19.
Title: Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader
Author: Anne Fadiman
Pages: 162 pages
Genre: Essays
Medium: Kindle
Acquisition:
Date Completed: February 10, 2012
Rating: ****

Anne Fadiman's collection of short essays on reading and literacy has won a LibraryThing stamp of approval, and I don't believe I can say anything that hasn't already been said. I found Fadiman's text to be good fun, and, as many other LT members, could certainly sympathize with much of what she says.

My particular delight, however, came in proofreading for the copious errors in her text immediately following the chapter on her compulsive proofreading...

20.
Title: Cinder
Author: Marissa Meyer
Pages: 400 pages
Genre: Science Fiction/ Fairytale Retelling
Medium: Kindle
Acquisition:
Date Completed: February 11, 2012
Rating: ****1/2

Marissa Meyer's retelling of "Cinderella" in Cinder is without a doubt my favorite fairytale retelling to date. Casting the protagonist as a cyborg in a plague-cursed futuristic world allowed Meyer to remain faithful to all of the traditions of the story while introducing her own creative elements. There is nothing surprising in the text - her "twists" can be spotted in the first fragment in which they are introduced - but the narrative remains interesting nonetheless. Cinder is good fun for anyone with an interest in fairytale retelling.

76.
Author: Jessica Day George
Title: Princess of Glass
publication: Kindle
Pages
Genre: Fantasy, Fairy Tale
Acquisition: Early review book
Date: September 18, 2011
Rating: ****

Princess of Glass is George's retelling of Cinderella, starring Princess Poppy, out on her own as part of a diplomatic match-making sceme cooked up by various monarchies. I appreciate a princess with a bit of spunk, and enjoyed the swearing-and-gambling Poppy to any Disney princess; likewise, I found George's twists to be original and engaging.

97.
Author: Madelyn Alt
Title: A Witch in Time
Publication: Kindle E-book
Pages:
Genre: cozy mystery
Acquisition:
Date Completed: December 19, 2010
Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

To really call A Witch in Time a mystery would be a joke; the "mystery" itself is once again a very minor detail; so much so that Alt and her reader lose track of it for long stretches of time. Instead, the novel focuses on the personal lives of the characters involved, and shows family ties being rewritten and strengthened in some unexpected ways. Honestly, I enjoy the personal relationships of Alt's Bewitching Mysteries far more than the "mystery" elements, so I enjoyed the developments the latest edition presented.

98.
Author: Hans Christian Anderson
Title: The Snow Queen
Publication: Hardback, Everyman publication
Pages: 92
Genre: fairytale
Acquisition: Work Text
Date Completed: December 19, 2010
Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Hans Christian Anderson's The Snow Queen is a beautiful fairy tale intended for young children, presenting a number of adventures in seven parts and just 92 brief pages. The story itself is enchanting, and the Everyman publication includes gorgeous classic illustrations that really set the tone of the work and transport the reader to the correct time and mental space to enjoy the work as it should be. I gifted a copy of this text to a student as part of a unit on holiday folktales, and she (a high school Junior) likewise found the book endearing, and gushed about the illustrations of the book. Recommended for all fans of traditional fairy tales.