Reading in the Garden

Outside Civilization Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer.  After graduating from college, Chris McCandless, a smart, affable, determined free spirit took to the road.  Leaving his Atlanta college town he traveled to explore the western United States and Mexico. Before he left he gave his savings away to charity, and along the way he abandoned his car, burned the remainder of his meager cash, and reinvented himself as Alex Supertramp.  Alex kept a written and photographic journal of his adventures which eventually led his to his ultimate challenge: Alaska.  There he went out to “live alone with no signs of civilization”—and he never returned. His body was found by some hunters four months after starting the “Great Alaskan Odyssey.” Tragic, heart-rending, unforgettable.  A sad, true story. A short book with a hefty lasting impression.  This book met a couple of my 2015 Book Challenges: Read a book set in an “A” state (Alaska); and read a book that has or will become a movie (rel

Isabel Allende Strikes Again Zorro is Isabel Allende’s version of how a great hero came to be.  It’s about two boys growing up in California in the 1800s, and their adventures which later take them to Spain, where Diego de la Vega, aka Zorro, and is “brother” Bernardo hone their swashbuckling sword fighting skills.  This is also where Zorro falls in love and where he duels an evil adversary. This action-packed story is filled with dangers of bears, gypsies, and pirates, of honor, virtue, and love.  It kept me eagerly turning page after page as the young Diego is forged into a blade of justice, defender of the poor, weak, and suppressed. Isabel Allende is one of my mom’s favorite authors (right along Sidney Sheldon), and I totally understand why.  Allende keeps you interested—itching to continue.  I thought the same thing about Daughter of Fortune , another Isabel Allende book I read years ago.  My mother read it too, but she didn’t stop there.  She’s devoured most of her