystal Smith Paul

When movie star Kitty Karr dies and leaves her fortune to three young Black women, all starlets in their own right, questions abound. What was Kitty’s relationship with this family? And why should people who already have it all gain even more? Elise St. John has questions, too. But she loved Kitty like family, and uncovering the truth will be more complicated and painful than she ever could’ve imagined.

That’s it for now, folks! Stay subscribed for more stories of yesteryear.

If you want to talk books, historical or otherwise, you can find me @rachelsbrittain on Instagram, Goodreads, and Litsy.

Right now, I’m reading To Shape a Dragon’s Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose. What about you?