Obama's A Promised Land sold almost 890,000 copies on its first day, beating out his wife's opening day sales. But will it last? I'm just starting to read it. What a man!

From the jacket cover: Obama takes readers on a compelling journey from his earliest political aspirations to the pivotal Iowa caucus victory that demonstrated the power of grass-roots activism to the watershed night of November 4, 2008, when he was elected 44th president of the United States, becoming the first African … [Read more...] about A Promised Land

One of my absolute favorite poets. Poignant, relatable, and makes you laugh. Check out the poem "Cremation." … [Read more...] about Whale Day

When Jen asked, “What are you reading this summer, Mom?”  I hesitated before saying, “Well, I just read Janice Hadlow’s THE OTHER BENNET SISTER.”  She picked right up on that hesitation—“Didn’t you like it?”  Actually I did like it, but did I like it because I’ve read SENSE AND SENSIBILITY, EMMA and PRIDE AND PREJUDICE so many times?  Hadlow has some of Austen’s sensibility—and her treatment of Mary Bennet is quite good.  She develops Mary from the embarrassed piano player we see in P and P to … [Read more...] about The Other Bennet Sister (Plus more of Madge’s Picks)

I am so taken with this book that I just ordered one copy for each person in my immediate and extended family and am inviting them to a book discussion.
The author Maria Konnikova had never even played poker when she decided to enlist the help of one of the world’s premiere poker players, Erik Seidel, to teach her the art of the game.
A Harvard PhD in psychology, Maria had a stretch of personal bad luck, and her reflections on the role of chance in life had led to her interest in poker—in … [Read more...] about The Biggest Bluff