ENDURING LOVE Ian McEwan
I’ve been on a McEwan kick lately, and this book includes one of the most riveting and haunting opening chapters I’ve ever read.
SWEET TOOTH Ian McEwan
This is a lighthearted spy novel with a most satisfying ending.
UNDERWORLD Don Delillo
I’ve been dipping back into this masterpiece, which at over 800 pages is daunting, but if you can’t commit to that, the first sixty pages alone will satisfy.
ASTROPHYSICS FOR PEOPLE IN A HURRY Neil DeGrasse Tyson
The title is misleading if physics doesn’t come easy to you, and instead, this will be slow reading, but the labor will lead to huge rewards because Tyson always manages to convey a sense of wonder.
THE DELIGHT OF BEING ORDINARY: A ROAD TRIP WITH THE POPE AND THE DALAI LAMA Roland Merullo
Who wouldn’t want to read about such a road trip, especially with the delightful Merullo as tour guide?
LIT UP David Denby
Denby visits several high school literature classes for a year, and his reporting is captivating, reminding us of the important role of teachers in inspiring young people.
NOISE OF TIME Julian Barnes
This story of Russian composer, Dmitri Shostakovich, who lived in constant fear of punishment under Stalin, is a remarkable and timely chronicle of the importance of art in society.
TALKING IT OVER Julian Barnes
This clever book reads like a script, where three characters seem to speak to each other, recounting the same events from different points of view, but they’re really speaking to us.
MY BRILLIANT FRIEND Elena Ferrante
An intimate portrait of friendship that’s both exotic and ordinary, with lush descriptions of Naples, Italy.
FOREVER WORDS Johnny Cash
These are quiet, poignant poems that Cash never got around to putting to music.
BEATLES ’66: THE REVOLUTIONARY YEAR Stever Turner
There’s always more to learn, and their story never gets old.
THE LITTLE SISTER Raymond Chandler
Chandler’s plots are always convoluted, with some poor schmuck getting killed every ten pages, but the writing is so wonderfully crisp, like a brisk morning walk in late September, that plot doesn’t matter.
THE SIMPLE ART OF MURDER Raymond Chandler
This book includes an essay on writing murder mysteries, along with several finely crafted short stories.
HIROSHIMA John Hersey
We follow the lives of six Japanese men and women just prior to and then after the bomb in this devastating account of ordinary lives disrupted in unfathomable ways.