Historical Fictionistas discussion

Oh poo, I completely forgot about this until right this moment. Whoopsie!! :P

So, please nominate your choice for the HF book you'd like to read in July/August. You can nominate up to 2 books.

Remember to use the add book/author option to link to the book, and make sure to list the author as well. Also, please include a short explanation of why you're nominating the book.

Thanks!

Nominations will end on Sunday June 27th, and we'll vote until June 30th. :)

Already? I barely started I,Claudius.

Are we doing the non-HF option this time around?

No, not this time. I figured that we would do one every other month, maybe... Unless people want to do one every month, but I don't want to get too far away from HF even if we are a free and easy kind of group. :P

So, people if you want to do an open-genre read every month, say so here and go ahead and list a nomination for it. If you nominate an Open genre, you MUST nominate a HF book as well, and please limit total nominations to 2. :)

Well give it a try and see how it goes.

Thanks,

I'm happy with the every other thing. I'm more interested in reading the HF in this group anyways which is why I'm reading I, Claudius and not The Girl...

I want to nominate:

Nefertiti by Michelle Moran

I want to read this one because we all seemed to really like Cleopatra's Daughter so much and it was totally AMAZING to have Michelle participating in our discussion. I bet if we ask nicely she'll come back.

LOL When you come back - Add/book and author is down.

I guess I'll let it slide this once. :P

Okay there it is.

That would be pretty awesome. :D

I know right!

And I'll go back and link the title and author when it comes back up. I am a linking freak and think everybody should use it always!! >< (angry eyes)

I'm going to nominate one I have read and one I have not read.

The Venetian Mask: A Novel by Rosalind Laker I read this one just over a year ago and remember it fondly as a glittery historical romance. Venice circa 1775--The city and its inhabitants still cling to the legacy of an age of splendor and renewal a couple centuries after the Renaissance passed. The vibrant city comes to life on the page.

The Good German by Joseph Kanon. I have not read this one, but I really want to. I have not seen the movie and I will not until after I read the book. Apparently it's a fast-paced historical mystery/thriller rich with detail about post-WWII Berlin.

Hannah, that's awesome. I've wanted to see The Good German for a while, but I just never have. I didn't know it was a book. I really should start assuming that EVERY Hollywood movie was a book first. *shakes head*

Anyway... That's going straight on the TBR!

I win!! I didn't know it was a movie. It looks very good.

Felina wrote: "I win!! I didn't know it was a movie. It looks very good."

Pfft. You can't win for that!

Ummm I just did. Its written clearly in message 12.

Felina wrote: "Ummm I just did. Its written clearly in message 12."

=\

I'd like to nominate The Exile--An Outlander Graphic Novel. It's supposed to be Outlander from Jamie's viewpoint with some new scenes. I wish I could put in a link, but it's still not working for me. It's going to be released in July.

I think I've seen a few images from that one Shomeret, and Jamie was not at ALL how I pictured him! LOL

The Botticelli Secret by Marina Fiorato is my nomination for this month. It is getting really good reviews and I love the time period.

I'm with Gina, or rather, I'm with her if I can recommend a book I've already read. "The Botticelli Secret" is great fun, and has one of the most original heroines I've met in a while.

I nominate Inés of My Soul and Sacajawea.

I don't know how I feel about The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel. I'm not a fan of graphic novels and I don't think even Outlander can change that, especially after seeing what Jamie and Claire look like in the drawings. I'll stick to the images in my head, I fear the graphic novel would poison my reading of the actual books lol.

I love graphic novels, but it depends on the story being told. It seems that lately there's been a rush to graphic novelize everything... =\

I haven't even read Outlander yet! I know, that's blasphemy for someone who calls herself a historical fiction fan. I own it and will get around to reading it eventually, hopefully this autumn.The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel isn't coming out until September 28th anyway.

I'm already editing what I originally wrote! Too many good books. The Widow's War: A Novel and Ireland: A Novel. Okay, final answer Regis!

Okay, I'm just getting back into the swing here after a big move and work out of town... am I too late?
I nominate (if I'm not too late) [book:The Heretic Queen|2897258. I really enjoyed Cleopatra's Daughter, and it was a fast read!!

Here's what we have so far:

Nefertiti - Michelle Moran
The Venetian Mask: A Novel by Rosalind Laker
The Good German by Joseph Kanon
The Botticelli Secret by Marina Fiorato
Inés of My Soul by Isabel Allende
Sacajawea by Lee Waldo
The Widow's War: A Novel by Sally Gunning
Ireland: A Novel by Frank Delaney
The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran

Shomeret, I had to remove Exile since it isn't released until September, sorry! (I didn't even think to check until Hannah mentioned it.)

OK... So after giving this some thought, I'm going to nominate two of my favorite HF books:

1) Push Not the River by James Conroyd Martin - This is a beautiful historical romance set in turbulent revolutionary Poland. I loved all of the characters and loved the real history that was used, as this was based on the diary of a real Polish Countess.

2) The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield - This again is a beautiful novel about family and secrets, and to add to everything, this one is a book lover's book, and has the feel of a gothic mystery.

Ah, I almost nominated Push Not the River myself!

Get out of my head Nikki! :P LOL

It's a gorgeous book, isn't it??

How about The Bronze Horseman. It is on my challenge list and I have seen on posts here that a couple of others want to read it as well. It is set in Russia during WWII and is book 1 of a series of 3.

Goodreads rating - 4.48
A magnificent epic of love, war and Russia from the international bestselling author of TULLY and ROAD TO PARADISE Leningrad 1941: the white nights of summer illuminate a city of fallen grandeur whose palaces and avenues speak of a different age, when Leningrad was known as St Petersburg.

The Bronze Horseman is a wonderful book! I am nearly finished the book and am all geared up to read the second one in the series! I highly recommend it.

I nominate Year of Wonders again since it almost won last time.

Julie wrote: "I nominate Year of Wonders again since it almost won last time."

That sounds really good!

OK... I'm putting up the poll... :)

Is it too late to nominate a book?
I'd like to nominate;
Corsair by Tim Severin
It is something very different to what is listed so far.


Oh, wait. Bummer. I just went back to the start of this thread and saw that I am indeed too late to nominate. ok. Sorry guys. This nominating thing is new for me. Becky's "Putting up the Poll" post should have been a dead giveaway that the noms were closed. Maybe next time. :-)

LOL No problem Terri... There's always next month! :)

I read The Bronze Horseman and The American Boy and would highly recommend them both. I wasn't as crazy about The American Boy but good story. The Bronze Horseman is a favorite but I still have not read the others in the series after reading what some of you have said about them. I think it stands alone pretty well anyway. I'm glad to see The Thirteenth Talewon. I actually reserved that at the library but left for the weekend and didn't see that it was in until after the pickup date so I missed getting it! will have to get on the list again.