The Quirky Bookworm

I began reading Confessions from a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella again this week. Remember that cult classic series? I went to Kinsella’s website, and read that she was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, at the end of 2022. She’s one of my favorite authors so the news was difficult for me to read. Additional information is available here.

Reading Confessions of a Shopaholic made me think of other classic romance novels I’ve read and loved so I created a list, which was fun for me to put together. I have a special place in my heart for the classic romances and plan to create more lists.

What are some of your favorites that you’ve read from the list? I would love to hear your thoughts!

Title: Evergreen
Series: Werner Family Saga (5 books)
Author: Belva Plain
Original Publication Date: January 1978
Page Length: 698

Evergreen is a personal favorite because of the rich detail and the main character, Anna, that leaves Poland to work in New York City in search of a more fulfilling life. She’s fearless in her quest and eventually becomes torn between two men that fall in love with her. This leads to a rich family saga that topped the New York Times Bestseller list for 41 weeks in 1978 and a limited tv series starring Lesley Ann Warren as Anna. Evergreen is perfect for historical fiction readers. Click here to purchase.

Title: Mackenzie’s Mountain
Series: Mackenzie Family Saga (4 books)
Author: Linda Howard
Original Publication Date: March 1989
Page Length: 249

Mackenzie Family Saga turned Linda Howard into a family name when first published in 1989. The novel was nominated for Best Romance Novel of the Year by Romance Writers of America. I added the book to my Goodreads TBR list last week. This week I began reading Susan Mallery’s recently published title, The Summer Book Club, and it coincidentally mentioned this book as one the club is reading. Mackenzie’s Mountain is a classic that’s still receiving numerous positive reviews today. Click here to purchase.

Title: Confessions of a Shopaholic
Series: Shopaholic (9 books)
Author: Sophie Kinsella
Publisher: Dell
Original Publication Date: November 2003
Page Length: 368

I read Confessions of a Shopaholic in my early 20’s and now reading it again as a 38-year-old. I love reading this book more for the second time. Many of us wanted to be Becky Bloomwood, she is us with a first job upon college graduation. Her character is relatable, quirky and witty. Click here to purchase.

Title: One for the Money
Series: Stephanie Plum
Author: Janet Evanovich
Original Publication Date: August 1994
Page Length: 320

I read One for the Money years ago and remember being truly delighted by Stephanie Plum due to her humor and wit. Now or Never will be #31 in the bestselling series and is set to publish in November 2024. 20 years later and the novels are still receiving thousands of five-star reviews. Evanovich is the master of her craft. Click here to purchase books from the series and preorder Now or Never.

Title: Penmarric
Author: Susan Howatch
Original Publication Date: January 1971
Page Length: 704

Penmarric is a classic British family drama written by bestselling author, Susan Howatch. Mark Castallack brings his new bride to the estate of Penmarric in Cornwall. Family drama ensues from the Victorian Era to World War II involving brothers, wives and mistresses. The BBC adapted Penmarric into a TV series that stars Annabel Leventon and Rupert Frazer. Click here to purchase.

Title: A Woman of Substance
Series: Harte Family (7 books)
Author: Barbara Taylor Bradford
Original Publication Date: January 1979
Page Length: 906

A Woman of Substance is the ultimate rags to riches love story, selling over 32 million copies and counting. Emma Harte remains one of the most popular and beloved characters in classic romance literature. Deborah Kerr was named an Emmy Award Nominee for her role as Emma Harte in a limited TV series. Click here to purchase.

Title: Scruples
Series: Scruples
Author: Judith Krantz
Original Publication Date: January 1978
Page Length: 474

Scruples is considered by many in the publishing industry to be the book on Hollywood. A young woman named Billy grew up sheltered from the harsh realities of life with a single father and nanny that doted on her every whim. Billy is transformed into a grown woman during a stay in Paris and returns to Beverly Hills to open the elite boutique, Scruples. Krantz gives readers an inside scoop on everything Hollywood. The limited TV series starring Lindsay Wagner as Billy and was hugely successful. Click here to purchase.

Title: A Love Story
Author: Erich Segal
Original Publication Date: January 1969
Page Length: 148

Many women in my generation might be familiar with Love Story due to our moms being obsessed with the movie when ABC released the film in 1970 and became a pop cultural phenomenon. My mom loved the film so much that she saw Ryan O’Neal and Ali MacGraw when they came to Dallas in 2016 for a reading of A.R. Gurney’s Love Letters. Click here to purchase Love Story.

Title: Bridges of Madison County
Author: Robert James Waller
Original Publication Date: April 1992
Page Length: 224

Bridges of Madison County became an instant classic when adapted into a movie starring Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood. Click here to purchase the book.

Title: The Notebook
Author: Nicholas Sparks
Original Publication Date: October 1996
Page Length: 226

The Notebook is to me what Love Story was to my mom. A classic love story that has endured through the decades. Click here to purchase.

Title: 84, Charing Cross Road
Author: Helen Hanff
Original Publication Date: January 1970
Page Length: 112

I’m looking forward to reading Helen Haff’s memoir, 84, Charing Cross Road. A free-lance writer in New York and a used bookshop dealer in London write letters for 20 years. The two never meet yet create a warm friendship based on mutual love of books. The movie adaption of the memoir stars Anne Bancroft, Judi Dench and Anthony Hopkins. Click here to purchase.

Title: Heartburn
Author: Nora Ephron
Original Publication Date: March 1983
Page Length: 179

Heartburn is Nora Ephron’s first published novel based upon her second marriage to Carl Bernstein, the famed Watergate journalist, which ended in divorce as a result of his affair with Margaret Jay, the daughter of the former British Prime Minister James Callaghan. The movie adaptation stars Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson. Ephron went on to become one of the most acclaimed movie directors of all time, most notably for When Harry Met Sally, which won a BAFTA for Best Original Screenplay. Click here to purchase.

Title: Beaches
Author: Iris Rainer Dart
Original Publication Date: June 1985
Page Length: 276

Beaches is a summer cult classic that follows the friendship of two women that meet for the first time in Atlantic City in 1951. Over the course of 30 years they continue to meet near the ocean and stay pen pals. The Beaches movie adaptation also became a cult classic that stars Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey. Click here to purchase.

Title: The Cove
Author: Catherine Coulter
Original Publication Date: April 1996
Page Length: 336

The Cove is the first novel in Catherine Coulter’s FBI Thriller series. Each book in the series follows two main FBI agents and computer specialists, Dillon Savich and Lacey Sherlock. The bestselling series was first published in April 1996 and still continues today with #27, Flashpoint, set to publish in July 2024. Click here to purchase books from the series and to preorder #27.

Title: Captive Bride
Author: Johanna Lindsey
Original Publication Date: August 1977
Page Length: 384

Captive Bride is Johanna Lindsey’s debut novel and was an instant success. She wrote 50 novels over the course of her career. Lindsey passed away at the age of 67 in 2019 from stage 4 lung cancer. Her historical fiction romances are still popular today with more than 58 million copies of her books sold and counting. Fun fact: Fabio, the famous Italian model, was often featured on Lindsey’s novel covers. All of her books reached the New York Times Bestseller List, many reaching #1, which made her one of the most successful historical romance novelists of all time. Click here to purchase Lindsey’s novels.

Title: Sweet Savage Love
Series: Morgan-Challenger (6 books)
Author: Rosemary Rogers
Original Publication Date: 1974
Page Length: 545

Rosemary Rogers is considered to be one of the founders of the modern historical romance. Sweet Savage Love was Rogers first published novel, and one that she began working on as a child. She rewrote the novel 24 times. Her teenage daughter found the manuscript and encouraged Rogers to submit to the famous romance publisher, Avon. Sweet Savage Love was an instant success. She was one of the first romance novelists to include scenes from the bedroom. She wrote 27 novels over the course of her career. Click here to purchase Sweet Savage Love and to view additional novels from Rogers.

Title: The Flame is Love
Series: The Barbara Cartland Eternal Collection
Author: Barbara Cartland
Original Publication Date: 1975
Page Length: 230

Barbara Cartland is the #1 best-selling romance novelist of all time. She wrote 723 novels, including 160 manuscripts that were published posthumously as her Pink Collection. Jigsaw was her first novel and published in 1923. Cartland’s novels are now available as audiobooks for the first time on Spotify. Visit the author’s website here to purchase the books.

Title: Vision in White
Series: The Bride Quartet
Author: Nora Roberts
Original Publication Date: April 2009
Page Length: 325

The Bride Quartet is one of Nora Roberts bestselling series. The first novel, Vision in White, won Goodreads Choice for Romance in 2009. Click here to purchase.

Title: Virgin River
Series: Virgin River (22)
Author: Robyn Carr
Original Publication Date: April 2007
Page Length: 432

I began reading the Virgin River novels after binge watching the Netflix series this year. Virgin River is my favorite summer read for 2024 so far. I love the characters of Mel and Hope in the book series just as much as I do in the Netflix adaptation. Perfect for fans of tv soaps and readers looking for a romance series to get lost in over the summer. Click here to purchase books from the completed series. Season 6 of Virgin River is set to be released in 2025.

Title: Naked in Death
Series: In Death (58, 2 set to publish)
Author: J.D. Robb
Original Publication Date: July 1995
Page Length: 294

I haven’t read J.D. Robb’s (aka Nora Roberts) In Death series, however, it is on my TBR list. Click here to purchase published works and to preorder the next books. Book #59, Passions in Death, is set to release in September 2024 and book #60, Bonded in Death, is set to release in February 2025.

Title: Jewels
Author: Danielle Steel
Original Publication Date: May 1992
Page Length: 471

Danielle Steel is America’s Queen of Romance, with over 800 million copies sold of her 140 novels. Jewels is one of my favorite romances and was made into a TV miniseries starring Annette O’Toole and Anthony Andrews. Perfect for fans of romance and historical fiction. Click here to purchase.

Title: The Beach Club
Author: Elin Hildebrand
Original Publication Date: June 2000
Page Length: 320

Elin Hildebrand is the Queen of Beach Reads according to her fans, of which there are millions. Her novels have made our summers as bookworms. We may not be able to escape to Nantucket physically yet can visit through Hildebrand’s talented writing. New York magazine agrees and officially named her Queen of Beach Reads in 2019. She’s the original and best of the best for her craft. Her final novel, Swan Song, is set to publish tomorrow, Tuesday, June 11th. We will miss her as a writer dearly! She’s a treasure. Visit the author’s website here to listen to the podcast and for a list of complete works. The Perfect Couple (2018) is set to premiere on Netflix in 2024 as a limited series starring Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Dakota Fanning and Eve Hewson.