I’ve loved books and reading since I was a little girl. Books have influenced every aspect of my life — from my hobbies, education, and my dreams, books have been a major source of joy in my life.

I wanted to share a few of my historical favorites below. For the most part these are fiction since I use reading as an escape and prefer to delve into imaginary worlds that take my cares away. Have you read any of these?

Pride & Prejudice – Jane Austen

Everyone adores the love story between Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy. Its an absolute classic, but what I love most about this book is the Bennet family. It’s a family of sisters and wacky parents – its basically my family if we lived in the Regency era. I relate perfectly to the sisterly relationships described – the fighting, the exasperation, but also the love and protection you feel over each other. The book is also the source of some of my favorite quotes one of them being  “Do not consider me now as an elegant female intending to plague you, but as a rational creature speaking the truth from her heart.”

Atonement – Ian McEwan

I saw the movie before I read the book so I knew the story was going to be tragic, but I think the book is even sadder. In the movie you don’t get insight into all the thoughts, hopes and dreams of Robbie and Cecilia. In the book you’re exposed to everything and it makes the ending all the more heartbreaking. It’s a little slow to get into, but once you get to the dinner party scene things pick up and I couldn’t put the book down.

The Historian – Elizabeth Kostova

This was my “classier” alternative to the Twilight series since I read it around the same time everyone became obsessed with vampires.  It’s a historical DaVinci Code-like thriller inspired by the life of Vlad the Impaler and the superstitions surrounding Count Dracula. It’s about an academic father/daughter pair who set out to prove Dracula’s existence by finding the secret location of his tomb.  Their journey takes them all around the great cities of Europe (Budapest, Istanbul, Amsterdam) and involves some amazing descriptions of scenery and European culture.  This is a great book to read on a cozy Fall night.

The Night Circus – Erin Morgenstern

I am waiting for this book to be turned into a movie by Tim Burton – how he hasn’t started working on this yet blows my mind. It’s a fairly tale of a magical wandering circus set in Victorian England. Morgenstern paints a picture of a dark but whimsical world that is mix between Harry Potter and Alice In Wonderland. It’s a perfect book if you need an escape into a world where magic exists.

In the Garden of Beasts – Erik Larson

I’m a big World War II buff and am fascinated by how a nation like Germany could bring something as terrible as the Nazi party to power. This book tells the true story of William Dodd and his family during his tenure as US ambassador to Germany during the rise of the Third Reich in pre-war Berlin. I’m a big fan of Erik Larson’s historical fiction/non-fiction – he weaves historical facts with embellished fictional elements to make history come alive. Dodd recognized early on that the Nazis were trouble and reading how he navigated the complex politics of the time is fascinating. Meanwhile, his young daughter was seduced by the glamour and excitement of Berlin’s social scene and was closely involved with high ranking Nazis. The book reads like a drama and is difficult to put down!

Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince – JK Rowling

I love the entire Harry Potter series but if I had to choose my favorite book from the saga – it would be the Half Blood Prince. Why? Because this  was when the series introduces Snape’s tragic, yet incredible secret deeds that lead to (SPOILER ALERT) Dumbledore’s death. I read this as a teenager and this book came out just before we left on a family road trip. Despite being 607 pages I read this book in 72 hours during the entire car drive. I usually get car sick, but somehow my body avoided this in its determination to absorb the story. I recall sobbing in the back of the car ( my family legit thought I was insane)  while reading the scene with Dumbledore’s death. That’s why I love this book – it gave me a visceral , emotional reaction that I still remember to this day. Its a testament to JK Rowling’s writing and character development.

No portion of this post is sponsored.  However, there are a few affiliate links included. There is no extra cost to you, but I do receive a small commission on anything you buy through my links.  Thank you for reading and supporting My Petite Joys!