Rabbit Hole #39: The Classics Book Tag

THE CLASSICS BOOK TAG: (I couldn't find the originator of this tag; if you know, please tell me!)

1. An over-hyped classic you really didn't like: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
I went in to this thinking it was going to be solely about Anna and Vronsky and the love triangle; I should have known that being a Russian novel, it was going to have a much wider scope than that. I felt bogged down in the agricultural discussions and found myself not really caring about any of the characters. 

2. Favorite time period to read about: 1920s

American and British Modernism and the Harlem Renaissance are my favorite areas to read and study (my master's thesis was on Virginia Woolf). Even though the 1920s had a lot of faults, there is something about that era of change and decadence that appeals to me. 

3. Favorite fairy-tale: Little Red Riding Hood
There is so much more to this tale than simply warning children to not talk to "wolves." It has layers of rape culture, feminism, sexual politics and much more. It also proves that fairy tales are often not for children.

4. What is the classic you're most embarrassed about having not read
I'm not really embarrassed about books I haven't read yet. I've read a lot of classics, and it's impossible to read them all (unless that's all you're reading, and there's just too much good stuff out there!)

5. Top 5 classics you would like to read (soon): Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin, Passing by Nella Larsen, Lady Susan by Jane Austen, The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, and Middlemarch by George Eliot

6. Favorite modern book/series based on a classic: Wicked by Gregory Maguire

I love backstories to well-known characters, especially villains. No one is ever completely good or evil, and our circumstances can put us into situations that require drastic measures. And sometimes the villain is actually less evil than the hero. 

7. Favorite movie version/tv-series based on a classic: Sleepy Hollow is my current favorite. 
I love the mix of the original tale with amped up paranormal events, connections to history, and a diverse cast. I also love Once Upon a Time for its twists and connections of all types of classic stories. 

8. Worst classic to movie adaptation: Beowulf (with Ray Winstone and Angelina Jolie)
This strayed so far from the original, creating a romance between Hrothgar and Grendel's mother and then between Beowulf and Grendel's mother. I'm all for leaving details out, but when you create scenes and conflicts that weren't in the original, that bothers me. (Especially since Neil Gaiman, whom I love, wrote the screenplay.)

9. Favorite edition(s) you'd like to collect more classics from:I don't really collect editions, although I'm seeing some really beautiful ones that might tempt me to change my mind!

10. An underhyped classic you'd recommend to everyone: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte

Anne is by far the most underrated of the Bronte sisters--some people don't even know she exists--and probably the most radical. Tenant is a decidedly feminist book, and it was so far ahead of its time that even Charlotte didn't approve of its themes and "coarseness."

Rabbit Hole #31: Reflections on the Read Harder Challenge 2015

A few thoughts after a year of reading mindfully:

1. Micro-histories have crazy long titles.

2. Graphic novels and comic books are a really great way to pull yourself out of a reading slump. So are poetry collections.

3. Being mindful of what you are reading really does make a difference. Before this year I thought I was actually reading rather diversely, but my average percentage of non-white authors generally hovered around 20%, which is pretty abysmal. This year, it's around 40%, which I'm much happier with. Next year, though, I'd really like to hit at least 50%.

4. I know categories about people's race or nationality or gender don't come close to telling their whole story. At this point, though, they're the best measurements I have to keep track of my reading. I would gladly take suggestions to make this better.

5. I'm very late to the game, but Grey Wolf Press puts out incredible titles.

6. I still don't consider audiobooks reading. You are listening to a great story, yes, but to me, the physical act of reading and the physical act of listening are completely different. I see audiobooks as more in line with movies or television. I also have a very difficult time focusing on an audiobook while doing other things, which may be why I don't enjoy them. I did see one video discussing adult coloring books used while listening to audiobooks, which I may try during this year's audiobook portion of the Challenge.

7. I need to expand beyond reading books by American or British authors--over 70% were from these two countries. I really need more Middle Eastern and Latin/South American books next year, as well as more from Africa and Asia. I also need to read more from indigenous peoples. Again, in previous years, I thought I was reading diversely; now...not so much.

8. I still read overwhelmingly literary fiction.

9. I'm not one for romance novels. I used to be; as a teenager I devoured Danielle Steele novels, but now, I just can't keep interested long enough. (Maybe I'm just not reading the right ones.)

10. I am a sucker for a good paranormal story. Give me witches, vampires, werewolves--as long as it's well-written and tries to go beyond the normal tropes. (Not really a zombie fan, though.) This is something that I tried to downplay for several years because of outside opinions, but I've decided I'm too old to worry about what anyone else says anymore. I'm reading what I love.

11. Ditto for re-imagined/retellings of fairy tales.

12. I tend to read a lot of back-list books rather than new releases. Unless they're by one of my favorite authors, or a very special circumstance, I tend to wait until they come out in paperback.

13. I read more e-books than I used to, but the percentage is still very small. I'm ok with that. I tend to only buy e-books of titles I'm mildly interested in, or that aren't available in another format. It's not my favorite way to read; I prefer to actually hold a physical book in my hands and not worry if I have enough battery life.

14. I didn't have a lot of books recommended to me this year that I read. In past years, a good chunk of what I read depended on the recommendations of a few people; now that I'm no longer around those people, I've struck out more on my own. That's not to say I won't read recommended books; I just haven't had the desire to.

15. For some reason, my reading more than doubled this year. I have no real answer for it; even if you take out all of the graphic novels/comic collections, I still doubled my yearly average of about 50 books per year. And it's not like I'm being a hermit; I think we are out and about more than we ever were before we moved. It's a strange phenomenon, but not one I'm complaining about.

16.  BookTube has introduced me to some amazing authors and books that I didn't know existed. There are people vlogging about every genre, and there's a personality for everyone. I highly recommend checking it out. (Warning: It can become addictive.)

17. For 2016, I'm contemplating participating in three reading challenges: Book Riot 2016 Read Harder Challenge, the PopSugar 2016 Reading Challenge, and the Bustle Reading Challenge that focuses on women and people of color. There will be some overlap, but I think it will push me even more.

All in all, a wonderfully bookish year, and I'm looking forward to 2016!!


And in case you're curious:

2015 basic stats:

135 books read
32, 766 pages
Average length of book: 243 pgs
Average rating: 3 stars (out of 5)
Total books written by people of color: 50 (37%)
Total books written by women: 67 (50%)

Rabbit Hole #30: Read Harder Challenge 2015 Update--December

This is the final installment in this year's Book Riot Read Harder Challenge 2015. Not everything I've read this year is on this list, but it does comprise the majority. As always, this month's reads are in blue.

1. A book written by someone when they were under 25: 

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Beasts of No Nation by Uzodinma Iweala

2. A book written by someone when they were over the age of 65: 

God Help the Child by Toni Morrison
Lucrezia Borgia by Sarah Bradford

3. A collection of short stories:

Ten Little Indians by Sherman Alexie
Krik? Krak! by Edwidge Danticat

4. A book published by an indie press: 

The Salt Roads by Nalo Hopkinson (Open Roads Media Sci-Fi and Fantasy)
Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine (Grey Wolf Press)d
On Immunity by Eula Biss (Grey Wolf Press)

5. A book by or about someone who identifies as LGBTQIA: 

We Are the Animals by Justin Torres
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Golden Boy by Abigail Tarttelin
Butterfly Boy: Memories of a Chicano Mariposa by Rigoberto Gonzalez

6. A book by someone of a different gender than you: 

Shooting Victoria: Madness, Mayhem, and the Rebirth of the British Monarchy 

by Paul Thomas Murphy 
Half-Resurrection Blues by Daniel José Older
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

7. A book that takes place in Asia: 

The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri
A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

8. A book by an author from Africa:

We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo
Zarah the Windseeker by Nnedi Okorafor
The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma

9. A book by or about someone from an indigenous culture: 

The Bone People by Keri Hulme
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie

10. A microhistory: 

Desire and Disaster in New Orleans: Tourism, Race and Historical Memory by Lynnell L. Thomas
Liar, Temptress, Soldier Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War by Karen Abbott

 Flapper: A Madcap Story of Sex, Style, Celebrity and the Women Who Made America Modern 
by Joshua Zeitz

The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II 
by Denise Kiernan
Rats: Observations on the History and Habitat of the City's Most Unwanted Inhabitants 
by Robert Sullivan
The Great New Orleans Kidnapping Case: Race, Law, and Justice in the Reconstruction Era
 by Michael A. Ross

11. A YA novel: 

Paper Towns by John Green
The Wicked Will Rise by Danielle Page
Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older
Scarlet, Cress, and Fairest by Marissa Meyer
Chanda's Secret by Allan Stratton
Coraline by Neil Gaiman

12. A sci-fi novel: 

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Neuromancer by William Gibson
MADDADDAM by Margaret Atwood
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

13. A romance novel: 

The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty by Anne Rice

The Queen's Lover by Francine Du Plessix Gray

14. A National Book Award, Man Booker Prize or Pulitzer from the last decade: 

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (Pulitzer)

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (Man Booker)
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodsen (National Book Award for Young People's Lit)
Head Off and Split by Nikky Finney (National Book Award--Poetry)

15. A book that is a retelling of a classic story: 

Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi (retelling of Snow White)

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (The Jungle Book)

Cinder by Marissa Meyer (Cinderella)
ODY-C Vol. 1: Off to Far Ithicaa by Matt Fraction (The Odyssey)
Poison (Snow White) and Charm (Cinderella) by Sarah Pinborough
The Rose and The Beast: Fairy Tales Retold by Francesca Lia Block (various)

16. An audiobook: 

Voices and Poetry of Ireland (a collection)

17. A collection of poetry: 

Once and Horses Make a Landscape Look More Beautiful by Alice Walker
The Weary Blues by Langston Hughes
Thrall by Natasha Tretheway
Selected Poems by Gwendolyn Brooks
Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur
An Aquarium by Jeffrey Yang
Breezes on Their Way to Becoming Winds by Charles Peek

18. A book that someone else recommended to you: 

Pastrix: The Cranky, Beautiful Faith of a Sinner and Saint by Nadia Bolz-Weber

19. A book originally published in another language:

Beautiful Darkness by Fabien Vehlmann (French)
Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Spanish)
Buddha's Little Finger by Victor Pelevin (Russian)
An Illiad by Alessandro Baricco (Italian)
The Star of Algiers by Aziz Chouaki (French)

20. A graphic novel, memoir or collection of comics: 

Captain Marvel, Vol. 1 by Kelly Sue Deconnick

Sandman, Vols. 1 and 2 by Neil Gaiman

Batgirl, Vol. 1 by Gail Simone

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 1 by Alan Moore

Nevermore: A Graphic Novel Anthology of Edgar Allan Poe's Short Stories
Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal, Vol. 2: Generation Why and Vol. 3: Crushed by G. Willow Wilson
Thor: Goddess of Thunder, Vol. 1; Who Holds the Hammer, Vol. 2 by Jason Aaron
Saga, Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan
Just So Happens by Fumio Obata
Griffin and Sabine: Book 1 and Sabine's Notebook: Book 2 by Nick Bantock
March: Books 1-2 by Rep. John Lewis
Dominique Laveau, Voodoo Child: Requiem by Selwyn Seyfu Hinds
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Vol. 1 by Ryan North
Fables, Vol 1: Legends in Exile and Vol. 2: Animal Farm by Bill Willingham
Wicked and the Divine, Vol. 1: The Faust Act and Vol. 2: Fandemonium by Kieron Gillen
Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosch
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
The Harlem Hellfighters by Max Brooks

21. A guilty pleasure: 

The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert 

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
The Winter Witch by Paula Brackston
Bridget Jones' Diary by Helen Fielding (reread)

22. A book published before 1850: Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northrup (actually 1853, but close)

23. A book published this year: 

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins (Jan. release date)

 Find Me by Laura van den Berg (Feb.)
The Gracekeepers by Kirsty Logan (May)
Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee (July)

24. A self-improvement book: 

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
So Good They Can't Forget You by Cal Newport
The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer
Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert

I also read: Middle Passage by Charles Johnson

Rabbit Hole #26: Read Harder Challenge 2015 Update--November

I have finished the Book Riot Read Harder Challenge 2015, but I'm going to keep adding to it for the next two months, just to see where I end up. 

Here's my list so far:  
(This month's reads are in blue.)

1. A book written by someone when they were under 25: 

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Beasts of No Nation by Uzodinma Iweala

2. A book written by someone when they were over the age of 65: 

God Help the Child by Toni Morrison
Lucrezia Borgia by Sarah Bradford

3. A collection of short stories:

Ten Little Indians by Sherman Alexie
Krik? Krak! by Edwidge Danticat

4. A book published by an indie press: 

The Salt Roads by Nalo Hopkinson (Open Roads Media Sci-Fi and Fantasy)
Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine (Grey Wolf Press)

On Immunity by Eula Biss (Grey Wolf Press)

5. A book by or about someone who identifies as LGBTQIA: 

We Are the Animals by Justin Torres
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Golden Boy by Abigail Tarttelin
Butterfly Boy: Memories of a Chicano Mariposa by Rigoberto Gonzalez

6. A book by someone of a different gender than you: 

Shooting Victoria: Madness, Mayhem, and the Rebirth of the British Monarchy 

by Paul Thomas Murphy 
Half-Resurrection Blues by Daniel José Older
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

7. A book that takes place in Asia: 

The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri
A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

8. A book by an author from Africa:

We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo
Zarah the Windseeker by Nnedi Okorafor
The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma

9. A book by or about someone from an indigenous culture: 

The Bone People by Keri Hulme

10. A microhistory: 

Desire and Disaster in New Orleans: Tourism, Race and Historical Memory by Lynnell L. Thomas
Liar, Temptress, Soldier Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War by Karen Abbott

 Flapper: A Madcap Story of Sex, Style, Celebrity and the Women Who Made America Modern 
by Joshua Zeitz

The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II 
by Denise Kiernan
Rats: Observations on the History and Habitat of the City's Most Unwanted Inhabitants 
by Robert Sullivan
The Great New Orleans Kidnapping Case: Race, Law, and Justice in the Reconstruction Era
 by Michael A. Ross

11. A YA novel: 

Paper Towns by John Green
The Wicked Will Rise by Danielle Page
Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older
Scarlet and Cress by Marissa Meyer 
Chanda's Secret by Allan Stratton
Coraline by Neil Gaiman

12. A sci-fi novel: 

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Neuromancer by William Gibson
MADDADDAM by Margaret Atwood
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

13. A romance novel: 

The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty by Anne Rice

The Queen's Lover by Francine Du Plessix Gray

14. A National Book Award, Man Booker Prize or Pulitzer from the last decade: 

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (Pulitzer)

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (Man Booker)
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodsen (National Book Award for Young People's Lit)
Head Off and Split by Nikky Finney (National Book Award--Poetry)

15. A book that is a retelling of a classic story: 

Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi (retelling of Snow White)

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (The Jungle Book)

Cinder by Marissa Meyer (Cinderella)
ODY-C Vol. 1: Off to Far Ithicaa by Matt Fraction (The Odyssey)
Poison by Sarah Pinborough (Snow White)
The Rose and the Beast: Fairy Tales Retold by Francesca Lia Block (various)

16. An audiobook: 

Voices and Poetry of Ireland (a collection)

17. A collection of poetry: 

Once by Alice Walker
Horses Make a Landscape Look More Beautiful by Alice Walker
The Weary Blues by Langston Hughes
Thrall by Natasha Tretheway
Selected Poems by Gwendolyn Brooks

18. A book that someone else recommended to you: 

Pastrix: The Cranky, Beautiful Faith of a Sinner and Saint by Nadia Bolz-Weber

19. A book originally published in another language:

Beautiful Darkness by Fabien Vehlmann (French)
Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Spanish)
Buddha's Little Finger by Victor Pelevin (Russian)
An Illiad by Alessandro Baricco (Italian)

20. A graphic novel, memoir or collection of comics: 

Captain Marvel, Vol. 1 by Kelly Sue Deconnick

Sandman, Vols. 1 and 2 by Neil Gaiman

Batgirl, Vol. 1 by Gail Simone

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 1 by Alan Moore

Nevermore: A Graphic Novel Anthology of Edgar Allan Poe's Short Stories
Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal, Vol. 2: Generation Why and Vol. 3: Crushed by G. Willow Wilson
Thor: Goddess of Thunder, Vol. 1; Who Holds the Hammer, Vol. 2 by Jason Aaron
Saga, Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan
Just So Happens by Fumio Obata
Griffin and Sabine: Book 1 and Sabine's Notebook: Book 2 by Nick Bantock
March: Books 1-2 by Rep. John Lewis
Dominique Laveau, Voodoo Child: Requiem by Selwyn Seyfu Hinds
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Vol. 1 by Ryan North
Fables, Vol 1: Legends in Exile and Vol. 2: Animal Farm by Bill Willingham
Wicked and the Divine, Vol. 1: The Faust Act and Vol. 2: Fandemonium by Kieron Gillen
Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosch
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
The Harlem Hellfighters by Max Brooks

21. A guilty pleasure: 

The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert 

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

22. A book published before 1850: Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northrup (actually 1853, but close)

23. A book published this year: 

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins (Jan. release date)

 Find Me by Laura van den Berg (Feb.)
The Gracekeepers by Kirsty Logan (May)
Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee (July)

24. A self-improvement book: 

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
So Good They Can't Ignore You by Cal Newport

I also read: The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henríquez, Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid

Rabbit Hole #16: June Reading Wrap-up

If you read my June Read Harder update, you'll know that while May was a rather lack-luster reading month for me, I finally came out of my reading slump in June. (Too be fair, I did move halfway across the country in May!)

I ended up reading 14 books last month, 5 of which were graphic novels/comic collections, which is a new avenue for me. I'm really enjoying Ms. Marvel, Thor: Goddess of Thunder and Saga. I also read one of the most disturbing graphic novels (or stories, period) I've read in a while in Beautiful Darkness by Fabien Vehlmann. Think Pixar's Inside Out with a Stephen King flavor. Yep, that twisted.

A few other highlights from this month: (obviously I read more, these just rose to the top)

Half-Resurrection Blues by Daniel José Older: This is a fun urban fantasy novel. If you like mysteries mixed with the paranormal and a whole lot of sass, definitely pick this up. The main character is a partially resurrected human being who is basically a gun-for-hire for the ghost world, keeping the dead from interfering too much with the living. Older does a great job with world building, and his characters are smart and funny, with the requisite melancholy. This is the book that pulled me out of my reading slump; I highly recommend it.


All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr: This novel follows two young children throughout World War II. One is a young blind French girl who becomes part of the Resistance; the other is a young German boy with a gift for electronics, radios in particular, who is trained by the Nazis to search out and destroy the underground networks. This shows a very human side to the war, and how even the young were pulled in to the conflict.


Citizen by Claudia Rankine: Read this. This is probably the most important book about our society and race relations that I have read in a long time. Rankine uses prose poetry, essays, and scripts from videos she and her husband produced to create a very real picture of how far we still need to come in this country. It's not an easy read by any means given the subject matter, but it is a necessary one.


The Wicked Will Rise by Danielle Paige: This is the second in Paige's YA reworking of the Wizard of Oz. In this novel, Amy has to regroup after failing to kill Dorothy. She has lost the other members of the Wicked, and finds herself being drawn into the dark side of magic. Paige adds to the Oz legend without compromising the original mythos, creating a fun, quick read.

If you want to know more about these or any of the other books I read, let me know--I'm more than happy to chat about them!

Rabbit Hole #13: (re)Read Me a Story

There's nothing like an old story with a new twist.

I think I first noticed my obsession with “retold” stories when Wicked by Gregory Maguire came out. The Wizard of Oz is a much-loved story from my childhood (much to my husband’s chagrin), and the idea that the Wicked Witch might not be quite what we were told was intriguing. Maguire's take on Elphaba and Galinda, and the entire ensemble of Ozian characters breathed new life into the story, adding another, and might I say much needed, dimension. (I also love the musical, except for Fiyero’s casting…) I’m also diving into Danielle Paige’s new Oz books, beginning with Dorothy Must Die, and loving the idea that Dorothy isn’t as sweet as she seems.

Fairy tales seem to be easy source material for these retellings. Jane Yolen's Briar Rose sets Sleeping Beauty in the tragedy of the Holocaust. Marissa Meyer’s YA Lunar Chronicles retell the princess tales in a futuristic society (Cinder/ella is a cyborg), while Helen Oyeyemi’s beautiful Boy, Snow, Bird transports Snow White to 1950s segregated America. Maguire also has Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister (Cinderella) and one of the most intriguing reworkings--Mirror, Mirror, which links Snow White with the story of Lucrezia Borgia and her family.

There are also side characters in literary fiction who are so interesting that their stories are practically screaming to be told. I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem by Maryse Conde turns The Crucible and the Salem Witch Trials around by giving Tituba her voice (and also has a really odd crossover with The Scarlet Letter--which also has a great retelling in the dystopian When She Woke by Hillary Jordan). Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys takes Jane Eyre’s mad wife in the attic and makes her an extremely sympathetic and tragic character. Another one of my favorites is My Jim by Nancy Rawles, a retelling of Huck Finn from the perspective of the wife Jim has left behind. It’s a poignant and heartbreaking tale, much different from its source.

For those who want a comedic twist on their old plots, Christopher Moore's books Fool and The Serpent of Venice (King Lear and The Merchant of Venice, respectively) are wonderful romps through the Shakespearean landscape. He also has his slightly irreverent novel Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal, which is one of my all-time favorites.

As much as I love new, innovative plots, there’s nothing that sends me for my wallet quite like a retelling of a classic story. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I just noticed that Sarah Pinborough has a new trilogy of “wicked” princess stories.

**Disclaimer: I linked each of these books to Barnesandnoble.com so interested individuals could read the plot synopses. I do not receive any compensation from them.