“The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game” is the book by Michael Lewis that is the basis for the surprise smash hit film starring Sandra Bullock. At the center of both the book and the movie is the incredible true story of Michael Oher and his climb from desperate poverty, neglect and dysfunction to wealth, [...]

Dominick Dunne, crime journalist for Vanity Fair for nearly 25 years, passed away in August at the ripe old age of 83. I’ve been reading Vanity Fair for the last couple of years and his column was always my favorite, so, in honor of his passing, I decided to pick up this “best of” collection [...]

This collection of interrelated short stories based to a seemingly-large degree on Margaret Atwood’s own experiences is by far my favorite of her works since 2000’s The Blind Assassin. If you asked me what the stories are about, the images that stick out in my mind include a frightening Halloween costume accessory, a runaway former [...]

This book is the U.S. debut novel for author Tatiana de Rosnay.  The story revolves around an American woman, Julia, who moves to Paris at age 20 and marries a french man.  She is a writer assigned to a story about the alarming role that France played during WWII.  Her investigation concerns the 60th anniversary of the “roundups” that took place [...]

I loved Firoozeh’s first book, Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing up Iranian in America, so it made perfect sense to purchase her follow-up publication. If you don’t like mass market fiction but want something light to read while traveling or at the beach, I’d definitely recommend this one. The short autobiographical chapters can [...]

The Showtime television series, which just recently won a Golden Globe for Best Actor and had the highest rating for any show in Showtime history is based on this book. Dexter is one of the best shows on television and recently ended it fourth season with a huge shock, but I won’t ruin it for [...]

I may be a little late in reading Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons.  I know many people have already read this thriller.  The reason I picked it up was because I saw the movie and someone told me the book was much better—as is usually the case.  This book is filled with symbols and history about [...]

I confess—this is my very first Jane Austen novel.  Shocking, isn’t it?  But then again I did major in the seemingly-more-useful-at-the-time French and political science fields rather than English…
Sense and Sensibility definitely confirms the cleverness and skill of Jane Austen, but I found myself feeling significantly claustrophobic throughout much of the novel.  Of course that’s [...]

I have been looking for different foods to bring for lunch. I found a few recipes that I am going to try cooking from a book called, Vegan Lunch Box Around the World by Jennifer McCann (Da Capo Lifelong Books - August 2009). The first dish I cooked was a from Tanzania, Black-Eyed Peas and [...]

Some books are like a fine wine - they only get better with age. I recently re-read the Judy Blume classic Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret and I would have to claim this book as one which only gets better as one gets older.