Greetings from Nowhere, by Barbara O'Connor (4th grade and up) Date Read: March 8th (out of 5 possible ivy leaves) In short: Barbara O'Connor guides a quartet of troubled characters toward a run down podunk motel where their lives intertwine and begin to mend. (Watch the book trailer here.) On a snowy March day in Michigan, what a treat to cozy up with an endearing cast of characters in a Smoky Mountain setting. Sweet tea, lawn chairs, a tomato patch, and an empty swimming pool...ahhhhh. Besides being a sweet story, I'm intrigued by the way it's told through rotating third person point of view. Seeing as I'm working in rotating first person POV, the subtle shifts and differences between Barbara's story and my WIP kept my antennae up and at 'em. Would somebody tell me again why I'm writing in the first person?
	The Writing Life, by Annie Dillard (Adult non-fiction) Date Read: March 9th Call me a crab, but it's awfully nice when an author's willing to talk about the fact that writing is a real battle sometimes. Add to that Annie Dillard's conviction that it's ok - maybe even normal and admirable - to write slowly, and I was more or less in love. My absolute favorite part, which left me nodding giggling helplessly: "I do not so much write a book as sit up with it, as with a dying friend. During visiting hours, I enter its room with dread and sympathy for its many disorders. I hold its hand and hope it will get better." So now you've got a pretty good idea of how MY writing's been going lately...
	The Floating Circus, by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer (5th grade and up) Date Read: March 16th I had this puppy read in one sitting. Granted, I was stranded with three hours to squander between autographing sessions at Cobo Hall, but this was time well spent. I'll even bet you my hotel bill that I would have read it on one sitting at home on my couch. Killer voice right from the first line, vivid descriptions, and a lively plot -- what more do you want? I'll tell you what else: an orphan train, a riverboat circus, slave hunters, yellow fever. This story packs one punch after another. I'd post even more specific and extravagant praise, but the ARC is back in the hands of its rightful owner. (Here's a big fat smooch to the fabulous Ruth McNally Barshaw for being willing to share.) In short, you can officially add Tracie Vaughn Zimmer to the list of authors whose writing makes me jealous. (Available in July. Incidentally, anybody else prefer the original cover art?)
	A Romanov Fantasy: Life at the Court of Anna Anderson, by Frances Welch (Adult biography) Date Read: March 27th I'm not sure why I enjoyed this book. In keeping with the long tradition of Anna Anderson biographies it was clearly biased, to the point that I had the feeling the author was verbally pointing and laughing at most everyone involved in the story. But with Anna Anderson, bias is the name of the game. Despite DNA test results, controversy still reigns among her devout supporters. In all honesty, I don't know enough about the case to have a sense of how accurate this rendition is, and I don't particularly care. Reason being, virtually anyone who has strong feelings about this case seems to think everybody in the opposite camp is downright barmy and/or full or baloney. So pardon me for gawking, but there's some entertainment to be had from watching kooks call each other crazy. No matter where you stand on the issue of Anastasia/Anna Anderson's identity, it's a fascinating story with plenty of unanswered questions to tantalize yourself with.