“No two persons ever read the same book, or saw the same picture.” The writings of Madame Swetchine, 1860
Wow. I have to say this delightful and insightful book of linked short stories was so beautifully written and easy to read. The author drew me into each story in a page (or less) which is my benchmark for short stories. The writing is simple and though the book doesn’t feel profound, it had an effect on me and how I view fiction. Bauermeister masterfully shows how fiction can deepen our lives and take us to places we didn’t know we needed to go.
Alice, a young struggling writer finally produces a book and sends it out into the world. Her story is the first, and then the rest of the stories focus on 9 people who read the book. It was fun to begin to learn about each person, knowing that in some way they would come in contact with Alice’s book, be challenged, be changed, or just be seen.
Anyone who has ever been in a book club, will have wondered how one book can hit people so differently, and even hit the same person in different ways when reading it at another time. This book shows the answer to that question in such a marvellous way. I couldn’t put it down. Short story collections are not often immersive for me, but this one was.
Joanne's Reading Blog 
I, too, really enjoyed this book. One of my favorite quotes, “What’s a story if we don’t tell it?…A secret.” p. 31