Recent Reads

146. Inside Guide: Sri Lanka
A decent guide book for planning a trip to Sri Lanka. Rating: 3 stars.

147. Sita's Ramayana
Jacket blurb: Told from the perspective of the queen, Sita, it explores ideas of right versus wrong, compassion, loyalty, honor and the terrible price that war exacts from women, children, animals and the natural world.

The Ramayana is one of the great legends of ancient India, and as a kid I devoured this story in graphic novel format. I think of it as India's Helen of Troy epic, and I've always wondered what Sita's point of view would be, so was delighted when I found this graphic novel targeted at the middle grade reader.

I really liked the folk art style of the graphics, but was disappointed with the text. The writing seemed rather stilted and awkward at times. Also, I wanted more insight into Sita's thoughts and emotions, and her interactions with Ravana. There was still too much about Rama and the boys in this for me. 

As an aside, having just visited the Kingdom of Lanka, I appreciated the sense of place even more. Rating: 3 stars.

148. Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened
The author has a blog, and this is collection of some of her fave posts. Stories about life, dogs, dealing with depression, dogs, childhood memories, dogs. Did I mention dogs? So think about this as a collection of mini-essays with illustrations. Some made me laugh out loud, and the art while simple is quite expressive. Rating: 3 stars.

149. Brewster
Some reviewer said that this book is like being in a Bruce Springsteen song. I'd agree. A coming of age story, set in Brewster, New York. While the writing is lyrical in parts, I'm calling it quits at page 106. It is probably all me, but I simply do not care what happens to the characters in this novel. I might try again at a different time. Rating: 1 star.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And that wraps up my 2013 reads. My Goodreads log shows me at 152 for the year - the difference is probably books that I did not finish and decided not to note here. I will post a best of 2013 reads soon. I hope you had a great reading year as well. Do let me know, or link to, your best of 2013 reads.