CrosswordNewsletters
DAILY BEAST
ALL
  • Cheat Sheet
  • Politics
  • Crime
  • Entertainment
  • Media
  • Innovation
  • Opinion
  • World
  • U.S. News
  • Scouted
  • Travel
CHEAT SHEET
    POLITICS
    • Biden World
    • Elections
    • Opinion
    • National Security
    • Congress
    • Pay Dirt
    • The New Abnormal
    • Right Richter
    • Trumpland
    MEDIA
    • Daytime Talk
    • Late-Night
    • Fox News
    U.S. NEWS
    • Identities
    • Crime
    • Race
    • LGBT
    • Extremism
    • Coronavirus
    WORLD
    • Russia
    • Europe
    • China
    • Middle East
    SCIENCE
    • Hunt for the Cure
    • Rabbit Hole
    TRAVEL
      ENTERTAINMENT
      • TV
      • Movies
      • Music
      • Comedy
      • Sports
      • Sex
      • TDBs Obsessed
      • Awards Shows
      • The Last Laugh
      HALF-FULL
        CULTURE
        • Power Trip
        • Fashion
        • Books
        • Royalist
        TECH
        • Disinformation
        SCOUTED
        • Face Masks
        • Clothing
        • Technology
        • Bedroom
        • Kitchen
        • Home
        • Fitness
        • The Case For
        • I'm Looking For
        • New Kids On the Block
        COUPONS
        • Adidas Promo Codes
        • DoorDash Promo Codes
        • H&M Coupons
        • Hotwire Promo Codes
        • Wine.com Discounts
        • Vitacost Coupons
        • Spanx Promo Codes
        • StubHub Promo Codes
        Products
        NewslettersPodcastsCrosswordsSubscription
        FOLLOW US
        GOT A TIP?

        SEARCH

        HOMEPAGE

        My Favorite Reads

        From a brainy beach book to a dishy history of Marie Antoinette, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author shares some beloved books.

        Anna Quindlen

        Updated Jul. 14, 2017 1:17PM ET / Published Jun. 09, 2009 1:46AM ET 

        Queen of Fashion: What Marie Antoinette Wore to the Revolutionby Caroline Weber

        Her appearance was a national obsession long before fashion mags or blogs.

        From the height of her hair to the height of her heels, Marie Antoinette's appearance was a national obsession long before fashion mags or blogs. Weber argues that she used personal style to gain power and influence. This is the rare historical account that is both dishy and illuminating. It’s fashion as political statement—and a thoughtful revisionist history of the much-maligned queen.

        The Crimson Petal and the Whiteby Michel Faber

        A beach book for the serious reader, this is Dickens without 19th-century constraints.

        A beach book for the serious reader, this big doorstop of a tale about a Victorian prostitute named Sugar is narrated in a knowing voice so intimate it feels as though the entire story is whispered in your ear. I've recommended it constantly since it was published in 2002, and no one has ever been disappointed. It has indelible characters, a social conscience—and an unputdownable yarn.

        Field of Blood by Denise Mina

        The first of the first-rate Paddy Meehan series, in which our heroine finds her newspaper job on a collision course with her clannish Irish-Catholic community.

        The price of all that plotting in most mysteries is the absence of good prose. Mina is a true stylist, and her unkempt and all-seeing heroine is one of those vivid protagonists who seem more like someone you know than someone you're reading about.

        Serena by Ron Rash

        Portrait of a lady in a Southern logging camp during the Depression.

        Beautifully written, utterly unforgettable. To my mind, this novel, as powerful and inexorable as a thunderstorm, is as good a piece of fiction as was published last year and a new classic in the category of love gone terribly wrong.

        Plus: Check out Book Beast, for more news on hot titles and authors and excerpts from the latest books.

        Anna Quindlen is the author of five bestselling novels, including Rise and Shine, and Blessings, and numerous nonfiction works including How Reading Changed My Life. Until May 2009, she wrote the column "The Last Word" for Newsweek.

        READ THIS LIST

        DAILY BEAST
        • Podcasts
        • Cheat Sheet
        • Politics
        • Crime
        • Entertainment
        • Media
        • Covid-19
        • Half Full
        • U.S. News
        • Scouted
        • Travel
        • Subscription
        • Crossword
        • Newsletters
        • Podcasts
        • About
        • Contact
        • Tips
        • Jobs
        • Advertise
        • Help
        • Privacy
        • Code of Ethics & Standards
        • Diversity
        • Terms & Conditions
        • Copyright & Trademark
        • Sitemap
        • Coupons
        © 2022 The Daily Beast Company LLC