Welcome to Shelf Share Thursday!

I have many books that have been lingering in my to be read pile for quite awhile and I know I’m not the only one. Every Thursday I will post a letter of the alphabet and share three books on my shelf starting with that letter. Maybe someone will post a glowing recommendation of them and motivate me to read them or maybe I’ll find out I’ve been holding on to a stinker all this time. There is only one way to find out—feel free to share your shelf too!

If you’d like to participate please leave a comment with a link to your shelf.

This week’s letter:

is for:

Agincourt by Bernard Cornwell

From Amazon:

“Young Nicholas Hook is dogged by a cursed past--haunted by what he has failed to do and banished for what he has done. A wanted man in England, he is driven to fight as a mercenary archer in France, where he finds two things he can love: his instincts as a fighting man, and a girl in trouble. Together they survive the notorious massacre at Soissons, an event that shocks all Christendom. With no options left, Hook heads home to England, where his capture means certain death. Instead he is discovered by the young King of England--Henry V himself--and by royal command he takes up the longbow again and dons the cross of Saint George. Hook returns to France as part of the superb army Henry leads in his quest to claim the French crown. But after the English campaign suffers devastating early losses, it becomes clear that Hook and his fellow archers are their king's last resort in a desperate fight against an enemy more daunting than they could ever have imagined.”

I love this author and eventually want to read all of his books. He has interesting storylines mixed in with awesome battle scenes. Others by him I have read and enjoyed: The Winter King, Excalibur, Enemy of God, The Last Kingdom

Ah But Your Land is Beautiful by Alan Paton

From Amazon:

“Ah, But Your Land is Beautiful is set in the 1950s, the time of the Passive Resistance campaign, the Sophiatown removals, the emergence of the South African Liberal Party and the early stages of the Nationalist government in power. Revolving around the everyday experiences of a group of men and women, whose lives reflect the human costs of maintaining a racially divided society, Alan Paton, in a series of vivid and compelling episodes, examines what happens between people when such political events overtake their lives.”

I remember reading Cry the Beloved Country a long time ago and it was quite good. I picked this one up because it is part of a trilogy of South Africa but I’ve never gotten around to reading it.

Ahab’s Wife or the Stargazer by Sena Jeter Naslund

From Half.com

“This meticulously researched historical novel, based on an obscure reference in MOBY-DICK to Ahab's wife, is the story of Una Spenser, who runs away to sea disguised as a boy, survives the wreck of a whale ship, and marries a handsome older man named Ahab before he becomes destroyed by his obsession with the white whale.”

I’ve not yet read Moby Dick either and I’m wondering if I should read it first or if this book is fine by itself. Still, I love new takes on classic literary characters. I’ve read Abundance by this author which is about Marie Antoinette. It was decent but I’m told not the best MA book out there.

Okay, those are my three for this week-what’s on your shelf?