The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

All children mythologize their birth. It is a universal trait. You want to know someone? Heart, mind and soul? Ask him to tell you about when he was born. What you get won’t be the truth; it will be a story. And nothing is more telling than a story.

And what a story. I started Tale last Thursday afternoon and finished that Saturday morning. That should tell you something. I know I should practice what I preach, but I couldn’t help myself. A great read. Looking forward to the next one by Setterfield.

Shug by Jenny Han

It is the end of a summer afternoon and the sun will be setting soon, our favorite part of the day. We’re eating Popsicles, cherry ones. My shirt is sticking to my back, and my hands feel sugary and warm, but my lips are cool. The sun is turning that fiery pink I love, and I turn to Mark the way I always do.

I’m always on the hunt for good books for my children. Shug is a juvenile novel Sherry mentioned recently, and when I saw the cherry-Popsicle cover at the library, I decided to give it a try.

The Transfigured Hart by Jane Yolen

The hart lived in a thicket close by a shimmering pool. He had been born in that thicket on a spring morning before the sun had quite gained the sky.

I’m reading Take Joy: A Writer’s Guide to Loving the Craft also by Yolen, and we have her picture book Owl Moon, but I didn’t know she wrote for older children as well. Again, I’m looking for suitable reads for my hobbits.