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Born To Read (And Reread)

I learned to read well late (around age 8). I've been trying to catch up ever since. I read to visit far off places, to learn about language, culture, and how people think. I read to argue until I better understand where I'm coming from and why I believe what I believe. I read to fall in love and to learn what I want in relationships. I read to learn how to write better. 


Essentially, I read to learn how to live outside the pages of books. 

A Sorta Fairy Tale: Retold and Revitalized

Whether you are a kid, a teenager, or an adult, fairy tales possess an irresistible allure. Some frighten and moralize. Others enchant and engage with real world issues in long ago or far into the future. All of them are for someone, though not every one is for everyone. 

When the villain gets the chance to speak his piece, the shift in perspective can change everything.
A far stranger "Sleeping Beauty" than Walt Disney imagined. Definitely for older teens and adults.
This retelling of "East of the Sun, West of the Moon" looks at weaving, parental deception, and the importance of knowing your true name. It has a sequel named (what else?) "West" that fans of the first volume will want to check out, too.
Steampunk, romance, vampires, and fairy tales mash up in this first book in an ongoing series.

Long Story Short: Short Stories For Long Winter Days

C. S. Lewis wrote that you couldn't get him a book long enough or a cup of tea big enough. I see where he was coming from, but during the busy holiday season, and the slow aftermath, there are moments when nothing but a short story will do. Not every story in these collections worked for me, but the ones that did keep me rereading them and looking for more from these excellent writers.…

<p>"Midnights," "The Fox and the Lady," and "Jenny Han's" story are my favorites in this holiday themed collection of short love stories, but there are several other great ones herein.</p>
<p>One of my favorite things about Gaiman's story collections is that he writes a story in the introduction, and in this collection, that story, "The Wedding Present," is my favorite of his ever. So far. Some of these should be handled with care, and some shouldn't be read by those sensitive to graphic material. Don't say I didn't warn you.</p>
<p>From three great writers of dark fantasy and horror, this story collection also features author notes on each story about how the stories came to be, as well as the authors comments on one another's work.</p>
<p>I am not going to try to write in the style of Saunders. I will say Fox 8 made me think about how communication works, how the natural world is altered by human interaction with it, and how not acknowledging the poetic power of words set slant harms us all. This, in 48 pages. A slender gold bar.&nbsp;</p>

Let Us Commence Already: Speeches and Advice On Living A Good Life

Commencement speeches contain reminders to live life well. Here are some of my favorites. I hope they will help you find the answers, or at least ask better questions. 

The title question alone gives great food for thought. Inside, the author shares advice, stories from her life, and reminders that who we become is up to us.
I will read almost anything from Lauren Graham. She's the real deal.
Whether or not you know the difference between a pygmy puff and a bludger, this oration from the creator of Harry Potter has something for you. Service as a way of life and the power of imagination to save us from the horrors of the world are her themes here. Well worth the time to read and reread.
Great questions and how one person answered them. What better way to find your path than to see how someone else made it?

Picture Books For Everyone!

Unless you parent or caregive small children, you may have missed these brilliant picture books. More's the pity, for as A.J. Fikry opined, some picture books are as well-crafted as short stories. These deserve to be read by as many as possible. 

In simple shapes and muted colors, a tale of art and what it means to be an artist.
Julia's inviting heart and sensible system for keeping a wide array of magical creatures well cared for works as a story for parents, roommates, and people working in close contact. The bright magical illustrations draw you in, but the good people skills will keep you there.
A blind and mute princess, a talking tiger, oh my!
Fools being wise, the wise being foolish, and a princess who knows what she needs. This is an oldie but a goodie.

Desert Island Books

I love a new book as much as the next compulsive reader, but, sometimes, nothing will do like an old favorite. These books have stood the test of multiple rereadings. If I landed on a desert island, I'd want these in my Luggage. Sapient pearwood can handle it. 

Tiffany Aching comes from a long line of aching shepherds. She's practical, can make butter and cheese, and she wants to be a witch. In this first volume that's also part of the larger Discworld series, she meets the Nac Mac Feegle, Miss Tick, and embarks on a journey that will take her out of her village and into another world.
The world is going to end next Saturday. An angel, a demon, a professional descendant, a witch-finder private, and a small boy who happens to be the Anti-Christ are all that stand between us and Armageddon. A comedy of epic proportions that will leave you thinking and keep you laughing.
This near-future novel and the other volumes in this trilogy depict a world where America once again lives under Prohibition. This time, coffee and chocolate possession land you time. A mafia story that's more about family than The Family, told with warmth and ruthlessness.
My favorite version of "Beauty and the Beast," the prose pictures McKinley draws keep me coming back to this leisurely retelling.

My Own Private Librarian

When you don't know what to read next and the staff at your local library have suggested everything they can think of, there remains one place to turn. No, not the internet. Reader's advisory books. Used by librarians and other book nerds, these collections of suggestions may give you a nudge in the right direction, introduce you to a new "old" author or series, or at least give you…

America's favorite librarian began writing professional books for librarians to use in recommendations on subjects far and wide. This is her first title for the common reader. Arranged alphabetically by topic, she offers up fiction and non-fiction, suggests the best short stories in collections and her favorite poems. It's a keeper.
Who's Neil Gaiman's favorite author? What classic has John Grisham never finished? What book made James Patterson want to write? Answers to these and more burning questions lie within the pages of this browsable collection of columns from "The New York Times Book Review."
A great source for new to you titles, this volume also contains essays on literature by some of the writers of the best of it.
The title really says it all. In deep but not dull essays on individual classics, the former "Washington Post Book World" writer brings to light both the musty tomes you were supposed to crack in high school and hidden treasures you may never have heard of before.

Life and Art: Advice for Works in Progress

Every idea starts with other ideas. When we create something new, it's from the pieces of something old, whether clay or ink and paper, or a life on the road less traveled. Each of these books pointed me in new directions, new ways of thinking, and gave me different ways of looking at life and art. Whether you paint or mold clay, write music or ice skate, work in medicine or the clergy…

<p>Short, wise, full of stories and applicable advice about how to live well, with compassion for self and others, and with purpose and meaning.</p>
<p>If you've ever wanted to make something be it music, a painting, a book, a movie or a great casserole but didn't know where to start, this quick, quote-filled book has ten suggestions that may help you get started on the path to creating more than you ever thought you could before.</p>
<p>Sometimes, nothing less than a fairy tale will do. A soldier sells his soul for seven years. The hope of winning it back is a slim one. But there's a reason they call them fairy tale endings.</p>
<p>A clear, funny, compassionate guide to taking time to do life right and to seeing one's self and one's art clearly.</p>

Graphic Content: Graphic Non-Fiction for Young and Old

Biography and autobiography read easier when heavily illustrated. Even when the life stories are anything but easy, these quick reads move fast but stick with you long after the last page is turned.

Best-selling and award-winning author Shannon Hale tells her own story of growing up in a complicated but loving family, her struggles with cliques, and writing stories.
By drawing on his father's personal history as a Holocaust survivor, Art Spiegelman created a graphic memoir that shakes the dust off of history and breaks your heart. He underscores it and makes it digestible by, controversially, turning the people into animals.
I've never been to NYC, but I've read about it and love films and TV shows set there. Originally created as a guidebook for her daughter before she moved into the city, Chast's signature cartoon style and charming wit grace every page.
As Chast's parents became less able to care for themselves, she took on the role of caregiver. This painful and humorous memoir may ring too true to those with aging parents. It's a loving but honest tribute to the joys and challenges of family.

History: The Remix

These historical novels don't tell the story the way you heard it in school. Some tell stories with magic alongside muskets. Others venture back from now into times not so different from our own; they're grim, hopeful, and complex. Yet others wander to places so gently rendered you'll wish they'd stuck around until you remember why you're glad to live now.

I'm sad to say before this graphic novel and it's companion volume, "Saints," my lone exposure to the Boxer Rebellion came from a "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" episode. Though they're quick reads, they stick with you and leave you thinking how every story has more than two sides.
Music, history, and contemporary pain collide in this novel of the French Revolution.
This novel of time travel, the continuing pain caused by slavery in America, and the complexities of family history made my brain explode.
Smart, romantic, and funny, this novel rewrites history by righting the wrongs done to Lady Jane Grey and adding shapeshifters.

Much Too Good for (Solely) Children: Kids Books That Adults Should Try or Revisit

Many adults only read kids books when their children are too young to read on their own. This is a mistake. No less a writer than C. S. Lewis wrote, "A children's story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children's story in the slightest." While that may be taking it a bit too far, he had a point. Look at "Harry Potter" or "Charlotte's Web." Quality writing for kids…

A Victorian era boy wanders through Ankh-Morpork learning about the uses of what might otherwise go to waste.
Though primarily remembered for his children's books, E. B. White wrote for "The New Yorker," and his children's books show that when writing for children one must write up not down.
Told after the events of the tale, Margaret Rose Kane's story rereads well. It's the kind of book for those who prefer not to follow the crowd when the crowd is wrong. If you lived through the 1980's, this book is a subtle blast from the past.
Moving and Grimm, this retelling of lesser-known and familiar Grimm's Fairy Tales brings gore you might not want to read right before bed. But, it's also funny and wise.