http://www.BetterWorldBooks.com/index.aspx?afid=37 http://www.BetterWorldBooks.com/images/logos/bwb-web-logo-300.gif http://www.BetterWorldBooks.com/index.aspx?afid=37 en-us dnewman@betterworldbooks.com David Halberstam http://www.betterworldbooks.com/Summer-of-49-Perennial-Classics-id-0060007818.aspx http://www.betterworldbooks.com/Summer-of-49-Perennial-Classics-id-0060007818.aspx A great pennant race through the eyes of DiMaggio's Yankees & Williams' Red Sox. Kevin April 06 2010 0060007818 Toby Barlow http://www.betterworldbooks.com/Sharp-Teeth-id-0061430226.aspx http://www.betterworldbooks.com/Sharp-Teeth-id-0061430226.aspx A werewolf gang-war mini-epic written in free verse (!!!). If it had stopped there, it would have been a neat idea. But considering its carefully-paced rhythm, memorable characters, and keen insight into the Man-as-Animal motif, it's tough not to use the word "masterpiece" in reference to Toby Barlow's debut novel. Excuse me, waiter? Someone's put literature in my escapism! Tommy July 28 2009 5 PM 0061430226 Jim Butcher http://www.betterworldbooks.com/Grave-Peril-The-Dresden-Files-Book-3-id-0451458443.aspx http://www.betterworldbooks.com/Grave-Peril-The-Dresden-Files-Book-3-id-0451458443.aspx Sam Spade meets Gandalf in some of the most fun modern genre fiction out there! Jon April 6 2010 0451458443 Spalding Gray http://www.betterworldbooks.com/Impossible-Vacation-id-0679745238.aspx http://www.betterworldbooks.com/Impossible-Vacation-id-0679745238.aspx Neurotic, raunchy, and real. A great read! Chris April 6 2010 0679745238 Chris Baty http://www.BetterWorldBooks.com/No-Plot-No-Problem-id-0811845052.aspx http://www.BetterWorldBooks.com/No-Plot-No-Problem-id-0811845052.aspx Chris Baty is hysterical. Somehow he has convinced 100,000+ people to write a novel every November. If he doesn't have insight to creative writing than I don't know who does. Geoff October 30 2008 2 PM 0811845052 Louis Sachar http://www.betterworldbooks.com/Holes-id-0440414806.aspx http://www.betterworldbooks.com/Holes-id-0440414806.aspx A kid's book that adults can enjoy because of brilliant layered story lines. Aaron April 6 2010 0440414806 Mitch Albom http://www.betterworldbooks.com/content/images/have-a-little-faith.jpg http://www.betterworldbooks.com/Have-a-Little-Faith-id-0786868724.aspx A quick read that speaks to everyone, regardless of your faith or views. Andy April 6 2010 0786868724 Hal Higdon http://www.betterworldbooks.com/Marathon-id-1594861994.aspx http://www.betterworldbooks.com/Marathon-id-1594861994.aspx Gives you the reassurance you need to know you can actually complete 26.2. Emily April 11 2010 1594861994 Nancy Smith MacDonell http://www.BetterWorldBooks.com/The-Classic-Ten-id-0142003565-c-0.aspx http://www.BetterWorldBooks.com/The-Classic-Ten-id-0142003565-c-0.aspx In telling the story of ten wardrobe staples, MacDonell highlights two centuries of our shifting views on gender, class, economics, sex, and morality. Great for discussion. One of the best works on non-fiction I've read in years. Jennifer June 17 2008 9 AM 0142003565 Karl Shaw http://www.BetterWorldBooks.com/Royal-Babylon-id-0767907558-c-0.aspx http://www.BetterWorldBooks.com/Royal-Babylon-id-0767907558-c-0.aspx A hilarious look at the bad behavior of Europe's royals before the age of paparazzi. I don't know how much of it is true, but it's all hilarious. Jennifer June 17 2008 10 AM 0767907558 Alan Moore http://www.BetterWorldBooks.com/Watchmen-id-0930289234-c-0.aspx http://www.BetterWorldBooks.com/Watchmen-id-0930289234-c-0.aspx This graphic novel was written over twenty years ago and still feels fresh. The aspect of being a hero (or vigilante as some people see it) is discussed the way most people talk about work, hobbies or sad events of the past. It's certainly not glamorous. The interwoven narratives are used nicely to enhance the story. Jennifer June 17 2008 10 AM 0930289234 Tony Horwitz http://www.betterworldbooks.com/A-Voyage-Long-and-Strange-id-0805076034.aspx http://www.betterworldbooks.com/A-Voyage-Long-and-Strange-id-0805076034.aspx If you like history but hate reading boring history books, this is for you. Andy April 6 2010 0805076034 Nelson Mandela http://www.BetterWorldBooks.com/Long-Walk-to-Freedom-id-0316548189-c-0.aspx http://www.BetterWorldBooks.com/Long-Walk-to-Freedom-id-0316548189-c-0.aspx This is my favorite book. Mandela is one of the most inspiring human beings on the planet. The first 200 pages start slow and set the scene, but then Mandela’s story takes a hold of you. Here’s a man that spent over 20 years in prison so that South Africa could be free. He buried this autobiography in the prison yard on Robben Island – because outside communication was not allowed by the Apartheid Government. This book was a great story about a country’s struggle against oppression. Geoff June 17 2008 2 PM 0316548189 Paul Collier http://www.BetterWorldBooks.com/The-Bottom-Billion-id-0195311450-c-0.aspx http://www.BetterWorldBooks.com/The-Bottom-Billion-id-0195311450-c-0.aspx This book is an amazing summary of why a billion people in this world still live on less than $1 a day and what can be done about it. It is seriously researched, nuanced, reasonably apolitical, and yet easy to read and engaging. Andy June 17 2008 2 PM 0195311450 Mary Karr http://www.BetterWorldBooks.com/The-Liars-Club-id-0140179836-c-0.aspx http://www.BetterWorldBooks.com/The-Liars-Club-id-0140179836-c-0.aspx Karr's life was not cute or funny, but she wrote about cancer, rape, alcoholism, insanity and death with such a steady tone you dare not pity her. These facts of her life shaped her, and no one can wish them away. But you will. Her voice is so strong, you'll curl up next to your sister in fear of the knife, you'll hear the hurricane blast against your home, and you'll wish you could move back to Texas with your stoic rock of a father. Jennifer May 22 2008 9 AM 0140179836 Thomas Pynchon http://www.BetterWorldBooks.com/The-Crying-of-Lot-49-Perennial-Fiction-Library-id-006091307X-c-0.aspx http://www.BetterWorldBooks.com/The-Crying-of-Lot-49-Perennial-Fiction-Library-id-006091307X-c-0.aspx Probably the most accessible Pynchon I’ve read to date-Oedipa Maas is mysteriously chosen as the executor of a former lover’s will; while trying to sort out Inverarity’s affairs she uncovers a global conspiracy of postal services. Just don't try to dig too deep... Kelly May 22 2008 10 AM 006091307X T.S. Eliot http://www.BetterWorldBooks.com/detail.aspx?ItemId=015121185X http://www.BetterWorldBooks.com/detail.aspx?ItemId=015121185X I never understood Eliot on my first reading, but was sucked in by the music of his language. His words are like jazz. As I continued to read, I started to understand what he was saying and not saying. This book taught me how to write poetry, and it holds an honored place on my nightstand. Jennifer May 22 2008 10 AM 015121185X Audrey Niffenegger http://www.BetterWorldBooks.com/detail.aspx?ItemId=015602943X http://www.BetterWorldBooks.com/detail.aspx?ItemId=015602943X I'm not one for love stories, but this one moved me. Elements of the story were indulgent on the author's part (was Clare's reaction to 9/11 necessary?) but that's forgiven due to the loving realism of the characters and pulsing plot. Despite all the tears, I want to read it again and again. Jennifer May 22 2008 10 AM 015602943X Haven Kimmel http://www.BetterWorldBooks.com/detail.aspx?ItemId=0091882966 http://www.BetterWorldBooks.com/detail.aspx?ItemId=0091882966 Full of the sort of charming tales you tell your friends. If you enjoy stories of people's crazy small town childhoods, Zippy is worth a look. Jennifer May 22 2008 10 AM 0091882966 David Foster Wallace http://www.betterworldbooks.com/Infinite-Jest-id-0316066524.aspx http://www.betterworldbooks.com/Infinite-Jest-id-0316066524.aspx An immensely entertaining novel about our quest to be entertained. Read the footnotes! Jesse April 11 2010 0316066524 Michael Chabon http://www.BetterWorldBooks.com/detail.aspx?ItemId=0312282990 http://www.BetterWorldBooks.com/detail.aspx?ItemId=0312282990 Full of humor and darkness. A lively narrative driven by characters you'll root for. Jennifer May 22 2008 10 AM 0312282990 Tennessee Williams http://www.BetterWorldBooks.com/detail.aspx?ItemId=081120765X http://www.BetterWorldBooks.com/detail.aspx?ItemId=081120765X Here's a woman on the edge, incapable of saving or helping herself. Tragedy has driven her to breaking, but all she needs is kindness from someone. Williams’ classic is about choices we all make in dealing with strangers, with family, with those we hate and with those we need. Jennifer May 22 2008 11 AM 081120765X Milan Kundera http://www.BetterWorldBooks.com/The-Book-of-Laughter-and-Forgetting-id-0060932147-c-0.aspx http://www.BetterWorldBooks.com/The-Book-of-Laughter-and-Forgetting-id-0060932147-c-0.aspx Kundera weaves together the stories of individuals experiencing the full range of life from ecstasy to loss and back to the jealously that we find in all of his novels. Bizarre dreams, levitating schoolgirls and a cameo by the devil round out this collection of short stories. Kelly May 22 2008 9 AM 0060932147 Rabindranath Tagore http://www.BetterWorldBooks.com/Quartet-Chaturanga-id-043595086X-c-0.aspx http://www.BetterWorldBooks.com/Quartet-Chaturanga-id-043595086X-c-0.aspx Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore writes Chaturanga in the four-part symphonic form. He follows two university students as they travel through 19th century Kolkata on an intense metaphysical adventure. A great read for anyone interested in Indian colonialism, the caste system and Hindu spiritual practices. Kelly Apr 22 2008 9 AM 043595086X Thomas Pynchon http://www.BetterWorldBooks.com/The-Crying-of-Lot-49-Perennial-Fiction-Library-id-006091307X-c-0.aspx http://www.BetterWorldBooks.com/The-Crying-of-Lot-49-Perennial-Fiction-Library-id-006091307X-c-0.aspx Probably the most accessible Pynchon I’ve read to date-Oedipa Maas is mysteriously chosen as the executor of a former lover’s will; while trying to sort out Inverarity’s affairs she uncovers a global conspiracy of postal services. Just don't try to dig too deep... Kelly May 22 2008 10 AM 006091307X Mikhail Bulgakov http://www.BetterWorldBooks.com/The-Fatal-Eggs-Hesperus-Modern-Voices-id-1843914115-c-0.aspx http://www.BetterWorldBooks.com/The-Fatal-Eggs-Hesperus-Modern-Voices-id-1843914115-c-0.aspx Bulgakov is much better known for his novel The Master and Margarita, but this novella is a great example of early Russian science fiction. The main character Persikov discovers a “ray of life” that frantic Soviet bureaucrats believe may help cure a mysterious poultry plague threatening the chickens of Russia with extinction. The whole debacle results in the breeding of giant mutant reptiles that attack Moscow. Kelly May 22 2008 10 AM 1843914115 Miguel De Cervantes http://www.BetterWorldBooks.com/Don-Quixote-id-0060188707.aspx http://www.BetterWorldBooks.com/Don-Quixote-id-0060188707.aspx An innovative, legendary, ground-breaking tale of a nostalgic gentleman who longs for a time that never existed. It inspires and warns readers of the values and pitfalls of hope beyond reality. Jerry Apr 15 2008 12 PM 0060188707 Dean Karnazes http://www.BetterWorldBooks.com/Ultramarathon-Man-id-1585424803.aspx http://www.BetterWorldBooks.com/Ultramarathon-Man-id-1585424803.aspx Here’s an easy read that will challenge you to do something difficult. No, I have not set out to become an Ultramarathoner but I was provoked to test myself in another way. What this 1st time author lacks in writing style he makes up for in his passion for running. But seriously, is any sports autobiography written to entice the reader’s magniloquence? Christian Apr 30 2008 11 AM 1585424803 Neal Stephenson http://www.betterworldbooks.com/Snow-Crash-id-0553562614.aspx http://www.betterworldbooks.com/Snow-Crash-id-0553562614.aspx Hiro Protagonist, pizza delivery man. Cyberpunk with some great comedic elements. Tommy April 11 2010 0553562614 Stephenie Meyer http://www.betterworldbooks.com/The-Host-id-0316068047.aspx http://www.BetterWorldBooks.com/Sex-Drugs-and-Cocoa-Puffs-id-0743236017.aspx The Host is an amazing! I cried 2X. I loved it so much I got one for my daughter, she cried too. Christian April 11 2010 0316068047 Stephen L. Carter http://www.BetterWorldBooks.com/The-Emperor-of-Ocean-Park-id-0375712925.aspx http://www.BetterWorldBooks.com/The-Emperor-of-Ocean-Park-id-0375712925.aspx This book reminded me why I love to read. It wasn't the mystery driving the plot that I found compelling so much as the characters. I wanted to know what would happen to them next! They defy pigeonholing, are relatable and deeply human. Jennifer Jan 14 2008 1 PM 0375712925 Hermann Hesse http://www.BetterWorldBooks.com/Siddhartha-id-0553208845.aspx http://www.BetterWorldBooks.com/Siddhartha-id-0553208845.aspx This is a deep and insightful book that I enjoyed very much. I couldn't put it down. Dale Apr 15 2008 12 PM 0553208845