Book #4

There have been a bunch of articles lately that say many Americans do not read a single book a year (1/4!) and that the median number read by those who do is 9 for women, and 5 for men. That makes me feel a bit better about making it to 30ish, but I'm still trying for 50! Except for those days when I get sucked into finishing something and get a headache from doing nothing else, I don't think I could consume enough books....

So, #4: Clever Maids: The Secret History of The Grimm Fairy Tales by Valerie Paradiz. Fascinating. Paradiz wraps in many synopses of tales from the collection as she tells the stories of how the Grimm's came upon them. The role of women in their collection process (not really full disclosure on the Grimm's part on that), and the role of the tales in their lives and society at the time of the Napoleanic wars is really interesting. Not only that women guarded such tales, but how much society's woes and pressures weighed into subtle differences in the telling. Also just a good primer on the lives of the brothers Grimm.