Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Outlander by Diana GabaldonTitle: Outlander
Author: Diana Gabaldon
Genre: , , , ,
Publisher: Dell
Publication Date: June 1, 1991

Summary (from Goodreads):

The year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is just back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach—an “outlander”—in a Scotland torn by war and raiding border clans in the year of Our Lord...1743.

Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into the intrigues of lairds and spies that may threaten her life, and shatter her heart. For here James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, shows her a love so absolute that Claire becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire—and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

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About Diana Gabaldon

Diana Gabaldon

Diana Jean Gabaldon Watkins grew up in Flagstaff, Arizona and is of Hispanic and English descent (with a dash of Native American and Sephardic Jew). She has earned three degrees: a B.S. in Zoology, a M.S. in Marine Biology, and a Ph.D in Ecology, plus an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Glasgow, for services to Scottish Literature.

She currently lives in Scottsdale, Arizona .

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Last updated on August 5, 2024

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

The Song of Achilles by Madeline MillerTitle: The Song of Achilles
Author: Madeline Miller
Genre: , , , ,
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: September 20, 2011

Summary (from Goodreads):

The legend begins...

Greece in the age of heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the kingdom of Phthia to be raised in the shadow of King Peleus and his golden son, Achilles. “The best of all the Greeks”—strong, beautiful, and the child of a goddess—Achilles is everything the shamed Patroclus is not. Yet despite their differences, the boys become steadfast companions. Their bond deepens as they grow into young men and become skilled in the arts of war and medicine—much to the displeasure and the fury of Achilles’ mother, Thetis, a cruel sea goddess with a hatred of mortals.

When word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, the men of Greece, bound by blood and oath, must lay siege to Troy in her name. Seduced by the promise of a glorious destiny, Achilles joins their cause, and torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus follows. Little do they know that the Fates will test them both as never before and demand a terrible sacrifice.

Built on the groundwork of the Iliad, Madeline Miller’s page-turning, profoundly moving, and blisteringly paced retelling of the epic Trojan War marks the launch of a dazzling career.

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About Madeline Miller

Madeline Miller

Madeline Miller was born in Boston and grew up in New York City and Philadelphia. She attended Brown University, where she earned her BA and MA in Classics. For the last ten years she has been teaching and tutoring Latin, Greek and Shakespeare to high school students. She has also studied at the University of Chicago’s Committee on Social Thought, and in the Dramaturgy department at Yale School of Drama, where she focused on the adaptation of classical texts to modern forms. She currently lives in Cambridge, MA, where she teaches and writes. The Song of Achilles is her first novel.

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Last updated on April 16, 2025

The Swans of Harlem by Karen Valby

The Swans of Harlem by Karen ValbyTitle: The Swans of Harlem
Author: Karen Valby
Genre: , ,
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: January 14, 2025

Summary (from Goodreads):

A full accounting of five incredibly talented Black ballerinas from The Dance Theater of Harlem, founding members among them, that illuminates their hard-fought, historic, and overlooked contributions to the world of classical dance at a time when racism shut out Black dancers from major dance companies.

It was true until only recently, their past achievements had been erased—that’s what happened to five Black ballerinas, members of the groundbreaking Dance Theater of Harlem. At the peak of the Civil Rights Movement, Lydia Abarca, who dance critics praised effusively, was the first Black prima ballerina of this major dance company, performing lead roles in the most iconic ballets. She was also the first Black ballerina to grace the cover of Dance magazine.

Alongside fellow founding members Sheila Rohan and Gayle McKinney-Griffith, and first-generation dancers Karlya Shelton and Marcia Sells, these swans of Harlem shone a bright light on the depth of Black professional classical dancers. Their grit, determination, and exquisite artistry propelled them to dizzying heights, but over the decades, their trailblazing and triumphs were largely forgotten. Now these ballerinas and longtime friends are giving voice to their stories on and off stage—reclaiming a past so that it is finally recorded and acknowledged.

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Last updated on February 24, 2025

Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz

Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana SchwartzTitle: Anatomy: A Love Story
Author: Dana Schwartz
Series: The Anatomy Duology #1
Genre: , ,
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: January 18, 2022

Summary (from Goodreads):

Hazel Sinnett is a lady who wants to be a surgeon more than she wants to marry.

Jack Currer is a resurrection man who’s just trying to survive in a city where it’s too easy to die.

When the two of them have a chance encounter outside the Royal Edinburgh Anatomists' Society, Hazel thinks nothing of it at first. But after she gets kicked out of renowned surgeon Dr. Beecham’s lectures for being the wrong gender, she realizes that her new acquaintance might be more helpful than she first thought. Because Hazel has made a deal with Dr. Beecham: If she can pass the medical examination on her own, he will allow her to continue her medical career. Without official lessons, though, Hazel will need more than just her books—she’ll need corpses to study.

Luckily, she’s made the acquaintance of someone who digs them up for a living.

But Jack has his own problems: Strange men have been seen skulking around cemeteries, his friends are disappearing off the streets, and the dreaded Roman fever, which wiped out thousands a few years ago, is back with a vengeance. Nobody important cares—until Hazel.

Now Hazel and Jack must work together to uncover the secrets buried not just in unmarked graves but in the very heart of Edinburgh society.

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Book Quotes

“My heart is yours, Hazel Sinnett," Jack said. "Forever. Beating or still.”

“Hazel Sinnett, you are the most miraculous creature I have ever come across, and I am going to be thinking about how beautiful you are until the day I die.”


About Dana Schwartz

dana schwartz

Dana Schwartz was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago. She attended Brown University where she studied biology and public policy before realizing that she would only be happy if she tried to be a writer. While in college, she created the viral parody twitter account @GuyInYourMFA. Dana worked as a writer for Mental Floss, The Observer, and Entertainment Weekly, with additional bylines for GQ, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, Vanity Fair, and NewYorker.com.

Dana is the host and creator of the hit history podcast Noble Blood. She also writes for television. She lives in Los Angeles.


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Last updated on May 29, 2026

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda LoTitle: Last Night at the Telegraph Club
Author: Malinda Lo
Genre: , ,
Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: January 19, 2021

Summary (from Goodreads):

Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can't remember exactly when the feeling took root—that desire to look, to move closer, to touch. Whenever it started growing, it definitely bloomed the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club. Suddenly everything seemed possible.

But America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love, especially not in Chinatown. Red-Scare paranoia threatens everyone, including Chinese Americans like Lily. With deportation looming over her father—despite his hard-won citizenship—Lily and Kath risk everything to let their love see the light of day.

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About Malinda Lo

Malinda Lo

Malinda Lo is the bestselling author of Last Night at the Telegraph Club, winner of the National Book Award, the Stonewall Book Award, and the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, as well as Michael L. Printz and Walter Dean Myers honors. Her debut novel Ash, a Sapphic retelling of Cinderella, was a finalist for the William C. Morris YA Debut Award and the Andre Norton Award for YA Science Fiction and Fantasy, and the Lambda Literary Award.

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Last updated on February 22, 2026