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Thursday, November 1, 2012

Thursday Threads: Favourite Historical Fiction as a holiday read


As I have just returned from a rather fabulous extended holiday I pondered the following question.

Q: If there was one historical fiction you could take with you on a holiday, what would it be and why?

Nanette -"I'd probably pick a big fat epic that I've never read--perhaps Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth, or Kathleen Winsor's Forever Amber."

Julie  - "Floating Brothel by Sian Rees which is about convict women transported to Botany Bay, or A Town like Alice by Neville Shute, set in the last years of the Second World War & features an Australian Soldier & a young English girl. Both of these are favourite re-reads!"

Kelly - "This is a hard question... If I couldn’t get something else, I would probably do some rereading. I always want to reread and am terrible at it because I am always distracted by shiny new things. A holiday is a good time to spend time with an old favourite."

Ana - "If you mean an absolute favourite book that would be hard because I have too many favourites. Maybe something by Elizabeth Chadwick, Sharon K. Penman or Catherine Delors as they write my favourite kind of HF."

Marg - "I really want a book that I can just get lost in. I too would probably a big, juicy book but it would be on my e-reader rather than a physical book. I would also take an actual book for take off and landing too!"



5 comments:

  1. I would pick the book, "Up From Corinth: Book 2 of Journey Into Darkness" by author J. Arthur Moore. This a fiction novel, which is part two of a four part series, that follows a boy's search for his father during the Civil War. http://www.upfromcorinth.com/ I loved reading this book!!!!

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  2. Robyn, thanks for the recommendation. I will have to seek out the 4 books. Will have a look at the link. What was special about the second book?

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    1. You're welcome, Julie. What I absolutely loved about the second installment is the boy's love and commitment to his father. Very powerful.

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  3. It depends a bit on the type of holiday. If you are lounging by the pool or on the beach then a long absorbing read would be appropriate but on a more active holiday maybe something which is easier to read in short bursts. I rather like something set in the area I'm visiting. It can work quite well, for example I recently went to the Bay of Naples and took with me a couple of Steven Saylor's Roman detective stories.

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    1. I agree a book set in the area of the holiday is good. Mine was in Australia, and the two I named are personal favourites.

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