12/28/2021 - Holiday History Book Haul

I hope you all had a great holiday season. As you can see from the list below, between Hanukkah and Christmas I got quite a nice new stack of books. I actually got 3 others too, but 2 of them do not belong on History Book By Book. One other may eventually find its way here once I figure out where it best fits.

Of course, there are a bunch of new World War II-related titles, but also some other really interesting topics. From these gifted books, only 2 were requests. The rest were surprises from my husband. He knows me so well!

I think I'm most excited about the two I requested - West with Giraffes and The Death of Jane Lawrence. Giraffes is a late Depression-era story about a strange road trip bringing two giraffes to the San Francisco Zoo. It's based on a true story and it sounds like a fantastic read!

The Death of Jane Lawrence‎‎ is a gothic horror story - it's technically fantasy as the time period is described as post-WWII England AND Victorian - two time periods that at no point overlapped. But I love gothic stories and this one sounds like it should be a lot of fun.

I'm also quite looking forward to reading Dave Grohl's autobiography The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music. I'm a huge fan and I can't wait to read more about his life and experiences playing in some of my favorite bands! Behind the scenes stories about Nirvana and Foo Fighters? Yes, please.

Of the World War II novels, I think the one I am likely to pick up first is The Redhead of Auschwitz‎. I've heard a lot of really good things about this true story. Though to be honest, I'm excited to read all of them. I think it is so important to read these accounts - the survivors will be gone soon and it is so important to tell their stories.

My husband managed to get me several books I've never heard of before. I love discovering new stories! I'm probably most excited about Evil Roman Emperors‎‎. Ancient Rome is such a fascinating era and I love books that give me fun snippets of history. They usually leave me wanting more, which leads me on a fun history scavenger hunt for more books!

Miss Eliza's English Kitchen‎‎ is really calling out to me as well. I adore anything Victorian and throw in food (and it even includes recipes) and you have a perfect setup for me to fall in love with a book! Even if I would have to substitute ingredients to make them gluten and dairy-free, I can still feel like I'm with Miss Eliza in her Victorian-era kitchen.

I have so many great new books to read in 2022! I hope to get reviews up for some of these titles soon so you can decide if they are books you would enjoy!

Did you get any exciting historical fiction or history books this holiday season?

Edit: The following link is to my My Last Book Haul of the Year! | December 2021 YouTube video including all of these titles, as well as the rest of the books I got this past month.

The Holiday Book Haul

• The Bookseller of Dachau‎‎ (by: Shari J. Ryan, WWII, Germany, United States, MG)
• Cloud Cuckoo Land: A Novel‎ (by: Anthony Doerr, Historical Fiction, A)
• The Death of Jane Lawrence: A Novel‎‎ (by: Caitlin Starling, Gothic Fantasy, Great Britain, YA)
• Evil Roman Emperors‎‎: The Shocking History of Ancient Rome's Most Wicked Rulers from Caligula to Nero and More (by: Phillip Barlag, Roman Emperors, Italy, A)
• The Island of Missing Trees: A Novel‎ (by: Elif Shafak, Postcolonial Cyprus, YA, A)
• The Last Checkmate: A Novel‎‎ (by: Gabriella Saab, WWII, Chess, YA)
• The Last Rose of Shanghai: A Novel‎ (by: Weina Dai Randel, WWII, Jewish Immigration, A)
• Leonora in the Morning Light‎‎ (by: Michaela Carter, WWII, Art, YA, A)
• Light Perpetual‎ (by: Francis Spufford, WWII, Great Britain, A)
• Little: A Novel‎ (by: Edward Carey, French Revolution, Marie Tussaud, YA, A)
• Miss Eliza's English Kitchen: A Novel of Victorian Cookery and Friendship‎‎ (by: Annabel Abbs, Victorian Era, Cooking, A)
• The Redhead of Auschwitz: A True Story‎ (by: Nechama Birnbaum, Holocaust, Romania, Germany, YA, A)
• The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music (by: Dave Grohl, Musicians, A)
• The Taste of Ginger: A Novel‎ (by: Mansi Shah, Indian Immigration, YA, A)
• West with Giraffes: A Novel (by: Lynda Rutledge, Great Depression, YA)
• X, Y & Z: The Real Story of How Enigma Was Broken‎ (by: Dermot Turing, WWII, Enigma Machine, YA, A)

About the Author

Emily Cook is the curator of History Book By Book, and the creator of the secular homeschool curriculum Build Your Library, a literature-based K-12 program infused with the teachings of Charlotte Mason. She writes full-year lesson plans as well as shorter topical unit studies. Emily has been homeschooling her four children in Southern NH for 18 years. She is passionate about reading aloud to children of all ages and loves to share her love of literature with others. She and her family also make incredibly dorky videos about homeschooling, books, and more on Youtube at ARRRGH! Schooling. You can follow her on BYL / HBBB Facebook, BYL Twitter, and Pinterest. You can also check out her author page on Amazon.