A case for . . . The Uglies (by Scott Westerfeld)

I'm very particular about which science fiction books I will read. Truly I'm more of a historical, romantic, or mystery reader and science fiction doesn't normally trip my trigger. But, I have been working on trying to get teens to read more and I need to read some teen fiction so I can recommend some books to the teens who ask -- the sacrifices I make.

One of the books that passed my processing desk was the Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. I was intrigued. First of all I liked the cover. Despite the saying, the cover is one of the things that draws me into a book. I don't eliminate a book simply because I don't like (or possibly dislike immensely) the cover. If I did I would have missed out on many a great tale. Nor do I think a book will be wonderful simply because the cover is magnificent -- I have learned this by personal experience. But if a cover catches my eye I am more likely to read the book jacket or the first couple pages in hopes that the story will draw me in further.

Anyway, back to The Uglies. The story begins with Tally Youngblood who can’t wait to turn sixteen – then she will be transformed into a pretty and live with all the other pretties in New Pretty Town. Pretties have everything: beauty, fun, friends. At least that is what Tally believes until she meets a fellow ugly, Shay. Shay opens up a world that Tally has never seen nor heard of and forces Tally to question whether or not she really wants to become a pretty after all.

A pretty couple wandered down the path. Tally froze, but they were clueless, too busy staring into each other's eyes to see her crouching in the darkness. Tally silently watched them pass, getting that warm feeling she always got from looking at a pretty face. Even when she and Peris used to spy on them from the shadows, giggling at all the stupid things the pretties said and did, they couldn't resist staring. There was something magic in their large and perfect eyes, something that made you want to pay attention to whatever they said, to protect them from any danger, to make them happy. They were so...pretty.

The two disappeared around the next bend, and Tally shook her head to clear the mushy thoughts away. She wasn't here to gawk. She was an infiltrator, a sneak, an ugly. And she had a mission. (Uglies by Scott Westerfeld)

What I like: I like the themes in this book: peer pressure, right and wrong, vanity, etc. All great talking points for teens (and adults). The characters are developed well, not just in this book but in the rest of the books in the series. They were real and believable despite the fantastical backdrop.

There is a little bit of romance and a lot of adventure.

What I didn't like: Nothing that I can think of.

Other books in the series:

Title: Uglies
Author: Scott Westerfeld
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published Date: 2005
ISBN: 9780689865381
Pages: 448p

Bookspot Chris-claimer

Musings

It is bizarre some of the things that run through my mind sometimes.

The other morning as I was waking up I was thinking about how now I always seem to sleep on the side of the bed farthest from the door and when I was younger I always slept on the side of the bed nearest the door.

Bizarre.

Today I was examining my life so far. Am I the woman I want to be? Am I the woman I always thought I would be?

I'm not sure if I came to any solid conclusions. But I do know that there will always be room for improvement:

Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised. Give her the product of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates. Proverbs 31:30-31

Sky show

On Friday, besides handing out sweets to begging children, I will be watching the skies. Just after sunset on Friday Venus and the moon will be in the southwestern skyscape.

Then on Saturday evening I should be able to see an earthshine or earthlight. The effect seen when the earth reflects the sun onto the dark side of the moon.


I'm hoping to get a good photo. Although nothing I could take would look half as good as the one above.

For more details check out this link.

Thankfulness

I have devotions for our Women's Ministry meeting next week. I chose my theme to be "A Thankful Heart."

So I will be immersing myself in scripture passages concerning thankfulness.

One of my favorite books contains quite a few of these passages: Psalms. In fact there are entire chapters of thanksgiving hymns in the book of Psalms.

Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth. Serve the LORD with gladness; come before Him with joyful singing. Know that the LORD Himself is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise give thanks to Him, bless His name. For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting and His faithfulness to all generations. Psalm 100

Here comes winter

We had flurries and sleet here yesterday.

Can you believe it? Flurries and sleet.

Granted, it wasn't a measurable amount but it dusted the grass.

And it was cold enough that my car still had some on the hood this morning when I left for work.

I don't think I'm quite ready for winter to be here.


I am ready for . . .

hot cocoa

kitties that warm my feet

hot tea

kitties that cuddle

the end of lawn mowing season
(although this leads to snow shoveling season which I am NOT ready for)

Christmas :-)

There will be some things I miss (until next summer) . . .

the smell of freshly mown grass
(I know that sounds slightly demented due to my previous statements but it's the truth)

being able to step outside without a jacket, parka or snowsuit

a warm breeze blowing through my window

So I guess I'll be trading one set of joys for another. :-)

5 jobs I have had

1. Babysitter -- my very first job!
   
   
2. Barista -- although at the time my job title was a little too swanky for small-town Iowa, so I worked at a coffee shop
   
   
3. Museum intern -- this was a fun job, I basically could work on whatever I wanted and I learned so much about local history
   
   
4. Periodicals aide -- this was my college job. I worked with the periodicals at the library. Lots and lots of journals. :-) It was fun though -- and led to my current job.
   
   
5. Front desk clerk -- I learned a lot of my interpersonal skills from this job.
   

Weekend recap part 3: the show

Saturday, I headed over to the NEIQG Quilt Show. The quilters in this guild can enter any and all quilts they would like. They do require the quilts be completed and have never been shown in this show before.

These are some of the wall quilts.


All viewers have the opportunity to vote for their favorite wall or small quilt and their favorite large quilt.

This was my small quilt choice. I like to choose among the quilts that didn't get an award already. I really like the 4-patch pattern and color choices in this quilt.


I liked this pattern too. I wasn't thrilled with the background choice but I love the stained glass effect.


And then an appliqued dragonfly, ladybug, and butterfly.


This was the grand poo-bah of the show. It won first place in it's division and was the best of show.

I liked this one too. It was all hand-quilted . . .


Look at those stitches!!!

We interupt regularly scheduled programming

I was going to finish up my weekend recap today but I don't have the time (it will be a longer post) because I put together my birthday present from my parents and Grammy.

TaDa!

Weekend recap part 2: The do-something portion

Saturday I did something I rarely do . . . I got up early.

My mom had the morning shift at the quilt show so she had to be there early. Which meant I had to be at the house even earlier! We (Mom, Grammy, and I) were going to spend the morning at the quilt show.

On the way out to the farm, I found out what I miss when I sleep in . . .


This . . .

And this . . .


The frost was evaporating off the fields leaving a low mist. It was beautiful.

And these weren't even the best views.

Weekend recap part 1: The do-nothing portion

Friday was my do nothing day.

I slept in (a favorite activity that I haven't been able to do a lot lately). Then I dillydallied around on the computer for a while. Is that even a word dillydallied? I know dillydally is a word but I'm not sure if it can be made into a past tense verb. Anyway . . . I dillydallied.

I deleted old e-mails that really had no use anymore and were clogging up my inbox. I cleaned up my bookmarks a bit.

I rediscovered this website while going through some of my bookmarks.

I love bookplates -- even though I don't have them in all my books.

Here are a few that I especially liked (and downloaded for later . . .):

The first three were all done by the same illustrator.

These bears are so cute. I just want to snuggle up next to them with a book!

Then we have the frog-themed bookplates. I don't know exactly why I liked these -- maybe it has something to do with the frog prince? Who know what goes on in my brain sometimes.

This last one is by this illustrator . . .

And that pretty much was my Friday. Heehee.

5 things that make me thankful today

1. Kitties that cuddle
   
   
2. A warm bed to linger in
   
   
3. A good book to enjoy
   
   
4. Hot tea
   
   
5. Future plans
   

I'm so excited

I get a mini vacation -- no work until Monday.

Yea!

It is a good weekend to not work too. Grammy is still here (she leaves Sunday). So I get to visit with her the next couple days.

And my mom has some quilts entered into a quilt show and will be working the show this weekend so I am going over to that.

Hopefully I will have some great pictures next week!

Long day

I had a really long day today. Most of it was just riding in a car.

I worked at the library this morning and then a coworker and I went to Dubuque for the ILA (Iowa Library Association) Conference. We didn't really go to the conference part of the conference, we went to the vendor mall.

And we came back loaded! Lots of free stuff (which is great because we work at a public library -- we try to cut costs there): pens, bookmarks, posters, a couple books, lots of information.

(I really wish I had taken my camera -- lots of great photo ops!)

We had some of the library's CD's and DVDs cleaned for free while we watched a demo of the cleaner.

Picked up pens.

We schmoozed a lot.

Picked up pens.

Oh, and every booth had candy. It was heavenly.

Did I mention we picked up pens? :-)

And then we came home.

Now I am going to bed.

The end.

Chris and Too Much TV

When I was young -- I am way too young to be starting sentences with that phrase -- anywho, when I was young, the sibs and I weren't allowed to watch much television. I'm not saying we didn't try to watch tv any chance we could, I'm just saying there were house rules limiting the amount of television we were allowed to watch.

When Mama Bear decides her family spends too much time in front of the TV, she bans it for a week. Then the Bear family finds other ways to have fun and keep busy, so they watch less when TV is allowed again--and they don't even miss it.

Much like the Berenstains we found other ways to spend our time: making up games, riding bikes, playing pretend, reading, etc. I distinctly remember swinging on our swing set and making up songs.

It seems that over the years I have slowly come to rely more and more on my television as a source of companionship. Whoa . . . I just read that back and it sounds a lot more pathetic that it did as I typed it. But I don't take it back.

My reliance snuck up on me.

I have really noticed my television usage because I haven't had a lot of time to watch it. I have certain television programs that I just "have" to watch. So I have my DVR set to record them. I sat down the other day to start watching my recorded shows and was astonished at the sheer number.

I have been slowly eliminating the shows I don't really "have" to watch. I am hoping to ween myself from the television.

Another thing I have noticed I have been using my television for lately is as background noise. I want to change this. My plan is to switch from using the television as background noise to using the radio or some of my cds.

Maybe I'll eventually get back to a little silence every once in a while. :-)

Chocolatey delicious

I have rediscovered the joy of drinking chocolate milk.

Yummy.

I always loved chocolate milk day at school.

The only time we drank store-bought milk when we were growing up (besides school) was when chocolate milk was on sale.

Now I prefer "cow" milk from the farm with a little Hershey's syrup.

Yummy goodness.

5 enjoyable things I did today

1. Slept in (oh so enjoyable!)
   
   
2. Visited with my Grammy
   
   
3. Made scones
   
   
4. Froze zucchini (which you wouldn't think would be enjoyable but that's because you didn't know I used my mom's food processor to grate up the zucchini before I bagged and froze it-- very cool, I gotta get me one of those!)
   
   
5. Had tea and scones with my Mom and Grammy

It was a smiley kind of day!

Catch Up Day

Have you ever had one of those days where you start out being late and spend the rest of the day feeling like you are trying to catch up?

I slept through my alarm this morning and ever since I have been running, running, running.

I laughed when I read my daily verse:

Blessed is the man who perseveres under under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
James 1:12

Thankfully, I persevered today.

A spot of the blahs

I have run into a bit of the writer's block. (Look at that -- makes me feel important. Don't all great writers have writer's block now and then? *sarcasm*)

So I thought I would share a little about some of the sites I visit (some via Google reader) each day.

• All of my "Blogging Favorites" (see the my list to the left of this post) I subscribe to -- not all have a daily post but I read the posts as they come in.
  
  
• For a little humor in my day I read the daily Calvin & Hobbes comic (my all-time favorite comic strip!) and Unshelved (I recently discovered this library comic strip).
  
  
• Cake Wrecks is quite humorous but it is one of the food blogs I read -- professionally made cakes that don't look so professional. I also read Simply Recipes and Smitten Kitchen both have some great (and unique) recipes. Or if you're not a cook some photos that will make your mouth water!
  
  
• A couple of my favorite book blogs: 1) Christian Children's Book Review -- these reviews are great! The reviewers are very specific as to what they like and dislike about the book and they have their own little reviewers -- their children! 2) 5 Minutes for Books -- a quick book review for all kinds of books by book lovers!
  
  
• I also like to read Overheard in New York simply because the sister lives there -- I like to keep up on current events. (HeeHee -- I can see the sister reading this and rolling her eyes so hard she falls off her chair.) I probably should insert a little disclaimer on behalf of the sister -- 1) She in no way claims to have made any comment with near the stupidity of the comments overheard in NY 2) By no means should the comments overheard in NY reflect all citizens of NY (or tourists) thereby and forthwith. Honestly, the comments "overheard" are rarely humorous to me (but when they are funny, they really are) and usually either make me roll my eyes or want to cry.
  
  
• I peruse through some news sites -- I like Yahoo News, Drudge Report, Fark.
  
  
• And finally for a little education: Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day -- cause you never know when a word will come in handy.

Someone recently asked me how I found blogs to read -- I really have no one way. Mostly I click on links in articles or posts I read, or Blog rolls on blogs I read, or Links on blogs I read, or links on sites I visit, etc. You could try visiting a blog award sites (like the Bloggies or Blogger's Choice Awards) for some blog suggestions.

(Wow, I guess I had more to say today than I thought.)

Anticipation

One of the things I have been doing lately is making my own bread. I started to cut my grocery expenses.

Now I really enjoy making it. The process is relaxing. And the results are delicious.

I just finished making a couple loaves (I freeze one unbaked) and I have one in the oven right now.

It smells so good!

I am anticipating having an nice warm piece of bread with butter on it.

Thinkin' about my resolutions

Remember these? I thought I should evaluate -- see just what I have accomplished so far and what changes I still need to make.

1. Finances: I think I have been doing a fairly good job with this one. I think there can still be some improvement. So far I have: eliminated my book buying budget (this has been difficult but I have been sticking to it); cutting my grocery/household expenses by making my own laundry detergent and bread, I have also been getting milk from the farm instead of buying it; watching my entertainment spending.
   
   
2. Household: Although I haven't kept up a daily schedule, I have been keeping to a weekly or bi-monthly schedule. I have to say I am fairly happy with this so far.
   
   
3. Health: I haven't been walking as much as I would like but I have been monitoring my eating habits (except for this evening -- there is a reason I rarely buy ice cream).
   
   
4. Spiritual life: This is the area I want to focus on the rest of the year. More on this one later . . .
   
   
5. Appreciation: I have been working on this one. One thing I did recently is purchase some thank you cards. I have plans to write notes to some people in my life that I especially appreciate.

Three out of five so far. And the year is 4/5ths over. Not too bad. I already have gotten farther than I expected!

5 things I accomplished today

1. Cleaned my shower/tub (*it's sparkling*)
   
   
2. Read a book (taking it back to the library tomorrow!)
   
   
3. Made homemade pizza (yummy -- and there's leftovers!)
   
   
4. Cleaned my kitchen
   
   
5. Fed *Pfitt* some warm milk (and I stuck around to play a little bit)
   

Changing of seasons

The time has come . . . I turned on my heat last night.

The furnace only kicked on a couple times, scaring the cat, but it marks the end of summer for me.

It is the beginning of:

• Hot cocoa

• Blankets, blankets, blankets, and more blankets

• Crisp, cool evenings

• Frosty mornings

• Kitties that snuggle (when of a mind too, that is)

• Leaves that crunch

Photo from www.nationalgeographic.com!

Sorry . . . but I have another cat post

Cleo does this exact same thing!

Only she is slightly more tubby so not quite as lithe and sneaky. But you have to give Cleo a few points for trying!