Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures By Kate DiCamillo

Thanks to my daughter Scout, we’re a big fan of Because of Winn-Dixie, and to a lesser extent The Tale of Despereaux, by the same author.

Our nighttime reading trio also really enjoyed this whimsical tale of a squirrel turned superhero.  It’s full of strong, eccentric characters and thoughtful pacing.  I especially like that it tells a good story without being overly reliant on the gimmick of the central premise.

No doubt it earns its 2014 Newberry medal.

One Day by David Nicholls

This was another grab from our Little Free Library.  I’m a sucker for gimmicky novels involving time in some way…  This one tells the story of a relationship by describing the events of one day in July every year, from their twenties through forties.

If I’m honest, I didn’t like the ending.  But the ride was enjoyable.  The convention worked pretty well, but I didn’t really feel like it was used in any particular way.   It could have just been a novel that covers a long time period, without the arbitrary single day convention.  What did choosing that particular day bring to the table?  Not sure.

But it was well written, and I guess other people liked it, because I see it was made into a movie a year later.

One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories by B.J. Novack

He was great on The Office.  And his children’s picture book, The Book With No Pictures, is pretty brilliant.

I don’t know if I would have taken the plunge to try out this book of stories if it hadn’t shown up in the Little Free Library outside our front yard.  But I’m glad I did.

He’s actually a good writer.  His stories are amusing and clever, with a feel like binge-reading McSweeneys.net.  I’m going to keep an eye out for his next book, because I’d be willing to pay for it.  He’s just that good.