Recent Reads

60. Lost in Shangri-la
I listened to the audio version read by the author, and with a sub-title like "A True Story of Survival, Adventure, and the Most Incredible Rescue Mission of World War II", I had high hopes for a rollicking good adventure/rescue story. And while there were parts that were really good, I would not have finished it if I had read the print version. It could have used better editing, and could have been much shorter. It almost felt like an Outside Magazine feature article that was padded with lots and lots of miscellaneous data to get to a particular word count, and while much of the miscellany was interesting, it did not really add to the flow of the story. Rating: 3 stars.

61. Uglies
This is book #1 of the Uglies young adult series, and since all the books in the series have already been published, decided to try it. 

The story takes place sometime in a dystopian future. Humans have destroyed most of the planet, and now live in cities, though there is a resistance movement. Those in the city are ugly and live with other "Uglies" until you turn 16, at which point you undergo mandatory surgery that makes you a "New Pretty", and you move to live with other beautiful people on your own island where you party all the time. Enter our protagonist, Tally Youngblood, who cannot wait to be beautiful, but when her new BFF runs away to live with the resistance, Tally is given an ultimatum: Be a spy and betray the resistance, OR, be an "Ugly" forever. Gasp!

I find myself rather conflicted about this book. On the one hand I love the premise of the novel and the discussions it could lead to for the YA reader - the beauty myth, the need to conform and fit in, the haves and have nots, ecological destruction, etc. On the other hand, Tally and the other characters are not well fleshed out, and seemed rather one dimensional to me. The story has interesting twists and turns, but seems to drag on longer than needed. I liked it enough to read the next book in the series. Rating: 3 stars.

62. An Illustrated Journey
This book is a wonderful collection of travel sketchbook pages from artists all over the world. Packed with sketches, tips and materials used, this book got my sketching juices flowing, and makes me want to sketch everything in sight. Loved it. Rating: 5 stars.