The winter sea: Book recommendations for November
A bumper edition with some of the best book series, some really cool books based on famous paintings, and more. Happy reading!
Dear reader,
We have a bumper edition of the newsletter today, since I skipped our usual programming last month to share book recommendations on Palestine. This month, I’m going to share not 2, not 4, but all the remaining 6 book bingo prompt-based recommendations with you. So let’s jump right in!
Recommendation corner:
Have some of the bingo prompts got you scratching your head, wondering what to read or maybe even what it means? I got you covered! Every month, I will pick 2 bingo prompts and share a couple of recommendations with you. And just so you’re not here all day reading this, I’ll link you up to Goodreads so you can check out the book and add it to your Want-to-read shelf. Here we go!
The start of a series
Series require an investment of time: there are multiple books that form part of a universe, and if they’re not done well, they can be a bit disappointing. But when they are done well, immersing yourself in the universe, especially if you pick up a series that’s already finished, is just so satisfying! Here are a few of my favorites.
Found Things series by Paula Brackston: a beautiful blend of time travel, magic and romance
Conqueror series by Conn Iggulden: the epic story of Gengis Khan and his sons, set during the time of the Mongol conquest of the 12th and 13th centuries
Millennium series by Stieg Larsson: a beautifully complex, often dark series that follows investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist and tech whiz Lisbeth Salander.
A book based on a painting
Preferably a famous painting. Fictional accounts of the life and times of the painters who painted some of the most iconic — or even lesser known — paintings are often quite fascinating! Here are a few of my picks.
The Girl with the Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier: Set in 17th century Holland, this fictional story behind Vermeer’s famous painting is told from the perspective of 16-year-old Griet, who works as a servant in Vermeer’s house.
The Miracles of Prato by Laurie Albanese and Laura Morowitz: Step into Italy, in the era of the Medici, with this novel that traces the story of an illicit love affair between the renowned painter Fra Filippo Lippi and his muse, a beautiful convent novitiate.
The God of Spring by Arabella Edge: Set in Paris in the early 19th century, the novel brings to life the story of a naval disaster caused by criminal negligence and tinged with political scandal, which led to the painter Théodore Géricault’s most controversial and sensational work, the Raft of the Medusa.
A book set in Scotland
For this prompt, you can choose a book in any genre, set in any period of time, as long as it is set in Scotland! Here are some recommendations.
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon {also doubles up for the Start of a series prompt!}: A sweeping story — or rather series — of a combat nurse from 1945 who travels back in time to 1743, where she’s catapulted into the intrigues of lairds and spies that could threaten her life and shatter her heart.
The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley: Writer Carrie McClelland sets out to write the story of an invading Jacobite fleet of French and Scottish soldiers who nearly succeeded in landing the exiled James Stewart in Scotland to reclaim his crown in 1708. But she soon discovers that her novel is more fact than fiction...
The Sunday Philosophy Club by Alexander McCall Smith: When Isabel sees a young man plunge to his death from the upper circle of a concert hall in Edinburgh, she’s determined to find the truth behind his death, but the resulting moral labyrinth might have stymied even Kant!
A psychological thriller
There are SO MANY wonderful psychological thrillers, so I doubt you really need a list of recommendations for this prompt! Here are a few that I read and enjoyed this year: Verity by Colleen Hoover; The Blue Bar and The Blue Monsoon by Damyanti Biswas; A Flicker In The Dark by Stacy Willingham.
A book on time travel
There are a couple of recommendations here already that double up for this prompt: Outlander, and any of the books from the Found Things series. And if you haven’t read it, I also love The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. For something slightly different, i.e. not the usual time travel romance trope, and I really liked Kindred by Octavia Butler — it’s a very thought provoking and stark novel.
A book recommended by your favorite author
This is another fairly straight-forward prompt. Comb through interviews or podcasts with your favorite authors and pick a book that they’ve recommended!
Phew! that’s a nice long list of recommendations, which should help you close out the reading year very comfortably, I hope!
Keep your eyes peeled for next month’s newsletter, which will have all the details on the 2024 edition of the Book Bingo reading challenge, with a whole bunch of new prompts to enrich your reading experience!
Thank you for being here and for spending some time in my bookish world. Hit reply and tell me what you’ve been reading and enjoying this month!
Happy reading,
Shinjini