Eight fictional characters who'd make the best travel companions

At B & N Reads, Jenny Kawecki tagged eight fictional characters who would make the best travel companions, including:

Mr. Darcy (Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

This may not seem like an obvious choice at first—grumpy, silent Darcy on a road trip? No, thank you—but think about it. If Darcy liked you well enough to go on a trip with you, you know you could count on him to have your back at every turn, and to make hilarious snarky comments about the tour guide that only you can hear. And since he’s such a gentleman, he probably wouldn’t even consider snoring in the hotel room (way too unseemly). Extra bonus: he’s absolutely loaded, so you know you can count on him to pick up the tab on any emergency travel expenses that happen to come up.

Read about the other entries on the list.

Pride and Prejudice also appears on Peter James's top ten list ofe works of fiction set in or around Brighton, Ellen McCarthy's list of six favorite books about weddings and marriage, the Telegraph's list of the ten greatest put-downs in literature, Rebecca Jane Stokes' list of ten fictional families you might enjoy more than the one you'll actually spend the holidays with, Melissa Albert's lists of five fictional characters who deserved better, [fifteen of the] romantic leads (and wannabes) of Austen’s brilliant books and recommended reading for eight villains, Molly Schoemann-McCann's list of ten fictional men who have ruined real live romance, Emma Donoghue's list of five favorite unconventional fictional families, Amelia Schonbek's list of five approachable must-read classics, Jane Stokes's top ten list of the hottest men in required reading, Gwyneth Rees's top ten list of books about siblings, the Observer's list of the ten best fictional mothers, Paula Byrne's list of the ten best Jane Austen characters, Robert McCrum's list of the top ten opening lines of novels in the English language, a top ten list of literary lessons in love, Simon Mason's top ten list of fictional families, Cathy Cassidy's top ten list of stories about sisters, Paul Murray's top ten list of wicked clerics, John Mullan's lists of ten of the best housekeepers in fiction, ten great novels with terrible original titles, and ten of the best visits to Brighton in literature, Luke Leitch's top ten list of the most successful literary sequels ever, and is one of the top ten works of literature according to Norman Mailer. Richard Price has never read it, but it is the book Mary Gordon cares most about sharing with her children.

The Page 99 Test: Pride and Prejudice.

--Marshal Zeringue

Five books with plot twists that flip your perception

Along with writing novels, C. A. Higgins spent most of her time in college doing problem sets, translating vulgar Latin poetry, and fending off sleep deprivation. It was while sitting in one of her physics classes contemplating the inevitable heat death of the universe that she had the idea that would eventually become her first novel, Lightless.

At Tor.com Higgins tagged five books with plot twists that flip your perception, including:

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

The sweet and beautiful Amy has gone missing and all signs point to a murder. As the evidence begins to build, it becomes more and more obvious that it was her husband, Nick, who did it… but of course, there’s more to the story than there seems. Gone Girl is a thrilling novel with more than one “change everything” twist and two very deceptive and unreliable narrators at war with each other.

Read about the other entries on the list.

Gone Girl made Ruth Ware's top ten list of psychological thrillers, Jane Alexander's top ten list of treasure hunts in fiction, Fanny Blake's list of five top books about revenge, Monique Alice's list of six great fictional evil geniuses, Jeff Somers's lists of six books that’ll make you glad you’re single and five books with an outstanding standalone scene that can be read on its own, Lucie Whitehouse's ten top list of psychological suspense novels with marriages at their heart and Kathryn Williams's list of eight of fiction’s craziest unreliable narrators.

--Marshal Zeringue

Jay Winik's six favorite books

Jay Winik's new book is 1944: FDR and the Year That Changed History. One of his six favorite books, as shared at The Week magazine:

Battle Cry of Freedom by James McPherson

The finest single-volume work on the Civil War out there. Written with verve and panache, it's filled with rich character portraits and fresh interpretations of the key political, social, and military events. I loved this book when I wrote April 1865, and love it still.

Read about the other books on the list.

Battle Cry of Freedom is among Ric Burns' six favorite books and Malcolm Jones's eleven best books on the Civil War.

--Marshal Zeringue

Twenty top scary stories for teens

One title on Melissa Albert's list of twenty scary stories for teens, as shared on the B&N Teen Blog:

We’ll Never Be Apart, by Emiko Jean

The complicated relationship between twins Cellie and Alice Monroe is at the heart of this psychological thriller, which opens with both girls locked up in a mental hospital. But narrator Alice moves freely through the ward, while Cellie languishes in the D ward. Orphans and former foster kids, the girls were institutionalized following a fatal fire Cellie started, and both girls were blamed for. In a story that weaves together past and present, Alice knows she can’t trust her sister, and might be willing to go to desperate lengths to ensure she won’t hurt anyone again.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Top ten books about Thatcherism

Kwasi Kwarteng is Conservative MP for Spelthorne, Surrey, UK, and the author of Thatcher’s Trial: Six months that defined a leader.

One of his top ten books about Thatcherism, as shared at the Guardian:

Not for Turning, and Everything She Wants by Charles Moore (2013, 2015)

This two-volume account is the definitive biography which is unlikely to be surpassed any time soon. Well written and objective, this is a comprehensive account of Thatcher’s life and career. As a biography, it is written very much on a Victorian scale but it is human, readable and sensitive.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Six top portrayals of marriage in literature

Lauren Groff is the acclaimed author of The Monsters of Templeton and Arcadia. Her new novel is Fates and Furies. One of her six favorite portrayals of marriage in literature, as shared at The Week magazine:

I Want to Show You More by Jamie Quatro

Now for a newer voice in fiction. Quatro's prose is musical and her spirit is passionate. In these gorgeous short stories, she wrestles mightily with sex and God and the South and desire and hunger and, yes, marriage. I'd recommend this collection to absolutely anyone, whether or not they believe that they like short stories.

Read about the other entries on the list.

The Page 99 Test: The Monsters of Templeton.

The Page 69 Test: Arcadia.

--Marshal Zeringue

Ten cross-cultural novels that illuminate the world we live in

At Off the Shelf Tolani Osan tagged ten top books that "illuminate how disparate cultures can reveal the mystery and beauty in each other and make us aware of the hardships, dreams, and hidden scars of those we share space with," including:

On Beauty
by Zadie Smith

This beautifully crafted work from literary luminary Zadie Smith explores the story of an interracial family whose misadventures in the culture wars on both sides of the Atlantic skewer everything from family life to political correctness to the combustive collision between the personal and the political.

Read about the other books on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Twenty gripping page-turners every twentysomething woman should read

At Cosmopolitan Meave Gallagher tagged twenty gripping page-turners every twentysomething woman should read, including:

The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith (1955)

The 1999 Anthony Minghella film has nothing on Patricia Highsmith's crime classic The Talented Mr. Ripley, in which sociopath Tom Ripley meets his dream man and steals his life. Though Highsmith wrote openly about same-sex relationships in the very excellent 1952 The Price of Salt, here she only hints at the many ways in which Ripley is drawn to Dickie Greenleaf, as envy and desire curdle into jealousy and violence. Highsmith's atmospheric prose makes you feel the warm Italian sun, the coldness of Ripley's unwavering stare, and the glee of a criminal getting away with his crime — but for how long?

Read about the other books on the list.

The Talented Mr Ripley is on Sophia Bennett's top ten list of books set in the Mediterranean, Emma Straub's top ten list of holidays in fiction, E. Lockhart's list of favorite suspense novels, Sally O'Reilly's top ten list of novels inspired by Shakespeare, Walter Kirn's top six list of books on deception, Stephen May's top ten list of impostors in fiction, Simon Mason's top ten list of chilling fictional crimes, Melissa Albert's list of eight books to change a villain, Koren Zailckas's list of eleven of literature's more evil characters, Alex Berenson's five best list of books about Americans abroad John Mullan's list of ten of the best examples of rowing in literature, Tana French's top ten maverick mysteries list, the Guardian's list of the 50 best summer reads ever, the Telegraph's ultimate reading list, and Francesca Simon's top ten list of antiheroes.

--Marshal Zeringue

Five top books about girls disguised as boys

Rae Carson's latest book is Walk on Earth a Stranger. At Tor.com she tagged five books about girls disguised as boys, including:

Alanna: The First Adventure, by Tamora Pierce

Alanna longs to be a knight, even though women aren’t allowed to be warriors in the world of Tortall. No problem—she’s got some trousers, and she’s not afraid to use them. This is a classic of young adult literature, the kind of book that is read and reread by children until the pages are ripped and the spine is in tatters.

Read about the other entries on the list.

Also see: Ten of the best literary men dressed as women.

--Marshal Zeringue

Seven books for those who think they hate speculative fiction

Jeff Somers is the author of Lifers, the Avery Cates series from Orbit Books, Chum from Tyrus Books, and We Are Not Good People from Pocket/Gallery. He has published over thirty short stories as well. One of Somers's top seven speculative works for those who think they hate speculative fiction, as shared at the B & N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog:

Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro

This dreamy, bleakly fascinating story takes a long time to bring its sci-fi concepts to the fore, and until it does, it’s a beautifully, character-based story about young friends developing relationships and jealousies and exploring the larger world. Even after it’s revealed that they are (spolier alert!) actually clones being raised solely to “donate” organs to their genetic originals, it remains laser-focused on the three young leads as they struggle with the challenges of growing up, facing their mortality, and understanding their own feelings. If you revised the book to exclude the dystopian elements, you’d still have a gorgeous, universally affecting story about doomed relationships and a longing for the past.

Read about the other entries on the list.

Never Let Me Go is on Esther Inglis-Arkell's list of nine great science fiction books for people who don't like science fiction, Sabrina Rojas Weiss's list of ten favorite boarding school novels, Allegra Frazier's top four list of great dystopian novels that made it to the big screen, James Browning's top ten list of boarding school books, Jason Allen Ashlock and Mink Choi's top ten list of tragic love stories, Allegra Frazier's list of seven characters whose jobs are worse than yours, Shani Boianjiu's list of five top novels about coming of age, Karen Thompson Walker's list of five top "What If?" books, Lloyd Shepherd's top ten list of weird histories, and John Mullan's lists of ten of the best men writing as women in literature and ten of the best sentences as titles.

--Marshal Zeringue

Five great books about Jane Austen

Joanna Trollope's bestselling novels include The Choir, A Village Affair and The Rector's Wife.

One entry on her list of five great books about Jane Austen, as shared at the Telegraph:

You really need Claire Tomalin for the life story. Jane Austen: A Life (1999) manages to give a fresh and convincing account of someone whose own voice and opinions survive more in her books than anywhere else.

Read about the other books on the list.

Also see: The ten best Jane Austen characters.

--Marshal Zeringue

Five books about magical families

Christopher Barzak's latest novel is Wonders of the Invisible World. One of five books about magical families he tagged at Tor.com:

House of the Spirits by Isabelle Allende

This highly acclaimed novel by the niece (or more specifically, second cousin) of Salvador Allende, former President of Chile (1970-1973), chronicles the lives of several generations of the Trueba and del Valle families. Starting with the forefather and foremother who originate a family that rise from meager beginnings (on one side) into political power decades later, Allende traces the course of Chilean history itself through the movements of her characters, illustrating the destruction of colonial communities in a rapidly changing and conflicted socioeconomic sphere. The del Valle family has a touch of magic in their blood, which is most apparent in the character of Clara del Valle, who is clairvoyant and in touch with a variety of entities in the spirit world. Her presence, humane and connected to others through the human spirit, stands in opposition to her husband, whose harsh political beliefs nearly destroy his own family in the same way that those political beliefs nearly destroy their country.

Read about the other entries on the list.

The House of the Spirits is among Elif Shafak's five favorite literary mothers.

--Marshal Zeringue