From the author of True Grit comes this is a humorous road-trip novel about an inscrutable, straight-laced, unemployed cuckold in his mid-twenties trying to find his wife, his car, his prized shot gun, and the ex-friend who ran off with them. The tone is reminiscent of Confederacy of Dunces and will appeal to fans of counterculture literature of the 1960s and 70s.

Roger Angell, a New Yorker sports reporter (who knew there was such a thing?), writes eloquently about the national pastime. While many of the essays collected here detail Angell's love of the New York Mets and their comically disastrous first seasons, the dated references and tales of now obscure players stand up surprisingly well. Angell's love of the game resonates even now and his crisp descriptions of on-field action have not aged a day.

So, if I was writing this review when I was only half way through the book, it would have definitely gotten 5 stars from me. As things stand, I was going back and forth between 3 and 4 stars, and the reason I wanted to give it 4 was because of an excellent and elegant writing style and also an interesting story which was readable and entertaining. Here is why I ended up giving it only 3 stars(this will contain SPOILERS!). It is a clearly well researched novel, and the first half is historically accurate. However, half way through the book things start getting a little too fantastical for my tastes. First of all, there is absolutely no historical evidence whatsoever that Nicholas II continued to have an affair with Mathilde Kschessinska after his marriage, and yet this is a rather large part of the plot. There is even less evidence that Mathilde's son Vova was the Tsar's son and his paternity was accepted by the Tsar. Not only that, but according to the book Vova was also accepted by the Tsar's family as his son, including his wife and his children, and he spent a significant amount of time at the Alexander Palace with them. Including the days when they were under arrest. This was a little too much for me, but I did finish the book, and even actually enjoyed it on some level. So as long as you can live with this type of glaring poetic licensing, then you may like this book too.

"For the night is dark and full of terrors." Book Three of the Song of Fire and Ice.

The boys, Bran and Rickon, were put to the sword by Greyjoy and now there is no Stark at burned out Winterfell. Young King Rob’s supporters are dwindling and hope now rests on a promise given to the Walders of the Crossing.

Lord Stannis Baratheon may be the pawn of the Red Lady, Melisandre. He sees traitors everywhere except at the feet of those who plot their way to power in the name of the new god. Only a lowly ex-smuggler will have the courage to voice the truth.

Jon Snow rides with the King-beyond-the-Wall. Every oath to the Night’s Watch appears to be broken but flickers like embers banked against the coming cold remain. The Wildlings and the Others are on the move. Can Jon get a warning to the Wall without tipping his hand or has the Wildness fully taken him?

How much is Daenerys Stormborn willing to pay for an army? The Unsullied are said to be loyal, obedient and fearless. They know no pain and cannot be tempted. Thousands stand ready for sale in the market at Astapor for the price of the ships that have carried her there – and a dragon.

Meanwhile, Sansa Stark is forced to take a monster for a husband. He is a man who speaks kindly but all she can hear is a clash of swords.

Back before computers and cut and paste, people used to collect cuttings from newspapers, plus handwritten copies of printed materials they found engaging. This enabled them to easily refind materials they liked or wished to refer to. This book is a collection of some of the poems collected in this way by an older Thomas Jefferson. It offers an interesting picture of Jefferson's tastes, plus a snapshot of the sort of popular materials that were available at the time.

One of the most noticeable characteristics of the poems is that most of them are anynomous. These are, on a whole, not the great poems of Western Lit, but a bit more the doggeral of the day. They were timely or clever, sentimental of lascivious, printed up by the popular press, and most of them are of a type usually not included in poetry anthologies read today. This, in a funny sort of way, makes them more fascinating than they really are. The short annotations that are included help to place them in context. This is an dip-in book for poetry or history lovers.

According to this book, the global marketplace is now dominated, not by the national governments of Western countries, nor by institutions like the World Bank or IMF, but by a collection of opague, unregulated entities such as sovereign wealth funds and private equity and hedge funds. Weiner backs up this assertion with facts and then shows how the dynamics of all this works. This is an informative book on economic globalization that should be read by anyone interested in finance or policy.

Sequal to Game of Thrones:

Rob Stark must pick up the shattered pieces of his family after the brutal slaying of his father by Joffery, the new King of the Seven Kingdoms following the suspicious death of King Robert Baratheon. While his mother serves as chief councilor and ambassador to support his efforts to keep the West free, his young sisters are held captive by the Lannisters at Kings Landing.

King Robert’s brothers have taken up the sword – with a view to using it on each other. Stannis, as the older has the rightful claim, but Renly is the people’s favorite. While both brothers oppose young King Joffery, neither is willing to join forces with young Rob Stark who has been proclaimed King-in-the-North by the lords outraged by the murder of his father.

Meanwhile, across the sea, the last member of House Targaryen dreams of returning to the Seven Kingdoms with an army at her back and live dragons on the wing. Once a pawn of her older brother and given in marriage to Drogo,a Dothraki Horse Lord, Daenerys Targaryen has taken her fate into her own small hands. As the clash of kings rages on the far shore, a young queen is preparing to enter the fray.

I can't belive I waited so long to read this!

King Robert is up to his jowls in Lannisters. The Lannister Clan is rich, mean, powerful– and very ambitious. His wife Cersei is a prime example. Every high office at court that she can wheedle out him goes to one of her kin. Her twin brother is suspiciously dear to her and not one of her three children look a thing like him (Robert).

Ned Stark was a boyhood friend of the King, Robert Baratheon. That friendship will call him away from wife, home and family to serve as the Hand of the King. While it's not a position Ned ever desired and one filled with court intrigue, he feels obligated to do his best.

The small council of the Realm is charged with the security and stewardship of the Seven Kingdoms, but Ned soon learns there’s not a penny in the royal purse. Robert has squandered the treasury and is now in heavy debt to his father-in-law, Tywin Lannister. When Ned tries to set matters to rights he meets more than opposition, what he learns about the queen sets his life and lives of all his loves at the edge of a sword.

Season One of this series has aired on TV, and season two (based on the second book of the series) is in the works. If you love Epic Fantasy with a Lord of the Rings scope – you have to read Game of Thrones.

And remember –Winter is coming!

Right now, at the high tide of the modernist revival, this visual presentation on the domestic architecture of Alvar Aalto is perfect for a summer browse. There is little text but wonderful pictures of both ins and outs of about 30 houses, most of them in Finland. This book demonstrates how among the Scandinavian moderns, Aalto went a more organic route than many, allowing for warm details that increased the beauty of his otherwise austere conceptions. A good book for anyone interested in the subject.

It is generally not easy to find quality historical fiction, and this goes tenfold for fiction about the last Russian imperial family. This book is a definite exception to the rule. Historically accurate down to minute details, and at the same time very well written, the story in "The Lost Crown" starts just before the revolution and covers the events that lead up to the assassination of the Russian imperial family. Seen through the eyes of the four historically neglected daughters of the last Tsar - Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia (OTMA), who are usually treated as a collective whole (unless you count trashy novels like "Tsarina's Daughter" or Anastasia-"survivor"-pseudo-non-fiction, which of course you shouldn't). In this novel, the sisters are portrayed sensitively and realistically, and most importantly as individuals. They are depicted as neither saints, nor as brats, but as normal girls/young women, as they most certainly were. The novel is told from the perspective of each individual sister, each takes a turn with the narrative. Their personalities develop as each chapter unfolds, and it is all based on historical descriptions of those who knew the girls personally, so it will satisfy even the most "purist" Romanov-phile. OTMA are presented, atypically, as multi-dimensional characters, with numerous factual anecdotes effectively incorporated into each girl's narrative, which adds a lot of reality to the story. At times they are funny, at other times - touching or sad, but they are all very real. IMO, this is arguably the best depiction, fiction or non-fiction, of the ill-fated OTMA sisters. The only thing I would change about this book is the publisher's choice of title, as I don't feel it accurately conveys the book's essence, but I suppose they know better what sells :)

This is a tender, sad, sometimes charming story of the relationship between a man and an elephant in 18th-century England. It is plausibly-presented, well-researched and well-written. Animal lovers of most ages, young adults and adults, will be touched by the immediacy of many of the scenes. There is a gentle, pensive quality to the story that grows more melancholy as the story progresses. The arc of the story feels very much like that of Black Beauty, one of the saddest children's books about animals ever written; only here the story is also about the boy, later man, who cares for the animal. While there is the promise and small delivery of redemption at the end, a sensitive reader will still come away from this book feeling wounded by the pain life can visit upon its creatures. As such, it is a gentle and indirect plea for the good of compassion to all sentient beings.

Considering the power that metaphor holds, it is astonishing that so little has been written about it. This book, which covers what metaphors are, how they work and their effects on our unconsious attitudes and choices is a welcome change. The author takes us on a conversational tour of metaphor in its many manifestations and uses. At times, there is a slight grabbag feeling to the material, as if the all-pervasive, Protean nature of the subject makes clarity difficult (notice all the mixed metaphorical imagery in that sentence? Metaphor is everywhere.) This book is well worth a read for anyone interested in how thought, language and communication works.

Great title, but miniscule book content that is really more of a long essay. Here is the story of the making of the movie, "Breakfast at Tiffany's," slightly weighed down with as much social significence as the author can supply. If you liked the movie you may find a good summer read here. The author is especially delightful in detailing aspects of the life of the delightful Audrey Hepburn. And in supplying such nuggets as who were the first choices for the starring roles: Marylyn Monroe (ugh here) and Steve McQueen (yeah here, though usually ugh.) So take it out of a library and enjoy-- that way you will not feel that you may have paid too much for 200 pages with a lot of white space.

How delightful it is to read history done right. Hall examines the role that the early Puritans in New England played in reshaping humanity's conception and practice of the possibilities of governance. He points out how startlingly innovative some of their actions were, for they were able to practice methods that the Levellers in England were often only able to preach.

What makes Hall a historian of note is the ease with which he can move between different levels of historiography. He will take an idea, show how it worked it way into public discourse in England and Europe, how it then influenced laws and ordinaces in New England, and then, most importantly, how it played out in day to day life. This book is full of specific examples of everyday practice. He points out how much more equable and flexible many of New England's political structures were than those in the Old World. Laws could be on the books that are documented as being rarely enforced because of weight given to extenuating circumstances, numerous avenues of appeal and a general spirit of practical compromise. While modern sensibilty is easily offended by the whole notion of privileging church membership, Hall shows how the colonists' experience of prior tyranny made this privileging much less practically important than other historians (whose research has been less sensitive to actual daily life,)have often assumed.

The only drawback of this text is that it is not for beginners. Hall assumes the reader knows the fundamentals and does not waste time stating them. A small, but lovely bonus is that he writes footnotes for people who really read footnotes; he includes at the top of every Notes page what pages in the text the notes refer to, by far the easiest method for the reader to use.

Nick Hornby is known for his contemporary tales of, at times, lovable losers and how they deal with the world. His stories are usually filled with sadness, loneliness and humor and this book was no exception.

This is the story of four strangers who decided to kill themselves on New Year's Eve by jumping off a building (a notorious suicide site). After they all meet on the roof, this rag tag team (with nothing in common) somehow become an unwitting support group for each other.

The story is told from alternative points of view of the strangers and we learn a a bit about what brought them up on that roof and why they wanted to end their lives. Of course, not to be too crass, but after learning more about these people, half way through the book, you're like, "you know what, why don't you jump already!" I know, that's harsh but as the reader you're thinking, "good lord, it's so easy to solve your problems, just do a, b and c."

But I guess that's the thing about depression, from the outside, everyone says, "why don't you just cheer up" or "just go out more, get friends, get another boyfriend... yadda yadda yadda" but those things are SO easy to say but much harder to do, if you're the one dealing with the depression. So I hope people don't walk away from this book just thinking they were a bunch of whiny people with silly problems, but people who are depressed and sometimes it's hard to get out of that funk... especially alone.

In a once fresh statement that has since become a cliche, the Roman Catholic British historian Lord Acton observed that power corrupts and that the greater the power the greater the corruption. Somehow, this analysis of human nature seems especially salient in terms of the underlying message of this book: how an ecclesiastical hierarchy insists on demanding such an autocratic level of power that it can and sometimes does, undermine itself and its true purpose of service.

The exact subject of this book is how the hierarchy of the American Roman Catholic Church, most especially in the dioceses of Boston, Cleveland, Los Angeles and New Orleans, has, in the wake of the child abuse scandal, mishandled money donated by the faithful. The author, who perhaps could have graced us with a more-organized rewrite, wanders all over the map in covering this topic. One moment we are in Mexico, the next in Vatican City, and then back to the United States.

Yet, given the protean subject matter, basic facts do emerge. Because of the Church's lack of financial transparency (very little honest public auditing,) its insistence on a monarchical power structure, and its all-pervading privileging of clergy over lay, the R.C. church in America and in Europe is at contretemps with prevailing legal and political attitudes of equality, accountability and fair-dealing. For anyone who is interested in this topic, they will find much substance here.

What a guilty pleasure! Streisand has created her own design theme park and its better than most amusement parks. One of her houses even has a basement got up as street with shops in it--sorta like Bendels in the 1960s. The whole thing is fun, a tad over the top and yet, in its own way...poifect. A very enjoyable summer read.

This book looks at the idea that as women become more educatated and prosperous because of the equality measures that have lessened discrimination against them, men are losing their maturity compass. The subargument is that by allowing woman to be capable in any capacity they are capable of ... men are being diminished. This then causes men to eschew manhood and retain boyish, dysfunctional ways.

The good thing about this book is that is getting an argument, and perhaps a phenomenon, out in the open. It does feel like young women are often acting more responsibly than young men these days--and there are some stats that show this. It could be argued that part of this is just that women have something to prove. The drawback of this book is that the author's method of inquiry is almost humorously slap-dash. She uses the softest of social science measures, to the point that the research and observations chosen for inclusion seems predetermined by the conclusion sought. This reviewer, who is no expert, but is the observent mother of a 20 year old, noticed that two possible and pretty well known causes are not given much ink.

The first possible cause has to do with endocrinology. Most moms have observed how their daughters have hit puberty at a far younger age than the mom did. This is not just due to better nutrition in most cases. What this may be due to is the endocrine influencing chemicals that are in the milk we drink, the food we eat, the plastics we use, and many other substances as well. If something in our enviroment has changed enough to accelerate the onset of female puberty--what is it doing to the boys? Shouldn't this be looked into and considered?

The other factor that is not delved into sufficiantly is how there is a hugely profitable entertainment industry based on making males feel that the stance of the responsibly-free, selfish, childish male is a glorious role model for men. This is an empty sort of freedom that most males come to realize is bunk--but it retains a influence on a culture that often identifies self-control with being weak, timid or nerdish. Ariel Levy's "Female Chauvinist Pigs; women and the rise of raunch culture," shows how women have also begun to be corrupted by this as well.

This book starts a worthwhile conversation. As such, you may find it an interesting read.

Welcome to a meticulous, well-researched(it only took 25 years,) monumental history of singing n dancing on Broadway. 150 years are covered, most of the major shows and all of the major trends. For the interested reader this book will be worth the effort of its 700 pages; for the less enthusiastic, there are shorter, more playful entries out there. What this book builds is a sense of our constantly evolving effort to portray reality using one of the most unrealistic, but rewarding mediums out there. Gotta love it, gotta sing, gotta dance.

With so many views on display, how can you have a sense of a proper vantage point? In this volume Witherington, who is one of the more engaging, intelligible and accessible conservative Christian scholars currently involved in apologetics, looks at the various alternative readings of, and histories of, the Bible available, and manages to confute some of the most silly. Though he does it from an Evangelical, Calvinistic background, many sorts of Mere Christians will still find much good and graceful sense here. Will his viewpoint undercut all the challanges to the Bible out there for all readers? No. Will it help bring a small clarity to some issues? Possibly. Either way, it is a well-written, interesting read.