This is a gem of a book.  I guarantee that you will love it.  Set in the 1870's, Jiles brings together two unlikely companions--Capt. Kidd, an itinerant news reader in Texas, and a white girl, about 10, rescued from the Kiowa Indians who kidnapped her.  Kidd is charged with returning the girl to her closest living relatives.  What ensues is an eventful and heartfelt tale about these two travelers, their journey, and what will happen when she and Kidd reach their final destination.  It's an … [Read more...] about News of the World

This book is hilarious.  If you're sensitive to the F-bomb, "get over it"!  The truth is that this is a great book about learning to give a f*ck about the things that really matter in life.  Manson urges us to take a look at what we really seem to care about and change those things.  In other words, shift your values with the keystone question being "is this f*ck worthy?"  Manson says most of the common things people care too much about include: impressing people, being right all the time, being … [Read more...] about The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck

In his inspiring new book, Lidsky shares his remarkable journey from how he lost his sight in his teens to his subsequent triumph over his "disability." In fact, he became the first blind U.S. Supreme Court law clerk.  Lidsky urges others to reject "self-limiting" assumptions and to create one's own reality.  Lidsky writes: "Going blind is the blessing that showed me how to live with my eyes wide open." … [Read more...] about Eyes Wide Open

This book is an amazing story that certainly lived up to its reputation! The novel follows a 15-year-old slave named Cora as she escapes north via a literal network of underground tracks and trains (yes, in the book, the underground railroad is a real train). Whitehead said that he had avoided writing a book like this for a long time because it was hard for him to face something that scared him so much. I too was afraid to read it for the same reasons. But I dove in, and I couldn’t put it down! … [Read more...] about The Underground Railroad

“There is beauty calling to us everyday, every hour, but we are rarely in a position to listen....If we don’t silence ourselves--if our mind, our body, are full of noise--then we can’t hear beauty’s call.” So begins this remarkable and accessible book about how to really live the moments that are given to us. If you’re like me, you have an internal radio that never shuts off, and it’s not healthy--to keep consuming our own thoughts like a cow chewing its own cud. According to the author, … [Read more...] about Silence

This is a fun read about a manipulative woman who worms her way into the lives of a wealthy “golden couple” to achieve the privileged life she so desperately wants and feels she deserves.  It’s a twisty, juicy novel with great characters, snappy dialogue, and one crazy ending. You won’t be able to stop once you get started. … [Read more...] about The Last Mrs. Parrish

Why did parents start looking for razor blades in apples that were given out on Halloween?  Do you remember when you became aware of the amount of fat in a bucket of movie theater popcorn? Why was the Subway sandwich diet so successful? This enlightening book explores why some ideas are more memorable. The Heath brothers unearth six characteristics of “sticky” ideas and offer practical, entertaining, and fascinating information about how we can communicate more effectively.  According to the … [Read more...] about Made to Stick

Just in time for summer.  This is the perfect beach read/one-day indulgence.  Think 9 to 5...ish.  It’s an office where the women (the “assistants”) embark on a plan to squeeze money out of the company and their less-than-wonderful bosses to pay off their college loans.  Oh, and there’s a love interest--of course.  It’s playful and thoroughly entertaining. … [Read more...] about The Assistants

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize!

Caroline Fraser has an affection for Laura Ingalls Wilder and her Little House books.  But Fraser also is a realist and an incredible historian. She takes the reader on a remarkable page-turning journey, delving deep into the real world of life on the prairie. Of course the Ingalls, Pa and Ma and the rest of the clan, figure prominently, culminating in Laura’s own family and life beyond the Little House books. Full of mind-numbing stories of hardship, Fraser … [Read more...] about Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder