BW 38: L is for Laurie R. King

Laurie R. King - September 19, 1952

 Happy Birthday Laurie R. King

I currently have two of Laurie R. King's books from her Mary Russell Series in my TBR pile: Justice Hall and Locked Rooms.  The series follows Mary Russell and her relationship with Sherlock Holmes and their adventures in crime solving. 

From her website:   In 1994, The Beekeeper’s Apprentice was published, featuring young Mary Russell who becomes an apprentice, then partner of Sherlock Holmes in early 20th century England. Books in that series appear regularly, taking the duo and their cohorts on into the Twenties and around the world, winning admiration far and wide. These historical novels allow King to explore all sorts of ideas: the roots of conflict in the Middle East and Afghanistan; feminism and early Christianity; patriotism and individual responsibility, while also having a rousing good time with revisiting the scenes of The Hound of the Baskervilles and Kim, setting a pair of Bedouin nomads down in a grand country house in England, and forging an unlikely relationship between two remarkably similar individuals who happen to be separated by age, sex, and background.

There are 11 books in the series with the latest release September 6th of The Pirate King. 

I'm a sucker for series and usually like reading them in order so don't know how I ended up with two books out of order.  Something tickled my fancy the day I bought them.  In honor of Ms. King's birthday this week, I'll be reading Justice Hall.    If you like detective fiction and Sherlock Holmes, be sure to check out the Mary Russell Series.

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If you don't have a blog, tell us about the books you are reading in the comment section of this post.

BW37: Book Bloggers Appreciation Week

This week is Book Blogger Appreciation Week in which we celebrate all things books.  I have discovered so many different books that I probably would have never read otherwise through the book blogging community.  It's also created some wonderful connections not only with book bloggers, but also with writers and publishers.  

Book Blogger Appreciation was started by Amy Riley of My Friend Amy in an effort to recognize the hard work and contribution of book bloggers to the promotion and preservation of a literate culture actively engaged in discussing books, authors, and a lifestyle of reading.

The first Book Blogger Appreciation was observed in the fall of 2008 and occurs every September. The week spotlights and celebrates the work of active book bloggers through guest posts, awards, giveaways, and community activities. Book Bloggers are encouraged to register their participation for inclusion in a database of book bloggers.

The theme is Cultivating a Community of Bloggers and Readers.  There will be all kinds of giveaways and contests, guest posts by authors, publishers and bloggers.   Come join in on the party.  You may just win some awesome books and establish some new friendships.

The daily topics this year are:

Monday, September 12 - Community:  It is the opportuntity to highlight those bloggers who have made book blogging a unique experience.  Mentors, bloggers who have encouraged you to try a different kind of book, opened your eyes to a new issue, made you laugh or supported you with comments on your blog.

Tuesday, September 13th:  Blogger Interviews:   An interview swap between bloggers and a chance to get to know them better.  I swapped with Brianna of The Book Vixen who took over "The Novel Challenge blog" with the help of a few other bloggers when Wendy decided to move on to other things.  Be sure to check out her interview on My Two Blessings and my interview on her site.

Wednesday, September 14th: Community Part II:  A day to share tips for connecting with the community.

Thursday, September 15: Readers:  Book bloggers blog because we love reading. Has book blogging changed the way you read? Have you discovered books you never would have apart from book blogging? How has book blogging affected your book acquisition habits? Have you made new connections with other readers because of book blogging? Choose any one of these topics and share your thoughts today! 

Friday September 16th: Blogging:  The world of blogging is continually changing. Share 3 things you are essential tried and true practices for every blogger and 1-3 new trends or tools you’ve adapted recently or would like to in the future.

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If you don't have a blog, tell us about the books you are reading in the comment section of this post.

BW36: I is for Intellectual Devotional

Some time ago I picked up this nifty, interesting book The Intellectual Devotional: Revive Your Mind, Complete Your Education, and Roam Confidently with the Cultured Class.  It is a secular educational devotional, much like a spiritual devotional with 365 days of lessons. Each day is devoted to a certain topic:   Monday is  history, Tuesday is literature, Wednesday is visual arts,  Thursday is Science, Friday is music, Saturday is Philosophy and Sunday religion.   

Since the general edition has come out, the authors David Kidder and Noah Oppenheim have come out with a few other editions:  Biographies, American History, Modern Culture and Health.  They are available in hard cover or in ebook format now.  

Fun to read, stimulates your mind, and makes you want to find out more.  And honestly a good bathroom book.  *grin*  

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If you don't have a blog, tell us about the books you are reading in the comment section of this post.

BW 35: H is for Heminway, sort of.....

Hello, my darlings!  I'm still on vacation in Washington and have been sharing one computer with my hubby and son.  I haven't been spending a whole lot of time online, in favor of reading and enjoying our wonderful view when we aren't out and about. 

Mount Rainer - sunset

My guys in backyard, hanging out

So I'm leaving you with a short pictorial of writers at work.    Back when they did it the old fashioned way - using a typewriter

Ernest Hemingway working on For Whom the Bell Tolls 1939

William Faulkner working on screenplay 1940

Ralph Ellison in Rome in 1957

Agatha Christie

George Bernard Shaw 1929

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BW34: G is for Gansky

I'm just about to take off on a trip to Seattle and trying to decide which books to take with me to read on the airplane. Yes, I have my nook but you have to power all electronics down on take off and landing which I discovered was a royal pain in the but the last time we flew. Also I'm up to the O's in my A to Z by Title and Author Challenge. So I let that be my guide. A year or so ago I picked up A Ship Possessed by Alton Gansky to read for the Christy Award Challenge. First time author read for me and he writes christian supernatural thrillers along the lines of Frank Peretti (so excited he finally has a new novel coming out in march 2012 and Ted Dekker.

Synopsis of A Ship Possessed: The USS Triggerfish--an American World War II submarine--has come home over fifty years after she was presumed lost in the Atlantic. Now her dark gray hulk lies embedded in the sand of a San Diego beach, her conning tower barely above the breaking surf. The submarine is in the wrong ocean, her crew is missing . . . And her half-century absence is a mystery that's about to deepen. For the Triggerfish has returned, but she has not returned alone. Something is inside her -- something unexpected and terrible. To J. D. Stanton, retired Navy captain and historian, falls the task of solving the mystery surrounding a ship possessed. What he is about to encounter will challenge his training, his wits, and his faith. Complicating his mission is a ruthless madman bent on obtaining a secret artifact stolen from the highest levels of the Nazi regime. And poised in the middle is a young woman, a lieutenant who must contend with invisible forces she never knew existed. A Ship Possessed is a story of faith, courage, and determination in the face of unexpected and unknown evil.

Chilling, goose bumps, heart racing, exciting can't put down books. Thoroughly enjoyed it and started looking for more of his books. Discovered Out of Time in the bargain books at Bereans the other day so just had to get it.

Synopsis of Out of Time: J.D. Stanton has set sail with two Navy men and a crew of five troubled teenagers. Two days out they encounter a strange storm that damages their craft and leaves them on an eerie sea with no way to take a bearing. Suddenly a dark object emerges through the mist--HMS Archer--a long lost WWI British military ship. Stanton and his shipmates board the ship but find no trace of the crew, only their belongings. Soon Stanton realizes they are on a ship that is "out of time"--and they are out of time, too, because one of the teenagers needs immediate medical treatment. Stanton and the others begin to catch ghostly glimpses of the original crew. Stanton learns that one of the "ghosts" had planned to murder the crew of the Archer. Now one of the teens is bonding with that murderer. Will he attempt to murder Stanton's crew, too?

So, I'll be reading Out of Time on the plane. I also have Finder's Fee in my TBR Pile and looking forward to reading more of his other novels. Alton Gansky has written over 40 books specializing in suspense and supernatural suspense. He's also written a few nonfiction novels dealing with biblical mysteries.

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If you don't have a blog, tell us about the books you are reading in the comment section of this post.

BW33: F is for Fantasy and Science Fiction

Josephine Wall's Lady of the Lake

Fantasy and science fiction genre books have always been my very first real book true love.  I couldn't get enough of it back in the 70's and 80's and I go back to it time and again.   NPR recently polled their readers and the result "Your Picks:  Top 100 Science Fiction Fantasy Books"   No, I didn't vote because I found about it after the fact, but found the list very interesting.

I highlighted the ones I've read and surprisingly it's almost half the list.  

1. The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien
2. The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
3. Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card
4. The Dune Chronicles, by Frank Herbert
5. A Song Of Ice And Fire Series, by George R. R. Martin (only 1st one so far)
6. 1984, by George Orwell
7. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
8. The Foundation Trilogy, by Isaac Asimov
9.  Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
10. American Gods, by Neil Gaiman
11. The Princess Bride, by William Goldman
12. The Wheel Of Time Series, by Robert Jordan (only 1st book so far)
13. Animal Farm, by George Orwell
14. Neuromancer, by William Gibson
15. Watchmen, by Alan Moore
16. I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov
17. Stranger In A Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein
18. The Kingkiller Chronicles, by Patrick Rothfuss
19. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
20. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley
21. Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?, by Philip K. Dick  (in my TBR pile)
22. The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood
23. The Dark Tower Series, by Stephen King (only 1st one so far)
24. 2001: A Space Odyssey, by Arthur C. Clarke
25. The Stand, by Stephen King
26. Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson
27. The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury
28. Cat’s Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut
29. The Sandman Series, by Neil Gaiman
30. A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess
31. Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein
32. Watership Down, by Richard Adams
33. Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey
34. The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, by Robert Heinlein
35. A Canticle For Leibowitz, by Walter M. Miller
36. The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells
37. 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, by Jules Verne
38. Flowers For Algernon, by Daniel Keys
39. The War Of The Worlds, by H.G. Wells
40. The Chronicles Of Amber, by Roger Zelazny
41. The Belgariad, by David Eddings
42. The Mists Of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley
43. The Mistborn Series, by Brandon Sanderson
44. Ringworld, by Larry Niven
45. The Left Hand Of Darkness, by Ursula K. LeGuin
46. The Silmarillion, by J.R.R. Tolkien
47. The Once And Future King, by T.H. White
48. Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman
49. Childhood’s End, by Arthur C. Clarke
50. Contact, by Carl Sagan
51. The Hyperion Cantos, by Dan Simmons
52. Stardust, by Neil Gaiman
53. Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson
54. World War Z, by Max Brooks
55. The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle
56. The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman
57. Small Gods, by Terry Pratchett
58. The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever, by Stephen R. Donaldson
59. The Vorkosigan Saga, by Lois McMaster Bujold
60. Going Postal, by Terry Pratchett
61. The Mote In God’s Eye, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
62. The Sword Of Truth, by Terry Goodkind
63. The Road, by Cormac McCarthy
64. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke
65. I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson
66. The Riftwar Saga, by Raymond E. Feist
67. The Shannara Trilogy, by Terry Brooks
68. The Conan The Barbarian Series, by R.E. Howard
69. The Farseer Trilogy, by Robin Hobb
70. The Time Traveler’s Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger
71. The Way Of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson
72. A Journey To The Center Of The Earth, by Jules Verne
73. The Legend Of Drizzt Series, by R.A. Salvatore
74. Old Man’s War, by John Scalzi  (on my TBR pile)
75. The Diamond Age, by Neil Stephenson
76. Rendezvous With Rama, by Arthur C. Clarke
77. The Kushiel’s Legacy Series, by Jacqueline Carey
78. The Dispossessed, by Ursula K. LeGuin
79. Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury
80. Wicked, by Gregory Maguire
81. The Malazan Book Of The Fallen Series, by Steven Erikson
82. The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde
83. The Culture Series, by Iain M. Banks
84. The Crystal Cave, by Mary Stewart
85. Anathem, by Neal Stephenson
86. The Codex Alera Series, by Jim Butcher
87. The Book Of The New Sun, by Gene Wolfe
88. The Thrawn Trilogy, by Timothy Zahn
89. The Outlander Series, by Diana Gabaldan (only 1st one so far, 2nd book in  TBR pile)
90. The Elric Saga, by Michael Moorcock
91. The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury
92. Sunshine, by Robin McKinley
93. A Fire Upon The Deep, by Vernor Vinge
94. The Caves Of Steel, by Isaac Asimov
95. The Mars Trilogy, by Kim Stanley Robinson
96. Lucifer’s Hammer, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
97. Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis
98. Perdido Street Station, by China Mieville
99. The Xanth Series, by Piers Anthony
100. The Space Trilogy, by C.S. Lewis

How many of the books on the list have you read? (if any)

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BW32: E is for Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Something simple this week to think about rather than enticing you with more books to weigh down your TBR piles or wishlist.

A Nation's Strength

What makes a nation's pillars high

And it's foundations strong?

What makes it mighty to defy

The foes that round it throng?

It is not gold. Its kingdoms grand

Go down in battle shock;

Its shafts are laid on sinking sand,

Not on abiding rock.

Is it the sword? Ask the red dust

Of empires passed away;

The blood has turned their stones to rust,

Their glory to decay.

And is it pride? Ah, that bright crown

Has seemed to nations sweet;

But God has struck its luster down

In ashes at his feet.

Not gold but only men can make

A people great and strong;

Men who for truth and honor's sake

Stand fast and suffer long.

Brave men who work while others sleep,

Who dare while others fly...

They build a nation's pillars deep

And lift them to the sky.

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BW31 - D is for Donohue

A couple months back, Keith Donohue's publicist sent me an email asking if I wanted to review his latest novel Centuries of June.   She said:

Created out of myths drawn from all across America, the novel is both a murder mystery and ghost story that takes place entirely in the bathroom of an old house on one night in June, yet it covers five hundred years of American history. It is a tale with nine narrators: the victim and eight suspects, each of whom narrates her own story, explaining why she has a reason to bump off the protagonist. There’s an old man in a bathrobe who may or may not be the ghost of Samuel Beckett, and a baby who goes from newborn to toddler in the time it takes to tell the tale.


The story is a collage of styles—folklore, a shipwreck account, archives of historical documents, oral histories, the western, silent film, hard-boiled murder mystery, erotic fantasy, dreams, and allusions. Evocative and, at times, madcap, the novel has everything from flying feathers and dancing flappers to baseball and vaudeville, and has received four glowing trade reviews—two calling it a tour de force.

Of course, who wouldn't be intrigued by that.  I looked up the book on Amazon which fortunately and Yippie for me had the look inside feature so I could read the first few pages.   If the first pages, heck if the first paragraph doesn't grab my attention, then I know the rest of the book won't.  I started reading and kept reading and decided I wanted to read the book and accepted her offer.  So guess what's next on the nightstand?  


In an interview about the book, Donahue has said:

"The Novel is a kind of mash-up and I'd be happy enough if people read it as historical fiction or magical realism or a black comedy or a murder mystery or an existential ghost story.


Likewise, the inspiration for Centuries of June is a mash-up of ideas and images.  I knew I wanted to write about American myths and came across the painting of The Virgin by Gustav Klimt--which depicts a group of naked women resting in a clot beneath these wild and colorful quilts.  I began to think about what their stories might be and how those tales might be interwoven with this speculation on time, memory, and the American story.  In the actual writing, all sorts of other notions shoehorn their way into the book--from Bachelard's The Poetics of Space to the stateroom scene in the Marx Brothers' A Night at the Opera.  The novel becomes a mosaic, like the patterns in the Klimt painting."

Even more intriguing.   If you want to find out what other folks think about the story, check out the TLC Book Tour participants reactions.  I'll let you know what I think when I'm finished reading it. 

He's also written two other books that look equally intriguing:

Inspired by the W.B. Yeats poem that tempts a child from home to the waters and the wild, The Stolen Child is a modern fairy tale narrated by the child Henry Day and his double.

On a cold night in January, a stranger appears on the doorstep of Margaret Quinn, a widow living a solitary existence in a small Pennsylvania town.  A nine-year-old orphan named Norah, dressed in tatters, claims to have found a welcome there.  Margaret’s own daughter, Erica, ran away 10 years earlier, and the orphan appears at first to be an answer to a mother’s prayers. Margaret passes off Norah as her granddaughter and enrolls her in school, where Norah reveals to the other children her mysterious, unearthly powers.

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BW 30: C is for Cara Black

Butte Montmarte, Paris, France by Julie K

I just finished reading the first book in Cara Black's Aimee Leduc Series called Murder in the Marais.  I had heard about her stories and when I came across them while wondering through Book Passages in San Francisco, just had to check out the first book in the series:

Synopsis:  It is November 1993 and the French prime ministerial candidate is about to sign a treaty with Germany that will severely restrict immigration, reminiscent of the Vichy laws. Aime Leduc is approached by a rabbi to decipher a fifty-year-old encrypted photograph and place it in the hands of Lili Stein. When she arrives at Lili's apartment in the Marais, the old Jewish quarter of Paris, she finds a corpse in whose forehead is carved a swastika. With the help of her partner, a dwarf with extraordinary computer hacking skills, Aime is determined to solve this horrendous crime. Then more murders follow. Her search for the killer leads her to a German war veteran involved in the 1940s with a Jewish girl he was supposed to send to her death. It takes Aime undercover inside a neo-Nazi group, where she must play a dangerous game of current politics and old war crimes. Many of the older Jews in the Marais are afraid and prefer to leave the past alone, but the horrible legacy of the death camps and the words "never forget" propel Aime to find out the true identities of the criminals past and present.

Murder in the Marais was her debut novel and the first in a series of now 11 books following the exploits of Private investigator Aimee Leduc in Paris, France.   I discovered Aimee is a feisty chick who jumps into situations fearlessly, throws herself body (literally) and soul into her investigations.   She isn't afraid of a few bruises and once she's on somebody's trail, doesn't let go.   I was amazed at this character's tenacity. I was exhausted just reading the story.  Paris is more than just the setting, it is also a living breathing character that helps bring the story to life.  The rest of the books in the series are:

Murder in Belleville 

Murder in the Sentier

Murder in the Bastille 

Murder in Clichy

Murder in Montmartre

Murder in LLe Saint Louis

Murder in the Rue De Paradis

Murder in the Latin Quarter

Murder in the Palais Royal

Murder in Passy

If you like murder mysteries, this is one series well worth checking out. 

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BW29: B is for Books and Blogs

Books, books, books. We all love books and blogs about books and websites about books and authors talking about books. So, today, I'm going to share a few blogs, websites and author sites I enjoy reading.

I went to Bouchercon a couple years back and one of the panels I attended was the introduction of MULHOLLAND BOOKS, an new imprint of Little, Brown and Company. The imprint would focus on suspense novels: crime novels, thrillers, police procedurals, spy stories, even supernatural suspense. And the authors: Marcia Clark, (yes, the one of OJ fame), Mark Billingham, Duane Swierczynski, and Sebastian Rotella to name a few. New to me authors that definitely piqued my interest. Mullholland's website is great and chock full of original fiction to read including Mark Billingham's original short story, THE WALLS which is available to read or listen to in audio book form.

I know I've probably mentioned them before, but they bare mentioning again. MURDERATI is a group blog of murder mystery authors who enjoy discussing everything from, what else, murder to what's going on in their lives and how it relates to writing. There have been a few new additions to the group so be sure to check them out. I'm slowly making my way through reading each author's books and they keep making life difficult for me by adding new authors. *grin* I'll never run out of reading material.

Since I'm involved in A Round of Word in 80 Days, a writing challenge, I've discovered some great independent and self published author you should check out.

Kait of Fang and Shadow

Laurel of Creative Moments

Claire of Doing it Write Now

Also book bloggers whom I've been following it seems like forever and love talking about books.

Candace of Beth Fish Reads: She covers the books offered by several imprints.

Staci of Life in the Thumb: She loves all things Darcy.

Jackie of Literary Escapism: I've discovered many fantasy and paranormal books through her posts.

That ought to keep you all busy and your wishlists feed for a while.

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If you don't have a blog, tell us about the books you are reading in the comment section of this post.

BW28: A is for Art Mysteries

Painter's Palette at the Ready by Cobalt123

A couple years back I was introduced to the writings of Iain Pears, a writer and art historian.   I happened to stumble across The Titian Committee in our local used bookstore and since I was taking an art class at the time, thought it would be interesting.    Which started my love affair with art mysteries.   

Pears wrote a series of art mysteries centered around  a couple art historians Jonathan Argyll and Flavia di Stefano of Rome's Art Theft Squad.    His books are a fascinating, interesting and educational way to learn about art within a fictional mystery.   The books in the Flavia Di Stefano mystery series are:

The Raphael Affair

The Titian Committee

The Bernini Bust

The Last Judgement

Giotti's Hand

Death and Restoration

The Immaculate Deception

Pears has also written four other stories including  An Instance of the Fingerpost, The Dream of Scipio, The Portrait, and Stone's Fall.   

I had the opportunity to review Stone's Fall and discovered myself entrenched in a fascinating story.  

It is told through the view points of three men, in three different time periods and revolves around John Stone, his widow, Elizabeth Ravenscliff, and a mysterious child mentioned in Stone's Will.

In the year 1909, Matthew Braddock is hired by Elizabeth to find the child. In the course of his search, he meets numerous characters involved in Stone's life. One is Henry Cort. Henry Cort takes over the story in Part two beginning in 1890 and tells how he also became involved in the life of John Stone and Elizabeth. He tell the story of his evolution as a spy and how he played a roll in John Stone's life. He leaves a mysterious package for Braddock to open at a later point. John Stone takes over the story bringing the reader back to 1867 and how he evolved as one of the most richest and powerful men in the world. The story ends with a shocking twist that was totally unexpected.

I've since acquired An Instance on the Fingerpost, The Raphael Affair, and Death and Restoration.   An Instance on the Fingerpost is a chunky book at 750+ pages.  It's one of those books you need to clear the decks for because it will take a while to read. 

Amazon synopsis: "The year is 1663, and the setting is Oxford, England, during the height of Restoration political intrigue. When Dr. Robert Grove is found dead in his Oxford room, hands clenched and face frozen in a rictus of pain, all the signs point to poison. Rashomon-like, the narrative circles around Grove's murder as four different characters give their version of events: Marco da Cola, a visiting Italian physician--or so he would like the reader to believe; Jack Prestcott, the son of a traitor who fled the country to avoid execution; Dr. John Wallis, a mathematician and cryptographer with a predilection for conspiracy theories; and Anthony Wood, a mild-mannered Oxford antiquarian whose tale proves to be the book's "instance of the fingerpost." (The quote comes from the philosopher Bacon, who, while asserting that all evidence is ultimately fallible, allows for "one instance of a fingerpost that points in one direction only, and allows of no other possibility."

If you love art and you enjoy mysteries, there are quite a few other authors who also write art crime novels.  Check out the list from Amazon.

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BW 27: Z is for Zhivago

I'm getting closer to reading Dr. Zhivago by Boris Pasternak.  I kind of have a mental as well as written list of books I want to read and since I am doing the A to Z challenge by author, two books away from the P's.  If I decided to do it by title, I'd never get to it.  I've already read Tolstoy's War and Peace and Anna Karenina.   I don't know what it is I find so fascinating about Russian Literature. Maybe it is the time period, the characters or just the writing.  Pasternak himself has an interesting history.

He was born in 1890 in Moscow and studied philosophy at Moscow University.   He worked in a chemical factory during world war one and then ended up working for the soviet commissariat of education after the revolution.   His first book of poetry was published in 1913.  He had to turn to translating European writers works for 10 years from 1933 to 1943 because his political viewpoint was opposed by the soviets and didn't meet the communist party line.  During this time, he wrote Dr. Zhivago, but it was rejected by soviet publishers in 1956.   His manuscript was smuggled out of the country and published in Italy in 1957.  He was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1958  but he was unable to leave the country to accept it.  He was forced to decline the prize by his government.  The book was on the New York Times best seller list for 26 weeks in 1958 and 1959.   One of the reasons I decided to read the book is because of the Take a Chance  challenge to read a book from my birth year. I discovered it was on the list.   Pasternak died of natural causes in 1960 at the age of 70.  The novel was banned in Russia until 1987.  

Dr. Zhivago is a political social romantic drama about 5 young people during the Russian Revolution spanning from 1901 to 1943. Sounds similar to War and Peace so it will be interesting to compare this one to them.  Here's an interesting piece of trivia.   Boris's father, Leonid was a Russian Impressionist painter and not only painted portraits of Tolstoy but illustrated War and Peace.   

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