Hey, everyone. I'm really in the mood to read travel memoir-type books (I don't know if that's a real subgenre, but I mean books like Dreaming in Hindi by Katherine Russell Rich, American Shaolin by Matthew Polly, and City of Djinns by William Dalrymple where people go to another country and live in one place and really get to know the ins and outs of that place) but I'm having trouble finding new ones, so I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions. I'd prefer books about Asia, but I'm open to other places too. Thanks!

I'm searching for a recently made animated Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince mood theme, can someone tell me if/where I can find it, please?
I mean, since the dvd is out, I was hoping there were better quality themes too :)

ps: Also a Ron/Hermione animated theme would be awesome. It doesn't really matter from which movies :)
Thank you :)

Skinned (2008)
Written by: Robin Wasserman
Genre: YA/Science Fiction
Pages: 361 (Trade Paperback)

The premise: snatched for BN.com, which is also the backcover blurb: Lia Kahn was perfect: rich, beautiful, popular — until the accident that nearly killed her. Now she has been downloaded into a new body that only looks human. Lia will never feel pain again, she will never age, and she can't ever truly die. But she is also rejected by her friends, betrayed by her boyfriend, and alienated from her old life.

Forced to the fringes of society, Lia joins others like her. But they are looked at as freaks. They are hated...and feared. They are everything but human, and according to most people, this is the ultimate crime — for which they must pay the ultimate price.

My Rating

Must Have: but with one warning: this is not a plot-driven or action-driven book. If you like character-centric books, particularly those with more of an existential theme, and you love the themes behind the updated Battlestar Galactica (focusing on the cylons), then you're going to have fun with this. It's a good book, and even when I didn't agree with our heroine, never once did I not at least sympathize and understand where she was coming from. Wasserman really gets into the heart of the matter and makes you really THINK about how you'd feel if you were in Lia's shoes. The science fictional elements and social reaction to those elements are also very strong, which surprised me, though I don't know why: for whatever, unfair reason, I expect the science in YA SF to be light and fluffy and non-existent, not explained in detail (which isn't to say the science used in Skinned is accurate or not, but it makes you wonder about how such an process could take place in the future). At any rate, it's a pretty strong start of a series, and I'll definitely be picking up the next installment, Crashed, once it's released in trade paperback. :)

Review style: spoilers, because this isn't the kind of heavily plot-driven book the premise makes it out to be. It's actually very, very character-driven, and it's hard NOT to spoil such books. So if you want to avoid said spoilers, there's no need to click the link below to my LJ. Otherwise, click away! Comments and discussion are most welcome. :)

REVIEW: Robin Wasserman's SKINNED

Happy Reading!