It is really so kind of the organizers of Independent Bookstore Day to always schedule it for my birthday weekend. I get to buy birthday presents to myself and support indie bookstores!
This year we only made it to two stores, as we stayed on the Olympic Peninsula rather than taking the ferry over to Seattle, but the two we went to are real gems: Eagle Harbor in Bainbridge Island and Liberty Bay in Poulsbo. (We also got some delicious pastries from Saboteur Bakery before our bookstore adventure. And if you’re wondering who the other half of this “we” is, it’s my boyfriend. He’s great.)
I started the day with a list of four books in mind that I wanted to look for, and while I bought none of the four books from my list, I still stuck to four, so I’m pretty proud of my self control! I don’t really do book haul posts, but I’m pretty excited about all four of these books, so I wanted to share.
William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Mean Girls, Ian Doescher
If you listened to the Mean Girls episode of Pop DNA, you heard Erin and me talk about this. As he did previously with William Shakespeare’s Star Wars, Doescher has translated the film Mean Girls into Shakespearean language, to the delight of all.
I love the intentionality with which he’s done this; in the afterword, the author writes that he has paired each of the characters from Mean Girls with a Shakespearean counterpart for character inspiration. Cady is Miranda from The Tempest, Janis is Beatrice from Much Ado About Nothing, Regina is Kate from The Taming of the Shrew, and, the best one, Ms. Norbury is Titania from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Perfection.
The Beast’s Heart, Leife Shallcross
I am a total sucker for a “Beauty and the Beast” retelling, as I’ve discussed previously, but I don’t know that I’ve ever read one that was entirely from the Beast’s perspective, as I believe this one is. I don’t know much else about this one aside from that, as I hadn’t heard of it before. I bought it basically because of my love for “Beauty and the Beast” and its gorgeous cover art.
The Girl from Everywhere, Heidi Heilig
This one has been on my radar for awhile. I’ve picked it up in stores before and carried it around, almost bought it, then decided not to, at least three or four times. Today I finally went for it. This is a YA fantasy, but it’s not pseudo-medieval Europe or urban/portal fantasy, or at least not in the typical, almost cliche way of YA fantasy fiction (at least, I don’t think so; I haven’t read it yet). It sounds like there’s some time travel, maybe a magical ship that enables the time travel? I don’t know exactly, but I’m excited to find out!
All the Birds in the Sky, Charlie Jane Anders
This is another one that I’ve been aware of for a little while, as it’s shown up on a couple different lists of “science fantasy,” a genre that blends science fiction and fantasy, technology and magic. I don’t really know much about this one, either; I haven’t read any reviews or anything. But what really convinced me to buy it today was the blurb from NPR on the back cover:
…it’s not hard to imagine Wes Anderson adapting it, if he ever turned toward science fiction…
If Anderson did adapt it, hopefully there’d be a part for Jason Schwartzman.
Did you participate in Independent Bookstore Day? How did stores in your area celebrate?
Rhonda With A Book 