As much as I love descriptive words, I'm just not feeling the TTT topic du jour—Top Ten Books With An Adjective in the Title. Instead, I'm going to swerve way off today's path and talk about something totally different. In sorting through all the many books on my shelves, trying to decide which to keep and which to donate in anticipation of my upcoming move, I've realized that I have quite a lot of books on one particular subject. Because of the state of the world in recent years, I've actually kind of avoided reading about it, so now I have quite the stockpile of books to read about...drumroll, please...World War II! Surprised? I doubt it. BBB regulars know I'm fascinated by this historical period. So, today, I'm going to list ten-ish (although I probably could have done 30) books about World War II that I want to read sometime soon.

If you're feeling list-y today, join in the TTT fun. Click on over to That Artsy Reader Girl for all the details.

Top Ten World War II Books I Want to Read  

1. The Warsaw Orphan by Kelly Rimmer—Although Elzbieta Rabinek is careful to keep her true identity hidden, she's still wary of the German soldiers who have taken over her hometown. As their vengeance against her Jewish neighbors heightens, she watches with increasing fear and anger. When she befriends a nurse living in her building, Elzbieta's careful existence quickly turns into one ripe with danger and risk. Is saving the lives of Jewish children worth losing her own?

Rimmer's The Things We Cannot Say, which is set in the same year (1942) as The Warsaw Orphan but takes place in Russia, is also one I want to read.

2. Sisters of Night and Fog by Erika Robuck—This novel tells the tale of two women from different circumstances, both of whom have risked everything to work against the Nazi regime, whose stories converge in the Ravensbrück concentration camp.

Robuck's The Invisible Woman also sounds intriguing.

3. The Winter Guest by Pam Jenoff—Helena and Ruth are sisters in war-torn Poland. As they struggle to care for their three younger sisters, they make a decision that puts all of their lives in danger. While helping a wounded American paratrooper is the right thing to do, it has dangerous unforeseen consequences for all of them.

I've read and loved a couple of Jenoff's World War II novels, but there are still a bunch on her backlist that I want to read.

4. Miss Graham's Cold War Cookbook by Celia Rees—Now that World War II has finally ended, Britain has created the Control Commission for Germany. The organization hires British civilians to help rebuild the country and investigate war crimes. Bored with her provincial life, Edith Graham applies for a job with the commission, but soon finds herself acting as a spy for the Secret Service. While she's found the excitement she's been missing, it may just cost her her life.

5. The Bookseller's Secret by Michelle Gable—Based on the wartime experiences of real-life literary icon Nancy Mitford, this novel concerns a woman adrift who eagerly takes on the challenge of running a London bookstore while its owner is away. 

6. 81 Days Below Zero: The Incredible Survival Story of a World War II Pilot in Alaska's Frozen Wilderness by Brian Murphy—I always enjoy survival stories and this one sounds especially intriguing. It tells the true story of a routine flight gone horribly wrong. When their plane crashes, four Army aviators are killed, while one—a man from Philadelphia with no wilderness experience—is left alone in the freezing Yukon to wait for rescue. Or death.

7. The Night Train to Berlin by Melanie Hudson—As war rages all around them, Alex and Eliza meet by chance. The RAF pilot turned war correspondent and the war artist make a solemn vow to meet in Berlin once peace has finally been declared. Will their newly found love triumph in a time when nothing at all is certain?

Hudson's The Last Letter From Juliet, about a female World War II pilot, is also on my TBR list.

8. Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave—Although I'm not a fan of love triangles, this epic wartime romance sounds compelling. It features three people whose lives converge in an extraordinary time. As the war rages on, they'll experience friendship, love, devastation, sorrow, and triumph. 

9. The London House by Katherine Reay—Caroline Payne is shocked when a historian friend uncovers a scandalous secret about her British great-aunt. Can the woman really have betrayed her family and her country by running to Germany to marry her Nazi lover? Caroline can't believe it. Desperate to clear her great-aunt's name, Caroline travels to her family's ancestral home in London to learn the truth.

10. The Betrayal of Anne Frank: A Cold Case Investigation by Rosemary Sullivan—Everyone knows the tragic story of Anne Frank and her family, but one question about their fate has never been answered: Who betrayed their whereabouts to the Nazis? Retired FBI agent Vincent Pankoke became obsessed with finding the answer. With the use of new technology, Pankoke and his team of cold case investigators pored over numerous documents and conducted scores of interviews, all of which led them to a shocking conclusion.

I eat up World War II books, but I know not everyone loves them for various and sundry reasons. What's your take? Do you love them? Loathe them? Which are your favorites? Have you read any of the ones I mentioned? What did you think? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I'll gladly return the favor on your blog.