Helping You To Find Your Next Good Read: Historical Fiction

As I am preparing for this week's class on what Joyce calls "The Landscape Genres," meaning genres for which the setting is a huge appeal for readers, I came across this new prize for historical fiction.

There is sometimes confusion as to what makes something historical fiction as opposed to a book from a long time ago.  I have discussed this issue and given examples here. It is an interesting distinction that our patrons aren't always making when they ask for a title, but one which we as RAs need to aware of. Click through to see what I am talking about, then use the back button to get back to this post.

When I first started teaching the RA class back in the fall of 2004, the list of historical fiction resources was embarrassingly small.  (I think there were 2, and they were only in print) Now, there are many to choose from, both in print and online.  Here are a few of my favorite Historical Fiction resources.

• The number one person on Historical Fiction is Sarah Johnson, hands down.  She is the author of Historical Fiction: A Guide to the Genre (parts 1 and 2) and publishes the blog Reading the Past which is filled with historical fiction links (look on the left gutter). She also had this very useful article on historical fiction in Bookmarks Magazine.
• The Historical Novel Society is still the best place to find out about new historical fiction.
• I would also suggest trying The Historical Fiction Network or Historical Novels.info for links to novels based on your time period or geographic preferences.
• Library Booklists also has this huge section on historical fiction.
• For the many readers who like historical mysteries specifically, I would suggest this book and/or the Stop You're Killing Me Historical Index.

Now go find a book to read.