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For those who might struggle with more dry historical works, I highly recommend this book. With alternating chapters focused on Daniel Burnham’s work at the World’s Fair and the grotesque crimes of psychopath H.H. Holmes, The Devil in the White City is a riveting story that reads like fiction while providing an incredibly detailed and fun history of the 1893 Columbian Exposition, Chicago, and the United States as a whole. It is a compelling read from start to finish.

Russo was described to me as the quintessential New England writer, and he doesn’t disappoint. The Pulitzer-winning Empire Falls centers on Miles Roby, a soon-to-be divorced short order cook struggling to find his place in the small town in which he’s lived his entire life (and for which the book is named). He is surrounded by a full cast, including his sex-crazed ex-wife, his pacifist daughter, a local cop with a bone to pick, his alcoholic father, and the dispassionate, manipulative Mrs. Whiting who seems to control them all. The story is slow to climax, but well worth the wait.

The highlight of Why Not Me?, Kaling’s second memoir/essay collection, is a chapter called “4 A.M. Worries.” In it, she lists 25 things that keep her up at night. The chapter perfectly balances hilarious concerns with legitimate and relatable ones; she wonders if her gas bill is too high, if people laugh at her jokes only because she pays them to, and she worries that she will forget the sound of her deceased mother’s voice. Much of the rest of the book, however, is a barrage of jokes that reads quickly and lightly but feels a bit forced.

These comfortable, fun socks are perfect for almost everything, especially sliding across hardwood floors. Either wearing the stars on my feet in my leisure time or wearing them secretly during a meeting, I love them!

Don't do what I did and read this book in one sitting. Okay, it's short and incredibly good, which makes it easy to bolt down. But then you are going to feel like an idiot for not savoring the pleasure, and you're going to be incredibly bleary the next day (if you finish it at 4 in the morning, like I did). This book deals with The Big Ones: suffering, loss, and grief, but it does so with such compassion and humor that the net impact is uplifting. Even the principal turns out to be a human being. There are no cardboard cut-out characters here. Be aware that the kids in this story do what kids actually do (smoke, drink, and have sex). If that bothers you, read it anyway. There are more important things in life than observing proprieties and pretending that bright kids aren't exploratory. You don't have to approve of these characters. It is enough to love them and learn from them.

This book is well written, insightful and a riveting good read. Those that claim its boring must have very short attention spans. Love her or hate her, this book provides some wonderful points on the making of history and yes, how hard decisions are made. Ms. Clinton was Secretary of State during one of the most difficult periods in American history. Again, whether you agree with her decisions or not, getting an insiders look was fascination. I particularly enjoyed the chapters on Afghanistan and the Middle East. As someone who has lived there and studied the Middle East as my major in college, I can tell you she is factual and knowledgeable about the area. Conservatives do themselves a huge disservice in not reading this book with an objective eye. If you don't wish to contribute to her monetarly, then check the book out from the library. But don't be willfully ignorant. And stop posting fake reviews. That's morally and ethically wrongand if you are a ChristianYou are bearing false witness.

If you like aliens, cats that come back to life, or creepy clowns, this is not the book for you. If you love well-written King books, it is. If you enjoyed Shawshank, Stand By Me, and ect., this book will make you happy. 11/22/63 was good, but still used the supernatural to move the story, and here it's just people. I think King is at his best when he uses the characters that always feel real. Enjoy a good story? Tired of the usual crap? Read this.

Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried" is a book that transcends the genre of war fiction. Actually, it transcends the genre of fiction in general. Although labeled "a work of fiction" on the title page, the book really combines aspects of memoir, novel, and short story collection. I think you could use Audre Lorde's term "biomythography" to describe this book. The first-person narrator of this book (named, like the author, Tim O'Brien) is a writer and combat veteran of the Vietnam War. The book actually deals with events before and after the war, in addition to depicting the war itself; the time span covers more than 30 years in the lives of O'Brien and his fellow soldiers. "The Things They Carried" is an intensely "writerly" text. By that I mean that O'Brien and his characters often reflect directly on the activities of storytelling and writing. As a reader, I got the sense that I was being invited into the very process by which the book was created. This is an extraordinary technique, and O'Brien pulls it off brilliantly. This being a war story, there are some truly disturbing, graphic, and violent scenes. But there are also scenes that are haunting, funny, surreal, or ironic. O'Brien depicts a memorable group of soldiers: the guilt-wracked Lieut. Cross; Kiowa, a Native American and devout, Bible-carrying Baptist; the sadistic but playful Azar; and more. While this book is a complete and cohesive work of art, many of its component stories could stand alone as independent pieces of literature (in fact, I first encountered the title story in an anthology). But however you classify it, I consider "The Things They Carried" to be a profoundly moving masterpiece.

George Orwell's classic was incredibly visionary. It is hardly fathomable that this book was written in 1948. Things that we take for granted today - cameras everywhere we go, phones being tapped, bodies being scanned for weapons remotely - all of these things were described in graphic detail in Orwell's book. Now that we have the Internet and people spying on other people w/ webcams and people purposely setting up their own webcams to let others "anonymously" watch them, you can see how this culture can develop into the Orwellian future described in "1984." If you've heard such phrases as "Big Brother," "Newspeak," and "thought crime" and wondered where these phrases came from, they came from this incredible, vivid and disturbing book. Winston Smith, the main character of the book is a vibrant, thinking man hiding within the plain mindless behavior he has to go through each day to not be considered a thought criminal. Everything is politically correct, children defy their parents (and are encouraged by the government to do so) and everyone pays constant allegiance to "Big Brother" - the government that watches everyone and knows what everyone is doing at all times - watching you shower, watching you having sex, watching you eat, watching you go to the bathroom and ultimately watching you die. This is a must-read for everyone.

This book confirmed what many of us had already suspected. Based on body language, newspaper op-ed pieces (esp. by the liberal press), I had always had a hunch that the Clinton's and the Obama's camp had a serious animus between each other. This well-written and absorbing book really lays bare that animus and provides an illuminating insight into both the Clinton machine and the faltering Obama presidency. The seemingly docile and obsequious Valerie Jarrett is finally exposed as the almost true President of the United States who literally pulls the strings on the Obama puppets as the Clintons exhult in Obama's missteps and contradictions. Edward Klein has produced a masterpiece of contemporary politics that will be surely read many years into the future.

If you are interested in history of journalism (and weren't alive for Watergate or even Kennedy's assassination) but you know Nora Ephron for her screenplays such as "When Harry Met Sally" this collection of Ephron's writing is a must-read. For those of us who were contemporaries (she was a decade or so older than me) this is also a must-read and also a walk through the momentous changes that happened after the Sixties. The book is organized by the publications Ephron wrote for, so in a way it's a "journal of a journalist" in her own words, in her writings. You get a fly-on-the-wall view of events such as Watergate; she was one of the few who knew the identity of the informant "Deep Throat." She wrote about the feminist revolution. She blogged about "breaking up" with Bill Clinton. And she was very funny and sarcastic; one of my favorite pieces is the one on what happens to your neck when you age. This is a wealth of Ephron's writing and assembled the way it is, this becomes "more than the sum of the parts" because it's a look-back at the huge changes from a half century ago. If you are a student of journalism, a blogger, a news junkie or love films and good writing, this book is a treasure and I recommend it to you.

What I like most about Doris Kern Goodwin's storytelling is how she writes her books like you are a part of the story. I read "Team Of Rivals" and thoroughly enjoyed it because of her exceptional talent to bring the characters to life. What I feel that sets her aside from many other history writers is the fact that she can write a book about history, like it's a novel. That alone brings her many readers that would normally not read much of history. She is very likely the most read historian in our time. I found the chapters in the beginning where she dedicates a chapter for each person involved interesting and delightful. It shows through letters and their influences they were exposed to early on that made them who they became. It makes clear their strength, weaknesses, expectations and disappointments. You see later on why Roosevelt and Taft were in fact so different in spite of sharing and agreeing on deep issues close to their hearts. It is a story of triumph, human fragility and strength, loyalty, love and in case of the S.S. McClure almost a Machiavellian achievement. I became especially found of Ida Tarbell. What a great woman for her time. I couldn't wait to get this book and I have alternatively read it and listened to it on audio books. I have thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. I would give this book more stars if I could, because writers like Doris Kern Goodwin don't come around that often.

When I first picked up 'Brave New Girl', I thought it would be another dreadfully identical teenage angst book with a girl who hates her parents and hates her friends. But no, 'Brave New Girl' never failed to amaze me. It's truly an astounding book. The author takes you deep inside the mind of a young girl and nearly crushes you with the experience. Following Doreen throughout her life is new and exciting, as she goes through the perils of childhood. It surprized me that Brave New Girl was actually laugh aloud funny, on numerous occasions because it doesn't look like it would be. The book is fun to read, and despite the fact that it isn't extremely long, the story is so captivating it's hard to put it down without wanting more. I've never heard of this author before, but I'm sure we'll hear of her again. I'd recommend it to anyone.

Anyone can play punk rock - well not everyone can OFF tune their guitars quite so - but anyone can play it. But only geniuses like these two authors can write punk rock. In some sense punk is about reinventing oneself and the medium of one's expression. This story is about a young boy from a small town who reinvents himself - expresses his true self - by going to the big city (Washington, DC) and immersing himself in a sociogroup with ideals/goals he shares. The brilliant insights come when he realizes that being Jewish and from a small town are as much a part of who he is as his ideals. We see real insight into the human condition where the hero wrestles with his mixed inner voices, peeling away the layers to what is truly important about us, and what defines who each of us is. We wait for more books from these obviously talented writers. I hope their angst continues, and they produce more fodder for all of us wrestling with these essential questions of identity and self. I recommend this book to those of you who loved 'The Perks of Being A Wallflower'.

Anyone can play punk rock - well not everyone can OFF tune their guitars quite so - but anyone can play it. But only geniuses like these two authors can write punk rock. In some sense punk is about reinventing oneself and the medium of one's expression. (Is Dylan the ultimate punk?) This story is about a young boy from a small town who reinvents himself - expresses his true self - by going to the big city (Washington, DC) and immersing himself in a sociogroup with ideals/goals he shares. The brilliant insights come when he realizes that being Jewish and from a small town are as much a part of who he is as his ideals. We see real insight into the human condition where the hero wrestles with his mixed inner voices, peeling away the layers to what is truly important about us, and what defines who each of us is. We wait for more books from these obviously talented writers. I hope their angst continues, and they produce more fodder for all of us wrestling with these essential questions of identity and self. I recommend this book to those of you who loved 'The Perks of Being A Wallflower'.

When I finished The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chybosky, I sat there in a stunned silence. The book was strongly powerful in a manner that diary or letter style books rarely achieve. There is usually a sense of implausibility in those types of books that Charlie's character completely negated. When trying to describe Charlie the mind suddenly reels, he's honest. Completely and utterly genuine in his perceptions and most of his actions. Charlie is also and emotional basket case that somehow manages to attract a special group of friends to him. A group of voluntary outcasts that go through the same problems teenagers face everywhere. Sex, drugs, relationships and acceptance figure heavily into everyone's lives, despite their personal beliefs on those subjects. I would like to mention Stephen's portrayal of Patrick, I was pleased to see the sbuject of homosexuality treated in such a plain manner. It was accepted as a fact and only the feelings invovled in the situations were important. I would recomment this book to a wide range of people, old or young, straight or gay, conservative or liberal. It was a pleasure to read and I enjoyed it immensely.

I first read this when it was on the website 'Wattpad'-- A great website for people who love to read BTW -- and fell in love with it. The author is so very kind and warmhearted, she connects with her readers on a daily basis too. Anyhow, the novel is short and sweet and if you love anything supernatural you'll love this. I can't wait for the second and third books to come out!!

I loved the first and second and I adore 'Mockingjay' more. I believe that this third book truly pulls the whole series together and wraps everything with a big bow! (now I don't want to give any spoilers away but I very surprised to learn why Snow always smelled like blood and roses). I was actually genuinely upset when it was over and I was done reading because I had nothing left to read but regardless this is a novel that I would read multiple times.