Recent Reads

86. The Art of Silliness:
As the subtitle states, this is a book that encourages you to draw, doodle, and play for 10 minutes a day. Some fun ideas, and the workbook format lets you play right in the book, but I found it light on content. Rating: 2 stars.

87. The Golden Compass
Witches. Daemons. Bears. Oh my! This is the first book in the His Dark Materials trilogy, and while targeted for kids, it is also a fun read for adults. I listened to the multicast audio version, which is wonderful.

There seems to be quite a bit of controversy about this series. I guess there are themes that might offend some Christians. This is fiction people! Besides, I think the topics raised should be explored deeper by people so easily offended. 

The protagonists of the story are the feisty 11 year old Lyra, and her daemon Pan. She lives in Jordan College surrounded by old scholars, and gets into all sorts of mischief. Life takes on a much more sinister note when kids start disappearing. Kidnapped by Gobblers. Who knows for what nefarious reasons. The author creates a wonderfully imaginative world, and I've already got the next book in the trilogy lined up to go. If you are looking for a fun romp of a read, with surprisingly complex undercurrents, look no further.

As an aside, there is a movie version with Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman. Sounds like the perfect movie for an upcoming plane ride. Rating: 4 stars.