paper airplane: unique tales from a mile high

3.5 stars Did I enjoy this book: Pretty much. This is a collection of short stories that highlight the interesting people the author meets while on her numerous air travels. She jokes about the universal dread of being stuck in the center seat. And highlights the array of personalities she meets along the way. I think the stories are at times amusing and interesting. But they lack any real moral, emotional depth, or plot. Basically, she points out that if you talk to people along life’s journey, you’ll meet some who are interesting, funny, obnoxious, generous, etc. I can’t imagine this is startling to any reader. It isn’t a bad book. It’s easy to read that could fill the empty minutes of waiting at the doctor’s office or hair salon. But that’s about it. I did, however, add a half star to the review making it one small notch above mediocre in response to a story about half way through the book. Instead of just flying on the airplane, she jumps out of one. Now that’s a story. Would I recommend it: Kind of. Will I read it again: No. As reviewed by Belinda at Every Free Chance Book Reviews. (I received a copy of this book for review purposes.)

I’m a flyer who jealously guards my down-time when flying: I don’t necessarily want to interact with the people around me, preferring to delve into a book, prep for a meeting, or work on an itinerary for down time in the city I land in.  Interaction is, however, sometimes inevitable: finding those gems in that interaction is what makes this book unique.  Taking moments to relay the stories and tales from her seat-mates on her flights, Kelly manages to deftly present the story and weave in several facts and statistics that provide a look at the flight stories we all have and give them a twist. A careful arrangement and detailed scene setting to place the story into a context, and provides an opportunity to further the depths of meaning within each tale.  My personal preference would have given more emotional context to the stories, but the author’s ability to present them clearly and distinctly provided space for my own emotional interpretations, while providing some background factual information that I never would have sought out, nor known without her additions.   If you are a traveller who likes to share with your fellow frequent flyers, this is a book that would work a treat for opening conversational gambits with your seatmates.   I received an eBook from the author for purpose of honest review for the Indies Rock promotion at I am, Indeed.  I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility. 

This is an interesting book about the author's experiences as she travels the globe. Many of the experiences teach her something as she learns people's backgrounds and stories. It gives you a new perspective on travel. The journey isn't always about the destination, but what you can learn along the way. I wish there had been some dialogue to break up the large paragraphs of text and give me something to grasp hold of. Many of the stories had too many details and explanations surrounding them, but I still enjoyed the book.

I loved this book! The author's writing is well-structured and the stories that she tells are engaging. This would be a great book to use to pass the time on a car, train or airplane ride as you will quickly lose track of time.

When I first thought about this book, I was a fence sitter. I mean I've talked to people on planes and never thought our conversations changed my life- although there was one time on a train. After reading the book, I can see why Kersten felt the need to share her moments with others. There's a lot in the book that people can relate to. I know I did. It's a nice collection of stories that maybe you've had something similar happen or heard a story about how it happened to someone you know. My only problem was that Kersten's writing style is more fact and less storyteller. I don't mean it in a bad way, but it was harder for me to connect in spots because of the fact style of writing. But other than that, I loved it. I think everyone should give it a chance!