the last few days have been full of books. my favorite kind of days. first, i read momo by michael ende. it is simple. it is complex. it is beautiful. absolutely beautiful. images that will last you a lifetime. (in case micael ende sounds familiar, he also wrote the neverending story, another favorite of mine.) everything micael ende touches is absolute breathtaking surreal fabulous magic. momo, his little mysterious heroine, is no exception. this book has been out of print for about twenty years, so do yourself and your progeny a favor and buy a used copy and keep it on the bookshelf.

next, i read the girl who could fly by victoria forester. i read it in a day. i consumed it. i lived it. i felt it and loved it in a way that i haven’t loved a book in a long long time. i wish it were not so rare for me to trip on a book that i simply cannot put down, not for anything. (sorry, kids.) it’s about, as you may have guessed, a girl who can fly. it strikes a perfect balance between a current setting with familiar details and locations and the fantastic. (and you all know i’m an absolute sucker for a good fantasy.) it is a young adult book—so if you don’t go for that kind of thing, i wouldn’t suggest this as the book to convert you. but, that said, this book is sweet with rough edges, completely surprising, and with a plot that pushes fiercely and beautifully straight to the end.

and, i’m about to settle on the couch with jean rhys’ after leaving mr. mackensie. (in case you haven’t noticed, this is the book trail read for may. you still have plenty of time. go get it. right now.) i’m through a couple chapters and definitely intrigued. although still not sure why all available book jackets for this one are so disturbing. harbinger of what’s to come? strange marketing tool? i guess we’ll have to read it and see…