#bookaday Week Nine

Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier. It's an engaging, fast-past read, but for whatever reason I just didn't connect with it?? I've read reviews comparing it to The Phantom Tollbooth, and that seems partly right and may explain my lack of connection, as I didn't connect to that one either! But I know some young readers who will eat this book up. Putting it in the "good, but not for me" stack.

I Kill the Mockingbird by Paul Acampora. This one really moves along, and since I am here in the Mockingbird State (ummm, NOT actually our state bird*, but because Harper Lee lives here and the book and movie are set here, yes, our state bird), I pretty much had to read it.... kinda like the kids in the story have to read To Kill a Mockingbird. :) Smart, funny writing and a real-feeling family. Kind of like a love letter to books and book-lovers... fun!

The Stepsister's Tale by Tracy Barrett. A retelling of the Cinderella story from the perspective of (ugly? evil?) stepsister Jane. It's a thorough book, kind of dark, completely enjoyable. I wasn't sure at first who to root for, we've been so conditioned to root for Cinderella, and part of the joy of reading this book is realizing how deeply these tropes are embedded. How wonderful to get a fresh perspective! And as I have a personal interest in blended families, I could really see all the sides of all the characters as Tracy portrayed them. Read it!



The Stories We Tell by Patti Callahan Henry. When I'm craving women's fiction, Patti Callahan Henry is my go-to gal! Plus she lives here in Birmingham, so reading her books is like supporting the home team, except better. :) Her last book AND THEN I FOUND YOU knocked my socks off in the best way possible, so I was eager to read this one. It's about mothers and daughters and families falling apart -- and also about strength and new beginnings and growing out of that need to hide-our-true-selves-for-appearances-sake. Real characters, and I look forward to my book club's discussion about how things turned out for Eve.

I Am Having So Much Fun Here Without You by Courtney Maum. I listened to this one on Hoopla. It's about a guy trying to figure his life out -- and yes, there's a mistress and a wife and a daughter and parents and politics and adventures in art to distract and/or aid him on his journey. I think maybe I had too high expectations of the book -- never could really dig into it emotionally. There were some touching moments, but mostly it stayed surface-level for me. C'est la vie! (did love the French/Paris parts of the book!)