 | The Bone People: A Novel by Keri Hulme
Buy new: $10.20 / Used from: $0.01 My absolute favorite modern novel. This is a classic set in New Zealand. The writing is amazing - like poetry. The story runs the gamut of human emotions, at time uplifting, at times heartbreaking. And the characters will stay with you forever, especially Simon - a child like no other. Highly recommended.
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 | Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Buy new: $16.47 / Used from: $10.37 Nigeria in the 1960s. This is an amazing tale full of historical insights and characters you will come to love.
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 | The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Buy new: $10.20 / Used from: $1.00 Travel to Spain following WWII for another classic historical novel with a gripping plot and wonderfully drawn characters. A book for book lovers!
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 | The Course of Honor by Lindsey Davis
Buy used from: $6.00 Ancient Rome and two people who define love. An amazing exploration of the time, place and policitics through the eyes of a great heroine.
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 | Holy Fools: A Novel (P.S.) by Joanne Harris
Buy new: $11.16 / Used from: $0.14 17th Century France and an enchanting woman facing the challenges of her time. From the author of Chocolate.
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 | The Space Between Us: A Novel (P.S.) by Thrity Umrigar
Buy new: $10.17 / Used from: $6.64 Modern day Bombay and two women, one upper caste, one lower. But who is really the higher of them? A great story of friendship and betrayal and the banality of the class system.
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 | The Poisonwood Bible: A Novel (P.S.) by Barbara Kingsolver
Buy new: $10.17 / Used from: $3.99 1960s Belgian Congo. Missionary drags family to the Congo. Explore what happens in this classic epic novel.
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 | Crow Lake (Today Show Book Club #7) by Mary Lawson
Buy new: $11.20 / Used from: $0.50 Modern day Northern Ontario, Canada. A story about a family and how they cope with a sudden loss and how long it can take for redemption to come. A great family study.
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 | Loving Che: A Novel by Ana Menendez
Buy new: $10.20 / Used from: $1.59 Cuba during and after the revolution. A young woman learns of the secret affair her mother had with Che. A fascinating story and so beautifully written - like poetry in a dream.
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 | And She Was: A Novel by Cindy Dyson
Buy new: $11.86 / Used from: $0.93 The Elutian Islands during the 1980s. A wonderful evocation of a place and the history of that place with a fascinating heroine. Very highly recommended.
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 | Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks
Buy new: $10.20 / Used from: $2.98 The plague comes to a village outside 17th Century London.
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 | Brick Lane: A Novel by Monica Ali
Buy new: $10.20 / Used from: $0.01 The story of one woman's journey from an arranged marriage in Bangladesh to life as an immigrant in London.
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 | Bel Canto (P.S.) by Ann Patchett
Buy new: $11.16 / Used from: $1.60 Modern-day unnamed South American Country. A group of people are taken hostage by local rebels. When I first heard about this book I didn't want to read it. But I did and fell in love. An amazing tale.
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 | The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier
Buy new: $11.20 / Used from: $0.01 This unique story follows a transplanted American woman in southwestern France as she connects through dreams with her distant Huguenot ancestors.
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 | Girl in Hyacinth Blue by Susan Vreeland
Buy new: $10.40 / Used from: $0.01 Great companion book to Girl With a Pearl Earring.
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 | Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
Buy new: $11.20 / Used from: $0.01 Another winner from Tracy Chevalier tells the story of Dutch painter Vermeer and how he may have come to paint the famous picture.
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 | Water, Carry Me by Thomas Moran
Buy used from: $0.01 Ireland, the "Troubles" and love. A great read!
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 | The Distance Between Us by Masha Hamilton
Buy new: $12.11 / Used from: $1.89 Modern day Israel, the Palestinians, the battle for the land. This book shows you both sides,leaving you feeling sorry for both, and frustrated with both. Very insightful.
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 | Gracelin O'Malley by Ann Moore
Buy new: $11.16 / Used from: $2.00 Ireland of the famine and the troubles. Gracelin is a graceful, and feisty, heroine. A story of the devastation of Ireland and how one woman survived.
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 | Palace Walk (Cairo Trilogy) by Naguib Mahfouz
Buy new: $10.85 / Used from: $0.46 Epic from the Nobel prize winner. The story of a family set in Cairo following WWI. A total immersion into the time, place and family. A remarkable story.
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 | The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Buy new: $9.00 / Used from: $0.95 Afghanistan before and after the Taliban. An amazing story.
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 | All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
Buy new: $6.99 / Used from: $0.74 The battlefields of Germany during WWI and one of the best anti-war novels ever written. Completely timeless.
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 | Minaret: A Novel by Leila Aboulela
Buy new: $10.40 / Used from: $0.69 Modern-day Sudan and London. Fascinating read into another culture.
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 | Coastliners: A Novel by Joanne Harris
Buy new: $11.16 / Used from: $0.01 Another winner from the author of Chocolate. This one is set on an island off the coast of France.
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 | Rose by Martin Cruz Smith
Buy new: $7.99 / Used from: $0.01 Unlike any other book by the author, this one is set in rural 19th Century England and the coal mines that dot the landscape there. It's part historical novel, part mystery, part love story and totally irresistible.
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 | Chocolat by Joanne Harris
Buy new: $11.20 / Used from: $0.01 Joanne Harris' most famous novel and a great movie too. Set in France. Warning: you must read this book with a book of chocolates nearby!
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 | Charlotte Gray by Sebastian Faulks
Buy new: $11.20 / Used from: $0.01 An amazing story set in England among other places during WWII. Charlotte is a true heroine.
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 | A Small Death in Lisbon by Robert Wilson
Buy new: $7.99 / Used from: $0.01 Set is Lisbon, the story alternates between now and the days of WWII. A very, very intelligent story. Outstanding.
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 | The Wall - A Novel by John Hersey
Buy used from: $1.40 Of all the books written about the Jews during WWII, this is one of the finest from a Nobel prize winner. The story of a group of Jews forcibly moved into the Warshaw Ghetto. An unbelievable story, based on fact.
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| Smila's Sense of Snow by Peter Hoeg
Buy used from: $22.86 Modern-day Greenland. If you like exotic locales, this is one for you. A riverting story.
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 | Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress: A Novel by Dai Sijie
Buy new: $9.56 / Used from: $0.01 China of the 1960s and 70s. The communists "re-educate" the masses. A story for anyone who loves books, and freedom, and especially the freedom to choose what you will read.
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 | Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres
Buy new: $11.27 / Used from: $1.00 Greece during WWII. A wonderful historical novel and unforgettable love story.
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 | Trinity by Leon Uris
Buy new: $7.99 / Used from: $3.65 The penultimate story of Ireland's struggle for independence with a remarkable hero. Uris at his best.
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 | Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi
Buy new: $10.20 / Used from: $0.01 Germany during WWII told from the point of view of a female dwarf. One of the best books I've ever read. Gives you the point of view of average German citizens who really did oppose the Nazis.
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 | Atonement: A Novel by Ian McEwan
Buy new: $10.17 / Used from: $0.01 England during the 1930s and 40s. Remarkable story of love and betrayal.
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 | Eucalyptus: A Novel by Murray Bail
Buy new: $14.00 / Used from: $0.01 Set in New South Wales, Australia, a timeless fairy-tale of a very unique love story.
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 | A Student of Weather by Elizabeth Hay
Buy used from: $27.38 Set in Canada, the story of two sisters and the man they love.
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 | Tulip Fever by Deborah Moggach
Buy new: $11.20 / Used from: $0.01 17th Century Amsterdam. A mix of painters, the budding tulip trade and illicit love.
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 | The Painter by Will Davenport
Buy used from: $0.01 17th Century England and modern day England. Rembrandt and a modern day painter. Great history, great mystery. Fantastic read, couldn't put it down.
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 | The Birth of Venus: A Novel by Sarah Dunant
Buy new: $11.16 / Used from: $0.01 Florence in the 1500s. Great blend of art, religion, politics and love. Highly recommended.
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