Where Am I Now? True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame by Mara Wilson (early November).
I loved Mara Wilson's movies growing up, and she's really funny on social media nowadays, so I bought her memoir from Barnes & Noble and was excited to read it (which means it sat on my bookshelf for a year). While it wasn't the laugh-fest I imagined, I really enjoyed this book. Mara explores her child star status, her struggle with OCD and anxiety, her awkward adolescence, and how the deaths of her mother and Robin Williams impacted her. It was like a window into her life, and I'd like to be friends with her. ~~~~~ 4/5, keep
Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury (mid-November to early December)
I loved The Martian Chronicles when I read it for a sci fi class, so I bought this book when I came across it in a thrift store. Ray Bradbury has just the loveliest writing; everything he writes is a work of art. This book is a love letter to his midwest childhood in the 1920s, while also mythologizing it and imbuing it with sci fi elements and mystery. Some examples: an old woman who hoards objects from her long life is convinced she has always been an old lady by the local children; an old woman recognizes the love of her life as being reincarnated in his grandson, and a heatstruck boy is brought back to life by bottled air from cold lands, sold by a peddler. The only thing I didn't like about this book was the creepy element of a serial killer, which is treated like high adventure by the boys, and it was just too flippant for me. ~~~~~ 4/5, probably give awayThe Nutcracker by Alexandre Dumas (Christmas eve)
I bought a copy of the Nutcracker story in a beautiful binding from Barnes & Noble. I read the story as a child, although I'm not sure it was the Dumas version. It's pretty weird. This one starts out with the author at a Christmas party at a friend's house. He sneaks away from playing with the kids to take a nap, but wakes up tied to the chair. The kids agree to release him only if he tells him a story, so he tells them "the history of the Nutcracker". It's not at all a story that would entertain children, as it's way too long and tied up in weird bureaucratic and historical details, with the kind of long-winded and rambling writing typical of the 18/19th century. Clara is supposed to be 7 and a half and she's this perfect little lady who is always sweet and kind and acts way older than her age. What's insane to me is that at the end, the Nutcracker marries her after a year has passed. She's only 8 and a half at that point!! So weird. ~~~~~ 3.5/5, keep
Every year Joe L. Wheeler puts out another compilation of Christmas stories from the good old days. Each one has stories from the Victorian era through maybe the 1960s, chock full of adorable precocious children, forlorn but cheerful orphans who find a home, lonely people finding each other, people learning the true meaning of Christmas, separated couples getting back together, and occasionally nice white people helping brown/foreign children. It's all very treacley. At the end of each one is a long sweeping story by Joe L. Wheeler himself that is full of romance between beautiful/handsome Christians and involves either music or books and is bound to give you diabetes. I've read at least four of the CIMH books and they're all the same. My mother gives the new one to my father each year, and we are at volume 27. When will Joe L. Wheeler's reign of terror end? ~~~~ 3.9/5
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