My blog is about the books I'm reading, the independent bookstores I visit, the author and book events I attend, and any bookish related things I come across in the months and years to come!
I am a lover of historical fiction novels!! I'm hoping you are too!! If so, please feel free to peruse the list of 31 novels I've read and reviewed here on my blog over the years. I've really liked or loved each of the following books listed below novels. Each of the below books have been books I've rated with either a 4 star review or higher.
Have you read any of the historical fiction novels I've listed above? If so, please let me know what you thought of the novel(s) in the comment section below. Also, please, share some historical fiction favorites you've enjoyed reading over the years as well. I'm always on the lookout for my next great read!
I have read and reviewed four previous works written by Richard Matheson here on my book blog. I've enjoyed the four previous books I've read by Richard Matheson. I eagerly looked forward to reading more books written by Richard Matheson.
I decided on listening to the unabridged audio version of Earthbound by Richard Matheson and narrated by Bronson Pinchot as it had been on sale through Chirp Audiobooks website. Earthbound's plot/storyline sounded intriguing enough to warrant my interest, BUT I found Earthbound to be the BIGGEST FLOP ever!!
In hindsight, I wished I had DNF'd Earthbound after the first couple of chapters. However, I kept reading Earthbound because I'd enjoyed reading Richard Matheson's other books and figured that Earthbound had to get better. Earthbound did pick up and grow somewhat better the second half of the novel, but not enough to warrant a higher rating.
Earthbound is billed as an erotic, ghost story. The plot centers around a married couple taking a second honeymoon in an attempt to rejuvenate their failing marriage. Things fail fast from the very beginning in every way possible. The writing is so painfully, slow and boring. The storyline is repetitious in parts. I found the couple's interactions unrealistic... neither one of them speaks their mind or communicates very well with each other and the husband, David, is quick to anger over stupid stuff. The last half of Earthbound does pick up and grows a tad more interesting when the ghost begins to inhabit Ellen's (David's wife) body, but overall Earthbound is a major dud. Spare yourself!! Skip reading Earthbound.
Below is the publisher's summary for Earthbound, which I discovered on Amazon's website:
A ghost story from the celebrated author of Hell House and I Am Legend, featuring a succubus homewrecker preying upon a troubled marriage.
In 1982, before Matheson had fully achieved the cult-and-grandmaster status that he has today, Playboy Press published a version of his erotic ghost story that was so severely edited that Matheson took his name off the book and instead published it under the name Logan Swanson.
In this restored version of the original manuscript, David and Ellen Cooper’s twenty-one-year-old marriage is nearing the rocks, so they decide to leave Los Angeles for a honeymoon and go to Long Island. Soon after they arrive at their beach cottage, a strange woman, Marianna, appears to David, and he is immediately entranced.
Matheson adeptly explores David’s growing fear and guilt, which becomes intensified after he and Marianna make love in a secret room in the house. Although Marianna is portrayed as an “earthbound spirit” (a ghost who rejects the afterlife, appears real to all senses, believes she is alive, and through psychic attack, sucks life from the living) she’s really more or less a succubus, gussied up in Casper the friendly ghost clothing. With each graphically detailed sexual rendezvous, Marianna pushes David to deeper levels of obsession, loss of will and irrationality. The story reaches an even higher pitch as the evil ghost begins to threaten Ellen, injecting some excellent suspense into unabashed pathos and outright titillation.
I am giving Earthbound by Richard Matheson a rating of 1 star out of 5 stars.
Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. Top Ten Tuesday was originally created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
This was a tough list to comprise for me!! Do I pick audiobooks? Do I select nonfiction or nonfiction books? Do I chose from a specific genre? So many choices to choose from when considering which books to add to this week's Top Ten Tuesday post.
I chose to go with fiction novels and no specific genre chosen for the following list of books. I absolutely loved the following novels and wouldn't hesitate recommending them to others. All of these novels are well written and most of them provide thought provoking characters and content.
Click on the links to read my review of each novel.
Growing up in the 1970s and 1980s, I remember hearing quite a few of Linda Ronstadt's hits over the the years and enjoying them. Although I never saw Linda Ronstadt in concert, I always admired her voice and singing talent. I also thought it was amazing how she successfully crossed genres from folk, pop/rock, country, Latin music, and the American Storybook standards with such ease.
When I discovered Simple Dreams: A Musical Memoir by Linda Ronstadt, I added it to my reading wishlist. And, to my delight, I finally listened to the unabridged audio version of Simple Dreams: A Musical Memoir this month.
I enjoyed Simple Dreams: A Musical Memoir by Linda Ronstadt as it covers Ronstadt's childhood and early family life, how she ventured into the music industry, and the struggles to become a successful, music artist, and finally all of her successes as a singer.
Simple Dreams is truly 'A Musical Memoir' as there isn't much discussion about Ronstadt's romantic relationships and even less discussion about her children. In fact, Ronstadt only mentions her relationship with Jerry Brown in passing a few times and there isn't much written about their relationship to truly glean anything interesting about it. There's no discussion about any of her other romantic involvements either. In other words, Ronstadt has kept parts of her life very private/hidden.
You will, however, read quite a bit of information about Ronstadt's business relationships and friendships with those in the music industry. She does share some interesting tidbits about Jim Morrison, Rosemary Clooney, and plenty of others in Simple Dreams. So, Ronstadt does stick to her single focus of making her memoir solely about her musical career.
In 1967, 'Different Drum' was Linda Ronstadt's first major commercial success with her band, The Stone Poneys. Linda Ronstadt was just 21 years old at the time 'Different Drum' was released.
Below is the publisher's summary for Simple Dreams: A Musical Memoir by Linda Ronstadt I discovered on the Goodreads website:
In this memoir, iconic singer Linda Ronstadt weaves together a captivating story of her origins in Tucson, Arizona, and her rise to stardom in the Southern California music scene of the 1960s and ’70s.
Born into a musical family, Linda’s childhood was filled with everything from Hank Williams to Gilbert and Sullivan, Mexican folk music to jazz and opera. Her artistic curiosity blossomed early, and she and her siblings began performing their own music for anyone who would listen. Now, twelve Grammy Awards later, Ronstadt tells the story of her wide-ranging and utterly unique musical journey.
Ronstadt arrived in Los Angeles just as the folk-rock movement was beginning to bloom, setting the stage for the development of country-rock. After the dissolution of her first band, the Stone Poneys, Linda went out on her own and quickly found success. As part of the coterie of like-minded artists who played at the Troubadour club in West Hollywood, she helped define the musical style that dominated American music in the 1970s. One of her early back-up bands went on to become the Eagles, and Linda would become the most successful female artist of the decade. She has sold more than 100 million records, won numerous awards, and toured all over the world. Linda has collaborated with legends such as Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, Aaron Neville, J.D. Souther, Randy Newman, Neil Young, Bette Midler, and Frank Sinatra, as well as Homer Simpson and Kermit the Frog. By the time she retired in 2009, Ronstadt had spent four decades as one of the most popular singers in the world, becoming the first female artist in popular music to release four consecutive platinum albums.
In Simple Dreams, Ronstadt reveals the eclectic and fascinating journey that led to her long-lasting success. And she describes it all in a voice as beautiful as the one that sang “Heart Like a Wheel”—longing, graceful, and authentic.
I am giving Simple Dreams: A Musical Memoir by Linda Ronstadt a rating of 3 stars out of 5 stars.
Earlier this week, I listened to the unabridged audio version of 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff, which is nicely narrated by several narrators.
84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff is a book that's been on my reading wishlist for a while now. I am so happy I finally read this book as it's really lovely.
84, Charing Cross Road is written in an epistolary style, which only added to its charm. It's also a work of nonfiction. The letters are written between the author of 84, Charing Cross Road and a group of booksellers in England from 1949 through 1969. Helene Hanff and the group of booksellers in England form a friendship over the years, despite the fact they've never meant in person. I loved reading about their interactions and growing friendship. Plus, who can resist reading about books along the way?
84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff is also a super quick read!! Listening time is 1 hour, 56 minutes for this work of nonfiction. I was able to start and finish it in an afternoon.
This was my 13th read of 2025. I recommend it for all book lovers.
Below is the publisher's summary for 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff I found on Chirp's website:
A heartwarming love story about people who love books for readers who love books
This funny, poignant, classic love story unfolds through a series of letters between Helene Hanff, a freelance writer living in New York City, and a used-book dealer in London at 84, Charing Cross Road. Through the years, though never meeting and separated both geographically and culturally, they share a charming, sentimental friendship based on their common love for books. Discover the relationship that has touched the hearts of thousands of readers around the world, and was the basis for a film starring Anthony Hopkins and Anne Bancroft.
“Those who have read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, a novel comprised of only letters between the characters, will see how much that best-seller owes 84, Charing Cross Road.”—Medium.com
I am giving 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff a rating of 4 out of 5 stars.
I've had The Mermaids Singing by Lisa Carey for ages in my 'to be read' pile!! I actually listened to the abridged audio version of this novel, which was very well narrated by Jan Maxwell.
Listening time for The Mermaids Singing by Lisa Carey is 2 hours, 42 minutes. So, a very quick read indeed!
The Mermaids Singing is the author's debut novel. For a debut novel, I truly enjoyed this novel. I only wish that The Mermaids Singing was unabridged vs being the abridged audio version.
The novel is set in both Boston, Massachusetts and Ireland. The focus is on three generations of Irish-American women and their complicated relationship. I loved the writing, the storytelling, and the characters. I will definitely seek out another one of Lisa Carey's novels to read in the future.
The Mermaids Singing by Lisa Carey is my 14th read of 2025!!
The following is the publisher's summary for The Mermaids Singing by Lisa Carey I discovered on Chirp's website:
There is an island off the west coast of Ireland called Inis Muruch the Island of the Mermaids a world where myth is more powerful than truth, where the sea sings with the healing and haunting voices of women, and where death is never as strong as the redemptive power of family and love. It is here that Lisa Carey sets her lyrical and sensual first novel, weaving together the voices and lives of three generations of Irish-American women.
Years ago, Cliona strong, proud, and practical sailed for Boston, determined to one day come home. But when the time came to return to Inis Muruch, her daughter Grace fierce, beautiful, and brazenly sexual resented her mother’s isolated, unfamiliar world. Though entranced by the sea and its healing powers, Grace became desperate to escape the confines of the island, one day stealing away with her small daughter, Grainne.
Now Grainne, motherless at fifteen after Grace’s death from breast cancer is about to be taken back across the ocean by Cliona, repeating the journey her mother was forced to make years before. She goes to meet a father she has never known, her heart pulled between a life where she no longer belongs to a family she cannot remember. On the rocky shores of Inis Muruch, she waits for her father, and begins to discover her own sexual identity even as she struggles to understand the forces that have torn her family apart.
In her first novel, Lisa Carey has crafted voices so real and passionate that they resonate within the listener long after the last words are heard.
I am giving The Mermaids Singing by Lisa Carey a rating of 4 stars out of 5 stars.
I enjoy reading nonfiction books quite a bit. So, when I read the publisher's summary for Blood & Ivy by Paul Collins, I couldn't resist checking it out. I ended up listening to the unabridged audio version of Blood & Ivy by Paul Collins, which is narrated by Kevin Kenerly.
Although, Blood & Ivy by Paul Collins is very detailed in relaying the "delectable true-crime story of scandal and murder at America’s most celebrated university", I found it to be a bit dry in parts. So, dry in fact, that I found myself tuning out in parts and only half listening to the narrator at times. Also, Kevin Kenerly is a good narrator, but he could have slowed his pace down a tad for a smoother listen, which would allow the listener to absorbed more of the information easily.
Below is the publisher's summary for Blood & Ivy by Paul Collins discovered on Chirp's website:
A delectable true-crime story of scandal and murder at America’s most celebrated university.
On November 23, 1849, in the heart of Boston, one of the city’s richest men vanished. Dr. George Parkman, a Brahmin who owned much of Boston’s West End, was last seen that afternoon visiting his alma mater, Harvard Medical School. Police scoured city tenements and the harbor―some leads put Parkman at sea or in Manhattan―but a Harvard janitor held a much darker suspicion: that their ruthless benefactor had never even left the Medical School building. His shocking discovery engulfed America in one of its most infamous trials, The Commonwealth of Massachusetts vs. John White Webster, Harvard’s professor of chemistry. A baffling case of red herrings, grave robbing, and dismemberment, it became a landmark in the use of medical forensics. Rich in characters and atmosphere, Blood & Ivy explores the fatal entanglement of new science and old money in one of America’s greatest murder mysteries.
I am giving Blood & Ivy by Paul Collins a rating 3 stars out of 5 stars.
Yesterday afternoon, my husband and I decided to take a drive out to Concord, California just to find a few new to us Little Free Libraries.
Concord, California is approximately 30-35 minutes from our home via automobile.
We found four Little Free Libraries in Concord, California. All four of them were very close to one another, which was awesome!!
Three of the four LFLs were on the official LFL app. However, the fourth LFL was discovered randomly as we were driving by on our way to the first LFL.
As a side note, we did see a fifth LFL in the same area. We weren't able to visit this particular LFL because it was located behind a chain link fence and was part of a community vegetable garden. This LFL is not on the official LFL app either. And, well, I can see why if not everyone has access to it.
Have you found any Little Free Libraries recently?
