Here are 100 books that Lust For Life fans have personally recommended if you like
Lust For Life.
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I am a lifelong art appreciator. When I connect with a piece of art, I want to know more about the art, the time period, and the artist. I read history and biography to learn facts, but when I want to experience the art at the heart-level, I dive into historical fiction. I'm especially interested in the connection between love and creativity. As a writer, I know firsthand that love is what fuels me. I love it when I encounter stories that show I'm not alone in this; others across history have also been inspired to create by their own great emotions, whether love or anger or something else.
I was immediately drawn into Artemisia's world and imagined myself as her—a young woman artist struggling to create in a man's world. I ached for her and rooted for her and enjoyed every minute of the beautiful language and emotion of this telling.
Her mother died when she was twelve, and suddenly Artemisia Gentileschi had a stark choice: a life as a nun in a convent or a life grinding pigment for her father's paint.
She chose paint.
By the time she was seventeen, Artemisia did more than grind pigment. She was one of Rome's most talented painters, even if no one knew her name. But Rome in 1610 was a city where men took what they wanted from women, and in the aftermath of rape Artemisia faced another terrible choice: a life of silence or a life of truth, no matter the…
Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!
On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…
I am a lifelong art appreciator. When I connect with a piece of art, I want to know more about the art, the time period, and the artist. I read history and biography to learn facts, but when I want to experience the art at the heart-level, I dive into historical fiction. I'm especially interested in the connection between love and creativity. As a writer, I know firsthand that love is what fuels me. I love it when I encounter stories that show I'm not alone in this; others across history have also been inspired to create by their own great emotions, whether love or anger or something else.
I was immediately drawn into the book from the girl's eyes staring back at me on the cover.
I expected an emotional reading experience, and it did not disappoint! The character the author created as Vermeer's muse feels 100% real. Great mash-up of fact and fiction.
'A phenomenon' Jessie Burton
'Dazzling' Daily Mail
'Truly magical' Guardian
Those eyes are fixed on someone. But who? What is she thinking as she stares out from one of the world's best-loved paintings?
Johannes Vermeer can spot exceptional beauty. When servant girl Griet catches his eye, she soon becomes both student and muse. But then he gives her his wife's pearl earrings to wear for a portrait, and a scandal erupts that could threaten Griet's future...
Vivid and captivating, this timeless modern classic has become a successful film and an international…
I am a lifelong art appreciator. When I connect with a piece of art, I want to know more about the art, the time period, and the artist. I read history and biography to learn facts, but when I want to experience the art at the heart-level, I dive into historical fiction. I'm especially interested in the connection between love and creativity. As a writer, I know firsthand that love is what fuels me. I love it when I encounter stories that show I'm not alone in this; others across history have also been inspired to create by their own great emotions, whether love or anger or something else.
Harriet Scott Chessman takes us into the world of Mary Cassatt's early Impressionist paintings through Mary's sister Lydia, whom the author sees as Cassatt’s most inspiring muse. Chessman hauntingly brings to life Paris in 1880, with its thriving art world. The novel’s subtle power rises out of a sustained inquiry into art’s relation to the ragged world of desire and mortality. Ill with Bright’s disease and conscious of her approaching death, Lydia contemplates her world narrowing. With the rising emotional tension between the loving sisters, between one who sees and one who is seen, Lydia asks moving questions about love…
If you’re intrigued by the psychology of relationships this is the novel for you.
Described as a modern-day Rebecca, this is a story of a bereaved man’s obsession with his deceased married lover, Michelle. Determined to find out all he can about Michelle’s life when she wasn’t with him,…
I am a lifelong art appreciator. When I connect with a piece of art, I want to know more about the art, the time period, and the artist. I read history and biography to learn facts, but when I want to experience the art at the heart-level, I dive into historical fiction. I'm especially interested in the connection between love and creativity. As a writer, I know firsthand that love is what fuels me. I love it when I encounter stories that show I'm not alone in this; others across history have also been inspired to create by their own great emotions, whether love or anger or something else.
In this passionate and atmospheric debut novel, Elizabeth Hickey reimagines the tumultuous relationship between the Viennese painter Gustav Klimt and Emilie Floge, the woman who posed for Klimt's masterpiece The Kiss -- and whose name he uttered with his dying breath. Vienna in 1886 was a city of elegant cafes, grand opera houses, and a thriving and adventurous artistic community. It is here where the twelve-year-old Emilie meets the controversial libertine and painter. Hired by her bourgeois father for basic drawing lessons, Klimt introduces Emilie to a subculture of dissolute artists, wanton models, and decadent patrons that both terrifies and…
I have always loved reading fiction novels with a fast-paced plot and an unexpected ending that surprises me. In my own Dr. Kyle Chandler Thriller Series, I try to use this same thought-provoking pattern that also includes quick dialogue with an underlying sexual tension between the male and female protagonists to keep the readers’ interest. Using this, I feel I am conveying my passion for the characters and plot to the reader. I believe that this theme of fast-paced, twisting plots matched with surprise endings is shown with clarity in all five of the books I have recommended in this list.
As a skilled mystery/thriller author, Dick Francis always wrote stories with interesting protagonists fighting uphill against all odds, and this fascinating story is no different.
I personally loved this attention-grabbing plot set in the Scottish highlands about an offbeat young painter who gets drawn into a complex family drama. As the most unlikely character chosen to protect his ancient family heritage, I found the ever-changing story with an unexpected ending a sheer delight to consume rapidly.
Discover the classic mystery from Dick Francis, one of the greatest thriller writers of all time
'Great characters, twisting plot. One of the very best Francis novels' 5***** Reader Review 'Tense, puzzling and powerful . . . Francis is a consummate craftsman' 5***** Reader Review ______
Just after learning that his stepfather is gravely ill, artist Al Kinloch, returning to his remote home in the Scottish Highlands, is attacked by four men.
They ask one question - 'where is it?' - then leave him for dead . . .
Baffled and hurt, Al visits his stepfather and learns millions of…
I am the author of 180 books for children, including the classic (30 plus years in print) picture book The Big Green Pocketbook. As a kid, I checked out more nonfiction books than novels. I read about stars, dinosaurs, ice age mammals, rocks, animals, and birds. I wanted to combine all those interests into one job: astronomer-paleontologist-geologist-zoologist-ornithologist, but I couldn’t even afford community college. I became a writer of children’s books, where I could be involved in all of those occupations and more. I’ve written 50 nonfiction books for children and believe the very best books being published for kids today are in the area of children’s narrative nonfiction.
Picture book biographies need to narrow their focus on a subject, and I love the way the author achieves this. She could have written about Van Gogh’s life in general, but she used the refrain “Vincent can’t sleep” to describe his childhood, schooling, boring jobs, and finally becoming an artist. Insomnia led to his most well-known painting, “The Starry Night.”
I also admire how gently she portrayed his mental illness by emphasizing his quest to find the colors of the night. Lean prose contrasts neatly with Van Gogh’s free-wheeling brushstrokes, richly illuminated by Grandpré’s sweeping illustrations.
A gorgeous, lyrical picture-book biography of Vincent van Gogh by the Caldecott Honor team behind The Noisy Paint Box.
Vincent can’t sleep . . . out, out, out he runs! flying through the garden—marigold, geranium, blackberry, raspberry— past the church with its tall steeple, down rolling hills and sandy paths meant for sheep, He dives at last into the velvety, violet heath, snuggles under a blanket of sapphire sky, and looks up, up, up . . . to visit with the stars.
Vincent van Gogh often found himself unable to sleep and wandered under starlit skies. Those nighttime…
Deadwood meets The Vampire Diaries in this tale of brother versus brother and blood-magic set in a gaslamp fantasy world. Llew’s body transfers life. One nation wants her dead. Another wants her power for itself. Two brothers want the same. Only one might be swayed by love.
As well as being a novelist (ten published books to date), I’m a Senior Lecturer in Prose at Liverpool John Moores University. My current academic fields of interest are the role Johanna van Gogh-Bonger played in Vincent’s rise to fame, the silencing of women involved in creative pursuits, and the consideration of a novelist’s ethical and moral responsibilities when fictionalising a real life. My true passion lies in the creative uncovering of those erased stories, and in adding to the emerging conversation. That’s why I’ve shifted from writing contemporary to historical novels. I’m also known as the international, bestselling author Caroline Smailes (The Drowning of Arthur Braxton).
On Vincent van Gogh’s death, and the subsequent death of his brother, Theo, six months later, Johanna van Gogh-Bonger – at only twenty-eight years old – became keeper and advocate of Vincent’s immense collection of paintings, sketches, letters, and illustrations.
Whilst grieving and caring for her infant son, Jo translated those letters. That we are able to read Vincent’s letters and to hear his words add both depth and insight to our appreciation of his art. This book is our chance to connect with a Vincent beyond the tortured artist that contemporary society portrays. These letters are one of Jo’s many gifts to us.
Presents annotated translations of Van Gogh's correspondence with his brother Theo from 1872, when he was working in a gallery in the Hague, until his death, as well as letters to other recipients and related materials
I’m an award-winning toy inventor and author/illustrator, with a lifelong love of art, learning, and creativity. I strive to inspire the future builders and creators of our world in my books, articles, and blog musings. Some of my favorite reads inspired my creative side.
Graduating from design school with a BFA and having taught Art Enrichment Classes in the schools for many years, I thought I had read every book about Vincent Van Gogh.
But when I read Heiligman’s young adult novel, I finally knew Vincent and felt his passion, literally through his letters to his brother.
And, truly, is there any better way to learn about Vincent than reading in his own words about his passion to paint?
Printz Honor Book • YALSA Nonfiction Award Winner • Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Winner • SCBWI Golden Kite Winner • Cybils Senior High Nonfiction Award Winner
From the author of National Book Award finalist Charles and Emma comes an incredible story of brotherly love.
The deep and enduring friendship between Vincent and Theo Van Gogh shaped both brothers' lives. Confidant, champion, sympathizer, friend―Theo supported Vincent as he struggled to find his path in life. They shared everything, swapping stories of lovers and friends, successes and disappointments, dreams and ambitions. Meticulously researched, drawing on the 658 letters Vincent wrote to Theo…
Until recently, my lovely in-laws kept a home in southern France near where my father-in-law grew up. Their hilltop village was everything my summer-in-France fantasies could imagine: red-tile roofs, overflowing flower boxes, croissants on every corner (or at least four), bustling markets, and palm trees framing a snowcapped peak. Downsizing in their eighties meant selling the house, but some of my fondest memories will always reside there. This summer most of my travels will take place from my garden in Colorado. I plan to trek the world through books. These are some of my favorite reads for an armchair trip to France through romance, mysteries, exploration, and cooking.
Here’s another fantasy I didn’t know I had until I listened to this fabulous audiobook: to be neighbors with the great Chef, Julia Child. Not only that, to solve crimes with her!
Tabitha Knight has arrived in post-World War II Paris from Detroit for an extended stay with her French grandfather. She’s on a journey of discovery and about to get mixed up in a murder investigation.
Mysteries are my favorite genre, especially cozy mysteries focused on a topic and places I’d love to visit. This book combines some of my favorite things: cooking, France, and did I mention Julia Child?
Fans of Jacqueline Winspear, Marie Benedict, Nita Prose, and of course, Julia Child, will adore this magnifique new mystery set in Paris and starring Julia Child’s (fictional) best friend, confidante, and fellow American. From the acclaimed author of Murder at Mallowan Hall, this delightful new book provides a fresh perspective on the iconic chef’s years in post-WWII Paris.
“Enchanting…Cambridge captures Child’s distinct voice and energy so perfectly. Expect to leave this vacation hoping for a return trip.” –Publishers Weekly
As Paris rediscovers its joie de vivre, Tabitha Knight, recently arrived from Detroit for an extended stay with her French grandfather,…
Harris Maloub, a killer with an erased official past, now in his fifties, is visited by someone who could not be alive and given an assignment. In Aarhus, Denmark, Jens Erik, police officer on pre-retirement leave, somehow cannot forget the body of a Black man recovered from the sea some…
France claimed me early, when I was a teenager. A French major, a Rotary scholarship year in the Loire Valley, and decades of return visits later, I'm still not done with this gorgeous country. Since retirement, my husband and I spend at least several weeks there every year, and in 2011, we lived in France for three months during an adult gap year. My third book, a novel set in Paris and Normandy, is the most recent evidence that France and her food, wine, culture, literature, art and landscapes, have never loosened their hold on me.
As a Francophile with a lifelong fascination with Jackie Kennedy, I felt that this book was written for me—and it delivered on every count.
Jacqueline in Paris follows a college-age Jackie through her junior year abroad in 1949, and the author gets both the woman and the moment exactly right. The Paris on these pages is beautiful but not romanticized. It is a city still visibly scarred by war, rebuilding itself with fragile dignity. That historical texture gives the story real weight.
What makes this a page-turner is how completely the author inhabits Jackie's inner life. You don't just observe her discovering Paris—you feel it alongside her, the enchantment and the disillusionment in equal measure. I finished it in two sittings and didn't want it to end.
"Captivating...Mah channels Kennedy and brings postwar Paris to life with exquisite detail and insight." -- People
From the bestselling author of The Lost Vintage, a rare and dazzling portrait of Jacqueline Bouvier's college year abroad in postwar Paris, an intimate and electrifying story of love and betrayal, and the coming-of-age of an American icon - before the world knew her as Jackie.
In September 1949 Jacqueline Bouvier arrives in postwar Paris to begin her junior year abroad. She's twenty years old, socially poised but financially precarious, and all too aware of her mother's expectations that she make a brilliant match.…
