Melanie Benjamin Shares Plenty of News, Plus Her Favorite Books of 2010 Too!

Melanie Benjamin has been an avid reader all her life—as a child, she was the proud winner, several years running, of the summer reading program at her local library—she still firmly believes that a lifetime of reading is the best education a writer can have.

By incorporating her passion for history and biography, Melanie, has found her niche writing historical fiction, concentrating on the "stories behind the stories." Alice I Have Been is her first historical novel (though she's written other fiction under the name Melanie Hauser). Her second book will be coming out in July, 2011. Melanie says, " I’m happy to announce the title of my next book! The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb: A Novel. 'Never would I allow my size to define me. Instead, I would define it.' She was only two-foot, eight-inches tall, but her legend reaches out to us more than a century later. As a child, Mercy Lavinia “Vinnie” Bump was encouraged to live a life hidden away from the public. Instead,she reached out to the immortal impresario P. T. Barnum, married the tiny superstar General Tom Thumb in the wedding of the century, and transformed herself into the world’s most unexpected celebrity. Here, in Vinnie’s singular and spirited voice, is her amazing adventure—from a showboat “freak” revue where she endured jeering mobs to her fateful meeting with the two men who would change her life: P.T. Barnum and Charles Stratton, AKA Tom Thumb. Their wedding would captivate the nation, even preempt coverage of the Civil War, and usher them into the White House and the company of President Lincoln. But Vinnie’s fame would also endanger the person she prized most: her similarly-sized sister, Minnie, a gentle soul unable to escape the glare of Vinnie’s spotlight." (If you’d like to read more, the first chapter is excerpted at the endof the paperback edition of Alice I Have Been, which is out today.)

As for her favorite reads of 2010, Melanie says:

"I love to talk about the books I’ve read! I’m so fortunate because I meet so many wonderful booksellers and fellow authors and find out about so many great books – but then, my TBR pile never ends, and I don’t get as much time to read as I used to, because I have to write! And get out there to meet all these wonderful booksellers and fellow authors...and so it goes.

But still, I’ve read some wonderful books in 2010. In no particular order, I especially remember:"

The Blind Contessa's New Machine
I read this in galleys, and devoured it in one sitting. It’s a fairy tale of a book about the love story that led to the invention of the typewriter, of all things!

Homer and Langley
Another fascinating historical character study, by the master.




The Story Sisters
I read it on a plane, and alarmed my seatmate by crying uncontrollably, it was so moving. But I happen to love to cry while reading!

Empire of Dreams
I love reading about old Hollywood, and DeMille was such a larger-than-life character.

Mrs. Mike
My local bookseller recommended this, and I couldn’t put it down. It was first published in 1947, and I can’t believe I hadn’t read it before; plucky heroine, historical setting, heart-stopping adventure and heart-melting romance, all in one!


Cheerful Weather for the Wedding
Again, a book published long ago (1932), but reprinted recently. A precise study of a British upper class household; a delightful little book!



The Brief History of the Dead

I was on a panel with Kevin at a literary festival, and was mesmerized by his reading of one of his short stories. I had to buy this book and have him sign it – and I couldn’t put it down! I’m not usually one for magical realism, but this book made me laugh and cry and think.