Thanks again for all the wonderful book suggestions you left on my recent post where I was trying to remember the name of a book I had read many years ago in high school. If you missed that post, you’ll find it here: Trying to Remember the Name of a Book I Read Many Years Ago. I now have an extensive list of books I want to read this summer! Comments continue to come in on that post so check it out if you’re looking for a great read!
My friend, Teresa, whose backyard landscaping I shared this week for Metamorphosis Monday, was so impressed with all the book suggestions you left, she put them all into an Excel spreadsheet! I had been thinking of going through all the suggestions to make a list to share in an upcoming post, so I was thrilled when she emailed me over the list she had compiled! Thank you, Teresa!
Below, you’ll find the list Teresa put together. Books/Recommendations are listed in alphabetical order by the author’s name, except for two suggestions that I added to the end of the list, left in a comment after Teresa compiled her list this morning.
Note: At the end of the list, you’ll find four websites that were also mentioned in the comments as being great sites for finding books and book recommendations.
I tried to put this list into my “Recipe” plugin to see if I could make it printable but unfortunately, I couldn’t get that to work. Feel free to pin this post to Pinterest or bookmark it for future reference.
Thanks again for all your book suggestions! Can’t wait to read some of these this summer!
AWESOME BNOTP READER | AUTHOR | BOOK RECOMMENDED | |
1 | Lisa | Agnes Sligh Turnbull | The Nightingale |
2 | Katherine G | Amor Towles | A Gentleman in Moscow |
3 | Joy | Amor Towles | A Gentleman in Moscow |
4 | Barbara | Amy Harmon | What the Wind Knows |
5 | Tammy | Amy Vansant | |
6 | Pat | Ann B. Ross | Miss Julia series |
7 | Bonnie | Ann B. Ross | Miss Julia series |
8 | Jae | Ann B. Ross | Miss Julia series |
9 | Tammy | B.R. Snow | |
10 | Alison B. | Barbara Delinsky | |
11 | Liz | Benoite Groult | Salt on my Skin |
12 | Barbara R | Betty Smith | Joy in the Morning |
13 | Barbara R | Betty Smith | Tree Grows in Brooklyn |
14 | Linda P | Betty Smith | Joy in the Morning |
15 | Linda P | Betty Smith | Joy in the Morning |
16 | Susy H | Beverly Butler | Song of the Voyager |
17 | Tammy | CeeCee James | |
18 | Vicki Lay | Charles Martin | |
19 | Phyllisa | Debbie Macomber | Mrs. Miracle |
20 | Mary C. | Debbie Macomber | Cedar Cove Series |
21 | Deborah D. | Debbie Macomber | |
22 | Bobbi D | Debbie Macomber | Cedar Cove Series |
23 | Deborah D. | Debra Clopton | |
24 | Tammy | Dianne Harmon | |
25 | Karen | Dorothea Benton Frank | Books set in Low Country of SC |
26 | Mary | Dorothea Benton Frank | |
27 | Martha | Dorothea Benton Frank | |
28 | Alison B. | Dorothea Benton Frank | |
29 | Ann | Dorothy Emily Stevenson | Mrs. Tim series |
30 | Jae | Dorothy Gilman | Mrs. Pollifax books |
31 | Kansas K. | Elly Griffiths | The Crossing Places |
32 | Nita | Emily Richards | A Family of Strangers |
33 | Rebecca D | Erin Hildebrand | |
34 | Bernie | Fannie Flagg | Daisy Faye and the Miracle Man |
35 | Bonnie | Fannie Flagg | |
36 | Brenda B | Fannie Flagg | I Still Dream About You and Redbird Christmas |
37 | Bev | Felicity Hayes-McCoy | The Library at the Edge of the World |
38 | Nan O. | Frank Benton | |
39 | Joy | Gene Stratton-Porter | Girl of Limberlost |
40 | Beverly | Georgette Heyer | |
41 | Linda | Heather Webber | Midnight at the Blackbird Café |
42 | Kathy P | Helen Hanff | 84, Charing Crosse Road |
43 | Bonnie | Jan Karon | Mitford Series |
44 | Mary | Jan Karon | Mitford Series |
45 | Alice | Jan Karon | Mitford Series |
46 | Margie | Jan Karon | Mitford Series |
47 | Leah | Jan Karon | |
48 | Diane | Jana Deleon | Miss Fortune Books |
49 | Luanne J | Jean Webster | Daddy Long Legs |
50 | Jennifer R | Jean Webster | Daddy Long Legs |
51 | Barbara | Jenni Ogden | A drop in the Ocean |
52 | Karen E | Jenny Colgan | She writes about books lovers and Bakers in the UK |
53 | Deborah D. | Jessie Gussman | |
54 | Sandy | Joanne Fluke | Mysteries |
55 | Alison B. | Jude Deveraux | Knight in Shining Armor |
56 | Bobbi D | Jude Deveraux | |
57 | Chris | Julia Kelly | Last Garden of England |
58 | Judy H. C. | Karen Kingsbury | |
59 | Rebecca D | Karen White | |
60 | Tammy | Kathi Daley | |
61 | Hetty | Kathleen E. Woodiwiss | |
62 | Judy H. C. | Kristen Hannah | |
63 | Susan | Kristen Hannah | The Nightingale |
64 | Sandra | kristy Woodson Harvey | Under the Southern Sky |
65 | Barbara | Lauren Wolk | Echo Mountain |
66 | Barbara | Lauren Wolk | Beyond the Bright Sea |
67 | Jae | Lillian Jackson Braun | The Cat Who series |
68 | Deborah D. | Linda Leal Miller | |
69 | Toni | Lisa Wingate | |
70 | Deborah D. | Lori Wilde | |
71 | Barbara | Louise Penny | The Inspector Gamache |
72 | Tammy | Lucy Burdette | |
73 | Tammy | Maria Geraci | |
74 | Celaina | Marjorie Warby | The Singing of the Nightingale |
75 | Rebecca D. | Mary Alice Monroe | |
76 | Alison B. | Mary Alice Monroe | |
77 | Nan O. | Mary Alice Monroe | |
78 | Antoinette | Mary Alice Monroe | |
79 | Judy | Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows | The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society |
80 | Annette | Mary Balogh | |
81 | Alison B. | Mary Balogh | |
82 | Ann B | Mary Higgins Clark | |
83 | Bev | Mary Kay Andrews | Anything |
84 | Mary | Mary Kay Andrews | |
85 | Rebecca D. | Mary Kay Andrews | |
86 | Susan | Mary Kay Andrews | |
87 | Michelle P. | Mary Kay Andrews | Sea Breeze and The Fixer Upper |
88 | Joyce S. | Mary Roberts Rhinehart | Circular Staircase |
89 | Patty B. | Mary Stewart | Thornyhold |
90 | Karen E. | Maud Hart Lovelace | |
91 | Debbie | Maureen Lee | Pearl Street series |
92 | Jae | Mignon G. Eberhardt | |
93 | Melissa M. | Nan Rossiter | |
94 | Chris | Nora Roberts | Brides Quartet |
95 | Rebecca D. | Paul Leicester | Janice Meredith published in 1899 |
96 | Bonnie | Phillip Gulley | |
97 | Martha | Rhonda Byrne | The Secret: Dare to Dream |
98 | Tess H. | Rosamunde Pilcher | Winter Solstice & Coming Home |
99 | Dianne K. | Rosamunde Pilcher | Shell Seekers and September |
100 | Kansas K. | Sandra Dallas | The persian Pickle Club |
101 | Maureen | Sarah Sundin | Wings of the Nightingale (Book 1 With every Letter) |
102 | Nan O. | Sherry Woods | |
103 | Natasha | Stella Gibbons | Nightingale Wood |
104 | Natasha | Stella Gibbons | Cold Comfort |
105 | Toni | Susan Meissner | Secrets of a Charmed Life, Stars over Sunset Boulevard |
106 | Bev | Susan Wiggs | The Lost and Found Bookshop |
107 | Judy | Suzanne Woods Fisher | Amish Fiction |
108 | Susan | Tasha Alexander | Lady Emily Series |
109 | Chris | Tasha Alexander | Lady Emily Series |
110 | Jae | Tonya Kappes | Happy Trails Campground |
111 | Diane | Tricia O’Malley | Tequila series |
113 | Cindy H. | Trisha Ashley | pure escapism |
114 | Mary | Valerie Fraser Luesse | Missing Isaac, Almost Home, The Key to Everything |
115 | Ann B | Victoria Holt | |
116 | Joy B | Diane Greenwood Muir | Bellingwood Series |
117 | Joy B | Barbara Hinske | Rosemont Books |
https://www.alibris.com/
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https://mybookcave.com/how-to-find-a-book-when-you-dont-know-the-title-or-author/
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Happy Reading!
Hi Susan!
Thank you for posting the book list and please thank Teresa for compiling the list. I am going to share it with my friends who are avid readers!
What a cool idea. A Gentleman in Moscow is indeed a masterpiece.
But did you find the title of the book you originally read in the 70’s?
Not sure. Someone found a book with Nightingale in the title that was published around the right time, but I can’t find a synopsis that book anywhere online and I don’t want to order it without knowing more about it so I can verify it’s the right one. I saw that same book on eBay but it sold the next day. The cover of the one on eBay didn’t seem to fit the story. I may go ahead and order it from Amazon, just in case it’s the right one.
Susan, you could borrow them from the library until you find the one you want to purchase.
I can’t wait to read these. I am surprised no one mentioned the best book in my top 5 favorites – Where the Crawdads Sing. Author Delia Owens.
Seems like someone did mention that one, although I was asking for books that weren’t sad and had happy ends and someone recently told me that book was sad, so maybe that’s why it wasn’t mentioned.
I loved that book also. I listened to it on audible. It was well done, complete with southern accents.
Teresa – Thanks so much for putting this together and thank you, Susan for sending it along!
Lots of these are “old” friends but I found some new ones as well.
Happy reading everyone!
Wonderful list! I didn’t see anyone mention LaVryle Spencer. Anything by her is really good, especially “Morning Glory”!
Oh I love her books! I first read Morning Glory, which is absolutely beautiful, and then that led me to read all of her books; unfortunately she retired, but all her fans are hoping for a comeback someday!
Thanks for the reading list.
I rarely recommend a movie but this one is commendable if you haven’t seen it. It’s the story of Beatrix Potter, author of the Peter Rabbit books and others we loved from childhood. The scenery toward the end is breathtaking when she buys Hill Top Farm. It’s called,
“Miss Potter “ and I found it on You Tube. It’s free with brief ads.
Here is the spreadsheet in a link that will be easier to save
Recommended Reading https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FQdPocG2Vm3Xd9TlmdHJWia37Kqg9hHTN9u1kpZEyek/edit?usp=sharing
I hope the book you were looking for is on the list! I have been searching for a book from my preteen years. It was the story of a group of girl friends, probably junior high aged. They have have had a club. There was diversity in the group and they organized a progressive dinner at each other’s homes with each family making a specialty. I remember one of the families was Portuguese. I almost think it was part of a series of books I used to check ou from the library.
I thought I added Francine Rivers. She’s a wonderful Christian writer. Redeeming Love was one of her first books I read. Then I had to read everything she’s written. Excellent reads.
I read through the book list out of curiosity and saw ” A Girl of the Limberlost” . I was surprised because it isn’t a romantic book but I have such a great memory of the book. My family on a trip east spent an afternoon visiting with my dad’s great uncle. He gave me all of the books out of a cedar chest that had belonged to his daughter. She had died at the age of 16 from pneumonia long before antibiotics. I read all of those books – a number of them were series like The Campfire Girls and Ruth Fielding who had many adventures. They were old fashioned but I loved those books. Many years later when I was looking through them I saw that ” A Girl of the Limberlost” was a first edition. I gave it as a present to bibliophile friend of mine who collected first editions. I probably would never have thought of all of this without your friend Teresa’s list. Thanks to you both.
The Booklady of Troublesome Creek is a fascinating book! Unlike any other I have ever read…and based on true facts! When it was recommended to me I was unsure if I would read it–but am so glad I did. As I began to read I was astounded. So glad I read it. Thanks for the list. I have read many of them but will consider some of the others. Thanks!
I’ve been an avid BNOTP reader for years. I’m beyond thrilled to see that my Rosemont series made your list! I’m Barbara Hinske, #117. THANK YOU so much!!!
Barbara, thanks so much for suggesting a great read! I will have plenty of books to keep me busy this summer since I won’t be traveling. 🙂
Susan Wittig Albert wrote a delightful series called The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter. While technically they are cozy mysteries, they are really more about life in an English village. The stories (which should be read in order) follow the life of Beatrix Potter with the addition of a fictional story line and some fictional characters. It’s a series I reread often.
Thanks Susan for posting your friend Tereasa’s book list. I really appreciate her doing it.I love to read mysteries from the coastal areas of the south.
Oh, thank you so much Theresa for compiling this list and Susan for posting. I am going to pin it as I would like to read some of these, they sound great. I need to begin the Mitford series for sure. Gosh, between yard work, my love for the beach, new enjoyment of puzzling and now these awesome books to read, I’m going to have an awesome summer, fall and winter! Hehe
Susan, the book I mentioned that has also been made into a movie is The Secret; Dare to Dream. You will LOVE this one.
I would like to thank Teresa for putting together this list and Susan for posting it! I see that my suggestion on Mary Alice Monroe made the list. I’m looking forward to looking into some of the authors/books listed!
Thanks to you and Teresa for these suggestions! I love to both read and listen to books and am nearly done with the last book in Jan Karon’s beloved Mitford series. She is also this year’s Writer in Residence for Victoria Magazine, which is my favorite magazine in the world – if you haven’t seen it yet, Susan, I know you’ll love it. They are on instagram and facebook too and their photography and styling are beautiful. For a breath of fresh air, I also recommend Joanne Fluke’s Hannah Swensen book series – with titles like Peach Cobbler Murder, etc. they are sweet, silly, completely wholesome mysteries about a baker who fancies herself a sleuth and has lots of homemade dinners with her close-knit Minnesotan family including her two sisters. There is an unsolved murder at the beginning of every book, but it is not gory and is usually an unlikeable/fringe character – in fact, they’re called Cozy Mysteries since the stories revolve around the main character’s cookie shop and everyday life. The books also include recipes in them for many of the foods they gather around in the stories. I read a lot and just about every genre, including ‘heavy’ but rewarding books like All the Light We Cannot See and The Underground Railroad, and these cute cookie mysteries are a great, almost mindless ‘palate cleanser’ to listen to. I’m a true lover of the classics, and if you like Jane Austen I think you would also enjoy Howard’s End and A Room with a View by E.M. Forster.
The books I love to read and re-read are by the author Patricia Veryan. She has a series called “The Golden Chronicles”, ” The tales of the Jewelled Men”, “Some brief Folly (Sanguinet Saga)”. She also wrote some single read books they are filled with warmth and humor , she has an infectious entertaining style of bygone days, the Golden Chronicles is a tale of the Jacobite rebellion and it has a treasure hunt in the bargin!
Wonderful book list. I have read some and look forward to reading new options. Currently planning to read two Christmas gifts…I will share titles if they are good.
Susan, can you share a source for the floral pillows on your swing? They are beautiful.
Sure, I found those in IKEA a few years back. I’m not sure if they still do it, but I’ve heard that each year they carry a new pillow design in all their stores. So the pillows I have on the swing was the pillow for the year I purchased it, which would have been around 5-6 years ago.
If you like very well written stories set in England that are thoughtful, deep and engaging try anything by Elizabeth Goudge. She was a prolific and brilliant writer. The storylines are very unusual and uplifting. You get lost in them.
Also, D.E. Stevenson wrote a ton of books, but her Mrs. Tim series, about an English military wife and her various adventures are gentle and absolutely charming. A real I-spy into another time. It’s like watching old movies.
Thank you for the wonderful list! More titles for my TO BE READ list – and if you are on Facebook there are two groups I follow: Bookaholics and Book Club Girls. I get so many good titles from those groups and happily my local library has most of them. If they are not available they reserve them for me…and it always seems they all come at the same time! Reading a good one now – The Spies of Shilling Lane by Jennifer Ryan. Happy reading to all !
Our bookclub just finished reading “The Nightingale” by Kristen Hannah and every single one of us loved it. Some thought it was the best book they’ve ever read.
Agree! I just finished it a couple of weeks ago and was sorry to see it end. It’s long, but what an amazing story!
Can not wait for the movie to come out, although I doubt it could do the book justice. Prediction: it will be up for an academy award (or two).
Thank you for that wonderful list! I had recommended Nan Rossiter and it turns out her newest book was released 2 days ago! All her books are great and the review of the newest “Promises to Keep” said: “We all need good stories right now and Promises to Keep will touch your heart and leave you smiling.”
I LOVED seeing Under The Southern Sky on this list! Thanks!
Thank you for sharing Teresa’s list! How thoughtful of her! (and you)! I have enjoyed several of the listed books If you enjoy the Mitford series there is a cookbook from the series which references some of the meals made and shared by the folks in town-even Esther’s outrageous Orange Marmalade Cake! The book is Jan Karon’s Mitford Cookbook & Kitchen Reader. I just love those books and you will too!
Thank you, Teresa & Susan, for the compiled list. The book Persian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas is a sweet story with a happy ending, please add that to the list.
I was searching for a book to read from this great list of suggestions. One thing led to another and I found the author Pamela Kelley that I don’t see on the list. I read The Restaurant in two days. The story moved quickly and was similar to a Hallmark movie. It had clean romance and every day drama although nothing far out. I enjoyed it and am looking into more from this author. Also started Jan Karon series from the recommendations and it is delightful.
Hi. You had mentioned in one of your article a good book for the coffee table and it was “A Place to Call Home” by James Farmer. The other book was regarding Architecture. Could you please let me know the name of the book and the author?
I bought the book “A Place to call home” and have enjoyed it. I really enjoy your articles. Thank you.
Thanks, Mary! I think the book you’re thinking about may be, Timeless by Patrick Ahearn. I love their work! Would love to have them build a home for me…just need to win the lottery. 😉 You can see their book here: https://bit.ly/3haZAWY
James Farmer has written another book that I would love to get. It’s called: Arriving Home and you can see it here: https://bit.ly/2Q3eMdw
I’ve heard great things about Beautiful by Mark Sikes here: https://bit.ly/3eyk4qZ . He also just released the book, More Beautiful here: https://bit.ly/3vSuFmq
I think I mentioned the Stamps and Stamps book in a recent post. I don’t have it but really want to get it! I may order it this weekend because I LOVE what I’ve seen on their Instagram page. Here’s their book: https://bit.ly/3f139wa
One of my favorite books that I do own is One Man’s Folly. It’s delightful! You can see it here: https://bit.ly/3f13cIm
Hope this helps. You’ll find a bunch more of my faves here: https://betweennapsontheporch.net/category/bnotp-library/
Thank you for the post and list. You inspired me to read The Nightingale by Turnbull. I loved it. Yes, the romantic relationship developed through the exchange of letters. I loved the interactions of the members of the small village, still so similar to small towns today. Today it would be classified as Christian fiction but in 1960 it was just a romance. I borrowed the book from my library. Go libraries!
That does sound like the book that I’ve been trying to find. Thanks for letting me know you read it, Jan! I just Googled the title/author and it was written in 1960 so that may be it. I read it around 1973-1975