Adult

Lots of pictures and funny asides make this book as easy to read as eating a tub of popcorn at a movie theater. This may be one of my favorite books of the past year, as Wansink masterfully retells his fascinating studies on human eating habits in a way that is eye-popping, funny and relatable. The book was tougher to put down than a piece of birthday cake, and I failed at putting both down! While the book is about eating in particular, anyone interested in habit formation will find this book to be worth its weight in gold (or chicken nuggets).

Warning: there’s some colorful language in this book, but if I had seen the things this five-tour Army Ranger had seen, I’m sure my language would follow suit. What’s amazing about this book is how Best puts the reader in his shoes, and the results are both hilarious and heart-breaking. If you’re not waving an American flag and offering to pay for a veteran’s meal afterwards, I doubt you actually read the book.

“What if you were only known for the worst thing you’ve ever done?” So asks the author Hoke, the founder of Defy Ventures, which trains prisoners in entrepreneurial skills. A poignant story that I am gifting to as many people as I can.

Subtitled “Rules for Couples,” this delightful quick read from two of my favorite contributors from The New Yorker will bring you much-needed comic relief while cooped up indoors with your loved ones.

Is happiness the supreme good that all of us should pursue? With a healthy skepticism, this book documents the powerful social impact of the science and industry of happiness, arguing that the neoliberal alliance between psychologists, economists and self-development gurus has given rise to a new and oppressive form of government and control in which happiness has been woven into the very fabric of power. A completely unique perspective to consider!

Can you believe it’s the 40th anniversary of the 1980 U.S. men’s hockey team’s miraculous gold medal at the Winter Olympics? Just so you know – I can read and watch anything about that event and be enthralled. I think it’s probably my favorite sports moment (besides the Broncos winning their first Super Bowl).

Devoured this book and could write something clever, but Booklist said it best: “There is a richness and depth to Onyebuchi’s prose that delivers an intricate and textured world at once rife with violence and teeming with familial love…Onyebuchi demonstrates that dystopia for African-Americans in the U.S. resides in the recent past and continues today.”

Fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, reporter Camille Preaker faces a troubling assignment: she must return to her tiny hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls. For years, Camille has hardly spoken to her neurotic, hypochondriac mother or to the half-sister she barely knows: a beautiful thirteen-year-old with an eerie grip on the town. Now, installed in her old bedroom in her family's Victorian mansion, Camille finds herself identifying with the young victims – a bit too strongly. Dogged by her own demons, she must unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past if she wants to get the story – and survive this homecoming.

I got really lazy this past month and hunted for super-thin novels. This fit the bill, but what I didn’t expect was such a stunning book. Powerful writing, albeit not too uplifting (as is my preference).

Fascinating memoir of self-discovery that explores the rhythms, chance encounters, and ever-changing friendships of urban life that forge the sensibility of a fiercely independent woman who has lived out her conflicts, not her fantasies, in a city (New York) that has done the same.

Presenting ten transformative principles, this inspiring guide to creativity in the digital age will help readers discover their artistic side and build a more creative life. Nothing is original, so embrace influence, school yourself through the work of others, remix and reimagine to discover your own path. A marvelous little book!

The more I read emails and letters, the quicker I realize the necessity for a thing called “grammar.” This classic is a treasure for its unique tone, wit and charm, which have conveyed the principles of English style to millions of readers. More importantly, I appreciate its brevity! Great teaching doesn’t have to be verbose.

This may be the most important book you read this year; it certainly kicked me in the butt! Pressman’s brilliant quick read pleads with readers to go out and do what they are born to do. If you’re an actor, act! If you’re a painter, paint! Stop talking, and start doing. Sound advice for us all.

Touching memoir of one of my favorite actors (have you watched Back to the Future recently? It truly holds up; timeless classic). Fox details his journey with Parkinson’s disease, in this highly engaging and readable autobiography.

This book grabbed my attention for two reasons: (1) it is super-short (and I always like to be able to read an entire book in a day – or two hours!); and (2) it is considered “the” classic novelization of the Mexican Revolution, which I knew little about before diving into this book.