Plans are Made to be Changed, Right?

When I posted early in the year I had joined the 100-Book Reading Challenge, I stated that only "fun" reading would count--nonfiction research on writing styles or historical research for my novel would not count.

Well, here I am, halfway through the year, and I have read a measly two books for fun (my challenge list is at the very bottom of my blog).  So, I am invoking the right of a woman to change her mind.  I have had so much true fun reading about the Civil War era that I cannot help but want to list the books I am devouring.

(Yes, I believe in reincarnation and I know I was a librarian in at least one past life.  I loved researching reports in school, find genealogy fascinating, and my ideal job would be as a research assistant for a historian or archaeologist). 

So, I am adding to the list all the titles I have enjoyed thus far in my travel back to the South of the 1860s.  I am also going to add the wondrous writing aids I have found and whose pages may have started out pristine but have been highlighted, underlined, and otherwise annotated.  Some have become trusted companions on this novel-writing journey.  I may even write mini-reviews of my favorites at some point in case they may be of help to others.

One thing I have not done as yet--even if the links to the book titles should point to the Amazon description (something I try to avoid--I always make every attempt to link to the author's website), that Amazon description is not a monetized link.  Any opinions on any book or product featured on this blog is a non-compensated opinion.  I have paid for the products I review.  Should that situation ever change, I will prominently announce the fact.

Scroll down and take a look at where my reading has taken me.  Since I'm not the HTML girl, I can't seem to color-code the list as I would like ("fun" fiction vs. history vs. writing guides), so I'll try a series of asterisks:

*      will mean historical research
**    will denote a writer's guide

no asterisk is "fun" (fiction, escapism)

If you are an author and know of other books I should read on the art of writing good fiction, please share the titles.  And if you are a Civil War buff and have insight on source material that would enrich my setting, I'd love to hear about it.  Thanks in advance for sharing!