100 Books in 2010: 8
Posted by Adrienne on January 22, 2010 under Books | 
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I read three more books for the 2010 book count this week, including my first nonfiction book of the year, and the two sequels in Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies trilogy. Read on for my reviews:
Recapturing the Wesleys’ Vision: An Introduction to the Faith of John and Charles Wesley by Paul Wesley Chilcote
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I might not have chosen to read this myself, but it was required for a seminar I am in. However, I found it to be very interesting and a quick read. As someone who has grown up in the Wesleyan tradition, this book was not earth-shattering. Pretty much everything about the theology of John and Charles Wesley was familiar to me. But it is valuable to see an analysis that makes use of the Wesleys’ writing. Both John’s sermons and letters and Charles’ hymns were quoted extensively. That, for me, was the best part of this book. Chilcote’s style is a bit uneven, but he is easy to read and for the most part, clear in his assertions. He chooses his quotations well, also. In sum, this was a good book and gave me an historical perspective on my own theological understanding.
And now, some fiction…
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Pretties, the second volume in the Uglies trilogy continues the adventures of Tally Youngblood and many of the characters from the first volume show up as well. Tally also has a new friend, Zane.
I enjoyed Pretties and read it quickly. The setting is still fascinating – many parts of the world seen in Book 2 are new to the reader – and Tally remains an interesting protagonist. While there were still some Unnecessary Preachy Bits in this volume, they didn’t both me as much as they had in Book 1. Pretties had another cliff-hanger of an ending, and I was very glad that I had Book 3 to start right away after reading!
Book 3, of course, is…
Specials by Scott Westerfeld
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
An excellent ending to the Uglies trilogy. Tally, Zane, and the rest of the interesting characters are back to wrap up Tally’s story. In this volume, it became very obvious that Tally had grown quite a lot in the course of the series. She remained an interesting character, but has gained some layers along the way.
Like the first two books, I read through Specials quickly and really enjoyed it. The climax of the book is really fascinating, and I had no idea how things would be resolved. There were still a few Unnecessary Preachy Bits, but the story was such that I was able to skim over those quickly and painlessly (for the most part). Overall, I think the Uglies trilogy is fascinating science fiction, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys the genre.
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