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Charles Baxter is known as one of the best contemporary short story writers and it was no surprise that his recent collection, "Gryphon," was named a NY Times Notable Book of 2011. By no means are his stories fun and upbeat but they are surely entertaining and in most cases give you great insight into individuals. The most talked about of these stories seems to be "Royal Blue" which is abotu 9/11 and although that event happened more than 10 years ago it clearly has made a mark on the author as he chooses to write about it as one of his new short stories. "The Next Building I plan to Bomb" is an eery look at how easy it is for an affected individual to creat chaos in society. Overall this is a must read if you like the short-story genre.

After seeing that Stone Arabia was named one of the NY Times 100 Notable Books of 2011 and hearing gushing recommendations from so many people, I picked it up this weekend and finished it in almost one sitting. I was not at all dissapointed. Dana Spiotta crafts a story told by Denise--a middle aged, lightly employed woman who has a brother Nik who is similarly lightly famous (at least in a few people's eyes) for music he recorded via a number of not so recognized bands over the course of 20 albums and 30 or so years. Denise's daughter Ada the product of a few-night stand many years ago decides to make a movie about Nik's "career" and his recording of the "Chronicles" of his life. This leads to much worry on the part of Denise who is concerned about Nik's already fragile ego and alcoholic tendencies. A very good book that exposes sibling relationships at its rawest.

Daniel Yergin in his new book The Quest tackles the subject of energy and how we as the average consumer will be affected by it as we move furher into the 21st century. This is the type of book where you pretty can come into it understanding close to nothing about energy other than how to fill up your car with gas and exit the book being fairly well versed in everything from oil to photovoltaic to fracking, solar, wind, and much more. I found Yergin's style quite engaging--he writes in sort of bits and bobs with short, punchy "chapters" or topics. The book, albeit somewhat long, was fairly easy to get through and you surely did not need a PhD in the sciences to understand how totally screwed we are as a country here in the USA(let alone other countries) unless we make some major changes in our consumption patterns. A good book well worth the read.

The London Train is really two stories in one that merge as the book enters its second half. We are first introduced to Paul who is on his second marriage but most definitely feeling an itch to do something different. He goes out in search of his daughter Pia who became pregnant by an unlikely but sort of obvious person. The second part of the story is about Cora--also running away from her marriage to what seems to be a reasonably nice but unremarkable man. The two meet on a train from Paddington and end up putting what you may call many embers into the fire. In many ways a traditional love story about two individuals who happen upon each other by chance. Look out for what in my opinion was a surprise ending in the final pages.

Assassins of the Turquoise Palace is one of those non-fiction pieces of work that reads very much like fiction and you will likely breeze right through it. The book is a detailed look at an event from 1992 in Berlin where a number of individuals were sitting having dinner when Iranian-sponsored terrorists burst in and starting shooting these men who were in fact part of the Kurdish opposition. The shooting was later called the Mykonos killings--the name of the restaurant. After the shootings the rest of the book takes you through the subsequent trial through the eyes of several of the key players including the German prosecutor, the judge, and the widow of one of those killed. Overall a good read about a part of recent history you don't hear too much about anymore.

In the Garden of Beasts is an incredibly gripping story about the rise of the Nazi war machine in Germany through the eyes of United States Ambassador William Dodd who was posted to Berlin from 1933-1937 and his apparently somewhat promiscuous daughter Martha who became a special agent for the Russians during that time. The story is gut-wrenching in places and in particular when they describe how Hitler began massacring not only the Jewish people but also his own leadership when he felt threatened by them. I finished the book challenged around my feelings for Ambassador Dodd. At times I felt he could have done more to broadcast with a stronger voice the plight of the Jews in Germany while others times I felt that he simply did not have the composition or stomach to do that. Overall a very good book and a good take on the American lack of response to Hitler and the Holocaust.

I picked up House of Holes after seeing that it was named one of the NY Times 100 Notable Books of 2011. I was completely blown away by the book. Not so much because of the storyline which really was secondary. But rather by the incredibly graphic manner in which the author described the various sex acts being performed by the characters in the book. The story is essentially about a "sex palace" called the House of Holes where essentially everything goes and no dream can't be made true. I never knew how many words there are to describe certain aspects of the sex acts. The language was flowery in some places and downrigth nasty in others. This is definitely a book that you shove in the nightstand so your kids don't find it but that you undoubtedly will pull out every now and again to re-read ceertain passages when the moment calls for it. A very different but interesting book that you don't want to miss.

I just finished Francine Prose's latest book "My New American Life" and was sad to have the story come to an end. In fact, it felt like one of those books that could have gone on and on for another few hundred pages and I would have kept reading just as voraciously. The story is about a young woman named Lula who hailes from Albania and is in the US illegally working for a man named Mister Stanley taking care of his son Zeke who at age 17 is clearly too old for a nanny who seems to be just a few years older than he is. Her job at face value is focused on "cooking" him dinners of frozen pizza and mizing margaritas but in truth it is more a story of companionship after Zeke's mom went crazy and left the family one year back. The book is incredibly funny and sarcastic to the point where I was laughing out loud while reading the book on an airplane. It is a good look into the somewhat friendly relationship between the US and Albania during George Bush's most recent term. A very good book that was named a NY Times Notable Book of 2011.

Russell Banks has crafted what I believe to be a masterful work with "Lost Memory of Skin" and the NY Times has agreed naming it one of their 100 Notable Books of 2011. Banks tells the story of a young man known only to us as the Kid whose life is tarnished by a less than stellar upbringing by his single mom, a poor choice while serving his country in the Army, and then finally an even poorer choice several years ago where he propositioned a "young girl" who turned out to be a detective in an online chat room. Banks shows how life can change so rapidly and so dramtically based on what the Kid believes to be a small mistake. Banks also does a great job commenting on how society today treats offenders which truly is the crux of the book and what will make the reader spend the most time thinking throughout this well written novel. If you liked this book, you will also very much enjoy "This Beautiful Life" by Helen Schulman which also talks about a young man who makes one small mistake that threatens to bring down everything he has worked to achieve.

Having read "The Year of magical Thinking" which largely chronicled Didion's husband's death, I decided to pick up "Blue Nights" and especially after it was named a NY TImes Notable Book of 2011. I am glad I did. Didion, in her economically prose manner, describes highlights and special moments with her daughter Quintana Roo who passed away soem seven years ago. Like her previous book, Didion focuses not as much on the death itself but rather what she takes away as learnings from her daughter's life and what we as the reader can possibly take with us. She portrays her daughter as advanced beyond her years socially. She also spends time on her role as a parent and having to sometimes let her daughter go and make choices when everything inside her is telling her to get involved. Another good book by Joan Didion.

I felt a tremendous amount of pride while reading Tom Friedman and Michael Mandelbaum's new book "That Used To Be Us." The book itself is a call to arms for every citizen of the United States; not just a series of complaints of how things have gone and are going even further off the rails but with concrete suggestions on how to make things better. Friedman and Mandelbaum posit that there are four main challenges holding the US back from allowing citizens to live "the American dream" that was a promise of the past: Globalization (which Friedman has written about extensively in Hot, Flat, and Crowded), the IT revolution, our growing deficit, and overall energy consumption. After describing these challenges using both modern day and historical references they go on to describe solutions for us to get back on track as a country. Each chapter is well written, easy to read, and is definite fodder for office and cocktail party talk. "Average is Over" and Homework X2 = The American Dream are two of the more interesting chapters in the book. A well written book that will keep you thinking for some time about what you can do to help. As a bonus, you are guaranteed to have plenty of examples and feedback for your congressman or congresswoman next time you see them!

I excitedly picked up Jim Collins' latest book--"Great by Choice" and essentially devoured it in one reading. I have to admit that I am a self-avowed Collins junkie and actually have met him twice since he wrote Good to Great. I like others was wondering if he could really follow such a seminal piece of work with something equally great and I have to say that he delivered. I say that because the essence of why Good to Great was such an important work was that the lessons learned are "bite sized" enough to be transferable not just to business but to everyday life. So I entered this book thinking to myself "What would be the equivalent concept I would learn to Level 5 Leadership" or a Hedgehog or the Bus?" I am happy to say that anyone familar with these concepts and the way that Collins writes by showing "paired examples" of companies will be happy to learn and absorb new concepts like the 20 Mile March, Zoom in and Then Zoom Out, and the SMaC Recipe. All of which can be applied to your business and to your personal life. The book itself, researched and written during the past almost decade of world upheaval is relevant, pertinent, and a very strong offering from Collins and Hansen. I think it is now clear that when you take Jim Collins' total body of work that he is by far one of the most advanced and relevant business thinkers not just of our generation but of generations past as well.

The rabbi of our synagogue spoke about this book during the first day of our Rosh Hashana (New Year) service and a few days later I went out and purchased it---and am very happy I did. I have heard several people say that The Prime Ministers is a quick read and that you will finish it in a couple of days. That wasn't my experience as with over 700 pages it is definitely not a quick read--although I do concur that it is an easy and enjoyable read. I found The Prime Ministers to be really two books in one. Yehuda Avner--essentially the speechwriter of several Israeli prime ministers writes one book that encompasses from Levi Eshkol through Yitzchak Rabin and then the rest of the book--and really what I feel to be his most poignant writing-is abour the administration of Menachem Begin through his death 9 years after retiring from office. Yehuda Avner does a great job getting across the seriousness of so many moments in Jewish history while at the same time infusing the book with several quite funny moments including his own "birthday" at the Johnson White House with Rabin. I felt that the majority of the book that dealt with Begin's time in office was the most interesting and rewarding from the reader's standpoint. He painted Begin as a man of such deep principles, such an incredible leader during difficult times, and someone who really stood up for all of Israel with both friends and foes. The description of the relationship he built with Anwar Sadat was a highlight of the book. I very much enjoyed The Prime Ministers and recommend it highly for anyone looking for a good survey of Israeli history from Eshkol through Begin.

I picked up The Sense of an Ending a few days after it was named the Man Booker Winner of 2011 and raced through it in almost one sitting. The book itself is an easy read and evokes memories of high school shenanigans, good friends, friends who one loses touch with but never forgets, and early but lost love. This is a tough book to review without giving away what I believe is one of the best endings I have read in some time. The story is about a middle-aged, divorced man named Tony Webster who has lost touch over the years with his high school and college friends. They all start to reappear however in not always positive ways as he grows older. Two of them--his old girlfriend Veronica and his old friend Adrian-play the most central role in the book as he struggles with old memories of their time together and is then presented with what can only be described as a shocking culmination to his attempt to reunite with Veronica after many years. The writing is beautiful and easy to read. I found myself re-reading the last 10 pages a few times to make sure I really grocked the ending which was not super straightforward. I highly recommend this well-written book with a very exciting and thought-provoking conclusion.

As always, there seems to be at least one runner-up Man Booker awared nominee where you say to yourself "that one could just as well have won." Snowdrops is a well-written, fast moving story about a British lawyer named Nick Platt who has worked in oil-boom Moscow for a number of years. He is the kind of lawyer who works on deals, most of them of the shadier variety where the buyers and sellers of land and property are as gaudy as they are crooked. Nick happens upon two sisters--Masha and Katya---as he is walking home through one of the well-known Moscow subway underground passages. He "saves" them from a purported robbery and then takes up with one of them in what appears(at least to him) to be a deepening relationship. Masha then engages Nick to help her aunt Tatiana with a real estate purchase which ends up going in a much different direction than imagined--at least to Nick. Anyone who has visited or lived in Moscow will no doubt appreciate the attention to detail the author puts towards describing the buldings, streets, babushkas, and the general mood of the inhabitatns of this amazing city. Through Nick Platt, the author makes you feel empathy not just for Nick himself but really for Muscovites in general and in particular the less than well-off of the city and country. An exciting and well worth read.

"The Art of Fielding" is a very well-written first novel about a group of friends as Westish College---a small, liberal-arts university on the East Coast. When you start to read the book, you think that it is primarily going to be a story about Henry--a poor boy who takes advantage of his prodigious baseball skills and makes it to the big leagues. Yes, there is some of that, although he surely takes a circuitous route to get there. But the book is in truth about much more than Henry. You get a good dose of father-daughter relationship, professor-student, boyfriend-girlfriend, and older friend-younger mentee sprinkled throughout the story. I wouldn't be runing anything by saying that the story takes a big turn when Henry misfires on a throw to 1st Base---you can read that in the liner notes. I don't necessarily agree though that the "throw" is the essence of the book. To me, this is a story of living vicariously through others. How Mike knows he doesn't have what it takes to make it so he tries to live his baseball dream through Henry. How Pella to some extent comes back from an early mistake in life and shows that you can in fact start again. How Henry reaches the depths of depths and by the end of the book is surprised at what fate has in store for him. And finally, how Owen embraces his individuality but ends up losing the person he cares about the most. "The Art of Fielding" in my opinion will go down as one of the Top Ten Books of 2011. Definitely in the NY Times 100 Best Books of 2011 but I think it has enough to crack the top 10. Incredibly good for a first novel. You will not be able to put it down.

I too have to disagree with a few of the other reviews I have read and will tell you that this is one of the best Alex Cross books from James Patterson in some time. When i picked up the book, I approached it thinking "wow what else can they possibly do to Alex to make his life hell" and "is Patterson really going to be able to come up with something very new and exciting for his readers?" And I have to say I was impressed and it exceeded my expectations. The basic plot here is that Alex Cross is called upon by the President of the United States to locate his kids who were abducted. Like many other books in the thriller genre, Cross encounters barriers from within and not everyone who you think is helping find the kids really is. Meanwhile, as he looks for these famous kids someone is wreaking havoc with the city through the main water supply of Washington, D.C. Suffice it to say, Cross is super busy in this book trying to save the country from imminent disaster and the President's children from certain death. The ending is a typically great, surprising Patterson ending that you'll want to read more than once to make sure you really got it. Personally, I would have wanted Patterson to spend a bit more time talking about his family in this book and how the kids were progressing in life but you can't get everything and I am sure he will get back to that in the next Alex Cross book. A very worthwhile read for fans of Alex Cross.

I saw that Chris Raschka's latest book---A Ball for Daisy--was recently named one of the NY TImes Best Children's Illustrated Books of 2011 and I wanted to see if perhaps it would be a good gift for the holidays or for a baby gift or something similar. So I picked the book up, brought it home, and thought I would try it out on my 9 year old twins. Their first reaction "Dad there are no words!" In fact, Raschka crafted a really good story about a young child and her dog all without the use of any words. And that in it of itself was interesting for my kids as they immediately gravitated towards making up their own words and telling me the story instead of me reading it to them. The basic storyline is about a girl who takes her dog and his favorite red ball out to play and throughout the course of their romping around the ball pops, which makes both the dog and the child sad. The story of couse has a happy ending as the dog finds a new friend with a new blue ball and they have a great time together with the dog and daughter going home happy and tired. A great story for kids (and adults) of all ages.

I picked up "A Nation's Hope" after seeing that it was named one of the NY Times Best Children's Illustrated Books of 2011 and am very happy I did as it is an excellent read both for children and adults alike. A great book to read with your children particularly to get their reaction to such an important time in both US and world history. The author Matt De La Pena does a great job explaining to the young reader who Joe Louis was and the importance of his famous fight with Max Schmeling. He underscores that it is not only a boxing match but also something the whole world paid attention to given the ongoing WWII. Finally, the author does a great job alluding to the ongoing racial tensions in America at the time which makes for another good lesson for children. I enjoyed the book very much as did my 12 year old son and the illustrations were phenomenal.

guess it is quite possible that I will be one of the only reviewers here to say that I was not totally enamored with the latest Diary of a Wimpy Kid book. The shame of it is that my kids and I were waiting for several months with bated breath for it, we tore open the box, tore through the book itself, and both my 12 year old son and I met back in the living room after reading and both said "yea it was ok but not great." Yes the author Jeff Kinney does a good job inserting a bunch of super funny lines into the story. The illustrations are as good as ever. It is a quick read. All of those hallmarks of the series are still there. However what it comes down to it, the humor is not as biting, the plot is not as thick, and the storyline just isn't as compelling as previous books. There were surely a lot of funny parts to the book and great scenes. Kinney does a great job making the story compelling to kids and parents alike. The part about Greg's school having the nut-free zone for lunch that nobody actually sits in until a kid with a peanut butter sandwich finally goes to in order to have peace and quiet during lunch is something parents can relate to with a grin (albeit not those with kids who have peanut allergies). I had less than fond memories of shoveling snow for a few dollars just like Greg as I grew up in Chicago and as fast as I shoveled the snow kept coming down. And there was even a token look at the Loded Diaper van (although no cheese touching in this book!). Overall though I came away from reading feeling like it was quite an average book which didn't really leave me dying for the next one to come out--although I am sure I will rush to get it for me and my kids when it does.

Frank Viva, a noted artist, crafts a simple but interesting and fun story about a boy who takes his bicycle around town and through a number of fun and challenging obstacles and noteworthy places. What makes this book unique and fun is that the author has used great texture in showing the path the boy follows by painting a yellow line that extends through the entire book charting his path around town. The yellow line, or path, jumps out of the page in the book and catches the readers's eye allowing children to focus in on the boy, the path he takes, and the people he sees around town. This book was named one of the NY Times Best Children's Books of 2011 and is a worthwhile addition to any small children's library.

Arthur Geisert is a renowned author of children's books that all revolve around pigs. He is a prolific author and one can find his works right at the top of any Best Children's Books list. In fact, the NY Times named "Ice" one of the Best Children's Books of 2011. In this book, Gisert's pigs are busy tring to find a solution for the oppressive heat they feel. Their solution is to search for ice and they take their boat out to search high and low for as much ice as they can bring back. One can't help but feel thrilled for the pigs when they finally are able to bring back big chunks of ice that get deposited into a large swimming pool looking object and they are finally able to sit and enjoy their meal as a family while feeling relatively cool. Another great addition to the Geisert collection of great children's stories based on his famous pigs.

Peter Stamm has written an interesting, complex, and thought-provoking book about a man named Alex who creates a complicated love-triangle that includes both his wife Sonia and a Polish woman named Ivona--but also involves several other important characters who play on the fringe and impact Alex's life in a way that is almost impossible to resurrect once destroyed. The basic plot involves Alex and his wife Sonia who are both architects of some note--although to be honest bit players in the end--who likely should not have married due to the lack of any true love on either's part. Each felt more deeply about something or someone else---Alex towards Ivona who is as regular as it comes but is a constant attraction throughout the years and Sonia towrds not anyone else necessarily but towards her work and what she views as a "proper" life to live. What is so interesting about this book is that it touches on a feeling we likely have all had at one point in time--there is no logical reason one always does something. In this case, Alex's desire for Ivona is not based on reason--it simply is there. But his desire for Ivona is what in the end plays a big role in the downfall of his marriage and the structure of his family's life. A good book that is an easy read. It was recently named a NY Times 100 Notable Book of 2011.

I picked up This Beautiful Life after seeing that it was named as one of the NY Times 100 Notable Books of 2011. To be honest, I didn't recall hearing about this book during the year but am happy I picked it up now as it was a very good read. I say it is cringe-worthy becuase you find yourself cringing over and over again during the book as people make avoidable mistakes--but mistakes that really mess up their lives in a huge way. The story itself centers around the Bergamont family who have moved from a typical small, intimate, earthy college town to big city New York where the father, Richard, is appointed to a job at a mythical New York university (to be honest the job is quite nefarious in nature) that he jumps into with both feet. He doesn't have a ton of time for his family and as a result his wife Liz is forced to take care of the day to day business of maintaining the family. Their son Jake is a typical teenager with the same lusts and desires as any other boy his age. He is forwarded an explicit video from a younger girl who likes him, he forwards it to a friend, who forwards it to another friend, and it goes viral. The rest of the story talks about the disintegration of their family structure and how such a small mistake led to such big consequences. I felt the author did a great job making the reader think. She challenges the reader to keep asking "Is this really fair what is happening to Jake or to his family?" The book is an easy read and well worth your time.