Agnes Grey – Anne Bronte

Synopsis: Having lost the family savings on risky investments, Richard Grey removes himself from family life and suffers a bout of depression. Feeling helpless and frustrated, his youngest daughter, Agnes, applies for a job as a governess to the children of a wealthy, upper-class, English family. Ecstatic at the thought that she has finally gained control and freedom over her own life, Agnes arrives at the Bloomfield mansion armed with confidence and purpose. The cruelty with which the family treat her however, slowly but surely strips the heroine of all dignity and belief in humanity. A tale of female bravery in the face of isolation and subjugation, Agnes Grey is a masterpiece claimed by Irish writer, George Moore, to be possessed of all the qualities and style of a Jane Austen title. Its simple prosaic style propels the narrative forward in a gentle yet rhythmic manner which continuously leaves the listener wanting to know more.

Black Beauty – Anna Sewel

Synopsis: Black Beauty spends his youth in a loving home, surrounded by friends and cared for by his owners. But when circumstances change, he learns that not all humans are so kind. Passed from hand to hand, Black Beauty witnesses love and cruelty, wealth and poverty, friendship and hardship . . . Will the handsome horse ever find a happy and lasting home? Carefully retold in clear contemporary language, and presented with delightful illustrations, these favourite classic stories capture the heart and imagination of young readers. By retelling the story in a shorter, simpler form, these books become highly engaging for children, and the colour illustrations help with both comprehension and interest level.

Charlotte’s Web – E.B. White

Synopsis: Some Pig. Humble. Radiant. These are the words in Charlotte’s Web, high up in Zuckerman’s barn. Charlotte’s spiderweb tells of her feelings for a little pig named Wilbur, who simply wants a friend. They also express the love of a girl named Fern, who saved Wilbur’s life when he was born the runt of his litter.

Don Quixote – Miguel de Cervantes

Synopsis: Don Quixote has become so entranced by reading chivalric romances that he determines to become a knight-errant himself. In the company of his faithful squire, Sancho Panza, his exploits blossom in all sorts of wonderful ways. While Quixote’s fancy often leads him astray—he tilts at windmills, imagining them to be giants—Sancho acquires cunning and a certain sagacity. Sane madman and wise fool, they roam the world together, and together they have haunted readers’ imaginations for nearly four hundred years.

Eight Cousins – Louisa May Alcott

Synopsis: When Rose Campbell, a shy orphan, arrives at “The Aunt Hill” to live with her six aunts and seven boisterous male cousins, she is quite overwhelmed. How could such a delicate young lady, used to the quiet hallways of a girls’ boarding school, exist in such a spirited home? It is the arrival of Uncle Alec that changes everything. Much to the horror of her aunts, Rose’s forward-thinking uncle insists that the child get out of the parlor and into the sunshine. And with a little courage and lots of adventures with her mischievous but loving cousins, Rose begins to bloom.

First and Last Things – H.G. Wells

Synopsis: States the author: I am an ingenuous enquirer with, I think, some capacity for religious feeling, but neither a prophet nor a saint.

Great Expectations – Charles Dickens

Synopsis: The orphan Pip’s terrifying encounter with an escaped convict on the Kent marshes, and his mysterious summons to the house of Miss Havisham and her cold, beautiful ward Estella, form the prelude to his “great expectations.” How Pip comes into a fortune, what he does with it, and what he discovers through his secret benefactor are the ingredients of his struggle for moral redemption.

Hamlet – William Shakespeare

Synopsis: Hamlet is the story of the Prince of Denmark who learns of the death of his father at the hands of his uncle, Claudius. Claudius murders Hamlet’s father, his own brother, to take the throne of Denmark and to marry Hamlet’s widowed mother. Hamlet is sunk into a state of great despair as a result of discovering the murder of his father and the infidelity of his mother. Hamlet is torn between his great sadness and his desire for the revenge of his father’s murder.

Israel Potter – Herman Melville

Synopsis: The fictionalised tale of a man who really did fight in the American Revolution — a man who lived a life of very real adventure. After fighting in the revolution, he went on to be a part of the newly-established United States Navy, ended up serving as a secret courier for Benjamin Franklin.

Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte

Synopsis: Orphaned as a child, Jane has felt an outcast her whole young life. Her courage is tested once again when she arrives at Thornfield Hall, where she has been hired by the brooding, proud Edward Rochester to care for his ward Adèle. Jane finds herself drawn to his troubled yet kind spirit. She falls in love. Hard. But there is a terrifying secret inside the gloomy, forbidding Thornfield Hall. Is Rochester hiding from Jane? Will Jane be left heartbroken and exiled once again?

King Lear – William Shakespeare

Synopsis: Shakespeare’s King Lear challenges us with the magnitude, intensity, and sheer duration of the pain that it represents. Its figures harden their hearts, engage in violence, or try to alleviate the suffering of others. Lear himself rages until his sanity cracks. What, then, keeps bringing us back to King Lear? For all the force of its language, King Lear is almost equally powerful when translated, suggesting that it is the story, in large part, that draws us to the play. The play tells us about families struggling between greed and cruelty, on the one hand, and support and consolation, on the other. Emotions are extreme, magnified to gigantic proportions. We also see old age portrayed in all its vulnerability, pride, and, perhaps, wisdom—one reason this most devastating of Shakespeare’s tragedies is also perhaps his most moving.

Little Wars – H.G. Wells

Synopsis: Little Wars is the game of kings – for players in an inferior social position. It can be played by boys of every age from twelve to one hundred and fifty – and even later if the limbs remain sufficiently supple – by girls of the better sort, and by a few rare and gifted women. This is to be a full History of Little Wars from its recorded and authenticated beginning until the present time, an account of how to make little warfare, and hints of the most priceless sort for the recumbent strategist.

Mansfield Park – Jane Austen

Synopsis: Adopted into the household of her uncle, Sir Thomas Bertram, Fanny Price grows up a meek outsider among her cousins in the unaccustomed elegance of Mansfield Park. Soon after Sir Thomas absents himself on estate business in Antigua (the family’s investment in slavery and sugar is considered in the Introduction in a new, post-colonial light), Mary Crawford and her brother Henry arrive at Mansfield, bringing with them London glamour, and the seductive taste for flirtation and theatre that precipitates a crisis.

Notre-Dame de Paris – Victor Hugo

Synopsis: In the vaulted Gothic towers of Notre-Dame Cathedral lives Quasimodo, the hunchbacked bellringer. Mocked and shunned for his appearance, he is pitied only by Esmerelda, a beautiful gypsy dancer to whom he becomes completely devoted. Esmerelda, however, has also attracted the attention of the sinister archdeacon Claude Frollo, and when she rejects his lecherous approaches, Frollo hatches a plot to destroy her, that only Quasimodo can prevent. Victor Hugo’s sensational, evocative novel brings life to the medieval Paris he loved, and mourns its passing in one of the greatest historical romances of the nineteenth century.

Oldtown Fireside Stories – Harriet Beecher Stowe

Synopsis: These are 15 charming short stories told by ole’ Sam Lawson to entertain Horace and Bill, two impressionable, curious and clever young boys of Oldtown (a fictional 1850’s New England village).

Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen

Synopsis: Jane Austen called this brilliant work “her own darling child” and its vivacious heroine, Elizabeth Bennet, “as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print.” The romantic clash between the opinionated Elizabeth and her proud beau, Mr. Darcy, is a splendid performance of civilised sparring. And Jane Austen’s radiant wit sparkles as her characters dance a delicate quadrille of flirtation and intrigue, making this book the most superb comedy of manners of Regency England.

Queen Summer – Walter Crane

Synopsis: ‘Queen Summer – Or the Tourney of the Lily and the Rose’ was originally published in 1891. It is an epic poem about the allegorical figure of ‘Queen Summer’, decorated throughout in stunning neoclassical style. It is both written and illustrated by Walter Crane – a true master of the Golden Age of illustration. The text and the artwork are presented as one, with Crane’s full-colour pages further enhancing the beautiful poetry. When Summer on the earth was queen She held her court in gardens green Fair hung with tapestry of leaves, Where threads of gold the sun enweaves.

Rainbow Valley – L.M. Montgomery

Synopsis: Anne Shirley is grown up, has married her beloved Gilbert, and is the mother of six mischievous children. These boys and girls discover a special place all their own, but they never dream of what will happen when a strange family moves into an old mansion nearby. The Meredith clan is two boys and two girls—and a runaway named Mary Vance. Soon the Merediths join Anne’s children in their private hideout, intent on carrying out their plans to save Mary from the orphanage, to help the lonely minister find happiness, and to keep a pet rooster from the soup pot. There’s always an adventure brewing in the sun-dappled world of Rainbow Valley.

Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen

Synopsis: Marianne Dashwood wears her heart on her sleeve, and when she falls in love with the dashing but unsuitable John Willoughby she ignores her sister Elinor’s warning that her impulsive behaviour leaves her open to gossip and innuendo. Meanwhile Elinor, always sensitive to social convention, is struggling to conceal her own romantic disappointment, even from those closest to her. Through their parallel experience of love—and its threatened loss—the sisters learn that sense must mix with sensibility if they are to find personal happiness in a society where status and money govern the rules of love.

Twelfth Night – William Shakespeare

Synopsis: The Countess Olivia, a woman with her own household, attracts Duke (or Count) Orsino. Two other would-be suitors are her pretentious steward, Malvolio, and Sir Andrew Aguecheek. Onto this scene arrive the twins Viola and Sebastian; caught in a shipwreck, each thinks the other has drowned. Viola disguises herself as a male page and enters Orsino’s service. Orsino sends her as his envoy to Olivia—only to have Olivia fall in love with the messenger. The play complicates, then wonderfully untangles, these relationships.

Under the Lilacs – Louisa May Alcott

Synopsis: Ben and his trained dog, Sancho, run away from the circus and soon find a warm welcome in a kind community where spirited games are played. Theatricals and imaginative pageantry are all part of the fun.

Villette – Charlotte Bronte

Synopsis: Lucy Snowe flees England and a tragic past to become an instructor in a French boarding school in the town of Villette. There she unexpectedly confronts her feelings of love and longing as she witnesses the fitful romance between Dr. John, a handsome young Englishman, and Ginerva Fanshawe, a beautiful coquette. The first pain brings others, and with them comes the heartache Lucy has tried so long to escape. Yet in spite of adversity and disappointment, Lucy Snowe survives to recount the unstinting vision of a turbulent life’s journey – a journey that is one of the most insightful fictional studies of a woman’s consciousness in English literature.

Wonderful Wizard of Oz – L. Frank Baum

Synopsis: When Dorothy and her little dog Toto are caught in a tornado, they and their Kansas farmhouse are suddenly transported to Oz, where Munchkins live, monkeys fly and Wicked Witches rule. Desperate to return home, and with the Wicked Witch of the West on their trail, Dorothy and Toto – together with new friends the Tin Woodsman, Scarecrow and cowardly Lion – embark on a fantastic quest along the Yellow Brick Road in search of the Emerald City. There they hope to meet the legendary, all-powerful Wizard of Oz, who alone may hold the power to grant their every wish.

Xantippe (and other verse) – Amy Levy

Synopsis: Amy Levy (1861-1889) was a British poet and novelist. Levy was born in Clapham, London into a Jewish family that was mildly observant, but as an adult she no longer practised Judaism although she continued to identify with the Jews as a people. Levy wrote stories, essays and poems for periodicals, some popular and others literary. The stories Cohen of Trinity and Wise in Their Generation, both published in Oscar Wilde’s magazine Women’s World, are among her best. Her final book of poems, A London Plane-Tree and Other Verse (1889), contains lyrics that are among the first to show the influence of French symbolism. Her other works include Xantippe and Other Verse (1881), The Romance of a Shop (1888), Reuben Sachs (1888) and Miss Meredith (1889).

Youth – Leo Tolstoy

Synopsis: In Youth, Leo Tolstoy’s protagonist—now a fervent sixteen-year-old—eagerly prepares to strike out on his own. And as he does so, he begins to savour life in all its glory, both grand and miniscule. From his interactions with friends, old and new, to his perceptions of the beauty of nature, the young man has an entirely new world to look forward to. But harsh lessons are waiting to teach him that far-flung expectations are rarely fulfilled to the dreamer’s specifications, and that disappointment, anger, and grief are constant foes that must be contended with if one is to truly live.

Zofloya – Charlotte Dacre

Synopsis: ‘Few venture as thou hast in the alarming paths of sin.’ This is the final judgement of Satan on Victoria di Loredani, the heroine of Zofloya, or The Moor (1806), a tale of lust, betrayal, and multiple murder set in Venice in the last days of the fifteenth century. The novel follows Victoria’s progress from spoilt daughter of indulgent aristocrats, through a period of abuse and captivity, to a career of deepening criminality conducted under Satan’s watchful eye. Charlotte Dacre’s narrative deftly displays her heroine’s movement from the vitalised position of Ann Radcliffe’s heroines to a fully conscious commitment to vice that goes beyond that of ‘Monk’ Lewis’s deluded Ambrosio. The novel’s most daring aspect is its anatomy of Victoria’s intense sexual attraction to her Moorish servant Zofloya that transgresses taboos both of class and race. A minor scandal on its first publication, and a significant influence on Byron and Shelley, Zofloya has been unduly neglected. Contradicting idealised stereotypes of women’s writing, the novel’s portrait of indulged desire, gratuitous cruelty, and monumental self-absorption retains considerable power to disturb.

Hopefully this inspires you to read a classic or three (or even more)!

Which ones have you read? Tell us in the comments below!

The post The A to Z of Classic Books appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Ever since Taylor Swift released Folklore back in July, I have been completely obsessed with this mystical and immersive album. It makes you feel like you’re wandering in the forest all by yourself, lost in your thoughts, and searching for something that’s so much bigger than yourself. If you enjoyed it as much as I did, then you’re probably wanting to relive some of the emotions you’ve had while listening to Folklore and what better way to do it than to read some books that are in the same vein! I’ve paired each song with a book or a series that I consider very similar in tone and themes, so hopefully you will find these books as magical as Folklore…

The 1 – On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan
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On Chesil Beach is the story of a young love that failed due to miscommunication. Florence and Edward’s wedding night is somewhat of a fiasco because they are both unexperienced and they both harbour a huge fear of letting the other down. Instead of talking openly about those worries and their desires, they keep trying and failing to interpret what the other wants. Shortly after their wedding night, they get a divorce which makes the rest of the book be full of ‘what-ifs’ that are reminiscent to Swift’s lyrics in The 1 (You know the greatest films of all time were never made/But we were something, don’t you think so?/Roaring twenties, tossing pennies in the pool/And if my wishes came true/It would’ve been you).

Cardigan – The Winner’s Curse Trilogy by Marie Rutkoski
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These lyrics from Cardigan (Sensual politics/When you are young, they assume you know nothing/But I knew you’d linger like a tattoo kiss/I knew you’d haunt all of my what-ifs/The smell of smoke would hang around this long/’Cause I knew everything when I was young) remind me so much of Kestrel, the protagonist of the series who is such a great strategist. Everybody keeps underestimating her all through the series because she’s young, but her intelligence and political skills always make her come on top. Her relationship with Arin also matches the lyrics very well as he’s the only one who really sees her for who she is, he appreciates her and makes her feel valued (And when I felt like I was an old cardigan/Under someone’s bed/You put me on and said I was your favorite).

​The Last Great American Dynasty – What Would Boudicca Do? by Elizabeth Foley & Beth Coates
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What Would Boudicca Do? is a spectacular non-fiction book that introduces you to so many wonderful women that changed the world for the better by not following the rules, by being bold and creative (There goes the maddest woman this town has ever seen/She had a marvelous time ruining everything/Flew in all her Bitch Pack friends from the city/Filled the pool with champagne and swam with the big names/And blew through the money on the boys and the ballet/And losing on card game bets with Dalí). The book also gives amazing advice to modern women on how to solve their problems from dealing with men that keep interrupting them in business meetings to dealing with the pressure social media puts on you to be perfect – all based on how women like Cleopatra, Coco Chanel, and Frida Kahlo acted in similar situations.

Exile – The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black
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The Queen of Nothing is the final instalment in the The Folk of the Air trilogy and it explores the aftermath of Jude’s exile, which has been imposed by her fae lover. The two have a very tumultuous enemies-to-lovers relationship that includes constantly trying to best each other, misinterpreting the signals they receive and denying their feelings which reminds me very much of this song (We always walked a very thin line/You didn’t even hear me out/You never gave a warning sign/All this time/I never learned to read your mind/I couldn’t turn things around/’Cause you never gave a warning sign). I can definitely see it playing in the background while Jude is trying to pinpoint the exact moment that lead to her exile.

My Tears Ricochet – A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne
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I was struggling to find a book that deals with a betrayal that’s as brutal and heartbreaking as the one depicted In My Tears Ricochet, but then I thought of A Ladder to the Sky which is an incredible fit. Maurice has no remorse while he climbs up the ladder of success by stealing the stories of those who loved him. He plagiarises, he betrays, he destroys lives only to make sure that his name will be immortalised. If the book focuses on Maurice’s perspective and is the account of a ruthless opportunist, the song would present the victims’ perspective (You know I didn’t want to have to haunt you/But what a ghostly scene/You wear the same jewels that I gave you/As you bury me/And when you can’t sleep at night/You hear my stolen lullabies).

Mirrorball – The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
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One of the most glamorous songs off the album, mirrorball is very similar to Reid’s book in terms of atmosphere. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is about a retired Hollywood movie star who’s ready to finally tell the truth about her scandalous and captivating life that included lots of parties, film premieres and fancy clothes (I’ll get you out on the floor/Shimmering beautiful/ You’ll find me on my tallest tiptoes/Spinning in my highest heels, love/Shining just for you). The protagonist relished being the centre of attention back in the day, had a love life that got everyone talking and her ambition and charm secured her movie icon status (I’m a mirrorball/I can change everything about me to fit in/I’m still trying everything/To keep you looking at me). The book is bigger than life and so is the song, this dramatic flair that they share will have you completely under their spell.

Seven – Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
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Bridge to Terabithia is about Jess Aarons whose biggest dream is to be the fastest runner in his grade and about Leslie Burke, the new girl that outruns him on the very first day of school. It’s about the power of imagination, pure friendships and how much easier things are when you are a child (Please picture me in the trees/I hit my peak at seven/Feet in the swing over the creek/I was too scared to jump in/But I, I was high in the sky/With Pennsylvania under me/Are there still beautiful things?). Just like Swift’s Seven, the book doesn’t shy away from the grittier subjects – it’s not all about getting lost in magical worlds, it’s also about loss, dealing with grief and bullying (And I think you should come live with me/And we can be pirates/Then you won’t have to cry/Or hide in the closet/And just like a folk song/Our love will be passed on).

August – They Say Sarah by Pauline Delabroy-Allard
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They Say Sarah tells the story of a passionate and obsessive love affair between two women, a single mother who is trying to navigate the newly divorced life and a vivacious and talented violinist. The unnamed narrator has a gloomy perspective on life, every day seems to blur into the other, she doesn’t like her job as a teacher anymore and her love life is quite boring all until she meets Sarah. They have a very magnetic connection from the beginning, but there is also this sense of constant desperation at the prospect of their relationship ending (And I can see us twisted in bedsheets/August sipped away like a bottle of wine/’Cause you were never mine). Sarah is very spontaneous and volatile which means that their relationship is full of clandestine meetings, intense break-ups and even more intense reconciliations (To live for the hope of it all/Cancel plans just in case you’d call/And say, “Meet me behind the mall”/So much for summer love and saying “us”/’Cause you weren’t mine to lose/You weren’t mine to lose, no). 

This Is Me Trying – Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson
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This Is Me Trying reminded me very much of Matson’s protagonist, Emily as the lyrics are filled with regret, self-doubt, uncertainty and longing for a time when everything was just fine. In the beginning of the book, we find Emily trying to adjust to an unexciting life without her best-friend, Sloane, the one who always brought her out of her shell and made sure they were always having a great time. The only thing Sloane leaves her is a list of crazy and way out of Emily’s comfort zone activities which she decides to complete hoping that they will bring her closer to Sloane and help her understand why she had left so suddenly (I’ve been having a hard time adjusting/I had the shiniest wheels, now they’re rusting/I didn’t know if you’d care if I came back/I have a lot of regrets about that/Could’ve followed my fears all the way down/And maybe I don’t quite know what to say/But I’m here in your doorway/I just wanted you to know/That this is me trying). Since You’ve Been Gone is a fun summer book about friendships and finding who you are even if it’s scary.

​Illicit Affairs – Normal People by Sally Rooney
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I believe Normal People could have worked for more than one song off this album, but Illicit Affairs fit it perfectly in particular. The book is about Marianne and Connell who start dating each other in secret at the beginning of their senior year of high-school, there are socio-economical differences, their respective reputations at their school and miscommunication that keeps them from admitting that they are together (Make sure nobody sees you leave/Hood over your head, keep your eyes down/Tell your friends you’re out for a run/You’ll be flushed when you return/And that’s the thing about illicit affairs/And clandestine meetings and longing stares/It’s born from just one single glance/But it dies and it dies and it dies/A million little times). Normal People explores the depth of their relationship as the years pass, it shows how strong human connections can be and how the love of someone else can change you for the better. It’s also very angsty at times because of how intense their on-and-off relationship is (Don’t call me kid/Don’t call me baby/Look at this idiotic fool that you made me/You taught me a secret language/I can’t speak with anyone else/And you know damn well/For you I would ruin myself/A million little times).

Invisible String – Lovely War by Julie Berry
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Invisible String is all about fate and a meant-to-be love that could defy all, which made me think of Lovely War almost instantly. Lovely War is about two couples that fall in love during World War I and it’s definitely similar in themes with the song as Aphrodite intervenes on many occasions to make sure that their love will last and they have to overcome so many obstacles in order to stay together (Time, mystical time/Cutting me open, then healing me fine/Were there clues I didn’t see?/And isn’t it just so pretty to think/All along there was some/Invisible string/Tying you to me?). It’s a beautiful tale that similarly to Swift’s song will make you believe that love can conquer it all.

Mad Woman – Sin Eater by Megan Campisi
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Sin Eater is the story of May who is punished to become a Sin Eater after stealing bread, her responsibilities include listening to the confessions of those who are about to die and then eating various foods that are associated with the confessed sins. This was an actual medieval spiritual practice that ensured people will be absolved of their sins and granted passage to heaven as the Sin Eater took all these sins on. Because of this, Sin Eaters are outcasts – no one is allowed to touch them, speak to them unless it’s during a confession which definitely made May feel angry and isolated (And there’s nothing like a mad woman/What a shame she went mad/No one likes a mad woman/You made her like that). There’s the feeling of being wronged, the topic of witches coming up and a whole mystery surrounding a court that is very similar to Elizabeth I’s that make this book so similar to the song (And women like hunting witches too/Doing your dirtiest work for you/It’s obvious that wanting me dead/Has really brought you two together/I’m taking my time, taking my time/’Cause you took everything from me).

Epiphany – The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
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The Nickel Boys is an incredible and haunting book, it’s inspired by real life events which makes it even more heart-breaking. It tells the story of Elwood Curtis, a black boy who is unfairly sentenced to the Nickel Academy, a reformatory school. The Nickel Boys go through so much there, there’s racism, abuse in all of its forms, so much corruption and injustice, it broke my heart to read about it. The writing is so good that it makes you feel all that powerlessness and anger that the characters feel. The fact that we get to see some characters after they get out of the juvenile prison and they are still trying to make sense of what they’ve seen and what they’ve endured there so many years later reminded me a lot of Swift’s song (“Sir, I think he’s bleeding out”/And some things you just can’t speak about/Only twenty minutes to sleep/But you dream of some epiphany/Just one single glimpse of relief/To make some sense of what you’ve seen).

Betty – P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han
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I think Betty (I’m only seventeen, I don’t know anything/But I know I miss you) reminds me so much of what happens in the second book of the To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before trilogy as it presents similar situations – people messing up because they are young and they don’t know any better. I think both try to send the message that you can love someone and still mess up pretty badly (You heard the rumors from Inez/You can’t believe a word she says/Most times, but this time it was true/The worst thing that I ever did/Was what I did to you). I can’t reveal much of the plot as it’s a sequel, but the whole trilogy is a very adorable coming of age journey – the characters make mistakes, they grow up, they are complex and you will root for them until the very end.

Peace – Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin
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Serpent & Dove is the story of Lou, a witch who is in hiding after fleeing her coven and who ends up marrying Reid, a witch hunter. As you can imagine, the situation is kind of tricky as she ends up living in a place full of witch hunters and she has to hide her identity not only from her husband, but also from everyone else. The dynamics between Lou and Reid remind me especially of this song – Lou is very fiery and impulsive while Reid is the more level-headed one, Lou also makes fun of Reid so many times of his proper manners and how full of integrity he thinks he is in comparison with her and the witches (But I’m a fire and I’ll keep your brittle heart warm/If your cascade, ocean wave blues come/ Your integrity makes me seem small/You paint dreamscapes on the wall/I talk shit with my friends, it’s like I’m wasting your honor). Their initial fake marriage and then the way they develop real feelings for each other, devotion and how they’re capable of sacrificing everything for one another also reminds me of Swift’s lyrics (All these people think love’s for show/But I would die for you in secret/The devil’s in the details, but you got a friend in me/Would it be enough if I could never give you peace?/And you know that I’d swing with you for the fences/Sit with you in the trenches/Give you my wild, give you a child/Give you the silence that only comes when two people understand each other).

Hoax – Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
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Anna Karenina is the story of a woman who has it all and chooses to give it all up for love. At the beginning everyone envies her for her money, her good marriage and her beauty. After she divorces her husband in order to be with her true love, Count Vronsky, she becomes somewhat of an outcast, her reputation is tainted, everyone gossips about her, her husband won’t let her see her son – the entire world turns on her and it makes her rethink all of her choices. Her love for Vronsky remains a constant even if it’s a faithless love (My only one/My smoking gun/My eclipsed sun/This has broken me down/My sleepless night/My winless fight/This has frozen my ground/ Stood on the cliffside screaming, “Give me a reason”/Your faithless love’s the only hoax I believe in/Don’t want no other shade of blue but you/No other sadness in the world would do).

Do you have any other recommendations? Tell us in the comments below!

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Winter is the best season for staying inside and curling up with a good book. I believe winter is the time when I get most of my reading done and if you’re anything like me, then you’re in need of some recommendations! It doesn’t matter if you see it as a great time for tackling some of the most intimidating books on your shelf or for getting lost in magical fairy-tale-like worlds – this list has a bit of everything and will surely satisfy your bookish needs!

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
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This book follows Lina who is displaced to a Siberian work camp during World War II. It’s a story that underlines the human strength – specifically, the power of hope and kindness. It focuses on what Lithuanians had to endure during the Soviet Occupation, a subject that I’ve never seen discussed until this book. Sepetys’ writing is almost haunting and you will hang on every word of hers.

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
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If you’re looking for a winter-y book to match the cold outside, look no further! This one is inspired by Russian folk-lore and it’s set in the Russian wilderness where winter lasts most of the year. Everything is so atmospheric and magic is a big part of it which will surely remind you of reading fairy-tales and getting lost in far-away realms.

Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin
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Besides being very fitting for the season, this book tells the story of Louise le Blanc and Reid Diggory – the first being a witch and the latter being a Chasseur, a witch-hunter. Through some fateful events, they are forced into a marriage which generates some of the funniest and most tension-charged parts of the book. It’s a great take on the enemies-to-lovers trope and the witches make everything so bad-ass.

My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
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Winter is a great time for hibernation and if you ever thought about sleeping an entire year away, you might want to check out this book! The narrator decides that all she wants to do with her life at the moment is to sleep in order to not have to think about the wreck her life is. As she goes through this experiment, we get to see more about what brought her in this position from the death of her parents to her unhealthy relationships and friendships. If you have no problem reading about unlikable heroines and you’re a fan of dark humour, then this one is for you!

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
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If you love reading books that will emotionally wreck you during this period, The Book Thief is narrated by Death itself and even the peculiar narrator ends up feeling sorry for the characters in the end – I think that’s pretty telling. A huge emphasis on books and the power of words will surely draw the readers in as well. I’ve read this book four years ago, yet there are times even now when I still think about Liesel’s story… so moving and beautiful.

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
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If classics are your cup of tea, then you might want to check out this drama-filled tale about a woman who’s unsatisfied with her marriage and the consequences of her adultery. It has the specific grandeur of Russian classics, dealing with various social and political themes – it might seem intimidating, but it’s easier to read than most Russian classics.

Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young
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Vikings are always relevant, but I think this book would be great to cosy with in the colder nights of February. Eelyn is caught by a rival clan and all she wants is to go back home up until she understands that the Riki aren’t all that different from her people. This leads her to a journey to unite the clans in order to face a mutual enemy. This book has very beautiful family dynamics and a slow-burn romance that you will root for.

Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough
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If you’re interested in the forgotten women of history and art, then this tale that’s focused on the life of Artemisia Gentileschi will be great for you! It deals with sexual assault and shows how Artemisia fought back after being raped by her mentor. I liked the way other powerful women were integrated in this book as well, how the author chose to bind Gentileschi’s trauma to theirs and show why they might have appeared in Artemisia’s paintings. It’s an emotional and empowering novel-in-verse that I’ll never stop recommending.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt
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The Secret History tells the story of a group of pretentious students and it’s a classic for the dark academia genre. The characters are so flawed yet fascinating to read about and the plot-lines will keep you on the edge trying to figure out what will happen to the protagonists. Donna Tartt’s writing is mysterious and the book’s atmosphere is almost eerie. If you like books that deal with messed up kids and murder, then this one will definitely be your next favourite!

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
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I wish I could read this book again for the very first time because that’s how glorious it is. Evelyn Hugo is definitely someone I look up to because of how strong and resilient she is. How she never lets men tell her what to do, how focused she is on her career and on protecting her loved ones. She’s fierce and manages to shine so brightly through this book. Besides how amazing the protagonist is, I loved the cinematic aspects and how well crafted the story is, all the secondary characters are fleshed out and this book is absolutely brilliant!

Do you have any other suggestions? Tell us in the comments below!

The post 10 Books To Enjoy During Winter appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

That’s the thing about books. They let you travel without moving your feet. – Jhumpa Lahiri

To travel is one of the most beautiful things in the world. Do you love to explore new places as I do? I love to lose myself in a foreign city and dive into the culture and history of another country, while others like to go to the beach and explore the beauty of the ocean.

You may pick up a travel guide or search online what you can do in the city you are visiting next. I tend to start writing down a list of everything I want to see and mark it on a map and plan routes so that I will not miss anything. Nevertheless, I also like to get inspired by books I read and I start imagine myself being at the same spot where the characters from the books stood and to embrace the feeling the author wanted to transport a reader to in their story.

Over the years, I have come across a couple of books which have shown me around different cultures and cities through Europe and now, I want to share some of them with you which I highly recommend if you plan to visit Europe.

Let us pick up our backpacks, grab our train tickets, and start explore beautiful Europe!

We will start our journey in Vienna, where I was born and partly raised. Shame on me, but I have not really read a book about Vienna or Austria since I was in school. The most internationally well-known story about Austria is The Sound of Music, which tells the story about the Von Trapp family and what happened to them during the Second World War. Somehow, there’s many Austrians that don’t know this movie even exists! Make sure to see Vienna and Salzburg and visit the places where Empress Sissi and Mozart lived.

The journey takes us next to beautiful Greece where we follow the Greek gods around their temples of which we have heard from Circe by Madeline Miller—because Circe is a Titan, she gives a pretty good overview of Greek mythology. Exploring can make you hungry and after a swim in the crystal clear sea, we eat some Gyros and plan our trip to the next country…

In Italy we follow Lina from Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch through Toscana and visit Crema where the movie adaptation of Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman was made. Italy is perfect for love stories and epic adventures. However, there is also a detective story hidden in Venice. Donna Leon is famous for her Brunetti crime series, and a little fun fact about Leon is that she is an American writer who lives in Venice and her books are published all around the world, but not in Italy because she does not want to be recognised while grocery shopping. So as long as we can bear the hot weather, let’s continue with our trip.

Following Monty from The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee, we end up in Barcelona, Spain. We for sure will have a fun time cursing with him from Italy to Spain and take a go up a tower of Sagrada Familia to see the city from above. How are you feeling? Do you have enough of the heat? Then let’s continue to our next stop.

France, but more precisely, Paris. I have so many books taking place in Paris and I am not sure I can count them all. Who wants to explore old Paris through Eponine eyes from Les Miserables by Victor Hugo? Or follow Anna from Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins to every corner of the city? I for sure would not mind to meet some revenants from Die For Me by Amy Plum or take a trip to the fictional village of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes and eat some chocolate with Vianne from Chocolate by Joanne Harris.

If you have successfully convinced me to continue our trip, we will make a quick stop in Idris from The Shadowhunter Chronicles by Cassandra Clare. Well, we would if we are able to find it. It is rumoured to be found between Germany, France and Switzerland. I guess we will find out if we are descended from Shadowhunter or if we are mundanes…

I could recommend to you a lot of books taking place in Germany, but unfortunately the majority of them haven’t been translated into English so let’s just stick with the classics, The Brother’s Grimm. Their stories will bring us all over the country, but the moment you see a big bad wolf or a woman talking gibberish, we better keep going to our next stop.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green partially takes place in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The book alone is sad enough that we can sit by the Amstel and cry for a bit and then be distracted by all the beautiful flowers that are all over the town.

From Amsterdam it is not that far to take a plane to Ireland. We explore the country like the siblings Addie and Ian from Love & Luck by Jenna Evans Welch. If we are lucky we even can go to the Electric Picnic Music Festival and dance as long our feet will allow it.

Great Britain is the country of magicians, or so I have heard. I am sure we will be able to find a trace of Harry’s magic in those streets as told by J.K. Rowling. Maybe we will be able to make a trip with Kell from A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab to another London. As Travars!

Have you had enough of magic? Then maybe a little bit of crime is what you need now. Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist from The Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson are waiting for us in Sweden. Be warned, what they have to tell us is nothing that you will forget soon and it will haunt you maybe. So only take this trip when you really are up for it.

Either way, we will continue our trip to Russia and meet with Pierre from War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. I do not know about you, but this is one of my favourite classic stories and its complexity causes you to be immersed in the story a few times and to watch all the different movie adaptions. Moscow or St. Petersburg, I hope we do not keep lost in time and do not forget to continue our journey, because the next one is a special stop for me.

Next up is my second homeland, Poland. There I will tell you the story of Pan Tadeuz by Adam Mickiewicz, which tells the complicated history between Poland and Lithuania. Of course, we have to make a stop in Cracow, my hometown, and take a look at the Church of Our Lady St. Mary were the story of The Trumpeter of Krakow takes place. To say goodbye to Poland is always hard for me, but we are not yet down with our journey.

Want to see Vlad the Impaler’s castle? Well, off to Romania we go. Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco will give us a different perspective of it. Okay, I just saw a very big bat flying above us, can we go now? Please?

Maybe the next stop will be not a scary one. And I Darken by Kiersten White takes place in the Ottoman Empire, now known as Turkey, and with Lada on our side nothing bad can happen to us.

Every good thing has to come to an end, even an epic trip through Europe. Our last stop before we will head back home is beautiful Prague, Czech Republic. Karou from Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor is waiting for us and after sight-seeing, we will chill outside with food and drinks and enjoy the cool evening summer breeze while we talk about all the great memories we have gathered.

We hope you enjoyed The Nerd Daily book journey through Europe as much as we did and we hope you will travel with us again!

What other books and characters would we see along the way through Europe? Tell us in the comments below!

The post A Book Journey Through Europe appeared first on The Nerd Daily.