Read On…Historical Fiction

Hundreds of popular historical fiction titles are described and categorized according to their underlying appeal features, and under topics and themes you'll never find in the library catalog—women with true grit, greatest war stories, royalty rules, quick reads, humor, and many others. Use these unconventional, sometimes whimsical, reading lists to identify read-alikes rooted in shared appeal features or in the specific characteristics on which the lists are based. You can also post individual lists on your library Web site, put them in your newsletter, or use them for patron handouts to encourage circulation and reading. Historical fiction readers and fans looking for new reading material will enjoy browsing through this book and using it for checklists or reading plans. Readers' advisors who wish to better acquaint themselves with the genre and its newer publications, particularly in terms of appeal features, will find it useful as well A great new approach to one of today's hottest genres —historical fiction. Hooper categorizes and describes hundreds of popular historical fiction titles—not according to places or time periods or subgenres, but according to their underlying appeal features, and under topics and themes you'll never find in the library catalog—women with true grit, greatest war stories, the corridors of power, royalty rules, humor, nostalgic and elegiac historical fiction, quick reads, history's forgotten heroes, and many others. More than 400 of the best and most current historical fiction titles are covered, with some popular classics also included. For each title, there is bibliographic information and a lively plot summary designed to spark reader interest. These unconventional, sometimes whimsical, reading lists can be used to identify read-alikes rooted in shared appeal features or in the specific characteristics on which the lists are based. You can post specific lists on your library Web site, put them in your newsletter, or use them for patron handouts to encourage circulation and reading. Historical fiction readers and fans looking for new reading material will enjoy browsing through this book and using it for checklists, reading plans, or as a book club resource. Readers' advisors who wish to better acquaint themselves with the genre and its newer publications, particularly in terms of appeal features, will find it useful as well. In fact, libraries will want to order multiple copies—one for the readers' advisor and reference desk, and one for the circulating collection.

Brad Hooper is the Adult Books Editor at Booklist magazine, the review journal for public and school libraries published by the American Library Association. Historical fiction is a particular interest and specialty of his. Brad holds the MSLS degree and worked as a reference librarian in the History Department of Cleveland Public Library. In his capacity Adult Books Editor, he is a frequent panelist and speaker at library and publisher meetings and has given many book-review-writing workshops to public librarians across the country. He is the author of The Fiction of Ellen Gilchrist: An Appreciation and The Short Story Readers' Advisory: A Guide to the Best.