Given my Type A tendencies, I revert to lists of all kinds to keep my life organized. From To-Do lists (for me and separate ones for the hubby) to shopping lists to Excel files and Goodreads for TBR books. I have even started a TBR, or rather TO BE BOUGHT list for the upcoming arrival of our first grandchild. I know what’s already in the book bucket to make sure I don’t impulse buy a duplicate. My eagle eye, however, notes I better get shopping to quickly counterbalance those NY / NJ books with some about MA / Cape Cod / New England.

In my spare time (my what?), I compile lists of recommended books for readers with the hopes they will discover new and interesting titles to add to their TBR pile. A few years ago, given the struggles my book clubs often have in selecting titles, I began polling folks to create BEST PICKS FOR BOOK CLUBS with titles which generate lively discussions. I’ll run that poll again by December as a round-up for 2024. Watch for my call-out so you can help me with that one.

My #31titleswomeninhistory list for Women’s History Month in March continues to gain popularity and recognition. Readers await its release to discover more women from history whose stories have remained in the shadows. Two years running and I’m up to 61 titles (The Unlocked Path appeared on 2023 and 2024 – my list, my prerogative LOL). For 2025, I’ll add another 31 titles, replacing The Unlocked Path with The Path Beneath Her Feet to showcase the work of the American Women’s Hospitals in the 1930s and 40s. I am honored that the other thirty authors on the list each year have embraced the project to share the list with their followers and fans, too. I’m deep into reading and reviewing books now to complete the 2025 list by December.

Another Janis Robinson Daly recommended book list formed as I drafted my new library presentation with the theme of Historical Fiction: Inspiration and Education. Throughout the 35-minute / 17-slide presentation, I refer to nine other books besides my two novels which tie to the theme as examples of inspiration and education. I suggest to the librarians that they pull the books from their shelves to create a display in case an attendee wants to check one out then and there. Here’s the list:

• The Unlocked Path by Janis Robinson Daly
• The Path Beneath Her Feet by Janis Robinson Daly
• TRUST by Hernan Diaz
• Night Watch by Jane Anne Phillips
• Winter Garden, The Nightingale, Four Winds, The Women by Kristin Hannah
• The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson
• The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes
• It’s Up to the Women by Eleanor Roosevelt

Curious as to how these books fit together in my presentation? I’d love to schedule a talk at your local library for this Historical Fiction presentation or my review of the #31titleswomeninhistory as a March event. Feel free to send me the name of your library and I’ll reach out to them.

Finally, if you’re a lover of book lists which go beyond the NY Times Best Sellers or Goodreads Choice Awards, check out a cool site I recently came across:  Shepherd.com. On the site, you’ll find creative book mashups of lists created by authors, like:

• The best women’s fiction with an unlikely heroine
• The best books about old Hollywood in general (and Warner Brothers in particular)
• The best science fiction stories with pets

My recommended list went live yesterday: The best historical fiction about women who smashed glass ceilings.

An appropriate list, I think, for the moment in history we are living. Today, August 18, 2024, is the 104^th anniversary of the ratification of the 19^th Amendment with voters in Tennessee pushing through the majority of states needed for the ratification. Think of the years the mighty suffragists worked to smash those voting boxes to smithereens to give women a voice and a right to help direct their country’s future. That right has gained even more significance here in 2024. One of the most important acts citizens can take is exercising their right to vote. Make sure “VOTE” is on your TO-DO list for November 5th.

Here’s to hoping your TBR list grew by a few titles. Enjoy the rest of your summer, hopefully with a terrific book in your hands or on your ears. Do you have a favorite go-to list for book recommendations? Let me know.