Hello! I’m doing my local library’s book challenge (50 books in 50 categories) and now that I’ve done all the categories I was excited about, I’m a little stuck. I’m pretty open-minded as a reader, but I prefer strong writing.
My favorite books this year have been Whidbey, Cave Mountain, Death by Astonishment, and This Must be the Place. If anyone has good suggestions for the following categories I’d greatly appreciate it!
-Book about the American Revolution
-Adaptation of a fairy tale or classic fairy tale
-A book based on a real person or historical event
-A cozy mystery
by No_Reputation_6442
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Cozy mystery: *Murder at Gulls Nest* by Jess Kidd
Fairy Tale: *Spinning Silver* (a take on Rumpelstiltskin)
Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber is a collection of retold fairy tales, including a wild version of Red Riding Hood. Also short. Super fun.
Based on real person: wolf hall by Hilary mantel
Adaptation on a fairy tale: Hemlock and Silver by T Kingfisher (it’s Snow White esque)
The Goose Girl by Sharon Shinn is a retelling of the goose girl. It’s YA and not terribly long. I really enjoy her writing style, it was traditionally published around 2008.
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine is a retelling of cinderella. It’s quite popular for good reason. The book is much better than the movie although the movie is good campy fun too If you can tolerate the differences.
Adaptation of a fairytale: The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
Barbara Neely has great cozy mysteries
Based on a real person: Ace, Marvel, Spy by Jenni L. Walsh
Based on a real event: The Children’s Blizzard by Melanie Benjamin
American Revolution – A Girl Called Samson by Amy Harmon (historical fiction based on real events about female who disguised herself to fight in the American Revolution)
Adaptation of Fairy Tale – Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier (retelling of Six Swans)
Book Based on Real Person or event – I Must Betray You (Communist Romania) OR Fountains of Silence (Madrid Spain under Francisco Franco’s dictatorship) by Ruta Sepetys.
Murder by memory by Olivia write was a pretty cozy mystery. Takes place on a space station which was fun.
Malka older has a trilogy of in The future duo solving crimes with pretty low impact on the feels.
Real Person: The Billion Dollar Spy
Revolution: Valiant Ambition
Here are some nonfiction history books that I’ve read recently & really enjoyed, they all are books based on a real person and/or historical event:
“Incident at Big Sky” by Sheriff Johnny France & Malcolm McConnell
It’s about the abduction of an Olympic athlete in Montana in 1984 & the subsequent 5 month manhunt for the suspects, a father & son duo who literally lived in the remote & rugged mountains.
“Left for Dead: Shipwreck, Tragedy, and Survival at the Edge of the World” by Eric Jay Dolin
It’s about a group of Americans in the Falkland Islands in 1812 that “rescued” some shipwrecked Britons but then 5 Americans were left on the islands by the British. It’s a kinda complicated story…
“Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune” by the Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell, Jr.
It’s about the life of W.A. Clark who struck it rich in mines in the 1880s and became a railroad baron in New York City. His wealth pretty much equaled (if not surpassed) Rockfeller’s. His daughter Huegette died in 2011 at the age of 104 and lived the last twenty years of her life in a NYC hospital despite having mansions in Connecticut, California, 3 NYC Park Avenue apartments and being in good health. When she died, her estate was valued at over $300 million.
“In the Enemy’s House: The Secret Saga of the FBI Agent and the Code Breaker Who Caught the Russian Spies” by Howard Blum
It’s primarily about the Rosenberg espionage case and about finding the spies that were giving Russia U.S. atomic secrets.
“Killers of the Flower Moon” by David Grann
It’s the book that the recent movie was based on and is about the murders of Native Americans in early 20th century Oklahoma and the birth of the F.B.I.
“Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland” by Patrick Radden Keefe
It’s about the IRA and the Irish Troubles.
“The Lost Son” by Bernard Kerik
He was a black belt in martial arts, served in the Army, worked private security in Saudi Arabia, ran the largest jail in New Jersey, was an NYPD officer, worked on an inter-agency anti-drug force, ran the NYC Department of Corrections and was commissioner of the NYPD at the time of the 9-11 attacks an d his mother was a prostitute that was murdered when he was about 4 years old.
Peter and the Starcatchers series by Dave Berry and Ridley Pearson (a different take on the Peter Pan story)
The Miss Fortune series by Jana DeLeon for cozy mystery
Adaptation: Godmother by Carolyn Turgeon
Real person: The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
Cozy mystery – anything by Diane Mott Davidson. And bonus, you get some good recipes to try!
Fairy Tale adaptation – Wicked
What are the 50 categories?
Hrm… Cozy Mystery… I mean, the Janet Evonovich books are the obvious go to. A couple with San Francisco Flavor are: The Spellman Files (which I love) & Vera Wong Unsolicited Advice for Murderers (which I like)
Retold Fairy Tales: Tam Lin by Pamela Dean, Briar Rose by Jane Yolen, Tanith Lee’s Red as Blood is extraordinary but a little hard to find, Jack of Kinrowan by de Lint is also excellent
+1 Wolf Hall although it’s a major undertaking, would also consider a couple by Gore Vidal: Burr & Lincoln
American Revolution… well, I enjoyed Johnny Tremain when I was in 5th grade (published in 1943 when we believed in America in a way we haven’t since)
King George: What was his problem? By Steve Sheinkin.