Botany Bay by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall - link to my post (purchased copy)
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys - This book was mentioned as important post-colonial British literature in the lecture series The Rise and Fall of the British Empire (which I loved). We had it on our shelf, so I picked it up. Rhys imagines the story of Jane Eyre from the point of view of Rochester's wife. Born in Dominica, Rhys captures an authentic image of the Caribbean. In one heart-breaking scene after another, Rochester and his beautiful wife are thrown together and ripped apart. I wished so much for everything to work out for them, but they are doomed by the events of another book. For now, I'll keep this book on our shelves as a potential option for geography in Level 6, despite it's sorrow and violence. (purchased copy)
The Song of Roland - translated by Glyn Burgess - link to my post (copy from PaperBackSwap.com)
Resistance Women: A Novel by Jennifer Chiaverini - a historical novel based on the lives and activities of woman in the Resistance group Red Orchestra during Nazi rule in Germany, though it shares surprisingly little of the "resistance" they provided. The author told more than she showed, dulling the action. I enjoyed reading about and imagining the lives of ordinary citizens in Berlin during World War II, but was plenty tired of "beloved" and "ancestral estate" before it was over. (library copy)
Ten Drugs: How Plants, Powders, and Pills Have Shaped the History of Medicine by Thomas Hager - link to my post (library copy)
Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell - I found this book on a list of works out of copyright this year, a Victorian book published in 1853. It's one of the earliest books in English literature to compassionately portray an unmarried mistress, though Gaskell's Ruth is an innocent girl practically kidnapped by a fickle selfish aristocrat. When he abandons her, she collapses and is rescued immediately by a Dissenter parson and his sister. Under their care, her true good nature is allowed to resurface and flourish. While compassionate to Ruth's situation as an unmarried mother, I fear the holiness and sacrificial nature of Ruth undermines the idea that all women deserve such compassion. Even so, I thoroughly enjoyed the novel and it's themes of redemption, forgiveness, and generosity. (library copy, but it's free for the Kindle)
Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian - link to my post (purchased used)
Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut - I have never read anything by Vonnegut before and may never do so again. As Kansas Dad said, this book is "profoundly weird." It's the rebirth of civilization through evolution on the Galapagos Islands through a bizarre combination of events. (purchased used)
Anne's House of Dreams by L. M. Montgomery - This is currently my thirteen year old daughter's favorite Anne book. Though it's not my favorite, it does contain my favorite friend's story - that of Leslie and the truth that set her free. Anne's anguish after the death of her tiny baby is such a sorrowful but beautiful argument against God's willing the death of any baby is worth reading now if you've never read it. (It's in chapter 19 if you just want to skip to that part, though I don't recommend it.) (my old dear copy bought for me by my father when I was but a girl)
Women of the Silk: A Novel by Gail Tsukiyama - I did learn about the silk factories of China in the 1920s, but the characters did not develop. (purchased used)
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