What Would You Recommend? - Biographies of the Royal Family

I never thought I'd be posting from this series again! I no longer work in a bookstore, so I'm no longer hunting for recommendations for customers.

However, the internet is still a very helpful resource. I'm asking for myself this time as I know that there are bound to be lots of books on the topic this time and I'm most definitely feeling a bit lazy (and buried in jobs over the next month).

I've mentioned in a couple of different posts now (Netflix and Crafting comes to mind) that I've been watching the Netflix series The Crown. I'm only a few episodes in and I'm completely hooked! Anyway, while I'm fairly certain that the broad strokes of the show are accurate - given the likely hood of transcripts for speeches, and newspaper recordings for a lot of the events being portrayed - I'm rather curious to know how much of the show might have been slanted to increase the drama levels. As a result, I'm interested in finding some good biographies of the Royal Family - especially Queen Elizabeth.

Until I started watching the show, I didn't realize how little of the time period I really know about. Now, of course, I want to learn a bit more. This always happens to me when I watch a historically-based movie or TV show.

So, what biographies would you recommend?

What Would You Recommend? - Survival Novels

This is a question I get asked all the time working in the bookstore: "What would you recommend for somebody who loved "_________"? (fill in the blank)" Usually I can come up with something, but that something can be a bit of a wild guess if it's not a book or genre I normally read. This is where you helpful people come in. If you have a suggestion, I'd love to hear it.

I've recently gotten hooked on watching Man Vs Wild, which has started me on wanting to re-read some of the old Children's/Teen classic books I know of  for survival in the wild stories - namely the Hatchet series by Gary Paulsen and My Side of the Mountain (and sequels).

Aside from those books, does anyone know of any other good novels on the subject? And they don't have to be childrens/teen books. Those are just the ones I already know of and have access to of sorts. A couple of nice solid novels would be good - or  a biography or two.

What would you recommend?

What Would You Recommend? - Alexander The Great

This is a question I get asked all the time working in the bookstore: "What would you recommend for somebody who loved "_________"? (fill in the blank)" Usually I can come up with something, but that something can be a bit of a wild guess if it's not a book or genre I normally read. This is where you helpful people come in. If you have a suggestion, I'd love to hear it.

Last night I watched the DVD Alexander, which I've had in my collection for at least a couple of years. While watching it, I found myself remembering the recent re-read of Stealing Fire by Jo Graham and some other novels on Alexander the Great that I've read (I think they were by Mary Renault, but I can't remember). At the same time, I was thinking of the various primary sources on the subject and trying to remember what they were, aside from Arrian.

In terms of history books, I know about the one by Robin Lane Fox, and the book by Michael Woods. I can't forget the new biography in stores now either. And then, there's Cartledges' books, which I've heard mixed things about.

For the history buffs,  what do you recommend? and for the fans of historical fiction, what are your recommendations? I'm asking this one for myself because I want to read up on the subject just a bit (and go beyond the entry in the Oxford Classical Dictionary).

What Would You Recommend? - Jack Whyte and Conn Iggulden

This is a question I get asked all the time working in the bookstore: "What would you recommend for somebody who loved "_________"? (fill in the blank)" Usually I can come up with something, but that something can be a bit of a wild guess if it's not a book or genre I normally read. This is where you helpful people come in. If you have a suggestion, I'd love to hear it.


A while back I was reading the Conn Iggulden books about Genghis Khan. Both Wolf of the Plains and Lords of the Bow were reviewed here last year. Based on those two books I've been recommending Jack Whyte's books, both The Skystone and sequels and the Templar trilogy (which begins with Knights of the Black and White).

I have not yet read Conn Iggulden's Rome books about Julius Caesar though. Even so, I think that the two authors are a good match in terms of writing style. What I don't know however, is who else to recommend. A lot of the time people have already read both authors.

What would you recommend?

What Would You Recommend? - Christmas Books

This is a question I get asked all the time working in the bookstore: "What would you recommend for somebody who loved "_________"? (fill in the blank)" Usually I can come up with something, but that something can be a bit of a wild guess if it's not a book or genre I normally read. This is where you helpful people come in. If you have a suggestion, I'd love to hear it.

In honour of the season, this week I'm asking (a few days late, but nonetheless) what your favourite Christmas books for kids are. I have my favourites, but I'm curious to see what others like too.

Some of the ones I've loved seeing in the store this year are: A Porcupine in a Pine Tree: A Canadian 12 Days Of Christmas by Helaine Becker, Letters From Father Christmas by J.R.R. Tolkien (I really do need to remember to reread this one before Christmas) and Dewey's Christmas At The Library by Viki Myron.

Both A Porcupine In A Pine Tree and Dewey's Christmas At The Library are meant for younger kids, but I think anyone would get a chuckle out of the antics in the first book. I know it had me (and half the rest of the staff at work) giggling the first time I read it.


Letters From Father Christmas is one of those books which is great for kids of all ages (including anyone who's only young at heart). The antics of the goblins, Polar Bear etc are amusing, and Tolkien's illustrations for the letters are great.

So, what are your suggestions?

What Would You Recommend? - Kate Morton

This is a question I get asked all the time working in the bookstore: "What would you recommend for somebody who loved "_________"? (fill in the blank)" Usually I can come up with something, but that something can be a bit of a wild guess if it's not a book or genre I normally read. This is where you helpful people come in. If you have a suggestion, I'd love to hear it.

Kate Morton's two previous books The House At Riverton and The Forgotten Garden have both been incredible best-sellers where I work, and have gotten a lot of readers talking. Now, her new book Distant Hours is looking like it's going to follow the trend. To be honest, I haven't read any of them, though I'm thinking I should give at least The Forgotten Garden a try. Both the descriptions and the reviews make the book look quite intriguing.

I'm getting quite a few people saying that they really liked one or more of the above books, and I'm not sure what else to recommend to them. Perhaps something like Sarah's Key? Suggestions will be gladly taken. What would you recommend? I'm sure that at least one reader of this post has read one or more of these books.

What Would You Recommend? - Books on Writing

This is a question I get asked all the time working in the bookstore: "What would you recommend for somebody who loved "_________"? (fill in the blank)" Usually I can come up with something, but that something can be a bit of a wild guess if it's not a book or genre I normally read. This is where you helpful people come in. If you have a suggestion, I'd love to hear it.

With NaNoWriMo going on right now (and going half-decently too - I've managed to keep on word count for the last four days), I thought it would be the perfect time to ask what your favourite books on writing are? For me, there are a couple that are tempting me, particularly The Guide To Writing Science Fiction And Fantasy by  Philip Athens and R. A. Salvatore.

The other books I really like are: Now Write! Fiction Writing Exercises From Today's Best Writers and Teachers by Sherry Ellis and Creating Character Emotions by Ann Hood. Especially the second one. The book gives examples of bad writing and good writing as well as explaining why they are good and bad for each emotion.

So, what are your recommendations on the subject?

What Would You Recommend? - Magic Tree House

This is a question I get asked all the time working in the bookstore: "What would you recommend for somebody who loved "_________"? (fill in the blank)" Usually I can come up with something, but that something can be a bit of a wild guess if it's not a book or genre I normally read. This is where you helpful people come in. If you have a suggestion, I'd love to hear it.

I know it's a couple of weeks late, but things have been hectic in my life. This week, I'm asking a question I've been asked about three times in the last month or so. Everyone seems to think the Magic Treehouse series for younger readers is coming to an end, and I keep getting asked what else their kids will like to read. I have to admit that I really don't know to be honest. I do know that the books have an interesting mix of history and fantasy, but I can't think of any other books that have the same.

So, what would you recommend?

What Would You Recommend? - Fiction Set In India

This is a question I get asked all the time working in the bookstore: "What would you recommend for somebody who loved "_________"? (fill in the blank)" Usually I can come up with something, but that something can be a bit of a wild guess if it's not a book or genre I normally read. This is where you helpful people come in. If you have a suggestion, I'd love to hear it.

This week I'm asking about an area where I'm sadly out of date. When it comes to stories set in India, the ones I've read are never in stores anymore: Zemindar by Valerie Fitzgerald, and M. M. Kaye's two famous books: The Shadow of the Moon and The Far Pavilions.

A couple of people have recommended The Twentieth Wife by Indu Sundaresan and sequels to me, and I just bought it the other day, though I haven't had a chance to read it yet, and of course, there's Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts, but aside from that and The Forbidden Daughter, I have no idea of any other books in terms of fiction.

For non-fiction (and even for those who are looking for fiction) I tend to recommend Margaret Macmillan's Women of the Raj, and the books of William Dalrymple.

What else is there for me to either read or recommend, or preferably both?

What Would You Recommend? - Knitting & Crochet Books

This is a question I get asked all the time working in the bookstore: "What would you recommend for somebody who loved "_________"? (fill in the blank)" Usually I can come up with something, but that something can be a bit of a wild guess if it's not a book or genre I normally read. This is where you helpful people come in. If you have a suggestion, I'd love to hear it.

I'm back with the spinning wheel and drop spindle quite a bit this week (I'm usually inspired about this time of year because the spinners guild is at the local fair), and I was figuring that it's time for me to really learn to knit. I can. Sort of. Some of my friends say I've managed to invent my own stitch. But, that's not helpful for doing anything other than squares and scarves. I'm also rather curious to try out crochet - thinking it might work better for some of the stuff I'm spinning now - namely a nice merino/silk combination which is quite fine. But I don't think I have enough of the roving left to spin enough for a proper two ply yarn.

I've had luck with the Teach Yourself Visually series before - namely the one on Handspinning, so I'm rather tempted by that book for Crochet, and someone else raved about their book on knitting. Readers are often also crafters I've found, so I'm sure some of you out there have some good suggestions on these two topics. Personally, I'm looking for books that have clear descriptions (and pictures would be nice too,) of the basic stitches and the like. But, your favorite books on the subjects would be great as well. Even if it's not something I'm skilled enough for yet, I can either pass the recommendations on, or keep them in mind for later.

So, what would you recommend about knitting and crochet?

What Would You Recommend? - Number One Ladies Detective Agency

This is a question I get asked all the time working in the bookstore: "What would you recommend for somebody who loved "_________"? (fill in the blank)" Usually I can come up with something, but that something can be a bit of a wild guess if it's not a book or genre I normally read. This is where you helpful people come in. If you have a suggestion, I'd love to hear it.

A lot of people, especially older women really like Alexander McCall Smith's Number One Ladies Detective Agency series. I've heard good things about the T.V. series version too, although the DVD's are fairly expensive. But, once they've caught up to the latest book in the series, in this case, The Double Comfort Safari Club, what should I send them on to while they wait for the next book? Corduroy Mansions, his latest book? It's weird I know, but I've found that quite a number of people who love the Detective Agency books don't especially care for the other series of his. I have to admit that the titles are definitely clever.

Also, I've heard from a lot of people that they like his books, but they don't like mysteries in general, which cuts out a lot of what I'd suggest to them. Are there other good books/series that are set in Africa that readers of Alexander McCall Smith might like?

So, what would you recommend?

What Would You Recommend? - Historical Mysteries

This is a question I get asked all the time working in the bookstore: "What would you recommend for somebody who loved "_________"? (fill in the blank)" Usually I can come up with something, but that something can be a bit of a wild guess if it's not a book or genre I normally read. This is where you helpful people come in. If you have a suggestion, I'd love to hear it.

Historical mysteries are an interesting subcategory, and one I got asked about last week. I have to admit that I know of a couple, but they're really only the best known ones, and I haven't read any of them: Peter Tremayne's series, the Cadfael books by Ellis Peters and the books by Sharon Kay Penman. These ones are all placed in medieval settings. There's only one Roman set one that I know of: the series by Lindsey Davis.

The Cadfael series of books is perhaps the most well known, having been made into a T.V. series that, if my memory's not playing tricks, starred Derek Jacobi. In terms of the other books and authors I've listed here, I've seen some comments about the Sharon Kay Penman books that say her regular historical fiction is better, but I really can't say for myself. I've not seen anything for the other two authors I've mentioned.

Does anyone know of any other mysteries set in various historical settings? And, for those of you that read them, which ones are your favorites? Which ones are historically accurate is another good question too. One that I'd find particularly key.

So, what would you recommend?

What Would You Recommend? - Roman Era Historical Fiction

This is a question I get asked all the time working in the bookstore: "What would you recommend for somebody who loved "_________"? (fill in the blank)" Usually I can come up with something, but that something can be a bit of a wild guess if it's not a book or genre I normally read. This is where you helpful people come in. If you have a suggestion, I'd love to hear it.

This week I'm asking about an area in which I've rather fallen behind lately: Historical fiction set in the Roman era. Recently I've been seeing quite a few new-to-me titles and authors. I've read and enjoyed Taylor Caldwell's A Pillar of Iron about the life of Cicero, some of Colleen McCulloch's books, namely The First Man In Rome and all of the Skystone series by Jack Whyte.

But, I know there are a lot of others out there as well: Conn Iggulden has a series of books set in Rome as well as his Mongolian books. Simon Scarrow has a couple as well, and I've seen others on the shelf too:  Ben Kane and some other authors whose names have slipped my mind for the moment, though I could probably walk right up to the shelves at work and find them that way.

Are there any I've missed here, and which are your favorites? Suggestions are always welcome, both for me to pass on to customers, and for my own reading enjoyment.

What Would You Recommend? - Think Of A Number

This is a question I get asked all the time working in the bookstore: "What would you recommend for somebody who loved "_________"? (fill in the blank)" Usually I can come up with something, but that something can be a bit of a wild guess if it's not a book or genre I normally read. This is where you helpful people come in. If you have a suggestion, I'd love to hear it.

Think of a Number is just flying off the shelves these days. In my mind it's a combination of mystery and thriller, but I don't normally read either. To be honest, I was asked to read Think of a Number at work last week, and I'm still working my way through the book. I am quite enjoying it though.

What I need to know now though, is what people who liked this book might like now. I'm already getting quite a few people saying they've already read Think of a Number and they really liked it, when I recommend it. I'm guessing that there might be some suggestions out in the blogsphere given the comments on my last It's Monday! What Are You Reading? post. Apparently, the book has been doing the rounds of the blogs in recent weeks.

Given that this is John Verdon's first book, I can't exactly recommend any of his other books yet :), so what would you recommend in this case?

What Would You Recommend? - A Good Summer Read?

This is a question I get asked all the time working in the bookstore: "What would you recommend for somebody who loved "_________"? (fill in the blank)" Usually I can come up with something, but that something can be a bit of a wild guess if it's not a book or genre I normally read. This is where you helpful people come in. If you have a suggestion, I'd love to hear it.

I know, it's a general question, but I'm getting a lot of people in the store looking for what they're calling "beach reads". It's also a good question for the beginning of summer, which is finally here, hot sun and all. Generally, as far as I've seen, the people looking for this sort of book are also interested in it's portability, so mass market or trade paperbacks are their preferences, rather than harcovers.

Now, here's where the searches start to differ. Some people are looking for the longer books they've been meaning to read - now they'll have time for them. Others are looking for simple, mindless enjoyment. I'm still seeing a lot of the Girl With A Dragon Tattoo and is sequels in peoples hands. I can't help but wonder if it fits the first category more, or the second.

This time, the question I'm asking is really two questions. There's the "what books would you recommend?" which is what I'm asking every week, but there's also "what was your favorite summer read?".

What Would You Recommend? - Tudor Era Fiction

This is a question I get asked all the time working in the bookstore: "What would you recommend for somebody who loved "_________"? (fill in the blank)" Usually I can come up with something, but that something can be a bit of a wild guess if it's not a book or genre I normally read. This is where you helpful people come in. If you have a suggestion, I'd love to hear it.

I'm asking about a big subject this week: historical fiction surrounding the Tudors. There's the numerous books by Phillipa Gregory of course, but there are so many others as well: Alison Weir, who's noted for her non-fiction biographies has two books out with a third coming later this year. There's Barbara Kyle, who has several novels as well, and there are so many others that I can't remember them all, much less make a real start on reading them.

Phillipa Gregory has a mixed reputation, I've heard: some people really like her books, but I've heard others who don't. Ditto for Alison Weir, although I figure that she at least would have her facts correct. I haven't heard anything about any of the others though.

So, what have you heard about the various novels on the Tudors, and which ones would you recommend, not limited to the ones mentioned here?

What Would You Recommend? - Lisa See

This is a question I get asked all the time working in the bookstore: "What would you recommend for somebody who loved "_________"? (fill in the blank)" Usually I can come up with something, but that something can be a bit of a wild guess if it's not a book or genre I normally read. This is where you helpful people come in. If you have a suggestion, I'd love to hear it.

Lisa See's books are always very popular. Especially the titles Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and Shanghai Girls. I can usually recommend them to anyone who likes historical fiction or stories set in China. But, a lot of people have already read at least Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. Then I run into trouble suggesting books. Aside from Lisa See, the historical fiction I know of for Asia is all set in Japan, such as Memoirs of a Geisha.

So, what authors or titles would you suggest for those who liked Lisa See's novels?

What Would You Recommend? - Fiction set in Japan

This is a question I get asked all the time working in the bookstore: "What would you recommend for somebody who loved "_________"? (fill in the blank)" Usually I can come up with something, but that something can be a bit of a wild guess if it's not a book or genre I normally read. This is where you helpful people come in. If you have a suggestion, I'd love to hear it.

This week's request was inspired by watching The Last Samurai the other day and by the realization that I need to widen my reading horizons. Thanks to that movie I've been hunting down some non-fiction books on the period. Now, I'd like to find some good fiction set in historical Japan. I've read Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden and someone recommended James Clavell's novel Shogun, (that was a challenge to find! Sold out at five different stores) but I don't know of many other books aside from Leslie Downing's The Last Concubine for Japan, although there are quite a few that I've seen/read for historical China. Interestingly, the author of that last book has written some non-fiction books about Japan as well.

So, what would you recommend as good novels? Or, good non-fiction books on Japan's history?

What Would You Recommend? - Books For Teen Boys

 This is a question I get asked all the time working in the bookstore: "What would you recommend for somebody who loved "_________"? (fill in the blank)" Usually I can come up with something, but that something can be a bit of a wild guess if it's not a book or genre I normally read. This is where you helpful people come in. If you have a suggestion, I'd love to hear it.

I got asked earlier this week to recommend some good teen books for boys. Which gave me a bit of difficulty. While I know there are a fair number of good books and series for girls in that age range, such as the books by Tamora Pierce, I don't know the same thing for boys. What I ended up coming up with were the Cherub/Henderson Boys series by Robert Muchamore, Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, and the Maximum Ride series by James Patterson.

Given the size of the teen section in both the library and my local bookstore, those can't be the only good teen books for boys out there. On the other hand, I'm comfortable recommending them simply because they get asked for a lot. Surely there are some librarians or parents of teen boys out there who can make some more suggestions. So, What Would You Recommend?

What Would You Recommend? - Cookbooks

This is a question I get asked all the time working in the bookstore: "What would you recommend for somebody who loved "_________"? (fill in the blank)" Usually I can come up with something, but that something can be a bit of a wild guess if it's not a book or genre I normally read. This is where you helpful people come in. If you have a suggestion, I'd love to hear it.

This week I'm asking about cookbooks in honor of my new blog, Kitchen Misadventures. That's why I'm a day late on this. I had to get some content up there before I could link it, and I had some minor computer problems yesterday.

I regularly joke about cookbooks being an addiction, and about how it's so easy to be on the hunt for a new cookbook before you've even tried three recipes from the last one you bought. At least, that's what I find myself doing.

There's also so many of them, each with it's good points and too often with attractive photos designed to tempt. Not to mention food that just looks and sounds delicious. I tend to recommend Jamie Oliver and Mark Bittman, but there are so many other wonderful cooks that I have to ask, "What would you recommend?".